Easyfundraising.org.uk Monthly Stats

Some positive results from our recent link to Easyfundraising.org.uk. During April 2010 Dacre Banks CC generated £15.57 from sales commissions and donations making a YTD total of £31.78. This income came from 16 registered users who made 103 visits to the easyfundraising website.

So thanks to everyone who has registered and spent money via the website. But we can do better - more registered users are needed so please encourage family and friends to register and sign up.

There is a new Sports section which is offering a range of sports related products and services. And if you want to switch to Vodafone for your mobile monthly contract we'll get £60 for your efforts.

Keep on surfin and supporting DBCC everyday!!

Jonny K

Leathers missing for Antenatal class!

Well Ive heard of some excuses for not playing cricket but new signing Dave Leather has just wheeled out an original one.

Mr Leather, commited Father to be (are you sure its not Cobbers anyway?)has cited the forthcoming home game against Middleham as one he will miss for an antenatal class!

The Mighty Banks have discovered this article,especially for the proud Dad to be, meaning he can read it in detail and then he will know everything required to leave Mrs L to attend on her own.

Thus taking up his rightful place down at the DBCG.

(Apologies to everyone else for this boring article but I find its easier to go to the Pub when the birth is imminent and get incredibly drunk meanwhile missing your wife calling you all the names under the sun as she gives birth!!)

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/labourandbirth/planningyourbabysbirth/antenatalclasses/

Merrill returns to the 1st team.

With the shock news that overseas allrounder Kieran Williams is likely to face between 6-8 weeks out with his nasty finger injury,The Mighty Banks are fortunate to have an even better all round player to replace him,

Following a further injury to pace bowler Chris Pennington,leading all rounders Andy Merrill and Nick Crispin return to the side to improve the fielding,Merrill especially on the back of some impressive form for the stiffs.

Merrill is currently in a rich vein of form with the willow,averaging a mightily impressive 6 in division 7.(yes thats right six)

When the Mighty Banks caught up him with earlier today he was raring to go.

"Obviously Ill miss the lads in the 2nds but Im overjoyed to be playing 1st Division cricket again although I cant believe I was dropped in the first place,Cobley is a muppet.

My outstanding form in Div 7 with the bat means im very much looking forward to batting at 11,not bowling and fielding 45 overs at 3rd man. I actually cant get runs in Divison 7 so surely I must be good for a few in Div 1,.

Although on ability I probably should open both the batting and bowling,being the clubman that I am,Im prepared to stand down and let youngsters like Steve Lawrence and Lee Siddique play more of a part this season"

Ps. Cobbers doesnt know yet but as 1st team vice captain ive selected myself !!!

Matty Returns this Sunday

Dont forget Matty and Lauren Halse are in town this weekend so please try and make The Royal Oak from 4.00pm,all players,ex players and family welcome.

The Oak is also hosting a Race night from 7.30pm so all in all it could well be a very good session!!!!!!

Team Selection for Saturday 1st May 2010

Dacre Banks CC v Helperby 3rds

The following players are invited to meet at 1.00pm at DBCC for the above fixture home to Helperby 3rds.

Team:

1. Shaun Marshall
2. Bill Quarrie
3. Chris Eckford
4. Mark Reed
5. James Ripley
6. Tim Carrington
7. Craig Francis
8. Glyn Burgess
9. Steven Wyss
10. Rory Molloy
11. Callum McIntosh
12. Jonny Knocker

Depending on the late fitness test for Chris Pennington, a player from the Home team may be required for the Away team, hence the naming of 12 individuals.

Ouseburn C.C. v Dacre Banks C.C.

The following Dacre men are invited to meet at Ouseburn for 1pm (prompt) for the third game of the season.

Team:

Steve Ellison
Lee Siddique
Steve Lawrence
Steve Cobley
Abdul Quyyom
Waqas Rashid
Nick Crispin
Mark Wigglesworth
Tom Scott-Smith
David Leather
Andy Merrill

Head Coach: Kieran 'Poppodom fingers' Williams

Jonny K

Subscriptions

We are now getting settled into the season and still need membership subscriptions from a good number of players.

Your subscriptions help to pay our annual rent for the ground (£1100) as well as maintenance costs for the lawn mowers and rollers(currently £750). Both these bills need to be paid within the next 4 weeks so as you can appreciate we need your funds.

Subs are £50 for adults and £25 for students. Cheques should be made payable to Dacre Banks Cricket Club and handed to Sue M, your respective captains or Malcolm.

Non-payment this year is not an option and we would ask that you all raid your piggy banks, the family housekeeping, offshore accounts to pay your subs as quickly as possible.

