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7th September - Annual Dinner
Don’t forget that the annual dinner and AGM take place on Friday 14th November. Put the date in your diary now.
7th September - Rain, rain and MORE rain
Sadly the last three games - with Chobham, Maidenhead & Bray and Amersham - have all been cancelled due of the wet weather.
18th August - Middleton Stoney
From a beautiful Hertfordshire rural setting we progressed to an equally beautiful ground in the Oxfordshire countryside - Middleton Stoney. And won by the even more convincing margin of 130 runs.
Put into bat on a potentially treacherous wet wicket we did well to reach 195-7 by tea. The solid foundation provided by Simon Cleobury (18) and Tom Maxwell (27) was vital as this was potentially a hundred-all-out wicket. Roger Greenslade (65*) then held the rest of the innings together, before he was joined by John Murphy (29*) for the final acceleration. The champagne moment came when John walked down the wicket to their opening bowler and launched a huge straight six a long way over the sightscreen.
The Middleton Stoney innings never really got going against steady bowling from Matt Berry and John Murphy. After three quick wickets the middle order dug in for a while - so Andrew Short was summoned to serve up a little temptation. The batsmen found it hard to resist and the home side were soon all out for 65, Andrew looking bemused to have finished with figures of 5-7.
Many thanks to Middleton Stoney for their hospitality - the post-match barbie and conversation were as excellent as ever. Over the years this fixture has been cursed by the weather, so we look forward to a dry pitch and real August temperatures next year.
12th August - Rickling Ramblers
After losing our debut fixture at Rickling Green last year we were determined to make amends this season. Match manager Ollie Doward takes up the story:
“After a narrow defeat in last year's inaugural fixture, revenge was duly exacted at the village idyll that is Rickling Green.
“The Ramblers won the toss and, after some heavy overnight rain, were delighted to invite us to bat. We lost Mike Palmer and Simeon Douse early on, but Roger Wilcock had already launched the fourth ball of the innings over extra cover and bounding down the road to Manuden. It was the first of four maximums in a truly splendid 106. Roger was particularly brutal on anything remotely over-pitched, unleashing a series of booming straight and extra-cover drives, as well as marmelising one short ball for an enormous six over mid-wicket. It was a chanceless knock, the only hairy moment coming on 99 when, to the agony of team-mates in the pavilion, he lofted the ball millimetres from the grasp of the man on the log-on boundary.
“Roger shared a stand of 126 with Richie Patel who initially played second fiddle with a patient first fifty before exploding into life as we pushed for a declaration. With Richie on 89*, word was sent to the middle that he had two overs in which to reach his hundred. He needed two balls, both of which were dispatched with aplomb over the mid-wicket rope! Richie (101*) had added a further 81 with Andrew Short (20*) as we finished on 248-3 off 35.2 overs. Club historians were scratching their heads trying to recall the last time two Jesters reached a century in the same innings.
“Buoyed by these two stirring knocks, we were soon on top in the field. Anxious to keep up with the steep run-rate, their top order played some optimistic strokes against Berry & Murphy and were soon in trouble. With four Ramblers back in the hutch for less than a hundred, play was halted by a torrential downpour, forcing a change of tactics upon the resumption. Deprived of the fast bowling prowess of Shobu & Palmer by the slippery footholds, wet wicket weapon Short was quickly summoned. Despite some middle order resistance from stylish left-hander Bunting (32) and the obdurate Lodge (32), Berry remained unruffled by the tricky conditions underfoot to finish with season's best figures of 5-51. Rain-meister 'Schumie' Short wrapped up the innings with 4-21 thanks to two sharp stumpings by Roger Greenslade.
“Despite the one-sided nature of the victory, the match was played in great spirit and we can expect a sterner challenge next year, with opposition players promising to 'unleash the Kiff' on us - the burly fast bowler who struck fear into our hearts in last year's game!”
8th August - Cuckfield
We beat Cuckfield by five wickets after the usual enjoyable day in their cricket week.
We arrived to find John Mole and his team working on the square after apocalyptic thunderstorms the previous evening. They did a fantastic job, allowing us to start only an hour late.
Even before we took the field there had been dramas with both side suffering two drop outs that morning. After negotiations, we drafted in two ten year olds and Cuckfield called up two players from their ladies side. All of whom performed well in the game.
Cuckfield lunched at the healthy 83-3 but fell away afterwards to 148 all out. Seaford CC’s Australian, J. Thompson, did the early damage with 3-41 before Simon Hardy mopped up with 4-33. We were helped by the absence of usual nemesis Chris Mole who was resting after scoring a half-century for Devon at Lord’s the day before.
The fielding highlight was Brian Pote-Hunt’s flying one-handed diving catch at second slip. Definitely life in the old dog yet!
After a solid start from Thompson and Matt Hepple we eased home by 5 wickets without too many alarms, promoting ten year olds Luke Appleton and Isaac Swan up the order to give them a game. Both batted very sensibly. Luke enjoyed his first ever partnership with his father Jay - and from the way they batted there will be many more to come.
Many thanks, once again, to Cuckfield for their tip-top hospitality. This game is one of the highlights of our fixture list and it’s a real shame that very few regular Jesters now travel down from London to take part. Why not it in your diary now for 2009?
4th August - No gnomes
Sadly the game with Lord Gnome’s XI had to be cancelled as they were unable to raise a side.
27 July - Roehampton
We were back to winning ways at Roehampton with a convincing 6 wicket victory.
A dead slow but erratically bouncy track made batting difficult, so we were unsure what to make of Roehampton’s 145-9 off 40 overs. Pete Tilley made a useful Jesters debut (8/3/12/2), Nick Mumby was leading wicket-taker with three, and Matt Berry his usual miserly self (16 runs off 9 overs).
