King’s House Sports Ground, Chiswick, Wednesday 13 July 2022.

St Anne’s Allstars 118-4 (16.1 overs: Sam MacDonald 33* ret) beat Agricola CC 114 all out (20 overs: Calvin Smith 3-15; Sam Waddicor 2-24) by 6 wickets.

Allstars Debuts: Ahmad Rabbani, Calvin Smith, Niz Sirisena, G-W Welsby, Tee Bizayi.

Report by Sheahan Arnott – Photos by Pete Cresswell

Like Neil Diamond workshopping his lyrics, it was a hot July night with the leaves hanging down and the grass on the ground smelling like bore water as Brother Cresswell’s Travelling Salvation Show rolled into the King’s House School sporting complex in Chiswick.

We don’t venture too much into the world of T20 – largely as it lacks the gravitas of The Hundred – but a midweek pink ball contest against the farm-based-soft-drink-sounding Agricola was the order of the day, and I was keen to avoid a repeat of my Allstars captaincy debut.

On a sweltering evening ripped from the pages of a Tennessee Williams play, I called wrong and we found ourselves in the field. Sam Waddicor took all of three balls to dismiss Mohinder, taking a tricky caught-and-bowled on a fly-ball (as our baseballing brethren would say) that might have endangered the plums of the gentleman in seat 9C of a low-flying aircraft.

New chum Calvin Smith started well and was rewarded when he found Matt Coles’ woodwork in his second over to put the clamps on a free-flowing start to the Agricola innings. 2 became 3 as Sam “The Leg Gully Panther” MacDonald’s first run-out of the day sent Alex packing after a barbecue that would make the even great Aaron Franklin weep salt tears and leave Agricola rocking at 34-3.

Maneesh and Marko began to resurrect the innings, with Maneesh finding the boundary regularly. But in a cruel twist of fate, he found himself dismissed in that classic cricketing detective fashion – just 1 run away from retirement – caught by The Leg Gully Panther off the bowling of debutant Niz Sirisena.

Debutant Tee Bizayi was unlucky not to get a breakthrough in his spell at the crease, and Agricola began to fight fire with fire, as Marko – an off-brand TG by way of Richard Kiel – opened his shoulders down the ground with some lusty straight hitting off the bowling of Ahmad Rabbani. Ahmad joined our ranks halfway through the third over as he’d mixed up the dates and arrived a week early for his team’s fixture against Agricola.

A captaincy masterstroke (though it’s not for me to say) saw Sam Perera chime in with an over of spin, as the batsmen looked to use the pace of our attack to their advantage. It had the desired effect as The Panther struck again, this time running out Agricola’s captain, Sam Farnham, in a shocking display of self-hating anti-Sametism.

I returned to the crease with the desired effect, adding Justin to my ever-growing list creatively titled “Blokes I Bowled”. Craig proved to be more industrious until he hit a lofted cover drive straight to Tee to give Sam Waddicor his second wicket and leave Agricola 105-7.

Calvin then produced a double-wicket maiden 19th over, which included a neat stumping by Richard Slatford – just reward for a man who, like the Artful Dodger wearing clothes accidentally washed in the wrong laundry detergent, had been itching to pick someone’s pocket all day. It was a fine debut for Calvin claiming 3-15 from 3 overs including 3 wickets in 4 balls.

A final run-out from Sam Perera dismissed Marko for 31, and we were set 115 for victory. I don’t remember a better fielding and bowling performance from the Allstars, and it made my job very easy. This is what Sheahanball is all about.

Coming into the game, I felt our batting was probably our strength, so I was comfortable with our ability to chase down 115 and square my captaincy ledger. In a near carbon copy of our first over, debutant ‘GW’ Welsby skied a return catch to leave us 1-1 after 3 balls. But Sam MacDonald instantly showed his class and fearlessness with a beautiful straight six off the last ball of the first over.

Pete Cresswell was keen to get his feet moving early, and was harshly adjudged LBW off Mohinder despite being so far down the wicket it made the Thames Path Challenge seem like a short jaunt to the shops.

Tee then joined Sam at the crease, and the two began to find the boundary regularly before Tee offered a catch to point off Modi for 12. The two Sams – Perera and MacDonald – then guided us from a precarious position in typical counter-punching fashion before Sam Perera, having hit 17 off just 9 balls, lost his wicket to a 1-in-100 catch on the boundary off Modi, leaving us 58-4 in the 10th.