Thanks

Jonny K

24 Hour Bowling Update

Can everyone who took part in the 24 Hour bowling please bring their sponsorship money and sheets to their respective games this Saturday - 1st May. Failure to do so will result in no prizes being offered for the the balls bowled and wickets taken "guestimates".

Please do everything you need to collect this much-needed money by the weekend.

Thanks

Jonny K

Dacre Banks CC v Hampsthwaite Match Report

Tom Scott-Smith’s pre match net was disturbed by a jeep hurtling into the ground in a cloud of dust with Lady Gaga blaring out “Poker Face”, with squeaky backing vocals. Can’t be Chronic - he’s in Australia! When the dust settled, there was Steve Lawrence, head bobbing along, to the amusement of those already assembled.

Hampsthwaite batted first on another glorious spring day and posted 206-6, with Andrew Boyle (60) and Richard Barratt (84*) sharing the majority of the runs and a second wicket partnership of 124. Unfortunately, Dacre lost 2 players to injuries in the field. Firstly, Chris Pennington pulled a leg muscle whilst bowling and towards the end of the Hampsthwaite innings Kieran Williams, attempting to stop a fierce drive off his own bowling, badly broke a finger whilst deflecting the ball onto the stumps to run out Oliver Mantle. The hobbling Pennington took Kieran to hospital, where he learnt that he is likely to be sidelined for 8 to 10 weeks, leaving Dacre with 9 players for the remainder of the match.

Dacre’s wicket takers were Steve “Lady Gaga” Lawrence with 3 for 46 off 9, Waqas Rasheed 1 for 49 off 12 and Kieran Williams 1 for 44 off 8.4, whilst Tom Scott-Smith had a stumping off Steve Lawrence and Kieran Williams and Stephen Ellison held good catches.

In reply, Lee Saddique was bowled by Andrew Boyle for 12, Steve Lawrence caught and bowled by ex Dacre player Tim Reynolds for 10 and Stephen Ellison caught and bowled Andrew Boyle for 37, bringing Dave Leather and Captain Cobley together. They set about the task of driving Dacre towards the target and with Dave Leather regularly launching 6’s, confidence was growing in the Dacre camp until Dave was caught off Richard Thompson for a fine 66. Tom Scott-Smith failed to connect, attempting a maximum, and was bowled by Andrew Boyle (10-2-57-4) for 0 who then had Abdul Quyyom caught for 8, trying to push Dacre towards 207.

Hampsthwaite were now clear favourites, as the run rate escalated into double figures, with eight fielders patrolling the boundary. Indeed 60 were still required off 5 overs, but Cobbers (45*) and Waqas Rasheed (22*) were making a great fist of it, yet with 26 still required off 2 overs their efforts looked to be in vain and another narrow defeat on the cards. This was turned on its head, as the dynamic duo plundered 17 off the penultimate over and the shell-shocked Hampsthwaite fielders were powerless to prevent a thrilling Dacre victory with 3 balls to spare.

Hampsthwaite were magnanimous in defeat, praising fantastic batting from Leather, Cobley and Rasheed and extending best wishes to Kieran, which I’m sure the whole club echo.

Evening League Availability 2010

Hi Gents

Once again we are in to the evening league season starting on 5th May 2010 at home v Galphay.
So that we know who can play please can you click on the link below and add your availability to the spreadsheet.

Please note that all games begin promptly at 1830hrs (6.30pm). So you are asked to reach the venue by 1800hrs.

Please can you let us know as soon as possible so that team selection can be completed quickly.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Asz-UtcUI_m8dE5Wc2JRTWhUZzlqZ3lKek9fbTVnSkE&hl=en_GB

Thanks

Jonny K

Wath and Melmerby v Dacre 2nd XI match report

Wath and Melmerby beat Dacre in low scoring match

In what was an incredible game of cricket, Wath and Melmerby made it 2 wins out of 2 and claimed a 6 point haul, beating Dacre by 73 runs. A total of 19 wickets fell for just 121 runs at this brand new ground which certainly saw a spectacular start to its life in the Nidderdale League. Banks did very well to restrict the hosts to 97-9, Shaun Marshall taking 5 wickets including a superb hat trick. At the half way stage it looked as though Dacre were in a fine position to claim victory, but it all went terribly wrong as they somehow ended up being bowled all out for just 24!

Both teams headed into the game on the back of victories last week so would’ve been confident. Banks welcomed back Callum McIntosh and Jonny Knocker, although Mark Reed and Bill Quarrie were forced to miss out through injury and illness respectively. Approaching its first ever game of cricket, the new ground was looking in good condition and had been prepared well (pictured). Of course there were many question marks as to how the wicket would play, nobody was sure but in general it looked decent enough and fairly flat. Upon winning the toss, Dacre skipper Shaun Marshall was taking no chances though and elected to bowl first.

