England star lights up Lymington Cricket Club Dinner

England's Chris Tremlett was the guest of honour at Lymington Cricket Club's Annual Dinner at Brokenhurst Manor Golf Club last Saturday. read Trevor's write up and lots of photos.

Bob Burrett RIP
Lymington Cricket Club were saddened to hear of the death of Bob Burrett recently. Bob regularly followed the club both home and away a few years back when son Mark was playing for the First XI. It was always a pleasure to spend an afternoon watching cricket with Bob. He had a lovely dry sense of humour and was extremely knowledgeable on the game. Bob was a member of Ellingham Cricket Club where he had played his cricket for many years, and he was also a stalwart of Ellingham Rugby Club where he played alongside Chris Noble who described Bob as a 'solid scrum half'. Lymington send their deepest sympathy to Mark and family.

Open Day - 6th May

Please put this important date into your diary as your Club is holding its first ever "Open Day" on Sunday May 6th (subject to the weather). We enclose a provisional agenda for the day but the general idea is to invite members of the public into our ground to watch LCC play cricket. We have a couple of matches lined up plus coaching in the nets along with a fully stocked bar and Bar-Be-Que.

The new ball stopping netting will be on view so please take this opportunity to see the outcome of the saga that became a national issue over the safety of playing cricket at the Sports Ground.

We have invited both the tennis & football clubs to join us on the day.

We hope this is a different way to kick start the season & help to get all our members & supporters up to the ground to see what we can offer as a Club. Also it is an opportunity to thank the members of the public who supported us over the winter months.

There will be plenty of reminders & prompters to ensure that we get a good turnout.

Peter Tapper

Annual Dinner
Lymington Cricket Club's annual dinner will take place on Saturday 31st March at Brokenhurst Manor Golf Club. Tickets will cost £25 for adults and £20 for colts aged 15 or over. A guest speaker will be announced in due course. Members should be receiving their ticket application forms through the post shortly, or you can download a ticket application form by clicking here. For more information call Trevor Phillips on 07812 699650.

Lymo to face Tichborne in T20
Lymington will entertain Tichborne Park in the first round of the 2012 Southern Electric T20 Cup. The tie, which will take place at the Sports Ground on Sunday May 13th, pits Lymington against a team they have only previously played against once at First XI level. On that occasion, back in 2007, Lymington were comprehensively beaten by 141 runs as Tichborne recorded their one and only win in what proved to be their sole season in SEPCL Division Two. After reaching the semi-finals last season, Lymington will be hoping for another good run in the competition this year.

Home is where the start is for Lymington
Lymington First XI kick off the 2012 SEPCL campaign with two home matches on May 5th and 12th against Totton & Eling and Bournemouth respectively. Totton have made some big winter signings with Alton's prolific all-rounder David Taylor heading south to become the Eels player/coach. Lymo's first away fixture takes them to St Cross on May 19th.

Lymington Second XI begin their season with two long away trips. New skipper Jim Stevenson takes his team to the far north of the county to play Rowledge Seconds on May 5th and then east to Portsmouth & Southsea a week later. Newly-relegated Bashley II provide the Seconds’ opposition for their first home fixture on May 19th.

The Third XI begin the new season in HCLSW2 with a trip to Mudeford II, while Lee Moors’ Fourth XI take on Mudeford’s Fourth XI at Woodside.

Lymo Spring Golf Day

Download the info and application form here.

Indoor Nets

The indoor nets start on Tuesday 7th February from 8pm-9.30pm. The dates are

Feb 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
March 6th, 13th, 20th

Cost is £2 per session, please pay Tony Wharton on the night

Venue-Hordle Walhampton Indoor Cricket Hall.

Lymo Cricket Tour

Everything is now confirmed for the Lymington Cricket Club Tour 2012. The full itinerary is as follows:

- Monday 23rd July from 4pm - Arrive Corner House Hotel, Taunton

- Monday 23rd July 6.00pm - 20/20 Game, Lymington CC v Staplegrove CC, Taunton.

- Tuesday 24th July - 11.30am Leave Hotel for lunch in Bridgewater

- Tuesday 24th July - 2pm Lymington CC v Bridgewater. Bridgewater play in the West of England Premier League, and have made it clear that they will be a strong side!

