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CRICKET ON THE COSTA
BLANCA
SAN FULGENCIO CRICKET
CLUB
Match report
8/05/10
On
Saturday 8th May San Fulgencio sponsored by www.flightm8.com played their very
first Costa Blanca Development League Cricket match. The day started badly when it was revealed that their young 17
year old paceman Charlie Baker had broken his hand, then on
arriving at the ground it was found that with the grounds man in
England nothing had been prepared, then we lost the toss surely the
day could only get better?
We
found ourselves opening with bowlers Bob Norton and Colin Griffiths
who had a combined age of 117 and we were rewarded early on with the
wicket of Ahbiad bowled by Norton for 2, Griffiths bowled well
beating the outside edge on numerous occasions but not getting the
luck. At twelve overs with fielding restrictions
lifted it was time for spin and 13 year old Adam Alger got a wicket
almost immediately with T. Stanford stumped expertly by Leigh Blann.
With Allah Loak pushing the score along at
almost 8 an over and Morgan at the over end hitting out S.F
needed something and Graham Shelton pulled of a good catch to
dismiss Morgan for 46 off the bowling of Jack Webster. A couple of wickets were picked up later on including another
to Adams spin and Intellectuals closed their innings on 283 for 5
with opener Allah Loak scoring 134 not out an innings
with lots of edges on his part and dropped catches on
ours
San
Fulgencio Bowling
Colin
Griffiths 8
Overs 0
Maidens, 50
Runs,
0 Wickets
Bob
Norton 8
Overs, 1
Maiden,
39
Runs,
1 Wicket
Adam
Alger 7 Overs,
0 Maidens, 65
Runs,
2 Wickets
Gary
Williams 4 Overs,
0 Maidens,
26
Runs,
0 Wickets
Michael Carter 3
overs, 0
Maidens, 23
Runs,
0 Wickets
Jack
Webster 5
overs, 0
Maidens, 36
Runs, 1 Wicket
Walt
Elders 3
Overs, 0
Maidens, 15
Runs, 0 Wickets
John
Procter 2
overs, 0
Maidens, 27
Runs,
1 Wicket
We
also bowled 32 wides which was Intellectuals third highest
score.
During tea it was decided that the only chance we had
of getting anywhere near their score was going for it from
ball one this meant Leigh Blann and Bob Norton opening,
both are big hitters but the plan didn’t quite work with both
back in the hut for a combined score of 20. Vice
Captain Gary Williams played a variety of strokes for his 13 and was
out LBW. Jack Webster at the other end
caught the eye with a classy 55 until he was out caught playing a
tired shot. Graham Shelton again looked solid in
the middle order with a nicely compiled 17 before he was caught off
the bowling of Intellectuals all rounder Allah Loak. Adam Alger scored 8 and it was a nice moment when he was
joined in the middle by his dad Jon who scored 22 with a
combination of big hits and a sound defensive technique straight out
of the MCC coaching manual. Colin Griffiths came
to the wicket and batted well to make our second highest score of
the day 27. John Procter came and went for 1 but
he had got the wicket of E.Dawes LBW for 0 earlier, and
it was left to Walt Elders and 14 year old Michael Carter to bat out
the remaining overs and they did this with Michael scoring a nicely
timed 4.
Out
of the 9 wickets we lost 7 were caught and we must have dropped 3 or
4 catches but we weren’t bowled out and over half our team got into
double figures, we play again on the 15th so we know what we need to
put right, for a new team we put on a show for the spectators with
499 runs scored on the day and 14 wickets falling.
Our
next match is at La Manga Saturday 15th May, start time
11am.
Match report
25/04/10
Torrevieja C.C versus Club de
Cricket San Fulgencio
San Fulgencio took the short journey to
Torrevieja to take them on in a 40 over match, with less than two
weeks before our first league match it was a chance for us to get
another match on grass under our belts.
