| Castle Park - the place to be… 07:11 - May 25 with 4922 views | noah4x4 |
With the 2024-25 footie season finally over on this Bank Holiday Monday, many boarders on here might be lost for things to do on a Saturday afternoon. I recommended Castle Park Cricket Ground….
One choice is you can pay £50 for each ticket to listen to Texas, UB40, Tom Jones, Pixie Lott, Madness (etc), or listen to any from the cricket pavilion patio for free.
Another choice is paying an exorbitant sum for a can of chemically enhanced lager or instead £4.50 for a decent real ale. How about a burger for £3.00?
Oh, and the cricket……
Unbeaten Colchester & East Essex CC top the Essex Premier League after three fixtures.
Prolific openerJoe MacGregor has now scored unbeaten back to back centuries (admittedly one scored away).
Teenage Essex II’s pace sensation, Daniel Gladwell, is cartwheeling opposition stumps as dramatically as the action in a John Woo movie.
Essex First XI reserve wicket keeper, Simon Fernandes has shown his class.
New Zealand all-rounder, Liam Wheeler has added quality to an already decent squad.
Big games, big personalities, sunshine and beer. Idyllic……
Can even talk to Ray of SparkfilmsTV fame…..or me.
Please read my match reports in the Colchester Gazette on Fridays (not available on-line).
We love it when U’s fans join us!
Always free admission.
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 07:26 - Jun 23 with 1143 views | bwildered |
Up dated (for Sun 22 nd Chelmsford ) the place to be …
First home century for Charlie Allinson at the County ground . |  |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 08:28 - Jul 13 with 968 views | noah4x4 |
Yesterday, Colchester & East Essex CC put together their most comprehensive win of the season, beating Billericay CC by 171 runs. They move 26 points clear of Wanstead who only managed to draw against Chelmsford. This could be our season!
For once, Joe MacGregor and Simon Fernandes were dismissed cheaply, but Ben Robinson (114) and Joe Austin (80) demonstrated the depth of Colchester batting.
Full scorecard and video highlights can be found at https://colchesteree.play-cricket.com. Look under results.
Put Saturday 26 July in your diary for when Wanstead visit Castle Park. Guaranteed drama between the two outstanding 2025 Essex Premier League teams. | | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 09:09 - Jul 14 with 851 views | RSCOSWORTH |
Is it free to watch the cricket? I was near the park on Saturday and thought about wandering in for a bit but wasn't sure if there was an admission charge and I was only going to watch for 10 minutes or so.
Also, who are Ipswich and Colchester? Seems like an odd combination, maybe that will be our name soon. I saw that one of their players got two hat-tricks in consecutive overs!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c17wz7wjvw9o |  |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 16:58 - Jul 14 with 802 views | noah4x4 |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 09:09 - Jul 14 by RSCOSWORTH |
Is it free to watch the cricket? I was near the park on Saturday and thought about wandering in for a bit but wasn't sure if there was an admission charge and I was only going to watch for 10 minutes or so.
Also, who are Ipswich and Colchester? Seems like an odd combination, maybe that will be our name soon. I saw that one of their players got two hat-tricks in consecutive overs!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c17wz7wjvw9o |
Colchester & East Essex Cricket Club is a charitable status community cricket club where members of the public are admitted free of charge, including into the Bar/Pavilion, which offers competitively priced drinks, including a decent selection of real ales. There is usually a tea bar and a BBQ post match. Many Colchester Utd fans regularly support the club.
The club plays in the Essex Premier League which is the highest standard below the professional game. Matches feature many county second XI players, plus some First XI where county commitments permit.
“Ipswich & Colchester Cricket Club” (Ipscol cc) was only established in 2020. They play in Division Six of the Two Counties Cricket Championship. Ipscol has no affinity with the historically long established “Ipswich and East Suffolk CC” or “Colchester and East Essex CC”. Frankly, their name is rather pretentious, but there is no copyright infringement. Maybe they should play at the Jobserve Stadium….. | | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 17:42 - Jul 18 with 715 views | RSCOSWORTH |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 16:58 - Jul 14 by noah4x4 |
Colchester & East Essex Cricket Club is a charitable status community cricket club where members of the public are admitted free of charge, including into the Bar/Pavilion, which offers competitively priced drinks, including a decent selection of real ales. There is usually a tea bar and a BBQ post match. Many Colchester Utd fans regularly support the club.
The club plays in the Essex Premier League which is the highest standard below the professional game. Matches feature many county second XI players, plus some First XI where county commitments permit.
“Ipswich & Colchester Cricket Club” (Ipscol cc) was only established in 2020. They play in Division Six of the Two Counties Cricket Championship. Ipscol has no affinity with the historically long established “Ipswich and East Suffolk CC” or “Colchester and East Essex CC”. Frankly, their name is rather pretentious, but there is no copyright infringement. Maybe they should play at the Jobserve Stadium….. |
Cheers Noah, good to know, I should've wandered in for a bit.
I know very little about cricket but the ball certainly seemed to be travelling at a fair speed from the bowler during the bit I watched whilst walking back to the car.
