2023 match archive
Bottom PaddockSunday February 4 near Masterton in the Wairarapa Valley Strollers won by 99 runs Strollers 185-5
(33 overs; Wyatt 44ret, Scanlon 41ret, Loan 25, Addis 23, Fredrickson 19)
Bottom Paddock 86
(30.2 overs; Fredrickson 3-6, Scanlon 1-2, Ovenden 1-2, Read 1-4, McDougall 1-6, Addis 1-11) Wednesday Jan 18 – Piers Ovenden created WhatsApp group “Strollers Exiles”. A new digital channel for Strollers comms was now in existence. I’m not sure how this fits within the tried and trusted match manager communication protocol but there was a sense that the pressure of two games in two weeks necessitated an additional communication channel. Friday Feb 3 – Glen Scanlon: “what time is kick-off?”. Responses included a discussion around the possibility of drizzle. Murray Waugh, representing an Auckland view, suggested that drizzle sounded balmy compared to recent weather events further north. Saturday Feb 4 – the skipper is pitchside with live reports – photos, videos, the works. It’s hard to distinguish the pitch from the outfield and said outfield looks particularly lush for this time of the year in the Wairarapa. Sunday Feb 5 – game day. The skipper, obviously well rested from a night camping pitchside, sends last minute messages around changes to kick-off time, number of overs to be played, time allowances to be spent in the boutique shops of Greytown and what to bring for the BBQ. As the squad assembled at the picturesque Bottom Paddock ground discussions centred on how nice it is to be back, intentions for camping, feedback from another successful annual Strollers dinner in London and the daunting prospect of two games in two weekends for the Exiles side unused to such an amount of cricket. What else became apparent is that the only competition for the background noise of the cicadas will be the proliferation of next generation Strollers – at max count there were 17 Stroller-related children in attendance. What no one mentions (or very rarely) is the result from two years ago [see below] …lessons have been learnt and the skipper has a masterplan. The masterplan is put into action immediately as Piers lost the toss and we were asked to bat. Any comments about the relative strength of the batting line-up were hushed; hubris is our enemy. It took three balls for the next part of the masterplan to be put into action as the skipper departed and Bottom Paddack celebrated. What followed through to drinks was a succession of more classical batting techniques falling foul of the long outfield and a mental calculation, almost visibly passing through each batsman’s heads, that said “I’m not fit enough to run singles and the odd two off every ball, so I need to go aerial”. Local MP and recently promoted Cabinet Minister Kieran McAnulty had ball in hand and this resulted in half of our line-up back enjoying the cicada symphony by drinks with 70 runs on the board. Post the drinks break came the pivotal period of the match, as Doran Wyatt and Scanlon combined to provide the substance of the innings through some significant hitting and stickability. Both ending up retiring for well made 40s. Some fine scampering from Justin Fredrickson and Andrew Thomas (with requisite red inker) at the end of the innings took us to a very respectable 185 from our 33 overs. Anything above 140 can be considered good value. After a relatively short turnaround and much parenting we were back in the field. Some concern was expressed about dark clouds on the horizon but the skipper’s planning really came to the fore as the well laid bowling plans took effect. Given the lack of cricket, bowlers hit good lengths and the catching (perhaps aided by the long grass and limited ball chasing) was surprisingly good. For Bottom Paddock, Justin Herbert played a strong hand and kept them in the hunt, however when Julian Read sent Chris Jeffries' off bail disappearing towards the campsite we sensed the game heading our way. Any talk of a repeat of the previous match [2021: FSS 203-5; BP 204-8] was squashed as Fredrickson, resplendent in headband and with his Shane Bond impersonations, took three quick wickets to help wrap things up. Part 1 of the masterplan successfully completed as the skipper led his Exiles off the field. Retiring to the pavilion area there were visits to the sacred spring, a sumptuous BBQ provided by our hosts, beers, good chat and eloquent speeches from both skippers. It was fantastic to see and spend time with old and new acquaintances from both teams. There was even time for some recruitment work with two of the Bottom Paddock youth policy being identified as London bound – email addresses are heading your way Simon. As the evening continued it was only left for those camping to pitch tents and settle in for the evening. Those who departed got to witness the fact that Bottom Paddock really is its own microclimate given the pouring rain they encountered just three kms down the road. A huge thanks to the Bottom Paddock team for their hospitality and hosting. It was superb as always and we look forward to the next opportunity to play. And finally a big thank you to Piers as match manager, master planner and general all-round supremo for his efforts. Onwards to the next weekend, game two, more stretching and an opportunity for another great day out. Capt: Piers Ovenden. Wkt: Justin Fredrickson/Hamish McDougall.
Match report: James Timperley. VUWCCSunday February 12 at Kelburn Park Strollers won by 10 runs Strollers 218-6
(35 overs; Addis 42, Loan 41ret, Waugh 32, Read 28no, McDougall 24, Timperley 17, S Scanlon 16)
Victoria University of Wellington Old Lions 208-6
(35 overs; G Scanlon 3-51, Ovenden 1-30) The cicadas took a brief spell at 2am, allowing a ruru to make its presence known. Dawn and another fine Wairarapa morning saw Strollers striking tents, packing up camper vans, and searching for jumper cables for Jono’s car (it can be tempting to leave the doors open (and door lights on) on a hot day). Focus shifted to Wellington where Victoria University of Wellington CC (VUWCC) was running a number of fundraising events. The Strollers happily entered a team for the VUWCC quiz on the Saturday night at the club sponsor’s bar in town, and came first in a crowded field – despite dropping a point early on after a passionate debate (also known in the Wellington public sector as a robust discussion about performance and accountability, with clear consequences for failure to deliver on key KPIs) about the year the movie ‘Airplane’ was released in New Zealand. The prizes included a bar tab - happily shared with friendly opponents-to-be, catching up with those of us with overlapping club loyalties – and $200 worth of vouchers to be put towards some form of cricket equipment. The Strollers also dominated the fundraising auction, Hamish demonstrating little patience for rounds of $5 increments, bringing the hammer down, and taking home the bat autographed by the Wellington cricket team. It was an early start on the Sunday, to allow people to catch flights home in the afternoon. The pitch looked firm but, like the rest of the country this summer, mighty green. There were three changes to the team from Bottom Paddock: Dr Jake Pearson, Sean Scanlon and Murray Waugh stepping in for Tim Swan, Andrew Thomas and Doran Wyatt. Jono and Hamish opened the batting, the latter showing signs of embracing Bazball, taking 12 from the first over. Jono was dismissed, gallantly aiming for the fountain at deep mid-wicket, before he could be retired at the end of the over he reached 40. Murray Waugh and Mike Loan formed another valuable partnership, the latter accelerating to his retirement with some lusty blows over and through the covers. A mini Strollers collapse ensued, with Glen’s quizzical eyebrow triggered. A deep, resourceful, and rather fit looking, batting line-up kept the run rate up, with Julian and Justin sprinting a number of twos in the final over. 218-6 (plus one retiree) from 35 overs seemed a decent effort – until the local clubmen mentioned that 600+ runs had been scored on the same wicket the previous day. Murray had to jet back to Auckland leaving the Strollers with 10 to field. Nick Logan appeared with daughter Poppy, to say hello, but disappeared just as quickly, before whites could be forced upon him. The Old Lions set off at a blistering pace – one of their openers clearly in a hurry to make his flight back to Sydney. Captain Timperley rotated through his bowlers, with only the debutant, the good doctor Jake, able to constrain the hitting with his consistent line and length (6-0-22-0). However, a couple of retirements were followed by a couple of run-outs – one off Jake’s thumb to run out the non-striker; another through some slick work by Julian. With batsmen No 7 and No 8 both new to the crease, the Strollers sensed an opportunity and piled on the pressure with a string of dot balls to make the equation 65 runs required off 10 overs. This became 35 runs required off five overs. Glen then produced a maiden to make it 35 off four. Some wristy hitting and frantic running left 15 runs needed off two overs. Up stepped Julian, to concede just one run off the 34th. Glen closed out the match with two wickets in the final over (including a fine catch by Justin standing up to the wicket) and figures of 7-1-51-3 over two crucial spells. There were speeches in the pavilion, the efforts of Hamish and opposing captain Colin Owen recognised in bringing about the fixture, thanks expressed for the lunch that was laid on, and more of the sponsor's product consumed. Blair Travis’s name was spotted on the honours board. There was talk of doing it all again next year. Capt: James Timperley. Wkt: Hamish McDougall/Justin Fredrickson.
Match report: Piers Ovenden
Royal AscotSunday April 30 at Ascot Strollers won by 15 runs Strollers 190-9
(40 overs; Oliver 51, Josh Shattock 35, Dela Rue 24no, Vasudevan 23)
Royal Ascot 175
(39.2 overs; Calvocoressi 2-7, Salvesen 2-18, Vasudevan 1-11, Oliver 1-17, Josh Shattock 1-27, Macaulay 1-46) After a false start the previous Sunday, the weather played ball for what would be the Strollers’ first outing of the 2023 season. After circumventing closed roads and the racecourse, we arrived at the picturesque Ascot cricket ground. Glen Oliver’s season started as we expect it to continue, by losing the toss, the result of which saw the Strollers opening batsmen swiftly padding up. With Rowan Smith contracting a gastro bug the morning of the game, Ascot kindly offered us one of their spare players - Ashwin Vasudevan. Josh Shattock and George Calvocoressi, the latter promoted due to the late arrival of Stephen Rogers, took to the crease as the Strollers opening pair. It was a reasonably benign start until the unfortunate incident in which the Ascot slip fieldsman copped a cricket ball direct to the forehead via Shattock’s outside edge. There was a break while the player received medical attention, before being transported to hospital for a check-up. Thankfully he was spotted at the pavilion later in the afternoon in good spirits. After a steady start from Shattock (35) and Calvocoressi (9), the wheels somewhat came off. The Strollers slumped to 68-5 after Mike Shattock and Gus Wills were dismissed in successive balls by the brilliant Ascot bowler, Vijay Dwarkenath, who finished with six wickets for just five runs off his seven overs. Oliver’s pre-innings routine was cut short by the sudden loss of wickets, having to scamper out of the dressing room to face the hat-trick ball, which he duly survived. Vasudevan and Oliver steadied the Strollers ship, scoring 23 and 51 respectively. James Dela Rue provided a cameo at the end, scoring a quickfire 24 not out with moral support from Simon Brodbeck at the non-striker’s end. This brought the Strollers up to a defendable score of 190 runs off their 40 overs, a total which looked somewhat unlikely midway through the innings. After munching down a sandwich and watching Calvocoressi indulge in his gourmet packed lunch, it was time for the Strollers’ first fielding innings of the new season. It started somewhat well, with Dela Rue and Tom Salvesen fizzing the new ball around and Wills wicket-keeping energetically. It was not long before Salvesen was rewarded with the first wicket, courtesy of a great Calvorocessi catch at gully, eerily foreseen in advance by Captain Oliver. Salvesen then snared another, before Josh Shattock and Calvocoressi also got in on the act, the Strollers making steady inroads into the Ascot batting line-up. The Ascot middle order showed stubborn resistance however, batsmen No 7 and No 8 putting on a 93-run partnership to bring Ascot back into the game. Man of the moment Vasudevan finally broke the stand, sending the dangerous Tom Clarke (66) back to the pavilion and leaving the Strollers needing just three wickets to finish the job. Oliver snared the other dangerman Dwarkenath (39) before two run-outs, courtesy of Salvesen and Josh Shattock, completed the innings with Ascot finishing on 175. It was a great pleasure to see Dennis Cave amongst the spectators. Dennis, a Central Lancashire League veteran, played for the Strollers from 1999 to 2012, taking 200 wickets at a miserly average of 18.67 before finally hanging up his boots after a lifetime of cricket. He came to support son-in-law Mike Shattock and grandson Josh. To see him striding round the ground was a delight and a reminder of what a fierce competitor he was…and is.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Gus Wills.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: James Dela Rue.
Sunday May 14 in Coleshill Strollers lost by 38 runs Jordans Taverners 136
(34.4 overs; Brodbeck 4-12, Mangham 3-13, Macaulay 3-20)
Strollers 98
(32.1 overs; Oliver 69) Jordans Taverners are one of our oldest opponents. We have played them in the grounds of a hospital, at the unique village of Jordans (which made legal history when the neighbours sued the cricket club for balls landing in their gardens), at the recreation ground in Seer Green and latterly on the village ground at Coleshill. The cricket club at Coleshill no longer exists, sadly, but the Taverners now use this as their base and a lovely spot it is, in the shadow of a Victorian water tower. Skipper Glen Oliver won the toss and inserted. Which, at 63-0 (with Ashley Turney and Cameron Hunter going well), did not look the best of decisions. But Richard Bing (4-2-4-0), Ben Mangham (6-0-13-3), Alastair Macaulay ((7-1-20-3) and the ageless Simon Brodbeck (3.4-0-12-4) reined things in and the Taverners were eventually bowled out for a very gettable 136 in 34.4 overs. Well, it seemed very gettable when, after a splendid tea, the chase began. But after 10 overs we were 10-3. After 15 overs 22-5. After 22 overs 39-6. With 28 overs gone the score stood at 73-9. Then the fightback began. Skipper Oliver successfully farmed the strike to protect the aged Brodbeck. He, in a 20-minute stay at the crease, faced just six balls for a valiant 0 not out. Eventually Oliver tried one big hit too many in his impressive solo effort and departed for 69 with the Strollers 98 all out. A small matter of 38 runs short of the target. The Taverners’ Nick Gradel boasted extraordinary figures of 8-4-10-3 while Oli Myers was even less expensive with 8-4-9-3. The chastened Strollers retreated to the pub to begin a soul-searching match inquest…and vowed to bounce back at Winchmore Hill. Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Rob Wall.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Anonymous. Winchmore HillSunday May 21 in Winchmore Hill Strollers won by 121 runs Strollers 258-4
(40 overs; Wall 92no, Oliver 50no, Pittams 42, Love 17, Peter Wood 11)
Winchmore Hill 137
(28.1 overs; Samuel 3-5, Dela Rue 3-36, Brodbeck 1-0, Love 1-15, Macaulay 1-12, Mangham 1-38) The Strollers descended Winchmore Hill in Amersham with grace on a fine Sunday afternoon. The lovely beech and ash were a welcome sight, as were the magpies ducking and weaving their acrobatics through the trees. Ben Mangham’s clear as mud instructions to the team resulted in three key Strollers getting lost before the game commenced. New technology was proposed by the match manager in an app called What3Words, a location-based application with its sole purpose of dividing the world into 3m squares with each square given a unique combination of, well, three words. Unfortunately for three of the Strollers these words ended up being “we are lost”. After numerous attempts of dodgy backroad navigating and nearly breaking Glen Oliver’s Mercedes (ooooh Mercedes) all players were eventually accounted for, with the toss going in our favour for a spot of batting. A few warm-ups in the nets paid off for Rob Wall as he and Mike Pittams started off with a powerful opening partnership, both batsmen racking up very respectable scores considering the tight bowling of the openers. A grand battle commenced between Pittams and Aaron Chopra in which the two were ratcheting up the intensity ball by ball, first with Pittams smoking a four to square leg, then a peach delivery resulting in a French cut whistling past the stumps, BOOM another four, AGAIN another near miss! After a most entertaining battle Mike was finally bested by a beauty of a ball bowled by Andy Eagen, and he departed for 42. Rob, having the pleasure previously of watching Mike’s glorious stroke work in the front row seat, saw this pleasure quickly dissipate with the vast volume of singles and twos Mr Salt and Pepper Princess had to endure. George Love came into bat at No 3, scoring a quick 17 then departing lbw, followed by Pete Wood’s brief 11 before being ousted by a “rip snorter of a delivery” resulting in him being caught. These quick scores resulted in the Whakamana Express begin to run out of steam. At least thrice Rob was granted a lifeline in the outfield due to dropped chances, but each spill granted Wall new hope and he continued to dive deeper into his large reserve tank to continue pushing through the pain. With Rob propped up by his bat and heaving with exertion, new man Nick Saari came to the crease. Having arrived freshly from New York City, Nick was eager to learn this new strange game, having previously discovered the Strollers in midweek performances and being pressured by his girlfriend into talking to one Pete Robertson to get recruited. Arriving at the ground appropriately versed on the English tea traditions and meanings (as previously he had been left to starve all day thinking having “no tea” meant simply skipping a nice cuppa hot English Breakfast) he was ready to go. Extensive training at Lord’s and being mentored by the likes of James DLR on his bowling technique and George Love on his batting strokes Nick was ready to begin his career, with the Strollers equally committed to this project of turning a young eager-eyed baseball player into a Sunday Battler. And as quickly as he entered the crease he was showing off his athleticism with a new technique for sliding into the crease - a studs-up sliding baseball dive. Having yelled “SAFE” immediately after this slide the stadium was in absolute awe at this new move. Speaking to the scorers post game it was said that this action had inspired the younger generation of cricketers who were spectating and surely will go on to spark a change to the very game itself. Some elegant forward drives and other technical shots were played after this and was almost reminiscent of the great legendary batter Alex Bregman…of the Houston Astros. Having momentarily forgotten the rules of the game and the technicalities of the crease he was warned by the keeper to “stay in the box” lest he be stumped and sent on his way. Aside from this hiccup and the resultant shot played to get out on two, Nick was reported to be satisfied with his performance, with all Strollers being impressed with his tenacity and attitude towards the game. Next to the crease was Oliver, who supported Rob in (almost) getting his 100 not out. Ending on 92 Rob was agonisingly close but could not quite get there. Glen finished on a respectable 50 not out, with an eventful last over resulting in nearly two run-outs, which was extremely entertaining for the fans. As Rob was carried off the field by multiple Strollers, tea was served (the food kind, not the hot water kind), and Rob was hastily padded up ready to keep wicket for the next innings much to his delight. The Strollers came out firing in the field with opening bowlers James Dela Rue and Pete Wood delivering majestic opening spells. James finally picked up his first wickets of the year, surprising even himself with some of the nipping seamers which bested the very dangerous opening pair. Love came in as first change and also delivered a piercing blow by getting the danger man out on the boundary - an excellent ball considering it was the first spell of the year. What was not so excellent was Pittams dropping a sitter of a catch to deny Mr Love’s second… Evan Samuel and Ben Mangham were in next and toiled away with Samuel having a remarkable spell, coming away with 3-5 stats. Ben having a lovely plum lbw was also a rewarding dividend for all the match manager’s hard work. Simon Brodbeck and Alastair Macaulay came in to clean up the innings with one wicket apiece, with Simon ending the day in spectacular fashion by getting the last wicket with his first ball. A lovely evening awaited both teams as they reminisced and socialised under the setting sky. A drop of Smugglers was shared by all and talks of the beer festival (save the date: Saturday 2nd September). Many thanks to scorer Mel Ive and the Winchmore Hill cub for hosting us for the first time, we would be more than happy to return next season. A toast or two and more than a few memories were shared that evening, with respects paid to one of the very best to don the Strollers blazer. Stroll on Nick Daly… Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Rob Wall.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Gorge Love. Bricklayers ArmsThursday May 25 in Chiswick Strollers won by three wickets Bricklayer's Arms 134-5
(20 overs; Macaulay 3-27, Baylis-Allen 1-8, Broster-Turley 1-23.
Strollers 137-7
(19.4 overs; Oliver 36no, Saari 36no, Alley 14, Robertson 11. The season’s opener for the midweek games was greeted by blazing sun and matched with enthusiasm. It saw a full 11 herded into the trees by 6.15, which some would say is a miracle. Especially following the reluctancy and secrecy surrounding the postcode of the match location - Glen Oliver of course assuring us the website was the only way to solve the postcode dilemma. It would appear the oppo didn’t visit the Strollers website as they were considerably late, boasting only a single man for the first 20 minutes. With the team gathered and pleasantries exchanged, it was only fitting for all to take a moment of silence in honour and memory of our close friend Nick Daly - a Strollers stalwart who will be heavily missed. Moving into the action, in similar style to Ron Jeremy, we decided to field first and let the Bricklayer’s Arms grip a bit of willow, whilst we fondled through the long grass and geese for the infamous pink ball. Will Baylis-Allen came in to open the bowling from what could only be described as a possible UFO crash landing site. The arm began rolling over, and soon whipped itself up to the heat only seen on a re-entrance to our atmosphere. The batsmen was as hurried as Mike Pittams, after an infamous sausage ‘ry, is to the loo. Dan Torrie, making his debut from the same end, was not so fortunate. A tough introduction to the Strollers and the pressure was on. The performance on show brought back memories of similar bowling spells from Mitch Alley and Aidan Selby in years gone by. These two now gladly retiring from playing lawn bowls at a cricket match. Will continued his spell to finish with some Margot Robbie figures of 1-16 off four overs. Had Rob Wall been a captain in this match those figures may have skyrocketed. The belief in no slip will have severely dampened the figures, potentially representing Joan Rivers. George Love was dropping more balls than he drops it hot on a Saturday in Hackney Wick. Torrie completed his debut spell with 0-24 off two. Love was excitable all match, with numerous appeals out of thin air. It was soon realised he was just excited to catch the ball, so some self cheering and encouragement was needed to assure himself that he is good enough to play for the elite Strollers Thursday team. The innings continued at some pace, with Alastair Macaulay approaching the crease to slow the run rate and help to provide vital wickets. However, there could have been more had Love not missed yet another (cough fourth) stumping and fumbling. Stair, who was having one heck of an impact throughout the game as per usual, picked up another wicket on his last ball to end with figures of 3-27. It did not appear to be the day for Oliver however. He went for an expensive - by his standards - 10 off two, and some lacklustre fielding, where run-outs were not his priority of the day. A sharp catch on the boundary did, however, help to ensure he would keep his place for the following week’s fixture. A competitive total on a good surface of 134 was posted, the juggernaut needing 135 to complete the first win of the season. Love and Alley donned the pads to stroll out to the ferocious pace offered up by the opening pair. Alley made a fine start, with strokes looking as good as a Ron Jeremy 1980’s film. Love at the other end missed a straight one to be sent back to the pavilion for four. Keith Shannon stepped up to the crease, only to be turned back around with his tail between his legs, out, bowled for 0. Alley continued on his way to a brisk 14 before holing out at cow corner to a superb diving catch. Pete Robertson provided a vital 11, supporting Oliver who decided this was the day to demonstrate how to bat. His mightily impressive 36 not out, anchored the middle of the innings. But this was not without controversy, refusing to run twos, with many thinking would we “see you next Thursday”? Torrie pitched in with a HUGE one, before taking a note from George’s book and missing a straight one and heading straight back to the hut. Freddie Broster-Turley completed a marvellous duck, which brought Nick Saari to the crease. This is where the story gets interesting. A man from across the Atlantic stepping up with what could only be classed as a baseball/golf swing hybrid. At this stage we still needed around 40 runs to win with what looked like no hope of completing this almighty run chase. Cometh the man of the hour, who simply battered the bowling attack around the park. Many wondered was Ben Stokes at Trent Bridge reborn into the Strollers Thursday line-up? An almighty six with three balls to go sent cheers through the Strollers and completed a magnificent run chase from the brink of defeat. The juggernaut rolled on!