We won the toss and decided to ask
Torrevieja to bat and
it proved to be the correct decision, the pitch a coconut mat laid
on a totally uncut grass base and surround meant the wicket was like
running and bowling on a mattress almost every ball bowled by our
opening bowling attack of Colin Griffiths and young pace man Charlie Baker
dribbled along the floor no matter where and what pace the ball had
landed, and the pitch only slowly improved as the day went on mainly
because of the players continually walking up and down
it
When the change bowlers came on Adam Alger,
with his spin, and Bob Norton, with his seam bowling, each got three wickets. Adam 3 for 10 from 8 overs
and Bob with 3 for 15 from his 7 overs, Vice Captain Gary “smurf“ Williams got two
wickets but was expensive at going for 24 runs from his three overs, towards the
end Michael Carter was
introduced and boy has he come on as a bowler for a young lad of 14
he bowled exceptionally well and was rewarded with a wicket and he
only went for 4 runs from his 3 overs
The scorecard will show that Torrevieja
were all out for 89 but
we had about 5 dropped catches and their score should have been
a lot less, even so our hopes
were high as the wicket had flattened with almost 40 overs of
bowling and walking on it and we were confident of a convincing
win
Opening batsmen Bob Norton was given out LBW
for 0 on the basis that
the ball had hit his pad this was the first of four
controversial LBWs
coming from the one
end,
He was soon joined back in
the pavilion by his opening partner Gary Williams again given out
LBW, but he had 8 runs against his name
Wicket keeper Leigh Blann
then came in and again showed his attacking prowess before he was
out caught for 18,
Adam Alger fresh from his success at the
Spanish trials was given out first ball LBW.
Jack Webster looking calm and composed on his debut was out caught for 8 off a ball that
he was convinced he had hit into the pitch first.
Graham Shelton was bowled for
11, not surprising as the previous ball had given him an enormous
crack onto his foot, and his mind was clearly on
protecting his foot rather than his wicket.
Club President Jon Alger was
then in the middle, and he was concentrating on seeing the returning
opening bowlers two overs out , however a ball that he played with ease
off the bat was given
out LBW.
Colin Griffiths was caught after scoring 3
runs and our last three wickets
did not manage a run between them
So the match was lost and we did not get
anywhere near Torry’s score, but in spite of this everyone
on our side enjoyed the match and we happily agreed to a return
match with Torry in the future
After the match we joined the opposition
in a local bar where
Adam Alger was named man of the match and the Torrevieja Cup which
is played for in each match they play was again retained by
them
If this report is seen as criticism of
Torrevieja C.C then it is not meant to be you can only play on what
you are given and it is a shame that after the match had been
notified to the sports centre that the pitch remained uncut. Having said this, with
regard to cricket in Torrevieja then everyone is on a big learning
curve
Match
report 02/03/10
S porting Alfas invited
S.F.C.C to send a team to Alfas for their first match of the 2010
campaign. This was a return fixture as we had entertained Alfas in
our clubs very first match on the market Place in La Marina, for our
team it was nice to get grass under our feet again after so many
weeks and months training on tarmac
The fixture list will tell you that we
played the Alfas first team in reality it was more a mixture of
second teamers and midweek and Academy Players. Alfas didn’t have
much choice in this as almost their entire first team squad were at
the Spanish senior trials at La Manga . We did not think that there
would be a more favourable time to give Alfas a close game,
unfortunately when it came for us to select a side we too were short
of a few recognised first teamers but this gave us a chance to field
some players who may not have had much of an opportunity
otherwise.
The toss was made and S.F.C.C skipper Bob
Norton Invited Alfas to bat, the plan was for a few quick wickets
then give our other bowlers a game however things never turn out how
you want them to. First Chris Cooper then ex Nottinghamshire player
Paul Taylor moved the score along at more than 5 an over and both
compiled an excellent 50 plus, but our bowlers kept at it and
eventually the breakthrough came, and we restricted Alfas to 164
from their 30 overs but at least 6 catches were dropped and if these
had been held then an altogether different report would have been
written, in any case congratulations must go to Adam Alger, Kieron
Ward and Charlie Baker who each got one wicket.
When it was our turn to bat we had our
doubts because we had never scored more than 80 in a match, after
both openers fell cheaply it was the turn of new player Leigh Blann
from Gran Alacant to push the score along and he top scored with 29
valuable runs to keep us up with the run rate, when Leigh fell Gary
Williams tried some innovative shots but fell cheaply, Graham
Shelton looks better with each passing match then it was the turn of
Chairman Jon Alger and with some lusty blows he hit a quickfire
28.
At the end it was down to David Riley and Michael Carter
to try and bat out the overs but we were bowled out for 131 our best
ever score as a team and another good day on the road to becoming an
established
club.
15th DECEMBER
2009...
