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Allstars take silver on anniversary weekend

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Barn Elms, Sunday 24 May 2026.

Karnataka Challengers UK 142-3 (20.4 overs: Sid Kothari 41, Amit Deverathippa 2-37) beat St Anne’s Allstars 138 all out (27 overs: Sreeram Balasur 26, Vipul Nanda 5-34) by 7 wickets.

Allstars Debuts: Roshan Bhusal, Sreeram Balasur, Tanai Mansingh.

Scorecard

Report by Garreth Duncan – Photos by Ben Hampton, Garreth Duncan and opposition

It’s amazing to think 25 years have passed since a group of guys met up at King’s Cross station to travel to the Nottinghamshire countryside to play our first official game as the Allstars. Since then, we have welcomed over 350 players into our club, as one generation of Allstars followed another. We have toured eight countries in that time, and made friendships and memories to last a lifetime. It was fitting that the Bank Holiday weekend which marked our silver anniversary took us back to Barn Elms, where we had celebrated our first victory, over Rain Men, a quarter of a century ago. On this occasion, Karnataka Challengers, who we were playing for the second time, were too much of a challenge – but not without another spirited fight in which we gave our all once again.

On a day when the thermometer was pushing 30C, I won the toss and, much to the relief of all, decided to bat first. John Kingston and Raghavendra opened for the Allstars, with John dropping anchor as Raghav went for his shots from the off. He quickly crunched three fours before edging Challengers’ opener Roopesh Prabhu to the keeper. Sreeram Balasur, the newest of our Banbury contingent, began watchfully before upping the ante after the first drinks break, pushing for twos while piercing the field for boundaries. John also began to step up the rate before, with exhaustion finally getting the better of him, he was run out going for a tight second run. Left-armer Jayesh Shah was settling into a nice rhythm, and he ended Sreeram’s fine debut effort with a sharp caught and bowled to leave us 79-3.

Ross Blackmore, who has had a good start to life with the Allstars, carefully saw off his first couple of overs – but then he suddenly exploded into life, blasting Vipul Nanda’s first delivery for a monster six over mid-wicket before launching his next ball over long-on for another maximum. Our guest player from the opposition, Tanai Mansingh, also started well, the hundred was raised, and we were looking in very good shape indeed – only for Ross to perish next over as he went for another big shot and was caught at deep mid-wicket.

Ross’s dismissal proved to be the game’s turning point. Vipul’s first over had gone for 20 as he suffered from Ross’s onslaught – but with his nemesis gone, he quickly took his revenge in spectacular fashion. Amit Deverathippa was unlucky to be adjudged LBW, and next ball, our third debutant, Roshan Bhusal, was stumped by some smart work by Challengers keeper Sharva. Ben Hampton struck the following delivery straight to Sid Kothari at cover to complete Vipul’s hat-trick – but he still wasn’t finished with us. In his next over Tanai skied to extra cover, and two balls later I had my stumps rattled. Vipul had taken a five-for in the space of eight deliveries, and in the blink of an eye, 101-3 had become 112-9. But the last pair showed spirited resistance as Anil Kuriakose counter-attacked with some fine boundaries, and with last man Nathaniel Hill defnding stubbornly at the other end, they put on 26 for the last wicket before Nathaniel was bowled.

Defending a target of 139 wasn’t impossible, though we needed a good start in response. But Challengers’ openers Adarsh and Kothari came flying out of the traps, the fifty being raised in the 7th over. It was Amit, taking off his keeping pads to have a bowl, who gave us some hope as Adarsh was smartly caught by Ross at square leg. With Raghav also bowling skilfully, we got a brake back on the scoring – and Raghav’s slower ball to deceive Kothari was a thing of beauty, up there with Harmy’s dismissal of Michael Clarke in the memorable 2005 Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Challengers’ skipper Chaitanya Iyengar quickly came and went as he chopped Amit onto his stumps in the next over. But we just didn’t have enough runs to play with, and Dhritiman Sharma finished the job with a flurry of boundaries.

It was still a great day’s cricket, and we all gathered together – finally getting some shade after being out in the heat of the sun – before toasting our silver anniversary with the opposition in the Red Lion, where we had celebrated our club’s first win all those years ago. We have much to look forward to over the season and many more to come – and we begin again soon, as we get re-acquainted with our friend and Allstar Pablo Burgin and the Banbury boys in our inaugural fixture against WIng on 13 June.

How Green Was My Valley

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Valley End, Sunday 10 May 2026.