Capt: Pete Robertson. Wkt: George Love.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Mitch Alley. RoehamptonSunday May 28 on Putney Heath Strollers won by 10 runs Strollers 227-8
(40 overs; Travis 127no, Pittams 22, Calvocoressi 14, Dela Rue 12, Bailey 10)
Roehampton 217
(37.1 overs; Dela Rue 5-35, Macaulay 1-19, Mangham 1-30, Baylis-Allen 1-26, Travis 1-45, Calvocoressi 1-51) Roehampton saw the return of newly wedded captain Blair Travis and chairman Kimball Bailey to the active list, plus the very welcome debuts of Richard Skinner and Will Baylis-Allen. A May bank holiday fixture blessed with blue skies and sunshine – perfect! Blair got off to a promising start by winning the toss and the Strollers were batting. A portentous sign of things to come for our Greek sun-kissed Adonis. Mike Pittams and George Love got off to a brisk start, accumulating 33 off the first five overs. But Roehampton’s Sabil Rahman and Sharan Wadhwani soon got into their rhythm. Pittams feathered one down leg and a smart catch was taken behind. Love fell the following over with our promising start somewhat tarnished – 34-2 off seven. Our “Alexander” Blair and “Framptonesque” Skinner were tasked with some innings rebuilding in the face of continued fine bowling by the Roehampton opening seam attack. This they began to do. Blair, very much picking up from last season’s Herculean feats, calmly went to work. It really is a pleasure watching this man bat...usually amid murmurs of appreciation from teammates watching from the shaded boundary. Elegant drives either side of the wicket, the reach, the timing, silky smooth batting poetry in motion... “He looks like a Marsh-wiggle” **interjected chairman Bailey breaking the heady cricketing daydreamy spell that had befallen us. A stunning runout by Monis Harris from midwicket quickly followed this observation and Skinner’s promising debut with the bat ended all too soon. There would be more to come from this Antipodean rock god I sensed. Ben Mangham sadly gave up the best seat in the house far too quickly – dismissed by yet another moment of fielding brilliance from Roehampton. A full superman one-handed screamer taken at second slip by captain Dev Tambade who was fielding at first at the time. The Strollers again found themselves in a spot of bother with 65-4 off 15. We needed somebody to stick around… In at No 6 came chairman Bailey (his last innings being a score of one not out v Jordan Taverners in 2016). His first ball was kept out initially but then rolled onto the stumps, but failed to dislodge the timbers, much to the dismay of the bowler and befuddlement of chairman Bailey. This resulted in batsmen seven and eight accelerating their batting preparations. But what followed over the next 12 overs was nothing short of miraculous. They say that form is temporary, but class is permanent… Bailey kept out Zain Latif who bowled eight probing overs on the bounce. Standing taller as the partnership evolved, Kimball’s defence was solid and very effective. By now No 7 and No 8 had sat back down and were tucking into their packed lunches. The Strollers dug-out erupted as ‘Kimbers’ scythed Harris for two consecutive fours, bringing him into double figures, a feat last achieved in 2010 v Aston Rowant. The “Marsh-wiggle” at the other end was going well also. This vital partnership of 59 came to end as chairman Bailey was bowled for 10. However, the ship was now well and truly steadied. What followed was indeed a Captain’s innings, Travis, supported by Baylis-Allen, George Calvocoressi and James Dela Rue, pushed on in style, dissecting fielders with simitar-esque shots to all corners of the ground. Calvocoressi bludgeoned an impressive six that is worth mentioning, the first of the game. The innings finally game to an end with Travis unbeaten on 127 and the FSSCC posting a target of 228. Congratulations skipper on your first century as a married man. Roehampton CC's reply did not get off to the best of starts. Dela Rue’s very much did. Continuing his magnificent form this season he dismissed both opening batsmen for 0: the disbelieving Terone Alexander caught in the covers by debutant Skinner and Johnny Guy bowled by an absolute peach of a delivery. Baylis-Allen bowled a sharp spell from the other end. Following the fall of Rafeyel Latif to Dela Rue for 0 caught by Pittams, the Strollers seemed to be very much on top. However, the Roehampton fightback had begun. Baylis-Allen and the hugely talented Thomas Barber (12yrs old) had an excellent battle. The diminutive Barber taking not a retreating step from the Goliath Baylis-Allen’s onslaught, but on this day the plucky ‘David’ was eventually defeated for 12, Skinner swooping in to take another catch, his second of the match. But the Roehampton engine room had started to thrum and a combination of some excellent batting from Pulak Bahadur and Zain Latif plus some rather wayward bowling from Mangham saw the run chase well and truly under way. Bahadur looked set and a juicy half-volley wide of off stump seemed destined to be dispatched, but to Mangham’s great relief, Skinner was yet again taking another catch - his third of the match. Bahadur, clearly distraught, departed for a quickfire 34. Latif continued to marshal the fightback that was quickly turning into a possible match-winning innings. Together with Harris they tussled to-and-fro with Blair and Calvocoressi, the game very much in the balance. Travis eventually made the breakthrough, bowling Harris for 31 through the gate. The relief was, however, short-lived as this brought Wadhwani to the crease, who hit clean and hard to make 27 from very few deliveries. Calvocoressi in his eighth and final over got his man with Love taking a smart catch behind. But was this too little too late? Roehampton required 30 runs from six overs with Latif still at the helm guiding his team. Alastair Macaulay was bowling superbly with scouts out for the catch at one end. Travis, calmly setting combative fielding positions, made his final throw of the dice and brought Dela Rue back on with the shadows lengthening and the deficit diminishing. This was going to be a tight one. Latif continued his excellent innings, passing 50. Now joined by captain Tambade the run chase continued steadily, only 20 runs were required, the game very much slipping away from FSSCC. But then Dela Rue struck, dismissing Tambade caught behind by Love diving full length to round off a great performance with the gloves. Opening bowler Rahman turned out to be an allrounder! He fearlessly opened his shoulders and hit consecutive boundaries...squeaky bum time with 12 runs required and one wicket remaining. Would Travis’s 127 be for nought? Would the team's outstanding fielding be for nothing? Dela Rue struck once again, bowling Rahman as he went for another boundary blow. An outstanding five-fer for Dela Rue, finishing with 8-0-35-5. Would it be part of a winning cause? Well, Macaulay made certain that the heroics of Travis and Dela Rue were to be match-winning feats. The wily fox bowled Latif with a trademark flighted delivery for 67. The thriller in Manila possibly not, but The Rumble in Roehampton was a cracker. A huge thank you to our hosts for a great game and opening their clubhouse for some inter-team socialising over a jug or three. ** The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis:
Marsh-wiggles had green-grey straw-like hair, large ears, long legs and arms, webbed hands with long fingers, and hard webbed feet, similar to those of ducks. They also had a muddy complexion and greenish skin.
Clearly, both C.S. Lewis and the chairman are friends of the herb pipe.
Anyhoo! Keep on Strolling… Capt: Blair Travis. Wkt: George Love.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Ben Mangham. Tilburg RegentsThursday June 1 in Dulwich Strollers lost by six wickets Strollers 122-4
(20 overs; Pittam 28no, Josh Shattock 27no, Broster-Turley 19, Saari 11no)
Tilburg Regents 123-4
(17.4 overs; Macaulay 2-6, Broster-Turley 1-21) The journey to Dulwich Park is never straightforward in my experience. Last time I went, back in 2018, it was as a passenger in Mitch Alley's highwayman for the county van (with all of the attendant passenger 'duties' that that entails). This time I journeyed via West Dulwich station (#newstation!!!) and a field that Google maps showed as being connected to Dulwich Park - but in reality was separated by a tall and sharp looking fence. Stupid Google maps, and stupid Mitch Alley suggesting that he’s a better driver when he’s feeling relaxed and why don’t I help him to relax more. Faced with a classic prisoner’s dilemma (not THE classic prisoner’s dilemma, but A classic dilemma that DOES regularly confront prisoners: how to not be restrained by pesky walls), which by the by is the exact same dilemma Sarah Porter wakes up to each and every morning, I did what any sane human would do: walked the length of the wall several times, kicking it at intervals to test its structural integrity. Am I a mason or an engineer? No, not strictly speaking. But I flatter myself I can identify a vulnerability in a wall when pressed, thank you very much! Just as I was planning to fashion a rudimentary vaulting horse out of driftwood (like nearby Brockwell Park, Dulwich Park contains surprisingly bounteous quantities of driftwood), under which to dig a surreptitious tunnel, two other chaps dressed in cricket kit turned up. In the best spirit of cooperation we provided each other helping hands, shoulders and words of encouragement to clear the pestilential wall before us. As one by one we clambered, balanced, and prepared to leap to freedom, I found myself overcome by the poignancy and symbolism of the moment. With one leap, I could leave behind the dreariness of a day in the office, and enter some sort of South London-based evening cricket Narnia. As I vaulted (thrusting my pelvis forward to avoid ripping my trou on one of the spikes), I roared aloud! Picture Andy DuFresne in the sewery rain in Shawshank Redemption. But I also felt inspired. If I could escape my horrid horrid White Whale, so too could Sarah Porter! Obviously the reader will have realised that the horrid horrid White Whale is a metaphor for the pestilential Wall in this context, which in turn refers to Rob 'the salt and pepper Princess' Wall. “Thank you gentlemen!” I cried! “This experience has bonded us for life! I shall never forget either of you”. It turned out one was Pete Cooper, my fellow Stroller. The other dude's name I have sadly forgotten (but as we are bonded for life and I'll never forget him, trivial details like names kind of pale into insignificance). Having then navigated my way to the correct pitch, no thanks to Stair’s thoroughly unhelpful directions “it’s the one on the left” (left of what??? Whose left??? Stage left or actual left!!!!????? #%£€#$$!!!!), Petey Robertson won the toss and elected to invite the Tilburg Regents to showcase their chasing skills by asking them to make first use of the bowling and fielding arena. I strode to the crease to open the innings with young Joshy Shattock, and found the wicket two-paced and difficult to bat on if the ball pitched. Fortunately for me I received enough full tosses to ease my way to an early retirement with 28*. This brought Captain Robertson to the crease, for a brief stay undone by a very sharp catch at midwicket. Not a catch you expect to see held on a Thursday night let’s put it that way. Mike Shattock joined son Josh at the crease and the father-son duo navigated a tricky period of very accurate bowling which made excellent use of the pitch’s variable bounce. In one over Josh was forced to deal with balls bouncing over his head, and rolling along the ground from very similar lengths. Mike looked happy to be at the non-striker's end for those, and also happy that his investments in Josh's batting technique over the years were safeguarding any other investments he may have made in Josh's teeth. Mike, meanwhile, was forced to deal with both the accurate bowling AND the existential crisis caused by me consistently calling him Terry. Which I can only apologise for - but tell me he doesn’t look like a Terry??? Josh retired with 27*, and Mike followed caught and bowled soon after out of solidarity, bringing Freddie Broster-Turley to the crease. Now this guy is a player! Well done Jorgito Love for recruiting him! Cover drives and straight pulls flowed, while Gus Wills at the other end was delighted to get off the mark for the season. After both were bowled, Nick Saari and Big Poppa Low finished off the innings with average boosting 11* and 6* scores respectively. John Low capped off his stay with a mighty stroke past mid-on for four from the last ball of the innings, taking us to 122. It was the lustiest of blows, and one of the top four strikes of the innings along with - in no particular order and in the scribe’s not particularly humble opinion - Pittams’ early slog over the long-on boundary (and not one but two pestilential walls!), Saari’s line drive over left field for six, and Pittams’ performative strike signal from the square leg umpiring position when Saari played and missed during the 19th over - a piece of cross-code signalling and word play that caused uproarious delight and mirth for his audience of himself. 122 felt a touch light on runs, but we had seen some strange behaviour from the pitch, with slower bowlers proving especially difficult to get away. Sensing this, and seeing there would clearly be no need for a nasty fasty of his ilk, Ben Mangham chose this opportunity to depart the ground. Not in the playing XI, but living very nearby, Ben kindly came down to offer his support and generally lurk on the boundary. I've suspected this since the first day I met him, but oooooooh-weeeeeee Ben can really lurk. I bet he's got a very handy leer on him too.... Perhaps unfortunately (given the pitch), for once the Strollers had a battery of quicks to unleash. Dan Torrie, Freddie Broster-Torley and Josh Shattock all fanged the pink kookaburra down at speeds arguably too zippy to take advantage of the variable pace and bounce in the wicket. Josh, from the little I could tell from deep cover, was taking the pitch out of play altogether by bowling directly to Stair at fine leg - Stair at one point making three tricky stops in a row on the fine leg fence while Gus Wills watched on with his keeper's gloves folded nonchalantly behind his back. Josh later redeemed himself with a direct hit runout from fine leg - heck of a player! Broster-Turley made an early breakthrough thanks to an lbw decision, but after six overs the run rate was up above 10rpo with plenty of extras not helping the Strollers' cause. Enter Macauley on his home pitch to bowl one of the most niggardly spells ever recorded in a T20 match - four overs two wickets for six runs! Bowling from both the left and the right ends, depending on your vantage point and whether or not one chooses to subscribe to traditional interpretations of left and right, the batsmen had few answers for the lack of pace Macauley put on the ball (much of which was absorbed by the wicket after pitching). Pete Cooper from the other end found his line and length and was similarly difficult to get away during a tidy spell of four overs for 21, no doubt leaving skipper Robertson wishing he had a couple of spinners to deploy. But at the same time, naturally, sighing with relief that at least he didn't have Mitch Alley's metronomically consistent beamers to figure out how to fit into his attack. Stair and Pete's parsimony could only delay the inevitable, the Regents coasting to victory by six wickets with 14 balls to spare. A beer in the clubrooms, and a bus to Brixton with Stair educating me on the River Efra were a pleasant finish to the evening. More ‘naught’ than 'jugger' from the Strollers on this occasion, but next week’s another week. Be seeing you! Capt: Pete Robertson. Wkt: Gus Wills.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Mike Pittams. Maidenhead and BraySunday June 4 in Bray Strollers won by 62 runs Strollers 251-6
(40 overs; Selby 115, Travis 47, Oliver 43, Rogers 14, Pittams 10no)
Maidenhead & Bray 189-8
(40 overs; Rogers 2-15, Mangham 2-34, Calvocoressi 2-38, Oliver 1-12, Dela Rue 1-34) Early June, late Spring and the Strollers were off to the picturesque surrounds of Maidenhead& Bray Cricket Club – overlooked by St Michael’s Church, which dates to as early as 1293 with extensive restoration in 1500. More than one Kiwi Stroller was seen with their phones out taking pictures of the ground with the mutterings of “you don’t get this at home” filtering through the outdoor seated area. To the toss and it was skipper Mike Pittams striding out to the middle in a pair of very short and very tight red stubbies. Perhaps they were the lucky charm as opposition captain Matt Armstrong generously put us in to bat on what appeared to be a rather flat, pretty hard and ultimately even paced wicket. It was their skipper’s feeling that it was better for the game if we were to bat first, citing a Maidenhead & Bray XI heavy on the bowling and light on the batting. In a late replacement for George Love it was Aidan Selby in his first match for some 12 months heading out to open with Rob Wall. Wall, coming off some recent form with the bat, made it known he would play the anchor role and allow Selby to do what he does best. Selby, having been beaten on more than one occasion, was able to settle into a good clip scoring regular boundaries, racing to 30 at more than a run a ball. A tale of two openers with Wall at the other end being well tested by the Bray opening right-arm left-arm seam attack – at one stage facing 16 consecutive dot balls. It was time to get on with it and Wall fell caught at mid-on trying to go over the top – 33-1. To the crease at No 3 came Blair Travis fresh off a return ton at Roehampton who was also tested early before settling into a comfortable partnership with Selby. The Maidenhead& Bray opening pair each bowled eight probing overs on the trot for little reward. With 18 overs bowled and at 100-1 it was the score machine giving the Strollers more trouble than anything. Messrs George Calvocoressi and Alastair Macaulay were performing their scoring duties admirably but questions between the two about team totals and batsman totals were beginning to be overheard. The auditing services of James Dela Rue were offered and not abjectly dismissed but it was skipper Pittams who politely suggested that waiting an over for drinks might be a better time to dissect how Selby on 45 could score a boundary and a single and progress his score to 47. Selby did manage to go past 50 prior to drinks in a fine but not chanceless return to the crease. The drinks break did indeed provide an opportunity for auditor Dela Rue to bring out the abacus, carry some ones and confirm that Selby should be bumped up to 57 – muted applause all around. It was shades of Roehampton 2022 for your writer Steve Rogers batting at No 4. Padded up as next man in for more than 20 overs, he was halfway out to the middle on no less than three occasions as chances that might kindly be described as catchable and perhaps described in different terms by the opposition skipper were put down. It was also shades of Roehampton last week as Travis settled in nicely and made his way into the 40s with barely a mis-timed stroke. So well was he playing that auditor Dela Rue deemed it appropriate to claim that Travis was on his way to a very easy 50. Not 10 seconds after delivering such a confident statement, Travis was bowled by spinner Manchanda with some confusion as to what had happened. Maidenhead & Bray had provided 21st century technology in the form of stumps and bails that light up when disturbed – the lights were flashing, but how did it come to be? According to Travis much of the confusion stemmed from these fancy stumps having a differing death rattle to what one might normally hear – nevertheless an elegant 47 for Mr Travis and nice kiss of death from auditor Dela Rue. To the crease I go and with great pleasure to meet Selby in the middle fast approaching his ton. Maidenhead & Bray had opted for a somewhat unorthodox approach of having four bowlers bowl eight overs in a row. This seemed to favour Selby, who was able to regularly dispatch the seamers to the boundary which compensated for being beaten regularly by the spinner. Based on the number of chances Selby was given, it was decided that it probably would be his day and before long he raised the bat for a fine ton, progressing from 92 to 100 through the running of four twos in seven balls. A panting handshake was had in the middle. With a terrific base and into the final 10 overs of the innings, upping the scoring rate was the order of the day with cavalry in the form of Pittams and Glen Oliver still to bat. Having ridden his luck all day long, it was one chance too many for Selby, holing out at cow corner for a very well received 115. In came John Low, appearing in his 199th match for the Strollers. Quick singles was the message given and John set off on a hit and run escapade. Rogers, in an attempt to up the scoring rate fell for a quickfire 14 with Low run out not long after. Over to Pittams and Oliver, who set about a rapid finish scoring at 10 runs per over for the final five overs, progressing the score from 200 to 250. Oliver generously allowed himself to be clean bowled for a lightning 43 on the penultimate ball of the innings to give Calvocoressi one ball, one chance, one opportunity - could he take it? George, perhaps not expecting to be summoned so late, could not immediately be found. More than one Stroller suggested that an early peruse at the tea-time offering may have been happening. To conclude the innings a charging Calvocoressi came down the wicket to finish one off one, and the Strollers with a more than defendable and highly respectable total of 251-6. The matchday XI were thankful for the show of traveling support and they noted the exquisite timing of club co-founder Simon Brodbeck, who made his presence known right as the sausage rolls were coming out of the oven. A well-earned tea was enjoyed by all. Having seen Maidenhead& Bray’s intriguing plan of bowling out the seamers it was over to Dela Rue from one end and Ben Mangham the other - both opening with eight in a row from each end and both finding early rhythm, good lines and most importantly early wickets. Mangham, with the early breakthrough, caught the edge of Le Clerq which floated into the grasp of Calvocoressi at gulley whose life flashed before his eyes, waiting an eternity for the ball to arrive – 25-1. More good work behind the wicket had Mangham in with a brace shortly after, this time a sharp stumping from Wall – 41-2. Maidenhead & Bray were not afforded the second chances early they had given the Strollers, a simply outstanding one-handed return catch from Dela Rue had them in a spot of bother at 48-3. Skipper Pittams remarked in the post-wicket huddle that the ball was coming straight to him and Dela Rue had essentially snaked him for the catch – while delivered in jest the cricketing gods did not look favourably on such a remark, resulting in the grassing of three reasonably straightforward chances by Pittams thereafter. His efforts in the field could not be questioned though, with one Stroller suggesting he had saved more than 12 runs with committed ground fielding. Maidenhead & Bray were able to steady the ship somewhat, more than doubling their score to 97 before Calvocoressi found the edge through to keeper Wall one ball after a simple catch was put down – 97-4. The target of 252 was starting to look a long way away for Maidenhead & Bray, they would need something special from someone it seemed to get them close. No. 5 Kuqunummal was beginning to restore some hope, taking a real liking to the bowling of Calvocoressi, dispatching him to all corners with ease. Enter auditor Dela Rue, lurking in the shadows of fine leg, who was able to take a few paces to his left and comfortably catch a well-timed pull shot destined for the boundary. The visible relief of Calvocoressi was palpable and Kuqunummal was on his way for a swashbuckling 49 – 133-5. It now looked unlikely that the required run rate could be achieved. Two late wickets for Rogers and one for Oliver saw a comfortable 62-run win for the Strollers. Jugs were on Selby and a match played in great spirits was followed by a jovial post-match with both teams inter-mixing. Treasurer Tom Wood was also able to sell some Stroller merch, some of which was 20 years old! A great result for all involved. The match is possibly best summed up by skipper Pittams in the team WhatsApp post-match: “Maidenhead and Bray were defeated by the Strollers, and I think several of us were defeated by the millionaire’s shortbread at tea. So the shortbread was the overall winner. But second place for the Strollers is still pretty good.” Capt: Mike Pittams. Wkt: Rob Wall.