Yeah I'm not sure they put much thought into that name. Probably just someone from Ipswich wanting to somehow be associated with Colchester. | |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 06:47 - Jul 21 with 638 views | noah4x4 |
After this weekend…..
1. Colchester & East Essex CC First XI top of the Essex Premier Cricket League.
2. Second XI top of Essex League Second XI Division Two.
3. Women’s XI top of the Essex Women’s Premier League Hundred.
Wouldn’t it be great if Colchester United mirrored this success!
A massive day on Saturday when second placed rivals, Wanstead, come to Castle Park (11.00 start). Even if Colchester lose, they stay at least 1 point clear. However, a win could take them up to 51 points clear. Free admission, and a super selection of (bottled) real ales in bar at club prices.
Also free pavilion admission during the August Colchester Music Festival Evenings. OK, you can’t see the stage, but you can hear Madness, Texas, UB40, Tom Jones etc for free. | | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 07:52 - Jul 24 with 551 views | noah4x4 |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 06:47 - Jul 21 by noah4x4 |
After this weekend…..
1. Colchester & East Essex CC First XI top of the Essex Premier Cricket League.
2. Second XI top of Essex League Second XI Division Two.
3. Women’s XI top of the Essex Women’s Premier League Hundred.
Wouldn’t it be great if Colchester United mirrored this success!
A massive day on Saturday when second placed rivals, Wanstead, come to Castle Park (11.00 start). Even if Colchester lose, they stay at least 1 point clear. However, a win could take them up to 51 points clear. Free admission, and a super selection of (bottled) real ales in bar at club prices.
Also free pavilion admission during the August Colchester Music Festival Evenings. OK, you can’t see the stage, but you can hear Madness, Texas, UB40, Tom Jones etc for free. |
Saturday’s Colchester & East Essex team versus Wanstead in Castle Park (11:00 start) has been published, and includes Essex CCC contracted players, Charlie Allison and Simon Fernandes.
Wanstead are likely to feature Essex star, Robin Das and former Essex Second XI Captain, Joe Ellis- Grewell.
FREE ADMISSION!
FREE ACCESS TO THE BAR!
There is now added spice to the title race as Chelmsford CC have crept into second place after securing 14 points last week, not the 7 points I reported in yesterday’s Gazette. This discrepancy was entirely my fault as I originally took the information from the automatically calculated published league tables not anticipating a belated manual 7 additional bonus point adjustment benefiting Chelmsford resulting from an extreme time/over reduction due to rain.
Colchester must now play Wanstead both home and away, whilst Chelmsford have already played both Colchester and Wanstead twice, so have (arguably) the easiest run in against teams below them. Saturday is therefore probably a must win for Wanstead, and it is a must not lose for Colchester given their healthy points advantage over both Wanstead and Chelmsford. But with this powerful line up, Colchester won’t be seeking a draw. [Post edited 24 Jul 7:55]
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 07:17 - Jul 27 with 447 views | noah4x4 |
In a hard fought contest, Wanstead emerged as winners, so Colchester’s lead at the top of the Essex Premier Cricket League was cut to 15 points.
Another huge game in Castle Park next Saturday when Brentwood CC are the visitors. | | | |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 09:15 - Jul 27 with 417 views | SparkfilmsTV |
An absorbing match at Castle Park yesterday with both sides giving everything with some pulsating cricket.
The Wanstead number 4 batsman - Muhammed Hassan Hameed looks a class act.
Wanstead players and followers were very complimentary about this current Colchester side and despite the result they see Colchester as favourites to win The Hambro Premiership.
Wanstead are down in leafy Surrey today taking part in the Quarter Finals of The National Cup.
Next week's clash with Brentwood at Castle Park promises to be another epic with former Colchester player Jack Hebron fresh from an eight wicket haul for Brentwood yesterday. |  | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 15:06 - Jul 27 with 371 views | bwildered |
Saw Wanstead’s innings on the excellent stream .
Simon Fernandes looked excellent standing up, Wheeler and Gladwell bowled to many four balls, any thought of ColEE getting back into the game were cancelled by Das ably assisting Hameed seeing the chase comfortably.
Next time the big guy umpires Noah, ask him to stand at the opposite end, has standing up at the wicket you could not see the stumps though his other umpire could just see over them ! | |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 20:50 - Jul 27 with 347 views | SparkfilmsTV |
Wanstead are just one match from a Lords final in The National Cup after crushing Ashtead C.C. this afternoon.
Ashtead included former England, player Mark Stoneman who was dismissed cheaply today.
Kishen Velani had a rare day off from working weekends and starred for Wanstead.
Colchester have not made any impact on this tournament for many years but have the potential to do so should the players be available on a Sunday. | | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 21:14 - Jul 27 with 344 views | noah4x4 |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 15:06 - Jul 27 by bwildered |
Saw Wanstead’s innings on the excellent stream .
Simon Fernandes looked excellent standing up, Wheeler and Gladwell bowled to many four balls, any thought of ColEE getting back into the game were cancelled by Das ably assisting Hameed seeing the chase comfortably.