- Wednesday 25th July - Rest day. Golf followed by possible visit to Taunton Racecourse.

- Thursday 26th July - Pack up at the hotel. 11.30 leave for pub lunch.

- Thursday 26th July - 2pm Lymington CC v Broadway and Horton CC. After the game, we head home.

The total cost for the tour is now confirmed at £110 per head. This is the cost for accommodation in triple rooms at Corner House Hotel, on a bed and breakfast basis. This also pays for match balls, and at least a round of drinks in the kitty. Take a look at the hotel website - it is bang in the middle of Taunton which has bars / pubs everywhere. On top of this, you'll have dinner and 3 nights boozing. Golf on the Wednesday will be approx £20 for the round. Match fees will be £3 per game.

A deposit of £50 gets you in the touring party, which is limited to 14 places. So far we've had 7 confirm. In order to reserve your place, please send a cheque for £50 made payable to Lymington CC to Simon Naylor, 23 Brook Rd, Lymington, SO41 3PX.

If you are intending to come along, please send a cheque asap to secure a spot.

Looking forward to it.
Simon

Statement by Lymington CC to the Lymington & Pennington Town Council 30 November 2011

Lymington Cricket Club appreciates the opportunity to make a statement in regard to our proposed eviction from the Sports Ground on the basis of Health & Safety.

We now understand that the Council will defer any decision to evict pending a consultation with all the Sports Ground Clubs in the hope that an appropriate solution to the current predicament may be found. The Cricket Club welcomes this move. We take the safety of all Sports Ground users very seriously and notwithstanding the low risk are relieved that no one has yet been injured. In fact we have been pro-active on behalf of our Landlords in inviting quotes from contractors to erect an 8m fence in front of the courts which would allow the tennis players to enjoy their sport in a more relaxed atmosphere.

We are of course most grateful for the tide of support from individuals and the media for our campaign. However, may we say that we do not condone statements and letters vilifying the Council or other Lymington Sports Clubs, particularly where they are inaccurate or malicious. These were not authorised nor encouraged by us. We have generally worked well in the past with the Council and our sports and residential neighbours at the Sports Ground to protect this precious asset for the benefit of Lymington people, old and young, and hope to do so for many years to come.

We are all weary of Health & Safety intruding into our lives but to extend it into the sports arena sets a dangerous precedent. Hundreds of Clubs and Schools share grounds with tennis, bowls and children’s play areas or are alongside busy roads and all would be at risk if we were evicted on this basis. We are sure the Council does not want to be associated with a decision that could spoil the enjoyment of thousands of sports players in the UK belonging to hundreds of innocent sports clubs.

We must all remember that something good which has taken generations to build can be destroyed in but a single moment.

Please support our club on this issue online by registering your support on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/savelymingtoncricketclub/, or write to Lymington & Pennington Town Council, Town Council Offices, Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 9ZG.

Statement from Lymington Cricket Club regarding Lymington Sports Ground - 25 November 2011

Lymington Cricket Club was founded in 1807 and has been based at its current location at the Sports Ground off Southampton Road for 175 years where we are tenants of Lymington & Pennington Town Council. The ground was originally used solely by the cricket club.

The club plays in the Southern Electric Premier League, has four adult teams, six junior teams and its coaches participate in the Chance to Shine charity scheme to promote the game in local schools within our community.

The Sports Ground is shared seasonally by the Cricket Club and Lymington Town Football Club. For decades the council has maintained the Sports Ground with their work being supported by volunteers and members of both clubs to achieve one of the finest sports ground and cricket wickets in southern England.

On Wednesday 30th November 2011, councilors from Lymington & Pennington Town Council will be voting to move Lymington Cricket Club from the Sports Ground to Woodside Park. The stated reason for the move is a Health & Safety issue caused by the potential injury risk from cricket balls entering the adjoining Lymington Tennis Club. We estimate that a handful of balls have landed on the tennis courts in the last three years while tennis players are using the courts. In common with virtually every other cricket club in the country, we acknowledge there might be a risk of injury if the boundary adjoins other public space facilities. In 175 years there is no record of anybody being hurt by flying cricket balls.

Lymington & Pennington Town Council has proposed that a new facility consisting of two new pitches and a new pavilion will be built solely for Lymington Cricket Club at Woodside Park.