Match fees: Blair Travis. Match report: Steve Rogers. Commons Old BoysThursday June 8 in ChiswickStrollers won by eight wickets Commons Old Boys 125
(19.4 overs; Macaulay 3-18, Broster-Turley 2-14, Robertson 2-18, Pittams 1-12, Baylis-Allen 1-17)
Strollers 127-2
(10.5 overs; Love 29no, Baylis-Allen 25no, Alley 23, Merryweather 18, Broster-Turley 14no) Eleven Strollers gathered at our new midweek ‘home’ of King's House School in Chiswick for our next test of the juggernaut. Captain Rob Wall, showing his support of Pride Month by looking resplendent in a rainbow headband, won the toss and opted for a bowl. Those Strollers who have served under the captaincy of Wall previously will know that he is often far from conventional, confusing the opposition with bowling choices and inventing fielding positions that even a ‘Bazball’ thinktank are yet to have thought up. Today was no different, with the unlikely pair of Mike Pittams and Pete Robertson entrusted with the new ball. Pittams, claiming not to have bowled a ball in anger in four years, was given an attacking field by his skipper. Two short covers, a favourite of Wall, a ‘wide and slightly deep’ gully, nobody saving the boundary. Before the first ball is sent down, Pittams turns and asks the match reporter to be kind, clearly feeling rusty and expecting the worst. A few strides, he’s at the crease, and at the moment of release the bowler seems to experience a release of his own, such was the cry of effort and anguish put into the opening ball. And what a ball it was. Quick, back of a length, rising on the batsman. Think a prime 2005 Steve Harmison, or for our Kiwi contingent, a moustached Shane Bond. Frankly, the batsman had no chance, the edge was found and Wall’s unconventional gully was left a simple catch. It would appear that the new batsman in was a Mr. Extras, and my did they profit from Pittams’ remaining spell. Bouyed by his opening magnificence, Pittams decided to test the fielder at fine leg, before being replaced by (as the scorebook notes), Posh Will. At the other end, Robertson chose to bowl at a pace similar to Alastair Macauley, focusing on accuracy rather than testing the batsman’s reflexes. So bamboozled was the opposing batter, than he was through his second shot before the ball actually reached him, the ball thankfully travelling at enough of a pace to dislodge the bails…just. Wickets continued to fall at a steady intervals, Robertson taking one more, Posh Will claiming a victim and a trio falling to Macauley. Mitch Alley, after his previous bowling attempt seeing a 14+ ball over at Roehampton a few seasons ago, was unlucky not to claim a wicket with two neat overs, and by the time Freddie Broster-Turley came on to bowl, Wall was at his captaining peak. A little extra pace, and a batsman who seemed to like to cut the ball, led Wall to employ a backward point, point, and squareish cover, otherwise known as ‘slightly in front of point’. This trio of points was somehow not quite enough, the ball reaching the boundary a couple of times, before the trap finally worked with a wicket, Robertson at ‘forward point’ given a choice of catch the ball or lose his front teeth. With the tail now exposed, the points turned into slips and gullys – two of each, and again Wall’s field placements worked a treat, in this case second gully taking the final catch of the innings from Broster-Turley to end the Commons Old Boys efforts with a total of 125, extras being top scorer with an average-boosting 35 not out. And so to the chase, George Love and ‘Posh’ Will Baylis-Allen opened the batting and took the fight to the Commons Old Boys from the very start. Both finished not-out at probably more than a run a ball, brining Alley and Merryweather into the fun. The boundaries continued to rain down – 18 x 4s and 2 x 6s overall in the Strollers reply. Alley was bowled two runs shy of retirement, and Merryweather out to a plumb lbw, but the Stollers batting line-up was ultimately too strong, with Broster-Turley and Glen Oliver able to knock off the remaining runs required. Only six batsmen used and the total chased in just the 11th over – a job well done for the midweekers. And so to the bar, where the early finish allowed the Strollers to enjoy the evening sunshine and look forward to the next midweek exploits.
Capt: Rob Wall. Wkt: Lee Merryweather.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Pete Robertson. West ChiltingtonSunday June 11 in West Chiltington Strollers lost by three wickets Strollers 256-9
(40 overs; Smith 69, Pittams 64, Mangham 28no, Sam Brodbeck 24, Love 16, Dela Rue 12)
West Chiltington 258-7
(38.2 overs; Oliver 2-24, Wall 2-51, Smith 1-22, Macaulay 1-58) To West Sussex and the Strollers found themselves amongst the beautiful green surroundings of the West Chiltington & Thakeham Cricket Club. Whilst most would venture from the capital and West Country to the southern coast on a day sporting 30 degrees to find cooling sea-breezes and calm waters, the Strollers arrived with sweat dripping down their backs and a job to do. An important aspect of any cricket game is the toss, and this was a crucially important win for the visitors for the sake of morale, hydration and sanity. Skipper Glen Oliver duly sent the home side out to field to raucous sighs of relief from the ‘away sheds’. Openers Mitch Alley and George Love walked out to a dry pitch with initial caution unknowing how the pitch would play. Alley’s resistance – after being ruffled by two twice-bouncing no-balls – was brief but full of intent, whilst Love lasted a touch longer via his use of resourceful paddle-sweeps to negate any movement from full tosses. This platform did at least allow No 3 Michael Pittams to arrive at the crease equipped with Ian Bell’s cover drive and boy did he show it. Pittams and No 4 Rowan Smith were able to put on another 100+ run partnership (two 100-run partnerships in two stands together) before falling for 64 and 69 respectively. Whilst there was obvious disappointment neither could kick on to individual accolades and put the team in an overwhelmingly commanding position, runs were on the board. The majority of the remaining order came and went in an attempt to move the game forward, however none were able to gain much traction aside from one man. Ben Mangham’s ability to strike two big bombs and run energetically between the wickets on his way to a red-inked 29 from 18 balls put the Strollers in a position of strength to finish on 256-9 from their 40 overs, requiring a scoring rate of more than six runs per over for the home side. There was a brief threat of rain with light drizzle during the tea interval, which initially provided relief to those nursing self-inflicted fitness woes, but ultimately led to the dry pitch gaining some pace. West Chiltington captain and opener Alfie Reeves showed the benefits this can have with a beautifully brutal and free-flowing 60 runs from 36 deliveries to which the FSCC attack could find no answer. However, cometh the hour, cometh the man as veteran off-spin bowler Alastair Macaulay gained revenge on behalf of the Strollers attack when he clean bowled the skipper to give the Strollers a) reprieve and b) hope. But it was then the middle order duo of Ollie Turner and George Bryans who were able to put on 83 together in quick time that quickly dashed these hopes – no bowler was spared. Whilst this partnership did end, the home side were in a position to cruise home, and that they did. Valiant efforts from captain Oliver and Smith in a last-ditch attempt to change the outcome did drag the game to the last 10 balls, but it proved too little too late. The home side made it to their summit with three wickets still available to them on what by this point was a cool, overcast early evening. In true Strollers fashion, however, cricket must be the ultimate victor and so it was. A couple of ales, lagers, and fizzies were shared with our tremendous hosts on what will be a day well remembered. The return fixture next year is one we already look forward to. Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Mike Pittams.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Rowan Smith. HurleySunday June 18 in Hurley Strollers won by four wickets Hurley 190-7
(35 overs; Rogers 4-31, Smith 1-17, Hodgson 1-27, Dela Rue 1-30)
Strollers 194-6
(32 overs; Pittams 53, Oliver 41no, Smith 28, Love 26, Rogers 24no) The FSSCC descended upon the lovely Hurley ground hungry for more Strollers cricket. With an iffy weather forecast for the afternoon, a 35-over game was arranged by captain Rob Wall, a departure from the traditional time game that is associated with the Hurley fixture. The negotiations saw the Strollers field first and, without delay, both teams took to the pitch at 1pm for play to get under way. Wall’s captaincy has become known for some interesting fielding positions and today was to be no exception. Beginning the game with a plethora of catching men on the offside, James Dela Rue opened the bowling for the Strollers on a pitch that had some spice in it. With several of Dela Rue’s opening deliveries flying off a length, it become evident that the batsmen’s techniques would be under the microscope on the Hurley pitch. After some tight bowling in the first few overs, including two maidens, Dela Rue was rewarded with the wicket of Hurley opener Shoaib Kayani. Jim Hodgson, opening the bowling from the other end, picked up the No 3 batsman shortly thereafter, with the tight bowling mounting pressure on the batsmen. Hurley opener Josh Cole was playing freely however, keeping out the good balls while putting away the loose deliveries, reaching his half-century in quick time. Stephen Rogers, who had a whale of a game, took the crucial wicket of Cole just as it looked like the Hurley batsmen were targeting a mammoth score. With some rip and turn, Rogers lured Cole out of his crease, with wicketkeeper George Love doing the rest to send Cole back to the pavilion for a well-made 78. With the dangerman now removed and the score 146-3, the Strollers bowlers sharpened their knives. Rogers struck again just a few balls later to remove the other set batsman, Mubashir Nabi, before Rowan Smith produced a false shot from the Hurley batsman Yasir Gul. Both these wickets came by way of catches to Hodgson, whose hands were as safe as ever. Hurley’s lower order through Hamzah Zaman and Joban Singh mounted a late charge to take the target towards 200. Zaman with a quickfire 24 was stumped through the Rogers/Love combination, with Rogers then picking up his fourth wicket in the penultimate over, caught by Michael Pittams. The latter was questionably given the ball to bowl out the final over, after Smith opted to have a rest. Those expecting Pittams to tamely roll the arm over at the Hurley tailenders would have been spectacularly disappointed. Pittams charged in off the long run, no doubt scaring the living daylights out of the Hurley batsmen and wicketkeeper Love with express pace and bounce. Despite being called for a (height-based) wide and a no ball for excessive short pitch deliveries, the over was completed without incident and Hurley finished with 190 off their 35 overs, seven wickets falling in the process. The Strollers were pleased with their work, managing to pull Hurley back from a strong position midway through their innings, with Wall’s aggressive strategy ultimately proving successful. With dark clouds hovering, there was no time for the traditional tea break and with a short turn-around, the Strollers opening batsmen were out in the middle to face the music. Sadly for Richard Skinner, this music only included the opening note, as he was dismissed for a Royal Golden Duck first ball of the innings. Hurley naturally had their tails up at this point, as Pittams sauntered to the crease at No 3. Pittams and Love combined for a solid partnership, blunting the Hurley attack and playing some flowing strokes. The partnership was broken with the score at 69, after Love lobbed one to fine leg for a well-made 26. Pittams continued on, bringing up his half-century with Glen Oliver supporting at the other end. No sooner had Dela Rue, making a habit of putting the mockers on batsmen, exclaimed to those on the sideline that Pittams was “looking good out there”, than he succumbed, caught and bowled. Wall, in at No 6, lasted only three balls and did not trouble the scorers, which left Smith scrambling to get his gear on in time. However, once Smith was out there he played some glorious strokes, putting together a crucial partnership with Oliver to steer the Strollers towards victory. With Smith out for 28, George Calvocoressi came and went for two runs, before man of the match Rogers blasted the Strollers home with 24 not out from just 19 balls. Oliver stood strong at the other end, finishing with 41 not out and playing some lovely strokes of his own. The Strollers, chasing the total with six wickets down within 32 overs, completed a satisfying victory. Most importantly though, doing it before the forecasted rain arrived. With the game complete, the Strollers congregated in the pavilion and enjoyed the Hurley hospitality, which included an Indian-themed tea – a great treat. With samosas, curry and onion bhajis, this one will be hard to top! Capt: Rob Wall. Wkt: George Love.
Match fees: Jim Hodgson. Match report: James Dela Rue. DodgersThursday June 22 in ChiswickMatch abandoned Strollers 102-2
(11 overs; Robertson 28no, Baylis-Allen 25no, Pittams 25no) A critical element of the well-oiled Strollers’ logistical machine is match management. Over the course of 46 years, this ritual has developed into a finely honed set of simple, repeatable processes. Some of the key tasks said match manager should perform include:
*Setting up a WhatsApp group to ensure smooth logistics;
*Spelling the skipper’s name correctly in comms sent to the club’s distribution list;
*Ensuring said skipper is actually present for the toss;
*Ensuring (by the day before the match) that the team kit bag is with someone who will actually be there;
*Selecting a full complement of 11 players for the match;
*Lodging a correct list of players with the website administrator;
*Turning up to the ground having selected himself for the match;
*Requiring all players to be fully sober at the start of the match;
*Ensuring all players know who to pay match fees to; and (most importantly)
*Arranging for the appearance of zero thunderstorms on the longest day of the year in the middle of a heatwave How hard can it be? Your humble correspondent managed this for three straight weeks, but midweek match manager Aidan Selby is an altogether different animal. He achieved a perfect 10 out of 10 (that is, he failed at all 10 of the above) for the latest fixture and was promptly sacked for the season. The Dodgers are new opposition in 2023, so the Strollers responded by selecting no fewer than four eager debutants: Scott Findlay, Rufus Hawkings, Tristan Hooper and Nylan Patel. Dark skies greeted the team as they arrived in time honoured fashion (in dribs and drabs and often after the scheduled start time – with the exception of Lee Merryweather, who arrived early and decided to pass the time in the bar). The “toss” was conducted in the traditional midweek manner (“whoever has the fewest team members present at the start time bats”). With the formalities out of the way, the Strollers padded up and simply picked up where they left off two weeks ago. Will Bayliss-Allen has his timing back and teed off at everything, hitting four consecutive boundaries to reach the mandatory retirement score with 27 off 15 balls. Skipper Pete Robertson followed suit, finding his range and hitting a monstrous straight six on his way to his best score of the season, retiring with 28 off 14. Mike Pittams, fresh off a solid half-century on Sunday and clearly put out by the fireworks happening without him, bettered both and retired with 25 off 12. Despite having brought the hundred up inside 11 overs, there was time for little else as a 30-minute thunderstorm washed away any chance of further play. The team concluded the evening doing the only logical thing - retreating to the onsite bar to ponder what might have been with a more competent match manager. Capt: Pete Robertson. Wkt: N/A.
Match fees: N/A (we think?). Match report: Glen Oliver. Broughton GiffordSaturday June 24 in Broughton Gifford Strollers won by 75 runs Strollers 288-4
(35 overs; Oliver 103ret, Pittams 100ret, Mangham 22, Rogers 17, Skinner 14)
Broughton Gifford 213-7
(35 overs; Dela Rue 2-35, Brodbeck 2-42, Mangham 1-17, Hodgson 1-20, Copsey 1-54) The first tour of the summer for the Strollers - to the Cotswolds - got under way with the traditional Friday night gathering at club president Maggie Patston’s home in Bath. Your match reporter Stephen Rogers was unable to attend the festivities so has had to source second-hand accounts as to the goings-on. There are differing accounts of the evening - committee member Glen Oliver reported that “absolutely nothing interesting or scandalous happened at all, everyone was sober and in bed by 10pm”. As captain of the Saturday match, we shall defer to Alastair Macaulay for his account of the proceedings… The evening began with a small request from Maggie that involved light garden clearance - removing the weeds from the patio and clearing out the brambles from the fence. The latter to prevent a recurrence of Jim's early morning tumble into them last year. Thus Mike, Rob, Stephanie, Sarah, Alastair, Jim, Jo, Ben and Paige set to work with gusto, donning the gloves, wielding hoes, rakes, strimmer and secateurs. After an hour's work the patio was clean and the fence clear of brambles. Beers and Cremant de Loire were well earned in the evening sun. The Olivers turned up suspiciously just in time to miss any manual labour but just in time for drinks. Maggie provided an excellent spread as usual - two starters, two mains (inc Italian lamb casserole) and two desserts! Plus a half case of red brought back from her recent trip to Brittany. Eventually the wine took effect and conversations lapsed into quite serious nonsense. Wall was rightly taken to task for his missing Jordans match report and a video was made of him attempting to recreate it via the medium of Gregorian chant. This then slid into massed singing about the absent James Dela Rue (delayed at the office), who is very much becoming a cult in his own right. At some point people went to bed, apart from Jim who unsurprisingly became as one with the sofa and never made it up the stairs. The following morning there was an important rugby match to be watched (CRU v CHI according to Sky – that’s Christchurch Crusaders v the Hamilton Chiefs to you). CRU triumphed to the disgruntlement of invested Kiwis. Full cooked breakfast and so off to Broughton Gifford with DLR having been issued with appropriate travel instructions. The Broughton Gifford oval is situated in the middle of an agricultural field. Unlike last year, the land beyond the boundary had not been mowed and it was accepted there would be plenty of time spent searching for the ball in waist-high greenery. As the first Stroller at the ground, I had the pleasure to watch the travelling group from Bath walk slowly up the road to the clubhouse with grim contemplation across their faces from the prior evening’s shenanigans. The mood improved at the picturesque garden to walk through to the visitors’ changing room - keep the door closed we were warned, lest the resident ducks fly the coop. With at least an hour's drive to the Green Dragon Inn post-match for the overnight stay, a shortened 35-over match including retirement of centurions was negotiated by skipper Macaulay, who proceeded to correctly call heads at the toss and elect to bat. Openers Pittams and Wall made a circumspect start, giving themselves time to adjust to a green wicket. Wall was first to fall, trapped in front by Broughton Gifford opening bowler Crispin Shingler. Wall claimed he felt the appeal for leg before wicket was so plumb he would have walked. But he need not have worried about that, umpire Mangham was of the same opinion, lifting the finger with efficient speed to send Wall on his way for six - the score 15-1. Richard Skinner was in at three, fresh off the back of a Golden Royal Duck at Hurley, desperate for one run. It took six balls but Skinner got his run and played fluently with Pittams in a quick-scoring partnership. In an over that produced 10 runs, Skinner was undone on 14 by the wrong’un of Broughton Gifford spinner Mark Mullis, who bought the ball back the other way, crashing into the stumps - the score 57-2 in the ninth over. Rogers, making a habit of getting a start and failing to go on, came and went for 17 which brought Oliver to the crease with the score at 93-3. Pittams rang up his 50 at exactly a run a ball and then put the foot down, scoring his next 50 off just 26 deliveries and retired not out at an even 100. Oliver, sniffing more glory of tours gone past, raced to 50 off 32 balls. Mangham joined Oliver for a quickfire 22 before retiring hurt, followed by Copsey who was trapped in front for three. In slightly controversial circumstances (due to retirements), the Copsey wicket saw the fourth-wicket stand of 180 eclipse the previous fourth-wicket record of 171 between James Timperley and Tom Wood v Chobham in 2010. Any grievances on this point should be directed in the opposite direction of your match reporter, who shall simply congratulate Pittams, Oliver, Mangham & Copsey on their new record* partnership. For any clarification required on this matter, Maggie Patston has the information at hand. A commanding final total of 288-4 was posted with Oliver launching his final ball for six to retire not out on 103. After generously providing a magnificent tea, Broughton Gifford found themselves in early trouble, reduced to 34-3 firstly by a stunning (and athletic) return catch to fielder of the season Hodgson followed by two wickets in the next over from Dela Rue (Roooooooo). Broughton Gifford were able to steady themselves and progress the score to 97 before impressive opener Alex Ladner was clean bowled by a Copsey special one short of his 50. Presumably, Pittams was unhappy with the growing chorus to award fielder of the season early to Hodgson, so caught a magnificently driven ball in the covers to the astonishment of many, not least the batter Mullis, who walked off with a look of utter disbelief at what he felt was one of the sweetest timed shots of his career (as discussed in The Bell on the Common post-match). Simon Brodbeck and skipper Macaulay bowled until the conclusion of the innings, Brodbeck producing multiple chances and a well-deserved brace of wickets. A comfortable 75-run win for the Strollers to open the tour. A couple of quick pints - with Dela Rue guiding the 'drinking from the duck' ceremony - at The Bell on the Common and it was off to the Green Dragon for the evening festivities. Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Rob Wall.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Steve Rogers. CrickladeSunday June 25 in Cricklade Strollers won by 23 runs Strollers 179-6
(40 overs; Mangham 46, Pittams 44no, Oliver 33, Rogers 21, Skinner 12, Wall 12)
Cricklade 156-9
(40 overs; Oliver 3-27, Brodbeck 1-4, Macaulay 1-6, Dela Rue 1-21, Wall 1-23, Rogers 1-38) It is never easy to be sure where jurisdiction begins and ends for match reports when on tour. Could I begin at dinner on Saturday night, or must I wait until midnight? Is anything that happened after midnight any of my business, let alone that of the hundreds of thousands who read the FSSCC match reports? I suppose I could just ask Stevie-Rog where he plans to stop his Saturday report, but when it comes to jurisdiction issues – and also sneaky 3am camp bed switches in the downstairs office of Patston Towers – it’s fast and loose that I like to play. So in a shameless bid to drive website traffic I’m going to begin with The Salt & Pepper Princess’s Sunday morning recovery bath. He’s training for Kilimanjaro you see, and Saturday had been a very big day of talking about the training (including but not limited to playing golf, raking bramble, and climbing not one BUT TWO flights of stairs to get to his bed at Patston Towers) he’s been doing, and also (naturally) doing some prone holds in between overs as wicketkeeper against Broughton Gifford. Now you’re properly picturing the fatigue, you can truly imagine just how relaxed, moisturised and content he would look and feel in his bath at the Green Dragon. Likely enjoying a pilsner and munching on a stick of butter as he soaked, it is little wonder that several hours later he looked so relaxed and in his lane as he strode out to open the batting in a negotiated toss result at Cricklade Cricket Club. His opening partner, Richard ‘Axebanger’ Skinner, looked comparatively harrowed. Still smarting from being out ‘Willie Nelson’d’ by the Broughton Gifford opening bat the day before, Axebanger was intent on a big score. Cricklade’s opening bowlers Danni Dewsbury and Chris Tapsell began tightly on a slow and low wicket, forcing Axebanger and the Princess to work hard for their runs. Looking solid (not to mention content, moisturised and in his lane), Wall decided that he needed to get his steps up in aid of his Kilimanjaro training, and danced down the track to left armer Tapsell – unfortunately succeeding only in chipping to mid-on for a dozen. Probably wise not to progress as far as a baker’s dozen – they’d only weigh him down at Tanzanian altitude. Shortly after stroking one of the most ELEGANT DINNER PARTIES cover drives seen all season, Axebanger unfortunately also perished one short of a baker’s dozen, caught behind to the bowling of Dewsbury. Steve Rogers joined first drop Ben Mangham at the crease, and the two set to work rebuilding the innings. The Cricklade skipper had clearly spent his Saturday evening well – in front of extensive video of Strollers batsmen – and placed his sharp and agile fielders exactly where we most wanted to hit the ball. Steve had very nearly finished the job of seeing off Tapsell when the left-armer snuck one through his defences to end Steve’s innings of 21, and a handy partnership of 33. Paige Copsey joined Mangham in the middle, reuniting the Strollers’ pre-eminent power couple. Were they role playing as Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy during their partnership, and/or at any point during the weekend either before or after midnight, inside or out of my jurisdiction? I certainly haven’t the courage to suggest it. When Paige was bowled, the power couple’s partnership was over, bringing Glen Oliver to the crease, and providing Paige with the opportunity to continue her exceptional camera work making even the Strollers batsmen’s techniques look impressive in tones of sepia and caramel. Oliver was quickly under way in characteristic fashion: busy, energetic, hustling and bustling around the place, undoing that hustle and bustle by taking 90 seconds to count the fielders in between each delivery… really operating like a right-handed version of Chris Harris. Mangham by this stage was really hitting his straps. More interestingly he was also turning an almost exact replica of ‘outside of a grapefruit meets inside of a grapefruit’ on the Farrow and Ball colour chart (a colour, incidentally, that Glen’s Mum COULD have been enjoying in Glen and Steph’s guest bedroom right now were it not for a late decision to change tack to slate). It was a steaming and beautifully hot day, and with every single run, Ben looked closer to combusting. After Glen holed out for a hustly and bustly 33, Ben took over the end of the innings and began to strike the ball lustily. He’d just progressed to ‘fuschia meets vermillion’ on the F&BCC when he was bowled (most unpopularly judging by the groan from the sideline) for 46 – a sliver short of his Strollers best of 48. A massive contribution that stitched the innings together. Mike Pittams and Alastair Macaulay did their best to scurry a few additional runs at the end of the innings, and the Strollers finished on 179-6. If Mangham expected applause and plaudits for his innings de resistance, he hadn’t reckoned on umpire Wall stealing the show. Signalling officiously with his hands, and at times also his legs and fingers, but also taking care not to neglect his #trainingforkili and spending significant periods of time crouched in a deep Dickie Bird stance, he enthralled the spectators. Never before have so many cricket spectators owed so much enjoyment to such a regal umpire. Our defence of 179 began with the new ball clutched in the tender embraces of James ‘The Lord’ Dela Rue and Rob ‘The Salt & Pepper Princess’ Wall. Both were immediately tight and accurate – this was not a surprise for The Lord, who has been in exceptional form this year and must be an early favourite for Player of the Year (POTY). In the case of Wall it was quite a lot more surprising to see him bowling so well, given his reports of barely being able to throw, let alone bowl, so large have his triceps grown (from the surfeit of Kilimanjaro training he is absolutely doing – not just talking about – definitely doing) in recent times. It was his ever-growing belly, however, (not his triceps) that assisted The Lord to make the Strollers’ first breakthrough – a sharp catch absorbed by Wall into his mid-abdomen area (accompanied by a noise akin to a sack of finely milled flour being dropped on the ground from the top of a three-storey grain mill, followed by a second sound, this one more akin to a drain unblocking) at gully off the bowling of The Lord. Wall picked up a wicket of his own as both openers soldiered through their eight-over allocations in one spell – 1-21 for Dela Rue and 1-23 for Wall (with thanks to Maggie’s work of art scoring for the #statchat). What specimens! To have any chance of winning, we knew we needed to bowl and field as well as the home team had. These excellent opening spells had commenced the ‘squeeze’ and driven Cricklade’s required run rate up nicely. Furthermore, they were being backed up by one of the finer fielding performances I’ve seen from a Strollers unit – led by usual suspects Jim Hodgson and Macaulay, each trying to outdo the other in pursuit of the 2023 Fielder of the year (FOTY) award. Jim attributes his current sprightliness in the field to a combination of determination to dance in front of Tom Wood with the cup singing “In your FACE Tommy doo-ble-vay, in your FACE!” (forcing humble pie on Wood, who was less than complimentary of Jim’s fielding at Hurley a couple of weeks back), and his recent stint of exam invigilation (which is probably nearly physical enough to be classed as Kilimanjaro-appropriate – note to self: validate that concept with Wall asap). Stair, one presumes, is motivated by trying to impress Ange Postecoglou. Axebanger, meanwhile, was inspired by both with an excellent display of his own from short midwicket. If there’s a bronze FOTY medal I would say Axebanger is probably in pole position to take it. What an addition to the wider playing pool! Hodgson replaced Dela Rue at the Thames end, and the end Wall had erstwhile bowled from was given a good (Steve) Rogersing. Both were economical despite not receiving any assistance from the increasingly lifeless wicket. By keeping it tight, the run rate required continued to climb, to the point that Cricklade’s No 4 needed to start hitting out. Having successfully struck a couple of boundaries, he attempted to loft Rogers over cow. Up and away the ball sailed…higher and handsomer, surely no mortal could stop it!? Maybe Stair isn’t mortal? Maybe he was born on Krypton? His hands swallowed the lofted offering nearly as smoothly as Wall swallowing a battered plaice in his morning bathtub. A huge breakthrough! Oliver replaced Hodgson and bowled the impressive Simon Bayliss for 69, leaving Cricklade at 120-4, and the ground reverberating with Glen’s primal roar of social Sunday cricket satisfaction. Cricklade’s middle order swung lustily (is there a better way to swing?), but the run rate required was simply too high, and wickets fell regularly – two more to Glen, one apiece to Stair and Simon Brodbeck, and a run-out achieved by Stevie the Rogerer and the Salt & Pepper Princess. Paigey was cruelly denied the ninth wicket by overstepping. Although it took us an hour to bowl the final ten overs as our social Sunday cricket match veered, for reasons that make no sense to this reporter, towards world cup final levels of (apparent) importance, the eventual refreshments in the setting sun on Cricklade’s balcony were almost worth the 400+ field changes per over. I have only magical memories and experiences of the Cricklade balcony in the setting sun, and am convinced there is no better place to be on Sunday evenings in late June. I hope I never visit the place in February, or on a Tuesday morning. That perfection could only be ruined. Until next year, Cricklade.
Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Mike Pittams/Rob Wall.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Mike Pittams. DemijohnsSunday July 2 at Pinkneys Green Strollers lost by three wickets* Strollers 209-8
(40 overs; Oliver 65, Bicknall 52, Wills 41no)
Demijohns 210-6
(39.2 overs; Oliver 2-31, Dela Rue 1-26, Love 1-28)
*Played 10-a-side. The Strollers turned up at Pinkneys Green with four debutants so skipper Glen Oliver conducted pre-match interviews to assess capabilities and batting order. The newbies were given their shot up the order. George Love, recovered from Glastonbury, turned up with his brand-new Gunn & Moore Noir bat and was mildly miffed to be put down at No 7. He needn't have worried as he would have ample opportunity later. It should also be noted that Alastair Macaulay was the sole Brit alongside nine Kiwis and a South African. Not that this had any bearing on the result. The Demijohns could only muster nine players so Glen generously offered them one of our own to even the teams up. Rob Wall volunteered, relishing the opportunity to challenge the Strollers with bat and ball. Why he chose to have a feather tucked into his trousers for the whole match must remain a mystery. Maybe he was hoping that one of the circling red kites above us would swoop down and adopt him as their own. The innings got off to a shocker when Mike Pittams was bowled third ball by Liam Peck and Tristan Hopper was well caught at short-extra off Le Clerq. Scott Findlay, also on debut, hit a boundary but was also caught off Le Clerq. A total of 13-3 after four overs was a poor start but Willie Bicknell (newly arrived in the UK and still suffering from jet-lag) and Oliver started to repair the damage. Despite good bowling and eager fielding, boundaries and the odd run three started to flow. Will reached a very well made 50 and was unfortunate to be out played-on with the fourth wicket putting on 102. Glen went on to reach his half-century as he and Freddie Broster-Turley put on another 32 before Glen was out lbw for 65 and Freddie played on for nine. They also had to negotiate some parsimonious bowling from Rob Wall who was 0-17 off his first five overs. Love didn't have much opportunity to test the Noir as he was out caught for five. With 14 overs left the instruction went out to "bat the overs". Thus James Dela Rue heroically resisted the looped full-toss grenades of Jones while Gus Wills batted more conventionally at the other end. Wall returned and had DLR caught at cover (oh the shame!). The last-wicket pair of Gus and Alastair Macaulay obeyed the mantra of "bat the overs" with Alastair astutely letting Gus have most of the strike as he was hitting it cleanly. He even ignored Wall's attempts at off-spin. They managed to put on an unbroken 36 with Gus scoring a timely and well-made 41 not out. Alastair's contribution was three not out with rather too many run twos for his liking. The Strollers finished on 209 which seemed unlikely with 10 overs to go. That still felt about 30 runs short of par. The match was being played in parallel with England's run chase at Lord's, but by tea, Stokes was out and so the bulk of both teams were left glumly observing the last rites of the Test Match, discussing the legal and ethical issues of Bairstow's stumping. Dela Rue and Wills opened the bowling after tea. The first breakthrough was actually a run-out with Findlay at cover point hitting the one and a half stumps directly with the batter barely in view. James in particular bowled well in his eight overs, missing the stumps on numerous occasions and ending with 1-26. He caused Hewitt to slice to gully where Love took a stunning catch. George followed this up by bowling Hill and Demijohns were creaking at 49-3. However Tom Ritter and Stuart Batchelor pulled the innings together, finding the gaps and increasing the scoring rate (Alastair's two overs best forgotten). The partnership was worth 117 when Batchelor was eventually run out from a brilliant direct hit from Broster-Turley when the score was 166 so it was game on again. Freddie also bowled well despite going wicketless and with Oliver at the other end some pressure was being applied. The required rate was five an over and frustratingly slices over and through the slips brought the total within reach. Glen bowled Ritter and Dean but this only brought Wall to the crease, feather and all. He and Liam Peck batted sensibly, picking off the rare bad ball. The penultimate over decided the outcome as Wall advanced down the wicket, hitting three fours back over Hopper's head. "Where has that been all season?" we asked afterwards. Five needed off the last over but an anti-climatic four byes finished it off. We were indeed 30 short, particularly with only 10 players. Post-mortems were held as Rebellion levels fell. Huge thanks to Pinkneys Green for hosting us, preparing the pitch and keeping the bar open. We'll be back in September. Capt: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Mike Pittams.
Match fees and match report: Alastair Macaulay. WestminsterThursday July 6 in ChiswickStrollers won by six wickets Westminster 127-4
(20 overs; Hopper 1-17, Charlotte Stubbs 1-22, Findlay 1-22)
Strollers 131-4
(16.5 overs; Robertson 29no, Findlay 27no, Hopper 25no, James Stubbs 14no) Regular readers will be aware of the challenges facing each midweek match manager (see the Dodgers match report) and will not be surprised to read that instead of two XIs playing, stand-in captain [SIC] George Love led his IX vs old friends the Westminster Council X. Once again, the new midweek “home” of King’s House School Sports Ground (the old Civil Service Ground for readers of a fine vintage) was used, this time on the square that is furthest from the bar. On a day when England dropped four catches in the Ashes, the Strollers followed suit, although the anonymity of those guilty has been preserved! The toss was won by SIC Love and the Strollers were soon bowling. Charlotte Stubbs opened and could have had a wicket second ball, but the catch did not quite carry to the (very stationary) fielder. She didn’t have to wait long for a wicket (lbw) and could have had another, but another catch was spilled. James Stubbs (recently returned from university) was the other opener and took a little while to find his radar, by which time the first Westminster opening bat soon retired on 25. Next up were pace bowler Tristan Hopper, who picked up a wicket (bowled) in his fourth over to finish with 1-17 and spinner Scotty Findlay who also picked up one (also bowled) and finished on 1-22. Following a third dropped catch, a smart throw from James Stubbs to bowler Richie Stubbs led to a run-out. A caught & bowled chance went down, but in reality a certain four runs were saved, and a second Westminster batter was retired. SIC Love brought himself on for a couple of overs before Westminster finished on 127-4 off their 20 overs. Following a quick turnaround, Pete Robertson and Love opened the batting and looked in good form until Love missed a straight one that kept rather low. A minor collapse followed with Glen Oliver caught at point and Rich Moore caught and bowled. Robertson retired for 29 and was followed by Hopper with 25 (off 10 balls). After Charlotte Stubbs smashed one straight to the Westminster fielder at midwicket, the ship needed some steadying. Findlay started slowly and was joined by James Stubbs. They gradually picked up the pace and were 21no and 14no when the Strollers reached their target and finished on 131-4. Both teams retired to the King’s House bar and having reminisced about past venues for the fixture (Battersea Park & Wandsworth Common) decided that the new midweek venue was a significant improvement! Stand-in capt and match fees: George Love. Wkt: Pete Robertson.
Match report: Richie Stubbs. PeppardSunday July 9 at Peppard Strollers lost by seven runs Peppard 227-8
(35 overs; Pittams 3-17, Rogers 2-46, Oliver 1-20, Mulholland 1-28, Macaulay 1-46)
Strollers 220-5
(35 overs; Peter Wood 94, Wall 43, Love 35, Pittams 10no) With warnings to avoid Henley Bridge largely heeded, the Strollers descended on Peppard hoping the forecast thunderstorms hadn’t come along for the ride. A late withdrawal saw the team arrive with 10 men, which soon became 10 men and a woman when Sarah Porter bravely gave up her ringside seat (and her wine!) to take the field. Skipper Glen Oliver nearly didn’t bother with the toss, such is his incompetence with the coin – and to the surprise of exactly no one, duly called incorrectly yet again. The Strollers were asked to bowl in a 35-over match. Pete Wood had managed to get a day pass away from daddy duty and was given the new ball. He was quickly into his old rhythm, getting enough swing to beat the bat regularly but perhaps too much (an awful problem to have – Ed.) to get the edge he was hunting. Mike Pittams, having convinced Rob Wall to take the gloves, was offered the new ball at the other end. He was heard to remark “I’m not sure that’s a very good idea, skip”. Oliver chose to ignore his pleas and was rewarded for his faith as Pittams proceeded to blast out the entire Peppard top three inside four overs with his audible “effort balls”. Steve Rogers replaced Pittams, and notably drew a smart stumping from Wall on the first ball after drinks. The evergreen paceman Ben Mangham toiled away for little reward (the highlight of his spell was George Love going down like he had been shot after fielding an innocuous ball with his ankles, and being called “Neymar” for his trouble – the Strollers are nothing if not sympathetic). Alastair Macaulay also got in on the wicket-taking action after a high quality Pittams catch in the outfield (the match report shall remain silent on his earlier effort). Oliver (who by this stage had already injured himself) brought himself on to try to knock over Rudi Derbyshire, the Peppard No 4, who had batted well to steady the ship for the home side. Having succeeded in that objective (and not, of course, because he had bowled two overs of rank filth), he ceded the crease to debutant Neale Mulholland to bowl his first Strollers overs. Claiming to have never played “proper” cricket before, Mulholland demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for bowling action fundamentals. Despite taking a bit of stick at the death, he claimed his maiden club wicket via a good catch in the outfield. Amusingly, he even felt comfortable enough by the end of his spell to call Wall “Bairstow” after he spilled a difficult half-chance. The Peppard innings concluded on 227-8 after some good lower order hitting, after which the Strollers tucked into their sandwiches and settled in to watch the conclusion of the thrilling third Ashes test (the two skippers having agreed not to start the second innings until that game was done). Wall and Love kicked off the second innings, with Macaulay on the sidelines fighting the electronic scoreboard. Love looked full of intent, charging his second ball and attempting repeats at regular intervals. Wall, fatigued after having kept for 35 overs, embodied the “spirit of cricket” by ensuring the fielders didn’t share that fatigue – by middling nearly everything he faced directly to one of them. It happened so regularly that your humble correspondent started to run out of ways to describe the state of affairs. Fortunately, the collaborative nature of the match reporting process means that contributions from far and wide are both sought and accepted. An unnamed contributor (let’s just call him “M.P.”) wryly observed that “Wall was batting so slowly we suspected he may have been confused and under the impression he was playing for the opposition, like the week previous”. Wall’s ability to middle the ball eventually came in handy, when (in shades of the 2019 World Cup final) he scored a five from a fortunate deflection off the bat. After Love was bowled for 35, the aforementioned collaborative approach extended to the batting order, with Pittams and Wood apparently agreeing to simply swap positions. Happily, Wood punched his first ball for four and looked like he’d been busy in the nets all winter, as he picked the run rate up with positive strokeplay all around the wicket. He shared a 100-run partnership with Wall before the latter was caught for 43. This brought Mulholland to the crease, whose commitment to scoring his first ever run for the Strollers resulted in a spectacular slide/dive down the middle of the pitch to make his ground. His departure after that solitary single brought veteran John Low out to the wicket on the occasion of his 200th match (debut: 1978). Despite Wood hitting the ball to all parts, the run rate climbed and John was forced to run a series of manic ones and twos. Showing exceptional commitment and pace, he made every one of them – to wild cheers from the boundary. Wood eventually perished for a jug-avoiding score of 94, and despite the late efforts of both Pittams and Rogers, the total remained agonisingly out of reach as the Strollers fell just seven runs short. The thunderstorms having stayed away, a presentation was made to Low to mark his milestone. Low apologised for taking 45 years to reach 200 and promised to reach his next 200 much faster. Long may he continue to turn out. Capt and match report: Glen Oliver. Wkt: Rob Wall.
Match fees: Alastair Macaulay. AgricolaTuesday July 11 in ChiswickStrollers lost by three wickets Strollers 155-5
(20 overs; Oliver 28no, Hawkings 27no, Love 25no, James Stubbs 25no)
Agricola 157-7
(18.5 overs; Oliver 4-24, Macaulay 2-15, Combe 1-17) It was the first time that we have played Agricola, a team loosely affiliated to the Department of the Environment in the same way that we are loosely linked to Fleet Street. Alastair Macaulay bravely volunteered to be skipper on the walk to the ground knowing that we only had 10 players and two debutants of unknown quality. What he didn't know was that Mike Pittams and Glen Oliver were crocked (only one surprise there) and were vying for the 9 and 10 batting slots. Alastair won the toss, chose to bat first and Mitch Alley and George Love strode out with every intention of smiting the ball to all parts of the rather small boundary. However, the bowling and fielding was tight. Mitch was caught behind for six and Rob Wall also bowled for six. James Stubbs and Love struggled to find the boundary and after 10 overs we only had 50. Both reached their statutory 25 and so retired. Fred Combe and Freddie Broster-Turley came and went cheaply. Debutant Rufus Hawkings proved more than capable with the bat (eventually retired with 28) and, with the reluctant No 8 Oliver, started scoring quickly. Alastair joined Glen and stood at the other end as Glen took 22 off an over before he too retired. Pittams swung mightily from a standing position and in the end the Strollers reach a defendable 155-4. Agricola started a rapid pace despite the best efforts of Broster-Turley and Wall. Both openers reached their 25s early and retired and the incoming bats kept the pace up. After 10 overs they had over 80 on the board and a quick finish loomed. The first wicket fell at 102 to Combe who in context bowled well for his 1-17 off three overs. One more retirement and we were into the middle order only by default. Oliver volunteered to come off his even shorter run-up and with Macaulay at the other end wickets fell quickly. Glen bowled three and had an lbw and Alastair bowled a couple. The equation for the Strollers was to both keep the run-rate down and take wickets yet still try and keep the openers from returning. However, the runs still came too quickly including a Stokes-esque four overthrows when a return hit the bat and trickled to the boundary. Agricola won in the last over. It was a close game in the end and there was some discussion in the bar afterwards about a rematch. But that looks as though it will have to wait until 2024… Capt, match fees and match report: Alastair Macaulay.
Wkt: George Love/Mitch Alley. PrestcoldSunday July 16 at Binfield Heath Match abandoned Prestcold 189-8
(40 overs; Oliver 3-26, Macaulay 3-32, Hodgson 1-29)
Strollers 118-6
(27 overs; Oliver 55no, Palmer 19, Rogers 15, Mangham 10no) The Strollers descended on Prestcold on a day of variable weather. Michael Pittams was a late withdrawal to nurse a long-standing ailing hamstring, being replaced ably by Max Palmer, who we were later informed had not played in nearly five years. Several of the contingent had attended a birthday party the previous night, where some Rob Wall sabotage had occurred. Freddie Broster-Turley and George Love were sporting rather large hangovers. Love appeared to be struggling the most; upon arriving, he leapt out of the car and into the bushes, much to the applause of the watching Strollers.
Captain Wall, showing his prowess at winning a toss, called correctly and duly chose to give the Strollers a bowl. Wall, perhaps thinking Broster-Turley was still a recent arrival from the windy shores of Wellington, New Zealand, and thus used to bowling in a strong headwind, made the dubious call to open with the hungover Freddie into the wind. The less said about the opening over, the better. He was able to tighten things up with the next three overs before being replaced by Palmer. Bowling with the wind was the impressive Ben Mangham. Mangham bowled what, in this reporter's short Strollers career, has to be one of the finest spells to go unrewarded: 8 overs for 16 miserly runs and two maidens.
Throughout this period of bowling, the opening batters toiled well but were given reprieves when Love put one down at gully, and Captain Wall, operating behind the stumps, missed a stumping.
Following his eight overs of line and length, Mangham was kept in the game throughout, with the ball following him around the field. Palmer bowled well with no reward into the wind. Replacing Mangham downwind was Jim Hodgson, who was instantly rewarded for the sustained pressure from Mangham with the opening wicket of the game: Phil Desbois out for 19.
Batting at the other end, Chaz Mayhew looked sturdier and more assured than the famous Prestcold 12th fielder. He was certainly more involved in the game than the famous tree of unknown type, until he undid himself going for a tight run and appeared to pull a muscle. He retired hurt for a lovely 55.
Hodgson and Steve Rogers toiled hard but were unlucky not to be further rewarded. This saw the skipper throw the ball to Glen Oliver and wicket-taker extraordinaire Alastair Macaulay, who proceeded to clean up the remaining Prestcold wickets. Stair took a sharp caught-and-bowled, which appeared destined for the boundary if the sharp catch hadn’t been taken. Macaulay finished with 3-32 off his five, while Oliver finished with a very tidy 3-26 off his six.
This brought the end of the Prestcold innings, setting the Strollers a target of 190 to chase.
The Strollers batters got off to a shaky start, with Love dismissed bowled for two, and Richard Skinner out caught for a duck. This brought Rogers and Broster-Turley to the middle and a short period of consolidation. With the foundations of a solid partnership building, Broster-Turley called a quick single, but the Prestcold fielder was awake and equal to the task, firing in a direct hit. Some on the sideline suggested it was a close call either way, but Love, standing as the square leg umpire, raised the finger, and the Strollers were three down.
With this dismissal, Captain Wall strode out, imparting some words of wisdom, extolling the virtues of playing forward with a straight bat. Wall, however, ignored his own advice and played an extravagant sweep at a ball that was admittedly there to be hit. Nevertheless, Wall proceeded to get nothing but a top edge and was safely caught out for a duck. With Broster-Turley having thrown his wicket away at the other end, the Strollers were struggling at 30-5 off 12.
The demise of Broster-Turley and Wall saw a solid period of consolidation with Palmer and Oliver at the crease. Oliver was in imperious form, blasting consecutive sixes onto and over the clubhouse. Palmer contributed a solid 19 on debut before being bowled by James Prior.
