Trevor Bailey Sports Ground, Dulwich, Sunday 9 June 2024.

Mandarins 213-4 dec (33 overs: Arun Sajjan 52* ret, J Wilmot 51* ret, Gren Thompson 2-30) beat St Anne’s Allstars 101 all out (32 overs: Gren Thompson 30*, Barathwaj Nagarajan 24, C Healey 3-8) by 112 runs.

Allstars Debuts: Anil Kuriakose, Anindya Roy.

Report and photos by Vivek Seth

On a sunny morning in June, the Allstars headed to Dulwich for their second game of the season. Our opponents, Mandarins CC, are a spin-off of our old friends the Superstars – who now confine themselves solely to midweek T20 fixtures . As well as a new oppo, we welcomed two new Allstars, Anil and Anindya, and a new skipper with Barathwaj Nagarajan captaining us for the first time.

The Allstars lost the toss and fielded first. We opened with a combination of pace (Gren) and slow (me) in an attempt to quickly unsettle the batsmen. To begin with, it worked well with the Mandarins struggling to get going. Gren bowled both openers and come the 10th over, Mandarins were 28/2. That though, brought Wilmot and Arun Saajan to the crease. Both established themselves very quickly and began a considerable counterattack. A combination of Pradosh Bose, Anil, Andrew Lipscombe and Iain Wilson all did their best to dislodge both batsmen but with very little joy. Even with a slow outfield, and some outstanding fielding by Pradosh and Jimmy Scott in particular, both batsmen found the boundary with relative ease. A couple of tough dropped catches did give us some confidence, though: there were chances to be had and we were still in the game.

Both Wilmot and Saajan retired upon reaching their fifties, further emphasising that Mandarins really do play Sunday cricket in the right spirit. The hope was we could reassert ourselves with new batsmen at the crease. Pradosh initially obliged, taking his first Allstars wicket as he bowled Jarvis. Vijay Anand, however, took on the heavy hitting role for the Mandarins, with skipper Barath eventually taking his wicket for a quickfire 44.

Manadrins declared on 213/4. A tough total but one which we thought could be gettable with a couple of strong partnerships. The draw was definitely a realistic target.

Barath and Anindya opened the batting and immediately looked to score quickly and assert themselves. There was early joy, with both finding the boundary. Anindya fell in the 7th over with Allstars now 31/1 and with a good platform to push for a good total. However, in typical Allstars fashion, we opted to collapse instead, in the face of some particularly strong bowling from Healey and Mandarins skipper Dan Forman. Andrew, Barath, and Anil all looked to hang around but fell to tight bowling. Pradosh and Nathaniel Hill then also went in quick succession, leaving victory well out of the equation.

At the start of the 20 over countdown, the Allstars were 49/6. With me and Iain at the crease, we immediately tried our best Boycott impressions, leaving as much as possible to try and salvage the draw. It worked for 7 overs before I was then bowled. That then brought Gren to the crease who again initially blocked out but then quickly went on the attack. The partnership lasted another 5 overs before Iain’s stand ended with 8 overs left. Gren continued his attack, taking the Allstars beyond 100. Neale Adams then fell, leaving 6.4 overs for Gren and Jimmy to see out. Hopes remained high, but some outstanding Mandarins fielding led to Jimmy being run out at the end of the over. Allstars all out for 101, with the Mandarins winning by 112 runs.

A tough day for the Allstars. While a well-deserved victory for the Mandarins, we were competitive and certainly had our chances to make the game much closer. Despite the result, we all agreed that it was a great day out: a lovely setting, a chance to meet up with friends old and new, and an oppo who were clearly cut from the same cloth as ourselves. We very much look forward to playing the Mandarins next year. 

At the TAS Turkish restaurant in central London, the Allstars gathered to celebrate a fantastic 2023 season and honour this year’s award winners!

Greenwich Park, Saturday 30 September 2023.

Salmagundi Gardeners 164-7 (34.1 overs; A Parmar 56) beat St Anne’s Allstars 163-4 (35 overs; Oli Barnes 71) by 3 wickets.

Allstars Debuts: Oli Barnes, Raman Reddy.

Photos by Matt Biss and Nathaniel Hill

Ivivoj

Eastcote CC, Saturday 16 September 2023.

Eastcote CC 80-0 (7.2 overs) beat St Anne’s Allstars 76 all out (24.5 overs) by 10 wickets (and also won the T20 beer match which followed).

Allstars Debuts: Nathaniel Hill, Guna Subramani.

Report by Sheahan Arnott – Photos by Nic Knight and Amit Deverathippa

As you can gather from the scorecard, this was not a very good day at the office for the Allstars. However, in an effort to take something from the game, here are 5 things I thought were good about the day on reflection…

The venue. The ground couldn’t be more beautiful. Built in what was once a stately home, the ground and the clubrooms were a postcard-picture of English cricket. The weather was beautiful, they supplied an umpire and scorer who were both very welcoming, and the pitch/outfield played (mostly) pretty well.

The bar. The barman – one of the players from their First XI team – was very welcoming. The drinks were cheap and I suspect the afternoon tea would have been solid. 

We welcomed two new Allstars. Keen cricketer Nathaniel Hill has joined our number in recent weeks, and he notched the highest score of his fledgling career so far in the “official” game. Across both innings, he outscored a couple of seasoned stalwarts and was tireless with his efforts in the field. Guna Subramani is our newest Banbury boy and played with the same attacking flair that we’ve come to expect from our Northern contingent. He bowled very tidily in the T20 as well.

Someone had clearly shoved a cricket bat through the drywall in our changing room. Not sure who, or why, but it’s always funny to see that it’s happened. We all have days like that sometimes.

The pub we went to after the match had a lovely beer garden. On reflection, we should have spent the afternoon there instead of chasing leather!

My Allstars season has come to an end, and many of you will know that outside of cricket, I write and podcast about American Football, so as my sporting calendar ticks over from one helmeted sport to another, and my life begins its next chapter, I leave you with (some of) Grantland Rice’s immortal Football Alumnus:

But one day, when across the Field of Fame the goal seemed dim,

The wise old coach, Experience, came up and spoke to him.

“And, kid, cut out this fancy stuff – go in there, low and hard;

“Oh Boy,” he said, “the main point now before you win your bout

Is keep on bucking Failure till you’ve worn the piker out!”

Just keep your eye upon the ball and plug on, yard by yard,

And more than all, when you are thrown or tumbled with a crack,

Don’t sit there whining-hustle up and keep on coming back;

“Keep coming back with all you’ve got, without an alibi,

If Competition trips you up or lands upon your eye,

Until at last above the din you hear this sentence spilled:

‘We might as well let this bird through before we all get killed.’

“You’ll find the road is long and rough, with soft spots far apart,

Where only those can make the grade who have the Uphill Heart.

And when they stop you with a thud or halt you with a crack,

Let Courage call the signals as you keep on coming back.

“Keep coming back, and though the world may romp across your spine,

Let every game’s end find you still upon the battling line;

For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name,

He writes – not that you won or lost – but how you played the Game.