Centre Stage Drama Group brings an exciting new musical to the stage, written by the group’s talented young writer, actress and Director Yazmin Zahran.  ’Yaz’ drew inspiration for her creation from Glee, Mama Mia and High School Musical to create a stunningly professional production which runs at the Heart of England School for two nights on the 25th and 26th May.

Yaz’s musical ” Gimme Gimme Gimme… An Idea”, tells the story of High School drama students seeking inspiration for their end of year show, whilst trying to cope with their everyday teenage trials and tribulations.  The show draws inspiration from a mixture of  shows including Glee, Mama Mia and High School Musical, showcasing an energetic, talented and youthful cast, supported by the group’s experienced performers.

The Centre Stage team has also brought top production values to the show as Carl Hemming explains:

“We’ve brought in outside expertise to help us with the show, with a new musical director, choreographer & a singing coach, real professionals who have been kind enough to donate their time & skills to the group.  This is a truly professional production, and certainly one not to be missed!  The show features ABBA songs as the underlining theme to the performance, allowing for audience participation.”

The show’s cast and crew have big plans to turn the show into a memorable event, one which the people of Balsall Common can be proud of.  Of plans for the experience Carl said:

“We’d love it for everybody to really get into this and invite people to get into 70′s fancy dress to help make the show a truly unique experience.  And there will of course be prizes for the best dressed!  This is shaping up to be a wonderful, funny and very lively show, and something different to what Centre stage would normally produce.  The show features many of the junior members & students from Heart of England School, who recently performed in the school’s ‘We will rock you!’”

Premier Division new boys Berkswell Cricket Club (2011 Div 1 Champions)

Trevor Jordan reports on Berkswell Cricket Club’s remarkable start to their first season in the top flight of the Birmingham Cricket League, with a victory on the road at fancied side Himley, to leapfrog them into top spot in the Premier Division.

Birmingham Premier Division

Himley (60 all out)

lost to

Berkswell (145 all out) by 85 runs

Another outstanding team display saw Berkswell move to the top of the Birmingham Premier League after a comprehensive eighty five run victory that had skipper Dominic Ostler praising his bowlers:

“We bowled magnificently and kept the pressure on them from the first ball”, said victorious skipper Dominic Ostler. “Last week it was Babar Khan and Tom Milnes who did the damage for us, this week it was Chris Cheslin. Ed and Tom got us off to the perfect start with their control early on and then Chris and Babar maintained the stranglehold. Over the last two weeks we’ve proved what an effective bowling outfit we are.”

Invited to bat first on a green and damp track, Berkswell lost both openers, Ian Westwood (3) and Phil Neale (7), with only twenty runs on the board in the 10th over. A cautious partnership between Jack Cornick and Tom Milnes saw the score advance to 46 before Milnes (17) lost his wicket.

Skipper Ostler joined Cornick and the pair grafted hard for another 26 runs across 14 difficult overs before Cornick (21) was stumped by Dhillon. The batsmen continued to find conditions difficult throughout, with Mohammed Akhlaq (2) trapped lbw, followed by James Neale (7) who found himself caught behind to reduce Berkswell to 92 for the loss of 6 wickets in the 39th over.

Chris Cheslin joined Ostler and the pair kept managed to get the score ticking over more effectively, adding 39 runs to the total through the following 11 overs. Ostler became the 7th wicket to fall for a battling 42, bowled by Jones. Cheslin (20) continued to add runs until the 53rd over when he was caught behind by Dhillon with the score on 139. The last two wickets fell in the 55th over and the Berkswell innings eventually closed on 145.

