ICC WCL Division 6 Essex 2015

Guernsey v Botswana
Played at Ashlyns Road, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex
on Tuesday 8th September 2015
Toss won by Guernsey who chose to bat
Umpires: R Black (Ireland) and J Jensen (Denmark), 3rd HE Kearns (Jersey)
Match referee: GF Labrooy (Sri Lanka)
Guernsey won by 151 runs
Man of the match: MWR Stokes

Guernsey innings			R	B	4s	6s	SR		Botswana bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
MWR Stokes	not out		135	139	12	0	97.12		R Withey	9	1	63	0	7	(5w)
JNL Wilkes-Green	c †Mosweu	b Tshose	7	44	1	0	15.9		A Rangaswamy	10	0	72	0	7.2	(3w)
OE Newey	c Mosweu	b Ameer Saiyed	30	55	2	1	54.54		JWN Moses	1.4	0	11	0	6.6
TJ Ravenscroft	c †Mosweu	b Tshose	58	37	5	2	156.75		T Tshose	9.2	2	41	2	4.39	(2nb)
LB Ferbrache	not out		68	27	6	5	251.85		K Modise	10	0	59	0	5.9
TW Nightingale	dnb								D Maisuria	5	0	35	0	7
DR Hooper	dnb								Ameer Saiyed	5	0	29	1	5.8	(2w)
JC Martin†	dnb
JAJ Nussbaumer*	dnb
MLA Ellis	dnb
WN Fazakerley	dnb
Extras	(b 2, lb 1, w 10, nb 2)		15
Total	(for 3 wickets in 50 overs)		313	(at 6.26 rpo)
Fall of wickets 1-54 (Wilkes-Green, 13.6 ov), 2-122 (Newey, 30.2 ov), 3-214 (Ravenscroft, 42.4 ov)

Botswana innings			R	B	4s	6s	SR		Guernsey bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
G Mokokwe	c Hooper	b Newey	3	4	0	0	75		MWR Stokes	3	0	26	0	8.66
K Motlanka*	c Ravenscroft	b Newey	27	38	5	0	71.05		OE Newey	7	2	19	3	2.71	(1w)
K Modise		b Newey	19	12	4	0	158.33		JAJ Nussbaumer	5	0	17	0	3.4	(1w)
W Tajbhay	c Newey	b Fazakerley	16	53	1	0	30.18		DR Hooper	7	0	17	1	2.42	(2w)
Ameer Saiyed	c Nussbaumer	b Nightingale	32	79	0	0	40.5		WN Fazakerley	5	0	12	1	2.4	(1nb, 4w)
R Mosweu†		b Ellis	2	16	0	0	12.5		MLA Ellis	6	1	23	1	3.83	(1w)
JWN Moses		b Hooper	0	2	0	0	0		TW Nightingale	7.3	0	34	3	4.53	(2w)
T Tshose	c Fazakerley	b Nightingale	22	23	2	1	95.65		TJ Ravenscroft	3	0	7	0	2.33
A Rangaswamy	c Ferbrache	b Nightingale	11	13	1	0	84.61
R Withey	not out		6	8	0	0	75
D Maisuria	run out (Stokes/†Martin)		5	14	0	0	35.71
Extras	(lb 7, w 11, nb 1)		19
Total	(in 43.3 overs)		162	(at 3.72 rpo)
Fall of wickets 1-3 (Mokokwe, 1.3 ov), 2-37 (Modise, 5.1 ov), 3-55 (Motlanka, 11.3 ov), 4-81 (Tajbhay, 22.1 ov), 5-99 (Mosweu, 26.5 ov), 6-100 (Moses, 27.5 ov), 7-131 (Tshose, 35.1 ov), 8-150 (Rangaswamy, 39.3 ov), 9-150 (Ameer Saiyed, 39.5 ov), 10-162 (Maisuria, 43.3 ov)

CENTURION Matt Stokes says Guernsey ‘want to send a message out’ to the other teams in ICC World Cricket League Six that they are not about to let their standards drop. The Sarnians registered a second successive convincing win in Essex yesterday as they saw off Botswana by 151 runs at Frinton, with opening batsman Stokes carrying his bat for a typically classy 135 not out. That laid the foundations for his side’s 313 for 3, with Tim Ravenscroft and Ben Ferbrache both smashing quick-fire half-centuries in a perfectly paced innings, before the opposition were bowled out for 162. ‘It was quite nice to score some runs,’ said a laughing Stokes, with his ton coming the day after a second-ball duck.