Opposition captain, Richard Dale had scored century last week and it looked as though Dacre had made a serious error by dropping him on 0, but he soon gave another chance which was snapped up by Craig Francis at square leg. The visitors quickly took another couple of wickets to leave Wath in trouble at 21-3, but then they stabilised thanks to a 40 run partnership, Adam Newcombe top scoring with 31. However, the hosts weren’t prepared for what was to hit them next when Shaun Marshall took a sensational hat trick. First he bowled Newcombe with a beauty, then followed it up with a plumb lbw, and finally a great bouncer which was fended off poorly which the keeper caught. Marshall had look imperious during this spell of bowling showing superb control and a fiery aggression, quite simply he was in the zone.

From that moment on at 60-6, Wath and Melmerby were always struggling and adopted extremely negative tactics, just trying to obtain a point. They scored just 37 runs in the last 25 overs as Dacre’s bowlers produced miserly economical figures. Glyn Burgess finished with 7 maidens to his name whilst Jonny Knocker and Andy Merrill both had a decent number of them too. In the end, Wath did manage to achieve their objective, although only just! Some of their batsman deserve credit for digging in, but it was extremely boring and negative cricket and a surprising attitude which had been adopted.

Spirits were high in the Dacre dressing room after reducing the opposition to just 97-9 off 45 overs. Wath and Melmerby were unbeaten in their last 12 games but it surely looked as though that terrific run would end defending such a poor total. However, to their credit they picked themselves up and produced a stunning bowling performance which totally left Banks rocked to the core. Opening bowler Adam Newcombe was miles off target with his first delivery, bowling a bouncer, whist the next was a wide, but amazingly after that he conceded just one more run in 10 overs! The visitors had made it to 9 without loss when he struck first to remove Tim Carrington who played onto his stumps for the 2nd week running. He then found the edge of Steve Wyss’ bat to leave Dacre in trouble at 12-2.

Newcombe was certainly giving all his worth and flying into the crease with a full head of steam, reaching a decent pace and offering nothing loose. At the other end, skipper Richard Dale complimented his partner by bowling some vicious in-swing and he soon bowled Shaun Marshall with a jaffer and found the edge of Andy Merill’s bat. Dacre were severely wobbling at 18-4 and despite some decent resistance from Chris Eckford and Callum McIntosh, the bowling continued to be excellent, constantly maintaining the pressure. Inevitably more wickets fell as Dacre collapsed to 24 all out, a total of seven ducks were on the scorecard.

This was obviously a shock low score but a lot of credit must go to the two opening Wath and Melmerby bowlers. Adam Newcombe ended with ridiculous figures of 6-3 off 10 overs, Richard Dale finishing with 4-12. In comparison to the Ripon attack which Banks faced the previous week, this duo were miles better and it was one of those days where everything went right for them. Of course, Dacre will have to look at the batting performance and realise that they blew a very good position from where they were at the tea interval, but the collapse happened mostly because of terrific bowling. If Wath can keep certain players fit then they’ll definitely be a major candidate for promotion. Certainly Adam Newcombe belongs at a higher level than division 7 and could perhaps be classed as a big fish in a small pond in this league, he’ll take plenty of wickets this year.

Well done to Wath, they bowled and fielded extremely well deserving victory. For Banks, well it must be remembered that 6 points is already on the board and that this is only one match. A great performance was shown in the field and bowling was tight, there are still positives to be taken out of the affair. The team now needs to show some bouncebackability by beating Helperby 3rds next week down at Max Pullen.

Goldsborough v Dacre Banks CC Photos

Please see images from last weeks game below:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/42482371@N00/sets/72157623899104794/show/



Cheers

Jonny K                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Please note these photos were taken by Barry Gill. Permission must be sort for any publication/reproduction. Copyrighted as per flickr terms&conditions 

Teams for Sat 24th April

Dacre Banks C.C. v Hampsthwaite C.C.
Here we go for the second game of the season. The following players are invited to meet at 1pm (prompt) for the home game against Hampsthwaite.

Team:
Steve Ellison
Lee Siddique
Kieran Williams
Steve Lawrence
Steve Cobley
Abdul Quyyom
Waqas Rashid
Chris Pennington
Mark Wigglesworth
Tom Scott-Smith
David Leather

Wath CC v Dacre Banks
The following players are invited to meet at 12.30pm at DBCC to travel to the above fixture away at Wath and Melmerby CC. They have a new ground for this season, which is based in Melmerby (directions to be distributed when we meet at DBCC)

Shaun Marshall
Rahul Lazarus - in place of Bill Quarrie who is ill.
Chris Eckford
Tim Carrington
Steven Wyss
Andy Merrill
Glyn Burgess
Craig Francis
Rory Molloy
Jonny Knocker
Callum McIntosh

Tom Scott Smith has requested that any interested players of either team meet him down at Dacre at 12.00pm for a net, as he would very much like a knock before his debut match this season.