The San Fulgencio Cricket Clubs very first
pre Christmas Dinner, 
Over 30 Players, Officials and Guests sat
down for a superbly cooked 3 Course Carvery meal at the Hillside on
La Marina Urbanisation
A display was set up in one corner
exhibiting copies of the clubs recent Newspaper coverage, a Photo
album showing scenes from the friendly’s San Fulgencio have played
this year together with other important events such as the Mayors
visit to La Manga accompanied by other Councillors and Club
Officials to watch Spain play Israel. Who knows?, perhaps in the
future there will be a San Fulgencio player representing
Spain.
Also on display were the Adults and
Juniors playing kit, the shirts have been sponsored by flightm8.com
and the Flightm8 owner Walt Elders and his wife Rose drove back from
England just for the
occasion.
Press officer Bob Norton unveiled plans
for the Clubs Newsletter starting in January, this will help raise
the Clubs awareness amongst the expat community as well as be an
ideal vehicle for advertising, sponsorship and to inform everyone of
the clubs plans for the future, some of which are incredibly
exciting and will be publicised nearer the time.
From very small beginnings less than 12
months ago the Club can be proud of the strides it has taken, it has
been accepted into the Development division of the Cricket Espana
League for next season, the San Fulgencio Ayuntamiento have been
busy building the club a ground on Calle De San Sebastian on La
Marina Urbanisation which, when finished, will be perfect for the
development of the Clubs Junior
Players
The Club are still looking for Players, especially
Batsmen as well as a Scorer and ladies, you aren’t forgotten, as we
have a thriving social side and the ladies are working on a very
exciting project around early May, more helpers and volunteers are
needed for then. At the
same time, as the Club doesn’t yet have the same funding as the MCC
to support it’s ventures, we are also looking for businesses to
sponsor the newsletter in the form of advertising. We offer very competitive
rates and a discount for long term advertising. Please contact the Clubs
Press Officer at sfccpress@gmail.com for further
details.
8th
NOVEMBER 2009....
MATCH REPORT - LA MANGA C.C
VERSUS SAN FULGENCIO C.C SATURDAY 21st NOVEMBER
2009...
Saturday 21st November
marked another step on the journey of San Fulgencio Cricket Club
from it’s early days with a handful of Youngsters on the La Marina
Market site to a fully fledged Cricket España League Club with
almost twenty players and officials on it’s
books
To mark this occasion the
prestigious La Manga Cricket Club together with Cricket España
invited San Fulgencio to send a team to La Manga to play their first
team, being the middle of November some of our players were back in
England for the Christmas period and others only live in Spain
during the summer but we got a team together and set off bright and
early aware of the importance of the day, the first time we had
played as a full team on grass the first time we had played in our
full league kit with our proud sponsors name www.flightm8.com on the shirt and the first time we had as
a club played another league side albeit in a
friendly
San Fulgencio’s Captain
“Big Hitting” Bob Norton won the toss and asked Ben Essuah the La
Manga Captain to Bat first, La Manga with a very experienced team
containing some Spanish Internationals at Full and under 17 level
put the inexperienced San Fulgencio Bowlers to the sword and amassed
over 200 runs of their 40 overs, but the bowling of Charlie, Colin
and Gary for San Fulgencio shows they have three very promising
players for next season
After a twenty minute
break it was time for San Fulgencio to bat, Bob Norton opened with
Harry Marshall, hopes
were high as Bob had just hit 58 the previous week but he was soon
back in the hut for 5, wickets fell regularly to La Mangas
international bowling attack once half the side were out
La Manga decided to try their less experienced bowlers and this let
the owner of Flightm8.com Walt Elders to hit San Fulgencio’s highest
score of the day and push the score into the mid 60s before they
were all out
On a day like this the
result was almost secondary and Club Coach and Chairman Jon Algar
could look back on the day with pride and quiet satisfaction knowing
that a bright future was on the horizon.
TUESDAY 13th OCTOBER
2009....
On Saturday, 3rd October, the San Fulgencio
Lightning Club de Cricket, invited the children of Jose Manresa
School in San Fulgencio to attend the annual cricket open day at the
La Manga Club.
The event was part of a cricket festival celebrating the
100th anniversary of the I.C.C. The purpose of the
event was to promote cricket as a fun and healthy team sport. To encourage the children
the luxury coach, games , food and drinks where provided free of
charge.
The response from the school was excellent with a total
of 26 children attending.
This beat last years total and proves that we are still
moving forward with cricket in the S.F. area. S.F.C.C. has now made a
positive and vital link with Jose Manresa School, and have agreed to supply the school
with equipment and coaching manuals to help kick start a
cricket team at the school.