The Committee of Lymington Cricket Club are resisting the move for the following reasons:

• The risk of injury can be minimised by erecting netting between the cricket pitch and tennis courts during the cricket season.
  
  
• Woodside Park is also a public space. The potential risk of injury to the public is likely to be the same as at the Sports Ground.
  
  
• The Woodside Park proposal is in its infancy: there are no detailed plans or costings and no consultation has been held between either Woodside Park users or Lymington Cricket Club.
  
  
• From first hand knowledge, Lymington Cricket Club know the cost of developing a new facility is likely to be in excess of £1 million. How will this be funded?
  
  
• New cricket grounds take a long time to mature, and we believe that it will take many years to bring the Woodside pitch up to the same standard as that at the Sports Ground. If we are prevented from playing at the Sports Ground, Lymington Cricket Club will not have a venue for First XI cricket in the Southern Premier League or Second XI cricket in Hampshire County Division 1 and so will be relegated from both leagues.

Sports and public facilities adjoin each other all over the country. Lymington Cricket Club is not an exception and should not be treated as one. Ceasing to use the Sports Ground will do our club irreparable damage and yet the simple remedy of erecting netting in the area adjoining the two clubs is being met with opposition.

Please support our opposition to the council’s proposal online by registering your support on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/savelymingtoncricketclub/, or write to Lymington & Pennington Town Council, Town Council Offices, Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 9ZG. The Facebook site is more than 1171 members.

LCC in the News

The Councils idea of moving LCC from it's historic home has hit a cord with the media in the UK, almost all in favour of the club's position, here are links to some of it.

If you have links to more let me know. Our clubs future is at stake here.

Daily Mail: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063952/Cricketers-hit-elf-n-safety-200-year-old-club-faces-losing-home-dangerous-balls.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2064445/Health-safety-regulations-This-madness-par-course.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2064929/Roman-Abramiovich-word-Martin-Samuel.html (section about half way down)

BBC Today Program: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/b006qj9z/console go to approx 1:44:25.

Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/news/8902471/Cricket-club-faces-eviction-amid-fears-over-flying-balls.html

Daily Express: www.express.co.uk/posts/view/285005/200-year-old-cricket-club-stumped-by-elf-n-safety

Yahoo: cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.ani.com/outrage-over-relocation-200-yrold-uk-cricket-club-over-fears-balls-hitting-people-20111121/

Cricket World: www.cricketworld.com/county-cricket-round-up-22nd-november/29947.htm

TalkSPORT: www.talksport.co.uk/radio/listen-again/episode/58738 - clip starts at 15:09

175th Anniversary Match - full match report with photo's

Congratulations to Adie Hunt and his Third XI
The rain tried hard to ruin the final Saturday of the season but it couldn't dampen the spirits of Adie Hunt and Lymington Third XI who celebrated promotion to HCLSWDiv2. Their match at Woodside against promotion rivals Exbury was abandoned with the visitors on 66-3, meaning that Lymo claim the third promotion spot behind Parley and Sway.
Despite taking a career-best 5-44, Simon Naylor's Second XI were beaten by 68 runs at Alton and finished in 13th spot in County Division One. Meanwhile the Fourth XI beat the downpours and New Milton at Fernhill to finish in a highly creditable 6th position in HCLSWDiv4. Dave Coles scored an unbeaten 85 as Lymo amassed 201-5 before Milton were bowled out for 109 chasing a rain-reduced target.

The First XI had Bournemouth in some trouble at 139-7 (Simon Beetham 4-36) when the rain arrived at the Sports Ground. However, despite the abandonment Lymo were still able to finish seventh - their highest league position since 1998 when the club finished third in the old Southern League. Report.

The eccentric Chris Noble (pictured) was in fine form at the end of season celebrations at the clubhouse, helped in no small measure by the giant bottle of vodka he won in the raffle. The First XI proved to be the quickest drinkers in the boat race, while Damien Edwards is probably sick of the sight of spoons.

The Sports Ground's final match of the season on Sunday saw the Birmingham Bullocks soundly beaten. The visitors were dismissed well short of Lymo's massive 291, a total memorable for half centuries for three members of the Ambrose family.


