Reapers End of Season Report 2019
An enjoyable and successful season will be the memories from 2019, a playing record of :
Played 14 won 9 tied 1 lost 3 and one game abandoned with eight overs to go paints the picture.
Two matches were cancelled, Jesters on 14th July, when it was mutually agreed owing to England’s participation in the World Cup final. Funnily enough the previous year it coincided with the Football World Cup final. I have a feeling next year it clashes with the European Football Championship final ! Pity The Jesters are one of our better opponents. Chelsea Nomads was a late cancellation on 11th August, meaning an alternative fixture was not arranged. Still fourteen Sunday fixtures(albeit one is on the Spring Bank Holiday) reflects a still above average Sunday fixture list, when quite a few, notably strong clubs, barely have any.
I was interested to hear John Hewitt’s thoughts on the standard of Sunday cricket, be as he has been a long time member of The Fiddlers. He said the standard this year was a lot lower than previous years with regular opponents putting out pretty weak teams. GT, on behalf of The Frogs, advised on at least two occasions this year long standing opponents had cancelled at the last moment, unable to raise a team. Alexander LeClerq, on behalf of The Phene Philanderers, again said at least one of their opponents had cancelled unable to raise team. GT after many years playing regular Sunday cricket for M & B said had got tired of just playing at home, a comment also echoed by John & ALC. I myself enjoy playing at new grounds and I was particularly impressed with Binfield when we played at their ground in the league. As far as I can recall it must be the only ground I have played at which had four sight screens at each end!
It got me thinking about what Sunday cricket used to be like when I started out at M & B in 1983. I even managed to find the fixture card from my first full season, 1984. Back then what set M & B apart from the local clubs clubs is that all the fixtures were generally against non-local teams, probably arranged in the 60’s, prior to the formation of league cricket, which generally came around 72 / 73. Back in 84 the Sunday fixtures were generally done on a split basis against clubs, with 1’s at home and 2’s away and vice versa. The 3’s also had around 15 separately arranged Sunday fixtures !
The Sunday season kicked off with the 1’s played a cup game v Harrow whilst the 2’s played Malden Wanderers at home. The Sunday of the May Day Bank Holiday saw Datchet as the opponents with the 1’s playing an all day game v North Oxford on the Bank Holiday and the 2’s playing an all day game away @ Kew. The remaining May Sunday’s saw fixtures against East Molesey, Ealing and Reading( all day), with the Spring Bank Holiday seeing the 1’s playing Berkshire Gents in an all dayer whilst the 2’s were away @ Kenton for a half day game. June brought fixtures against Marlow, Brondesbury, Mitcham and Wimbledon, with the latter being an all dayer and the last fixture before the ground was closed off parking for the tennis championships, I remember seeing Gabriella Sabatini practicing there once. July brought fixtures versus Finchley, Richmond( all day), Wokingham, Teddington & Horsham. In August - Free Foresters(all day) , Slough( the old Chalvey Rd ground), Hampstead(all day), Shepherds Bush(all day). With September bringing Trojans(Southampton)all,day, Watford, South Hampstead(all,day) and finishing with Burnham( at their old ground at Gore road). Back in that era the first week of August was cricket week, five all day games versus M J Piggotts X1, Poole Old Grammarins, Incogniti(2 day game) and finishing with P Spencer Jones X1. Back then the mantra being travel for the quality fixtures.
The 3’s played Sunday friendlies versus Little Marlow, Farnham Park, Tudor Taverners, Great West Railway, Kimble, Woburn Narkovians, Yeading, North Maidenhead, London Utopers, Reading, City Gentlemen, BBC Mishits, Sonning, Cove, Berkshire Wanderers & Braywick - a different world back then.
Anyway I digress and back to 2019 when a resume of the results are as follows:
Regal 28th April
M&B 211 for 5 - Paddy Searing 34, Ethan Walker 52 & Benny Ward snr 56no
Regals 159ao - Swaps Manchanda 4/26 & GT 3/36
Royal Ascot 5th May
M&B 194 for 6 - Ethan Walker 76 Rich Lawrence 35
Royal Ascot 180 for 8 Ambar Moorthy 2/19 ALC 2/47
Braywood 12th May
M&B 106 so Ethan Walker 44 extras 26
Braywood 107 for 7 Swaps Manchanda 4/31
Normal batting collapse against Braywood, managed to reduce Braywood to 78/7 whereupon no9 and no 3 batted well to see them home. Rich Lawrence special close in catch at silly mid off a memory.
Kensington 27th May
Kensington 200 for 5 in 35 overs Matt Armstrong 2/25
M&B 201 for 1 in 21.1 overs - Ethan Walker 103 Cameron Jacobsen 40 Benny Ward snr 36 no.
for the third year running the Crusader walked away with the Johnnie Walker Black Label. A comprehensive victory over one of our favourite opponents. Cam getting us off to fast start with Ethan posting 93 in 12 overs, Ethan seeing us home with a fine century.
