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Sad News....
Mark Richard "Kipper" McCallum 1974 - 2008
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the untimely death of Mark McCallum, probably the most popular overseas player that we have had at this club. Tragically, he suffered fatal injuries in an accident at work earlier this week.
" Kipper ", as he was affectionately known, who came from Queensland Australia, represented the club as our overseas player in 1998 and 1999 and also spent a short time with us in the 2005 season when he played in the County League.
Our thoughts are with his Mum and Dad, Ann and Rod, and the rest of his family and friends at this very difficult time. Even at this early stage, discussions are taking place regarding a perpetual memorial for Mark.
As a mark of respect, there will be a minute's silence before the club's senior matches on Saturday and all players will be asked to wear black armbands. '
To read a beautiful tribute to Mark in his local newspaper please click here
We have set aside our message board for you to leave your thoughts and respects to Mark, we will of course pass these on to his family.
OE's win comfortably against Newport
OE's 2nd XI travelled to Bromsgrove to play their opening game and returned empty handed. The winning margin of eight wickets probably flattered the home side a little, but nonetheless the Boars coped with the tricky surface well and looked a well organised side who play to their strengths.
Having won a vital toss OE's were put in on a pitch with some dampness in it from being covered. Dave Phillips and Chris Dale found life difficult early on with the ball responding to both movement off the pitch and in the air. Phillips (6) went in the ninth over when he flashed at a wide delivery in sheer frustration. Debutant Richard Gardiner followed with a few balls when he shouldered arms to a ball that swung back late and trapped him leg before. Skipper Chris Pearman and Dale then took the score onto 53 playing watchfully against some tight bowling. Pearman was next to go when he edged a turning ball from Ali. Dale's resistance ended when he chopped a ball from Ali onto his stumps, he had made 34.
The sun was now starting to act and whilst the seam movement was there the ball had now stopped swing in the same way as it did earlier. A aggressive 50 run partnership between Andy Stephens and Stuart Tipper was just what was needed as Bromsgrove, for a short time at least, looked under pressure. Tipper went for 22 when he got another ball that seamed back and bowled him. Mike Payne then went without scoring when he was bowled by by one of the balls of the day. Stephens continued to play well and shared a 42 run partnership with Jon Sprague (28). Stephens went in the 42nd over when he drilled a full toss straight back to the bowler Bilborough, he had made a typically stylish 41. The rest of the innings rather fizzled out as Paul Husbands (3-38) polished off the tail with the score on 177.
The characteristics of the pitch had changed slightly and it was definitely a little easier to bat on second up, but the lateral movement was still there to cause problems. A dreadful start from the visitors saw them concede a 40 runs start in just five overs with some errant line and length. To their credit the opening attack of Martin Johnson and Ryan Biggerstaff pulled things back once they found the right areas to bowl on pitch that the batsmen would never feel truly at ease with. Both openers went within a few balls of each other, firstly when Jason Court (32) was brilliantly run out by a pinpoint throw from Stu Tipper and then Johnson (1-38) had Rose caught in the slip cordon by Pearman.
Barnes and Bennison were both new to the crease and OE's applied pressure. Bennison had a lucky escape when he was inexplicably dropped by Stephens at point before he had scored. Difficult chances followed to fielders in the deep but none were taken as the third wicket pair started to dominate. In truth they rode their luck a little, finding gaps with some aerial shots, but no more so than the OE's batters had earlier on a pitch that had been difficult to look fluent on all day. The visitors could find no answer to the onslaught as first Barnes and then Bennison reached their half-centuries. Bromsgrove eased to their winning target with five overs still to bowl and eight wickets still intact.
Bromsgrove, as they did last season, look a well balanced side with a purpose. On the day OE's had plenty of intent, and although they had the worst of the conditions, really needed to take more wickets on a helpful surface.
Old Elizabethans 177 A.Stephens 41, C.Dale 34.
Bromsgrove 179-2 M.Johnson 1-38
Bromsgrove won by eight wickets
OE's too strong for Halesowen
Old Elizabethans cruised to a comprehensive nine wicket win over Birmingham League 1st Division side Halesowen at the Memorial Ground on Saturday in their final warm-up game of the season.
OE's won the toss and invited the visitors to bat first on a pitch that looked like it would offer some assistance to the bowlers.This decision seemed to be vindicated when Matt Sprague (1-33) bowled the dangerous opener Ishtiaq with the score on just 12. However, when Mapstone (43) was joined by Suckling (34) the pair scored at a brisk pace, moving the total on to 40 off just 6 overs.