Himley’s reply was quickly under pressure when Zimbabwean Ed Rainsford, making his Birmingham League debut for Berkswell, had Greg Wright (0) lbw in the third over closely followed by Tom Milnes having Chris Tranter (10) caught behind by Phil Neale to leave the hosts 13 for 2 in the 8th over. With Himley finding runs hard to come by in the face of some excellent line and length bowling by Rainsford and Milnes, and then Cheslin and Babar Khan, only 16 runs were added in 12 overs. The third wicket fell when Khan had Jamie Harris (7) adjudged lbw. This wicket was rapidly followed by the loss of the 4th, 5th and 6th wickets with Cheslin picking up two and Khan one and reducing the hosts to 38 for 6 in the 26th over. A spirited fight back by Stuart Wedge (9) and Jagbir Dhillon (9) moved the total on to 56 before both were dismissed to catches behind by Phil Neale with Cheslin and Milnes picking up the wickets. With the ninth wicket going down two runs later when Hussain (1) was run out, it was only a matter of time before Berkswell claimed maximum points, Cheslin capping a fine all round performance when he claimed the final wicket having Nick Harrison (1) given out lbw and bringing the Himley innings to a close.

Chris Cheslin was the pick of the Berkswell bowlers finishing with 4 for 26 from 12.1 overs.

“We bowled magnificently and kept the pressure on them from the first ball”, said victorious skipper Dominic Ostler. “Last week it was Babar Khan and Tom Milnes who did the damage for us, this week it was Chris Cheslin. Ed and Tom got us off to the perfect start with their control early on and then Chris and Babar maintained the stranglehold. Over the last two weeks we’ve proved what an effective bowling outfit we are.”

Berkswell welcome former Warwickshire all-rounder Dougie Brown’s reigning Premier Division Champions Barnt Green to Meeting House Lane this Saturday 17th May, for what promises to be a highly entertaining and challenging encounter. The game gets underway at midday. Entrance is free and visitors are welcome to come and see the action.

The Balsall Common Lions are finalising plans to put on a giant free party to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on Tuesday 5th June and are now looking for volunteers to help make it a success.

There is a wide range of roles which need filling to ensure the smooth operation of the event throughout the day from set up to take down and Lions President is keen to hear from anyone who thinks they can help out, even if it’s only for a couple of hours carrying and lifting, serving refreshments, setting up tents, or marshalling cars.

Although this event is free for visitors to attend, event organisers are hoping to raise funds, all proceeds will be directed back into local community projects.

To find out more about how you can get involved please contact Balsall Common Lions President Marie-Louise Marsden directly on 0845 833 4976. Alternatively you can ask for more details by emailing your interest to: info@balsallcommonlions.com

Berkswell captain Dominic Ostler said:

“It’s great news for us that we have both Ian Westwood and Tom Milnes available for the trip, this is a big game for us and a great challenge, where we’ll find out how good we are. We had a great win last week in adverse conditions, it got a bit tight but was a good team effort.”

Second placed Berkswell will be hoping for a good showing against strong opponents, provided the weather holds out. The weather has caused many of the opening exchanges in the Premier Division to be abandoned rendering the early league table a poor indicator of early season form.

Ostler’s enthusiasm for the battle is clear,

“We’re just hoping the weather is kind to us so we get a proper game in. We really want to get our season underway properly and I’d be chuffed to bits if we found ourselves talking about another Berkswell victory tomorrow evening.”

Berkswell 1st XI to face Himley

D.Ostler (capt); I.Westwood; P.Neale (wkt); J.Neale; T.Milnes; C.Cheslin; J.Cornick; J.Coleman; M.Akhlaq; S.Khan; B.khan

Fixture is away at Himley and gets underway at midday.

Berkswell 2nd’s entertain Evesham at Meeting House Lane.   Game gets underway at 12:30 – visitors welcome.

Birmingham League – Premier Division

Kidderminster 95 (all out) v Berkswell 112 (all out)

After a washout the previous weekend, Berkswell finally experienced their first ever encounter in the Birmingham and District Premier Division on a damp, green Kidderminster Victoria wicket to came out on top in a dramatic and close fought encounter.