Throughout the day, the weather had threatened to spoil the fun, forcing the teams from the field on several occasions. With Oliver batting well on 55 and Mangham coasting on 10, the weather finally got the best of the occasion and forced both teams from the field. Hasty Duckworth-Lewis calculations were made using what can only be described as some dodgy websites, and the Strollers were six runs short, mainly due to the high number of early wickets. Oliver demanded that Wall keep the game alive. Wall relented and gave the heavens five more minutes to clear. Just as it looked like the game was back on with the covers off, the rain started back up. The match was abandoned. Capt and Wkt: Rob Wall. Match fees: Alastair Macaulay.
Match report: Freddie Broster-Turley. Foreign OfficeThursday July 20 in ChiswickStrollers won by seven wickets Foreign and Commonwealth Office 106-4
(20 overs; Macaulay 2-10, James Stubbs 1-2, Hopper 1-21)
Strollers 107-3
(14 overs; Oliver 17no, Pittams 16no, Hopper 16no, James Stubbs 15no, Saari 14no) The Strollers arrived at their 2023 midweek hunting ground at King’s House Sports Ground to face a Foreign Office team looking a bit light on numbers. In lieu of a toss, skipper Mike Pittams agreed to let our opposition bat first as they awaited further reinforcements, leaving the FO openers to see off a spell of new ball seam bowling on a green wicket, with first drop initially their only man remaining on the sidelines after sending two men out to umpire. Fred Broster-Turley and Tristan Hopper got the match started with two economic spells before Hopper eventually found the outside edge as George Love gobbled up the first midweek slip catch several Strollers had ever personally witnessed. Gus Wills and Alastair Macaulay were the next pair entrusted with the leather & willow, and Macaulay was done no favours by his bowling partner, letting one go through the mitts at midwicket, and then himself two balls later on a caught and bowled attempt. Thankfully, Mitch Alley and James Stubbs took the chances that came their way as Macaulay ended with two victims from his spell. James Stubbs and Nick Saari, who appeared to have been working on his technique, were next to chance their arms, with Wills again putting down a soft chance for what would have been Saari’s first ever cricket wicket. Stubbs took it upon himself to take the fielders out of the equation, getting one to come in off the wicket and skittle against the batsman’s pads and onto the wicket. Love and Pete Robertson were brought in and given captain’s orders to chuck pies, with Love proceeding to bowl some of his most economic overs ever for the Strollers, and Robertson following orders more successfully as the Foreign Office reached 106-4 off their 20. As it was our final midweek match of the season, Captain Pittams implemented a reduced retirement score of 15 to give as many people a go as possible. Alley and Robertson also kept in the spirit of trying to get as many Strollers as possible a chance to bat, giving their wickets in the first over to a low catch at point first ball faced, and an attempted horizontal heave through midwicket ─ on a pitch that had been noted for a lack of bounce in the first innings ─ to a delivery that missed everything except the wickets. Love was next in and asked Wills at square leg umpire if he was the fielder or umpire, suggesting that had Wills been fielding, he fancied his chances in that direction after two dropped catches in the first innings. Undeterred, Love proceeded to lob one up to the actual square leg sub-fielder Hopper for catching practice. He took it comfortably. The Strollers middle order managed to hold their nerve with several retirees, including Saari who, after pushing one down the ground for a comfortable single to reach 14 not out, was prematurely called back in by Oliver thinking he had hit it to the fence. Eventually, Broster-Turley arrived at the crease in a hurry, almost running out partner Wills twice in his first delivery, then dispatching a full-toss to the boundary second ball to score the winning runs. Capt: Mike Pittams. Wkt: Mitch Alley.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Gus Wills. TadworthSunday July 23 at Tadworth Strollers won by 147 runs Strollers 277-3
(35 overs; Pittams 103 ret hurt, Love 63, Charlotte Stubbs 46no, James Stubbs 19, Oliver 12)
Tadworth 130-6
(35 overs; Richie Stubbs 3-18, Mangham 2-10, Charlotte Stubbs 1-21) Late July, and with the season in full swing, Tadworth beckoned. The cohort of Strollers arrived promptly, with the playing XI being accompanied by 12th man & scorer Simon Brodbeck. With the previous meeting between these two behemoth clubs ending in defeat for the Strollers, Captain Rowan Smith was keen to set the record straight. Having walked halfway to the square for no apparent reason, Smith successfully won the toss and the Strollers were to bat first. George Love, having announced that he had scored his personal best on this ground only two years before, was duly ordered out to bat without any hesitation from a confident Smith. With him marched Mike Pittams, a man who wielded his bat like a mad conductor, swinging wildly and making powerful connections. Love, true to his name, played lackadaisically, the ball kissing his bat with indifference. The partnership got the Strollers off to a strong start, with a brilliant total of 175 scored between them until Love managed to miss a straight one, less than 10 short of a new P.B. As the game unfolded, Pittams reached 103 not out and left the field in a calculated retreat, his bat rested after a tempestuous display of swings (and some misses). Amidst the ebb and flow, Glen Oliver held his ground, content with steady singles but reluctant to venture further. And then there was James Stubbs, wielding his willow with a unique fervour, trying both to demolish a 13-year-old's adoration for the sport and to etch his own indelible mark on the cricketing tapestry. Having reached a total of 19 through a combination of swinging big and faint edges behind square, a heavy pull to deep backward square and an ‘alright’ catch that wouldn’t look amiss on a YouTube compilation were enough to send him on his way. To replace him, out came another Stubbs - Charlotte, this time, who proceeded to waste no time, opening with a foray of boundaries. She quickly overtook Oliver, who, with meticulous patience, had accumulated runs solely through a collection of a dozen singles. While lacking flamboyance, each stroke revealed control and determination. The consistent ones on the scoreboard underscored the art of rotating the strike, emphasizing the importance of steady progress in cricket. Oliver found himself soon walking back from the crease, having been caught behind not soon after. It is presumed that he was distracted by Pittams, now clad in vibrant shorts that could have made even Ken from the new Barbie movie envious, engaging in an elaborate stretching routine at square-leg. Steve Rogers then stepped up to the task with a quick four not out. But it was the batter who remained at the crease who stole the spotlight for the rest of the innings. Her journey mirrored a symphony of numbers – 44 not out, with a strike rate over 100. It was crafted through a sequence of 4s, 2s, and 1s and punctuated with the occasional 6. The crease became her canvas as she orchestrated a fluid dance of strokes, each one a brushstroke on the cricketing canvas. Amidst the rhythm of accumulation, there was a crescendo of power as the ball soared over the boundary ropes. 277-3 was the position set after the Strollers’ 35 overs. When the Strollers fielded, the stage was set for Charlotte Stubbs and Ben Mangham to shoulder the responsibility of opening the bowling. The opening batsmen were dealt swift blows, one falling victim to an lbw appeal that had an air of inevitability, the other caught by Pittams with the precision of a seasoned craftsman. The third batter took guard against the opening bowlers, his resilience prompting a change in the bowling attack. Thus, the dynamic duo of Richie Stubbs and Alastair Macaulay stepped in, weaving a rhythm of pace and spin that evoked memories of Woakes and Ali against the Australians. Their partnership bore fruit as a couple of wickets tumbled, caught expertly by a well-placed Love and keeper Rob Wall, yet the stubborn third batter clung to the crease. The turning point arrived when Charlotte Stubbs, in a moment that could've been scripted in a cricketing fairytale, pulled off the catch of the season. Her father's delivery was dispatched with precision, and she sprinted round the boundary from deep mid-wicket to deep mid-on, covering ground that seemed beyond the reach of anyone else on the field, to snare a diving catch on the boundary. It was a breathtaking spectacle that showcased raw skill and determination. Soon after, Rogers took a catch that secured Richie Stubbs's third wicket of the match. The crease was then graced by Tadworth's most promising youth pairing, a testament to the cricketing future that awaited them. Batting out the rest of the innings between them, they managed a solid 56 between them. The bowling of Smith and Rogers was called upon to attempt a clean sweep, yet they held strong. The Strollers fielding remained a blend of textbook tactics and comedic interludes. Despite the whimsical antics of J. & C. Stubbs at 1st and 2nd leg slip, with bodyline tactics creeping into play under Rogers' bowling, the run rate was reined in to a mere 2.5 per over. And then, in a burst of mildly ridiculous events, a call of “Stubbs’” was given to a ball lofted among the trio of Stubbses, culminating in a dropped catch by James that adequately summarised his day in the field. As the match progressed, Tadworth unfortunately found themselves in a challenging situation. Their ability to accumulate runs at the necessary pace had been hindered by the loss of their top-order batsmen. The absence of these key players had left them grappling to establish a strong batting foundation, resulting in a struggle to assert dominance against the opposition's bowling attack. As their innings ended, and the metaphorical curtain descended, the scorecard revealed a total of 130 runs for the loss of six wickets – a relatively conservative sum. Consequently, it was the Strollers who emerged as the victors and both teams retired to the Tadworth pavilion for a refreshing pint (or two)! Capt: Rowan Smith. Wkt: Rob Wall.
Match fees: Alastair Macaulay. Match report: James Stubbs. NantesSaturday July 29 in Nantes Strollers won by five runs Strollers 242-7
(40 overs; Pittams 77, Selby 58, Travis 45, Broster-Turley 32)
Nantes 237
(38.4 overs; Broster-Turley 5-39, Macaulay 2-51, Selby 1-0, Dela Rue 1-40) The Strollers finally assembled in Nantes from Cherbourg, Calais, Paris and Gatwick. Hotels and meals booked by tour supremos Rob Wall and Mike Pittams, deposits paid, what could possibly go wrong? Rob admitted later that 98% of the work had been done by Mike, who does actually speak respectable French (ie comprehensible to actual French people). Rob had assured Simon that no harm would come to the scorebook while in France, and technically that was all fine*. The tour preparations were not without problems. Two unavoidable late pull-outs left us rather light. Stephanie Smith and Sarah Porter had already been drafted in and undertaken intensive training in the nets, but we were still two short. In the creperie on Friday night Andy German paused his interrogation of our strengths and weaknesses and offered us a player who had been in touch asking about social cricket in the Nantes area. And so we were joined by Matt Pringle. Brian Taylor, whose stated intention was to be a travelling spectator and occasional umpire, had the remarkable foresight to bring his cricket kit with him. After some modest cajoling, he agreed to turn out for both games as well. It's really quite hard to retire from the Strollers. "Just when I thought I was out, they drag you back in" (Michael Corleone, Godfather Part 3) Carb-loading over in the creperie, the bulk of the squad headed for a bar in the square by the river. The late-arriving James Dela Rue (and Saturday skipper) eschewed a rousing speech but did buy a round of drinks, which is pretty much the same thing as a morale booster. Great deeds were promised on the morrow... On the actual morrow, the team arrived at the Parc Blottereau ground by car and tram to find a ground that was rather greener than last year's dustbowl. It was decided that the Strollers should bat first so debut skipper Dela Rue got that right. Blair Travis and Aidan Selby opened and made good progress against the opening attack going at seven an over. Prabal was quite brisk but after eight overs was replaced by Mohammed (one of Nantes’ two Afghanis) who is probably the quickest bowler that we have faced this year. Combined with an erratic length and bounce he was quite a handful. He bowled Blair for 45 as the first wicket put on 83. Mike Pittams wisely chose to don a helmet. Progress was steady against good bowling from Mohammed, Murphy and Udal. With the score on 151, Aidan was eventually caught for 58 off Udal having survived a few scares. Wall came and went, quickly exposing our long middle order. Our guest player Matt Pringle, rusty after many years away from the game, swung and missed at a few but got to six before being bowled by Chance. Pittams was eventually bowled by Mohammed for a well-made 77 but we still looked a bit short of a decent total. Freddie Broster-Turley came to the rescue with a brisk 32, ably supported by Stephanie Smith, who scored her first run for the Strollers. She fell for one and Freddie was another Mohammed victim. Mohammed did bowl much slower to Stephanie and Sarah Porter though not the spin that Alastair Macaulay was hoping for when he went in. The first ball thudded into his pad before he had moved - "I though he was bowling spin!". Nope. A couple of swiped twos and the Strollers innings closed on 242. After a marvellous pique-nique of baguettes and pastries, the Strollers took the field in optimistic mood. Wall and Dela Rue opened the bowling. The pair decided to switch ends to take advantage of prevailing conditions. It didn't quite work as the aggressive Prabal took a liking to Blair Travis's changeover over (18 off it) and Nantes were rattling along. James had Masih well caught behind by Pittams, but Prabal and the more circumspect Dorian kept the score going and after 17 overs Nantes were 113-1. Then came Broster-Turley's chance to shine. Initially expensive, he had Dorian very well caught by Wall at slip in his second over and then the dangerous Probal caught by Wall (now wearing the keeper's gloves) in his third over. At the other end Macaulay had J.Willey stumped by Wall and Mohammed caught by Blair on the boundary. It was hit very hard and we all heard the impact on Blair's hands. Another good catch by Pittams off Freddie's bowling saw off Andy German for only 13. Freddie took two more wickets (caught & bowled and bowled) to complete his 5-for. His final figures were 5-49. Nantes were teetering at 169-8. However, the No 9 and 10 bats Patrick and Change were useful and gradually started putting together a dangerous partnership. With three overs to go they only needed 20 to win. In the 37th over the batsman attempted a cheeky second run as Dela Rue returned to bowl but was superbly run out by Selby hitting the stumps direct. 228-9 and the pendulum swung the Strollers way. However, the No 11 Udal hit a six off Blair's over (the 38th) and so only six were required off the last two overs to win. But the main bowlers were bowled out, so who could Dela Rue turn to for the 39th over? Back in 2019 on this very ground Selby had taken three wickets in an over. It's worth revisiting it for younger readers (match reporter: B.Taylor): Step forward Aidan Selby, well respected by his peers, to bowl possibly the first ten-ball over in Strollers history, and to give a foretaste of what will happen when the “100” is introduced next year, with its ten-ball sets. An over of infinite variety followed: no ball, wide, wicket, one, no ball, wide, dot, wicket, dot, wicket: 1-0-5-3. Mere words cannot undervalue the enormity of Aidan's achievement; suffice to say that the direction of the game was irredeemably altered by this one over.
You may well quibble about "much respected by his peers" but nonetheless in 2023 Aidan stepped up to bowl the penultimate over with one wicket needed for victory. This time it went dot, dot, dot, hit pads, huge appeal. The home umpire very sportingly raised the finger and so the Strollers squeezed home. The fielding had been good, all the catches were taken and particular praise is due for Stephanie and Sarah in the outfield. Mike Pittams was awarded MOTM despite Freddie's all-round performance. He was robbed. The Strollers and Nantes relaxed with a few beers as local Afghanis took over the astro pitch to play their own version of quick cricket, most bowling at alarming pace. Back to the hotel for a quick change, more beers and wine and pizza at La Tomate. *The sacred scorebook had its own post-tour adventure back in England. Left overnight in Rob's car in Putney, it clearly looked like a laptop in its racy carry case. A miscreant broke in during the night and stole the bag. Imagine their disappointment when instead of a spanking new Apple or at least a mid-range Acer, they found a red book with mysterious hieroglyphs and promptly dumped it and the bag.
A passing Good Samaritan found it, and seeing Simon's phone number, texted him that The Book of Sundays had been found in waste ground in Wandsworth. Rob was alerted (at that point he didn't even know that the car had been broken into) and there was much rejoicing when he and the scorebook were reunited.
All Strollers will now be issued with a sticker for their car - "No scorebooks left in the car overnight".
Capt: James Dela Rue. Wkt: Rob Wall/Mike Pittams.
Match report: Alastair Macaulay. Des OrmesSunday July 30 in La Grivais Strollers lost by six wickets Strollers 242-5
(35 overs; Wall 94, German 49, Pittams 34, Broster-Turley 18no)
Club Des Ormes 245-4
(32.4 overs; Dela Rue 2-26, Travis 1-46, Macaulay 1-58) Following a closely contested match against Nantes CC, Messrs Mike Pittams and Rob Wall eagerly led the Strollers tour party to Les Berthom, the nearest craft beer bar in central Nantes, for pre-dinner drinks. Camaraderie levels were high following a narrow five-run victory. One need only imagine the fervour with which Aidan Selby recounted his final overs heroics (a direct hit run-out in the 37th and taking the final wicket in the 39th (dot, dot, dot, lbw) when the match appeared to be slipping away. I didn’t personally hear such conversation, but I’m pretty sure a comparison to his “magic over” against Nantes CC in 2019 would have been discussed. James Dela Rue (My Lord) was last to arrive to the bar. Had the debut captaincy burden worn heavily during the nail-biting finish? Perhaps Dela Rue required a moment of quiet introspection or was he delayed whilst paying homage to some higher power? Pittams organised dinner at La Tomate, a local pizza & pasta restaurant. A sensible choice for a carb depleted horde. The food was rich and glutinous. The Italian cuisine paired excellently with several bottles (most probably a baker’s dozen) of French wine. Messrs Pittams and Blair Travis did their utmost to devour all surplus slices of pizza but were no match for La Tomate. Some further post-dinner beverages were consumed by a few back at Les Berthom. At least two pints were spilled as the day’s highlights were re-enacted with gusto. Next morning the Strollers faced a two-hour drive north to Les Ormes. The convoy consisted of the Wallmobile, Maggie Patston’s SUV, and Freddie Broster-Turley’s Fiat 500 rental car. We also had Andy German from Nantes CC, who joined the drive north with his family. German’s presence was very much appreciated and gave the Strollers a full XI for the match against Des Ormes. After mediocre success of the prior day’s #tramchat, we had #carchat as entertainment for the journey. In Maggie’s SUV, #carchat reached its peak with a comparison of the contents of Brian Taylor’s and Alastair Macaulay’s man bag. Very interesting indeed. However, the contents of each must remain top secret. After a few obstacles on the journey north were navigated including toilet stops, wrong turns and figuring out how to use the French fuel pumps, the full tour party arrived roughly on time. The cricket ground is based on the site of Eurocamp Domaine Des Ormes, and also happens to overlooked by a magnificent French chateau with a helicopter parked on the front lawn. The actual cricket field is rather more humble: an artificial turf pitch on a field not much larger than a rugby field. Skipper Selby swiftly lost the toss and the Strollers were asked to bat first in a 35-over match. The conditions were damp initially and the Des Ormes opening bowlers extracted plenty of swing and seam movement from the artificial strip. Openers Travis and Wall each had two let-offs with edges going down in the slip cordon. The opening partnership put on 33 before Travis was bowled for 12 in the seventh over. This brought Strollers stalwart Taylor to the crease. Taylor, a very elegant and graceful left-handed batsman, was cajoled out of 12 months of retirement especially for the Brittany Tour. Taylor played a couple deft late cuts, each for a single, but was out shortly thereafter. Somewhat pleased to be back spectating he could be heard murmuring a while later: “I enjoyed that. I shall never retire, NEVER”. We sure hope we’ll see Taylor back in a Strollers XI in 2024. Wall and German then combined for a third-wicket partnership of 105 runs before Wall was out for 94 in the 27th over. Sadly, Wall holed out, caught & bowled, to a lollipop whilst trying to push the run-rate, having appeared to be comfortably on course for a repeat of his hundred scored against Des Ormes in 2022. German battled away for a stoic 49 before being caught in the 31st over, whilst Pittams scored a quickfire 34, plundering the orange nut a half dozen times to the boundary or over it, before also being caught out in the 32nd over. Broster-Turley and Stephanie Smith combined for an unbeaten partnership of 34, with Smith hitting a boundary in the final over to rapturous applause. The Strollers innings finished on 242-5, which felt at least 60 runs short of par. Another marvellous pique-nique was served up for lunch. Baguettes, fruit, crisps and leftover dahl were devoured. We also witnessed the helicopter take off and return during the lunch break: a quick joyride or just popping out to buy some milk? There was some early optimism as Dela Rue got the first Des Ormes wicket in the first over. Unfortunately, this brought Madu Bala to the crease and it was evident the Strollers were up against a classy batsman. Dela Rue got a second wicket, then Macaulay grabbed another to make it 94-3 after 14 overs. Bala remained untroubled as skipper Selby changed up his bowlers. Dela Rue, Broster-Turley, Macaulay, Pittams, Travis and German all tried to stem the flurry of boundaries from Bala’s blade. The efforts were in vain as Bala brought up his century in 60 balls, and respite only came when he was out for 110 after Dela Rue took a good catch on the cover boundary off the bowling of Travis. By this stage Des Ormes were well on track at 188-4 after 23 overs. German continued bowling his leg-spin and Selby brought himself on. However, there was no “magic over” or great escape story to be written this time. The Des Ormes middle order nudged the ball around, hitting occasional boundaries, and knocked off the remaining runs with ease. In fact, the run rate slowed unnecessarily towards the end simply to eke out the match for a while longer. Wall was awarded SOTM (Stroller of the Match) and picked a Des Ormes Cricket Club cap as a momento. Post-match beers were shared with Des Ormes; a friendly bunch whom we look forward to playing again. Stephanie Smith and Sarah Porter led more than a few with warm-down stretches. The tour party departed for an overnight stay at the Ibis in Saint Malo and had a lovely meal at Le Bouche à Oreille where fine wine and cidre Breton brut flowed merrily. Conversation also flowed. Maggie Patston educated more than a few on the danger of playing shove ha’penny with Peter Patston. Broster-Turley explained a cricket pitch is equal to a chain in length. Needless to say the tour party were last to leave the restaurant, and a select few managed to locate the last open bar on a Sunday evening in Saint Malo where the team befriended Igor (a Manchester United supporter), who kept the bar open whilst Dela Rue enthralled the group with a piano solo of ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles. All in all, a memorable end to the Brittany Tour. Au Revoir! Laisse-le vivre, laisse-le vivre, laisse-le vivre, laisse-le vivre... Capt: Aidan Selby. Wkt: Rob Wall/Mike Pittams.