Sam MacDonald continued unfazed as Slats joined him at the crease, and retired at the agreed mark of 30, finishing his day with 33 from 31 – a key hand in getting us home. The experienced heads of Slats (16*) and Ahmad (18*) then guided us home by 6 wickets with the best part of 4 overs remaining. Once again, I was left with a padded-up DNB, but with no one to blame but myself.

In true Allstars fashion, we shook hands and retired to the bar to break down the evening’s entertainment. It was an excellent all-around performance – especially given we weren’t as experienced at T20 as our opponents – and it augurs well for our game against Heartaches on Sunday, as we attempt to show that Rice guys do finish last.

Matfield, Sunday 10 July 2022.

St Anne’s Allstars 264/7 dec (31 overs, T Landray 120*, A Grant Jr 76, Bowden 3-48, Dann 3-50) drew with Matfield Green CC 147/5 (38 overs, G Heady 59 ret, H Cooper 49, M Bergot 2-5, A Grant Jr 2-26).

Allstars Debuts: Ted Landray, Max Bergot

Report by Pete Cresswell – Photos by Pete Cresswell

The Allstars’ trip to the beautiful Matfield Green is an annual highlight of our season. This year we were also able to welcome back club stalwart Tony Grant’s son Gus, turning out in a Canbashers (TG’s other team, from whom we inherited the fixture) shirt for his first Matfield appearance in 15 years. Gus also brought along a couple of mates in Ted Landray and Max Bergot to make their Allstars debuts.

The day dawned scorchingly hot, and we were greeted by a flat looking pitch, and a lightning fast outfield – somewhat daunting with both sides reduced to 10 players due to injuries. TG lost the toss and Matfield (sportingly) opted to field in the heat of the day. Their opening bowlers Craig Bell and Greg Dann found some seam movement with the new ball, Dann getting balls to angle into middle then seam away, uprooting Chris Woods’ off stump with a superb delivery. In the 4th over Sam Perera dispatched a couple of loose balls from Dann to the fence – but he was then given out trapped in front with one that may have cleared off stump.

Debutant Ted Landray then joined the (typically) watchful Pete Cresswell at 9/2, and the pair rebuilt the innings, taking the score to 50 by taking advantage of the lightning outfield before Hal Cooper brought one back in past Cresswell’s inside edge, trapping him in front for 15, and Matt Biss became the 3rd lbw of the innings shortly after.

We were then treated to a quick cameo from our second debutant Max Bergot. He hit three boundaries in his 13, before he was bowled by Bowden, who next ball tempted Sam MacDonald to chip to extra cover leaving the Allstars reeling at 94/6 in the 16th.

This was the moment the match turned, as Gus Grant joined Landray, and the pair teed off against Matfield’s change bowlers. They added a breathtaking 118 in just 6.2 overs even though Ted had a straight six chalked off (the conditions of Matfield’s public liability insurance stating that any six hit into the garden of the house on the straight boundary counts as 0 – even though, since the condition was applied, the new home owner has joined the club as a player).

The stand ended when Gus holed out off the returning Dann for 76 – but the carnage hadn’t ended, as Gren Thompson quickly opened his account with a six. He and Ted added another 52 in 9 overs with Ted completing a superb debut ton before TG declared 20 minutes before tea. That did make us somewhat unpopular with the local tea committee, who were still heating savouries – but a longer break was rather welcome in the heat, as was the excellent tea.

After tea, Gren Thompson and Sam Perera led our attack. Gren struck with the third ball of the innings, striking Greg Dann on the glove, with the ball looping over the batter’s shoulder onto the base of the stumps. Giles Heady then joined Hal Cooper, the pair playing positively as they added 113 for the second wicket, taking full toll of any chance to pierce the field, as a World War II P51 Mustang flew tributary circuits in the distance. A tidy spell from Matt Biss and the introduction of Gus Grant slowed the scoring rate, with TG bringing himself on after Matt’s spell and turning in some tight overs.

The last time TG & Gus played Matfield together was about 15 years ago for Canbashers. On that occasion TG dropped a catch off Gus’s bowling. Happily this time he was able to put that right, snaffling Cooper at slip to open up an end.