Rocket Ron's in the money
Sports Ground head groundsman Ronnie Hawker walked away with the £100 first prize in Lymington's final Development Fund draw of the season. Steve Andrew claimed the £50 second prize while Josh Elliott took the £25 third prize.

Seconds almost safe; Thirds almost up!
Two of Lymington's four league sides face nailbiting final day matches next Saturday.

The Second XI pulled off a much needed win against Waterlooville and, barring a bizarre set of results, should be safe from relegation even if they fail to beat Alton II. 14 year old Felix Ambrose led the way with 69 while captain Simon Naylor smashed a rapid 48 in a Lymo total of 242-8. Waterlooville were then dismissed for just 92 with Marty Hunt taking three wickets. Report.

The Third XI's 6 wicket win at Boscombe kept them in second place in HCLSW3 and means that next Saturday's match with fourth placed Exbury has become a winner-takes-all promotion battle.

The First XI are now looking upwards rather than downwards after their 5 wicket win over the Academy at the Rose Bowl. Wahid Khan (3-35) helped restrict the county boys to 207-6 before Glyn Treagus (48), Darren Cowley (46), Damian Shirazi (33) and Rob Lammiman (25*) all chipped in to see Lymington home. A win against Bournemouth next week would ensure a best ever SPL finish. Report.

King of the Surf Conor Moors continued his good run of form with 45 as the Fourth XI won a close match against Ringwood at Woodside. Lymo's modest 132 all out looked in danger, but Josh Dunkley took 4-17 as the visitors were bowled out 9 runs short.

Sunday saw a large crowd gather at the Sports Ground for Presidents Day. The President's XI, captained by ex-Hampshire and Essex quickie Stephen Andrew and including former Aussie Test player Simon Cook, beat a Lymington XI by 12 runs.

New book on the history of Lymington Sports Ground published
Lymington Sports Ground's colourful 175 year history has been documented in a new book produced by Lymington CC's club historian Trevor Phillips. The 'Cricket Field' as it was known in its early days has played host to sports as varied as cricket, football, bowls, tennis, athletics, baseball, cycling, boxing and even rollerskating. There have also been other non-sporting events such as circuses, fetes, army parades, donkey derbies, peace celebrations and, bizarrely, an invasion of water buffalo. The book mentions these and a few more interesting events such as the May Day rally in 1922 when hundreds of demonstrators marched up the High Street to the Sports Ground where, from the steps of the old pavilion, they heard impassioned speeches from Trades Union leaders supporting women's rights and condemning high food prices and profiteering while the Town Band played 'The Red Flag'. For sleepy old Lymington this must have been real revolutionary stuff.
'175 years of fun and games at Lymington Sports Ground' costs £12 and will be on sale at the ground this Sunday during Presidents Day. Alternatively, email Trevor at trev76@live.co.uk or call 07812 699650.

Tie sees Lymington safe
Lymington sealed their SPL safety thanks to a dramatic tie against South Wilts at the Sports Ground. Chasing the visitors' 181 all out, Damian Shirazi's superb 97 guided Lymo to the brink of victory. But with the scores level, Shirazi and Matt Mixer were dismissed in consecutive balls to leave the match tied. Report.

The result saw Lymington move above Bashley into eighth place with two matches remaining. Andover's 38 run defeat by Alton sees them relegated to Division Two.

Lymington Second XI are looking nervously over their shoulder following a thumping nine wicket defeat at Portchester. Simon Naylor's men were shot out for just 49, and now lie just one place above the relegation places in Hants Division One.

The Third XI's match was scratched due to opponents Suttoners withdrawal, but the Fourths scored 300 at Swan Green before recording a 99 run victory. Andy Marshall continued his fine run of form with his second century in three weeks.

 
Sunday saw a special anniversary match to mark 175 years of cricket at Lymington Sports Ground. Club members donned top hats, bow ties and braces and played out a two innings match under the 1836 laws of the game. In the very first match back in 1836 Lymington had played Brockenhurst, either drawing or losing (depending on which newspaper report you read at the time!). On this occasion, XI Men of Lymington took on XI Men of the World with the match ending in an honourable draw with the former completing their two innings just one run short of the latter's total. The match was quite an eye-opener for all concerned. Back in the 1830s there were no such thing as batting pads or protective gloves, and all runs had to literally be run since boundaries weren't introduced until many years later. Perhaps the biggest difference was the style of bowling in 1836 with 'round-arm' the preferred technique, although the modern day Lymington bowlers found this skill particularly tricky to master and so resorted to the underarm method of earlier years. One other fundamental difference was the direction of the pitch - up until 1900 the Sports Ground wickets were aligned east to west, rather than the current north to south. Thus, when Mark Gannaway bowled the first ball of this particular anniversary match, he became the first cricketer in more than 110 years to open the bowling from the Pavilion End!  Report