The north Worcester side's attack then regained control and pegged Halesowen back to less than three runs and over for the remainder of their innings. Ollie Griffiths (3-29) did most to frustrate the batsmen with a spell of miserly bowling, at one stage bowling 6 consecutive maidens and ending with the very impressive figures of 17 overs, 9 maidens, three wickets for twenty nine runs. He was well supported by stalwart Stuart Phillips (2-29) and both bowlers made it difficult for the Halesowen batsmen to get the ball off the square.
Matt Pardoe (35) offered some resistance but a reasonable scoring pace was never regained and Halesowen closed their 45 over innings on 147-6. The Old Elizabethans attack and fielding had restricted the visitors to an achievable target, providing that they batted sensibly.
Jamie Boyle (79 not out) and Andy Hemming opened the innings and had taken the home side to within 9 runs of their target with some patient and well-measured batting, never looking to be in any real trouble. The pair's 139 run partnership was achieved in 32 overs and when fittingly Jamie Boyle hit the winning runs, the decisive victory had been achieved with 12 overs to spare.
Old Elizabethans now open their Birmingham League Division 2 campaign at the Memorial Ground next Saturday when they entertain Shropshire outfit Newport and then travel to Kington on Sunday to compete in a national knock out competition.
Halesowen - 147-6 Ollie Griffiths 3-29, Stuart Phillips 2-49
Old Elizabethans 148-1 - Jamie Boyle 79 not out, Andy Hemming 51
Old Elizabethans Won by 9 wickets
Old Elizabethans first match in division three of the Worcestershire County League proved to be a tough one against Belbroughton, who were still smarting from their relegation last season. On a drying pitch both teams produced some fine cricket, but the docile surface proved to be the winner as neither side could force the win.
Having inserted their visitors to get best use of the dampness in the top surface OE's couldn't have got off to a better start when opener Geoff Day departed without scoring in the first over from Martin Johnson. Tom Oliver and Will Pardoe then played watchfully for a while before accelerating once the initial seam movement went. A 78 run partnership ended when Oliver drilled a simple return catch to Chris Pearman. Pardoe and Mark Burrows played a little more watchfully for a while as OE's introduced spin in the form of Andy Stephens. After a steady partnership of 57 Pardoe's patience finally cracked when he sent a high catch to Martin Johnson off Stephens for a stylish 40.
Belbroughton, at 107 for 2 with twenty overs still to bowl, looked well placed to post a big total. However, they rather squandered their chance to assert dominance on the game by playing some injudicious shots. Sam Turner impressed with some hard hitting in mid-order with 48 at a run-a – ball, but lacked support. With Turner departing to the resilient Ed Ford (2-62) the visitors innings rather petered out, although 232 still looked a rather challenging total.
Dave Truby and Chris Dale opened up for OE's and were soon in trouble. Truby falling to an ill-judged pull shot in the third over for nought. Dale had looked in good touch but went with the score at 26 when he was smartly stumped when he was adjudged to have raised his foot slightly. Pearman and Phil Slade then steadied things with a watchful partnership. The scoring rate was always a little subdued as the home side found the tight bowling difficult to manoeuvre. Slade battled manfully to inject some much need urgency into the play with some lovely leg-side shots. Pearman was out with the score on 119 when he was harshly adjudged lbw for 33 from 98 balls. Slade continued to accelerate and reached 50 from 78 balls. Slade departed for 69 when he misjudged a leave and was bowled. Jon Sprague (29) and Andy Stephens then had some hard work to do to get the innings back on track, but both fell trying to force the pace of an innings that had rather lost its way in the run chase.
With overs running out OE's only viable option was to ensure they were not bowled out. On the docile pitch this proved easier than their attempt to score quickly had been earlier, and they held on with Rob Butterworth and Skipper Kevin Tipper at the crease. At the end they were 34 runs short with three wickets in hand.
Honours even at the end of the day between two well matched sides. OE's next match will be a visit to Enville.
Belbroughton 232-8 T.Oliver 59
Old Elizabethans 198-7 P.Slade 69
Match Drawn
Mixed fortunes in damp start to the season
(report by Dave Tyrrell)
Old Elizabethans entertained a strong Bromsgrove side in the first of their two pre-season friendlies at the Memorial Ground on Saturday.
With some regular 1st team players missing, skipper Sean Cairney won the toss and elected to bat first in very cold conditions. The home side got off to a steady start with openers Simon Macey (19) and Jamie Boyle (11) putting on 34 before Macey was bowled by Walker. Boyle fell only 5 runs later and when the next wicket was lost with the addition of only one run, OE's had to rebuild their innings.
