CELEBRATION TIME!
There was plenty to celebrate as Great Melton broke with tradition as, for the first time, the club held its presentation evening at Melton Park after the final league games of the season. There was a lot on the line as the First Team needed 6 points at Diss to avoid relegation while the B Team were aiming to go through a whole season winning every match. The mood may have been very different if results had gone against us but the players made sure the season ended on a high note with victories for the 1st, A and B Teams and a narrow 1 wicket defeat for the Cs.
The 1st Team won by 4 wickets at fellow-strugglers Diss to finish comfortably out of the bottom 3, thanks mainly to 63 from Chris Greenslade and good contributions from George Bunn (35) and Dom Evans (34) as Melton overhauled the home side's 199-5 with 4 overs to spare. The A Team consolidated 3rd place in Alliance Division 3 winning by 189 runs at home to Cromer A. Half-centuries by Lohit Kannan and Matt Gilbert – his first for the club – enabled Melton to total 256. Josh Wright (5-16), Dale Weston (3-25) and George Ryan (2-6) then dismissed Cromer for 67. The Bs did indeed finish unbeaten and clinched the championship of NCL Division 2 East with a 4-wicket win over Bungay A. Martin Alcock took 4-24 as Bungay were dismissed for 124. The Bs lost 6 wickets reaching their target but 40 from Lee Whiddett and an unbeaten 19 from skipper Woody Loines saw them to their 14th win in 14 completed matches. Half centuries from Dean Parfitt (61) and Ethan Rushton (57) helped the Cs to 188 all out at Hingham. Charlie Hosmer (3-38) and Matt Rodman (2-28) then had the home side in real trouble at 66-6 but the Pirates' tail wagged and Hingham snatched victory with 1 wicket to spare. Nevertheless the Cs 4 victories in the 2nd half of the season saw them finish well clear of the relegation places in their first season in tier 3. It capped a successful season of consolidation for the club following 3 promotions in 2023.
Thus, the mood was celebratory as over 80 players, partners and supporters gathered at Melton for the evening event that included a hog roast supper and live music. Chairman Simon Woods summarised the season and congratulated the teams, particularly the more successful ones: the Indoor Team NCB Indoor Tournament Winners), B Team (NCL Division 2 East Champions), the U13s (ECB Cup Regional Semi-Finalists & Alan Bridgewater Runners-Up and the U15s (Andy Seeley Trophy Winners). He also thanked the club's huge team of volunteers before announcing the various award winners which were presented by President Steve Phoenix.
18-year-old Corey Rushton was voted 1st Team Player of the Year for his 372 runs and 21 wicketkeeping dismissals while another youngster, George Ryan, took the A Team Award for his 18 wickets at an average of 9.33 and an economy rate of 2.82. Another bowler, Angus Holt, took the B Team award with 19 wickets but batsman Dean Parfitt was C Team Player of the Year with 408 runs including a century and 3 fifties. The Women/Senior girls trophy went to Samia Mohammed who was not present to receive the cup for the best possible reason – she was receiving the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Award from Mark Nicholas on the pitch at Lords! Well done Samia!
Adrian Stober, who played for all the club's senior teams in his first year with Melton, took the Over 40s Shield, his 5 innings bringing 149 runs at an average of nearly 50. Most improved player was U15 Captain, Sammy Belderson, who started the season in the B Team and finished by playing 8 games and taking 7 wickets for the 1st Team. Dale Weston received the Aldous Shield for the best performance for his 5-18 including a hat-trick in 9 overs against Bungay.
Matt Clarke received special recognition having played 700 games while Ryan Hayward (300) and Woody Loines, Chris Greenslade, Josh Wright and Corey Rushton (200) received plaques to mark their appearance milestones.
Duncan Greenslade was chosen by the players as Volunteer of the Year and the Chairman also singled out 3 other volunteers for special praise and thanks. Both Grenville Ireland and Clive Gristwood were given inscribed glasses to mark their outstanding service to the club. Clive is moving away having been with Melton as parent helper, coach, junior team manager, junior committee chairman, C Team Manager and club secretary for over 20 years while Grenville is stepping down having served as player, A Team Captain, Village Hall Representative, Treasurer and, more importantly assistant groundsman for 29 years. Simon Woods paid tribute to Grenville who has assisted Mike Phoenix in developing Melton Park into one of the best grounds in the county. He will, said the Chairman, be “much-missed”.
The 3rd volunteer stepping down is Matt Rushton who is handing over the reins as Head of Junior Coaching. Matt was on holiday but his contribution will be marked at next week's Junior Festival.
Below is a gallery of photo's (thank you Alice Greenslade and others) taken on Saturday:
