The temperature may have dropped but it certainly hasn't at the Edward Stern, with all sections in blistering form and taking in some sort of glory over the week. What a difference a week makes eh.
This week we've seen the Senior sides get back on track, the Ladies see Slam success, and the Colts have a stormer, one team in particular getting ready for a Finals Day, and speaking of Finals Days, we’ve also had the culmination of the CPL100 group stage, which had some epic performances and a shock twist, so now its time to plan the best Finals Day in 100 years come 28th August with gusto, let's see it off with a bang.
Notable Mentions
We start our travels at the Home of Cricket, and the 2s hosting Dorking. The visitors hadn't travelled up the M25 too well, and the poor opener found himself back in the pavilion second ball courtesy of the in form Hugh Ash-Lyons for nowt. Whereas we've seen other teams shut up shop this lot seemed to not even get through the door and the 2s had intent - a spell from Josh Fyfe saw him bag 3-22, and at 60-5 it was all a little too late and they slumped to 112 all out, Hugh adding another two to the haul.
Confidence flowing, openers Ed Marsh & the returning Captain Matt Wiggins started positively, Ed the only wicket to depart on 38-1, and Wiggy went on to bank his first fifty of the season, the win coming in the twenty first over, an outright win for those timed fans.
Over on a field on the Hampton/Kingston border Hampton Wick very kindly agreed to host the 3s, and as luck would have it, so were the 4s. Not since the Covid season have we had that kind of treat, and, they were both fielding first. On arrival the 4s seemed to be having the best time of it, and hoping to continue the form found against Shepperton the week before. Upon arrival Hampton were five down, succumbing to a Josh Hawksley run out, and a handful banked for the latter and Aiden Cassin. As we settled ourselves in the middle of the two pitches, we started to veer towards the 4s, as wicket after wicket fell (including a Moz Khan run out), and it suddenly became a race to see who out of the 14 year olds Cassin & Hawksley would achieve their 5fer first. To think the 4s couldn’t burgle a wicket a month ago, now they were flowing, 5 bowldeys in the innings. Master Cassin was the winner of that 5fer race, and he and Mr Hawksley the winners of our Bluecaps Moment of the Week for an epic display of bowling in not just this game (more on that later) - well done Sirs. Hampton ran away a bit towards the end, and they found themselves 168 all out.
Over on the 3s pitch the mood was a little less jubilant. Bowling first and with wickets initially hard to come by, suddenly they fell like buses (89-6) thanks to James Pearson nabbing his second 5fer in a month, Dylan Pandya & Joe Clarke helping out the cause with a couple. Dylan in particular was on a hat trick later on in the game, but nabbed one the ball after, still, three in four balls, not bad going. Hampton Wick ran away with it towards the end, the 3s spending more time rummaging around in the bushes for the ball than getting wickets, and thing fizzled to a frustrating end, the Wick ending on 186-9.
By return the 3s continued their dip in confidence, and the toiling continued - the only highlights on the innings openers Pearson & Lloyd (17) maturely holding off a vociferous Wick field, Fin Lloyd's quick-firing cameo (13), but alas, it wasn't to be.
Over on the 4s pitch it was all about the run rate, and the 4s started batting cautiously, but it was the partnership of Khan & Collinge that piqued our interest, crash bang wallop, 34 the partnership between them there before Moz departed. The 4s needed to keep up the momentum, but once the returning Craig Higgins had departed they were suddenly catching their tails and it was just about hanging on. It went down to Connaill Keating and Aiden Cassin, Mr Keating no stranger to last-ditch heroics, but alas, on this occasion it also wasn't to be, and the win came by 18 runs. Keep going 4s, its coming.
The 1s had taken the trip over to Chessington, and found themselves in trouble early on losing opener Jake Taylor, and despite a rebuilding job first change whipped through the top and middle order, 1s 61-6, and needing something special. Step forward Eric Osner, who took that brief on with gusto, holding the fort and achieving that much-desired fifty off 110 balls. As partners came and went, a nice 30 from Will Cooper at the end, things were helped along with extras as the second top scorer (37), they ended on 176 all out and reaching that 175 bonus point scoring mark at the very least.
Chessington much like Dorking, looked good on paper, but failed to live up to that premise - wickets falling regularly throughout the innings, each bowler nabbing one or more (spinners Eric & Cooper with three each), and Chessington were never allowed to get going, the 1s keeping them tight and strangling them for a much needed win, 135 all out.
Sunday Funday saw the return and penultimate round of the CPL100. Our decider of who goes straight to the Final come 28th August and who will be manning the pirate ship - or was it?
In our first game, Gogmore Knights v Grove Armada the Knights won the toss and opted to bat. Luxury opener Toby Finneran came and went in a blink but the other opener, Eric Osner, made hay and was unlucky not to get his second fifty of the weekend (43). Matt Dean, hoping to get himself that purple cap, in his first of two games in the day, stuck in 17, but it was the partnership of Ogle and Richards that lit up the innings, JR departing on 44. 142 the target for the Armada.
The Armada had signed the big luxury name of the round, returning overseas Will Smith aka Wilbur to open for them, but he didn't last long, 5 balls to be exact (current overseas v ex overseas, Eric won that battle) but showed a lot of promise before his exit. The Armada found themselves 24-3 and needed to get going. Felix Reisch (28) & Jacob Loveridge (16) made that happen, fending off the Knight's attack, but once they had departed there wasn't a lot left in the tank and they fell to 95-9. Game one done, Knights winners of the battle. As for bowling, the Knights were clinical, Jack Ogle looked on fire, with two worldy catches and Eric Osner on the money throughout.
The final game of the day saw bottom placed Bourne Stars looking to create an upset against top of the table Meads Enforcers. The Enforcers batted first, and without usual opener Mo Osman Ben Hanger filled that role. Whenever you see Hanger and Snake walking to the crease as a bowler you'd get a bit wobbly in the constitution department, and the Stars had reason to worry, as whatever was thrown at the two Enforcers batsmen was launched over the boundary. It was a race to see who would get to their fifty first (Hanger for info) and Snake was out quite quickly after reaching his, which brought on Zeeshan Mehtab, on the hunt for the purple cap, more misery to inflict on the Stars. Neither were going anywhere, and it was Ben Hanger who provided us with our first CPL hundred (CPL100) of the competition, and our undisputed moment of the round, as voted by the Facebook and Insta Stories fam.
The Stars had work to do, and when Risky had replaced his demolished bat the new one managed a quick 27, Bloomers the man hanging about for 35. Matt Dean in his familiar colours biffed and boshed his way to a quick 58 (obviously prefers green) and they put on 48 between forty and twenty balls, bonus point secured. Adam "Mini" Powesland made a mini but as ever entertaining appearance, bucket hat on bonce, but it was Troy Bolger towards the end with the total unattainable peppering Ron's garden for an explosive cameo. Enforcers the winners, bullying the Stars to defeat.
So, where did we end up? Well. Once thing is certain, we have our finalist - that be the Meads Enforcers in their sky blue finery. What we don't have (and we usually do) is our second semi-finalist to meet second-placed Gogmore Knights. So tight was the table (Stars & Armada finished level on points) a vote was made between the powers that be that the second semi finalist would be decided by that event that always makes us need the defib near - the (booming voice) SUPER OVER, which will be undertaken before the semi final. So we can't actually tell you who will be manning the pirate ship come the 28th, a first time ever in the competition, but we do know it'll be either navy blue or green.
Sunday Funday continued over at Twickenham where the Ladies were in Slam action. Chertsey batted first, with a smattering of Blueberries in amongst the side. Edie Schofield was top of the pips with a quick-fire retirement on 40 off 23 (8 fours), Shannen Miah was in bombastic form again also with 23 from 25, as was Katie Weston with four fours in her 17. Helped along by extras retiring on 40 also, the Ladies set 143 for the win off their sixteen overs, a huge Slam score - the Armada could have done with some of that firepower.
Miah removed the opener quickly, then it was down to her and Lorna Bailey with 3-14 to clear up the rest within, Twickenham strangled to 101 off their sixteen and a win by 41 runs, their most comprehensive win to date. Walton awaits in the league Sunday…
The fun continued fir the U14s who had a short shift on Sunday morning, facing a Farnham side skittled for 20 - yes 20, we haven't missed off a digit, Aiden Cassin & Josh Hawksley carrying on their blistering form from Saturday with four and five wickets a-piece (taking their combined weekend's tally to seventeen), so then it was three overs knocking the total off and all back on the motorway, probably more time spent on that than in the field. Wowzers…
The U15s are the team in form at the moment and arguably with the biggest workload with two games in two days. Sunday morning saw Horsley & Send the oppo for their T1 league game and H&S started well, but with the top three gone by 37-3 the U15s strangled them to 112-8, only the #4 making a dent, Ed Marsh with three, Josh Fyfe & James Pearson with two. In reply 112 seems like a tasty challenge to the U15s, and Ed Marsh relished the opportunity, bashing 71* from 49 balls - note for Ethan Austin with 26, and the win secured in the 14th over by nine wickets.
