In the second part of our look back through our 25 years as the Allstars, it’s now the turn of the bowlers to shine – both solo displays and in pairs. Click on the links for match reports and photos for each of their greatest days!

Tristan Haddow-Allen 6-37 v Trengilly Wartha, Cornwall, 2002

Tristan’s batting record for the Allstars is so phenomenal, it’s easy to forget what he also did for us with the ball – and his greatest bowling day came in our club’s breakthrough victory, on our maiden tour to Newquay. With a modest total of 149 to defend, he bowled like a demon to take out Trengilly Wartha’s top three in his opening spell. With the eighth wicket pair digging in, victory looking like slipping away from us – but, in unbearable tension, Tristan returned to strike three times more to take us to a win for the ages.

James Devlin 5-8 v Mighty Wanderers, Barn Elms, 2004

Devers’ whole-hearted efforts for our club spanned over a decade, enlivening the Allstars both on and off the field. This game was his finest hour, as he  demolished Mighty Wanderers’ batting line-up with five wickets in one incredible spell. His heroics enabled us to bowl out Wanderers for 109, and we knocked off the runs to win comfortably by 5 wickets.

Jon Ryan 3-20 v Salix, Oxford, 2009

Our rivalry with Salix was a spicy one, with that little bit of needle adding to every fixture. On the day when Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar conjured an unlikely escape for England in the Ashes Test in Cardiff, we set Salix a target of 145, which they thought they’d reach easily.  But they’d reckoned without Jon, the man with a thousand nicknames, who bowled the spell of his life to blow away their top order. A determined Salix fightback took them to within 20 of the target with five wickets standing – but some fabulous death bowling finished the job for one of our greatest victories.

Paul Bowman 4-5 and Paul Nicol 4-9 v Eymet, France, 2010

An overseas tour win had proved elusive – but, on a converted rugby field in the Dordogne, we finally did it thanks to two outstanding bowling displays. KP started it by dismissing both openers and then came back to finish the innings off, and “Crazy Horse” had his finest moment in an Allstars shirt as he wrecked their middle order. We were set a target of 112 and had a few wobbles along the way, but eventually got home by 4 wickets.

Martyn Langridge 6-20 v Edgware, Mill Hill, 2017

Edgware are a league cricket side and one of our toughest opponents – but this day belonged to our dear, departed friend Martyn. Chasing 162, Edgware looked comfortable at 87-3 before “Lofty” entered the fray to turn the game on its head – taking a superb hat-trick before working his way through the lower order, to take us to a memorable victory with the best bowling figures in our history.

Ashwin Rattan 4-16 and Joe Silmon 3-24 v Gentlemen of West London, Ealing, 2019

Our third win over our great rivals the Gents was a team effort – but among many heroes, Ash and Joe stood out with their greatest spells for our club. Chasing 179, the Gents’ formidable batting line up were handily placed at 98-2 before the spin twins got to work – causing an incredible collapse to transform the game and bring about victory by just 25 runs.

Jagath Dasari 4-14 and Sam Waddicor 4-31 v Corridor, Great Missenden, 2021

2021 was a big year for the Allstars, as we emerged from lockdown to have one of our most successful seasons – and on a fine day in Buckinghamshire, we launched it with two champagne bowling displays to cruise to victory. After Corridor had got off to a good start, Sam and Jagath sliced their way through their batting line-up to bowl them out for 94 – Jagath topping it with a direct hit run out – and we won with 16 overs to spare.

Sheahan Arnott 5-5 v NCI, Cambridge, 2021

This year had so much great Allstars bowling, it could make a list all on its own. Sheahan is another who has given much to our club on and off the field – and, on a scorching day on historic Parker’s Piece, he produced his greatest spell for us. Against a strong NCI team, we had only 147 to defend – but Sheahan made it look easy, beginning in style with an outstanding opening spell of 4-1. NCI fought back strongly – but Sheahan returned to complete his “Michelle” as we got home by just 17 runs.

Pradesh Deveraj 4-52 v Railway Taverners, Highgate, 2023

2023 was also a strong season featuring many close contests, and Pradesh led the way with the ball with 15 wickets in a debut season to dream about. On an epic day in north London, Taverners looked like they were running away with it until Pradesh returned for a second spell of 4-11 to swing the game. It was the most Herculean of performances, his pace barely dropping in 7 overs despite having been under an injury cloud the previous week. His efforts looked like they’d be in vain – but, out of nowhere, we took the last three wickets with the scores level to snatch the first tie in our history.

Mathan Olaganathan 5-13 and Shahed Ahmed 4-15 v Mighty Wanderers, Ham, 2025

Another excellent joint bowling effort helped us retain the James Abrahams Trophy with ease. Mathan began with one of our most devastating opening spells, taking a wicket in each of his first four overs, before Shahed got to work on the middle order to reduce Mighty Wanderers to 61-8. Wanderers gamely battled back into the contest – but Mathan and Shahed returned to finish off the innings and set up a 7-wicket victory.