Net

Having a net tonight at Dacre at 6pm tonight,

Turn up if you fancy it

Andy and Kieran's birthday celebration Sat May 8th

We would like to officially invite all club members and their partners to mine and Kierans birthday night out on Saturday May the 8th.

The 1st team are at home to Middleham whilst the 2nds are away at Raskelf so the initial plan is a few beers in Dacre at the Royal Oak followed by a marathon drinking session in Town.

Natalie and our friends from sunny Goole are coming up and this makes an ideal opportunity to have a club night out in Harrogate for both teams,partners and supporters.

We also plan to hold a similar night in The Royal Oak as soon as Steve has given us a suitable date when accomodation is available.

Hope to see you all there.

Dacre 2nd XI v Ripon 3rd XI match report

Banks thrash Ripon to get off to flyer on the opening day
Dacre 2nds got their season off to the best possible start beating Ripon 3rds by the big margin of 106 runs. An excellent team display capped by some fine individual performances propelled Banks to an easy success, although it must be said it was facing a Ripon outfit who looked a shadow of what they were last season. They did seem like a poor team but Dacre were extremely professional showing great energy and drive which helped deliver success. The hosts pretty much produced a faultless display in the field as they eventually cantered over the finishing line picking up their first 6 point haul for nearly 2 years.

The game marked Shaun Marshall’s first as 2nd XI captain, and the new skipper (pictured) would’ve been delighted to see his men produce the goods on the opening day of the campaign. As always, prior to the start of the new season there had been plenty of talk, but now it was time to walk the walk and perform on the pitch. In what was an otherwise familiar looking team, Dacre gave debuts to new players Mark Reed and Rahul Lazarus, with both keen to make an impression. Marshall lost the toss and was unsurprisingly put into bat by opposition skipper Alan Stainton. Dacre opened with the familiar partnership of Steve Wyss and Tim Carrington whilst Ripon used Chris Searle and surprisingly the captain Stainton. However, he was forced to take himself out of the attack because Carrington went absolutely mental inside the first 10 overs, hitting balls all over the park as the Ripon attack got smashed.

Banks were out of the traps quickly although did suffer a couple of setbacks when Steve Wyss feathered one behind off Chris Searle and Mark Reed was bowled by Ricky Simms. Those two were the best bowlers on the day for Ripon, but were nothing special. Searle was surprisingly inaccurate and not as good as usual, perhaps a bit rusty. However, both did manage to pick up a few wickets and ended with respectable figures, the rest of the attack was hit for much more. Carrington kept going from strength to strength and soon raced to his 50, but Dacre were to suffer a setback by the loss of 3 wickets in relatively quick succession. Andy Merrill was bowled, Carrington unlucky played on and then Chris Eckford was caught in the gully off a loose delivery. This left Banks at 110-5, the run rate was high and there was plenty of time left, but wickets had fallen.

From this point it would’ve been unexpected to have gone on to make a total of 225, but the middle to lower order fired strongly. Bill Quarrie made a well constructed 38, whilst Marshall scored a more aggressive 45, together they put on a partnership of 56. Both eventually got out, but the damage had been done. Crag Francis and Glyn Burgess then carried on the good work, the latter going onto make a quickfire 22 which included an excellent straight drive to the boundary. A total of 225-8 was an impressive number and much bigger than was expected, especially at the half way stage when a few wickets had been lost.

However, its been a rare instance that Dacre 2nds have been able to defend many totals in the last few years, so even with such a decent target on the board there was still a lot of hard work to be done. Ripon came out positively looking to hit the ball, but a superb 10 over spell at the start of the innings effectively eliminated the visitors out of the game. Sean Marshall and Glyn Burgess bowled good lines and lengths on an unresponsive pitch, but they also fed off the energy and drive of the fielders. There was plenty of banter and great encouragement from everyone, its been a while since Dacre had been so energetic out there, and it made a difference. Ripon were soon in trouble at 32-3 with Marshall grabbing all the wickets, and from that point onwards there was no way back.

