Glossop Vets vs Hare and Hounds - 6th August 2024 Scorecard - https://play-cricket.com/website/results/6641717 “ To achieve great things, you first have to believe it ” Arsene Wenger As Glossop vets continued their march towards an unbeaten season……..Hare and Hounds, their toughest test to date came to North Road in the hope they could derail this juggernaut of a team. Glossop were largely unchanged but welcomed Dave Allen and Dave Wilder into the starting 11 for their Vets debuts. The sun was shining, the wicket looked quick and the fans were gathered in expectation. Hare and Hounds were a little short so 2 of Glossop’s brightest young prospects, Olly Boothroyd and Joseph Bolton, took the call and turned out for the Hare. Glossop lost the toss and were put into Bowl. Tim Halpin and Richard Marsden were again thrown the new ball and put the pressure straight onto the Hare batsmen with good line and length supported by good fielding. The pair restricted the Hare to only 13 runs off the first 4 overs and it was Marsden who made the breakthrough with a fuller delivery that slid under the openers bat and clattered into the stumps, his 4th bowled victim in his last 2 games. Dave Wilde and Sam Alder were up next and kept the pressure on. Their mix of pace and arrowing deliveries really unsettled the batsmen, causing abit of panic. Rob Sonzcak, feeling the pressure, slashed at a Dave Wilde delivery sending it at pace towards point where Steve Kirkham was waiting, a diving 1 handed effort high to his left stopped a certain boundary but unfortunately was unable to hold on to what would have been catch of the season. The Hare were moving along at around 5 an over, and after recent tight games against the Hare, Glossop wouldn’t want this to increase. Dave Allen and Steve Kirkham were on next. Allen keeping it tight at his end, well supported by Kirkham who has really found his length in recent weeks. Sonzcak was on 24 and looking dangerous, Glossop didn’t want him coming back in but he was undone with a full length delivery by Kirkham, who beat the bat and took out middle stump. The danger man was gone. Colin Taylor and Steve Marsh bowled the next 4 and only went for 12 collectively, Marsh rolling back the years with some diving fielding off his own bowling to finish with figures of 2 overs for 5 runs. Glossop’s fielding had been superb, complemented by Andy Wilde behind the stumps who had his best game with the gloves. Phil Hagerty and Paul Edgar were tasked with trying to keep the Hare under 110 runs. Both showing good pace, the Hare middle order struggled to get the ball away, when they did they both claimed a wicket. Hagerty first, taking a looping catch off his own bowling and then Edgar, caught by Dave Wilde at long off. There was still time for 1 last wicket off Edgars bowling. The Hare went for a quick single but Marsden pounced on the loose ball, quick hands got the ball to Edgar at the stumps who took the bails. Hare and Hounds were done and posted 109-5. Glossop were dealt an early blow with opener, Hagerty, suffering with a bad back and not able to take the field. Taylor was promoted to open with Marsh and took to the crease. The Hare opened with Boothroyd and Bolton, Glossop’s under 15 starlets and both bowlers showed excellent composure and bowled superbly well. Taylor and Marsh were in all kinds of trouble and scoring was slow. Boothroyd then produced an absolute beauty to Marsh, out swinging at pace that Marsh nicked off to wicketkeeper. Halpin came in at 3, scoring remained slow as both batsmen struggled to get the ball away but were still getting a few singles to keep the scoreboard ticking. Eventually both Taylor and Halpin got use to the pitch and started hitting a few boundaries, the most impressive was a massive 6 by Halpin who continues his impressive form with the bat. Halpin eventually retired on 27 off 25 balls and Taylor retired on 26 off 28. Glossop were looking comfortable, but the quick wickets of Marsden and Edgar caused abit of unrest and the Hare thought they had a chance now they were into the Lower Middle Order. Andy Wilde and Steve Kirkham were at the crease, A few quick singles got Glossop back on track before Wilde started to use his power and smashed a few boundaries. Not to be out done Kirkham played a lovely sweep to the boundary for 4 and the Hare were up against it. Wilde continued to hit out and with 3 overs to go Wilde and Kirkham took a quick single and Glossop’s winning streak continued. Wilde finished with 23 not out off 18 and Kirkham with 8 from 8. Great effort from both teams and great game played in the right spirit. Man of the Match A great team performance but 2 performances really stood out. Firstly Steve Kirkham, found his bowling length and claimed his first wicket for figures of 1 for 9, also great in the field, loads of energy and at the crease when winning runs hit. Secondly, Andy Wilde. Best performance behind the stumps of date and played the innings we’ve all been waiting for showing power and class. Well done lads. Glossop currently have 1 game left against Mottram in a few weeks, if they win they end the season unbeaten. Up the Vets 🏏🍺

