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1st XI V Walsall YMF
Brian Ayres Wednesday, July 03, 2002 22:44 GMT
A fighting performance by Ansley’s revamped team brought a reward of 24 points against last years champions Walsall Y.M.F. Skipper Andrew Davies won the toss, elected to bat, and openers Andy Templer and Steve Fleming obliged with an opening stand of 47. Key bowlers Amar and Manzoor had no success at all, but the introduction of the left arm bowler Farid did cause problems. Taking the ball across the batsmen, four wickets fell to catches behind by keeper Wahid, Ansley set back to 64 for 4. In came Ahsan Sayed, and the bowling began to suffer again. He hit his fourth half-century in four outings, helped by a succession of stubborn partners, none more so than Paul Glover, who reached 1500 runs for the club in this game. Sayed was last out for a fine 74, and Jeff Ward’s record of 474 runs in a season (1979) looks under severe threat. Set a target of 169 to win, Walsall were soon under fire from Andy Davies, who trapped Shaqat L.B.W. and had Ejaz brilliantly caught by Richard Franks. He continued to work his way through the order, but a key wicket fell when Paul Rowley bowled the left-handed Farid for 3. Stout resistance, and hard hitting came in the shape of Wahid, four balls being lost during his 58 not out. He finally ran out of partners as Andy Beale took the last two wicket for 3 runs, to secure Ansley their first ever success over Walsall Y.M.F.
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1st XI V Great Barr Unity
Brian Ayres Sunday, June 23, 2002 17:47 GMT
The team performance of the season from Ansley was not quite enough to bring down third placed Great Barr Unity, who won with 9 deliveries to spare. Ansley included Andrew Templer, their capture from Attleborough, and Qasim Sayed, back at Ansley after spells at Griff and Coton and Atherstone. The backbone of the Ansley total of 220 for 8 off 50 overs was a stand of 119 for the 4th wicket between Richard Franks (43) and Ahsan Sayed (75). Paul Glover (25 not out) led the tail and Great Barr were indebted to Tom Boyd who took 6 for 43 off 17 overs. Boyd is also handy with the bat, and he and his opening partner had reached 86 off 15 overs, then came a flash of Fleming brilliance. His diving, left handed catch to hold a fierce cut by Boyd ranks as the best ever seen by the Ansley team. Great Barr lost three wickets on 86, and it was left to A. Ince and R. Twigg to rebuild the innings. They added a vital 38, and Great Barr slowly began to up the scoring rate. The impressive Ince fell to Andy Davies, his 600th wicket for Ansley, but, despite being 9 wickets down, they went for, and got the win with 9 deliveries remaining. Sayed (75) continues to re-write the record books, his third 50 in three games is a new record for Ansley.
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Reserves V Great Barr Unity
Brian Ayres Sunday, June 23, 2002 17:43 GMT
This was the first ever meeting between these two clubs, and it produced a win off the last ball of the game for Ansley reserves. With Andy Morgan unavailable, Steve Gosling took over as skipper of what was a team of reasonable strength. In the eleven were Mick Hubbard, nursing himself back to fitness after a thigh injury, his first appearance in the reserve team since 10th July 1993 v Lanchester Polytechnic. Richard Kay was unable to travel with the senior side, and he was to have a big say in the outcome of this fixture. Batting first, Great Barr Unity never quite got going against the three- pronged attack of Hubbard, Beamish and Kay. They were all out for 121 in 43.4 overs, Beamish and Kay both picking up four wickets, and Hubbard, who tied up one end for 21 overs, picking up two. The major batsmen for Unity were B. Boyd, who threatened with 37 before being bowled by Beamish, and Edwards, who made 21 before he was caught by Kay, again off Beamish. Given 56 overs to make 122 to win, Ansley lost Pearson, Ray Emery and Richard Evans on the way to 26 for 3. Beamish (25) Gosling (26) and Andy Walkden (22) pushed ever nearer to the target, the 8th wicket falling with the scores tied. Richard Kay crowned his afternoon by hitting the winning runs off the last ball of the game, Ansley’s first win this season. With the influx of new talent into the senior side, there seems every chance that results will improve.
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Pakistan Fast Bowler Returns
Andy Davies Friday, June 21, 2002 13:18 GMT
Quasim Sayed, our former youth and reserve team player is now available for selection since rejoining the club at the start of this year. After being unavailable for the start of the season due to studying, Quasim is now available on a regular basis and will strengthen our bowling attack. In the four years he has been away, Quasim has acquired a lot more pace and has been taking buckets of wickets for other clubs. We welcome him back home and wish him continued success with us.
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Kiwi All Rounder Signs For Ansley
Andy Davies Wednesday, June 19, 2002 22:12 GMT
Ansley have recently completed the transfer of New Zealand all rounder Andy Templer. Andy has been registered in time to make his debut against Great Barr Unity this weekend, when we hope to get back to winning ways again and climb up the table. A classy top order batsman and medium-fast bowler, Andy has been recruited to strengthen our side, both in the batting and bowling line ups. We welcome our first "Kiwi" signing to the club and wish him every success with us.