Mike Palmer soon showed we had nothing to worry about with a commanding innings of 72, including five sixes. Alex Smith (48) joined Mike in a rollicking partnership of 105, which involved near misses on several sunbathing spectators and much work for players, dogs and spectators hunting balls lost in the surrounding undergrowth. In the end we cruised home with ten overs to spare.
24th July - Horsham
Match manager Brian Pote-Hunt reports on our drawn game at Horsham:
“Jesters contrived to draw on hot day in Horsham after victory had looked more likely. Having contained the host to 260-4, Jesters set about their total with gusto with Jeremy Crampton and Furrakh Mirza crashing the call around the park. Jeremy fell for 73 when the score was on 120. Matt Hepple and Furrakh then took the innings forward with 6 an over needed in the last 20 with wickets to spare.
“However good Horsham bowling and defensive fields limited the score to below 4 an over and slowly we got behind the required rate. Losing several wickets in an attempt to accelerate we were left with 22 off the last over, a tall order, and finished 10 short. A good close game - and Horsham’s track was in tip top shape a week before Sussex play there against Somerset”.
20th July - Gemini
The big news from the Gemini game was that we took a wicket - a great relief after taking precisely none in our previous two fixtures at Sunningdale School. In fact we took all ten, but still lost a closely fought game by 29 runs.
Gemini won the toss, batted and were well placed on 134-3 at lunch. We hit back after the break and did well to limit them to 208. John Murphy (16/5/45/4) and Jonny Bridcut (13/2/42/3) did most of the damage.
The Sunningdale square always gives a little help to the bowlers, but we thought the target was within reach if we could make a good start. This we duly made, taking tea at 39 without loss. But our foundation proved less solid than we’d hoped. After Robbie Hudson went lbw for 39 no one was able to play a major innings and we subsided to 140-9. Game over, we thought.
But at this point James Douse strode to the crease and proceeded to unfurl the most glorious array of stokes. Drives mainly, in the air and along the ground - to the increasingly loud cheers of his team mates. We were just daring to contemplate victory when the final wicket fell at the other end leaving James stranded on 28 not out.
Many thanks, once again, to Gemini for their excellent hospitality. One of the most enjoyable days of the season.
13th July - More dropped catches
Slaughter & May beat us by two wickets at the Shenley Cricket Centre. Again it was largely our own fault as we dropped an incredible seven catches. A match report will appear here soon, but in the meantime here are the scores:
Jesters: 167 for 6 (35 overs)
P. Durban 45, S. Douse 31*, O. Doward 29, C. Wilson 26, Edington 2-33, Warriner 2-29
Slaughter & May: 170 for 8 (33.5 overs)
R. Patel 81, Bridcut 3-16, Murphy 2-40
12th July - Rain (and more rain) in Dorset
The Dorset tour was a damp affair, with the Hampshire Hogs game called off at breakfast and the Bryanston match rained off after lunch.
We had high hopes at Bryanston. Not only was most of the team on the ground by 11.30 - in contrast to last year. But we also had them 56-4 three balls into the afternoon session, after they had lunched at 56-2. But then it rained and we settled for a couple of indoor games in the school sports hall and a good session in the pub afterwards..
Our inability to catch did for us next day at Canford where we crashed to a 7 wicket defeat. It should have been much closer. Our 210-7 was a good total that ought to have stretched the Cygnets, but we dropped both their number three and four off simple chances in the early stages of a large partnership.
Spare a thought for Zac Curtis. After batting beautifully, and holding our innings together, he went for another big hit, not realising he was on 99. The ball went a long way, but unfortunately almost straight up in the air and he fell one short of what would have been a fine century.
Many thanks to the Butterflies and Cygnets for their hospitality. We’re looking forward to next year already.
29th June - The Mallards
Our new fixture against the Cambridge based Mallards was very enjoyable, and ended in a 151 run victory.
Jesters: 291-4 (40 overs) – Vijendran 87, Doward 115*, Moshinul Haque 29 - Debs 2-31
Mallards: 140 All Out (31.4 overs) Grimshaw 50 – Murphy 2-38, Ahmed 2-21, Haque 2-22, Douse 2-8, Twigg 2-8
Match manager, Matt Berry, fleshes out the statistics:
'Jesters registered a comfortable 151 run victory over The Mallards on a fine track in the superlative grounds of Churchill College, Cambridge. Owing to a few stragglers arriving late, The Mallards' captain kindly allowed us to bat first on an absolute road of a track. After Cleobury fell early, progress was comfortable with Patel (28) looking in particularly fine form
until he was bamboozled by an innocuous but straight delivery. From 39-2 Vijendran and Doward then accumulated rapidly against a varied attack that included a former Cambridge University 2nd XI bowler, a couple of decent medium pacers, and several who had honed the art of the juicy long-hop.
So upwardly projected was the bowling that followed, radar operators at RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow may well have been left scratching their heads. However, as
the ball continued to fly over the wicketkeeper's head, both batsmen kept their heads to put on 176 in 23 overs. Vijendran, despite averaging 60+ for the Jesters this season, was once again left cursing another missed hundred when bowled for a textbook 73-ball 87. Doward, matching Vijendran's class with bear-like aggression, raced to an 85-ball century, his first for
Jesters, partnered by a run-a-ball 29 from 16-year old Moshinul Haque. Jesters finished on a tidy 291-4 off 40 overs.
“At 76-1 off 11 overs Mallards appeared to be making a good fist of chasing down the mammoth target, with an injured Berry not keeping to his usual accuracy. However fellow opener Murphy bowled the opposition No.3 for 31 leaving occasional Jester, Grimshaw, to tackle the raw pace of 16-year old Shobju Ahmed. Grimshaw bought up a stoical 50 in 30 balls, but once dismissed by a fast full delivery from Ahmed, the middle order collapsed in a heap thanks to the youngsters Shobju and Moshinul bowling in tandem. Brief resistance from the keeper and skipper only slightly delayed the highlight of the day, James Douse taking his first two wickets for Jesters. John Twigg merrily chipped in with two wickets as Mallards were bowled out of 140 in 31.4 overs. A super game – definitely a fixture to keep.”