The only two shining lights for Ripon were Michael and Ricky Simms who produced some decent resistance, the latter scoring almost solely behind square playing constant sweep shots. The fielding was really good and everyone was on their toes, special mention must go to debutant Mark Reed who looked very sharp and won the fielding point. Bill Quarrie came on and bowled 10 overs finishing with figures of 1-28, a great effort with some tight lines and length. One negative note for the hosts was that Marshall had to leave the field with a nasty looking calf injury, but he hopes to be fit in time for next week. Burgess and the skipper each snared 3 victims, and then later on Tim Carrington and Andy Merill wrapped up the tail to see Dacre home convincingly. An interesting stat was that 11 out of 18 wickets to fall in the match were bowled out, suggesting that players struggled a bit with the lack of bounce in the pitch.

So overall, despite the Dacre team being potentially light in the bowling department on paper, Ripon were easily bowled out fairly quickly. It was an excellent display by Banks in all departments, although tougher challenges must surely await. Ripon did miss a couple of guys this week and some of the players who were rusty are sure to get better as the season progresses, but they did look like a fairly poor outfit. If they continue to play like that then they’re a major relegation candidate and it could be a struggling campaign. As for Banks’ ambitions, well a much clearer picture will be known after about 6 matches but this is a good start. Better opposition is sure to await soon and a trip to Wath and Melmerby who haven’t lost any of their last 12 games might be difficult. In what will be the first ever Nidderdale League match on a brand new ground next week, victory would be a terrific result.

Volcanic eruption comes to Dacre's aid (hopefully)

Poor old Mrs Leather!!!!!!

Not only does she have the misfortune to be married to our new star signing and is heavily pregnant,but now the Icelandic volcanic eruption could well scupper her hopes of flying out on her hols tomorrow afternoon.

The poor unfortunate couple are due to leave Manchester airport at 2.30pm tomorrow and at this moment in time this looks extremely unlikely.

I suggest all club members do a "wind" dance(like a rain dance only different)in the hope that we can pursuade the wind to keep the ash cloud over the Uk,thus allowing Dave to take his place against Goldsborough.

Serves Dave right for booking his hols for the first two weeks of the season.

Blog Information

Great to see Steve Wyss Shaun Marshall and Craig Francis getting involved with the blog and I read Wyssos season review with great interest.

Tim Carrington has also done a fantastic job on the website with all his many hours of work and research etc over the years.

Its clubmen like these who are invaluable to our long term development.

What i would like to point out is that any Mighty Banker who wants the ability to enter their own articles etc will be granted admin rights.

This is not my blog or a 1st team blog,its a club blog for both teams and all members and the more people posting jokes,pictures,stories,reports etc the merrier.

The only thing I would ask with my club hat on,is that we all strive to keep it positive and no matter how frustrated we sometimes become,please refrain from making derogatory comments about our League Officials,Umpires and fellow clubs and players.

Despite this being our own blog,with our own personal thoughts the club can still be made accountable for any percieved attacks through the media.

Finally isnt there a Mighty Bankers inpending wedding and more importantly stag night to tell everyone about ?

Why dont we organise a club night out on a Saturday after the games to celebrate,men only of course!!!!!

Andy

Important 2nd XI information

Updated with information from league website

Hi All,

Went to a special general meeting last night for the Nidderdale Cricket League and for this season there have been some serious changes for promotion and relegation in 2010 to most divisions to make space for 4 new teams entering the league for the 2011 season. The new teams are Spofforth 1st XI & 2nd XI and Little Ribston 1st XI & 2nd XI.

The changes for 2010 are;
Divisions 3,4,5 2 teams promoted 3 teams relegated
Divisions 6,7,8 2 teams promoted 5 teams relegated

The divisions that the new teams are to enter in are;
Spofforth 1st xi - Division 2
Spofforth 2nd xi - Division5
Little Ribston 1st xi - Division 6
Little Ribston 2nd xi - Division 9

Therefore the 2nd XI in division 7 have a real threat as 5 out of 12 teams will be relegated. Every match this year will be crucial in our bid to be at the top of table to gain promotion and be in the top 7 to avoid the prospect of relegation,

Any more information please contact us,

Thanks,
Craig

Update: From the league website:
Following the SGM held on Monday 12th April, promotion and relegation for 2010 will be as follows:

Division 1: 2 down
Division 2, 3 & 4: 2 up 3 down (Spofforth to join Division 2 in 2011)
Division 5: 2 up and 4 down (Spofforth 2nds to join Division 5 in 2011)
Division 6 & 7: 2 up and 5 down (Little Ribston to join Division 6 in 2011)
Division 8: 2 up 3 down (11 teams in 2010, 12 teams in 2011)
Division 9: 1 up (Little Ribston 2nds to join Division 9 in 2011, 5 teams in 2010, 8 teams in 2011)
Updated by NotMikeBrearley

Player Selection for 17/04/2010

Dacre Banks CC 2nds v Ripon 3rds


The following players are invited to meet at 1pm (prompt) at DBCC for our first match of the season, if you have any queries or need to contact someone please contact Shaun Marshall 07872326348.

