Date

Opposition

Venue

Result

05/5/10

Wellingborough

Home

Won

15/5/10

Bedford

Home

Lost

22/5/10

Spratton Hall

Away

Won

23/6/10

3rds v Bilton Grange

Away

23/6/10

4ths v Bilton Grange

Away

Won

vs Wellingborough 3rd XI

Maidwell (101 for 9) beat Wellingborough (73 all out) by 28 runs and 1 wicket

On a bright afternoon Maidwell were put in to bat first and started in disastrous form dropping a wicket in the first over.  This left Norman - Captain for the day - to steady the ship which he did with aplomb.  Various batsmen joined him but left the field rather cheaply, to some good straight bowling from the opposition.  However Norman held on for a good score of 35 and was bowled the one time he lost concentration.  Polhill and Keating formed a good partnership near the end to move the score on a little and Peppiatt got a bat on the last ball of the innings.  The total finished on 101 for 9 and although psychologically it was important to break the 'ton' Maidwell were slightly disappointed to have not achieved a higher score.
 
After tea, Wellingborough took to the crease and their innings almost mirrored Maidwell's, some cheap wickets fell early on and their opener held on alongside a number of batsmen.  Crucially his wicket also fell as Maidwell's bowlers hit a purple patch and the rather worryingly high run rate soon dropped.  A little complacency began to set in alongside some lapses in concentration and before they knew it Maidwell were again having to battle against Wellingborough's sixth batsmen who hit five boundaries in quick succession.  The re-introduction of Holborow thankfully saw him off - caught and bowled - and from that point onwards Maidwell took control finishing Wellingborough off for 73 all out.
 
Overall a good performance by Maidwell in a match which was a lot tighter than scores suggest.  Norman's batting stood out amongst both teams and was an essential part of the win but Whitcombe deserves credit for a great bowling performance (taking three wickets and seeing one run out, only giving 8 runs off three overs) alongside Holborow with three of his own including the most crucial one of all.

vs Wellingborough

Maidwell (70 all out) lost to Bedford (71 for 0) by 10 wickets

There could be no faulting the boys’ effort and commitment in this match but they came up well short against a strong Bedford side. We batted first and, although the visitors were made to fight for all their wickets, their consistently tight line and length bowling made scoring runs very difficult. Much credit goes to Ignacio Danobeitia for trying to take the attack to Bedford. He scored a rapid-fire 35 including a number of powerful boundaries. A total of 70 all out was never likely to give our bowlers a chance and so it proved, Bedford comfortably knocking off the runs in a matter of 10 overs and without the loss of any wickets. The boys must learn from their opponents’ successes, particularly the way in which they pinched singles where we had dot balls and twos where we scored one.

vs Spratton

won by 87 runs
 
On a glorious day the mighty thirds returned to form with a comfortable victory over a disappointing Spratton side.  With Marchant as captain, Maidwell opted to bat first and set about the opposition with surprisingly few boundaries but lots of quick running between the wickets.  Hall and Holborow's innings were of particular note (29 and 30 respectively) although both had 'shots' that were rather fortuitously missed/dropped in the field.  The beginning was a little fraut with the first wicket dropping for 10 runs but the second didn't fall until 93 was reached and although further wickets were lost quite swiftly Maidwell comfortably reacheda  total of 146 for 5 off their twenty-five overs.
 
After the break Spratton took to the crease looking a little shell-shocked and their nervous approach swiftly led to wickets dropping in each of the first four overs.  Marchant made a point of sharing the bowling around and six different bowlers took wickets.  Eleven different bowlers were used and although the Spratton number five batsman had a brief flurry (reaching 21) the team were all out for 59.

Maidwell 4th XI v Bilton Grange  

This was the one and only 4th XI match this term and the boys were determined to make the most of it.  Bilton won the toss and opted to bat.  Max Farnsworth, captaining the team, spread the bowling around never letting Bilton's batsmen get used to any individual bowler.  In all 9 boys bowled, all performing well, conceding few runs and very few extras.  The pick of the bowlers was undoubtedly Puttiphol Piensuparp who, playing his first ever competitive cricket match, started with a double wicket maiden and finished having bowled 4 overs, conceded just 10 runs, taken 3 wickets and had one other run out.  The bowlers were equally ably supported in the field with two fantastic catches from Oliver Garton, one from Tom Scruby and a fantastic diving left-handed catch by William Crane; not to mention William Farr's direct hit run out.  When Maidwell came into bat after tea it was obvious that they would be too strong for the Bilton bowling attack; Oliver Garton hit three sixes and William Farr hit two more and several fours.  When Oliver was bowled for 19, Charlie Clifton-Brown came in to support William for the remainder of the innings.  Maidwell ran out comfortable and thoroughly deserving winners in a game played with fantastic spirit and joie de vivre.