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We
set off with high hopes following last years highly successful tour. The
first surprise was collecting the vans to discover that Mick Clark had
the pleasure of driving a big yellow fun bus! Fortunately there was a
gym at the hotel so that Mick could do some weight training to help him
steer the bus. He did mention the lack of power steering a couple of
times. |
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So
to the club to load up and have the obligatory group photo. As there had
been an accident on the A12 we took a lovely route through the Leighs
and Braintree before picking up the A12 and onwards to Diss. We arrived
to find that it was raining which became a theme of the week. Diss were
excellent hosts and we eventually managed to get started and a 30 over
game ensued between the showers. |
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Diss
batted first and it proved difficult for the bowlers to keep a firm
footing and put on 24 before Dan Unger made the breakthrough dismissing
Barton and S Cooper in quick succession thanks to some good catches from
Liam Daniels and James Latimir. Only C Cooper got to grips with the
conditions , scoring a very useful 37. The next top scorer was extras
(29) with 23 runs having been given away in wides. |
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Springfield
responded with a steady opening partnership of 40 between Matt Chalk and
James Clark only broken when Matt was run out due to the slippery
conditions underfoot. This heralded the arrival of Chris O’Riordan who
announced himself with a four through the covers from his first ball.
After slipping to 68 for 3 Troy Nice joined Chris and clattered his way
to 17 runs to bring the scoring rate up to the required level. Chris was
bowled with just a few runs needed and Ashley Tyler came in to crash the
ball for four to level the scores. The match ended with yet another wide
being conceded to bring victory to Springfield by four wickets. A good
performance as their innings was twice interrupted by rain. Chris
O’Riordan being named the man of the match. |
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A
quick fish and chip supper and off to the hotel. Our thanks to Diss who
once again proved great hosts. |
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Everybody
settled in the hotel and the lads behaved themselves well with there
being no complaints. |
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Tuesday
morning saw grey skies and rain.There was little to be brought up at the
tour meeting and people were despatched to get the food for the lunches.
Persistent rain meant that the match was cancelled and the facilities
available at the Sport Village Hotel proved their worth. Some badminton
was played but there was fierce competition when it came to the indoor
cricket. Despite the protestations the senior members of the tour showed
the youngsters the way with a thrilling victory by a margin of 30 runs
or so. To let off steam a game of 5–a-side football was played before
a mess about in the Aqua Park. Tea was provided at McDonalds and mention
must be made of the eating exploits of Darren Saffill. A Big Mac meal
was followed up by a Big Tasty, Mcflurry and a Quarterpounder with
cheese. Once that had gone down he had a supper of seven rolls left over
from lunch. |
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Wednesday
finally saw some sunshine and it was off to the picture postcard ground
at Great Melton. Another excellent lunch prepared by the lunch crew. A
few more guests arrived and Springfield crucially lost the toss on a
damp but drying wicket. Against
some good bowling James Clark and Mark Hudson put on 67 runs. Even Chris
O’Riordan found it hard to get the bowling away intiially and he put
on 30 runs with James Welshman before the pace was upped when Troy Nice
came in and chipped away at the bowling. Chris fell 3 runs short of his
fifty having accelerated well before being bowled by Harvey. Matt Chalk
joined Troy and they added 36 to bring the innings to a close at 171 for
5 from their 45 overs.
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With
the wicket now at its best and the sun blazing down Great Melton got off
to a good start before the arrival of Sam Mann (61no) and he, together
with Ed Leng (37) put on 99 runs in good time to take the game away from
Springfield. A six wicket win by Great Melton saw this Springfield side
suffer its first ever tour defeat. For his innings of 47 Chris
O’Riordan and Matt Rolfe
(for his excellent opening bowling spell) were awarded men of the match. |
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Back
to the hotel and in to the Aqua Park before getting ready for the tour
dinner. The dinner was held in the hotel and we were well looked after
by the catering staff. There were some new arrivals on tour and some
took the opportunity to sample the delights that Norwich had to offer.
Drinks only costing £1.50 each in Chicago rock proving very popular.
Ben Marrion provided the comment of the evening when asking whether the
chicken chasseur was the vegetarian option. To demonstrate that this was
no isolated incident he backed it up by asking tour team manager, Wayne
Howell, how often the Eastern Daily Press newspaper came out. |
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Thursday
dawned with yet more rain and it came as no surprise when Horsford
cancelled the game. The great pity was that it cleared up for most of
the day but everywhere was very wet due to a thunderstorm during the
night. By this time ken Godridge was pulling out what few strands of
hair he had left to think of ways to keep the tourists entertained.
After some help from the hotel reception staff with likely places to go
a deal was negotiated to take everyone ten pin bowling. A few hours of
hilarious fun and some good bowling saw Darren Saffill record the
highest score of the day. |
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Friday
saw yet more rain and everyone was up early due to the fire alarm being
activated, not by any member of the tour party I hasten to add. The
weather reports were favourable as we had a full match at Braintree.
Everyone was soon ready and it onto the vans for the journey back. We
arrived at Braintree in plenty of time and after a light lunch it was
decided to play the match in four 20 over sessions. After the early loss
of Mark Hudson, James Latimir and Troy Nice put on 62 runs unbroken in 8
overs before rain had the final say and soaked the wicket to prevent any
further play. Latimir had reached 41 from 24 balls with able support
from Nice who was 23 not out. |
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Despite
the weather taking its toll and preventing much cricket being played the
tourists behaved themselves well and the week was exceedingly good
humoured. My thanks go to all those who helped make this a successful
tour, the tour committee and all those who helped during the week. I
look forward to the next one (hopefully with glorious sunshine all the
way). |
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Report courtesy of Paddy O'Riodan. Photos courtesy of Pete
Clancy, Paddy O'Riodan, Mick Clark and Steve Chalk. |
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