Valley End 234-6 dec (34 overs: Josh Cormier 51* ret, Arjun Balashanker 50* ret, Samer Hafiz 3-44) beat St Anne’s Allstars 107 all out (36 overs: Ash Kakkirani 26, Joe Fisher 3-16) by 127 runs.

Allstars Debuts: Ash Kakkirani, Anurag Seri.

Scorecard

Report by Garreth Duncan – Photos by Anindya Roy and opposition

Valley End are a formidable institution in their leafy Surrey surroundings. Their impressive operation now extends to three pitches, two club houses and six regular league XIs to go alongside their Sunday social team. Having resumed our long-standing fixture with them last year after a Covid and weather-induced hiatus, we were delighted to be welcomed by them again as we ventured outside the capital for the first time in 2026, and found them generous hosts as always. Such resources were always going to present a huge challenge to the Allstars – but we battled gamely once again before their victory was confirmed.

We played on our hosts’ main pitch for the first time. Allstars skipper Vivek Seth won the toss and, with the declaration format in mind, chose to field on what looked like a good batting surface. Ben Hampton, fresh from his welcome return against Mandarins, began with a whole-hearted opening spell. He was unlucky not to win a close LBW decision against Valley End opener Daniel Jackson – but got a deserved breakthrough as he bowled Steve Wanigesekera with a beauty. Jackson and Arjun Balashanker keep the score moving. It was Phani Sainath, whom we were also pleased to welcome back, who broke the stand with his first delivery, which Jackson hit straight to Ben at mid-wicket to leave Valley End 70-2.

Anurag Seri, on his Allstars debut, entered the fray with some handy left-arm seam. Balashanker looked a very accomplished player, and with Josh Cormier also showing quality, the run-rate continued to climb. Fielding was proving challenging on an enormous playing surface, as twos became threes and even all-run fours – although fellow debutant Ash Kakkirani excelled with some brilliant stops.

At the drinks break Valley End were 161-2. But Samer Hafiz had already begun a probing spell of left-arm spin, and together with Anindya Roy, applied the brakes. With both Balashanker and Cormier retiring having reached their fifties, the spin twins got to work. Richard Slatford was putting together a great display behind the stumps, and Joe Fisher was lucky to survive two stumping chances – but they weren’t critical as Samer knocked back his stumps. Roy was also proving difficult to get away, and Stephen Bond eventually cracked under the pressure as he skied him to Ben at mid-on.

Harrison Francis went for his shots before missing a straight one from Samer, and he then grabbed a third, Slats finally being rewarded for his glovework as Ian Davison charged and missed. Having been potentially facing a total of over 300, we could be well pleased to have restricted Valley End to 234 when the declaration came. Valley End’s tea has long been one of the favourites on our circuit, and was as delicious as ever – but batting out 43 overs would certainly test us to the limits.

Our two debutants were more than up for the challenge of opening the batting – and Ash made a sparkling start as 30 came off the first 4 overs. But Valley End opener Shankar Das struck back with two wickets in an over. Ash was desperately unlucky to be bowled off his foot by a ball that looked to be going well wide, before Kiran Chittajallu, playing for the first time since our Ibiza tour, was next to go as Das rattled his stumps. Anurag looked comfortable before falling LBW to Davison, who’d proved our undoing in last year’s fixture, to leave us 44-3.

A draw was still within our reach, and with Slats joining Samer at the wicket, 10 overs were safely negotiated. Samer was looking in fine touch – but he was the next to go as he edged to Cormier behind the stumps. I got a good bit of bat on my second delivery, only for Wanigesekera at mid-on to pluck it out of the air with a brilliant overhead catch.

Luke “Deadbat” Dooley, in a situation nicely suited to his batting style, came out to join stepdad Slats, and the pair continued to tick the overs down. But it was Slats who was next to go, as he skied Fisher to extra cover. Sai briefly resisted before Wanigesekera bowled him, before Ben, playing his natural game, was also bowled to give Fisher a second wicket. Wanigesekera finally ended Luke’s stubborn resistance as he disturbed his stumps, before skipper Vivek was also bowled.

Even though the tenth wicket had fallen, Valley End generously allowed Nathaniel Hill, who’d done an excellent job as our scorer, to have a bat. He battled hard and chiselled out a few runs, while Roy had some fun at the other end, continuing his fine batting form after his useful knock against Mandarins. In the clubhouse, the Allstars Arsenal contingent’s attention was drawn towards the unfolding drama at the London Stadium, as West Ham’s added-time equaliser was ruled out by VAR – but back on the cricket pitch, it was Fisher who had the final say by bowling Nathaniel.