Giles Heady retired for 59 shortly after battling with the heat and sunscreen and sweat in his eyes. Gus then bowled Jaime Curtis to give us a sniff of a chance though we were well into the final hour of play. But Matfield’s skipper Ed Barsley weighed anchor with Andrew Peaple, the pair getting to the final over before Max Bergot made his debut a memorable one, coming on and picking up both batsmen as a Spitfire graced us with a low fly pass.

All our bowlers had toiled well in the heat, and Sam MacDonald put in an excellent shift behind the stumps to get us close to a win, but it wasn’t to be as Matfield saw the remaining overs out for the draw.
Still, it was a very sociable day once again, with beers enjoyed with the genial opposition afterwards at the Star pub, next to the ground. We thoroughly look forward to a trip southeast next year – but we have a busy week ahead, with an evening T20 against Agricola at Chiswick on Wednesday followed by another of our marquee fixtures, against Heartaches at Aston Rowant next Sunday.

Sunday 26 June 2022, Joseph Hood Recreation Ground, Morden.

The Min CC 182-3 (28.1 overs: Richard Beswick 71 ret ht, Brock Boyd-Taylor 66*, Sheahan Arnott 2-44) beat St Anne’s Allstars 178-7 (35 overs: Matt Biss 72*, Jim Carroll 2-17, Richard Earney 2-36, Chris Etheridge 2-33) by 7 wickets.

Allstars Debut: Andrew Deller

Report by Garreth Duncan – Photos by Sheahan Arnott

The Min are true stalwarts of London social cricket, having just celebrated their 40th anniversary. They share with our club both a similar founding story – a group of friends who attended Bristol University together – and a more recent regeneration, bringing through a cluster of new players in the last few years while retaining many of their long-standing regulars. Given all this, it’s perhaps surprising that our paths haven’t crossed before now – but following a recommendation by our mutual friends the Railway Taverners, we were delighted to take up their offer of a game. We had our moments in our inaugural fixture – but it ultimately belonged to them, as they coasted to victory with nearly 7 overs to spare.

Morden was a new ground for us – though not without access problems, the aftermath of the rail strikes delaying both teams’ arrival at the ground. On a sunny day, The Min’s skipper Richard Beswick won the toss and asked us to bat first – though I was more than happy with this, as the pitch looked pretty good, a substantial improvement on the same council’s minefield at Dundonald Road a couple of miles away.

Matt Biss and Hywel Roberts strode out to open the batting for the Allstars, and initially cashed in on some loose stuff from Luke Horden and left-armer Chris Etheridge. But Etheridge struck back quickly, Hywel being the first to go – caught at point by substitute Sean Jun, who looked mortified to have played a part in a fellow Allstar’s dismissal. It really wasn’t to be Hywel’s day – having previously left his wallet on the train, his game was to be cruelly cut short, as he aggravated an old shoulder injury while himself substituting in the field for The Min’s late arrivals. Steyn Grobler started positively with a couple of boundaries – but yorked himself in Etheridge’s next over to leave us 39-2.

Even after these early setbacks, the runs continued to flow as Sam Macdonald also began brightly with some crisp straight drives and delicate sweeps. But it was the Min’s change bowlers that changed the course of this game. Off-spinner Jim Carroll first took a sharp, low caught and bowled to remove Sam, and then he and skipper Beswick turned the screw. Their accurate bowling proved impossible to get away as we just kept hitting the fielders, the next 6 overs going at just a run an over. Tony Grant pulled Carroll over midwicket to try and break the stranglehold, but then holed out to point, and just after the drinks break we were 83-4.

Sam Perera had had a nightmare, 3-hour journey from far away to reach the ground, but quickly got to work as we looked to lift the tempo. With Matt turning ones into twos, and twos into threes, the pair added 61 before Richard Earney (the fastest milkman in the West) had Sam caught at third man. Andrew Deller, making his Allstars debut after five years out of the game, looked he’d never been away as he kept the momentum going, only for the returning Beswick to have him snapped up at mid-wicket, and Earney then finished the innings by having Iain Wilson caught off the final ball. Matt Biss remained undefeated, carrying his bat for 72, a mighty effort against a challenging bowling attack, and his third fifty in succession (including one for NCI the previous day). Still, our final total of 178-7 looked 30 or 40 light on a pitch showing few demons and a monstrous outfield to defend.