22nd June - Captain Scott’s XI
Jesters: 232/5
Captain Scott’s XI: 163 all out
Won by 69 runs
Match manager Jonny Bridcut tells the story:
“On a bright and blustery day on the Balliol ground, Oxford, the Jesters triumphed in our inaugural fixture with the Captain Scott XI. Having lost the toss, we were asked to bat first. After the "Scotties" finally succeeded in their quest to discover an opening bowler and a wicketkeeper, the duel began, and the visitors' powerful top six quickly went about compiling a formidable total on a deceptively tricky wicket during our 35 over stay.
“After a promising start, with Robbie Hudson supplying typical early acceleration, Ponniah and Zac Curtis (our Kiwi debutant) gave the innings a tremendous foundation, putting on over a hundred for the second wicket. Having been unusually restrained, Ponniah unleashed a booming slap down the ground to their talkative South African medium pacer (every team has one), only to find his woodwork brutally rearranged, bringing to an end a solid 47. Ollie Doward and Alex Smith provided a characteristic Jesters mid-innings wobble, giving the lower order hope of a chance to wield the willow, before George Shepherd entered the fray and scampered eagerly between the wickets, ensuring Zac had as much of the strike as possible. Before long Zac reached a well deserved hundred, enabling him to fully blosom in the final overs of the innings. As a result the Jesters exceeded the captain's expectations with a daunting total of 232/5.
“It wasn't long before the Captain Scott XI openers were in difficulties. Matt Berry managed to get the ball to dance off a length, and bowled straight through his allotted 7 overs, with typically miserly figures of 2/21. With wickets also falling at the other end, the required run rate soon climbed to over 8 an over, which even the skill and strength of the Reilly brothers could not overturn (one enormous straight six will live long in the memory). Taking pace off the ball proved decisive as the canny Andrew Short and the golden arm of Zac tore into the opposition's middle order. Once Ollie had somehow clung onto a rasping pull at midwicket to remove their skipper, the match disappeared beyond the Scotties' reach. Zac finished with 5/24, rounding off a memorable day, whilst Robbie claimed a couple of swift stumpings, thereby securing a 69 run victory.
8th June - Headley
Resuming our long-standing fixture with Headley after a year’s break we were surprised to turn up and find them about to play against another club. We were clearly in their fixture card for this date so it was a curious mix up. Good sense prevailed and we played a series of Fifteen/15 matches so all three teams had some cricket. In the end an enjoyable afternoon.
7th June - Jesus College, Cambridge
“A fruitful day in the Fens with nearby Strawberry Fair festival providing a thumping soundtrack to a thumping Jesters victory.
“Jesters 216-7 dec, Jesus College 123 all out
Jesters won by 93 runs.
“After electing to bat on a moist surface under leaden skies, perennial openers Cleobury and Hudson weathered the juicy conditions well, but three quick wickets suddenly reduced us to 45-3. Alex Smith (39) & Sam Grimshaw (63) then came together for a crucial 4th wicket stand of 76. Timing the ball was never easy on a slow track but both men pounced on anything loose. The impetus was added by debutant Ros Atkins whose swift 30 included an inside-out six over extra cover and allowed us to declare on a healthy 216-7.
“In reply, the Jesus top order (just like their counterparts at St John's and Magdalene) had no answer to the Bridcut boomerang. At 5-3 then 26-5, the game was virtually over as a contest. Of Jonny's 24 wickets so far this season, a Wasim Akram-like 80% have now been either bowled or lbw. One exception was the day's champagne moment, an edged exocet which flew to 2nd slip where Simon Cleobury clung on spectacularly in front of his face to spare himself a trip to Addenbrooke's!
“Despite some late order resistance from Robinson (their stand-out player with 42 runs and 2-20 off 10 overs), Nick Mumby (7.3-1-22-2) wrapped things up when keeper Malcolm Birks claimed his second stumping of the innings.Jonny finished with figures of 10-4-18-6, supported at one point by a seven-man cordon behind the stumps.”
Many thanks to match manager Ollie Doward for this account.
2nd June - Sawbridgeworth
“We drew against a very strong and youthful Sawbridgeworth side containing several 1st XI league players. Thankfully this didn't include their West Indies A fast bowler Andrew Richardson (who counts Rahul Dravid amongst his previous dismissals).
“After working hard to put together 11 players, (including the loan from Sawbo of Arsenal's U16 goalkeeper) it was disappointing that one player decided not to turn up. However this disappointment soon turned to rapture as Sawbridgeworth, having elected to bat, collapsed spectacularly to 17-5 - Jonny Bridcut (3) and Matt Berry (2) scything through their self-professed strong batting lineup.
“To make a game of it, the openers were withdrawn, which turned out to be generosity in the extreme as they recovered to 231-6 declared, making the most of a short boundary on one side of the ground. Ashman (75) and Birch (100*) were the ones who rescued them in a stand of nearly 200.
“With some talented batting in the team we fancied giving it a good go, and with Ponniah Vijendran (94) looking comfortable against anything they threw at us, it was looking good at 130-3. However we steadily lost wickets, and we ended by batting the last few overs out for a draw, the last 3 deliveries competently seen out by Jesters debutant Sud "Sid" Sarkar. We finished at 172-8 - 4 wickets for their pacy opening bowler, and 4 for their left arm chinaman bowler.