This was another fantastic day’s cricket, and the Allstars were all in fine spirits as we enjoyed Valley End’s hospitality once again. We look forward to our return there next May – but next up, on the weekend we celebrate 25 years since our first official Allstars game, we’re back in the capital as we face Karnataka Challengers in Barn Elms.

Mandarins overcome battling Allstars on opening day

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Dulwich Sports Ground, Sunday 3 May 2026.

Mandarins 113-2 (22.4 overs, Jules Lowin 50 ret) beat St Anne’s Allstars 112 all out (31.5 overs, Gren Thompson 40, Anindya Roy 30) by 8 wickets.

Scorecard

Allstars Debuts: Mikaiil (Mak) Nuur, Ross Blackmore.

Report by Gren Thompson- Photos by Jimmy Scott and Gren Thompson

On an unexpectedly sunny Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon in Dulwich, the Allstars raised the curtain on their 2026 season. Based on how things began, one can only assume that the Allstars spent most of the winter walking under countless ladders, opening several umbrellas indoors, and spilling salt by the skip load.

After Mandarins won the toss and put the Allstars into bat, the 2026 season began with Allstars stalwarts Matt Biss and Samer Hafiz striding out to the wicket. It took only two balls for the misfortune to strike. An easy single to mid-off saw Matt jog through to the non-striker’s end. At that point, time and space conspired against the Allstars. The innocuous looking return throw back to the bowler collided flush with Matt’s face and, two balls into the new season, the Allstars were a man down with concussion-like symptoms. Only two balls later, Mandarins’ skilful opening bowler, Rob Eastaway, found a perfect length and late movement to nick-off Samer without troubling the scorers. One over, one injury, one wicket and only one run.

The new batters at the wicket, Richard Slatford and debutant Ross Blackmore, looked comfortable and navigated the next few overs without alarm. However, Mandarins struck twice in the 5th over. First, Ross mis-timed a drive and looped a catch to point. Slats was then run out by a direct hit from the Mandarins’ wicketkeeper Jules Lowin who expertly splattered the stumps from short fine leg.

Barathwaj Nagarajan and Anindya Roy steadied the Allstars innings with some fine strokes to put on a stand of 29 for the 4th wicket. However, again, a flurry of quick wickets pegged back the Allstars batters. Saad Hasan, bowling with good pace, sent two Allstars packing. Barathwaj edged a good delivery to slip and Ben Hampton got an unlucky grubber that snook below his defences and into the base of the stumps. From the other end, Harry Wigram clean bowled Allstars’ second debutant Mak Nuur, to make it 48-6. 

Skipper Gren Thompson joined Roy at the wicket, and together they attempted to push the Allstars score towards respectability with continued attacking intent. Roy was starting to look set for a big score before he missed a full, straight delivery from Nikhil Gidwani and was dispatched leg before wicket for a fine 30. With the Allstars languishing on 75-7, Matt attempted to return to the middle – but was still feeling the affects of his early incident and soon nicked a good ball from Abhijit Nair to slip.

That left Iain Wilson and Gren to counter-attack, and a series of firm shots and proactive running between the wickets brought up the Allstars’ 100. Yet, not long after the three figures were registered, Gren fell to a well held catch at extra cover, ending up with 40 off 36 balls. The ever-sprightly Jimmy Scott joined Iain for the last wicket – but another piece of excellent Mandarins fielding saw Iain run out for 6 and the Allstars innings closed on 112 all out.

In the second innings of the match, an excellent opening spell from Ben Hampton gave the Allstars brief hope of making a competitive game of things. Ben trapped Mandarins’ opening batter, Tim Baxter, lbw in the 4th over to put the hosts 7-1. However, the Mandarins’ top order proved too resilient and too composed for the Allstars attack and cantered towards victory while offering few chances to the bowlers. Late in the day Barathwaj found enough turn to trouble the batters and deservedly bagged a wicket when he bowled Mandarins’ other opener, Wahaj Siddiqui, for 36. A close to flawless 50 from Mandarins’ Lowin guided the hosts to an 8 wicket victory that rarely looked in doubt. 

In the spirit of an early 90s pop classic, things can only get better for the Allstars this season. Hopefully next week’s trip to Valley End will bring better luck and the first Allstars victory of 2026.

The Allstars Quarter Century – 10 great bowling performances

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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 Eymet’s 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.

The Allstars Quarter Century – 10 great innings

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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 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.