Jon Alger, Chairman and Coach at S.F.C.C. has agreed to
attend the first few classes to help out with any coaching
tips. Plus with growing
numbers of schools taking up the cricket options there will soon be
a cricket league in the Costa Blanca area.
In all 7 teams where represented at La Manga, from as far
afield as Mojacar and Albir.
With over 100 children in total, once they were all organised
and registered, they where gifted with ‘T’ shirts and caps. For the rest of the morning
the children where put through their paces with various tasks and
training exercises designed to help learn and improve the various
skills required to play cricket.
After a break for lunch, the youngsters had a chance to
put these skills into practice in a quick cricket
tournament. There was plenty of entertainment for the adults who
attended as with 4 games being played simultaneously it was non-stop
action.
Due to time limitations the final had to be played
at the same time, as a 10 over a side exhibition
match.
At the end of the games there was a presentation. I do not know what the SF
children had been eating, but they won 3 out of 4 distance throwing
medals.After the presentations it was back on the coach with the
children still buzzing about a grand day out.
S.F.C.C. would like to thank San Fulgencio Ayuntamiento
for providing the transport, and for their continuing support. Also, the team at Cricket
Espana for organising another super event. S.F.C.C. Chairman would also like to personally thank the
C.C. Committee for all their hard work and keeping the dream
alive.
FRIDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER
2009....
San
Fulgencio Cricket Club is very proud to announce that at the Pride
of Spain Awards held at the Municipal Theatre Torrevieja our very
own Jon Algar won the Community Spirit Award, this prestigious event
now in it’s third year was filmed by Viva TV and broadcast Live on
TKO Gold
Jon was
incredibly proud to receive his Award as it meant recognition for
the years that he has put in coaching Cricket here on the Costa
Blanca , I know Jon was especially pleased to beat Junior Charles in
the final as it is very difficult to beat Spains national sport in
anything
Our
Cricket Ground situated right in the heart of the Urbanisation is
progressing nicely thanks to the long hours put in by San Fulgencio
Council and it should be ready for our first match on 10th
October, to this end we still need players as we fully intend to
enter a team in the League next season
Coaching is still taking
place on the Market place La Marina every Saturday commencing at
10.30 am till 12 or so, it is totally free and all equipment is
provided so if you fancy a bit of fresh air or some coaching by a
fully qualified Cricket Espana Coach come on down. There is no barrier
regards Age or Sex as we have a Junior team and hope that soon we
will have a Ladies team as
well.
For
more information on our club contact Jon on 605 528 652 or email
cricket@lamarina.info
FRIDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER
2009....
A delegation from San Fulgencio
Ayuntamiento attended an international cricket match between Spain
and Isreal at the La Manga club resort. The match was part of the European
championships being played at La Manga and Alfas Cricket Clubs. In
attendance were the mayoress Trinidad Martinez, the deputy mayor
(English councillor Lewis), the
councillor for Sport, Juan Antonio Gonzales and councillor
Jacque Malonda.
The councillors were escorted by committee
members from San Fulgencio Cricket Club. The councillors were
greeted by Cricket Espana’s president Juan Carlos Rodriguez Martinez
and Phil Beal, chairman, and then introduced to the two teams before
observing the national anthems.
Once seated the Spanish councillors watched
cricket being played for the very first time, but with a little help
from Juan Carlos they managed to get some understanding of the
rules.
After a couple of hours of what can only be
described as tense play, the party was whisked away for lunch at the
with the prospect of cricket in La Marina the main topic of
conversation.
On return to the ground, the delegation
thanked everyone for their hospitality and left to resume their
other important duties.
As far as Cricket Espana and San Fulgencio
cricket clubs are concerned, the day was deemed a great success and
another stepping stone in the long journey to bring cricket to the
area, which, for so many reasons can only be a good
thing.
Negotiations are ongoing but whatever the
outcome, San Fulgencio Club-de-Cricket will be playing in the
national Spanish league next season.
If anyone is interested in getting involved
in any way, from boy and girl, to Gran and granddad, no-one will be
turned away.
For more information, please ring Jon on 605 528 652 or
email us at cricket@lamarina.info
SATURDAY 15TH AUGUST
2009....