Next time the big guy umpires Noah, ask him to stand at the opposite end, has standing up at the wicket you could not see the stumps though his other umpire could just see over them ! |
Glad you enjoyed the live stream (which is my work). The software is identical to that used by Essex CCC with the main difference being me being the sole scorer/video/editor operative which means I can employ only two static cameras, including one wide angle. But I’m proud of the results we achieve.
I no longer add audio because of repeated problems with the YouTube copyright police moaning that we are broadcasting Castle Park music concerts. If they turned their volume down it would assist!
I winced when umpire Courtney Perry took the camera end. I have no control over this. By contrast, tiny Raf Patel is a camera end dream. Frankly, if we had a Cherry Picker to get the camera higher the view would be better, but I am limited to about 4 metres on top of the sight screen.
We enjoy a decent live audience, but views soar to between 600 to 1,000 post match as clubs then analyse the content. However, it’s more about entertainment and sponsorship. Our record audience is for one funny clip that went viral topping 1 million views after being circulated by mainstream cricket broadcasters. Two others have topped 250,000 views. [Post edited 27 Jul 21:15]
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 12:35 - Aug 3 with 217 views | noah4x4 |
Saturday 02/08/2025
Colchester beat Brentwood to gain 20 points.
Chelmsford beat Hutton to gain 20 points.
Wanstead lose to Fives & Heronians gaining merely 12 points.
This means Colchester now lead the Essex Premier League table by 22 points.
Crucial was Joe MacGregors’s 125 not out, whilst veteran Ben Stephens in his first appearance of 2025 rolled back the years and bowled 16 overs, taking 3-55 at an economy rate of 3.44. What is notably remarkable was he conceded 19 runs in his first two overs , then having removed both openers, he bowled the next 14 overs for merely 36 runs. | | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 13:34 - Aug 3 with 193 views | bwildered |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 12:35 - Aug 3 by noah4x4 |
Saturday 02/08/2025
Colchester beat Brentwood to gain 20 points.
Chelmsford beat Hutton to gain 20 points.
Wanstead lose to Fives & Heronians gaining merely 12 points.
This means Colchester now lead the Essex Premier League table by 22 points.
Crucial was Joe MacGregors’s 125 not out, whilst veteran Ben Stephens in his first appearance of 2025 rolled back the years and bowled 16 overs, taking 3-55 at an economy rate of 3.44. What is notably remarkable was he conceded 19 runs in his first two overs , then having removed both openers, he bowled the next 14 overs for merely 36 runs. |
Saw the last ten overs, decent chase in, looked like some dark arts with four overs to go with MacGregor slowing the game down, going walk about and talking to the umpire about something in the deep. Well supported by Wheeler . | |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 22:55 - Aug 3 with 152 views | noah4x4 |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 13:34 - Aug 3 by bwildered |
Saw the last ten overs, decent chase in, looked like some dark arts with four overs to go with MacGregor slowing the game down, going walk about and talking to the umpire about something in the deep. Well supported by Wheeler . |
Presume you were watching the live stream Bewildered.
As the ‘last hour’ commenced late there was never going to be more than the 17 remaining minimum overs bowled. There was therefore no incentive for Joe MacGregor to slow proceedings down, but there is an explanation….
There was a moment of late controversy when two Brentwood players fielding the ball collided on the boundary outside of my camera view. My video cannot be employed in any decision making without proper DRS kit and protocols so I mention this solely to explain why you didn’t see what was occurring . One Brentwood player was briefly concussed and the question then arose, was it four or two runs?
A Brentwood fan had apparently signalled four, but the Brentwood fielders argued only two, whilst Colchester inevitably wanted four. After a bit of debate, plus time for the concussed player to be assessed, the umpires judgement was merely two (fair enough). But that probably explains the apparent delays, which were not Joe MacGregors fault.
Was a thrilling nail-biting end to the game. I was simultaneously following the Wanstead live stream where Fives & Heronians miraculous scored 47 for the ninth/tenth wicket to defeat Wanstead. As I have said all season, the Essex Premier League is very entertaining, and free admission. | | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 13:42 - Aug 4 with 119 views | burnsieespana |
Frankly sounds more exciting than T20 and the hundred. |  | | |
| Castle Park - the place to be… on 13:50 - Aug 4 with 117 views | bwildered |
That explains it all Noah - Thanks.
Looked also like Wheeler pulled up before being out . | |
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| Castle Park - the place to be… on 20:14 - Aug 4 with 98 views | SparkfilmsTV |
I was in the ground for the final 35 overs - engrossing cricket and Joe MacGregor was monumental in an exciting victory.
I have watched Joe since he was about 11 years old,
I've also been around when Joe has practised hard in the nets -.sometimes with his dad Jamie throwing down ball after ball, hour after hour and sometimes day after day. That's real dedication and Joe is one of the best batsman who has ever represented Colchester & East Essex.
Joe's sister Esmae will be playing for Manchester Originals in The Hundred. | | | |
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