Losing the toss, Berkswell skipper Dominic Ostler was invited to bat first and soon found his side in trouble, losing both Warwickshire regular Ian Westwood (1) and Warwickshire Academy player Jack Cornick (0) in the second over. The situation worsened quickly when one of the previous season’s star players, Phil Neale departed for nought, third wicket down in the fifth over with only 5 runs on the scoreboard.

A steadying partnership between Tom Milnes and skipper Ostler saw 32 runs added in the next nine overs before Ostler (17) was caught off the bowling of Richard Kimberlin to give the bowler his third wicket.

Twenty runs later Berkswell found themselves struggling on 57 for 6 in the 21st over after Mohammed Akhlaq (8) was bowled by Mark Mansell, soon followed by the dismissal of Milnes, caught by Edwards off Connor Smith’s first ball for a valuable 30, having mixed caution with flair, when dispatching loose balls with style on a challenging wicket for batsmen.

Berkswell’s 7th wicket pairing tried hard to consolidate the innings and held out until the 27th over when James Neale (4) fell, LBW to Smith with the score on 67. A subsequent stand of 16 runs between Chris Cheslin and Jon Coleman in the following 8 overs took Berkswell to 83 before Coleman (5) lost his wicket.

Cheslin (16) continued to build his innings but having hit two fours in quick succession was stumped after leaving his crease by Ben Cox to leave Berkswell nine down in the 36th over leaving Berkswell in serious danger of falling a long way short of using their allotted overs.

Babar Khan found himself joined by last man Sultan Khan and the final pair set about putting bat to ball. Babar Khan’s first scoring shot was remarkable in the context of what had gone before, an impressive six back over the bowler’s head. Kidderminster’s bowlers found themselves frustrated in their efforts to break the final pairing as the runs and overs continued bowled continued to accumulate and Berkswell’s remarkable turnaround continued as they passed the 100 mark in the 43rd over. With Babar Khan (26 not out) hitting a four and another six the score finally advanced to 112 when Sultan Khan (2) was stumped by Cox bringing the Berkswell innings to a close in the 49th over.

Kidderminster’s reply then got off to the worst possible start as they conspired to lose two early wickets by the third over for four runs thanks to Cheslin having Ben Cox (0) caught at mid-off, and Milnes trapping Marc Edwards (4) LBW. The home side’s innings then practically mirrored Berkswell’s as Neil Pinner and Zac Turley added 35 runs before Pinner (19) was well caught at slip by Ostler off Milnes, before Turley (16) got a leading edge to a ball from Sultan Khan to give Ian Westwood an easy catch.

With Kidderminster now struggling on 43 for 4 in the 15th over, Berkswell’s spinner Babar Khan was introduced into the attack and despite 14 runs coming from his first two overs as he aimed to find his rhythm, he soon began to turn the screw, removing Kimberlin (1); Jonathan Wright (1); Henry Wright (2); in quick succession, all bowled. Mark Mansell (10) LBW; and Ryan Derrick (3) also fell to the spinner in short order, both stumped by Phil Neale and suddenly the home side had slumped to 88 for 9 in the 33rd over with the winning total seemingly out of reach.

A well struck 6 by Connor Smith followed by a single pushed the score on to 95 to change the complexion of the match yet again, giving the home side some encouragement before Gareth Williams (5) finally holed out to give Milnes his third wicket and Berkswell an exciting and thrilling victory.

Babar Khan finished with 5 for 26 off 12 overs and Tom Milnes 3 for 29 off 9.5 overs. A delighted Dominic Ostler said: “I thought that a score of 120 would be good on that wicket and, although we fell just short of that, anything over 100 was going to be a difficult one to chase. We made the perfect start in getting two quick wickets and Tom Milnes and Chris Cheslin showed just how hard the task would be for them. Babar then ripped through their middle order and Tom wrapped it up for us, but it was a fantastic team effort throughout and the win has filled us with confidence as we head next week to Himley who sit just above us at the top of the table.”