Jamie Alford (15) and Sean Cairney (13) had added 22 when Cairney was caught behind off the bowling of Bromsgrove captain Evenson. Runs proved hard to come by as the home side lost wickets at crucial times and apart from Stuart Tipper's unbeaten 28, no-one was able to post a significant score. When the innings closed at the 40 over mark, Old Elizabethans had only posted a total of 117-7 which was unlikely to prove a challenging target for the visitors.
Bromsgrove set off at a brisk pace as the weather conditions gradually became worse. Omar Ali fell to a catch by keeper Mike Payne off the bowling of Stuart Phillips with the score on 24. This proved to be the only success for the north Worcester side as international batsman Alex Kerveezee (69 not out) and Jones (31 not out) knocked off the required runs in less than an hour to finish the game within 18 overs, leaving Bromsgrove the winners by 9 wickets.
Old Elizabethans now entertain Halesowen next week prior to starting their Birmingham League campaign on 3rd May against Shropshire outfit Newport.
Old Elizabethans 117-7, Stuart Tipper 28 not out, Simon Macey 19
Bromsgrove 118-1, Alex Kerveezee 69 not out, Jones 31 not out
Bromsgrove Won by 9 Wickets
The second team travelled across to Pershore to play their first XI in a friendly. Pershore scored 239-7 in their 45 overs. The rain came to end OE's innings on 160-4.
Fantasy start for Dale
(report by Mark Walker)
Chris Dale's 5 for 19 and 95 runs piled up the points for those lucky enough to have chosen him in their Fantasy X1 this year and ensured that the OEs County X1 cruised to a comfortable win against Pershore 2nd X1.
Having won the toss, Pershore batted on a slow track in extremely cold weather. With the fielders struggling to feel their hands, the openers got off to a swift start putting on 34 before Walker took a good catch off Rees to break the partnership.
The introduction of Dale soon slowed the scoring down and a steady stream of wickets followed as he put the ball in the right areas and allowed the pitch to do the rest. Colin Rees (2 for 23) and Dave Rouse (2 for 40) both chipped in with useful wickets but the match was also notable for the debut of 15 year old leg spinner Ryan Cowan who produced a significant amount of spin on a slow wicket and will cetainly have batsmen in trouble as he gains in confidence during the season.
Apart from Pershore's captain scoring a quick 74, no batsman really coped well with the conditions and the innings finished on 181 for 9.
That soon looked a small total as Dale piled into the bowling from the first ball with a series of classic and elegant drives which have become his trademark. He and Walker (47) put the game beyond Pershore's reach with an opening stand of 146. A mini collapse followed Dale's dismissal with 3 wickets falling for 5 runs, but the experienced head of Ivor Biggerstaff (24 not out) saw OEs home by 7 wickets with 13 overs to spare.
Pershore 181-9 (45 Ovrs) C.Dale 5-19, C.Rees 2-23, D.Rouse 2-40
Old Elizabethans 182-9 (30.4 Ovrs) C.Dale 95, M.Walker 47, I.Biggerstaff 24*
Old Elizabethans won by 7 wickets
OE's claim three top awards
Old Elizabethans claimed three of the thirteen awards at the recent City of Worcester Sports Awards Gala. The event, sponsored by Sport Worcester, was held at Worcestershire County Cricket Club headquarters at New Road.
Daniel Goodyear who is one of the clubs brightest young prospects, was voted as Young Sports Personality of the Year. Daniel plays at junior level for OE's, as well as captaining his age group at County Level. In 2006 he became the first player at that County age group to score a century, a feat he repeated in 2007, fittingly on his home ground at OE's.
Stuart Phillips was voted the City of Worcester Senior Sports Personality. Stuart has been with Old Elizabethans since the age of 13, and grew up through the junior ranks to spearhead the club bowling attack for many years. Last season he won the OE's bowling award for the second time, taking over 40 wickets at a single figure average in the Birmingham Premier League.
The premier award of "City of Worcester Sports Team of the Year" also went to Old Elizabethans. Club Chairman Tim Phillips proudly accepted the award following unsurpassed success on the field at both junior and senior level. Sport Worcester recognised the clubs acheivements at junior level. Under the guidance of Pete Boyle we were County Champions at four age levels, and at senior level where three of the clubs four saturday sides attained promotion from their respective leagues. Sport Worcester also recognised the work done in the community by OE's.
All the winners now go forward to the area awards.
Club release sponsors details
The cricket club is proud to announce that it will have a new main sponsor at OE's.
