St Aulaye Cricket à Chenaud, Dordogne, France

Daniel Nott, St Aulaye Cricket Junior Captain has been appointed the France Cricket National Team U-19 captain. Well done Daniel and looking forward to you leading the U-19 team to success over the coming years.

SW league final: St Aulaye (185-7 in 40 overs) beat Noé (167) by 18 runs

D Nott 0/K Harding 2/J Harding 54/O Mawdsley 90/J Dawkins 8 not out/A Bodet 0 not out (partnership for 3^rd wicket 162)

D Nott 52/K Harding 14/J Harding 6/O Mawdsley 16/J Dawkins 0/A Vye 0/A Bodet 7/S Johnson 15/L McCaffrey 22/R Johnson 3/J Bedford 4 not out

Central Lancashire League U/15s v A SW France U/15s XI: Wednesday 24 August (40 overs)

Saddleworth & District League U/15s v A SW France U/15s XI: Thursday 25 August (40 overs)

D Nott 4/K Harding 23/J Harding 1/ O Mawdsley 17/A Vye 3/S Johnson 0/L McCaffrey 6/J Bedford 7/J Dawkins 1/R Johnson 6/A Bodet 0 not out

D Nott 3, K Harding 2, O Mawdsley 3, J Dawkins 1, J Harding 1, L McCaffrey 2, A Vye 2

St Aulaye Cricket have finished top of their pool in the south-west section of the French national league – after losing their first two matches.

The season started off with a close encounter at Eymet, St Aulaye losing by 7 runs. (The visitors had only 10 men after a late drop-out.) Eymet won the toss and batted first, scoring 169-7 in their 40 overs. St Aulaye replied with 162 all out with contributions from I Sheikh (46), J Harding (30) and a quick 28 not out from S Singh.

The second match was at home against Bordeaux. This time the St Aulaye captain, A Raynor, won the toss and batted first. St Aulaye gained maximum batting bonus points scoring 258-9, mainly thanks to a powerful innings of 95 from J Harding who put on 105 with D Nott (33). But Bordeaux chased down the total with relative ease, winning by 8 wickets.

St Aulaye finally got into winning ways at Mansle. The home team won the toss and batted first but were all out for 127 with the main wicket takers J Harding (4-18), B Wedgwood (3-30) and I Sheikh (2-11). A Raynor scored 95 not out in St Aulaye’s reply, which gave them an easy 8-wicket win.

Another victory followed against Eymet at home. Again, Eymet won the toss and batted, scoring 172-8 in their 40 overs with J Harding (3-31) and B Wedgwood (2-26) bowling well. St Aulaye got off to a good start through their openers, A Raynor (31) and K Harding (23), but a minor collapse followed. Mainly thanks to a 50 partnership between D Nott (51 not out) and A Hossain (21), St Aulaye managed a tight 1-wicket victory.

They continued on their merry way against Mansle at home. On the hottest day of the year so far A Raynor won the toss and – of course – batted first. The openers (A Raynor, 60, and D Nott, 31) put on 95 for the first wicket; then a quick-fire 78 from J Harding and 38 not out from I Sheikh brought the St Aulaye total to 259-4. Mansle fielded well with 9 players and then batted well to get to 240-6, losing by 19 runs – thanks to some tight bowling in the middle overs and 3 wickets from I Sheikh.

And then came the crunch match against Bordeaux, with both teams on 88 points and Eymet on 112 having played all their games, so a win with 5 bonus points for either side would see them winning their pool.

St Aulaye’s replacement captain – A Raynor being on a bike ride for Cancer Research – won the toss and, you guessed it, batted first. St Aulaye started off well, the new opening pair of J Harding (62) and D Nott (24) putting on 63 for the first wicket. I Sheikh (28), B Wedgwood (23 not out) and 48 extras, mainly wides, pushed the score up to 196-9 – just not enough for the third batting bonus point.

In their reply Bordeaux made a steady start but then collapsed to 124 all out; B Wedgwood took 4-16 and A Hossain and I Sheikh 2 wickets each; there were several good catches and two spectacular runouts. Overall it was the best fielding performance of the season.

With four bowling and two batting bonus points, added to the 20 for a win, St Aulaye passed Eymet’s total to top the pool. They now meet a club from the southern pool in a play-off match at Eymet on 31 July.