“This is a great new fixture on the card - with such a strong league setup Sawbo will always be one of our more challenging fixtures, and with warm hospitality and a great ground in a pleasant Hertfordshire/Essex town, I'd recommend this game wholeheartedly. Just as long as Richardson doesn't play.”
Thanks to match manager Alex Smith for this account.
18th May - Epic tied draw at NPL
A wonderful run-filled afternoon ended with NPL needing two from the last ball, bowled by Sandy Ross. They managed only one leaving the scores level - a tied draw.
We batted first. And on a good pitch Ritchie Patel and Ponniah Vijendran (52) got us off to a flying start. But with the advent of the spinners the wheels well and truly came off - and we found ourselves perilously poised on 107-5. At this point the counter attack began, Nick Mumby and Andrew Short adding 120 at a brisk rate. Nick was particularly brutal on anything even remotely short pitched. We finally declared on 249-7, Nick hitting 93 off only 67 balls.
Some us thought the declaration had come too late. Which just goes to show how wrong you can be. Our skipper’s main concern was NPL’s Sri Lankan pro, who’d scored a league century the day before. He started effortlessly, but Jonny Bridcut then plucked a tracer bullet out of the air to take the most incredible caught and bowled. Game over, surely.
But we had reckoned without their other opener, Chris Churchman. He proceeded to play the most astonishing innings, for which words are barely adequate - 177 not out. There was power (9 sixes) certainly, but also complete control over the placement of every shot. With his precise judgement of singles and twos we found it very difficult to get more than a few balls at the other batsmen. What’s more, we had a decent attack who bowled well. It was the best club innings many of us had ever seen.
He even had the surgical precision to take out one of our fielders. Standing at mid-off, Matt Berry was poleaxed by a fearsome drive and fell so hard he aggravated a long-standing knee injury and had to sit out the rest of the game.
160 off the last 20 overs became 13 from the final one. A huge six disappeared over mid-wicket but Sandy did a great job and crucially managed to get the superstar off strike for the last ball. Final score: 249-5. What a game!
5th May - Cambridge weekend
The Cambridge weekend was a huge success, both on and off the field. We beat St. John’s by 6 wickets, after bowling them out for 71, and drew an exciting game with Magdelene. Jonny Bridcut took 12 wickets over the weekend.
St. John’s were surprised we didn’t want to bat first. But they had underestimated our skipper’s ruthless pursuit of victory against his old college. Jonny Bridcut was unleashed on the students and duly swept them aside, taking 6-29 from 9 overs. All six were bowled, testimony his wicked late in-swing which did much of the damage. The students bowled much better than they had batted - one veteran of the fixture thought it the second best bowling attack he’d faced there - and we could only crawl to victory, losing 4 wickets in the process.
Magdalene won the toss and put us in. A decision they may have regretted when we declared on 202-2, Mike Palmer (76* in his debut innings for the club) and Alex Smith (59*) both batting beautifully, and building on Robbie Hudson’s solid foundation (41). Alex hit 26 off the penultimate over. The students batted far better than their counterparts the day before and, after playing themselves in carefully, nos. 2 and 3 began a clinical dissection of our attack. At 107-1 they looked in total control. At which point Jonny Bridcut returned to the attack - and promptly took 3 wickets in his first over! This was the turning point. To their credit the college didn’t give up, but we were able to restrict them to 164-7, even sniffing victory for a few overs near the end. Jonny took 6-25 and was ably supported by a tight spell from Adnan Mohammed’s slows.
2nd May - New fixture with Captain Scott’s XI
We have arranged a new fixture on Sunday 22nd June with Captain Scott’s XI, to be played on one of the college grounds in Oxford (2pm start). Jonny Bridcut is our match manager.
2nd May - Match manager for Mallards game
Matt Berry has kindly agreed to be match manager of this new fixture with the Mallards on Sunday 29th June in Cambridge.
1st May - Club ties and cricket shirts
We have just taken delivery of new stocks of club ties (the same design as before) and cricket shirts (with a red and black jester on the left breast and the words “Jesters CC” above it). Both ties and shirts cost £20.00 each. Contact Andrew Short to purchase yours.
27th April - Antelopians
We beat Antelopians by 9 wickets after bowling them out for 50. Match manager Nick Mumby tells how it happened.
"The first of the Jesters' new opponents this year saw us take on the Antelopians at Dulwich. Given the dismal weather - it poured with rain all morning - it was something of a miracle that we managed to play. But at our intended start time of 2pm the rains had passed.
“Antelopians won the toss and elected to bat on what was a juicy surface to, say the least. Jonny Bridcut and Mike Palmer opened the bowling and were both into their stride quickly - although for Mike it took slightly longer, having lost his footing on what would have been his first ball for the Jesters and ended up in an unceremonious heap!
“Both bowlers managed to get the ball to move both ways off the pitch and in the air, and both picked up two wickets for very few runs - including one of the most astounding caught and bowleds I have ever seen, Jonny taking the ball hit by like a tracer bullet barely an inch off the ground.
“The difficulties continued for the batsmen with Matt Berry near impossible to get away and Nick Mumby finding an unusual amount of grip for such a wet surface. Each of their top six had threatened to get going, but had then been beaten by a good delivery (with no small amount of help attributed to the pitch). Bridcut, Berry and Palmer each ended with 2 wickets, and Mumby claimed the remaining 4 as the Antelopians were dismissed for 50.
"At the point of tea, the heavens opened again and it looked like further play would be impossible. But the rain passed and the openers set about knocking off the runs, with the ball splashing around the outfield and the bounce of the wicket becoming ever more uneven. We only lost one wicket, however, with Simon Cleobury and Ollie Doward guiding us home.
"It was a shame the weather spoiled what promises to be a good addition to the fixture card, and I'm sure that in better conditions it would have been a much more closely fought game. At the same time, it was good to register the first win of the new season!"