Clydesdale Bank, who have a base in the city have agreed to put their logo onto the playing shirt, as well as various other brand placements within the club. Clydesdale are specialists in banking to the business community and have opened a Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) in the Tything. The company also has a history of supporting sport, and is currently the frontline sponsor of the Premier Football League in Scotland. Clydesdale Bank have also been a partner in the Twenty 20 cricket competition, and they have recently become the first corporate supporter of the bid to hold the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. More details to follow....
OE's Junior Nets 2008
Old Elizabethans start their 2008 indoor junior practice programme this month. The indoor practice sessions will start on Thursday 31st January in the Sports Hall, at Worcester Royal Grammar School.The coaching sessions will run through until Thursday April 3rd. For further details contact Pete Boyle via the club on 01905 756617. The start times are as follows:
| TIME | AGE | AGE | AGE | AGE |
| 6PM - 7PM | UNDER 10 | UNDER 11 | UNDER 12 | UNDER 13 |
| 7PM - 8PM | UNDER 14 | UNDER 15 | UNDER 16 | UNDER 17 |
The outdoor practice nights at the Memorial Ground will start on FRIDAY APRIL 11TH.
Overseas Player
Old Elizabethans will be having an Australian as their Overseas player for 2008. Ben Donaldson is a 32 year old high-order batsman who hails from Tasmania. Ben has an English father, his Grandmother still lives here in the UK. At little or no expense, OE's players David Phillips and Jamie Boyle met Ben on a short trip to Launceston in Tasmania recently. The club are looking forward to welcoming Ben in early to mid-April. Campbell Dwyer returns to us as our Overseas player in the Worcestershire County League.
Ben Donaldson. BPL Overseas Player 2008 Campbell Dwyer. WCL Overseas Player 2008
2008 Players Meeting held
OE's recently held their annual players meeting to elect Captains for the forthcoming season. All last seasons Saturday and Sunday Captains remain, along with their Vice-Captains, although Simon Macey steps in to act as Saturday VC. Ollie Griffiths is to Captain the new Worcester Evening League side, which will be managed by Tim Phillips.
The Selection Committee will comprise of the Saturday Captains, plus its Chairman Bill Tansell and Pete Boyle. The Cricket Committee (Playing) will consist of the selection committee with the addition of Secretary Chris Dale and Clive Bull.
The full list of Captains is:
| Captain | Vice-Captain | |
| Saturday 1st XI | Sean Cairney | Simon Macey |
| Saturday 2nd XI | Steve Burgoyne | Chris Pearman |
| Saturday 3rd XI | Kevin Tipper | Jon Sprague |
| Saturday 4th XI | Colin Rees | Ivor Biggerstaff |
| Sunday XI | Simon Macey | Steve Grange |
| Evening XI | Ollie Griffiths | Mangr- Tim Phillips |
The OE's start with friendly against Bromsgrove
Old Elizabethans start their 2008 programme with a home friendly against Bromsgrove on April 19th at the Memorial Ground. In a repeat of last seasons opener it will be a chance for OE's to shake off the winter cobwebs in a 45 overs per side match. It will just be a first team fixture this year, as the second team opening Division One game will be against the same opponents.
Strong 2nd and 3rd team openers
The second team on that day will travel to Pershore to take on their 1st XI, whilst a combined 3rd and 4th team will entertain Pershore 2nd XI at Neel Park. All these fixtures should provide a stiff test as warm ups for the forthcoming league season. With the County League starting on the 26th, it is likely at this stage that a single match will be played by our Birmingham League teams on that day.
OE's face old rivals in Cockspur Cup
Old Elizabethans have been drawn away against their old friends and rivals Kington in the first round of the Cockspur Cup 2008. The match will take place on Sunday 4th May 2008. The winners of the tie face a trip to Four Oaks Saints, or Birmingham League new boys Brockhampton in Round 2.
Players Meeting
The annual players meeting will be held at the Memorial Ground on Monday 21st January 2008, start 7.30 prompt. The Captains will be elected on that evening for all five weekend teams, plus the new Worcester Evening League team. Any playing member wishing to nominate someone for a position can do so in the usual way, by contacting either Tim Phillips or Bill Tansell. A reminder that there will be no nominations on the night, and all nominees must be seconded and be willing to stand.
New Sponsor to be announced
Old Elizabethans will be announcing their new shirt sponsor early in the new year. A two year agreement has been reached with a blue-chip organisation. Watch this space......
The new website
Anyone having ideas for our new website can contact the Webmaster Chris Dale. The new site has unlimited pages and many new features, including the ability to show video images from YouTube.