Monday saw the biggest test for the U15s. The semi final of the Plate Cup. Now, now we're getting the hang of this hundred stuff, we actually quite like it (don't tell 2021 Comms), and so do the U15s - their infectious confidence was sky high pre-match. Barnes had a few players missing, but if we've learnt anything from the CPL100, you've got to grab every opportunity with both hands. And grab they did, Captain Pearson starting the landslide, a controlled bowling performance - Fyfe, Marsh, Pearson each with one, but it was Ethan Austin that made the difference, 3-13 from that chap. The U15s restricted them to 97 from their 100 balls, and you had to feel they had it in the bag.
Marsh & Pearson started us off and the former was unlucky not to retire, but the good foundations had been laid, and with Austin carrying his form with the bat (23* retired) it was left to the gruesome twosome of Fyfe and Walmsley to finish the job, Walmsley with an audacious reverse sweep for four concluding proceedings in what was a tense but entertaining game for the larger than usual Monday Match Edward Stern crowd.
So we've been in this position before already this season you may remember, a cup semi final for the indoor warriors, and we will say the same the U15s as we said to them: no matter what happens come the Final, we will all be hugely proud of where you have got to, go out there and do it for the team, but most of all do it for CCC. We've got you.
Now, who's got a number for a coach company?
Friday 22nd July
U12 dev 121-11 (net score 266) v Walton 73-9 (net score 228)
Willem Warden 13, Luke Woodham 2-7
Saturday 23rd July
1st XI 176 a/o v Chessington 135 a/o (A)
Eric Osner 54 & 3-11, Will Cooper 3-18
2nd XI 112 a/o v Dorking 113-1 (H)
Matt Wiggins 50*, Josh Fyfe 3-22, Hugh Aish-Lyons 3-27
3rd XI 72 a/o v Hampton Wick Royal 186-9 (A)
Jack Lloyd 17, James Pearson 5-17
4th XI 150 a/o v Hampton Wick Royal 168 a/o (A)
Moz Khan, James Collinge 34, Aiden Cassin 5-25
Sunday 24th July
CPL - Gogmore Knights 141-4 v Grove Armada 95-9
James Richards 44, Eric Osner 2-8
Felix Reisch 28, Jacob Loveridge 1-15, Stuart Eagles 1-26, Harry Nuti 1-28, Dan Shepherd 1-34
CPL - Bourne Stars 172-3 v Meads Enforcers 220-1
Matt Dean 28, Dylan Pandya 1-33
Ben Hanger 107*, Jake Taylor 50, Joe Clarke 1-22, Gary Porter 1-36
U10s 79-5 v Richmond 122-4
Kian Hendriksz 12, Henry Puddle-Martin 1-3, Ben Maher 1-12, Albert Edwards 1-24
U15s 116-1 v Horsley & Send 112-8
Ed Marsh 71* & 3-20
U14s 22-0 v Farnham 20 a/o
Edith Schofield 14, Josh Hawksley 5-4, Aiden Cassin 4-10
League - Ladies 142-3 v Twickenham Tornadoes 101-5 (A)
Edith Schofield 40* (ret), Lorna Bailey 3-14
Monday 25th July
Plate Cup - U15s 99-3 v Barnes 97-7
Arthur Walmsley 25*, Ethan Austin 22* (ret) & 3-13
Fixture Card
Thursday 28th July
Social League - Otters 11 v Pirates (H)
Social League - Chertsey Ladies v Vet Labs (Habb)
Social League - Academy v Football Club (Hrec)
U12s v Chobham
Saturday 30th July
1st XI v Hampton Wick Royal (H) 12pm
2nd XI v Chipstead, Coulsdon & Walcountians (A) 12pm
High Road, Chipstead, CR5 3SF
3rd XI v Old Hamptonians (A) 1pm
Dean Road, Hampton, TW12 1AQ
4th XI v Valley End (Hrec) 1pm
Sunday 31st July
League - Ladies v Walton (H) 2pm
U15s v Ashstead
U12s v Sanderstead
U8s v Woking & Horsell
Tuesday 2md August
U12s v Valley End
U11s v Egham
Dates for Your Diary...
28th August - CPL100 Finals Day
17th September - Colts Dinner
Cowpat Day rescheduled for 2023 - we're feeding the cow up.
And finally…
You may have seen we posted on Facebook yesterday some photos of random items - hats, bats, coats, bottles, chairs, and glasses, that have been left at the clubhouse the last few weeks, and we'd really like this gone before 10th August please, so if you recognise anything pop down the club on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to collect, after the 10th its going going gone.