22nd April - Down to the wire at Hurlingham
We began the 2008 season with a tense finish at Hurlingham, losing off the penultimate delivery.
The pitch was again on the edge of the square, but this year the opposite one from usual, away from the pavilion. We were inserted in murky, overcast conditions, and with the ball moving around openers Simon Cleobury (51) and George Shepherd (35) did well to take us into the 70s before their partnership was broken. After that, no one was able to put together the big innings that’s usually needed at Hurlingham. Ollie Doward and Ponniah Vijendran both made it into the 40s, but our final total of 204 felt about 30 short. A series of excellent catches from the more senior Hurlingham players were at least partly responsible.
Early wickets were crucial, and Andy Sutton duly bowled their opener with the first ball of the innings. But that proved a false dawn as their other opener rode his luck and nos. 3 and 4 batted sensibly. As the final 20 overs arrived they needed just 80 with eight wickets remaining, a nearly hopeless position for us on that fast scoring ground. We were rescued by a tight spell from Adnan Mohammed, bowling his slow left arm darts. Scoring suddenly became more difficult and, under pressure, Hurlingham began to lose wickets. At the start of the final over, bowled by Andy Sutton, they needed 8 with four wickets remaining. We were hopeful. That became 5 off three balls. But then a wild hoick took a top edge and disappeared over our keeper for four. The scores were level and they duly scampered the winning single from the next delivery.
Disappointing to lose. But a great fight-back and great way to start the season.
1st October - Annual dinner at Lord’s
The 2007 AGM and dinner will take place on Friday 23rd November in the MCC Committee Dining Room in the pavilion at Lord’s. You can read full details here.
26th September - Final tally
In 2007 we won 9 games, lost 8 and drew 4. Not quite as good statistically as recent summers - but with the large number of limited over games we now play comparisons with previous seasons are difficult. There were a lot of close games - especially in the second half of the season - which made for enjoyable cricket. And we were rarely outclassed (although this did happen). Most memorable victories were probably those at Amersham, Ashtead and Canford.
23rd September - Barnes Common
For the second season running we needed six to win off the last ball - and didn’t manage that remarkable feat.
Our new fixture with Barnes Common was a great success and we are already looking forward to next year. One novel feature was the use of an orange ball to counter the background of dark trees surrounding the ground.
Match manager Nick Mumby tells the story
"Jesters won the toss and decided to have a bowl. Barnes got off to a flyer, with the orange ball disappearing to all parts of the ground. Even two early wickets failed to stem the flow of runs, as the fast outfield, short boundary and aggressive hitting from the Barnes top order kept the scoreboard ticking over at an alarming rate. Having removed S. Beri -caught by Ollie Doward off Sandy Ross - for a whirlwind 58 off only 28 balls, we eventually managed to pull them back. Good spells of bowling from Murphy (2-36), Dodd (2-35), Ross (2-39) and Bridcut (2-41) kept them to 220 from their 35 overs.
“To chase this we needed to get off to a decent start, and openers Ponniah Vijendran and Simon Cleobury set about providing a platform for the team to build on. Cleobury looked in good touch, with some lovely driving through the covers, before he lost his off stump to a ball which barely got off the ground. At this point the scoring slowed, and the loss of Will Drake to a sharp return catch soon after led to another rise in the required rate.
“Bob and Ollie Doward got us back on track, and when Bob succumbed to their Aussie skipper for 69 the Jesters still looked favourites. Barnes, however, now tightened the screw and runs dried up, and when Doward was dismissed for a superbly made 54 we still had 40 runs to make for victory. Despite the valiant efforts of Wilson and Dodd their bowling at the death was just too tight and we failed to make the target by 3 runs.
“It was a splendid day out, and a very fine addition to the fixture card, but a great shame not to have ended the season with a victory. Let's hope we can change that next year!"
11th September - Great win at Amersham
Amersham’s total of 255 in a 45 over game was a formidable target. But we pipped them at the post after a thrilling run chase.
Amersham had turned out a strong side so we were delighted to reduce them to 137-7, including their giant Australian who’d recently scored a 52-ball century in the league. Their captain and tailenders put together an excellent recovery against tiring Jesters bowling and we thought 255 possibly beyond us.
This was not a view shared by Ponniah Vijendran who raced to 50 off 37 balls. Will Evans - a man who had scored a century at Hurlingham earlier in the season - could only watch in awe, contributing just 8 to an opening partnership of 67. Runs continued to flow but Amersham began to work their way through our batting. 80-3 became 150-4 and then 176-5, with the required rate hovering around seven an over.
At this point Ollie Doward and Roger Greenslade came together in what turned out to be the crucial partnership. Deft deflections and stealthy running kept the runs mounting. But we were falling behind the rate against a tight attack with the spinners particularly hard to put away. Ollie launched a six over extra cover and the opening bowler was recalled in response.
His first delivery slipped, running to the boundary for five wides. The second was dismissed over long off by Roger for a truly cathartic six. To be followed by three consecutive fours all through the covers. 23 off the over!
That was turning point and we cruised home with two overs to spare. A margin that doesn’t reflect how tight a finsh it really was. Roger’s 48 came off 31 balls and Ollie’s 47 off 44.
Many thanks to Amersham for a great afternoon’s cricket.
5th September - Tight scrap at Bray
We won a low scoring dogfight with Maidenhead & Bray.
Jesters: 127 for 8 (40 overs) J. Bridcut 47, A. Short 20,
Maidenhead and Bray:108 all out (33.1 overs) A. Dodd 4-25, J. Murphy 3-10
Match Manager John Murphy tells the story:
“The captain's decision to bat first on a slow track looked to be a poor one, as the Jesters collapsed to 29 for 5 in the fifteenth over. However, the lower middle order put in a battling performance to restore credibility and to give us a target to defend.