Fleet St Strollers 2nd June
M& B 214 ao Wyatt Michaux 61 Atif Amin 48 Benny Ward snr 38
Fleet St 161ao GT 3/27, Swaps Manchanda 2/64 Wyatt Micheaux 2/2
Aggressive knock form Wyatt after steady opening form Benny Ward & Pads. Good middle order innings from Tif, including a 6, rolling back the years.
Gentlemen of Hampstead 9th June
M& B 180 for 8 Ben Ward jnr 72 Extras 34 Matt Armstrong 25no
Gents 44 in 17.4 overs Ambar 2/11 Gunbarul 3/9, Chris Butler 2/5 & James Cunliffe 2/12.
Relied upon Ben Ward Jnr to hold innings together aided by a sprinkling of extras until skipper Armstrong helped put on 46 for 8th wicket. Gents got off to poor start as their main bat tried to pinch a single to Wyatt and came off worse, whereupon the seam attack of Moorthy & Gunbarul ran through the top order. Armstrong had to take them off to prevent further damage whereupon the spinners ran through the tail. Shortly after the conclusion the heavens opened, Gents were left stunned after having M&B 124 for 7 in 34th over.
Fiddlers 30th June
Fiddlers 205 for 9 Simon Ball guesting 98 Gunbarul 4/34 GT 2/63
M&B 205 for 9 Benny Ward snr 59 Dan Calleau 26
A rare tie, courtesy of another Fiddlers guest, Swaps Manchanda dropping a catch off the last ball ! After a fine opening stand between Benny & Pads M & B fell away to 124 for 6, until a fine 7th wicket stand of 52 between Thomas Allen & Dan Calleau brought M & B back into the contest. Late Oder hitting from messrs Armstrong & Moorthy aided by Calleau almost saw M & B home.
Incogniti 7th July
M&B 194ao George Parsons 98, Pads Searing 28 Extras 23
Incogniti 143ao John Child 4/39 Ambar 2/32 Butler 2/48
George anchored the innings after middle and late order collapsed, handy last wicket runs from Ambar & Chris. Tight opening spells from seamers Ambar & Gun built pressure whereupon spinners Butler and especially master Child cut through the middle and lower order.
Nomads 21st July
M&B 231 for 3 - George Parsons 125no Simon Ball 46 Ed Denman
Nomads — 86 - Ambar 4/21 Gun 2/9 Butler 2/29
Big win over one of our stronger opponents, albeit Nomads put out two sides on this day. Super effort from George after very little sleep and plenty of drink the night before to bat through the whole innings. Once again Ambar & Gun cut through the top order and had to be relieved of their duties to give others a chance, whereupon the spinners finished off proceedings.
Twigworth Travellers 28th July
M& B 241for 5 Cameron Jacobsen 114 Ben Ward jnr 84
Twigworth 245 for 7 Reaper 2/41 Cameron 3/27
Enjoyable game with Twigworth striking last ball of game for four. Another excellent innings from Cameron well supported by Ben - 2nd wicket partnership of 207. Big opening partNership from opposition put them in the ascendency. Promoting spell of spin bowling from Zach Thornton. Tidy spells from Reaps & Cam brought M &B back into it but Twigworth just got over the line.
Dave Smart’s X1 4th August
M&B 214 for 9 George Parsons 57 James Bowler 38
Smart’s X1 217 for 6 Joe Blackett 217 for 6
Not enough runs on board. Despite reducing oppo to 9 for 3, stands of 68 and 132 saw the Smarties home with over 6 overs to spare.
Frogs 18th August
Frogs 176 for 7 Ambar 2/33 Chris 2/20
M&B 136 for 5 Kieran Grey 51no Ethan 35
Having restricted Frogs to 176 rain curtailed M & B’s pursuit with 8 overs left. Ethan got out when going well and it was left to Kieran to dominate proceedings, supported at the death by GUN.
Thames Valley Ramblers 8th September
M&B 254 for 5 Cam 55, Brian Dixon 57, Kieran 81
TVR 153 - Thomas Allen 3/38, Gun 2/28 , Chris 2/22
Steady accumulation led to M &B posting a decent score. Tight bowling early on led to pressure building with spinners cashing in, bringing victory 5 overs early.
The Stage 15th September
M&B - 204 for 9 George 78, master Vaja 45
Stage105- Gunbarul 3/22, John Child 3/30 & Chris Butler 2/28
George provided the foundations which were supported by Krish and added ballast from Gun. Seamers reduced Stage to 20/4 whereupon it was Child’s play ably assisted by Chris.
Statistics
- Biggest score 254 v TVR
- Lowest score 106 v Braywood
- Most çonceded 245 v Twigworth Travellers
- Lowest score against - 44 by Gentlemen of Hampstead
- Highest individual score - 125no by George Parsons v Nomads
- In all there were three centuries scored during the season.
- Best bowling analysis 6/0/21/4 Ambar Moorthy v Nomads.
- In all there were five four wicket hauls.
- Biggest wins by runs - 145 v Nomads
- Biggest win by wickets - 9 v Kensington
- Biggest loss - 5 wickets v David Smart’s X1 - only defeated by teams chasing.
