Double defeat for Woolpit CC in national cups

BOTH Woolpit CC Men’s and Women’s sides saw their dreams of an appearance in a national final ended at the weekend.

The Men’s side were beaten by 117 runs by Surrey side Blackheath in the quarter-finals of the Cawston Press Village Cup on Sunday.

The Women’s team, meanwhile, simultaneously went down by 78 runs to Dorridge CC, who are based in Solihull, in the Regional Final of the ECB Vitality Women’s Club T20 competition.

After winning the toss at Rectory Lane and electing to bat, Blackheath posted 233 for 7 in their 40 overs, Will Melhuish making 90 before being run out by Adam Coombes.

Jake Lawrence, who opened the bowling for Woolpit, returned impressive figures of 8-4-16-2.

The home team then lost both openers in the first three overs of their reply and never really recovered, slumping to 52 for 5 off 11.3 overs, before eventually being bowled out for 116 off just 28.2 overs.

Alex Packer, who top-scored with 23, shared in a sixth-wicket partnership of 32 with Lawrence, but Woolpit struggled to build any significant stands.

Jake Lawrence, who had earlier taken two wickets for Woolpit, batting. Main photograph:
Woolpit’s Will Parker (left) and Conor Berry (right) running between the wickets

The Women’s team, who were also playing at home, likewise lost the toss and opponents Dorridge totalled 216 for 7 from their 20 overs, Amelie Clarke claiming three wickets, although these came at a cost of 50 runs.

Clarke made 43 off 30 balls, but after she fell off the first ball of the 11^th over and Henrietta Croot followed next ball, Woolpit were 77 for 4. They were all out off the last ball of the innings for 138

Marcus West, who is the head of Woolpit’s cricket committee, said: “We were well beaten in both games. In the Village Cup it was a decent performance with the ball to keep them to a chaseable total.

“However, Blackheath struck early, dismissing both openers cheaply, and then just carried on taking wickets regularly.

“Dorridge were also a formidable opponent in the Women’s T20 with some powerful hitting taking them to over 200. We tried hard but couldn’t put enough partnerships together against a good attack.

“Despite the heavy defeats it was an enjoyable day down the club and lovely to host two new visitors for the first time. We are very proud of both teams to have got this far; we love competing in these national competitions and look forward to trying again next year!”

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