Match report: Blair Travis. BledlowSunday August 6 in Bledlow Strollers lost by one wicket Strollers 206
(37.3 overs; Oliver 50, Pittams 36, Travis 34, Wall 34, Rogers 24)
Bledlow 210-9
(38 overs; Rogers 2-35, Travis 2-0, Palmer 2-26, Richie Stubbs 1-20, James Stubbs 1-28) George Love was missed from the starting XI at Bledlow. Had he been in there his regular questions of “what’s the forecast?” in the WhatsApp group would have alerted the wider team to there being a small possibility of rain on the Sunday, meaning less folk would have forgotten their wet/cold weather gear! Skipper Rob Wall won the toss and elected to bat, only to have the start delayed by an hour due to persistent (yet not quite strong enough to call the day off) rain. This was a blessing for Mark Fenn, who took advantage of this extra hour to arrive at the game in time to walk out and umpire for the opening delivery. Wall and Mike Pittams put on an a typically solid opening stand of 63, Pittams outscoring Wall (off the bat) at a rate of 3-1 before inexplicably missing a slow straight delivery for 36. This brought Blair Travis to the crease, who again let Wall play the anchor while he amassed a further 34 runs. Let the author point out that there were 14 leg byes/byes created by both Wall’s inexplicable ability to miss balls either on or just outside leg stump and his extreme pace between the stumps. Those present at the 2020 Strollers dinner where Pittams presented a slideshow comparing Wall to various navy ships would have been in shock as Wall, with two functioning knees, turned on a dime. At the end of this partnership Wall weakly nicked behind for 34 bringing Glen Oliver to the crease. As is often the case when Oliver is allowed the chance against a non-shiny ball, he showed no mercy at all to the fourth and fifth change Bledlow bowlers, launching them for eight boundaries and scoring a quickfire 50 before inexplicably missing a full toss on middle stump. Unfortunately, this was when our run of material partnerships fell over. Max Palmer came and left…run out without facing a ball (Some say Steve Rogers had two weekends before at Prestcold at the front of his mind when calling Max through for an impossible run). Rogers continued to 25, batting gallantly with the tail, but, save for a wonderful boundary apiece to Alastair Macaulay and Neale Mulholland, we lost six wickets for 30 to end up with a respectable (but not quite par) 206 runs. A splendid tea was provided by the hosts as we watched a perfectly timed rainstorm cut across the ground. Palmer (2-26) and James Stubbs (1-26) opened the bowling as a soggy run-up and a shortage of spikes caused mayhem. This did not impact things (too) much with both bowlers taking wickets in their opening overs with Palmer maximising the cloudy humid conditions to bend the ball sideways in the air. Mulholland (0-22) and Richie Stubbs (0-20) came on at first change and at the first drinks break things were evenly poised with Bledlow at (approximately) 90-3. After drinks Bledlow came out firing – dispatching the Strollers bowling attack all around the ground. Fenn, Macaulay and Rogers all took their turn watching the ball sail to the boundary before Rogers slipped one through Edward Smart’s gate. Wild celebrations broke out until it was noticed that skipper Wall was on the ground. The ball had hit the stumps and bounced up, striking him above the eye like an axe breaking open hard timber. Wall left the field with a mix of Oliver and Macaulay taking over the skippering. Unfortunately, the runs kept coming from Bledlow with the Strollers bowlers not finding any response. A timely rain break meant that Nurse Pittams could go to work on Wall’s forehead. After raiding Bledlow’s four different medicine cabinets Pittams successfully closed and repaired Wall’s axe wound meaning he could (foolishly) return to the field. Wall placed himself at a deep cover position, noting that Vineeth Purushothaman had struck several sixes off Rogers in that area. Immediately the ball was propelled high into the air. Despite the loss of earlier blood, Wall showed his ability to spool up speed in milliseconds, running a 35-metre PB to catch the ball millimetres off the ground. This modest reporter would nominate it as catch of the season.
This left Bledlow in the delicate position of 194-7 with five overs for them to score a further 13 runs. This was a situation tailor made for Oliver, who came on and bowled a maiden, inexplicably missing the stumps on several occasions. From the other end “golden arm” Travis was brought on having shown a week earlier in Brittany that he possessed medium-fast destroyers. He did not disappoint, picking up a double-wicket maiden. Unfortunately, the Bledlow No 8, Oliver Woodward, took a liking to Oliver, taking him for 17 unanswered runs in the next over meaning the Strollers lost a close battle. We retired to the clubroom for a quiet shandy afterwards, with bloodied but unbowed skipper Wall lamenting the first blemish on his captaincy record. Capt: Rob Wall. Wkt: Rob Wall/Mike Pittams.
Match fees: Alastair Macaulay. Match report: Rob Wall. Valley EndSunday August 13 at Valley End Match drawn Strollers 216-8
(40 overs; Wood 89, Smith 34, Alley 28, Mangham 24, Love 20)
Valley End 212-9
(37 overs; Wood 2-20, Smith 2-22, Stubbs 2-35, Macaulay 1-35, Dela Rue 1-51) As ever it was a pleasure to play at Valley End. First rate facilities, great ground, competitive cricket, lovely tea and one of the most stylish clubhouses around.  A level of style that was possibly only equalled by these (off-pitch I hasten to add) casual sporting foot attire. Who knew that Simon “Boxfresh” Brodbeck turns out to be one of the country’s leading traders in ‘Kicks’?
I digress… The format was agreed to be a 77-over match, with a maximum of 40 to be batted by the side batting first if required leaving 37 overs to the chasing team -- thus making all three results possible. Each team also had a Joker card to play, with the Strollers playing theirs very early on – Mark Fenn finding himself still in Devon 30 minutes before play was due to start and mutually agreeing with skipper Alastair Macaulay that he would remain so and we would soldier on with 10. Macaulay, continuing in his decisive mood, won the toss and chose to bat. George Love and Rowan Smith were treated to a very fine display of bowling by Valley End’s opening bowling attack. Marcus Fagent’s metronomic line and length was very difficult to get away and Matthew Parfitt’s pace and movement focused the minds of our gallant pair pretty sharpish. They did manage to keep the attack out, but at the cost of a rather slow run rate -- 32 off 10 overs. The full 40 overs requirement was looking likely already. Love was finally undone for 20 by the introduction of spin and fell to Rana Ali caught behind. Peter Wood was almost stumped off his third ball, but soon settled and together with Smith got the scoreboard ticking. Would that missed stumping prove costly? Smith was bowled by spinner Ali for a hard-grafted 34 with the score at 80 off 17 overs. Wood was joined by Mitch Alley and they shared an 80-run partnership, both boundary-hitting on either side of the wicket. Wood passed 50 before Alley eventually went for 28 bowled by Austen Reedman. Wood increased the tempo and, assisted by James Stubbs, moved ever closer to his hundred, but sadly was undone for 89 caught off the bowling of Ed Walters. Wood’s heroics had got the Strollers to 180 off 33 overs on what was considered a good track. A few more runs were needed, was the consensus from the boundary think tank. A flurry of quick wickets quickly resigned us to acknowledge that we would indeed need the full 40 overs. A quick-fire 24 from Ben Mangham with the tail chipping in with some loose change got us to what was felt to be an under-par 216. After a very good and gratefully received tea the task of defending with only 10 men began. Valley End’s openers Barney Fisher and Steve Wanigesekera had a good battle against the opening bowling attack of James Dela Rue and Mangham, balls passing the outside edge, counter-punching boundaries and well-run singles inevitable with a fielder missing, a couple of chances put down off both bowlers for each batsman. Eventually the batters were in the ascendency and Dela Rue was replaced by Richie Stubbs and Mangham by Wood. The breakthrough finally came with Wanigesetera falling to Richie, Macaulay taking a smart catch in the covers. Valley End 60-1. Keith Fisher and Barney Fisher shared a fast-paced partnership of 38 before Richie struck again, bowling Keith Fisher for 18. Wood, bowling well at the other end, began to exert pressure and a misjudged second run to Mangham coming off the boundary resulted in a sharp run-out which sent Mark Bodoano back to the hutch for 18. Wood then struck twice in consecutive overs dismissing Parfitt caught behind and bowling Cameron Seagrove. Macaulay then bowled an excellent spell (he said so himself and I luckily agree) and took the most crucial wicket of Barney Fisher, who had batted well for his 58 -- Valley End 143-6 off 25 overs. Gordon Kerr and Andy Monk continued the chase before both fell to Smith for 16 and 28 with the score at 196-8. All three results were still very much on the table as the game went down to the wire with Dela Rue taking the ninth wicket of Ali with the score on 208. Walters and Reedman fell a heroic five runs short in the final (and their 37th) over. Although a draw was not the ideal conclusion for either team, it felt like a fair result on reflection.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Mitch Alley.
Match fees: Alastair Macaulay. Match report: Ben Mangham. RipleySunday August 20 at Ripley Strollers won by four wickets Ripley 263-7
(35 overs; Mangham 2-45, Rogers 2-62, James Stubbs 1-21, Brodbeck 1-25, Hawkings 1-32)
Strollers 265-6
(34.5 overs; Pittams 66, Alley 61, Travis 50, Hawkings 35, Rogers 19no, Love 10) The Strollers converged on the Ripley ground with great gusto. Well, most of them. Mark Fenn’s adventure time continued, with a punctual arrival being hindered by a secret Freemasons meeting in Portsmouth causing him to embark on a heroic journey to get to the lovely ground and join the team. This resulted in the Strollers bowling with a man down for a period with the home side capitalising on this and starting with intent and high run-rate batting. A few chances slipped by, more than a few actually for debutant Rufus “Rufus Du Sol” Hawkings, who let at least four go through his big meaty mitts. There was also an incredible collision between the Angry Fast Bowler Ben Mangham and Richie Stubbs - a veritable clash of the Titans. Miraculously both survived and were able to bowl their remaining spells, with Ben picking up two wickets and an important wicket-maiden to pile on the pressure to the home side. James Stubbs, the epitome of perseverance, bowled valiantly and was eventually rewarded for his work with an excellent inswinging yorker claiming the lbw of No 3 Tahir Haji. Steve Rogers came in next to bowl some spin and was unfortunately battered around the ground for a bit, before collecting the two important scalps of Richard Barthez and Tim Irvine, who were giving him a proper beating. Amazingly Steve’s car remained undamaged after a huge six was nuked into the car park, narrowly missing the windscreen of the valiant Vauxhall. Simon Brodbeck executed a cunning spell, fooling the opponent with his devious bowling and securing a wicket with a brilliant catch from George Love. Hawkings also had a go with the leather ball and collected his first wicket for the club on debut, battling meningococcall disease in his run-up. Blair Travis amused the onlookers by showing off his new fast bowling action, a secret weapon developed in the deep dark depths of a French pub some weeks before. The incredible change of pace from his previous action startled the batters but they were able to steady the ship and Blair was left wicketless, with the Strollers in a spot of bother staring down the barrel of a 264-run chase. It seemed like a tough battle ahead. Mitch Alley and Mike Pittams started off the batting in the top order, setting a strong platform for the rest of the team. Mitch played well in the heat, with a contribution of 61 being his first and last half-century for the Strollers. We bid him farewell as he returns to New Zealand in November, forever remaining a cherished member of the Stroller Order. Pittams blasted the red nut around the ground with some impressive striking until he was caught the next ball after a colossal six, contributing a tidy 66. Travis and Love were in next, with Love scoring only 10 before being dispatched by the spinning masterclass of Charlie Parker. Travis, however, notched a magnificent 50 for the team before being scalped by Braydon Pink caught in the deep. This left the valiant debutant Hawkings alone and very, very afraid. To chase the remaining runs required was a daunting task for even a seasoned Stroller, but he stepped up to the mark. Fear did not deter him. With resolute determination he battered the opposition, unleashing a storm of shots, even managing to smash one six right into the clubhouse in a sign of defiance. His brilliant 35 helped lay the foundation for Rogers and James Stubbs to take down the remaining runs in the final few overs, with the game reaching its conclusion in the last over with nail-biting intensity. The thrilling chase was followed by jovial celebrations and frothy beers shared with the home side. Amidst the revelry, the topic of conversation shifted to the finest cheeses, with the Red Leicester variety getting a special mention, adding a deliciously cheesy touch to a memorable day. Capt: Mike Pittams. Wkt: George Love/Mitch Alley.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: George Love.
WallSaturday August 26 in Lichfield Strollers lost by six wickets Strollers 108
(33 overs; Hopper 26, Hodgson 23no, Salvesen 23, Travis 19)
Wall 110-4
(25 overs; Hodgson 2-14, Salvesen 1-17, Rogers 1-23) Three of the team began their quest in Brixton at 7am Saturday morning to make the journey to Lichfield. The one suggesting this earlier than necessary departure time unashamedly fell blissfully asleep. The trio were rewarded, however, with a leisurely coffee stop, a sit-down breakfast at the delightful Hedgehog Inn and a much-anticipated visit to the birthplace of Samuel Johnson. An added bonus for the intrepid three was the discovery that a food festival was in full swing and their route to Mr Johnson’s abode was lined with purveyors of succulent morsels, who offered free samples along the way. Ever keen not to cause offence on or off the pitch Ben Mangham accepted all titbits offered. Sadly, little did we know that these ‘freebies’ would be the last of the day once the cricket got under way. It turned out that Mr Johnson’s house, bookshop and museum was closed due to the aforementioned gastronomic carnival. With the pilgrimage to our country's esteemed logophile cruelly thwarted, Mangham consoled his abject disappointment with a purchase of biltong. Moods were further lifted when Mark Fenn delightedly reported in to say that he too was in the vicinity on the correct day, in the right location and on time enjoying eggs benedict – Thank you to all teammates who contributed to this minor miracle. The skies were looking ominous, contrary to the optimistic and welcoming members of Wall Cricket Club as the Strollers congregated at the ground. All results possible with a 77-over format agreed upon, a maximum of 40 overs for the first in to bat. After a delayed start due to rain, thunder and lightning, Strollers lost the toss and openers Blair Travis and Tristan Hopper strode out to bat. Mangham and Tom Salvesen enthusiastically went to umpire. Mangham was promptly called back in to pad up as skipper Alastair Macaulay was reminded of the batting order by Madame President (the asset) Maggie Patston. Respectfully defending the first couple of balls before driving to the boundary for four, Travis then brought Hopper on strike with a single. Hopper had a look at the fine bowling on offer before also driving a boundary four – a feat that didn’t seem possible on the wet and slow outfield. Sadly, yet another downpour had the players running for cover as more thunder emanated. Travis and Hopper battled extremely well, with all shots deserving more with the additional rain while the long outfield restricted those fours to miserly ones or hard run twos. Battling this, Hopper went aerial, smashing a straight six to spoil what would otherwise have been a maiden over for Adam Dyche. An opening partnership off 44 in eight overs looked promising and the new ball attack had been seen off. Our host and opposing captain David Craig tossed the ball to the guile and cunning department. Pace off was the new order of the day. Wall’s spinner Simon Foulds came on and Hopper’s eyes lit up. He swept expansively, missed a well-flighted first ball and the finger was raised before the echoes of the appeal had faded, departed for 29. At the other end Ian Caddick got to work, dismissing Travis caught at point for 19. Steve Rogers was joined by Mangham briefly… oh so briefly. A golden duck! Trapped on the crease, impact hitting… the batsman trudged back to be reunited with his biltong. Salvesen thankfully denied Caddick a hat-trick, but another wicket for Caddick saw Rogers caught at second slip by Richard Buxton for six. Jim Hodgson and Salvesen thankfully dug in and slowly brought our score into the realms of respectability. But Caddick’s devasting spell (4-21) continued, seeing Salvesen holing out to Henry Craig for 23. Could the FSSCC pass the three-figure mark? Hodgson did his utmost to shepherd our waddling of a tail. Craig Jnr took a hat-trick – dismissing Macaulay for one and sending Paige Copsey and Simon Brodbeck to join Mangham in the duck-coop. Thankfully Justin Fredrickson showed some grit and defended gallantly for 27 mins enabling Hodgson to get us to the heady heights of 108 before a smart run-out dismissed Fredrickson and that was that. A delightfully delicious tea was served, provided by Rae-Anne, skipper Craig’s wife. The rain came once more but the tea was saved and service continued under cover. Then the weather turned on a sixpence, the sun came out, blue skies above and did the outfield grass look shorter? But the game was not lost yet. The Strollers started well, Salvesen finding the edge several times in his opening overs. Sadly the slip cordon failed to catch these early vital offerings. Travis then took a smart catch and a smile returned to Salvesen’s face. By drinks with eight overs gone Wall were 60-4. Rogers picked up the wicket of Gulia, caught by Travis, while Hodgson bowled particularly well, dismissing opener Laurence Skermer caught by Rogers and the dangerous Adam Dyche (22) caught by Copsey. Hodgson finished with figures of 2-14 off his five overs. Mangham, Brodbeck and Macaulay tried to restrain the run chase, but eventually George Dyche (37no) and Henry Craig (18no) saw Wall comfortably over the line with 10 overs to spare. Both teams regrouped at The Wellington for a well-deserved beverage or two. A huge thank you to David and his team for yet another good-natured and well-played (by Wall) match. The gauntlet of cursed punctuality and orienteering was passed from Fenn to Fredrickson this trip, who found himself walking solo and a little lost (“I’m in a park with no way out”) on the way to dinner from the hotel. But our hero eventually found his way to The Bridge Inn to be greeted by a resounding round of applause.
Capt: Alastair Macaulay. Wkt: Justin Fredrickson.
Match report: Paige Copsey. Stanton by DaleSunday August 27 at Stanton by Dale Strollers lost by four wickets Strollers 168
(39.4 overs; Travis 88, Macaulay 20, Fredrickson 12, Rogers 10)
Stanton 172-6
(34.2 overs; Salvesen 3-15, Hodgson 2-20, Hopper 1-32) As Mike Pittams so aptly put in reporting from the Cotswolds trip earlier in the summer, it is never easy to be sure where jurisdiction begins and ends for match reports when on tour. I could start pre-dinner on Saturday night where both skippers for the weekend - Alastair Macaulay (Saturday captain) and Blair Travis (Sunday leader) - managed to separately navigate themselves to The Gate Inn in Branston, a fine establishment I’m sure but a half mile south of The Bridge Inn where dinner was booked. Perhaps we start at the delicious pasty offerings for breakfast on Sunday with many a frustrated gaze out the window at what appeared to be a significant chance of another damp outing. After checkout, it was a procession of cars to Stanton-by-Dale and unfortunately followed not long after by a procession of wickets as the Strollers (having been asked to bat by Stanton skipper Will Mellor in a 40-over match) quickly found themselves in dire straits at 29-4 following brisk and probing spells from opening pair Charlie Hampton & Oliver Morley, who picked up five wickets between them in the innings. Such was the rapid descent into the batting order that an SOS was sent for Jim Hodgson batting at No 8, who thought he might get away with a short walk through the village. “Jim you need to come back…” read the message, short on detail but following Saturday’s meagre batting total, Jim was under no illusion what the summons meant. Cometh the hour and cometh the skipper as Blair Travis strode confidently out to the crease. Although Blair would never say it, even he must have been thinking that quite frankly a big score from him would likely be the difference between a competitive match or another early finish. Blair was able to score fluidly despite regular wickets at the other end. The scrambling to pad up continued with Paige Copsey in such a rush to get out to the middle that she managed to forget her cricket shirt, appearing at the crease in a white under-armour compression top - Ben Mangham to the rescue moments later with shirt in tow. And so, at 91-8, even getting past Saturday's poor total of 108 was looking difficult, a defendable total almost insurmountable. Thankfully, no one told this to Macaulay, who managed an impressive and absolutely necessary score of 20 in a near record ninth-wicket partnership of 61 with Travis [The record is, of course, the 76 put on by Peter Patston and Simon Brodbeck against Withington in 1990]. While the navigation skills of both men were in question the night prior, it was a pleasure to watch both skippers for the weekend navigate their way through the latter overs. Most notably, opening bowler Morley (who bowled so impressively at the top) returned in an effort to stymie the rearguard - his final two balls of his spell emphatically dispatched to the boundary by Macaulay. Jo Perrin pointed out that perhaps all partnerships in future should be between batters with rhyming names (Blair & Stair) - a creative solution to the issues of batting collapses that will surely be discussed in greater detail at the next AGM. In an effort to up the run rate in the final overs, Blair was dismissed chopping on for 88 and was promptly applauded all around the ground for what was the definition of a captain’s knock. Macaulay and Brodbeck saw out all but the final two balls of the innings as the Strollers posted an under-par but significantly better than expected score of 168. We were once again treated to a magnificent Stanton tea courtesy of Tricia, Steph and Emma. A special mention to Brian Taylor, who was appearing in his first match for Stanton-by-Dale this season after "retiring" last year following more than 50 years of playing service to the club. Two Brittany tour appearances for the Strollers in late July had perhaps convinced Brian that maybe semi-retirement might be a better fit for the time being. To the second innings, and it was Tom Salvesen who opened with exquisite control. Bowling machine-like accuracy allowed Tom to beat the bat on most occasions, building pressure and taking a wicket on the final ball of his first, second and fifth overs to finish with terrific figures of 3-15 from his eight overs. Tom was ably supported from the other end by Tristan Hopper, who took a wicket in the fourth and final over of his spell, and Jim Hodgson, whose second wicket sent the innings to drinks with Stanton reeling at 66-6. Frustratingly for the Strollers the wicket column (despite multiple chances) would not be disturbed again as opening bowler (or perhaps all-rounder) Morley (84no) and skipper Mellor (37no) put on an unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership of 106 to guide Stanton home quite comfortably in the end with a four-wicket victory.
The match was played in great spirit and with some lovely words spoken in the presentation of the David Tranter Cup to Stanton-by-Dale. We must again give thanks to our hosts, who put on a splendid post-match meal of hot dogs, burgers and beverages which was gratefully received.
We look forward to returning in 2024 to wrestle back the cup.
Capt: Blair Travis. Wkt: Justin Fredrickson.