On Thursday 14 July a team of five young and one not so young cyclists, all members of St Aulaye Cricket set out on a sponsored bike ride from Brossac to Royan in order to raise funds for their forthcoming junior tour to Lancashire in August. Taking part were Olly Mawdsley, James Bedford, John Harding, Adrian Raynor (team captain) and his daughter. In back up cars were Wynford and Amanda Hicks, Charlie Nott and Keith Randell. Charlie’s son Daniel was unable to take part as he was in Paris training with the French U19 side but still managed to raise 330 Euros!

After some hard riding in pleasant weather three of the team completed the course which was a distance of approximately 90kms, the other two completing a very large part of the course as well.

As a “reward” the tour finished in a campsite close to the sea at La Palmyre for two nights where the juniors enjoyed themselves surfboarding on the “Cote Sauvage” complete with a bit of sunburn! They even managed to prepare and demolish a 5 course meal on the Friday night.

The trip raised several hundred Euros and together with some help from the Conseil General de la Dordogne, an enjoyable tour of Lancs should be guaranteed. They will be joined by several juniors from Toulouse CC, and at least three games are planned against strong opposition, together with a guided tour of Old Trafford cricket ground.

Stage préparatoire et programme EDF féminine

About 30 young cricketers (of both sexes) took part including groups from the Institut Educatif pour Garçons, St Jory de Chalais, the Foyer de la Beauronne, Périgueux, and St Aulaye Cricket. The age range was 9 to 18, so the players were divided into two groups.

In the morning session the younger group (9-13) played an informal practice game with the St Aulaye players using a soft ball (so no pads, helmets etc), on the cricket field, while a senior player from St Aulaye Cricket supervised the older cricketers in the nets, concentrating on bowling actions. In the afternoon the older cricketers played a 25-over match with each side batting for the full 25 overs – if all 10 wickets fall, batters return for a second innings.

The younger group meanwhile used the nets and the outfield, coached by one St Aulaye junior who wasn’t playing in the match. A senior player from St Aulaye Cricket was able to keep an eye on this – and things in general –the father of one the younger players umpired the match (with members of the batting side at square leg).

For the second day it was decided not to combine the two age groups but to arrange a separate session for the younger juniors (see below). Participants this time came from St Jory de Chalais (5), the Périgueux Foyer (4), the Foyer des 3F, Bergerac (2) and St Aulaye Cricket (6) plus two holiday members: a total of 19.

In the morning session there was continuous cricket with as many pairs as possible batting for five overs and bowlers having two-over spells. The organisers tried to ensure that those who might not bowl in the main match – and wanted to bowl – got the chance.

In the afternoon we played a 25-over match (9 against 10), which was umpired by Stephen Harrison, with another volunteer father at square leg. Again a senior player from St Aulaye Cricket could keep an eye on things and operate or supervise the scoreboard.

The coaching and practice session for 9-13-year-olds was divided into three parts. First club captain Adrian Raynor supervised a continuous cricket session with younger boys batting in pairs with older ones; they wore full protective clothing including helmets. Then a senior player worked with the four younger boys on basic batting skills. Finally two of the St Aulaye junior players took the boys through a series of fielding drills.

The weather has been perfect on all three days. Everybody who took part seemed to enjoy the cricket – and would like more. Some activities are already planned:

Well done Alizée

Women's cricket in Thoiry : report

FC
21 July 2010

The Chateau de Thoiry Cricket Club on the 3rd and 4th July saw female cricketers from different parts of France converge to share their love of cricket. Ladies and girls from Lille, Saint-Aulaye, Nantes and the Ile de France came to work on their skills and to enjoy playing together.

Richard and Stephen Woodall put players through fielding, batting and bowling drills. Many were introduced to the slips cradle for the first time and were surprised by the quick changes of angle that the ball made after hitting or skidding off the curved surface of the cradle. This was followed by a throwing exercise which was aimed at improving technique and accuracy.
The first batting drill had the players hitting the ball between cones on the off side. This then led to an exercise that encourages front foot play, the drive not being a natural shot for girls. A short bowling drill followed with everyone vying to be the one to hit the stumps most often.