Shaun Marshall
Bill Quarrie
Tim Carrington
Chris Eckford
Steven Wyss
Craig Francis
Mark Reed
Rory Molloy
Glyn Burgess
Rahul Lazarus
Ed Putnam

Goldsborough CC v Dacre Banks CC

The following players are invited to meet at 12.45pm (prompt) for the first match of the season away at Goldsborough Cricket Club. Please find attached the Goldsborough website, containing a map and directions (if required) http://www.goldsboroughcricket.co.uk/googlemap.php. If there are any questions etc please contact Steve Cobley on 07968831246

Steven Ellison
Lee Siddique
Kieran Williams
Steve Lawrence
Steve Cobley
Abdul Quyyom
Waqas Rashid
Chris Pennington
Mark Wigglesworth
Nick Crispin
Andy Merrill

Wysso's Review

As the new season fast approaches, a look at our teams this year.
Well the new season is now upon us and Dacre Banks head into the campaign in a positive way, hoping to make progress both on and off the pitch. The club has perhaps been through some troubled times in the last few years with certain periods of instability which have even perhaps threatened the club’s existence on occassion. But there is certainly a feeling of freshness in the air approaching the 2010 season and quite a few changes have taken place. Of course, these are still not easy times and there is plenty of work to be done before we end up with a ‘ideal’ DBCC, but progress is being made.

The club has a couple of active internet sites, this being the official website which is linked to the Nidderdale league and other clubs. Me along with Tim will look to maintain this place, mostly just a reference point for certain things such as statistics, and to keep people outside of the club up to date with the latest goings on.

The club also has a blog site which was previously run by Chris Cowell, and now by Andy Merill, Johnny Knocker and a couple of others. This blog is a good way to see some latest information along with some more light hearted articles and stories! With Andy being 1st team vice captain and playing in the majority of matches this season, then I’m sure he’ll be keeping us up to date with some nice match reports each week too! I will do match reports for the 2nd XI.

Here is a link to the blog below, please note that the blog is completely separate and not linked from the main Nidderdale League site. It’s a personal site and DBCC is not responsible for the content on there.

http://www.dacrebankscc.blogsp..


Well I thought it’d be a good idea for onlookers to see what sort of a daunting force they’ll come up against when facing the mighty banks this season!

1st XI

Well my knowledge is slightly more limited here as I’m more involved with the 2nd team but keep an eye on the blog where there are more details on the players. Last season, the 1st XI finished 9th in the division one table, which was a tremendous achievement after a nightmare 1st half of the campaign. Some decent signings helped bolster the squad to become a strong midtable force and it was a good end to the season. Steve Cobley is the new captain of the team and he brings with him plenty of enthusiasm and some new ideas. Dacre look to have plenty of decent bowling options this season with the likes of the Cobley, Lee Siddique, Waqas Rasheed, Steve Ellison, Abdul and Steve Lawrence. This is in addition to the overseas player and Mark Peachey when available! To me, it looks like the sort of attack which will be capable of taking plenty of wickets this season.

Pretty much everyone can bat too and there are no mugs, the batting line up has plenty of depth. However, a few people will need to stand up and score regular consistent runs this season if the team is to maximise its potential. Dacre’s overseas player this year is Kieren Williams from New Zealand. We have been blessed with some excellent overseas players in recent times and it looks like Kieren will be another formidable force both with bat and ball, and also with the gloves if required. So far, new signings have been relatively minimal, although Dave Leather has joined up and of course Waqas Rasheed is a new addition. Having spoken to Steve Cobley on Sunday he said he was looking to perhaps bring in a ‘couple more’ to bolster the squad, and this would be ideal for more strength in depth. When asked about his expectations and predictions for Dacre this year, the skipper said he had ‘no idea’ and that he just hopes the team ‘plays well’ and ‘has fun’ This is probably the best way to approach the season because high expectations and predictions can sometimes end in disappointment.

However, as always, the legendary Steve Lawrence was never shy of an opinion and predicted that ‘there would be surprises’ in division one this season. He thinks the title race could potentially become a ‘wide open thing’ and that Dacre ‘could get in the hunt with a bit of luck’. He wouldn’t be drawn on his tip for the title.
Certainly lets hope that Dacre aren’t involved in the relegation battle this season and will progress to at least a comfortable midtable position. It looks as though the team is more settled than in recent years and a repeat of the sort of form towards the back end of last campaign would produce a very successful season!