Lam chops down Alton
An unbroken fourth wicket century partnership between Rob Lammiman and Wahid Khan guided Lymington to an important 7 wicket win at Alton. Chasing the home side's 250-8 (Ed Freeman 3-47), Lammiman (62no) and Khan (41no) helped get Lymo ahead of the run rate at 204-3 when rain brought an early end to the match. Damian Shirazi had earlier scored 56 for the visitors whose victory would have almost certainly guaranteed Premier League safety had it not been for bottom club Andover's remarkable 76 run win against leaders Havant. Interestingly Lymington have now recorded five wins this season - against Alton (twice), Andover and Bashley (twice). So all Lymington now need to do is work out how to beat teams whose names begin with the other 24 letters of the alphabet and the league's as good as ours! Report.

Damien Edwards' superb 129 couldn't save Lymington Second XI from a 75 run mauling by Locks Heath at the Sports Ground. The visitor's racked up 308-9 - including 46 extras - before restricting Simon Naylor's men to 233-8 (Scotty Tapper 54). Report.

Meg Gannaway made a welcome return to form with a century at Trojans for the Third XI, but it sadly counted for nothing as a downpour ended the match early with Lymington well positioned. Lymo remain second in SWDiv3 with just three matches to play.

Regrettably, Lymington were forced to cancel their Fourth XI match against Pylewell Park due to a chronic shortage of players. An incredible 30 players were unavailable due to injury, holidays and a plethora of various other reasons. Third XI skipper Adie Hunt (himself out injured with an gammy knee) described it as a 'freak week' with so many people unavailable, but was confident that things would be back to normal for the remaining weeks of the season.

Bashley bunnies suffer Mixer-matosis!

Has there ever been a more successful and dramatic debut in the 204 year history of Lymington Cricket Club? Newboy Matt Mixer re-wrote the Lymo history books with a stunning bowling performance, taking 9-32 as Lymo defeated Bashley at the BCG. The former Bournemouth pace bowler's incredible performance helped bowl out Bash for 121 before Damian Shirazi (31) and Darren Cowley (36) secured a 5 wicket win - and a league double - over their local rivals. Mixer's figures were the second best in SPL history - the best coming from Richard Pineo who took 9-16 for Havant against Liphook in 2004. Pineo's brother Phil played for Lymo a dozen or so years ago. Report.

Elsewhere there was little to shout about for Lymington as the Seconds, Thirds and Fourths were all defeated.

The Second XI went down by 5 wickets to Purbrook despite scoring 260-4 (Damien Edwards 59).

The Third XI's title hopes suffered a setback at Parley where Tim Noble's half century was in vain as the home side chased down Lymo's 218-7 to win by 4 wickets.

Ross Pike's 48 rescued the Fourth XI from a potentially embarrassing 6-4, but the team's eventual 137 all out still wasn't enough to prevent Mudeford from sneaking home to a 3 wicket win with Toby Sykes taking 3-25. Report.

Portsmouth or Havant await Lymo in the Semis

The draw for the semi-finals of the SEC Twenty20 Cup has given Lymington a long away trip to either Portsmouth or Havant on Sunday July 17th. Those two clubs meet in their quarter final this Sunday with SPL leaders Havant firm favourites to progress. If Portsmouth can produce an upset it will set up a repeat of the 2009 semi when Lymington defeated them at the Sports Ground on the way to lifting the trophy at the Rose Bowl. Lymington haven't met Havant in the Echo Trophy/Twenty20 competition since the two reached the final at Northlands Road back in 1997. In one of the most one-sided finals on record, a Wilden Cornwall-inspired Havant restricted Lymo to just 83-9 before cruising to a 10 wicket victory. The other semi-final tie sees Bashley or Hook take on Bournemouth or St Cross.