To have any chance of defending it, we needed early wickets in reply – and we got them, as Sheahan Arnott charged in and struck twice in his first two overs. Having first bowled Earney, he then produced an absolute peach of a delivery to castle the dangerous Carroll. At the other end, skipper Beswick was living a charmed life as a couple of aerial shots just cleared the infield. Sean Jun and Sam Perera both ran in with whole-hearted spells, but both went wicketless, and it was TG who made the breakthrough as he trapped Stephenson LBW. The Min were 55-3 in the 13th over, and we were still in it.

But that was as good as it got for the Allstars, as the pugnacious Brock Boyd-Taylor joined Beswick to take The Min to the brink of victory with a stand of 119. Jimmy Scott, Iain and Dell all tried their best, but with little help from the surface, runs came more and more easily. Sheahan was recalled for one final go, but after Beswick retired hurt to give Usanga a go, a flurry of boundaries from Boyd-Taylor carried The Min over the line.

Nevertheless, it was a top day out for us all, and it’s been fantastic to find an opponent with whom we have so much in common. We decamped to the Leather Bottle pub for drinks and cricket chat with their players and enthusiastic supporters. We wish them all the best for their upcoming tour to Somerset, and look forward to playing them again next year – but next up for us, it’s one of the highlights of our season, as we head to Kent to play Matfield on their stunning village green ground.

Hampstead Heath Extension, Sunday 19 June 2022.

St Anne’s Allstars 254-3 (35 overs: Amit Deverathippa 117* ret; Matt Biss 51* ret) beat Mighty Wanderers 216-9 (35 overs: Lars Smith 53, Amit Deverathippa 3-22; Amiya Ranjan 2-20) by 38 runs.

Report by Garreth Duncan – Photos by Pete Cresswell, Garreth Duncan and Chris Deeley

The Allstars’ encounters with Mighty Wanderers go back almost to the beginning of our club in the early 2000s, and the James Abrahams Trophy, named after our club’s very own legal eagle, has been keenly contested over the years, with both sides celebrating victories in recent years. On Father’s Day, we retained the trophy with an ultimately comfortable win, thanks largely to a brilliant all-round performance from Amit Deverathippa.

It was touch and go whether the game would take place at all, North Middlesex CC having disgracefully cancelled our ground booking on the Wednesday and prompting a scramble to find an alternative venue. Fortunately, for us if not for them, our friends the Salmagundi Gardeners were unable to use their ground booking (their opponents having pulled out) and we were grateful to sub-let it from them for the game. The Hampstead Heath extension, near Golders Green, was a pleasant enough public park location, with some practice nets where the local kids were keen to test out their cricketing skills on us (and one family kindly providing some thirsty Allstars with water).

Mighty Wanderers won the toss and asked us to bat first, no doubt seeing a pitch which many feared might misbehave, and skipper Pete Cresswell marched out to open the innings with Paul Burgin. Brothers Nick and Jono Charlton started well for Wanderers, left-armer Jono striking the first blow with a ball that kept low to bowl Pete for a duck (a fate which he had predicted the day before, having had a more fruitful afternoon playing rounders that day). It was a blow for Wanderers when Nick Charlton pulled up with a groin injury and was unable to bowl more than his initial four overs – but this brought in their best bowler Taylor into the attack. Pablo had begun with attacking intent, hitting three boundaries in his 18 – but Taylor bowled him with another shooter to leave us 41-2 in the 13th over.

The fall of the second wicket brought in Amit to join Matt Biss at the wicket, and together they put together an epic stand of 189 that took the game completely away from Wanderers. Having carefully seen off the dangerous Taylor, they then accelerated as all of the change bowlers were put to the sword – Rigby the first to be blasted out of the attack with an over that went for 19. One felt for the Wanderers’ fielders as, like the Dutch players in the England ODI on Friday (and us on many occasions at Barnes) they frequently went searching for the ball in the undergrowth. They must have been wondering what their captain was doing too, strangely keeping the field in for far too long when common sense surely would have dictated that more men be placed out on the boundary.

Had they gone on, a whole stack of club records could have been under threat, but after Amit had brought up his hundred and Matt his fifty, they both gracefully retired to give others a go, much to the relief of the Wanderers bowlers. Amit’s hitting was the most powerful I’ve ever seen in an Allstars game – square leg and long-on being particularly targeted – mixed in with deft deflections through third man. His devastating 117 included 14 fours and 7 sixes. But Matt’s contribution to this monster stand shouldn’t be forgotten, defying his own frustrations to put the bad balls away for boundaries while running singles to get Amit back on strike. Sanjay Dindyal and Sam Perera finished with a flourish, adding a quick 23 before Sanj was caught off the final ball to leave us on an impressive 254-3.