Gail and Daz of the Woodstock
Bar in the “Grey area” of La Marina had a day filled with fun and
games, initially the aim was to celebrate the 40th
Anniversary of Woodstock. The day grew until it jointly became a
fund raiser for the newly formed Cricket Club
By 12 midday the bar was half
full, by 1pm the Tug of War was announced, the Cricket Club quickly
assembled their team and were ready outside. To be followed by the
Woodstock team, a pattern that was to be repeated during the rest of
the games, the rope was made taut the teams took up the strain and
very quickly the might of the Cricket Club prevailed just in case
the slight slope made a difference the teams changed ends but all
too soon it was over with the Cricket club again winning
resoundingly
The Egg and Spoon race soon
followed with the Woodstock eager to level the scores both teams had
6 contestants when Cricket Club Coach and organiser John Algar took
the lead the umpire Corky sent him back so the Woodstock could win
the race and tie the scores at 1 apiece. This meant huge levels of
excitement going into the decider the Wheelbarrow race, this involved one team
member pushing a Wheelbarrow down the slalom course while another
team mate held the bucket full of holes in their lap then tipping
the remaining water into a measuring bucket, by this time blatant
cheating was the order of the day as the Woodstock kicked over the
Cricket Clubs bucket.
Eventually the water levels were measured and the Woodstock
had won by 8 inches and 2 centimetres to the Cricket Clubs 8
inches
The teams returned to the
bar which was heaving
with eager punters ready to snap up the bargains at the Auction ably
conducted in true “Del boy “ fashion by Lee, bidding was fast and
furious with headphones going for as little as 50 cents whilst other
items fetched higher prices.
The Mix bar generously donated a Tapas meal with wine for 2
which went for €15 and put back in, €15 on the second and put back
in and €14 on the third occasion. Whether this says more about the
generosity of the
bidders or something else we will let you
decide!
During the day Face Painting
was provided, a raffle was held, home made cakes were sold, the BBQ
was fired up outside and plenty of beer was drunk. Even Lee continually calling us
the Football Club instead of the Cricket Club was forgotten with
every pint
The afternoon was rounded off
by “Uncle Alberts” sponsored Beard Shave, it was suggested that Bob
Norton of the Cricket Club had his head shaved but Gail declined on
the basis there was no hair to cut!
All of us at the Cricket Club
thought the day was a resounding success, there is still some money
to come in, but it looks as though a figure in the region of €600
was raised. An
incredible figure and something of which everyone who helped, put
the time in or just bought something should be very
proud
Even though they have been
mentioned in the write up I think special thanks should go to Gail
and Daz at the Woodstock, Corky the Woodstock’s Organiser and
Umpire, Lee for the Auction and the PA without all of you the
Cricket Club would not have €600. The Children on La Marina would be
practicing Cricket without Equipment and a lot of people would not
have had a very enjoyable day
**********
SAT 30th MAY 2009.....
On Sat 30th
May, the newly formed San Fulgencio CC played their first ever
full cricket match against the Sporting Alfas X1. The game was
played on the La Marina market place in the form of a T20
match.
Alfaz batted first, and
after the openers Marshall and Metcalf were pinned down by some
accurate bowling from Michael, he was rewarded with the early
wicket. More good bowling from the San Fulgencio attack left Alfaz
on 35 for 3 at one stage, and leaving San Fulgencio felling full of
confidence. The game took a turn when a dropped catch let the
experienced and talented Shaffiq off the hook on 9. The San
Fulgencio fielders even gave the batsman another 3 lives, and were
punished heavily for their charitable fielding as in-between the dropped
catches, Shaffiq played some beautifully controlled drives through the gaps for a host
of boundaries. At the end of the 20 over’s, Alfaz had amassed
154 for 7 but could and
should have been much less!
The S. F. openers,
Father and son partner Jon and Adam Alger, got off to a good start
with the younger of the pair Adam taking the lead roll and playing
some good shots all around the wickets. The pair reached 30 in good
time, before Dad was clean bowled round his legs. He was replaced by S.F,
captain “big hitting Bob Norton” who was true to his name and hit
some lusty blows. But Alfaz came back into the game, taking wickets
at regular intervals and when Steve Lewis removed the potentially
dangerous Walt Elders, there was only going to be one outcome
despite a late flourish from Jamie Brown. S.F. was all out for
119.
The match was played in
an extremely good and sporting temperament, with the Alfaz team
excellently led by Kev Loudon. With the link between the two clubs
now established it is hoped there will be other contests between the
clubs, from junior to senior level.
Any-one interested in
playing cricket should contact Jon Alger on 605 528 652 or
email cricket@lamarina.info.
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