“The recovery started with Charlie Wilson's patient innings. Wilson played himself in sensibly before he was trapped plumb in front. Jonny Bridcut and Andrew Short then added a crucial partnership of 53. Scoring 47and 20 respectively, both were stumped trying to increase the scoring rate in the last few overs of the innings.
“Chasing any three figure score would not be easy and tales from yesteryear of low-scoring Jesters victories at Bray gave the bowlers confidence. Bridcut got an early breakthrough, the fourth LBW of the day, and Matt Berry bowled tightly. John Murphy took three top-order wickets, returning figures of 3 for 10 from his eight overs. Murphy was supported well in the field. Brian Pote-Hunt took a superb diving catch at cover point and Roger Greenslade took a sharp chance standing up to thestumps.
“With Maidenhead and Bray 94 for 5 the game was on a knife-edge, but fortunately the Jesters' bowlers and fielders stayed cool under pressure. Off-spinner Allan Dodd claimed 4 for 25 from his eight overs and one of his wickets was due to another excellent catch, this time by Roger Wilcock in the covers.
“Perhaps the most satisfying moment of the afternoon was a father-and-son run-out, as George Greenslade's accurate throw from point was taken by his father, Roger, who removed the bails. The match was brought to a close when a grubber, delivered by Short, rattled into the number eleven's off stump.”
26th August - Chobham
We registered a comfortable five wicket victory at Chobham. Playing a 40 over game, we restricted them to 132-8 on a slow pitch which made both run-scoring and wicket-taking difficult. Jonny Bridcut (4/21 from 10 overs) and John Murphy (3/28 from 10 overs) were our leading lights.
In reply we ground through some early overs until Roger Greenslade arrived at the crease and began playing shots all round the wicket with sublime timing that had previously seemed impossible in the conditions. He raced to 54 and we won with 10 overs to spare.
The most noticeable aspects of the game were the Jesters debuts of two youngsters: George Greenslade aged 11, and Isaac Swann aged 9 (has there ever been a younger Jester?). They fielded with guts and skill and clearly have big futures. Isaac’s attempted full-length diving catch at extra cover was one of the moments of the season. He would surely have made the catch if his hands had been just a little larger.
13th August - Rickling Green
We lost a tight game by 13 runs in this delightful new fixture on the green at Rickling Green near Stranstead. Match manager Ollie Doward takes up the story:
“This excellent addition to the fixture list was played on the beautiful village ground at Rickling Green with the road doubling up as the boundary and the local pub handily situated at fine leg.
“Due to the area's unique micro-climate (according to local folklore), very little rain had fallen this summer and we were presented with a parched, cracked surface. Invited to bat first, Rickling struggled to a total of 153-7 off 43 overs. John Murphy and Matt Berry bowled tight opening spells without much luck before Andrew Short continued his fine form, operating unchanged for 11 overs to take 5-29.
“This left us very little time to make the required runs. Robbie Hudson and Roger Wilcock got us off to a rapid start, but their tall opening bowler bowled with considerable venom and ripped out the top order - this in spite of refuelling between overs in the fine leg beer garden.
“With only 9 overs bowled before 20 overs was called the odds were stacked against us. Charlie Wilson and Ollie Doward (32) set about the bowling but when the former played on and the latter fell victim to the infamous Rickling peashooter, the innings fell away. John Murphy made a valiant effort to haul us over the line by peppering the village rooftops but we fell just short, bowled out in the penultimate over for 140.”
9th August - Cuckfield
It was another enjoyable day out in Cuckfield’s cricket week. We finished just 14 runs short of their 254-5 with two wickets remaining. Matt Hepple and Brian Pote-Hunt both scored half centuries in the chase but we crucially lost a bunch of wickets around the 20 over mark when seemingly well set for victory.
5th August - 1 wicket defeat in last over
We lost a hard fought and gripping encounter with Lord Gnome’s XI - by one wicket in the final over. Those who played thought it the best game of the season so far.
We played on the Queen’s College ground in Oxford, a pretty spot on the banks of the Thames. Fortunately the college had the foresight to construct it on a small plateau so saving it from the flood waters that still covered a neighbouring pitch.
Our 194-8 was held together by a disciplined knock of 56 from new boy George Shepherd, a recruit from Canford Cygnets. In the face of tight bowling it was difficult to cut loose and the rest of got out trying. Except for an enterprising 26* from Jonny Bridcut which showed us how it could be done.
In response Lord Gnome were soon 9-2 in the face of a slippery opening spell from Bridcut and Matt Berry’s late movement. They recovered to 98-3 but then lost wickets regularly as steady Jesters bowling and energetic fielding turned the screw. The game swang back and forth. Until the ninth wicket fell at 184, just ten runs short.
There followed five overs of unbearable tension as they edged towards victory. A wicket seemed possible with every ball, Jonny Bridcut firing it in from one end and Nick Mumby running through his bag of tricks at the other. But it was not to be and they crept of the finishing line with just two balls to spare.
30th July - Dodd the Destroyer
The last Roehampton pair held out well - with fielders all round the bat - to secure a tense and honourable draw. Allan Dodd had the remarkable figures of 7-11.
Match manager Robbie Hudson tells the story:
“I had no drop-outs and two people phoning me in the week of the game to ask to play. Typically, we only had seven at the toss. I'd still have fielded if I'd won, because the pitch was green and soggy, but I didn't, which turned out to be the crucial moment of the day.
“In very difficult conditions, Fred Price struck the ball beautifully for 35, and then new boy Adam Johnson took over. His 59 was the bedrock for the Jesters' excellent 190, aided by late flurries from Will Evans and Dave Hancock. (Best moment: Will Evans strikes a beautiful six over midwicket. Keeper says, 'Great shot!' Will says, 'Yes, it was.').