Electric Cowley powers Lymo into semi finals
A magnificent individual display from Darren Cowley saw Lymington through to the semi-finals of the SEC Twenty20 Cup. The Dorset left hander blitzed opponents Totton & Eling twice - firstly with a blistering 53 off just 27 balls as Lymington totalled 157-9, and then again in the Totton innings as he plundered 5-16 as the home side fell just 5 runs short.

Cowley and fellow opener Damian Shirazi (30) set off like one of the express trains hurtling along the adjacent railway line, adding a rapid 80 for the first wicket. One of Cowley's sixes sailed over Totton's new practice area and into the gardens beyond, a truly massive shot. Following the openers' dismissals Glyn Treagus (22) and Cameron Grierson (20) continued the good work before Totton rallied. A middle order collapse threatened to ruin Lymo's great start, and it took some daring running between the wickets by tailenders Ted Freeman and Adam Drodge to nudge the total up above the 150 mark.

Like their Lymington counterparts, Totton's openers used the powerplay to good effect, smashing the ball to all parts in an exhilerating opening five overs which yielded 45 runs. However, once Hampshire's Benny Howell had skied a catch to Cowley off Guy Layman for 26, the run rate at last slowed a little. Although fellow opener Simon Steel continued to blast the boundaries, he received precious little support at the other end as Cowley ripped through the Totton middle order. As wickets fell Steel fought on alone, bludgeoning his way to 72 before eventually driving a Treagus delivery to mid-on where Adie Hunt gleefully made no mistake. With Steel gone, Totton's tailenders attempted bravely to claw their way to victory, but the ice-cool Freeman kept his nerve in the final over as Lymo ran out winners by 5 runs.

This was Twenty20 at its best: boundaries galore, athletic fielding and a dramatic finish. The tension was made all the greater by Totton's new electronic scoreboard which at times struggled to keep up with the runscoring - which was hardly surprising, given the size of its control unit which resembled something one might see in a British Railways signal box. Indeed at one point during the match, scorer Wobbly Wharton attempted to change the batsman's total and inadvertently diverted the 1545 Waterloo to Weymouth Express onto the Fawley branch line.

Cowley was undoubtedly the hero of the hour for Lymington, but gangly Guy Layman wasn't too far behind. His first over had been something of a rarity in Twenty20 cricket - a wicket maiden, and the fact that the dismissal was that of the dangerous Howell made it all the more special. He also held onto two huge catches on the deep square leg boundary. And youngsters Adam Drodge and Josh Thacker deserve mention too for their athletic fielding. Tony's match report

Lymo hang on for first draw
After two weeks of near misses, Lymington finally achieved their first drawn match of 2011... but only just! Last pair Adie Hunt and Ed Freeman were forced to bat out the last 18 overs of the match to ensure a draw at St Cross. The hosts had been dismissed for 236, and looked to be on their way to victory as Lymo collapsed to 151-8. However, Guy Layman, Freeman and Hunt held on grimly to guide their side to 206-9 and a share of the spoils. Report.

The Second XI were well beaten by Bedhampton at the Sports Ground. Set 280 to win, Lymington stumbled to 164 all out with only Felix Ambrose (54) making any noteworthy contribution to the scoresheet. Report.

The Third and Fourth XIs both featured stunning individual performances as they won their respective matches with some ease. Damian Jayasinghe took 5-8 as the Thirds recorded a resounding 119 run win over Bashley Fifth XI at Woodside. Bash were dismissed for just 64 in reply to Lymo's 183 all out (Hugo Ambrose 35). Report.

Meanwhile, Nick Nineham struck a career-best 139 not out for the Fourth XI who chased down Parley's 215-5 to win by seven wickets with 11 overs to spare at Littledown Sports Centre. Report.

Cam's heriocs not quite enough
For the second week running Lymington First XI just missed out on a valuable draw. Hosts Bournemouth sneaked home to a three wicket win after Lymo had posted 217-8. Cameron Grierson notched up his highest SPL score with 75 including 11 fours. Report

The Seconds were well beaten by Ellingham at the Sports Ground. The visitors scored a mighty 309-4, and despite Captain Naylor's 75, Lymington slumped to 199 all out. Report

It all went wrong for the Third XI who lost their unbeaten record against Paultons at Minstead. Damian Jayasinghe's brave 45 helped take Lymo from 40-6 to an eventuall 118 all out. But it wasn't enough as Paultons cruised home for the loss of just two wickets. Report

The Fourth XI saved the club's blushes with a 72 run win over Mudeford III at Woodside. Geoff Webber's 87 underpinned Lymo's 198 all out before young Jack Morris took 4 wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 126.