2026 is a milestone year for the Allstars, as it’s our 25th anniversary as a fully organised team.

As we look forward to our new season, here’s a first look back at some of our greatest days of the last quarter century with the bat – click on the link to the match report and photos for each game.

We haven’t forgotten the bowlers – they’ll follow in Part 2!

Dave Halladay 89* v Brading, Isle of Wight, 2003

Dave’s classic counter-attacking was a stand out feature of our early years – and his finest hour came on our Isle of Wight tour. After a top-order collapse had left the Allstars reeling at 44-5, leaving only only the tail for support, he took the attack to Brading with this imperious innings. That got us to a final total of 177, and a tour victory for a second season in a row.

Simon Begley 89* v Gentlemen of West London, Surbiton, 2005

Wins don’t come any bigger than the Gents, and each of our three victories over them has required one or more Allstars to play out of their skin. On this famous day, it was “Scratch” who took the fight to our old rivals. It was the loneliest of efforts, with only Paul Nicol also reaching double figures – but the Gents could not find a way past the Ulsterman’s broad bat. Our eventual score of 153-8 was more than defendable, James Devlin leading the way with the ball to victory.

Tristan Haddow-Allen 111* v A Few Good Men, Berkhamsted, 2006

No Allstars batting history would be complete without an innings from Tristan, who carried us on his shoulders for over a decade – his 4000 runs and eight centuries for our club being a record unlikely to ever be beaten. Batting right through our overs allocation, and putting on a colossal stand of 191 with Tim Ross, we looked in command – but every run proved precious. A Few Good Men were almost as good as their name, with the game still in the balance until the final ball. But they couldn’t hit the six off it they needed to win, and we breathed a mighty sigh of relief.

Damian Radcliffe 120 v Eglingham, Northumberland, 2010

After our early tour successes, we had a long wait for our next win on tour – and it came on a glorious day in rural Northumberland. After a quiet start to his Allstars career, Damian picked the perfect moment to come out of his shell. Facing a formidable target of 214, we were 39-3 before he took command with a stupendous innings to take us to victory with two overs to spare. And he almost made it two in two the following day with 66 against Corinthians, to set a record tour batting aggregate which remains to this day.

Paul Bowman 91 v Gentlemen of West London, Barnes Common, 2011

“KP” has been a rock for the Allstars both on and off the field, and this day stands out as his greatest as we beat the mighty Gents for a second time. Having already played his part with two wickets with the ball to limit the Gents to 181-6, he took charge with the bat to ease us to victory and begin our second decade in style.

Neale Adams 93* v Mighty Wanderers, Mill Hill, 2011

Another stand-out innings by a stalwart who has given our club so much. It was a bolt from the blue – Neale’s only fifty for our club – but undoubtedly his finest hour. Facing a challenging target of 196, he took on all the Wanderers bowlers in a breathtaking knock to take us to a comfortable 8-wicket victory.

Sam MacDonald 105 v Gentlemen of West London, Barnes Common, 2014

Sometimes the greatest of innings can be in defeat. Norfolk’s finest has three Allstars hundreds to his name – but this one stands out as his most memorable. With an enormous target of 230 to chase, Sam took on the Gents’ attack almost on his own. His strokeplay was beautiful to behold, and while he was still in, we dared to dream. But once he fell, we couldn’t quite get over the line, and the Gents sneaked home by just 23 runs.

Pete Cresswell 91 v Mighty Wanderers, Crouch End, 2018

A memorable day for our Kiwi skipper, who gave his heart and soul to the club for over a decade. We could all scarcely believe our eyes as Pete and Ashwin Rattan rewrote our record books with a monster opening stand of 214. The whole Allstars community were willing him on to a hundred, but he couldn’t quite get there – but our imposing total proved more than enough to retain the James Abrahams Trophy with Wanderers only able to bat for a draw.

Sam Perera 106* v Gradcasts, Mill Hill, 2021

Another who has given much to the Allstars cause over a long period, this knock was the greatest of a fabulous summer for Sam. Coming in to bat with the Allstars wobbling at 32-3, Sam settled our nerves before running riot to score the first hundred by an Allstars regular for seven years, sharing an unbroken partnership of 192 with Steyn Grobler. It was more than enough to take us a crushing victory by 150 runs.

Raghavendra C R 100* v Mighty Wanderers, Barnes Common, 2023

Perhaps the finest of them all, in an amazing game at Barnes which had just about everything. Facing a target of 175, we were in desperate trouble at 61-6 – but while Raghav remained at the crease, we never stopped believing in victory. We still needed 46 when the ninth wicket fell – but Raghav continued to take the attack to Wanderers while shepherding number 11 Pradesh Deveraj to take us to one of our greatest victories with just one ball to spare.

London Playing Fields, Boston Manor, Sunday 10 August 2025.