Match report: Steve Rogers. ConcordeSunday September 3 in Send Strollers won by 215 runs Strollers 269-5 dec
(43 overs; Smith 108, Sam Brodbeck 65, Stragalinos 44, Wall 21)
Concorde 54
(24.3 overs; Rogers 5-26, Simon Brodbeck 4-5, Macaulay 1-6) Due to my unavailability this coming Friday, Strollers attending the annual golf day will miss out on me being in ‘Position: A’ off the tee (likely 14 or 15 times out of 18). When it comes to ‘Position A’, I rarely miss. When it came to the cricketing conditions at Send yesterday, ooohhh gee the weather certainly didn’t miss either. ‘Weather conditions: A’ were on display. The sun as sizzling as my tee shots would definitely be on Friday. Wind as absent as any need for me to deviate from the middle of the fairway to find my ball… it really wouldn’t surprise me if Tom Wood just went ahead and awarded me with ‘best in show’ even without turning up on Friday. What a golfer I am. And what a scorcher of a day it was at Send! The poor things (Concorde that is – not the other Strollers trying vainly to win best in show at the golf day) were down to only nine fit players at the toss, so I agreed with opposition skipper Jerry Wright that we would lend them a fielder and two of their batspeople could have a second innings. Jerry was keen that this process be decided as fairly and transparently as possible, so wrote all of his players’ names on scrunched up pieces of paper and invited me to select two of them from the cupped palms of his hands. A solemn, almost ecclesiastical process that felt a little bit like a cross between a FIFA World Cup draw and the recent coronation ceremony of King Charles– although lacking (as Mark Fenn very astutely pointed out) both the requisite bribery, and the selection of thick porky sausage fingers for that to quite be the case. I nevertheless stand by the analogy. Concorde won the toss and inserted us in a time match. Playing conditions included one ball, tea at 3.15pm and then 20 overs from 5pm. Robert Eugene Wall and Nick Stragalinos meandered out to open the batting. Stragalinos is a handy new recruit from Melbourne, Australia, who answered one of Social Media Supremo James Dela Rue’s recent appeals, in a not remotely surprising display of success from The Lord when ‘working the apps’. Opening the bowling for Concorde was burly former England Under-19 rugby international Justin Rowland, who generated impressive pace, and very often strong bounce and carry. So eager was Wall to get off strike that he nudged straight to me (sub-fielding at square leg) and took off for a single. Suicidal in some eyes… but Wall knew what he was doing and that I was a better chance of making a four-putt double bogey (rofl - fat chance!) than hitting with one stump to aim at. He giggled like a hyena as I duly missed with him halfway down the pitch. From the other end Ian Cudworth trundled up the hill and delivered at a slightly slower pace than Rowland. Stragalinos took a particularly liking to Cudworth’s medium-pacers, lofting him down the ground for maximums not once, nor twice, but thrice! After a rapid 44, Stragalinos slashed Rowland to gully and looked stunned to see a flying chance held by Justin Redfern. Blair Travis didn’t last long, bowled through the gate by Wright for one. When Wall was bowled for a typically stodgy 21, trying to pull a ball from Rowland that kept low, the Strollers had fallen to 96-3. For a man who swipes a majority of his runs to the leg side, it is surprisingly rare to see Wall pull. Note to self: test him with some chin music at pre-season nets next year. Rowan Smith and Sam Brodbeck came together to steady the ship in serene fashion, and the score climbed pleasingly. By the time Sam was out stumped for 65 (including a quite lovely lofted straight drive for six to bring up his half-century), they had added 161 – almost certainly a Strollers record for the fourth wicket against Concorde. I’m almost certain of that.* Rowan had also notched his maiden century for the Strollers – a sizeable primate to get off his back – finally removing himself from the ‘Best player not to make a Strollers ton’ conversation. What’s more, he’d done it using Wall’s bat! A toothpick-like instrument we’d all started to assume was all edges and no middle. Smith now having departed that particular purgatory, who does he leave behind in ‘the conversation’? Macaulay and Hodgson, naturally. Stubbs (Charlotte)? Mitch Alley? Nick Logan? Answers on a postcard. Sam’s departure was a real thorn in my side, as I was getting ready to declare and wanted to do so from the pavilion. With the help of the other Strollers on the sideline I had begun to draw up a shortlist of the most dramatic, cool and oozing-in-authority ways of calling the batsmen in. The strongest contenders were, in approximate order:
1. Climbing to the pavilion roof to simulate a balcony and nonchalantly calling them in whilst draped from the chimney – bonus points for optionality to remain up on the chimney beating my chest like King Kong;
2. Descending to both knees and supplicating – veritably supplicating – the batsmen to come in. Picture a tired fast bowler pleading for an lbw decision towards the end of a long and unrewarded spell;
3. Driving Wall’s Wallmobile out to the middle and offering the batsmen candy to get in the back of it with me.
All hypothetical in the end, as I had to declare anti-climactically from the non-striker’s end following an unbeaten partnership of eight for the sixth wicket between myself and Freddie Broster-Turley (almost certainly NOT a Strollers record against Concorde. I wouldn’t put the farm on it because I’m not completely certain. I am almost certain though). Way less cool, not even remotely nonchalant, and I was unable to incorporate any props or costume changes. THANKS A LOT, SAM! Broster-Turley and Steve Rogers were asked to make first use of the leathery red VKS, and also to observe a strict ‘two sandwich maximum’ at tea to keep them hungry and agile. Both started well, but in his second over Rogers escalated matters by twice inducing edges from the opposition batshumans. Blair Travis at slip, very wisely indeed I thought, opted to use his fingers and palms to make a gîte for the cricket ball on both occasions. Inspired by Blair’s excellent decision-making (his second catch was a real screamer), shortly thereafter I chose to let a lofted drive from Steve’s bowling hit me quite firmly in the sternum (while simultaneously wrapping my own cricket ball gîtes around it), and we had removed Concorde’s top three for the cost of just 16 runs and one bruised sternum. Broster-Turley (or ‘rederick, as he’s often known for short), was doing it tough in the sweltering ‘cricket conditions: A’ heat – especially as Rogers was bowling his overs so quickly ‘rederick never really got much of a rest. His Royal Highness the Princess of not just Salt, but equally of Pepper Rob Wall was also doing it tough, as Steve kept changing his mind about whether he wanted Wall at leg slip or at deep backward square leg. Even though Wall was wearing Puss’s cricket top (quite tight on him and causing him to bear more than a passing resemblance to Caroline Wozniacki in her new US Open body suit) and looking quite athletic, the guy is climbing Kilimanjaro in just under a week and he needs to be tapering and carb loading! Not getting sprint reps in!!! ‘Rederick’s spell of seven overs included four maidens and conceded only seven runs, although without reward in the wickets column. Coupled with his polished seven not out with the bat, quite a day for ‘rederick. Quite a day. Rogers finished his spell with two further top order incursions – catches to Smith at silly mid-on and Stragalinos behind the stumps – to bring up his first five-wicket bag for the Strollers. Heck of a performance. Could he have carried on and taken all ten? We’ll never know after I cruelly denied him the chance because I wanted to remind everyone who was boss after my wet blanket declaration. The old firm of Brodbeck Senior and Macaulay took over proceedings, and quickly showed their potency. When Brodbeck induced Wright to hit a catch to mid-off, six wickets had fallen (and all to catches). Before we could find out from Maggie whether that might be approaching some sort of record, Simon bowled Concorde’s No 8 and ruined everything. The hat-trick ball was hit aerially not too far from Wall at short leg, who was characteristically stodgy in his movement, enabling it to - alas - go to grass. Not even the arrival of draw-blocking-out specialist Cudworth could deny us – with Brodbeck finishing with the excellent figures of 5.3-2-5-4, and Macaulay the quite remarkable effort of five overs, four maidens, one wicket for six runs (and that included a wide). The eventual margin of victory of 215 runs flattered the Strollers slightly – an uncharacteristically excellent fielding and catching display helping our cause. Mark Fenn, dressed for the day as a caddy from Augusta, nearly missed the fun when he sat down after tea to settle in and watch us from the sideline. Fortunately he was able to be persuaded to join us in the middle, where he made second slip his own and backed up wayward throws with aplomb. A couple of nice cold beverages in the setting sun followed, courtesy of centurion Smith and Michellephant (if that’s not the accepted noun for someone who takes a Michelle consisting of the first five wickets to fall, all of them to catches, it clearly should be) Rogers. ‘Summer Sunday Activities: A’. Only three more chances to do it this season Strollers, including Marlow Park which (famously) has a ground rule that if you drop-kick a six over square leg your batting partner has to buy you an ice cream from the omnipresent truck on the other side of the park! Of course, Wall was unable to achieve this last year while batting with me, because he doesn’t have a drop-kick in his locker. Which really makes you wonder… how on earth does one score 90% of one’s runs on the leg side with neither a pull shot nor a drop-kick in one’s strokeplay gîte???!? Good luck to all those Strollers competing for runner-up to Best in Golf Show on Friday. *Editor’s note: Rowan and Sam put on 161 for the fourth wicket - a new record for the fourth wicket v Concorde [The previous best being 62 between Mike Pittams (46) and Blair Travis (33) on September 22, 2019].
It was just short of the previous fourth-wicket stand against all comers: 171 by James Timperley and Tom Wood v Chobham in 2010.
That itself was overtaken this season when 180 was compiled by a combination of Mike Pittams, Glen Oliver, Ben Mangham and Paige Copsey in a bizarre collection of retirements which took place against Broughton Gifford on June 24. Capt: Mike Pittams. Wkt: Nick Stragalinos
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Mike Pittams. The LeeSunday September 10 at The Lee Strollers won by 184 runs Strollers 321-5
(40 overs; Selby 111 ret, Pittams 71, Travis 37, James Stubbs 29, Daly 26, Wood 19no, Rogers 14no)
The Lee 137
(28 overs; Mangham 3-19, Wood 2-6, Rogers 2-15, Dela Rue 2-35, James Stubbs 1-8) For full scorecard and ball-by-ball details please see the link below. Batsmens’ wagon wheels are included in the “statistics” section which raises the question: were those leg glances and late cuts Mr Selby? Or just nicks through slips and inside edges squirted through your legs down to fine leg? https://thelee.play-cricket.com/website/results/5854779 The Strollers gathered in a relatively timely fashion at The Lee - after the toss but thankfully before the match started. With a blisteringly hot forecast and correct call of the coin flip, the easy decision to bat first meant Mike Pittams and George Love headed out to the middle to get us under way. Against a Lee team leaning heavily into their youth policy, Love fell early attempting to flay one over mid-off. This brought Selby to the crease, who promptly laced his first ball through extra cover for four. Pittams also got stuck into any loose balls, hitting a couple of medium sized sixes square of the wicket. It should be noted that though reaching the boundary for six, they definitely were not big enough to hit the clock on the pavilion roof. Perhaps some more work in the weight room is required. A double change in the bowling did little to stem the flow of runs as both Ed Boakes and York Woodford-Smith continued to bleed runs and the scoreboard raced to 122 inside 15 overs. Eventually Pittams fell against the run of play, nicking behind for a rapid 71 off 47 balls. Selby was joined at the crease by Mike Daly – it was a welcome sight to see him donning the Strollers uniform for the first time this season. Daly looked like he had been netting in anticipation and was right at home supporting the eight-an-over run-rate with Selby. Selby continued to dominate the attack, and the partnership was only ended after 70 runs after a nick behind saw Daly back in the pavilion for 26. Shortly thereafter Selby bought up his richly deserved century with four consecutive boundaries and retired for 111 not out off just 75 balls. A brief interruption from some unforecasted heavy rain lead to the covers being called into action and an early tea taken after 34 overs. Thankfully no time was lost so the second session began with a six-over hit-out to end the Strollers innings. A succession of cameos from James Stubbs, Blair Travis, Peter Wood and Steve Rogers all hitting some boundaries brought about a daunting score of 321-5 off our 40 overs. James Dela Rue and Ben Mangham opened up the attack and gave us a perfect start – both picking up a wicket in their first over. Dela Rue opted for the classic one-two Strollers combo of a filthy wide full toss driven away for four followed up by a pearler to entice a nick through to Travis at slip. Mangham was more circumspect to earn his wicket - nibbling away from a straight line and producing a plumb lbw. Sam Harris then came to the crease and decided the only way to victory was to attack – promptly hitting three huge sixes including one into the clock face on the pavilion roof. Thirty-two of his 34 runs came in boundaries before he finally fell to Dela Rue in the seventh over attempting one hit too many. That set off a collapse of 5-23 as Mangham picked up two further wickets (bowled) and Wood replaced Dela Rue to also pick up two dismissals in the same fashion. Richie Stubbs was unlucky not to add to this as a couple of chances were put down off of his bowling. Woodford-Smith and Daniel Boakes finally steadied the ship but could not keep up with the run-rate, grinding away for nearly ten overs to frustrate the Strollers attempt at inducing an early finish (and allow watching of the Scotland vs South Africa rugby on TV in the pavilion. Alas a Scottish upset was not on the cards to ease the pain of NZ’s loss earlier in the weekend). Eventually Rogers trapped Boakes for 13 and grabbed a second wicket for his troubles, and James Stubbs finished off the match in his first over. The Lee were all out for 137 to hand a 184-run victory to the Strollers. By then the sun had returned and a few bitters were enjoyed (thanks Aidan) in the early evening…and we even managed to see some of the rugby. Capt: Peter Wood. Wkt: George Love.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck. Match report: Peter Wood. Marlow ParkSunday September 17 in Marlow Match abandoned Marlow Park 85-3
(19 overs; Rogers 2-13, Broster-Turley 1-25) This game lasted just 19 overs of Marlow Park's innings, and then the rain set in. This simple yet crucial fact explains why not only was the game short, but this match report is even shorter. After a negotiated toss from captain Blair Travis, Marlow Park's openers put on a stand of 51 that, but for a half-chance at second slip off James Dela Rue's opening spell, was pretty much a display of high technique heavy hitting. Freddie Broster-Turley snared the first wicket to send back Muston, their dangerous opener, for just 17 with a sharp caught behind by George Love. On the basis he had scored the bulk of the runs last year the Strollers sensed we had a chance to turn the game. Which we did. Just six runs later Steve Rogers' second delivery had the other opener, the impressive cover-driving young Vaughan Van Der Linde, trapped lbw on the back leg attempting a heave over midwicket. At this point the Strollers had them 57-2. The new batting pair didn't settle in to scoring as much as their predecessors, and apart from the odd four or six to the shorter boundary, we generally had the better of things. Then Rogers struck again with a fuller delivery that took out Peter Stephens’ middle stump. At this point, 69-3 off about 15 overs, the Strollers were very much leading the game. Rogers had one end tied up and some accurate and testing bowling from Ben Mangham down the other end was keeping us all happy. However the weather gods had their say. Drizzle turned to light rain and we eventually left the field with Marlow Park on 85-3 and just short of halfway through their 40 overs. The irony was that the wicket was still holding up quite well and the rain wasn't too bad. It just needed to pass over. But the elements failed to oblige, the downpour set in even heavier and that was that. On the basis we would have perhaps restricted them to something around 200 this would have been a target the Strollers would have chased eagerly, especially with what looked like a very deep batting line-up. The disappointment of ending the day's play was somewhat eased as Marlow Park put on a lovely South African bbq afternoon tea. The bar stocked beer which I'm told was hard to find in London but easy to drink whatever it was. Marlow Park's strong South African contingent were happy too, their rugby team dealing with Romania 76-0 in a pretty one-sided World Cup game we all watched in their splendid clubhouse. Following the end of that match, everyone dispersed to spend the rest of the afternoon watching more World Cup rugby in homes and pubs closer to London. Thank you to Marlow Park for a short but pleasant day of cricket and your fantastic after-match hospitality. Let's hope we get a full day's play next year. Capt: Blair Travis. Wkt: George Love.
Match fees: SJim Hodgson. Match report: Justin Fredrickson. Pinkneys GreenSunday September 24 at Pinkneys Green Strollers lost by 96 runs Pinkneys Green 269-8
(40 overs; Brodbeck 2-11, Mangham 1-25, Dorrans 1-36, Wall 1-39)
Strollers 173
(35.3 overs; Skinner 50, Fredrickson 46, Rogers 32) As is traditional, the season was wrapped up against our friends at Pinkneys Green. There was autumn – and sadness – in the air. Pinkneys were marking the death at 85 of club stalwart Dudley Jinman in New Zealand. As his son Steve wrote: Dudley joined the club in 1961, being appointed club secretary, a post he held for forty years. He was one of a group of volunteers determined to revive the club after it virtually folded under the financial pressure of rebuilding the pavilion. He would often reminisce that when he arrived at the Green there was no running water, let alone electricity.
An opening right hand bat and occasional wicket keeper, he was half of a formidable partnership at the top of the Pinkneys order alongside Len Timms. Thousands of runs came from his bat.
As well as secretary, Dudley also stepped in as fixture secretary occasionally and captained teams throughout his time at the club. His favourite duty was to look after the square, initially learning from Joby Rolls and then in turn passing his knowledge onto Paul Savage. The gradual improvement of the pitch was something in which he took great pride… But Paul “Ginger” Savage had taken his leave too. A familiar figure to the visiting Strollers in his role of groundsman, Paul died of cancer in May: He remained devoted to the club year after year, working countless hours on the playing field come rain or shine, often popping up to the Green on his bike several times a day to ensure everything was in order. A minute’s silence was observed before skipper Rob Wall duly lost the toss and we were in the field. Neale Mulholland and Ben Mangham opened the bowling, both keeping it neat and tidy. Neale’s shoes offered no grip…which became the theme of the day as the Strollers struggled to hold their catches. Until Alastair Macaulay showed how catching should be done to dismiss Khush Chamdal for 29. But opener Ben Purchese thundered along and was now joined by No 4 Will Heyes. Richard Skinner tipped one blazing shot over the boundary for six while Wall, fresh from his conquest of Mount Kilimanjaro, bowled a tidy spell, but was let down by those dropped chances. Macaulay and Steve Rogers had good spells before Skinner came on for his bowling debut. The three picked up the over-rate, without doing too much to slow the run-rate. Together Purchese and Heyes put on 133 before Purchese thankfully retired on 101. Wall bowled one delivery to the handy tailender who charged. Justin Fredrickson fumbled the stumping and it popped out to square leg. The batsman saw an opportunity that was not there and duly ran out his teammate. Heyes (63) was bowled by Wall but the damage had now been done. Simon Brodbeck came on to bowl two overs – with the intention of retaining his title of No 1 Strollers wicket-taker – and succeeded in taking two wickets and inducing another run-out. The Strollers’ inglorious display in the field was epitomised by the final ball of the innings. It was village cricket at its most inept. Brodbeck bowled to the new batsman, who slogged it to Mulholland at long-off; he hurled it back over Simon at the bowler’s end; it was collected by Wall, who backflicked at Simon’s head. It bounced from his bonce as the batsmen ran a fourth – from just one delivery. As Ben Mangam succinctly put it: “All that was missing from the circus performance was the unicycle.” George Love declared it “the most bizarre game I have ever played” while the watching Glen Oliver – forced to stay on the sidelines with his broken hand – deemed it Strolleresque. More Monty Pythonesque perhaps. So, with roughly 10 chances spurned by the Strollers the 40 overs thankfully came to an end with Pinkneys chalking up a formidable 269-8. A little too many perhaps. And so it proved. Fredrickson (46) led the brave charge despite at one point making cricket history by leaving the field, discarding his pads and going off to “change his tights”. And returning with a plentiful supply of paracetamol to soothe his damaged hamstring. He then played on to add to the list of bizarre happenings. Rogers clonked 32 before “Axebanger” Skinner – the only man to merge from proceedings with any credit – blasted his way to 50 to record his Strollers best. But it was not enough. Mulhollland fell to a run-out to add to the long list of unfortunate occurrences while Macaulay defiantly played his shots before being the last man out. A 96-run defeat was soon forgotten as the beers were taken in front of the clubhouse while the autumnal shadows lengthened across the Green. Our hosts were as hospitable as ever as we said a long goodbye to the 2023 season… Capt: Rob Wall. Wkt: George Love/Justin Fredrickson.
Match fees: Simon Brodbeck.
Match report: Richard Skinner and Simon Brodbeck. Goodbye to all thatThe 2023 season began in the now customary way with the Strollers Exiles doing battle in the Land of the Long White Cloud under the guiding hand of supremo Piers Ovenden. Game one – against Bottom Paddock - went smoothly thanks to Justin Fredrickson, resplendent in headband and with his Shane Bond impersonations, who took three quick wickets to help wrap things up. Game Two went the same way after laying the foundations with victory in the bar (a venue where Strollers have reigned supreme over the years with Peter Patston usually leading the way): The Strollers happily entered a team for the VUWCC quiz on the Saturday night at the club sponsor’s bar in town, and came first in a crowded field – despite dropping a point early on after a passionate debate (also known in the Wellington public sector as a robust discussion about performance and accountability, with clear consequences for failure to deliver on key KPIs) about the year the movie ‘Airplane’ was released in New Zealand. The prizes included a bar tab - happily shared with friendly opponents-to-be, catching up with those of us with overlapping club loyalties – and $200 worth of vouchers to be put towards some form of cricket equipment. Victoria University of Wellington Old Lions were pipped by 10 runs as Ovenden’s men set the tone for the UK campaign. That began on April 30 – after the scheduled opening fixture against Great Missenden Pelicans fell foul of the weather – against Royal Ascot. Victory by 15 runs got things off to a great start, but the notable events of the day were George Calvocoressi’s remarkable packed lunch – which resembled a Harrods hamper of gourmet delights – and a welcome back to a Strollers giant: It was a great pleasure to see Dennis Cave amongst the spectators. Dennis, a Central Lancashire League veteran, played for the Strollers from 1999 to 2012, taking 200 wickets at a miserly average of 18.67 before finally hanging up his boots after a lifetime of cricket. He came to support son-in-law Mike Shattock and grandson Josh. To see him striding round the ground was a delight and a reminder of what a fierce competitor he was…and is. To Coleshill where the ageing Simon Brodbeck somehow contrived to take 4-12 and the Strollers somehow contrived to fail to chase 137 for victory. After 12 overs they were 10-4 and never recovered. The precise details of what happened are shrouded in mystery as correspondent Rob Wall (“I’ve done a rap version video but haven’t actually filed the piece yet”) failed to produce his match report. An anonymous donor (presumably tired of waiting) eventually posted a description of proceedings on September 23. …………………………………………………………………………………… On May 7 came the shattering news that Nick Daly had died at the age of 30. Nick and brother Mike have been an important part of the side in recent years and Nick’s exuberance and high spirits enlivened many a post-match celebration. Now, to the bemusement of everyone, he was gone. As Lily read in her funeral tribute: So, talk about the good times and the way you showed you cared,
the days you spent together, all the happiness you shared.