Twenty20 quarter final
Lymington travel to Totton & Eling this Sunday (July 3rd) for the quarter finals of the SEC Twenty20 competition. The match, which starts at 4pm, brings back memories of the dramatic enounter three years ago when the Eels' James Manning smashed a six off the very last ball to break Lymington hearts. However, Lymo can point to the 2001 quarter final at the same venue when BAT (as they were then known) were defeated by 11 runs. And as we all remember, Lymington went on to win the cup that year.

June Development Fund results
Geoff Webber had double cause for celebration on Saturday night. Not only did he hit a match-winning 87 for the Fourth XI, but later in the evening he snared the £100 first prize in the latest Development Fund draw. Second place (£50) went to Steve Coltman, while lucky Lynn Ray scooped the £25 third prize.
Follow Lymo ball-by-ball on the internet!
You can now follow Lymington's SEPCL matches 'live' on the internet thanks to First XI scorer Polly Rhodes who enters the scores onto the club's Play-Cricket website. The facility, which can be found at http://lymington.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/results.asp, provides a constantly refreshing scorecard, as well as an array of other info such as wagon wheels and worms, etc. It's well worth a look, although rumour has it that Lymo lost so many quick wickets at South Wilts a couple of weeks ago that some computers allegedly overheated!

Weakened Lymo made to suffer at South Wilts

After the highs of last week's win over Alton, Lymington First XI's roller coater of a season continued as they fell to a huge 194 run defeat at South Wilts. Eddie Abel notched up a century as the hosts took advantage of a depleted Lymington bowling attack to amass 312-7. Lymo slumped to 13-4 before Darren Cowley (45) restored a modicum of respectability, before another collapse saw the last six wickets fall for just 39 runs. report

The Second XI pulled off a superb win at the Sports Ground, chasing down Midhurst's 252-9 to win by two wickets. Simon King and Dave Griffiths both justified their promotion from the Thirds with 75 and 51 respectively, while Geoff Webber made a welcome return from injury to contribute 45. Report

The Thirds made it six wins out of six thanks to a comfortable 8 wicket victory over Southampton Travellers at Redbridge Lane. Young Nathan Smith celebrated his elevation from the Fourth XI with four wickets as Lymo restricted the home side to just 112-9. Despite losing two early wickets, Adie Hunt's men polished off the rain-reduced target of 80 with more than seven overs to spare. Report

A rejuvenated Mark Thacker notched up another half century, but it couldn't prevent the Fourth XI from falling to an agonsing one wicket defeat by Verwood II at Woodside. However, in view of the amount of unavailablities and injuries throughout the club, captain Lee Moors deserves much credit for just being able to get eleven men out onto the field!

Finally, it should be recorded that Lymington crashed out of the President's Cup in embarrassing fashion against Fawley last Monday. For a club with such a proud history in this competition, it was disappointing that Lymo could only turn out such a weakened side.

Lymington so close to a full house
Lymington Cricket Club came tantalisingly close to a second cleansweep of victories this season as the Firsts, Thirds and Fourths all won their matches convincingly while the Second XI came within one run of completing the full set as they tied their match with Idlers.

The First XI win over Alton was particularly sweet since it was only Lymo's second win in the SEPCL all-day format in 19 attempts. Bryn Darbyshire, making a welcome return to the First XI, top scored with 57 in Lymington's 240 all out. There were also significant contributions from Christian Pain (43), Damian Shirazi (32) and especially Nick Elliott whose unbeaten 32 added crucial late runs. Ed Freeman then rolled back the years with 4-32 as Alton subsided to 178 all out.  report.

There was high drama in Salisbury as Lymington Second XI fought out a thrilling tie against Idlers. Former Lymo batsman Chris Warde smashed a superb 127 in the home side's 227 all out. Damien Edwards' half century looked to have guided Lymington to victory before the visitors lost their last wicket with the scores level. Report.