“After a 35 minute tea break, Roehampton never got going. In their 36 overs, they scored 70-9. They were surrounded by fielders throughout, and the bowlers were backed up by excellent catching from the likes of Harty and Price. When I say the bowlers, I mean 'Allan Dodd.' Ali Evans needed no back-up for his two wickets, and Allan took the other seven, at a cost of eleven runs in eleven overs, including one brilliant return catch. Roehampton had a decent side - they simply got out whenever they tried to attack AD.”
26th July - History made at Horsham
The Horsham game was notable for three things. 10 overs of cricket, which seems quite a lot this summer. Gale force winds which blew over the sightscreens, narrowly missing nearby children. And the first lady ever to be a member of a Jesters side - Elaine Hardy, Simon’s wife. Sadly the weather prevented Elaine making it onto the field of play. In the 10 over before the deluge arrived we scored 58-1 (Alex Smith 34* including a six onto the Pavilion roof).
23rd July - Gemini
The less said about are performance against Gemini the better. Forced to bat first on a wet wicket, as several of our side hadn’t turned up by the start of play, we were bowled out before lunch for 77. They were 61-0 when the rain arrived - so we escaped with an ignominious draw.
20th July - Dorset tour
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this year’s tour was that in this most dreadful of summers we were able to complete all four games. On the field of play we were rather below par all week - except for a good win at Canford. How much this was due to the amount of fun had off the field is an open question.
The Bryanston Butterflies game was most certainly not our finest hour. Embarrassingly, at 11.30 only four Jesters were at the ground. After a very late start we subsided to 81-5 with minds still on the motorways of southern England. Ollie Doward (35) and Andrew Short (44) doubled the score but we were soon all out for 180 after they went. Far too few. We fought hard in the field, taking some improbable catches, but never stretched a strong Bryanston batting line-up. 5 wickets was the margin of defeat.
Canford was a different story. On a very wet wicket after overnight rain, our 234-7 was an excellent total. Andy Newton’s 52 was as good a wet wicket innings as you’ll see. And on his solid foundations the Rawson brothers (Jason 52, Simon 26) and Ollie Doward (38*) built quickly. In the field, everyone contributed as we bowled out the Cygnets for 149. It was especially good to see Simon Rawson back in harness after injury, bowling a relentlessly accurate 14 over spell (3-32). Champagne moment was Ollie Doward’s salmon leap of a catch at backward point, clinging on as the ball went away from him. You can view the scorecard on the Canford Cygnet’s website - and see a few photos of the game here..
Against the Hampshire Hogs we again failed to score enough runs batting first. Our very own Jonny Bridcut did the early damage for the Hogs, taking 3 wickets, before Will Drake and Joe Phelan led a recovery. But our 180 was never likely to be enough - and so it proved when the Hogs won more than comfortably by 8 wickets. For once, though, we did make it into the newspaper columns.
The final game saw us beat an under-strength Clayesmore Cormorants. After lending them several players we bowled them out for 110 and knocked off the runs with only a few alarms.
Many thanks to all our opponents for their hospitality. We will try to play better next year.
10th July - Great win at Ashtead
Ashtead 192 (45.3 overs). Mortimer 59, Berry 4-40, Murphy 3-17
Jesters 195 for 1 (37.0 overs). Drake 82, Hudson 61*, Extras 45
Match manager John Murphy reports on a 9 wicket victory at Ashtead:
“Almost a month had elapsed since the Club's last fixture, so a strong Jesters side was eager to show the cricketing world what it had been missing. The team did not disappoint, and the all-round performance was as good as any I have seen by a Jesters side.
“The Ashtead skipper had no hesitation in opting to bat first on a decent surface in what were near perfect weather conditions. Ali Evans opened the bowling with pace, making an early breakthrough as he trapped the opener leg-before. At the opposite end, Matt Berry exerted pressure throughout his fourteen over spell. Four batsmen succumbed to Berry's nagging line-and-length.
“Berry was ably supported in the field: Alex Smith took a brilliant diving catch in the covers of which Paul Collingwood would have been proud, Robbie Hudson claimed a stumping and Nick Mumby held on to two sharp chances in close.
“Mumby went on to take a third catch, this time off his own bowling, in a variation-packed thirteen-over spell. He was unlucky not to take more than two wickets. John Murphy then wrapped up with innings by taking 3 for 17. The innings came to an end with a superb running and diving catch at long-on by Tim Harty, who kept intact the Jesters' perfect catching record for the afternoon.
“Few risks needed to be taken early on in our reply as the opposition bowlers provided a steady flow of extras to keep the scoreboard moving. The openers, Will Drake and Hudson, took time to play themselves in, but, when established at the crease, they scored freely. Spectators were treated to the rare sight of a Hudson cover drive (his first in three years apparently).
“The opposition bowling improved, with leg-spinner Luke Mursaleen bowling a particularly good spell, but the Jesters batsmen were always on top.
“By the time both openers had reached their fifties, the weather had begun to turn. Sensing the possibility of a rain-affected draw, Drake accelerated the scoring, elegantly hitting boundaries all around the ground. By the time he was caught at long-off on 82, only a few runs were required for a Jesters victory. Ritchie Patel knocked these off in style.”
3rd July - Rain, rain and more rain
The last three games have all been cancelled. Deutsche Bank and Merrow both called their games off on the morning after heavy rain. HAC were unable to raise a side - but it rained anyway.
9th June - Perfect summer’s day at Jesus
We beat Jesus College, Cambridge by 4 wickets on a blissful summer’s day with the college buildings gleaming in the background.
Match manager Ollie Doward writes:
“After a week of wet weather in the Fens, the Saturday fortunately dawned clear and blossomed into a picture-perfect day in the cloistered calm of Jesus College, former stomping ground of blade-wielding legend Ted Dexter.