Picturesque Ashlyns Road ground at Frinton-on-sea

‘Centurion Stokes enjoys the fireworks of the middle order’                 by G Le Prevost

DAY two of the ICC World Cricket League Six could not have gone much better for Guernsey. Twenty-four hours earlier they had started their campaign with a comfortable win over Fiji, but only after overcoming a sticky start when they lost both openers for a duck, having lost the toss. Up against Botswana in Essex yesterday, though, everything went right from the moment Jamie Nussbaumer won the toss and got the opportunity he wanted – the first use of a good track at the beautiful Frinton Cricket Club.

Guernsey, Botswana and umpires about to begin proceedings

From there, his batsmen all did their job in an expertly paced innings, with Matt Stokes playing the lead role. While others hit the ball, Stokes caresses it in a classic style that would have traditionalists purring in appreciation and, following his opening day duck, there was almost an inevitability in the way he carried his bat for a sumptuous unbeaten century. This cricket lover was not about to miss out twice in a row. A trademark cover drive, straight out of the textbook, was the first of his dozen boundaries as he unusually took the role of aggressor (in a very loose sense of the word) in his opening partnership with James Wilkes-Green. The latter was watchful against the new-ball attack, not playing at anything he did not need to, and although he struggled to time any attacking shots in his patient knock of just seven, an opening stand of 54 in 14 overs was just what Guernsey wanted, no matter who scored them.

‘Jim helped me quite a lot because he took some of the pressure off and it allowed us to create quite a solid partnership,’ said Stokes, who was well into the 40s by the time Wilkes-Green gloved an attempted scoop shot to the keeper.

‘It was a good opening stand and hopefully we’ll be able to do it again on Thursday,’ the centurion added. Ollie Newey joined Stokes and they continued to laid the foundations for the hitters to come, with Newey adding a useful 30 to his opening day hundred before he edged behind in the 31st over having put on 68 for the second wicket. Then the fun began. Tim Ravenscroft had one sighter before smacking his second ball for four and in circumstances made for him, he maintained that no-nonsense approach as he thumped the bowling to all corners of the relatively small ground as well as out of it on occasion. Stokes later acknowledged that he had the best seat in the house from which to watch the onslaught, but he had the small matter of bringing up his own three figures to complete too, which he did with a nonchalantly pushed single out to deep mid-wicket from the 117th ball he faced. Soon Ravenscroft was also raising his bat to acknowledge a half-century; but he was not to last much longer with an attempted dab to third man ending up in the keeper’s gloves. He had made 58 from 37 balls. Not that it mattered because Ben Ferbrache then outdid the No. 4 with a display of power-hitting that had his teammates in raptures.

Matt Stokes on his way to a century

The hard work in the gym has certainly paid off as Ferbrache cleared the rope five times and hit six other boundaries in a blistering knock of 68 not out from just 27 balls that pushed Guernsey up to and well beyond 300. ‘All I need to do was get singles and get them on strike,’ said Stokes of the fireworks provided by his middle order. ‘Ferby, in particular, was hitting them really well. Tim took the pressure totally off me because of the rate he scores at: added the opener, who faced 139 balls for his 135. [Ed – Ollie Newey’s record score lasted 24 hours before Matt Stokes took the accolade]

Ben Ferbrache and Matt Stokes at the close of innings after their 99 run partnership

Botswana came out for the run chase with plenty of positive in- tent – they had to – but as soon as John Mokokwe hit a full-blooded pull shot into the safe hands of David Hooper at mid-wicket in Newey’s first over, it was obvious they were not going to get close to Guernsey’s large total. Left-handers Karabo Motlanka and the burly Karabo Modise both played some big drives in their second-wicket stand of 34 made in just three-and-a-half overs with Stokes bearing most the punishment, perhaps weary after his exertions with the bat. However, Modise went for one too many and missed a straight one from Newey, who was also to remove the captain Motlanka when he chipped a catch to Ravenscroft at mid-wicket. The pace of Nussbaumer caused the middle order lots of problems and he deserved much more than his figures suggest, but it was Will Fazakerley who picked up the fourth wicket with Waseem Tajbhay’s upper cut going straight to Newey at third man.

Max Ellis and Hooper came into the attack and picked up a wicket apiece, before the captain gave young Tom Nightingale a chance to turn his arm over. The off-spinner made the most of the rare opportunity and claimed three wickets, two caught in the deep and another at extra-cover in the 151-run victory.