Goresbrook 'A' Indoor League Season Review  

Indoor Season Review 2007/08 - Won 5 (1 by forfeit) - Lost 2, finshed 2nd place

Dave Whisker - ever present
Dave skippered the side all year due to the unavailability of Scott Barwick and despite advancing years, finished in a dead heat with son Kurt as the team's outstanding fielder. Nothing went past Dave in the mid- off slot as he remains the most effective diver since Jacques Cousteau hung up his wetsuit. However the batsmen would have been well advised to hit the ball at pace at his feet, as anything bowled there when he was batting typically required the leg stump to arrest it's progress. When not playing round, over or about a second after Yorkers, Dave produced his usually mixture of lusty biffing and kamikaze running from the number 6 slot, usually in a comedy duo with number 5 Richie, a typical week's work usually producing a couple of fortunate scampered singles before one ran the other out.
 
His bowling was also solid whenever called upon, although that was much less often than in previous years as the skipper settled into the role of 5th bowler in a side that usually only used 4, his season's return of 2 for 15 off 3 overs suggesting that he should have bowled more! That oversight apart, his captaincy was hard to fault, as he juggled his bowlers with aplomb, bringing spin into the attack at the first hint of trouble and never letting the batsman settle against the seamers. Indeed the bowling and fielding remains the side's great strength, as it was the failure to score more than 61 against Hornchurch or to chase 75 (well below their average score) against eventual Champions Upminster that ultimately cost us dear. Toss wise, Dave had a disappointing year losing all 6, which is simply not good enough at this level.
 
Richard Williams - ever present
In what was a peculiar and inconsistent season for the A side as a whole, our Northern exile was undoubtedly the epitome . Richie's performances ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, excellent to mediocre and scintillating to down right nerve jangling - and these were just the feelings felt after our first game as, after guiding us into a winning position, he proceeded to score no runs and get himself out from the first 5 balls of the last over! The most consistent part of Richie's game was his fielding. Despite declaring himself the "indoor Jonty Rhodes" (Tony Clarke was adamant he meant Gary), Richie's fielding proved to be as infuriating as ever, with numerous dropped catches and the world's slowest throw whilst attempting a run out (I use the word attempting in the loosest possible way) being the highlights.

In all honesty his bowling was as steady as always, save from the onslaught he suffered at the hands of Alan Ison, which left him cowering in the corner for the next 6 overs. There was also a definite improvement in his batting (excluding running) which saved us all from hearing the story about when he won us the South Woodford game about 3 years ago. If his time keeping improves next year so that we don't have to rely on Dave's (in)ability to win the toss, he should find himself dropping more catches in the A sides leg side corner.
 
Kurt Whisker - ever present
It was another quality season for Whisker jnr, albeit not quite touching the heights of the previous campaign. Extra weight appears the most likely explanation for the reduction in wickets taken (down to 7 this year from double figures), although whether that is Kurt's noticeable extra pounds slowing him down slightly, or the keeper's extra mass reducing his ability to leap for the caught behinds is a debatable point. The random mixture of very short or very full was still as hard to get away with the bouncy white ball as it is easy to despatch on the Annex in the summer, Kurt producing a degree of indoor tightness not seen since the legendary occasion when Boon sat the Wilkinson brothers down to ask for a £2.50 a week increase in rent.
 
With the bat Kurt lead the team in run scoring as usual, notching up a couple of retirements and untypically for a man who just loves to bat, getting out twice in the 20's. One of those dismissals when he was yorked against Upminster produced a rueful shake of the head and the predictable assertion that the ball swung about 2 feet at the last second. The other dismissal for 24 against struggling Chadwell Heath virtually reduced Kurt to tears however, given that his prospect of coming back in against Steve Lugg and a 14 year old had just been snatched away.
 
Darren Robinson - 5 games
Robbo continues to set the standard behind the stumps in the Havering League, his stumpings and catching whilst standing up to the sticks to everyone bar Kurt & Richie being a crucial factor in the side's performances in the field. Standing back to the pacemen who are largely banging the ball in is a thankless task and Robbo saved numerous runs with some goalkeeper like acrobatics, batting the ball away from the wall on a regular basis. If he could occasionally try to catch one of those when the batsman has edged it however, he would earn full marks.
 