2nd XI

For the first time in 8 years, the 2nd team has a new captain bringing to an end the reign of Tim Carrington. Those 8 years produced a mixture of highs and lows and he was certainly in charge in some periods of crisis, doing well to keep the 2nd XI afloat. The high point in the league was in 2005 with promotion from division six to five, whilst the Wath Cup was won in 2004 and will also go down as a great memory. Tim has now stepped down as captain, and must be thanked for his long tenure as skipper, his work is appreciated by all at the club. Taking over is Shaun Marshall with Bill Quarrie as vice, an interesting mix of younger and older generation.

With it being a 2nd team, a lot does depend on who is available for the firsts each week so it can be difficult to get out a settled side each week. A couple of new signings were brought in from Arthington, Chris Pennington and Mark Wigglesworth, however due to player shortages both have initially been called up to the 1st XI, although it is strongly anticipated both will play the majority of the campaign with the 2nds which would be a major boost. Mark Reed comes in from Burton Leonard to boost the squad, although the trio of Goldsbrough’s have left to go to Pateley Bridge.

In general, the batting probably looks more stronger than the bowling. At the top of the order, Steve Wyss and Tim Carrington will look to kick on from an encouraging 2009 season, although Carrington might not be able to play as much this year due to work commitments. The skipper Shaun Marshall who won the batting averages last season will also be looking to bag plenty of runs again, whilst stalwart Bill Quarrie is very reliable in the middle order and should be good to hit a few 50s this year. Wicketkeeper Chris Eckford is extremely sharp and can make a big difference behind the stumps. With the bat, perhaps he is due a strong season too and hopefully some consistency of being in the 2nd XI most weeks will prove to be a good thing. With the expected Wigglesworth and hopefully Pennington playing as the season progresses then the batting looks strong. The middle order and tail is also quite useful with guys in that area improving each year, I certainly think there aren’t any genuine ‘mugs’ in the team anymore, whereas in the past there was always at least a couple who just made up the numbers.

However, if the batting could potentially be one of the strongest line ups in division 7, the bowling is perhaps a bit more dodgy and will depend exactly who is available due to 1st XI selection. Dacre do have two reliable spinners in Johnny Knocker and last season’s leading wicket taker Glyn Burgess, but maybe lack the spearhead of a pace attack. The skipper is a likely opening bowler each week and young Callum McIntosh will hope to get in the wickets more this year, but they look like the only genuine pacey threats. There are a number of players who can turn their arm over and do a decent job, but in terms of wicket taking maybe Banks are a little light. All could depend how much Pennington plays, if he does then he’ll be a fantastic weapon to have.

Of the other opposition in division 7, here are my brief thoughts about them.

Sessay - were unlucky not to go up last season and along with the promoted teams had the best bowling attack in the division. They work extremely well as a team, won the Peter Bentley Cup and have a great bunch of talented juniors. Definitely favourites to get promoted based on last year’s form.

Scotton - would’ve gone up had it not been due to a league technicality for fielding an ineligible player. They had the best batting line up in the division with genuine strength all the way down to number 7 or 8 capable of scoring a 50. The bowling isn’t as strong but they still have a couple of reliable players such as Andy Marshall and Andy Northing.

Blubberhouses - Always a hard team to predict, bit their 1st XI is looking strong this year which is sure to have a positive effect on their 2nd team. However, a lack of consistent team selection might cost them promotion, their line up usually changes on a regular basis. Should be in the mixer though and new captain Nick Haigh is a fighter and will be strong.

Ripon - overachieved last season and rely upon certain strong individuals. Should be a decent side, but overall unlikely to have enough quality in depth to get promoted.

Wath & Melmerby - newly promoted team who little is known about. They had excellent stats in division 8 and could be dark horses for sure.

Birstwith - a club with a massive playing squad who do have some ability. They do have some good individuals, especially in the batting department such as Lyons and Richards. The bowling was weak last season with the exception of Will Neale. Should be midtable, but probably no better.

Staveley - came down from division 6, and from what I’ve heard they are nothing special. Usually its very difficult for relegated teams to adapt and it could take them a season or two to find their feet. One to watch, but probably wont challenge in the upper reaches.

Raskelf - have now suffered 3 consecutive relegations so its kind of hard to expect them to do much this season. Looks like they could be midtable force and maybe find their level in division 7? Should they launch a promotion bid it’d be a good comeback and a surprise following 3 turbulent years.

Burnt Yates - sad to say but I think our nearest neighbours will struggle this season. Their first XI has lost a massive amount of players which is sure to have a knock on effect. They might well be fighting a relegation battle.