Salmagundi Gardeners 146 all out (35 overs: Graham Bruce 42, Mathan Olaganathan 3-19, Sanj Sharma 3-37) beat St Anne’s Allstars 122 all out (33.2 overs: John Kingston 30, Saurabh Bezalwar 4-14) by 24 runs.

Report by Garreth Duncan – Photos by Anindya Roy, Garreth Duncan and Nathaniel Hill

Salmagundi Gardeners and the Allstars are so close, we are almost as one. The briefest glance at each others’ websites easily reveals how many Gardeners have made guest appearances for the Allstars, and us for them, over the last few years. This fixture was eagerly anticipated all season, and we had a playing 11 in no time who were all keen to get out there and get one over some old team mates once more. And it was a close run thing, as we pushed the Gardeners right to the end before they secured victory in the 34th over.

Boston Manor was a new venue for us – although the ground is easily viewable from the M4 above, actually reaching it proved a challenge to many. Mathan Olaganathan, captaining the Allstars for the first time, won the toss and asked the Gardeners to bat first. Leading by example, Mathan began where he’d left off against Mighty Wanderers with a superlative spell down the slope. Gardeners’ opener Saurabh Bezalwar looked dangerous from the start, but Mathan set him up expertly with two balls in the corridor of uncertainty before firing in a yorker to pin him LBW.

Matt Biss, in a novel opening bowler’s role, began tidily against opponents who know him so well, and Vivek Seth also found a nice length and probing accuracy. But it was Sanj Sharma, tuned up by a net session in midweek, who struck the next blow, sending Gardeners’ skipper Richard Higginbottom on his way with another LBW decision – although Richard seemed to think it pitched outside leg – to leave them 34-2.

Graham Bruce, another Gardener who has featured in Allstars colours, and James Ansell steadied the ship as they put on 53 for the third wicket. Shahed Ahmed, who took up social cricket with the Gardeners before joining the Allstars, also began nicely – but Lady Luck was not on his side as a couple of catches went down. It was the recalled Sanj who broke the stand shortly after the drinks break, with a beauty that took out Ansell’s middle stump, and he followed up by castling Douglas to make it 102-4.

Douglas’ wicket brought about the shootout we were all awaiting, as the young gunslinger Alfie Arrand, who had toured Ibiza with us last year, strode to the wicket and announced his arrival by crunching his first ball through extra cover for a boundary. Mathan reacted straightaway by bringing himself back into the attack, and was rewarded instantly as he knocked back Alfie’s stumps. Shahed finally got his reward as he bowled Jeremy Gostick, before Mathan got a third as Jignesh fell in the same fashion to leave Gardeners 119-7.

As wickets fell at the other end, Graham had remained steadfast, and he began to open his shoulders with only the tail left for support. Joe Silmon, returning to England for a final Allstars appearance, found some turn with his leg-spin, but it was Anindya Roy who finally removed Graham by bowling him for a well-worked 42. In the final over, Roy grabbed a second wicket as John Kingston held a catch at slip, and Gavin Hudson was run out going for an impossible single off the last scheduled delivery. Gardeners’ total of 146 looked within reach – but we knew their bowling attack would make it difficult for us.

Matt and John began steadily, picking the gaps for singles and twos as they saw off opening bowlers Hamzah and Jignesh. Sensing the need to accelerate, Matt charged Hudson and was stumped. John continued on his way, upping the rate as he glanced a couple of boundaries off Alfie – but on a hot day, exhaustion eventually took its toll on him as he was run out for a very well made 30.

It was at this point the game really swung in Gardeners’ direction, as the brilliant Bezalwar took hold with his superb leg-spin. Turning the ball both ways and bowling with unerring accuracy, our middle order had few answers to his craft. Bezalwar began by bowling Lipu Rahman, who had kept wicket superbly – and after Roy had become our second run out of the day going for a crazy second run, Bezalwar struck another critical blow as he bowled Mathan to leave us 78-5.

Joe strode out for his final Allstars innings to join Shahed at the wicket, as we battled to stay alive in a tight contest. Joe’s fighting knock was ended by an unplayable grubber from the handy left-arm spinner Sachin Dispanje, before Sanj Sharma went for a big shot against Bezalwar and was bowled. Shahed continued to keep the flame burning, dispatching Bezalwar for an imperious six – but he eventually went for one reverse sweep too many to become his fourth victim.

With the game still close enough that one big over could turn it, Gardeners kept the pressure on as Alfie and Jignesh were recalled. Undeterred, Vivek came to the crease and kept pushing for runs before unveiling a sparkling cover drive for four. Nathaniel Hill provided handy support before being run out as Vivek tried to keep the strike. Finally, with 25 needed off the last two overs, I went for glory against Jignesh and skied him for a return catch.

So the Gardeners have the bragging rights in this most friendly of contests. But this was a fantastic contest in which everyone played their part, and we all celebrated a great day’s cricket in the Plough. We look forward to seeing the Gardeners next season (and maybe even one or two of them in Croatia…) – but we’re quickly back in action next Sunday, as we take on The Min at Alexandra Park in north London.