Match Report - Charlesworth and Chisworth Social vs Glossop CC Vets (Thursday 25th July) A great man once said “ A winning team is made up of more than 11 men, it’s the squad that will take you to Glory’ And this couldn’t be more prevalent as Glossop vets took on their latest challenge away at Charlesworth Vets on a warm and dry Thursday evening. Glossop were missing some big players but were fortunate that Steve Page, John Kirk and John Rathburn were available to make their debuts and they also welcomed the return of Phil Hagerty who had looked explosive in recent net sessions. The wicket looked good, and with Glossop winning the toss, they chose to bat with the hope of posting another big score. Lewis Calvert and Phil Hagerty opened the innings and put Charlesworth under immediate pressure with some quick singles. Charlesworth were bowling some good lines but were perhaps a little short of length and were duly punished with some big hitting by Hagerty who smashed 2 big sixes and lost 2 balls in the process. Calvert wanted some of the action himself and some quick boundaries brought up the 50 partnership in the 6th over. Both Hagerty (26*) and Calvert (27*) retired not out after setting Glossop up for the perfect start. In came Steve Page who kept things moving quickly, smashing some boundaries of his own, helped by Steve Kirkham and John Rathburn who knocked some quick singles to get Steve back on strike who capped his debut with a sublime 26 not out. To have Richard Marsden and Tim Halpin at 6 and 7 shows the depth of talent this Glossop team possess and both didn’t disappoint. Charlesworth had dropped their field due to the earlier onslaught, but both still managed to hit some glorious 4s and kept things ticking. An exciting partnership brought Halpin to 25* not out, quickly followed by Marsden (25* not out) and Glossop were looking good for a total around the 165 mark. Some tight bowling by Charlesworth in the final few overs brought some wickets but the fans were still treated to a few boundaries by Sam Alder and Andy Wilde as Glossop posted 152. Due to the absence of Rick Ingham, Glossop needed to find a new opening strike bowler to partner Halpin and the ball was thrown to Marsden. Halpin opened up with a solid over but it was Marsden who took the spotlight. Super line and length caused all sorts of problems for the Charlesworth openers and the dead lock was broken in the second over by Marsden with a ball that scooted through and clattered into the stumps. His second over brought more success with another victim cleaned bowled. The ball after….another victim clean bowled….Marsden was on a hattrick…..The field came in, Marsden sent the ball down and it just missed the outside edge. No hattrick but a great spell gave Marsden figures of 3 for 8. Charlesworth were rocked but with James Turley at the crease they always had a chance of mounting a challenge. Sam Alder and John Kirk bowled the next 4 and kept it tight. The mix of left arm medium pace and right arm spin caused problems and it was Kirk who created the next opportunity with a devilish ball that was lobbed out to mid wicket, a diving effort by Taylor got his hands to the ball but it popped out on landing and Kirk was denied a debut wicket. Glossop were getting further on top in the field and a great piece of fielding by John Rathburn left the Glossop man in a heap on the floor. Rathburn had to drive himself to hospital where it appears he has a dislocated shoulder, All the team wish him a quick recovery. With Rathburn out, Glossop had to find 2 overs from somewhere, Oliver Halpin had come on for Rathburn but it was Andy Wilde who stood up, took off the wicket keeping pads and took the ball. A fine first over bowling in tandem with Steve Page kept Charlesworth on the back foot and in both their seconds overs they struck. Page first, caught by Tim Halpin at short mid off and then a wicked googly by Wilde cleaned out the Charlesworth batsman. Charlesworth was behind the rate when Steve Kirkham came on to bowl, but he kept it tight with his best figures of the season, 2 overs 6 runs 1 maiden. Calvert and Taylor bowled the last 4, Calvert as tight as ever not giving anything away and Taylor cleaned up the tail with 2 wickets, the first of which clipped the top of the bails and whilst Andy Wilde was celebrating behind the stumps, promptly hit him in the centre of the forehead sending the keeper down. Fortunately he recovered, as the next ball was edged, dropped short of Page at slip who feathered it to Kirkham at gully who fired it in to Wilde who took off the bails for another runout stumping for Glossop’s Keeper. Charlesworth ended up on 108 and Glossop had won by 44 runs. A superb team performance where every player contributed. Glossop don’t just win, they offer comedy aswel which was apparent when Phil Hagerty, when looking for a ball fell though a fence and onto barbed wire. He survived and Glossop go Marching on. Man of the Match After a tough outing last time, Richard Marsden came back with a bang scoring 25 not out and taking 3 wickets for 8 runs. A superb all round performance and well deserved MOM. Glossop are now 4 wins out of 4 and welcome Hare and Hounds to North Road in a few weeks time. Another tough test, but one I think as a squad we can more than cope with. Up The Vets