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Reserves V Rugby
Brian Ayres Monday, June 17, 2002 20:21 GMT
A most disappointing response from some of the Ansley players, offered T.V. facilities by both the Ansley and Rugby clubs, many preferred to watch the England v Denmark game in the local hostelries. Skipper Andy Morgan had only seven players at his disposal, while Rugby reserves had a full eleven. The Rugby skipper won the toss, elected to bat, subjecting the Ansley fielders to an afternoon of leather chasing, and knocking up 250 for 5 in their 45 overs, five overs per side being lost for a heavy shower. Skipper Andy Morgan led the way with 3 for 47 off 15 overs, Jim Pearson sent down 16 overs, his longest ever stint with the ball, and veteran Mick Worrall also had a bowl. He removed opener Coxon for 52, his first wicket since 15th August 1992 when he accounted for Golbourne of Lanchester Polytechnic. Set to bat out 45 overs, Ansley’s Jim Pearson opened the innings, and was still there at the end with 25 not out. Ansley had lost 4 wickets by the time the score reached 25, but Pearson, aided by Lyndon Fenn, defied a sextet of bowlers to secure an unlikely draw, Fenn staying for 25 overs with 6 not out. A long period padded up for Ansley’s No.7 Jonathan Ashton, but he was not required.
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1st XI V Rugby
Brian Ayres Monday, June 17, 2002 20:10 GMT
Both this fixture and the reserve team game were greatly influenced by events 5,762 miles away in Niigata, Japan, where England and Denmark met in the World Cup. The start time was 12.30 p.m. and, despite both clubs laying on T.V. facilities, the response from the Ansley players was disappointing. The club were already hit by injuries to key players Mick Beale and Mick Hubbard, and skipper Andy Davies had no choice but to call upon 2nd team players. The game started at 2.34 p.m. with Rugby put in to bat, and getting off to a good start with S. Lloyd and C. Evans putting on 65 for the opening stand. This was broken by the impressive Richard Kay who had Evans caught. Starmer removed the other opener on 88, and Davies and Sayed with two wickets apiece did their best to hold Rugby to a manageable total. The score after 50 overs was 168 for 7, enough to keep Ansley interested in a win. With two opening batsmen injured, Davies put his faith in Steve Fleming and Paul Glover. They fared pretty well against the brisk pairing of Ewer and Hinks, but, from 30 for 0, Ansley soon found themselves at 43 for 4. Sayed joined Richard Moore, and their stand of 66 for the 5th wicket swung the game back Ansley’s way for a while. Moore was stumped off Hinks for 17, and Sayed’s fighting effort ended when he was out for a fine 51. The promotion of Glover to opener had left Ansley with a long tail, and Ewer, Hinks and Brown stamped on it pretty quickly. Ansley 109 for 4 at one stage, were shot out for 111, losing their last 5 wicket in just 5 overs. Sayed became only the 2nd Ansley batsman to score 50 in successive games, the previous was Mel Cowen who made 50* in the last game of 1983, and 105* in the first game of 1984, both against Massey Ferguson reserves.
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1st XI V Castle Bromwich
Brian Ayres Monday, June 10, 2002 22:31 GMT
A difficult task for stand in skipper Paul Glover, the Ansley side decimated by holidays and injuries. The senior team set off for Castle Bromwich in good time, but found themselves in a major traffic diversion due to a serious R.T. accident. Put in to bat, they fared quite well in the early stages of the innings, and a 51 for 2 they had the measure of Kitson and Jablonski. The introduction of spinner Ian White changed the face of the game, his "Mike Gatting" ball removing a bemused Ray Emery. He went on to add a further 4 victims with figures of 5 for 33 off 14 overs. Mick Hubbard (30) had done a solid job as opener, and he was backed well by Richard Franks who made 35, Franks falling while pushing the score along. A late flurry by Gosling and Andy Beale, each with 10 not out, took Ansley to a single batting point at 126 for 8 off 50 overs. The Ansley opening attack of Rowley and Beale kept Chaplin and Fielding quiet for a time, Fielding making the most of his three "lives". Steve Fleming came into the attack and removed them both, Rowley chipped in with his 200th wicket, caught by Fleming, but Glover’s search for a bowler to control the runs proved in vain. He finally handed the gloves over to Richard Franks, bowled himself, and went for 15 off his only over. This hastened the inevitable and Castle Bromwich romped home with 7 wickets and 16 overs to spare.
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1st XI V Ward End Unity
Brian Ayres Monday, June 10, 2002 22:29 GMT
This was Ansley’s first ever encounter with Ward End Unity, who were top of the table prior to this clash. Ansley fielded a strong eleven, but there was a certain amount of confusion in the Ward End ranks as to who was registered to play and who was not. They employed a "substitute" fielder throughout the Ansley innings, and only had 9 eligible batsmen. Much depended on the toss for innings with the pitch still very damp from the weeks bad weather. Andy Davies missed out yet again, and Ansley were inserted. Lovegrove was well caught with 6 on the board, but Hubbard and Fleming then began to make slow progress. Hubbard pulled a muscle and had Richard Franks for a runner, this should have been Robert Lovegrove, the only batsman dismissed. Hubbard was finally dismissed and the score after 25 overs was 52 for 2. In came Ahsan Sayed, and, despite losing Fleming on 53, Ansley got on top. Sayed and Streeting added 66 in rapid time, Sayed making a fine 52 in 55 balls before he was bowled. Richard Franks, playing his 100th game, pushed the score on as Ansley began to run out of overs. F. Malik came back into the attack and took 4 Ansley wickets in 8 deliveries to end the innings at 146 all out in 46.2 overs. Ward End Unity soon made their intentions plain, some sub standard Ansley bowling, cannon fodder for the hard hitting Yousef. Many searches were conducted in the woods just over the long on boundary, he despatched the ball there quite a few times in his 89 off 84 balls before being run out. Ahsan Sayed’s bowling caused some alarms, his three wickets for 26 off 10 overs, plus two "run outs", giving Ansley a glimmer of hope, but it was not to be, Ward End got home at 148 for 5 off only 27.3 overs.
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