Adie Hunt's bold pre-match Facebook prediction happily came true as his Third XI cruised to an 8 wicket win over Bashley IV at Woodside. Bash were restricted to just 150 with Marty Hunt and Chris Noble each taking three wickets. Simon King (82) and Meg Gannaway (31) ensured that Lymington remain unbeaten at the top of the table after five matches. Report

A 137 run opening partnership between Joe Quigley (57) and Mark Thacker (59) set Lymington Fourth XI on their way to a 54 run victory at Beaulieu. The hosts' top order put up a good fight before captain Lee Moors (3-32) and Under 15 colt Jason Lewis (2-54) made the vital breakthroughs to ensure a fairly comfortable Lymington victory in the end. Report ( lots of photos).

'Back from the brink - Mark Thacker

Felix re-writes the record books
Lymington Second XI batsman Felix Ambrose has broken a Hampshire junior cricket record by cracking a double century in the county's ECB Under-14 County Championship victory over Gloucestershire at Bourton Vale.The Canford schoolboy hit a magnificent 224, an innings which contained nine sixes and 28 fours. Felix, who suffered a golden duck in Lymington's match against Shrewton last Saturday, dominated a 160-run opening partnership with St Cross Symondians' Joe Weatherley (40). Felix, pictured acknowledging his double-century, steered Hampshire to 369-8 and a 160-run win over Gloucestershire who made 209-8.
Incredibly, it wasn't Felix's first double century of the season. His first came earlier in the summer during a school match and according to reports, all but a handful of the runs came in fours and sixes.

Felix Ambrose after his double century

Lucky Laws scoops first prize!
John Lawson grabbed the £100 first prize in the first of Lymington CC's 2011 Development Fund draws. Second prize (£50) went to Brian Hobby while Mark Jackson won the £25 third prize. Tickets for the remaining three draws are still available from Trevor Phillips.

Waitrose make Lymington Cricket Club part of Community Matters

Lymington Cricket Club have been selected by Waitrose of Lymington to be one of the three "Community Matters" for the month of June. The idea is that you will receive a token each time you shop at this branch and you will have a choice of three local clubs/charities pillar boxes to drop your token into. Waitrose share out a £1000 between the three clubs/charities & the amount is calculated by the weight of the tokens. So please support Waitrose for any purchase during June as our Club stands to benefit and the proceeds will go towards the Youth Development of our Club.

Lymo bowlers toil as First and Second XIs are run ragged
Lymington First XI's two match unbeaten run came to an abrupt halt at Havant where the home side amassed a massive 376-5 before restricting Lymo to 234-7 (Rob Lammiman 54). Report.

It was also a bad day for Lymington's Second XI bowlers at the Sports Ground where visitors Shrewton rattled up 287-9. Lymo made a fair fist of the reply before eventually being dismissed for 247. Report.

Adie Hunt's Third XI saved the club from an embarrassing whitewash thanks to a 102 run win over Hythe & Dibden III at Blackfield Rec. Peter Tapper (55) and Hunt (44*) were the main contributors in Lymo's 225-8 which was more than enough as the Watersiders were shot out for 123. Report.

The Fourth XI fell to a 75 run defeat against Brockenhurst II at Woodside. Brock's 154-7 was always well out of reach once Lymo's top order had collapsed, and only Joe Quigley (18) and Ross Pyke (11) made double figures in a dismal final total of 79 all out. Report.

There was better news on Sunday as Lymington eased into the second round of the SEC T20 cup competition thanks to a 37 run win over Division Three side Fareham & Crofton. Glyn Treagus (41no) and Darren Cowley (40) defied the gale-force conditions at Bath Lane as Lymo totalled 143-4. Wahid Khan then took 4 wickets as the hosts were bowled out for 116. Report.

Lymo's reward is a home tie with cup newcomers Fawley in round Two on June 19th. It will be a nostalgic homecoming for Fawley's Wayne Smith who played a key role in Lymington's 2001 cup run which saw the club ultimately defeat Andover in the final at the Rose Bowl.

Development Fund Draw

It's the first Development Fund draw of 2011 this Saturday night. £25 a ticket. All money raised will go towards improving facilities at the Sports Ground.
Please email Trevor asap if you want to be included - I can collect the money when I next see you.

First XI report

Second XI report

Third XI report