** Match Report (03/07/2024 10:14am) ** Tonight, Glossop Vets welcomed Broadbottom Veterans to North Road and hoped to continue their strong start to the season. Glossop lost the toss and were put into bat but were hoping to post a big score as weather and pitch conditions were favourable. From ball 1 Glossop were on the front foot with Lewis Calvert and Steve Marsh setting the tone, attacking the Broadbottom bowling with some exquisite stroke play and strong running between the wickets. A partnership of 49 in quick time gave Glossop the platform they desired to punish Broadbottom. Both openers retired on 25 bringing Alex Carroll to the crease who continued his fine form with the bat and smashed a quick fire 15, backed up by Sam Alder who played well for 9 with 2 superb boundary shots to keep the runs flowing. Tim Halpin was in at 6 and started well helping to take Glossop over the 100 mark in the 13th over. Due to the fantastic start, the Lower middle order could let their hands go and the runs came thick and fast with Tim retiring on 27, Colin Taylor getting 21 and Paul Edgar hitting 25 off just 14 balls. A little cameo from Jay Allen and Steve Kirkham at the end of the innings meant Glossop could post 179, their highest total of the season. Broadbottom came out to start their chase, but Glossop went on the attack with some attacking fielding positions but needed some strong opening bowling to complement the field placings. Tim Halpin and Rick Ingham opened up and caused all sort of problems, only conceding 9 runs off the opening 4 overs, but it was Rick Ingham again, who made the breakthrough with a superb delivery that was knocked up to short mid-on and taken by Halpin. Ingham really is cementing his spot as Glossop’s opening bowler. Alder, Kirkham, Marsden and Allen bowled the next 8 overs and although wickets were tough to come by, all bowlers caused lots of issues and caused panic in Broadbottoms middle order forcing them to take some risky singles. Glossop’s fielding was sharp, a direct hit from Taylor and some excellent fielding from Steve Kirkham and Lewis Calvert resulted in 3 run outs, the last assisted by Steve Marsh who was deputising behind the stumps, 1 of many good things the Glossop wicket keeper did throughout the game. Broadbottom had been broken and were well behind the run rate, Glossops bowlers were still tight at the end and Alex Carroll finished off his excellent evening with a wicket, caught at mid wicket and Glossop tasted victory again. Broadbottom finished on 85 for 5….a 94 run victory for Glossop Vets. Man of the Match - Steve Marsh. Superb batting at the top of the order, setting the tone and platform for Glossop to post a large score, and also solid behind the stumps. This felt like the fixture where Glossop really got hold of the attacking cricket they want to play and if they continue with this positivity and attack mindedness, I'm not sure many teams will be able to cope with them.

Match Report...18th June vs Mottram (away) The threat of rain stayed away and Glossop vets could pull on their whites to entertain the expectant crowds at their first away game. Glossop were happy to welcome back Rick Marsden and Alex Carroll to the team and it was great to see Sam Alder making his debut. Glossop lost the toss and were put into bat, a position they were not use to but with a strong batting line up they were confident of posting a big score. After a few early wickets Steve Marsh and Rick Marsden settled the ship and both made vital scores of 19, with Marsden setting the tone with some big hitting and Steve Marsh pushing for quick runs. Colin Taylor came in at 6 and knocked a quick fire 25 not out to help settle things in the middle order, well supported by Alex Carroll who made 18. The wicket was slowing up but Lewis Calvert and Sam Alder added some vital runs in the last few overs and Glossop Vets ended up posting a combative score of 116. After a quick change around Rick Ingham and Lewis Calvert opened the bowling and although no wickets taken, bowling was tight and pressure was building. Steve Marsh came on and made the break through with a good length ball that was chipped up and taken by Colin Taylor at backward square leg, breaking a solid opening partnership. Mottram rallied and made good progress in the middle overs so Glossop were forced to bring on their number 1 strike bowler, and he didn't disappoint. Paul Edgar taking 2 wickets in his first over and slowing Mottram's progress. With the scores looking tight Jay Allen, Rick Marden, Alex Carrroll, Steve Kirkham and Sam Alder all bowled vital 2nd overs to keep Glossop in the game. Pressure built and Mottram were forced to take risky runs, the ball went loose and Glossop's wicket keeper, Andy Wilde snaffled the ball and aimed at the stumps, a direct hit ran out Mottram's danger man. Glossop were getting on top but Mottram only needed 13 runs off the last 2 overs for a big win. Taylor bowled the penultimate over and a wicket on the first ball, caught by Marsden at mid wicket helped increase the pressure on Mottram. Edgar bowled the last over and held his nerve only giving away 6 runs, leading the Vets to to a 6 run victory and helping them remain unbeaten in the season and leading to wild celebrations in the away team dressing room. Man of the Match: A proper all round team performance where everyone contributed but possibly just taken by Colin Taylor (*) with 25 not out and 2 overs 1 wicket for 3 runs and 1 catch. Glossop vets march on 🏏🍺 * Match report by Colin Taylor