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The 1st XI finished 6th in Div 1 which was a fair reflection on their season. They played 21 games, won 9, lost 9 and had 3 loosing draws with one rained off match. As with past seasons they performed well against the top sides – beating Winners Wellingborough and 2nd place Geddington at Orlingbury road where we only lost 2 games all season and won 7. It was on their travels that the 1st XI struggled, losing 7 and only managing 2 wins. The cricket played was positive (not once did they bat out for a losing draw) which made it enjoyable - most of the time! This was highlighted in the home fixture against eventual league winners Wellingborough. 21 was hit off the final 2 overs of the game to win it with only 3 wickets in hand, a situation where many teams would have settled for the draw.
The stand out players for the season were Chris Harrison with the bat. 610 runs @ 35.88. With the ball Andy Law continued to show that like a fine wine he gets better with every year that passes! 41 wickets @ 20.05 with 4 wickets in 4 balls against Geddington!  This year’s overseas – Adam Somerfield, managed to surpass all expectations with an excellent season. 59 wickets (not bad considering he didn’t get his first wicket until 3 games into the season!!) and 536 runs. A fantastic return.
The highs were the wins against the two top sides, the low point had to be losing to Thrapston at home after bowling them out for 116 and going from 60-1 to 112 all out!! Just 7 more points would have seen us finish a more respectable 4th so maybe the ability to grind out a draw or two from games when the win is not possible has to be something we look at for the 2010 season?
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The 2nd XI made their debut in Div 5 and finished a very credible 7th. After 2 consecutive promotions the 2009 season was all about stabilising in a very tough division. Similarly to the 1st XI they won the same number of games as they lost – 8, with 6 draws.
Top of the runs was Ian Kelland with 449 runs @ 44.9. Mention also has to go to Abid Zia who scored 350 runs @ 87.5 in just 5 games before being promoted to the 1st XI for the rest of the season. Shaun Wills topped the bowling with 29 wickets @ 22.69.
Div 5 was always going to be more of an uphill challenge than 6 and 7 in the previous seasons and by the end of July the 2’s were 2nd from bottom in a division with 3 teams facing the drop. Lesser sides would have imploded but instead they went on a dramatic streak of 4 wins and a draw in 5 games to lift themselves well out of relegation to mid table safety with 2 games remaining. Hopefully 2010 will see them progress further, challenging at the top of the table.
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