Let memories surround you, a word someone may say
will suddenly recapture a time, an hour or a day,
that brings him back as clearly as though he were still here,
and fills you with the feeling that he is always near. After the service hundreds of his friends – from Sunday football, West Ham circles, work colleagues and many Strollers cricketers in their ceremonial blazers – assembled in the afternoon sunshine at the West Herts Golf Club in Croxley Green to toast a lost boy full of laughter… ………………………………………………………………………………… At Winchmore Hill – a new and delightful fixture – Rob Wall’s 92 not out led the way to victory but the hard part was getting there: Ben Mangham’s clear as mud instructions to the team resulted in three key Strollers getting lost before the game commenced. New technology was proposed by the match manager in an app called What3Words, a location-based application with its sole purpose of dividing the world into 3m squares with each square given a unique combination of, well, three words. Unfortunately for three of the Strollers these words ended up being “we are lost”. After numerous attempts of dodgy backroad navigating and nearly breaking Glen Oliver’s Mercedes (ooooh Mercedes) all players were eventually accounted for… Our old friends the Bricklayers were pipped as the midweek campaign got under way on May 25, thanks to a little assistance from the side’s baseball star: Freddie Broster-Turley completed a marvellous duck, which brought Nick Saari to the crease. This is where the story gets interesting. A man from across the Atlantic stepping up with what could only be classed as a baseball/golf swing hybrid. At this stage we still needed around 40 runs to win with what looked like no hope of completing this almighty run chase. Cometh the man of the hour, who simply battered the bowling attack around the park. Many wondered was Ben Stokes at Trent Bridge reborn into the Strollers Thursday line-up? Tight finishes were becoming a regular thing. Newly married Blair Travis hit 127 not out at Roehampton where 227 was only just enough for us to win by 10 runs. The occasion also featured the reappearance on the field of chairman Kimball Bailey: In at No 6 came chairman Bailey (his last innings being a score of one not out v Jordan Taverners in 2016). His first ball was kept out initially but then rolled onto the stumps, but failed to dislodge the timbers, much to the dismay of the bowler and befuddlement of Bailey. This resulted in batsmen seven and eight accelerating their batting preparations. But what followed over the next 12 overs was nothing short of miraculous. They say that form is temporary, but class is permanent… Bailey kept out Zain Latif who bowled eight probing overs on the bounce. Standing taller as the partnership evolved, Kimball’s defence was solid and very effective. By now No 7 and No 8 had sat back down and were tucking into their packed lunches. The Strollers dug-out erupted as ‘Kimbers’ scythed Harris for two consecutive fours, bringing him into double figures, a feat last achieved in 2010 v Aston Rowant. This vital partnership of 59 came to end as chairman Bailey was bowled for 10. The next midweek engagement was Tilburg Regents in Dulwich. But the trickiest part of the encounter was gaining entrance to the ground. As match reporter Mike Pittams tells it: Faced with a classic prisoner’s dilemma (not THE classic prisoner’s dilemma, but A classic dilemma that DOES regularly confront prisoners: how to not be restrained by pesky walls), which by the by is the exact same dilemma Sarah Porter wakes up to each and every morning, I did what any sane human would do: walked the length of the wall several times, kicking it at intervals to test its structural integrity. Am I a mason or an engineer? No, not strictly speaking. But I flatter myself I can identify a vulnerability in a wall when pressed, thank you very much! Just as I was planning to fashion a rudimentary vaulting horse out of driftwood (like nearby Brockwell Park, Dulwich Park contains surprisingly bounteous quantities of driftwood), under which to dig a surreptitious tunnel, two other chaps dressed in cricket kit turned up. In the best spirit of co-operation we provided each other helping hands, shoulders and words of encouragement to clear the pestilential wall before us. As one by one we clambered, balanced, and prepared to leap to freedom, I found myself overcome by the poignancy and symbolism of the moment. With one leap, I could leave behind the dreariness of a day in the office and enter some sort of South London-based evening cricket Narnia. As I vaulted (thrusting my pelvis forward to avoid ripping my trou on one of the spikes), I roared aloud! Picture Andy DuFresne in the sewery rain in Shawshank Redemption. But I also felt inspired. If I could escape my horrid horrid White Whale, so too could Sarah Porter! Obviously the reader will have realised that the horrid horrid White Whale is a metaphor for the pestilential Wall in this context, which in turn refers to Rob 'the salt and pepper Princess' Wall. Having found the ground, we lost. At Bray Aidan Selby’s fine 115 set up a winning total before Bazball came to the midweek game against Commons Old Boys: Captain Rob Wall, showing his support of Pride Month by looking resplendent in a rainbow headband, won the toss and opted for a bowl. Those Strollers who have served under the captaincy of Wall previously will know that he is often far from conventional, confusing the opposition with bowling choices and inventing fielding positions that even a ‘Bazball’ thinktank are yet to have thought up. Today was no different, with the unlikely pair of Mike Pittams and Pete Robertson entrusted with the new ball. Pittams, claiming not to have bowled a ball in anger in four years, was given an attacking field by his skipper. Two short covers, a favourite of Wall, a ‘wide and slightly deep’ gully, nobody saving the boundary. Before the first ball is sent down, Pittams turns and asks the match reporter to be kind, clearly feeling rusty and expecting the worst. A few strides, he’s at the crease, and at the moment of release the bowler seems to experience a release of his own, such was the cry of effort and anguish put into the opening ball. And what a ball it was. Quick, back of a length, rising on the batsman. Think a prime 2005 Steve Harmison, or for our Kiwi contingent, a moustached Shane Bond. Frankly, the batsman had no chance, the edge was found and Wall’s unconventional gully was left a simple catch. It would appear that the new batsman in was a Mr. Extras, and my did they profit from Pittams’ remaining spell. Buoyed by his opening magnificence, Pittams decided to test the fielder at fine leg… In the Strollers’ longest-standing fixture we were outclassed at West Chiltington. Sam Brodbeck came up from Brighton for his first appearance of the season while the bowling of Glen Oliver and Rowan Smith nearly pulled the game back for the visitors. On to Hurley where Oliver’s patient 41 not out guided his side home with the post-match samosas, curry and onion bhajis being the high spot of the day. The midweek Dodgers game had to be abandoned as a 30-minute thunderstorm washed away any chance of further play.……………………………………………………………………………. In traditional fashion the Strollers attended at Patston Towers in Bath on the Friday night before the Cotswolds tour. Appetites were roused by a gardening starter: The evening began with a small request from Maggie that involved light garden clearance - removing the weeds from the patio and clearing out the brambles from the fence. The latter to prevent a recurrence of Jim's early morning tumble into them last year. Thus Mike, Rob, Stephanie, Sarah, Alastair, Jim, Jo, Ben and Paige set to work with gusto, donning the gloves, wielding hoes, rakes, strimmer and secateurs. After an hour's work the patio was clean and the fence clear of brambles. Beers and Cremant de Loire were well earned in the evening sun. The Olivers turned up suspiciously just in time to miss any manual labour but just in time for drinks. Maggie provided an excellent spread as usual - two starters, two mains (inc Italian lamb casserole) and two desserts! Plus a half case of red brought back from her recent trip to Brittany. With stomachs replete with Patston hospitality and fine red wine, the squad moved on to Broughton Gifford (where Laurie Allsopp’s father Duncan played for many years). The sun blazed high in the sky, the ducks inspected the changing rooms and Pittams and Oliver (with 100 and 103 retired respectively) feasted on a banquet of runs. History was controversially made in the fourth-wicket “stand” of 180. In slightly odd circumstances (due to retirements), Paige Copsey’s dismissal saw the stand of 180 eclipse the previous fourth-wicket record of 171 between James Timperley and Tom Wood v Chobham in 2010. Any grievances on this point should be directed in the opposite direction of your match reporter, who shall simply congratulate Pittams, Oliver, Mangham & Copsey on their new “record” partnership. For any clarification required on this matter, Maggie Patston has the information at hand. Madame President was approached for her adjudication and she ruled thus: The local rule, advised by the opposition at the toss, was that a batsman had to retire, not out, on reaching 100. The third wicket fell at 1.38 pm leaving the opener Mike Pittams on 48*. The score was 93. He was joined at the crease by Glen Oliver. At 2.15 pm Mike hit a single to reach 100* and so had to retire. The score was 192 and Glen was on 44*. Ben Mangham joined Glen and they hit a brisk 71 but Ben sustained an injury and retired hurt, not out, on 22. Glen was on 90*. The time was 2.50 pm. Paige Copsey then came to the crease and was out eight minutes later, trapped lbw for three. The total was 273 and Glen was on 97*. So the partnership total was 180 (Pittams, Oliver, Mangham, Copsey). I hope that’s all clear now! On the next day to Cricklade where Ben Mangham’s obdurate 46 laid the foundation for a tight win in a thoroughly enjoyable and competitive game. Match reporter Pittams, as is his wont, pointed again at the hapless Wall: In the case of Wall it was quite a lot more surprising to see him bowling so well, given his reports of barely being able to throw, let alone bowl, so large have his triceps grown (from the surfeit of Kilimanjaro training he is absolutely doing – not just talking about – definitely doing) in recent times. It was his ever-growing belly, however, (not his triceps) that assisted The Lord to make the Strollers’ first breakthrough – a sharp catch absorbed by Wall into his mid-abdomen area (accompanied by a noise akin to a sack of finely milled flour being dropped on the ground from the top of a three-storey grain mill, followed by a second sound, this one more akin to a drain unblocking) at gully off the bowling of The Lord. Although it took us an hour to bowl the final ten overs as our social Sunday cricket match veered, for reasons that make no sense to this reporter, towards world cup final levels of (apparent) importance, the eventual refreshments in the setting sun on Cricklade’s balcony were almost worth the 400+ field changes per over. I have only magical memories and experiences of the Cricklade balcony in the setting sun and am convinced there is no better place to be on Sunday evenings in late June. Victory accomplished and the seal was set on a splendid tour:………………………………………………………………………………. On to Pinkneys Green, with the Demijohns in opposition. Rob Wall somehow ended up in the opposition ranks and treacherously helped to engineer a Strollers defeat: The Demijohns could only muster nine players so Glen generously offered them one of our own to even the teams up. Rob Wall volunteered, relishing the opportunity to challenge the Strollers with bat and ball. Why he chose to have a feather tucked into his trousers for the whole match must remain a mystery. Maybe he was hoping that one of the circling red kites above us would swoop down and adopt him as their own. Westminster were outvoted in the next midweek fixture before we were pipped by Peppard. How could we fall six runs short of victory with only five wickets down? Reporter Glen Oliver had no hesitation in pointing the finger: Wall, fatigued after having kept for 35 overs, embodied the “spirit of cricket” by ensuring the fielders didn’t share that fatigue – by middling nearly everything he faced directly to one of them. It happened so regularly that your humble correspondent started to run out of ways to describe the state of affairs. Fortunately, the collaborative nature of the match reporting process means that contributions from far and wide are both sought and accepted. An unnamed contributor (let’s just call him “M.P.”) wryly observed that “Wall was batting so slowly we suspected he may have been confused and under the impression he was playing for the opposition, like the week previous”. Wall’s ability to middle the ball eventually came in handy, when (in shades of the 2019 World Cup final) he scored a five from a fortunate deflection off the bat. So Peter Wood’s 94 proved all in vain on a day when evergreen John Low marked a significant milestone: The thunderstorms having stayed away, a presentation was made to Low to mark his milestone. He apologised for taking 45 years to reach 200 appearances and promised to reach his next 200 much faster. Long may he continue to turn out. The midweekers suffered a rare defeat at the hands of Agricola before rain scuppered things at Prestcold. With Glen Oliver on 55 not out and requiring 72 for victory off 13 overs, the target was still just within reach. But we will never know… A win over the Foreign and Commonwealth Office completed the midweek campaign. Then to Tadworth where the Stubbs family show took centre stage. Runs from James, sixes and a wicket from Charlotte and an impressive 3-28 from dad Richie proved decisive. Mike Pittams (retired hurt on 103) gave some assistance.………………………………………………………………………………... Rob Wall’s French armada then set sail to conquer Brittany…and the first stop at Nantes ended in the glow of victory and red wine. Match reporter Alastair Macaulay saw Aidan Selby, that well-known Francophile, reprise his spectacular efforts of 2019: Only six were required off the last over to win. But the main bowlers were bowled out, so who could skipper James Dela Rue turn to? Four years ago on this very ground Selby had taken three wickets in an over. It's worth revisiting Brian Taylor’s report of 2019 for younger readers: “Step forward Aidan Selby, well respected by his peers, to bowl possibly the first ten-ball over in Strollers history, and to give a foretaste of what will happen when the “100” is introduced next year, with its ten-ball sets. An over of infinite variety followed: no ball, wide, wicket, one, no ball, wide, dot, wicket, dot, wicket: 1-0-5-3. Mere words cannot undervalue the enormity of Aidan's achievement; suffice to say that the direction of the game was irredeemably altered by this one over.” You may well quibble about "much respected by his peers" but nonetheless in 2023 Aidan stepped up to bowl the last over with one wicket needed for victory. This time it went dot, dot, dot, hit pads, huge appeal. The home umpire very sportingly raised the finger and so the Strollers squeezed home. The fielding had been good, all the catches were taken and particular praise is due for Stephanie Smith and Sarah Porter in the outfield. The French caravan moved on to Des Ormes where it came up against Madu Bala, often the Strollers’ nemesis. And he stepped forward again with a blistering century which left our brave troops struggling in his wake. But the main talking point was the phoenix-like re-emergence of Brian Taylor. Match reporter Blair Travis recalled: The opening partnership put on 33 before Travis was bowled for 12 in the seventh over. This brought Strollers stalwart Taylor to the crease. Taylor, a very elegant and graceful left-handed batsman, was cajoled out of 12 months of retirement especially for the Brittany Tour. Taylor played a couple deft late cuts, each for a single, but was out shortly thereafter. Somewhat pleased to be back spectating he could be heard murmuring a while later: “I enjoyed that. I shall never retire, NEVER”. We sure hope we’ll see Taylor back in a Strollers XI in 2024. The tour signed off with a valediction on the keyboard by Dela (“Russ Conway”) Rue: The tour party departed for an overnight stay at the Ibis in Saint Malo and had a lovely meal at Le Bouche à Oreille where fine wine and cidre Breton brut flowed merrily. Conversation also flowed. Maggie Patston educated more than a few on the danger of playing shove ha’penny with Peter Patston. Broster-Turley explained a cricket pitch is equal to a chain in length. Needless to say the tour party were last to leave the restaurant, and a select few managed to locate the last open bar on a Sunday evening in Saint Malo where the team befriended Igor (a Manchester United supporter), who kept the bar open whilst Dela Rue enthralled the group with a piano solo of ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles. All in all, a memorable end to the Brittany Tour. Au Revoir!
………………………………………………………………………………… What is the most sought-after item for the switched-on thief? Not Cartier watches but…the Strollers scorebook it would seem. Rob Wall and Sarah Porter returned from the Brittany tour at 1am and parked their car in law-abiding Putney. When Rob returned the next morning the front window had been smashed in and the precious scoring bag stolen. Cases of vintage wine, cricket equipment, Wall’s Savile Row suits and Sarah’s evening gowns went untouched by the discerning thief. Disaster! How could the panic-stricken Wall break the news to Simon after being told to guard the bag with his life? Would someone have to contact all our opponents and painstakingly reconstruct the scorebook pages for the 2023 matches already played? But a Good Samaritan came to the rescue. The bag was dumped on some waste ground in nearby Wandsworth and a wonderful lady called Anna rang the mobile number inscribed on the opening page of the scorebook. And so the book was soon back in Wall’s safekeeping. Sighs of relief. ………………………………………………………………………………… On to Bledlow and the passing trains where the Strollers contrived to lose by one wicket. But the most remarkable aspect of the game was that skipper Rob Wall elected to select himself as the match reporter – despite the gasping public still waiting for his Jordans match report from May 14. At the time of writing (September 8), Wall was somewhere on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro - perhaps searching for a mountaintop place of solitude where he might compose his account of the events at Jordans and Bledlow. Eventually an anonoymous donor delivered an account of events against Jordans Taverners but when this seasonal round-up was published to the world on October 2, there was still no record of what had occurred at Bledow. The record shows we lost by one wicket but until a certain Mr Wob Rall files, no other details are forthcoming.* ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Glen Oliver was ruled out for the season when, in a tough-tackling clash with young Rhys Selby, he broke a bone in his hand. A Strolleresque way of injuring yourself. Derek Pringle, of course, once had to withdraw from a Test match after hurting himself writing a letter. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… On to Valley End’s splendid new ground… The format was agreed to be a 77-over match, with a maximum of 40 to be batted by the side batting first if required leaving 37 overs to the chasing team -- thus making all three results possible. Each team also had a Joker card to play, with the Strollers playing theirs very early on – Mark Fenn finding himself still in Devon 30 minutes before play was due to start and mutually agreeing with skipper Alastair Macaulay that he would remain so and we would soldier on with 10. Macaulay, continuing in his decisive mood, won the toss and chose to bat. Simon Brodbeck’s new trendy trainers were the main topic of conversation but Peter Wood’s 89 set VE a target of 217 for victory. In a nerve-shredding finale they fell just five runs short with a wicket in hand. An honourable draw – an unusual result for the Strollers these days. Down to Ripley and Ashley Giles’s old club. There Mitch Alley’s 61 (his maiden Strollers 50) led the charge for victory. It was a fitting last act for Alley, who sets sail back to New Zealand after a long and distinguished stint in Strollers colours.………………………………………………………………………………... Then it was Three Counties Tour time…but with one big difference. The sad news came that Sutton-on-the-Hill Cricket Club had folded. Lack of players meant that they had given up the battle to survive – after 128 years. Their beautiful ground, with the undulating outfield in the shadow of Charles Buckston’s Sutton Hall, has a long history: Sutton-on-the-Hill is a rural village located eight miles to the west of Derby. Since the start of the 1900s the cricket club has had its small but picturesque ground behind Sutton Hall, residence of the Buckston family since the 1830s. The ground itself is small by modern standards and is characterised by the gently undulating outfield on one side, evidence of the ridge and furrow farming methods used on the field in medieval times. This has caught many a fielder out over the years! The current square is believed to have been laid between the wars. Between 1905 and 1939 two members of the Buckston family played for Derbyshire County Cricket Club. George Buckston played for the county between 1905 and 1921 and captained the side in his final season. His son, Robin Buckston, also played first-class cricket for the county and was captain for three seasons in the 1930s. He later became chairman of Derbyshire CCC between 1960 and 1966. The family link with Sutton-on-the-Hill CC continues to this day. Robin’s son, Charles, played for the club up until the mid-1990s and now serves as President. The club reformed in 1956 and the wooden pavilion still in use by the club today was acquired from Longford Hall. In the early years the club played occasional friendly matches against local sides. Older members of the club recall that low scores were common, depending on whether the outfield had been cut or not! Back then many of the playing members were farmers and the batting order was often determined based on which players had to leave early to go milking! Their wonderful ground – top of my list of favourite Strollers places to visit – now stands silent. Tom Wood famously took 8-35 there on 30.08.2009. Club statistician and Madame President, Maggie Patston, recalls: I remember Tom’s spell there so well. He was bowling from the far end and six of the dismissals were clean bowled. I had a perfect view of the stumps being splattered each time. Tom Salvesen took 7-31 there in 2006; Jim Hodgson 7-57 in 2012; Ben Mangham 6-35 in 1994 and Simon Brodbeck 6-45 in 2002. Brian Taylor (95) and Terry Scragg (124) put on a towering 205 for the second wicket there in 1995. Simon Brodbeck took a slip catch there and a steepler off Peter Patston. John Spalton, Steve Taylor, Martyn Dolman, John Brown, Nigel Harding, Bryan Land Senior and Bryan Land Junior all faced us over the years. The sun always shines at Sutton, the wicket is a baked road of concrete and you can look over the gate and see the shadows of the years… So 2023 was a two-game tour. The rain held off at Wall where the high spot, as always, was Rae-Anne’s sumptuous tea: a bewildering mix of sandwiches, cakes and exotic delicacies. The Strollers batting failed to match such high standards unfortunately, and Wall strolled to a comfortable victory. At Stanton the following day it was a similar tale of batting ineptitude. Skipper Blair Travis failed to score enough runs: he could only muster 88 out of 168 all out. Without his masterly contribution, it is true, we would have been a sorry sight. At one point an SOS had to be issued: Such was the rapid descent into the batting order that an SOS was sent for Jim Hodgson batting at No 8, who thought he might get away with a short walk through the village. “Jim you need to come back…” read the message, short on detail but following Saturday’s meagre batting total, Jim was under no illusion what the summons meant. Blair gave us a competitive total and Stanton went out to bat. A special mention to Brian Taylor, who was appearing in his first match for Stanton-by-Dale this season after "retiring" last year following more than 50 years of playing service to the club. Two Brittany tour appearances for the Strollers in late July had perhaps convinced Brian that maybe semi-retirement might be a better fit for the time being. Stanton were reduced to 66-6 but young Oliver Morley took over and with an imperious 84 not out swept Stanton to victory. Again the tea took the honours, with Tricia, Steph and Emma producing a hot and cold banquet. The rain stayed away to make it a friendly and hospitable engagement in the long-standing meeting of the two sides. …………………………………………………………………………………. Back in action against Concorde on the lovely Send ground, Rowan Smith posted his first Strollers century (108) and with Sam Brodbeck (65)… …they steadied the ship in serene fashion, and the score climbed pleasingly. By the time Sam was out stumped for 65 (including a quite lovely lofted straight drive for six to bring up his half-century), they had added 161 – almost certainly a Strollers record for the fourth wicket against Concorde. [Rowan and Sam fell just short of the new fourth-wicket club record of 180 against all-comers set against Broughton Gifford earlier in the season] Nick Stragalinos, late of Melbourne, Australia, hit 44 on his debut while Rowan and Sam took us to a healthy 269-5 declared. Steve Rogers found plenty of bounce to record his first Strollers five-fer [7-2-26-5] while Simon Brodbeck, in defiance of old age and gravity, took four wickets [5.3-2-5-4]. Victory by 215 runs came on a glorious summer’s evening. To The Lee where the Strollers posted their sixth-highest-ever total of 321 in 40 overs. Aidan Selby’s 111 not out and Mike Pittams with 71 led the way. There was a welcome return for Mike Daly, who showed he had not forgotten what to do with the bat by stroking a delightful 26. George Love appeared in what seemed to be a resplendent bandana. On closer inspection it turned out to be a baseball cap worn (horror of horrors) the wrong way round. The MCC were called in to take disciplinary action. The Lee fell to 137 all out on the most delightful of grounds where the tea and the sunshine delivered the goods. At Marlow Park the heavens opened to bring the game to an early conclusion and the circus moved on to Pinkneys Green.……………………………………………………………………………….. A big top would have been the appropriate setting for a display which mixed the bizarre with the totally inept. Match reporter Richard Skinner observed: As Ben Mangam succinctly put it: “All that was missing from the circus performance was the unicycle.” George Love declared it “the most bizarre game I have ever played” while the watching Glen Oliver – forced to stay on the sidelines with his broken hand – deemed it Strolleresque. More Monty Pythonesque perhaps. Some ten chances were spurned as PG clocked up a massive 269-8. Off the final ball of the innings the batsmen ran four – from a delivery which was originally hit just 20 yards. The task proved too much for our brave boys despite “Axebanger” Richard Skinner proudly claiming his first fifty for the club.
………………………………………………………………………….. And so stumps were drawn on a long and winding season that had sadness and sunshine along the way. Your correspondent’s 2022 dire predictions of a player crisis proved unfounded. New faces appeared and there were noticeably less “CRISIS! CRISIS!” emails. We won and we lost. We caught trains to little-known stations round the M25. We drank pints of strong orange squash as the light faded on far-off fields. Let’s do it all again next April… *The missing match report from Bledlow was eventually filed on October 2...some hours after the official deadline. Suffice to say, it contained a wealth of information. Including news of a flying bail wreaking havoc with Rob Wall's complexion and a narrow defeat which battered skipper RW declared was the first under his leadership. For full grisly details look back to Match Reports/Bledlow... Any corrections and additions to reporter Simon Brodbeck
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