Smith and Nick Charlton continued to hit out – Smith carting me for a massive six over cow corner – but by now, the required rate was way beyond them. Fittingly, it was Amit who had the final say as he took a well judged catch at long-off off the returning Amiya to dismiss Smith after he had completed a brave fifty.

We finished an excellent day’s cricket just before the heavens opened and we quickly headed for the pub. Mighty Wanderers were gracious in defeat, and we look forward to playing them again next season. Next up, we cross London to face a new opponent, The Min CC, at Morden on Sunday.

Barnes Common, Saturday 11 June 2022.

St Anne’s Allstars 290-6 (35 overs: Amit Deverathippa 72, Steyn Grobler 46) beat New Barbarian Weasels 182-7 (35 overs: Muhammed Askar 2-45) by 108 runs.

Allstars Debuts: Usman Khan, Shorif Uddin.

Report by Sam Perera – Photos by Jimmy Scott and Amit Deverathippa

The Weasels and our club go back a long way, and even though they play few games these days, Iain “Wibble” Wilson’s men always make a special effort to raise a team to play us. On a pleasant afternoon at Barnes Common, they played with spirit – but we were just too good as we went to a comfortable victory.

We went in with a well laid out game plan, a batting strategy, and a contingency plan, and our batting order was set to achieve this strategy. For the first 10 overs – building the foundation – our opening batsmen Amit Deverathippa and Harshad Keskar were given two targets: holding their wicket to see off the opening bowlers, and maintaining a run rate of 4 to 5 an over. This wasn’t easy with the Weasels’ two opening fast bowlers, Hamad and Hamza, who swung the ball to a level one would expect in a much higher level of cricket than ours. But the immense maturity and patience our two openers displayed saw them off, and after 10 overs we were on target at 44-0.

From overs from 11 to 20, the plan was one batsman accelerate and the other two anchor in. Harshad played a top innings, and the level of maturity he displayed, coupled with the wide range of stylish technical strokes, was a treat to watch. The opening stand had reached 61 in the 13th over before our old friend Wibble had him stumped.

Steyn Grobler joined Amit at the wicket, and played his natural attacking game from the start, with a boundary off his first ball – and then the boundaries started to rain. Amit, too, increased the run rate yet higher, and the pair put on a lightning stand of 98 in just 10 overs, a scoring rate rarely achieved in our history. When Cam dismissed Steyn caught and bowled four short of his fifty, we were very handily placed at 159-2 with plenty overs and batting still to come.

Our batting hero, and undoubted man of the match, Amit’s performance deserves great credit far beyond the impressive 72 runs he scored. Many who have seen Amit’s previous innings for the Allstars saw a very different batsman at Barnes. He held his nerve, played a defensive innings, with patience and maturity, and this season he has displayed his ability to play at any level of the order. Supported by debutant Usman Khan’s 41 and Amiya Ranjan’s quick double digits the score passed the 200 mark with 8 overs still to be bowled. Though Joshi was to dismiss both Amit and Usman, Sam Perera and Shanmugam Sama then shared a sixth wicket partnership of 59 in the last five overs before Sam was caught off the final delivery. Our eventual score of 290-6 was the third highest total in our history.

When the Allstars took the field, our efforts were no less impressive. Shanmu and Amiya both bowled at rocket speed and gained massive swing, stretching even Steyn’s athletic keeping skills. Shanmu struck in the first over to a stunning catch by Jimmy Scott at second slip, one of the best ever catches by an Allstar in the slip cordon, and neither of the second wicket pair were able to make any meaningful contribution as Amiya kept the scoring rate under tight control.

Usman continued a fine debut with the next blow, a smart stumping by Steyn who kept with the highest level of quality throughout the innings, and Muhammad Askar bowled superbly to take two wickets, having Sarmad caught by Steyn and bowling Cam. Our fielding performance was equally sharp, Sam Perera sending Chinton back as he ran him out with a direct hit from mid-off. Though the Weasels bravely saw the overs out, Hamza top scoring with 48, an 108-run victory was fully deserved. The Allstars’ motivation and commitment was exceptional, and team work and partnerships were the keys to victory.

We wish the Weasels all the best for the rest of their season – but next up, we face Mighty Wanderers at Crouch End this Sunday.