Berkswell’s achievement has been widely noted in the sporting press, with the play-off victory seen by many observers as the icing on the cake after an almost impossible achievement.

Old Saltleians – 3 Berkswell & Balsall – 27

Midlands West 2 (Play-off)

A determined Berkswell earned the right to celebrate their excellent 30th anniversary season in style with a winning performance in this play-off match to see who would earn passage into Midlands West Division 1.  Berkswell’s 15 point pre-season points deduction was not enough in the end to deny this determined squad from continuing their remarkable ascent through the divisions.

Old Saltleians, playing in front of their home crowd, qualified for this play-off fixture by finishing 2nd in the Northern section of Midlands West 2, by playing to their strengths and demolishing opponents in the forward lines.  Berkswell countered their front eight with a dominant pack of their own, alongside a controlling performance – and two tries – from Coach Mike Walls at scrum-half, plus the speed and tackling of the B’s three-quarters.  All these qualities combined to effectively secure victory by the beginning of the second half.

A confident Old Salts team took the field and won early possession to set up a penalty kick, which hit the post and was cleared. But in the eighth minute a second kick, from a similar range, was stroked between the posts by Mason, giving the home side an early 3-0 lead. Berkswell responded by kicking for territory, with the halfback combination of Sam Bignall and Mike Walls finding touch deep in the Salts half, but the home side’s line-out was working well, and they were able to clear each time.

A portent for how the match would develop arrived in the 16th minute, with the award of the first scrum to Berkswell, in the centre of the pitch.  As the ball was fed in by Walls the B’s scrum shunted their opposite numbers back some way, to secure the ball and lay down a marker that the Old Salts pack were in for a torrid afternoon.  The visitors had weathered some early Salt’s pressure and were now spending most the game camped in the home half.  After twenty minutes a series of forward drives were held-up on the Salts try-line and the referee eventually awarded a five meter scrum to Berkswell.  The large and vocal Berkswell support bayed for the push-over, and the pack duly delivered, with No.8 Mark Galpin getting the touchdown and Bignall converting for a 7-3 lead.

Old Salts were now kicking for position and using their line-out to good effect. They used the possession gained to make several runs at the B’s defence, but strong tackling kept them at bay. Berkswell in turn were trying to bring the pace of their three-quarter line into play; Fullback James Knott and wingmen Phil Allport and Cameron Hunt all had enough pace to worry the home defence, but each time they were either bundled into touch or isolated and dispossessed. The B’s pack were still well on top and were now not only winning their own ball at scrum time, but also taking Salt’s put-ins against the head. The half finished with the visitors on top, but still only leading by four points.

A whirlwind start to the second half by Berkswell effectively sealed victory. Two tries in the opening five minutes gave them a significant lead and seemed to deflate Old Salts. Straight from the second-half kick-off Salts made a hash of securing the ball, B’s drove them towards their own line and, after a series of scrums, the visitors notched their second push-over try, again scored by Galpin, with Bignall again converting. Three minutes later an excellent long clearance kick by Walls dropped behind the home full-back. The blistering pace of Berkswell’s Cameron Hunt saw him chase and challenge for the ball as it appeared to almost roll into touch. Meanwhile Walls had run some 75 meters to follow-up his own kick and was on hand to pick-up the loose ball, dummy the last defender, and dot the ball down for an unconverted try and a 19-3 lead.

Old Salts came back after this double setback, but couldn’t work a way through the B’s defence. Salts missed a penalty kick after 58 minutes, which was their last clear scoring opportunity of the match. Berkswell were now more than happy to ensure the play was in the Salt’s half and let the clock run-down. With eleven minutes remaining B’s scored their fourth try as once again their pack created the opening. A series of scrum offences, near their own line, by the rapidly tiring Salts forwards gave B’s captain and tight-head prop Ollie Flint the opportunity to each time ask the referee to scrum again. With the line in sight, and another scrum-surge by Berkswell, the home pack disintegrated once more. To save the referee from probably having to award a penalty try, Walls stepped-in to pick the ball from the rear of the scrum, and delicately place it over the try-line.

