Simon Prodger
7 August 2014
CCC’s cricket programme has been in full swing through July and into early August, with all our sides engaged in representative cricket and the President’s Team fulfilling enjoyable and entertaining matches against member clubs celebrating a variety of anniversaries.
CCC Women kicked off their representative campaign against Hong Kong CC, on tour in England alongside China and in conjunction with their Men’s squad. In a highly competitive match at St Paul's School, Barnes, CCC were inserted on losing the toss and found both conditions and the opposition bowling a challenge. In sultry heat, Hong Kong’s opening attack got prodigious movement and Mariko Hill in particular, bowled at genuine pace and always in the right areas. She was immediately rewarded with the wicket of India Whitty, a keeper/batsman on the verges of the England Elite Performance programme. Captain Sue Benson and Cath McNeill consolidated somewhat and good batting led to a stand of 37 before Benson was removed, bowled by Ho. The innings faltered throughout with wickets falling regularly to a mixture of accurate swing and on a used wicket, biting spin. McNeill top scored with a handy 26, supported by Saba Nasim (16) and Balavika Gajipra (17 no) but CCC were bowled out for 109 in 35 overs.
In response, Hong Kong – featuring 7 of the regular national squad – began with confidence and 31 was on the board before CCC struck with the first wicket, courtesy of Natasha Martin. The introduction of spin, particularly Salma Biz and Anna Lague completely changed the course of the game as Hong Kong collapsed from 60-2 to 94 all out in the face of some excellent slow bowling on a turning pitch. Both Anna and Salma collected 3 wickets apiece to steer CCC to a fine victory by 15 runs and provide the squad with the perfect preparation for the defence of the Combined Services Vauxhall Trophy on the 12th and 13h August. scorecard
Meanwhile, CCC Under 25's are now in full swing, having played both Hertfordshire Stags and Oxfordshire Academy in the past week. With new players being blooded and with a request from Herts to play 2 off T20 matches on the day, CCC almost inevitably lost the opening encounter – a classic case of one side getting to know each other and the other being well versed in the skills of its players. CCC’s score of 144 wasn’t enough to really challenge Herts, who through the broad blade of Tim Graham made easy work of the chase. The 2nd game saw CCC bowling first and a very different game ensued. Young debutant Steven Reingold really impressed with his slow control of turn and length, collecting 3 wickets in each match. He was well supported by Travis Hussain and Ravi Panchal as Herts were restricted to 145-8. CCC chased this down in a thoroughly proficient manner, Jamal Francis and Matt Stear starring with the bat to secure a win by 5 wickets. scorecard 1 scorecard 2
2 days later, the Under 25's converged on Bicester and North Oxford CC to take on the Oxfordshire Academy. Under the captaincy of Enfield’s Jack Plumb our bowlers came out ready for the fray and early wickets for Ed Wharton and Abhishek Kulkarni ensured that Oxfordshire never really got ahead of the game. CCC’s bowlers exerted pressure throughout and despite a well-made 61 from Harris, their innings closed on 219-9, perhaps 30 short of a challenging score. This proved to be the case as East Molesey’s Nick Stevens and Andrew Westphal ensured CCC were never under any real stress in chasing down the total. Westphal fell towards the end for a fine 66 but Nick batted through for 68 not out, his second half century in his two games so far this season. scorecard
The Under 25's complete their programme against Bucks Academy on August 14th before the annual post season trip over to Jersey for 4 T20 matches against the island in September.
Perhaps the highlight of the past month was Tuesday’s match against MCC at Lord's. With the entire ground at their disposal and with the full glory of the players’ canteen to fuel their energy, warm ups on the Nursery ground were of high intensity led as ever by head coach, Min Patel. Despite our Twelfth Man convincing himself that Mark Alleyne was cutting the wicket on the main ground in preparation for our match, the team was in good working order until captain Richard Hindley lost the toss and was advised that MCC would bowl first. On a wicket looking as green as the test match wicket on day 1, this was a toss he had been eager to win but following presentations and the photo-call, it was CCC openers John Walford and Richard Wharton that set out to battle the vagaries of a seaming pitch. Unsurprisingly, against tight and steady seam bowling, wickets fell regularly, with no-one really getting to grips with conditions. It was left to Hindley and fellow all-rounder Dan Yarnley to steady the ship and to set up a score that would at least provide some hope. Sadly, both fell just short of their half centuries but Ed Wharton smashed a rapid 27 as CCC completed the innings in the final over, 224 all out.
Most sages felt CCC were 40 short and so it appeared as MCC set about the chase with relative ease. However, wickets at vital times always ensured that MCC never ran away with the game and with the introduction of the spin twins – Hindley and Yarnley, the opposition got bogged down and the run rate ground almost to a halt. A fantastic bowling performance from CCC in the final 20 overs meant that incredibly, CCC ran out winners by 16 runs as MCC closed on 208-6. scorecard
Throughout the day CCC members and friends were royally hosted by Mike Gatting and his wife, Elaine and at the post match reception in the Committee Room, Mike was effusive in his generous praise for CCC and the cricket on display at the home of the game. It was certainly a day to remember for all of us there and photos are now on our Flickr account, details of which will be advised.
Our President’s side, ably led by Simon Routh, has also been in regular action over the past fortnight, with games at Eastcote and Odiham and Graywell, both played in glorious weather on attractive grounds. A notable draw and a comfortable victory were delivered by the side as once again, new players took their chance to impress and challenge for future representative slots. Throughout the season, CCC has had to deal with a huge amount of drop outs and late changes – many as a result of players being selected for First Class or Minor County and County 2 cricket. It is clear that new players are needed and we would be delighted to hear from member clubs who believe they have players of talent to represent CCC across our cricket programme. Eastcote Odiham & Greywell
A wonderful month of cricket, with fine weather and the right results….we are in good health!