Ouseburn - were very lucky not to go down last season and were a poor side. Unless an improvement is shown then I make them one of the favourites for the drop.

Helperby - have done well to be promoted but I expect them to struggle. Their 2nd team are only one division higher and from what I saw of them in the Peter Bentley Cup last season they are sure to be in the relegation dogfight.

That’s how I see the opposition faring this season, who knows how right or wrong that’ll prove to be or where Dacre fit into the equation. I personally would hope we can be in the mixer at the top, although to be fair there are a couple of teams, especially Sessay who look strong. It would be good to have Dacre 2nds move upwards again and a long term aim is to get the side up to about division 5. New skipper Shaun Marshall said he was ‘very much looking forward to the job and he expects to the team to improve this year, maybe even getting promoted’

Lets hope for a good year for both teams, also best of luck to all of our respective opponents in both division one and seven.

Sunday 11th April Cricket Session - Dacre Banks

Guys, there will definitely be a cricket session tomorrow afternoon between 4.00-6.00pm at Dacre Banks. Depending on numbers turning up it will either be a net, 20:20 style game or some fitness and fielding practice.

Both Shaun and Steve our erstwhile skippers are going to be present so if you can make it please let them know in advance so a suitable session can be organised.

For those who did not make it last night to the Registration evening, please bring your subs with you (£50 for adult full members, £20 for students) as we need the subs to pay impending rental and maintenance charges.

When you appear at the ground you will see a fantastic looking wicket and outfield and a pretty decent looking pavilion. This is not down to co-incidence but some hard work that has been undertaken over the last few months by a group of dedicated volunteers.

So when you see these fine people please thank them for giving up their time to make the ground and pavilion look 110% better than it did 3 months ago.

The "Roll of Honour" in terms of volunteers are:

Sue and Dave Marshall
Shaun Marshall
Craig Francis
Glyn Burgess
Callum McIntosh
Steve Ellison
Barry Gill
John Kerby
Jonny Beal

(Apologies to anyone else who I have omitted but shouldn't have)

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

And don't forget that Kieran arrives on Thursday. A fielding session will start at 6.30pm followed by a few beers and some chips etc being laid on at the Royal Oak afterwards. Please make every effort to get to meet Kieran on Thursday and also have a couple of beers with Steve and Anna at the pub - our key sponsor this season!

Cheers

Jonny K

Dacre Banks Accommodation

Hi Gents, for those players who are looking to enjoy a few of the Dacre Banks delights after a game during the summer, here is a list of three local Bed and Breakfast joints all within close proximity to the cricket ground and of course the Pub:

1. Royal Oak which has 2 twin and 1 double room starting at £35per person. Biggest breakfast you can imagine is served. Contact Steve or Anna for availability/bookings on 01423 780200;

2. Dalriada, Cabin Lane, Dacre Banks which has 3 rooms. Not sure on prices but mention DBCC when calling for a booking . 01423 780512

3. Gate Eel Farmhouse run by Diane Driver has 1 twin and 1 double available at £35pp. Call for availability on 01423 781707.

Just ensure you ring and check in advance to avoid disappointment.

Cheers

Jonny K

Easy Fundraising Income

The www.easyfundraising.org.uk stats for March 2010 make some promising reading for the Mighty Banks.

There are currently 12 registered users supporting DBCC.
Since we registered on 21/3/10 we have had 94 hits through the website of registered users looking to shop.

Of these 16 transactions have been undertaken raising so far an amount of £16.21 in donations for the club.

Its a good start but I'm sure we can do better. Are there any cricket items you need for the new season? There are various sports website that you can go on to and buy new boots, bats, bags, arm guards etc etc. Just enter the site and select Sports and Outdoors from the menu on the left hand side.

Register and do your National Lottery online. This raises £2 for us for each new registration.
Register as a new user of Ebay and this gets The Mighty Banks £4.50 and so it goes on...

Please register if you haven't already and make a difference to DBCC while doing the online shopping.

Cheers

Jonny K

Brad wins Grand Final

Well not single handedly,he probably had a massive swipe across the line and got bowled !!!

But our Aussie import from 2008 Brad Wright pictured back row,3rd from the left was part of The Cavaliers Cricket Club who claimed their eighth consecutive top grade title on the weekend when they downed Orange CYMS in the Orange District Cricket Association grand final.

Cavaliers batted first and made 222 before bowling out their opponents for 92.

Brad had a good season for the Mighty Banks notching 2 centuries along the way and drinking numerous pints of Fosters and we would like to wish him and his partner Sarah all the best for their future wedding.

Hope to see you both across in the Uk again guys.

Match report from local paper here
Incomplete scorecard here