These exercises managed to whet the cricket appetite of the girls and they couldn't wait to play a game. They were divided up into pairs and a double wicket competition ensued. There were good displays of straight bat to the straight ball and some elegant stroke play was evident. In the field there were some good catches and excellent returns to the stumps. There was great team spirit as the more experienced players were always eager to help the newcomers.

There was a visit on Sunday morning by a journalist from the Daily Telegraph UK and his photographer. Some of the promising young players were interviewed and photos taken.

The following prizes were awarded at the end of the weekend.

Best Fielding	batting gloves to Alizée Bodet (Saint-Aulaye)
Best Batting	batting gloves to Chantal Woods (Thoiry)
Best Bowler	a trophy to Sharon Whiting (Thoiry)
Best Newcomer	a bat to Caroline Ella-Meye (Lille)
Promising Batsman	batting gloves to Emma Chancé (Thoiry)
Player of weekend	a cricket bag to Alizée Bodet (Saint-Aulaye)

Thank you to Chantal Woods and Chateau de Thoiry Cricket Club for providing additional prizes. Thank you to Dany Woodall for providing a sumptuous lunch on Sunday.

The event was thought to be a success by all. Everybody had a great time playing the game that they love.

News – St Aulaye Cricket

Cricket is an Olympic Sport - again.

During the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver in February 2010, the Olympic Council recognised cricket as an Olympic sport. Attached you can actually see what the certificate looks like - a simple form that has taken years of work by the ICC and national cricket bodies to achieve.

Why is this important? Mainly because in many countries, including France, being an Olympic sport gives slightly easier access to government and other grants for the development of the game. Even better would be if cricket were actually included as in the games - there is a strong movement to try to get into the games of 2020 obviously with the Twenty/20 version of cricket.

Why again? There was a game played in the Paris games of 1900 between a team from England and one from France - the French came second - and after a bit of a kerfuffle medals were actually awarded. Cricket has not featured since then so, in effect, France is the current Olympic Silver medallist for cricket!!!!!

Mole Massacre at Chenaud.

Over about 2 weeks at the cricket ground the John the moleman eliminated 20 of the pesky creatures which had proliferated in the worm-rich soil. The molehills and the burrows have made the ground very uneven and so the next activity will be a heavy roller to level and compact the surface - Tim Williams has volunteered to do this once the conditions are right.

Anyone wanting to make use of the mole elimination service should contact John Hall, le Loubat, 24150 Mauzac et Grand Castang Tel 05 53 22 07 32 Mob: 06 06 45 96 71

or johnthemoleman@aol.com

Happy hunting

2009

2009 has had an interesting beginning for the club with a number of successful events. On the social front the traditional English quiz night held at Bonnes on 13^th March attracted over 120 people and raised around € 1000 for the club funds. Tim Williams organised the evening and special thanks are due to Valerie Wareham as quiz-mistress and to many club members who prepared and served food and drinks, sold tickets and tidied up afterwards. The AGM and Dinner at Chez Raoul in Bertric Burée organised by Keith Randell was a convivial evening for around 25 people. The committee was re-elected unopposed despite voting to raise the senior licence charge from 2010.

Practice for juniors and seniors has been on-going in the Sports Hall at St Aulaye since January and this has paid off as our team won the ACCSO – North Indoor tournament held at St Astier. There were even enough young St Aulaye players available to lend some to other teams! Outdoor training has now started at the ground (weather permitting) for juniors on Wednesday evenings and for seniors on Thursday evenings. Our key challenge remains finding enough senior players to ensure a full team for each game so new members are most welcome and actively sought.

Thanks to support from the ICC Europe office via France Cricket the club at last has a full size Notts Sports matting wicket. We are hoping for further grants from the French Sports Ministry and from the Perigord Sports Department to offset some of the costs of extending the concrete base and putting the mat and underlay in place. This work has been carried out by club captain Adrian Raynor helped by friend Nick and Mike Gant and will provide us with a European standard pitch appropriate for our national league games and for other national level matches.

Up coming events include a junior session at Damazan on 8 – 10 May where the game against the South-East will be part of the preparation and selection for the national U15 squad. We are hopeful for several of our juniors including John Harding who has already played in French national teams.

Finally, the club has been featured on the sports section of Radio Bleu Perigord by Francis Lacour, every day for the week beginning 27^th April. You can hear the interviews elsewhere on the website.

Stephen Harrison,

President.

30 April 2009