Saturday saw 2 Wins and 2 Losses.

After last week’s washout, the sunshine returned for the Maldon first elevens first home match of the season looking to build on week one’s impressive win at Worlington. With the wicket being previously used, the toss was of vital importance.

Maldon lost the toss and were put into the field. An opening blitz by the Mistley opener Goff (26) put Maldon on the back foot. When Goff went with the score on 60 any chance of building on this opening was lost with two costly dropped catches of opener Waduge, who went on to score a valuable 104. Chris Harris was pick of the bowlers with 3 for 30 and after Mistley reached 206 for 4 a flurry of late wickets from Wild 3 for 46 and Anderson 3 for 59 which helped to restrict Mistley to a final score of 235.

Maldon’s response started well, with the pitch becoming slower and lower; at 127 for 2 victory looked within their grasp largely due to a steady 39 by youngster Max Bryant and an explosive 62 from the inform Ian Elliott. When Elliott went caught on the midwicket boundary to a rank long hop, their 91 run partnership came to an end. Wickets then started to tumble mainly due to some poor shot choices and with nobody being able to support the aggressive Anderson, who scored a well-paced but ultimately fruitless 48, the match was lost.

Maldon will need to improve in all areas if they are to return to winning ways when they travel to Hadleigh next Saturday.

Travelling away to Nacton, Maldons 2nd eleven won the toss and elected to bowl on an uneven pitch. Jack Riley (3-30 off 14) and Liam Saxton (2-16 off 10) opened the bowling and got the side off to a good start with economical bowling, earning a few deserved early wickets. Nacton’s opening bat Glading led a patient innings with 80, the only support being from their number 9 batsman with 26 not out. No other batsman reached double figures due to some excellent bowling in the middle overs from Belfrage, James Ellis and Gary Bannister, with Riley returning at the death, restricting Nacton to 147-9 from their 45 overs.

In return, the Maldon openers got off to a steady start with numerous extras being given away by the Nacton opening bowlers. Paul Bardo in at 3, followed by scoring a well-made 31. The match swung well in Maldon’s favour when Gary Bannister came to the crease batting at number 5. Despite wickets tumbling around him, a clever and attacking innings of 38 not out, led Maldon to their first win of the season by 2 wickets. Overall, a good team performance.

Maldon 3’s left in glorious sunshine for the away game at Mildenhall, losing the toss, Maldon were asked to bat first. Openers Stuart Coker and Steve Harris were looking comfortable against some good accurate bowling; Coker tried to force the scoring on and got a top edge to backward point, this brought Steve Gozzett to the crease. The two Steve’s kept the scoreboard ticking over, but runs were hard to come by with consistent bowling and good fielding. Gozzett departed for 29 and Harris reached his 50 before falling for 52. Andy Phipps making his debut hit a few runs late on assisted by Cameron Blackboro who hit his first ball for 6! Maldon felt the 145 they scored was short of what they needed. In Reply, veteran Michael Newman and Andy Phipps were bowling well and Andy picked up 2 quick wickets both caught by Dave Richardson, the first one being a stunning one handed effort at full stretch and on the run, Richardson was the most shocked person on the field when it stuck in his hand, but with the pitch becoming easier to bat on and not enough runs on the board, Mildenhall reached their target in the 32nd over. The youngster’s again showed that we have some good kids coming through and Lawrence Wright being not out at the end and fielding well was another highlight.

Maldon’s 4th Eleven welcomed Earls Cone to the Prom, with an evergreen surface. The visitors won the first battle of the day, as the coin landed in their favour, electing to bowl first.

Maldon got off to a poor start, losing three wickets for less than twenty runs. As Matt Shinn and Jamie Brown arrived at the crease, things were looking bleak for the Dons; however a partnership of over 120 runs between the pair set Maldon on their way to posting a competitive score. Shinn eventually chipped one to mid-off having scored 83, which included several long distance maximums and Brown Jnr departed shortly after for an impressive 30, on his senior cricket debut. As the innings drew to a close, Captain Paul Gregory and younger son, Joe managed to guide the Dons to 172 from their 40 overs.

As young pairing of Ethan Bardo and Joe Entwhistle opening the bowling, the visitors raced to 49 without loss after just a few overs. However, a fight back from the youngsters ensured Earls Colne soon found themselves 66 for 5. Two inspired bowling changes from Captain Gregory signalled the end for Earls Colne with match winner, Shinn and Lewis Allen picking up the final wickets between them. Allen’s moon-balls, combined with Shinn’s ‘skidy-swingers’ were just too much for Colne who were eventually bowled out for 78, handing the Dons victory by a margin of 94 runs.

Our well-wishes go to the young, Earls Colne fielder who suffered a nasty blow to his face whilst doing his best to stop the ball in the outfield. Everyone at Maldon Cricket Club would like to wish him a very speedy recovery.