Irthing Vale CC

Our standout performance of the week with a much needed 33 runs, 1 wicket and 1 catch. Plenty of effort in the field, however we all agree everyone could do a little better.

Well, we had a bad day in the office on Sunday at an overcast Dumfries ground. Irthing Vale elected to bat and really struggled in the conditions, failing to find any of the form that brought us a top 2 finish last year. Lots of soul searching about out batting this year as we gave up our wickets a little too often.
Dumfries batted sensibly, using some of the depth of talent they have at the Club and chasing down the total predominantly with safe 1's and 2,s and giving only a few difficult chances to the field. The day was compounded with a fractured finger to our keeper trying to deal with a fast low pitch and some unusually wayward bowling from the team. We are back at home on Sunday against Appleby and being a bit wounded, we hope to bounce back with a really solid performance.

First away game of the season, off over the Border to Dumfries.

Joint MVP this week!! After comparing stats and consulting the panel, Faz and Aamir both take the plaudits!

Faz - 6 wickets for 9 runs and 7 not out batting.
Aamir 42 not out, 1 wicket and 4 catches.

They are currently in their own MVP competition, or rather would be if all our lads didn’t put team first 💪

Adorned in our new kit, Vale took our first win of the season against Edenhall on Sunday in a very solid performance with both bat and ball. Put in the field, Irthing Vale kept things tight for the second week in a row restricting the visitors to 95 all out. Stand out bowling figures of 6 wickets for 9 runs from Faz as he tore through the middle order. Aamir took 1 wicket and 4 catches in the field showing just how reliable he is in all positions.
Coming out to bat, our openers made a steady start against really good Edenhall bowling. Continued by Ash and our Captain Nadeem who steadied the ship with a cautious but necessary 12. Aamir then hit a devastating 42 not out, despite Edenhall throwing their best bowlers at him. There were some massive shots and at times he was seemingly finding the boundary at will. Supported by Faz, the two took us over the line with plenty of overs and wickets to spare. A much needed 12 points in the bag.
Next week we are away for the first time with a visit over the border to Dumfries.

IVWCC team for Sunday vs Edenhall

We go again this Sunday hoping to kick start our season after a couple of under par performances. We welcome Edenhall Cricket Club back to Brampton after they pipped us to the 2nd division title last season. They have some depth to their squad so it should be a game!
Come on down to Cotehill Park for 2pm as its a Bank Holiday Weekend and the weather is going to be cracking on Sunday. All being well the lads will be in their new sponsored kit as well as we continue the climb back to being a strong and well governed Club.

This weeks MVP was Faz with a fantastic effort with ball and bat whilst others were falling around him. Figures of 3 for 12 almost do justice to how tight his bowling was but don't tell the full story of his efforts in the field which were also outstanding! On top of that he would probably get it for the quality of cake he provides each week!!

Irthing Vale were put in the field by Penrith and did a great job keeping the visitors to 129, a score certainly inflated by their Australian Amateur Lachlan Price (great knock). It was a very solid fielding performance and a real positive to take home with a massive reduction in unnecessary runs on our last outing! Unfortunately our batting did not stand up to scrutiny this week and we were way below our best. Thursday will be spent on defensive shots, something we all pretty much forgot to do.... Congratulations to Penrith and we look forward to the return and hopefully a different result.

Our team for tomorrow vs Penrith at Cotehill Park. 2pm start.