Old Salts were now just playing for pride, but to their credit they came back and forced B’s to clear some late, threatening, attacks. Berkswell had the last word however with an injury-time penalty in front of the posts, which Bignall kicked, to end the contest.

Berkswell Scoring Summary

Tries
Mark Galpin (2)
Mike Walls (2)

Conversions

Sam Bignall (2)

Penalty
Sam Bignall (1)

The event, currently sponsored by Carstins, The Bugle, Mogz and Dogz, Balsall Common Parish Council, The Leisure Traveller and The Cricket Clinic, boasts a large range of attractions and prizes. The array of attractions and things to do is still growing and currently includes (event starts at 2pm):

Balsall Common Jubilee – Main Arena

All timings (where shown) are subject to change:

• Opening ceremony and Fancy Dress parade (from 2pm with prizes)
• Zumba demonstration with Penny Smith (from 2:25pm)
• Streetdance act by the Animated Dance Performance Team (from 2:55pm)
• Dramarama youth drama (from 3:25pm)
• Children’s Races (from 3:35pm)
• Kung Fu demonstration (from 4:30pm)
• Raffle draw (from 5:00pm with a long list of available prizes)

Party in the Park (evening)

• Abba Tribute (from 6:15pm – Gimme Gimme Show performed by Centre Stage next to main clubhouse)
• That’s Life (from 7pm to 9pm Take That tribute from the clubhouse balcony)

Free sporting activities

• 14:00 – 16:00 Junior tennis coaching
• 14:00 – 18:00 Adult social tennis
• 14:30 – 15:30 Cricket – a chance for teenagers and youngsters to get in the cricket nets and test their bowling speed against the speed gun (prizes)
• 15:30 – 16:30 Tennis – a chance for visitors to test their service speed against the speed gun
• 16:00 – 17:00 Cricket – a chance for youngsters to play Kwik Cricket (a fun short-form variation of the game)
• 16:00 – 18:00 Tennis – rusty racquets coaching
• 16:10 Tug of War

General attractions

• Facepainting
• Climbing walls
• Bouncy Castle
• Soak the vicar!
• Refreshments
• Baby Lifeline
• Sweets and ice creams (by Sweet Memories)
• Jubilee tea party (with musical accompaniment by Patrick Whitfield, plus singalong)
• BRG Choir (tranquility tent)
• Country Market
• Local history display by Berkswell History Group
• Hot dogs, burgers and veggie food options
• Licensed bar in clubhouse (open from 2pm)

Stalls

• Berkswell History Group
• Heart of Englan WI
• Horticultural Society
• U3a
• Save the Children
• Love Lucia’s Bakery
• Country Market
• Mogz and Dogz Pets Corner (advice and information centre)
• Middle Cottage Plants
• Sweet Memories
• Feast Catering
• Baby Lifeline
• Little Whispers
• The Cricket Clinic

Balsall Common Jubilee Prize Donations

The Lions would like to thank the many local businesses contributing prizes for the event:

• Sage Roofing Ltd
• Nailcote Hall (3 prizes)
• A1 Motor Spares
• Haigs Hotel
• Balsall Pharmacy
• Michaels Drinks
• Taylors Butchers
• Two Ten Hairdressers
• Balsall Common Fish and Chip Shop
• McNamara & Co
• Jamieson Christie
• Bengal Brasserie
• The Cricket Clinic
• Masala Club
• The Railway Inn
• Acclaimed Mortgage Consultancy
• Les Petits Anglais
• Golfplan
• Countrywide
• Berkswell Cricket Club
• The Tipperary Inn
• The Leisure Traveller
• One Stop

Balsall Common Jubilee Event detail

Venue: The Lant Sports and Community Ground, Meeting House Lane, Balsall Common, Coventry.  CV7 7GE.

Gates open 1:30pm

For more information and links visit our page.