Appearances (qualification 5 games)
- Matt Armstrong 14
- Gunbarul 13 - not selected for Bowler’s game
- Ambar Moorthy 11
- Atif Amin 10 - not selected for Bowler’ game.
- Chris Butler 9 - not selected for Bowler’s game plus spin rotation for one game.
- Benny Ward snr 8
- Paddy Searing 7
- Swapnil Manchanda 7
- James King 6
- Ethan Walker 6
- Mike Parkinson 6
- George Parsons 5
- In total 38 players were used in 14 games.
Averages
Batting (qualification 100 runs)
Innings | not out | Total runs | Highest score | Average | |
George Parsons | 5 | 1 | 385 | 125no | 96.25 |
Cameron Jacobsen | 3 | 0 | 209 | 114 | 69.66 |
Ethan Walker | 6 | 1 | 312 | 103no | 62.40 |
Benny Ward snr | 8 | 3 | 248 | 59 | 49.60 |
Kieran Grey | 4 | 1 | 144 | 81 | 48 |
Ben Ward jnr | 4 | 0 | 156 | 84 | 39 |
Paddy Searing | 7 | 0 | 175 | 34 | 25 |
George Parsons - stand out Sunday season only once not reaching 50(27). 125no an heroic innings battling tiredness and hangover.
Cameron Jacobsen - quality performer , 3 innings - 40, 114 & 55.
Ethan Walker - steady performer , recall innings of 44 v Braywood. Almost in tears, I don’t know how to score on this wicket, it’s slow.
Benny Ward snr - early contender for batsman of the year, couple of late failures spoilt his chances, excellent season with bat though.
Kieran Grey - couple of fine innings late in season - poised to win us game v Frogs when rain came & aggressive 81 v TVR with a hangover.
Ben Ward jnr - started with two anchor innings of 39 overs and 36 overs before ending with two one over innings when the drink set in.
Paddy Searing - useful acquisition, steady bat and handy fielder. Will be annoyed he didn’t convert any of his six double figures scores beyond 34.
Stand out winner of Batsman of the year - GEORGE PARSONS
Bowling averages
overs | maidens | runs conceded | wickets | average | economy | best analysis | ||
Thomas Allen | 32 | 2 | 164 | 11 | 14.91 | 5.12 | 8-0-27-3 | |
John Child | 23.3 | 1 | 106 | 7 | 15.14 | 4.55 | 8.2-0-39-4 | |
Swaps Manchanda | 40.2 | 5 | 208 | 13 | 16 | 5.17 | 8-2-26-4 | |
Gunbarul | 98 | 18 | 325 | 19 | 17.11 | 3.32 | 8-1-34-4 | |
Ambar Moorthy | 82 | 6 | 318 | 16 | 19.87 | 3.7 | 6-0-21-4 | |
Chris Butler | 63 | 4 | 260 | 13 | 20 | 4.13 | 4-0-5-2 | |
Mat Armstrong | 48.4 | 6 | 194 | 8 | 24.25 | 4.01 | 7-1-25-2 |
Interesting stats, spinners having better strike rates but higher economy rates, compared to the seamers. On basis the seamers have generally made early inroads and generally kept it tight, giving a platform for the spinners I have given the award to one of the new cherry bowlers. My initial thoughts were that Ambar would be the winner but the stats have made me change my mind.
Bowler of the year GUNBARUL aka Arul Appavoo, always kept it tight and generally always picked up an early wicket. Worked in tandem with Ambar, in two games v Gents of Hampstead & Nomads they cut a swathe through the top order forcing the skipper to remove them from the crease in the interests of fairness. In the end Gunbarul’s greater control has just given him the edge over Ambar, very close decision though.
Thomas Allen aka GT - 11 wickets in only four spells, taking three wickets on three occasions. Always working in tandem with another spinner - only one spell which went for a few otherwise fairly tight as hy
John”master” Child - generally a bit short in length (talking about bowling) before finding a fuller and more fruitful length later on, ragging a number of deliveries past the bat. Only 14, only going to get better.
Swapnil Manchanda - similar comments as GT’s , always picked up a wicket , started season with two four wicket hauls.
Gunbarul - as above.
Ambar Moorthy- team strike bowler, generally got an early strike but prone to the short wide delivery as well as leg side line delivery when insisting 7 fielders should be on off side.
Chris Butler - senior spinner with best economy rate of the spinners. In six out of nine spells ended up with two wicket hauls.
Matt Armstrong aka Reaper - only bowled the full allocation on three occasions , generally finishing off proceedings from the Road End.
So that ends another Sunday season folks. The availability was pretty good with only poor availability on the third Sunday( first league weekend) and the final Sunday. Very few late cry offs, which is good. Still Sunday lateness the big Pain. As mentioned at the start of this report, compared to most clubs, M & B still has a healthy Sunday fixture list. My thanks to Pete Meade who umpired more games than he usually does on Sundays this season, on two or three occasions we had two umpires which always makes a big difference. To Charlie for preparing the wickets and to Brian For laying on a fine spread at tea time. Also to you the players for supporting me once again.
Winter well, stay fit and see you all at some of the pre-season nets
regards
Matt