Batting wise Robbo remains a riddle wrapped in a enigma, hidden beneath an XL shirt. He regularly brings back memories of destructive innings of years past with some superb strokes only then to spoon a catch next ball. He did manage to hit Micky Evans for six off something approaching the middle of the bat this season though, rather than off the handle as he did a couple of years ago.
 
Lawrence Walsh - 4 games
With Christmas lunch and skiing being added to dodgy mayonnaise and the V Festival in the lengthy list of Walsh absence excuses over the past year, it was a somewhat stop-start campaign for the wily veteran this season. Batting wise that meant that he never really got going, the off side maestro failing to reach double figures all campaign. Bowling wise, Walsh's absences were a severe blow, as aside from one outing where the Seven Kings opener took a liking to spin, Walsh was the main cog in the Goresbrook bowling side. After that first day drubbing, Walsh slowed his bowling down, which came to a shock to his teammates who barely thought that was possible. However (as is usually the case) the sage of Dagenham Avenue was proven correct, his flighted leg breaks extracted extravagant turn and tied a succession of batsman in knots as he finished leading wicket taker despite sending down only 11 overs all season.
 
Toby Maund - 4 games
After being drafted into the A team in week 3 to address the side's batting frailties once it became clear that the tail effectively started at 2, Toby took to the top division like a duck to water. A promising start against Upminster was translated into 22 against Chadwell Heath and 33* in the final game against Upminster B as the side finally found the man to get them off to a flying start, a mere 5 years after Robbo gave up the post in 2003....Toby showed the sort of telepathic understanding with opening partner Kurt Whisker not seen since Brad Winsley's heyday when calling was done by tic tac or semaphore. A mere nod of his mighty head was sufficient to call his partner through, and regular watchers of Goresbrook's batting were given the shock of their lives when we actually ran singles in the opening overs.
 
With the ball Toby also proved a more than useful addition, although he took the opposite approach to Walsh and speeded up his deliveries to the point when he was probably the second quickest bowler in the side off one stride. He also took the gloves against Ardleigh Green and took a couple of stunning catches, although his attempt to stump the batsman from 12 feet behind the stumps (and retreating) either require a bit more practise or Inspector Gadget's arms.
 
Paul Atkins - 3 games
The pigeon played the first 3 games of the season before falling foul of the selectors' desire for somebody to bat with Kurt for more than an over, and it was a rollercoaster ride for Bev followers. Game 1 saw a tidy return of 1-10 and a heroic 3 off the final ball to bail the side out of the hole Richie had dug in the final over. Game 2 saw our hero called upon to bowl the final over of the innings with 12 required. Unfortunately 12 was how many Hornchurch scored and Goresbrook slipped to 1 wicket defeat. The final game saw a couple of overs go for 17 and an edgy 6 with the bat and Sunday afternoons after that involved counting up the points his fantasy team had racked up the previous day.
 
Disappointingly for such a club stalwart who never lets his skipper down, Bev missed out on selection for the B team in their 4th game and then mainly due to his own unavailability, didn't play again all season, therefore the most prolific slower ball in the business won't be seen again until May, although for the uninitiated, the batsman will see it before you do...
 
Michael Rooke - 2 games
Ratboy was another to get his first taste of the top division this year and typical of his indoor performances to date, he had more success with the ball than the bat. A superb spell of 2-2 against Ardleigh Green was followed by another good showing against Upminster B, where he bowled much better than his figures of 1-30 suggested given that his entire spell was directed at a rampant Alan Ison.
 
Batting wise the Rat's lack of pace between the wickets didn't become an issue, largely because he didn't last long enough to consider a run against Ardleigh Green and against Upminster B he batted with Dave Whisker, where it doesn't matter whether you are Linford Christie or Lyn Faulds-Wood, when Dave fancies a run, you better take off regardless....
 
Leading batting:
K Whisker       101 runs @ 20.20
T Maund           77 runs @ 25.67
R Williams        50 runs @ 10.00
 
Leading bowling:
L Walsh        9 wickets @ 8.33, econ 6.81
K Whisker    7 wickets @ 10.29, econ 4.24
R Williams   6 wickets @ 13.83, econ 5.33

Link to Havering Indoor League tables .. here