“Brushing off the misfortune of impounded cars and shoeless bowlers, a depleted Jesters won the toss and inserted the opposition. Things looked ominous as their openers immediately took the aerial route and raced to 60-0 off the first 10 overs.
“However, exceptional spells of tight bowling from Simeon Douse and Tim Harty reined them in and paved the way for the spinners to wreak havoc. Their middle order was bamboozled by the flight and dip of Andrew Short's wily left-armers (4-22 off 8 overs), drawing awe and wonderment from the watching students basking pitchside in post-exam reverie!
“Off-spinner Anush Newman (3-16), one of 5 ex-Jesuans on view, mopped up the tail as the students subsided to 145 all out in the 40th over.
“We made rather heavy work of the chase. Robbie Hudson (68) was the mainstay, cutting and pulling his way to yet another half-century on this ground. And after a mid-innings wobble, James Douse stayed calm to guide us home, assisted by some meaty blows from Sam Grimshaw.”
3rd June - Second best at Epsom
We lost to Epsom by 39 runs in a limited overs game. The scores were:
Epsom: 279-8 (40 overs), W. Moore 104 (from 78 balls), B. Hudson 77, P. Vijendran 5-82, M. Berry 3-37
Jesters: 240 all out (39.5 overs), P. Vijendran 76, A. Jones 64, A. Smith 58, Secchi 5-69
Special thanks to Alex Smith for taking on the captaincy at no notice when the match manager failed to turn up.
One Jester who did turn up has supplied this account of the match:
“The game was a good one and was played in very good spirit. Tthe opposition provided us with three players; two of whom were very good (including an excellent wicket keeper).
“The Jesters won the toss and elected to field. The pitch was a good batting track. Tight bowling and fielding early on ensured that the Jesters took an early advantage with Bob (Ponniah Vijendran) taking three early wickets with his medium-pacers. However, a fourth wicket partnership of 169 between Messrs Moore and Hudson ensured that Epsom reached a strong position. Mr Moore’s innings included some very large hitting, whereas Mr Hudson’s was much more controlled. Nick Mumby bowled well, with lots of variations, and was unfortunate not to take a wicket. Matt Berry claimed three late order wickets (including a stumping off a wide) and was on a hat-trick.
“In our reply Alex Smith and Bob shared a quick-fire opening partnership of 138. They had few problems against the seamers, however the introduction of the spinners brought about their downfalls. Our guest player, Mr A Jones scored a very good 64, which included some big hits, however the run rate required in the last ten overs was just too high for us to achieve. Allan Dodd played an entertaining innings in the last few overs.
“Thanks must go to Alex Smith for taking on the captaincy at short notice and to Epsom for providing us with guest players, an excellent tea and a good game.”
20th May - 10 wicket win at NPL
To the accompaniment of the green parakeets from nearby Bushy Park, we beat NPL by 10 wickets before the start of the 20 overs. Although, as we only had nine players, that margin of victory is probably a mathematical impossibility.
Star of the show was Ponniah Vijendran who smashed 102* in the 19.1 overs our innings lasted. At the other end, Robbie Hudson’s 30* latterly included much self-denying blocking to ensure enough runs were available for Ponniah’s century. Well done both.
Earlier in the piece we had bowled them out for 150 on a decent wicket, slow men Allan Dodd and Andrew Short doing much of the damage. NPL were somewhat weakened by the late withdrawal of their overseas pro.
This game also saw the debut appearance of Patrick Allen’s labrador puppy “Coltrane”. We look forward to further contributions from him later in the season.
13th May - Rain at Broadhalfpenny Down
The game with Broadhalfpenny Brigands was called off due to wet weather the previous week.
6th May - First win of the season
We recorded a good victory at St. John’s College, Cambridge, chasing down their 218-7 in the penultimate over with three wickets remaining.
A good wicket and short boundaries made for fast scoring, as their openers proved by racing quickly to a hundred without loss. But once they were separated the scoring rate slowed against our spinners. Nick Mumby with three was our leading wicket-taker.
We were left 33 overs to score the runs, a very fair declaration in the conditions. After some solid early partnerships, a century stand by Tony Crockert (59) and Adnan Mohammed (72*) took us to the verge of victory. A minor wobble saw us lose three quick wickets but Adnan calmed our nerves by launching a six over mid-wicket to win the game.
1st May - Misfire at Missenden
On a curious wicket, we lost a game we probably should have won against Little Missenden Misfits. The Misfits had done well to prepare any sort of pitch with their heavy roller out of action for weeks. But conditions were dead slow with erratic, sometimes extravagant bounce and plenty of sideways movement.
Robbie Hudson (47) and Andrew Short (40) took us slowly to 120-2. But it was difficult for the lower order - mostly batting for the first time this season - to force the pace before tea. We thought our 154-9 was perhaps 30 runs short.
Our bowling was similarly rusty. Even so the tasty array of long hops we served up to their powerful opening batsman was disappointing. When he was eventually lbw for 66 with the score on 93 it began to look a different game. John Murphy and Sandy Ross both bowled well, but time was on the Misfits’ side. We eventually lost by 5 wickets in the penultimate over but felt at any moment we could have taken the last few wickets..
Thanks to the Misfits for their hospitality. It’s a pretty setting and the tea was first class.
25th April - Run feast at Hurlingham
The 2007 season began with runs galore at Hurlingham. Baked by April sunshine the wicket was even more a batting paradise than usual and our 335-7 was not enough. We lost by six wickets. For those of you who don’t know the Hurlingham ground, successful chases of over 300 are not uncommon.
Match manager Simon Cleobury reports:
“The Jesters season began in glorious sunshine at Hurlingham. There was not such a glorious start for Simon Cleobury who edged the first ball of the match to the keeper. However, we soon recovered through some big hitting from Ponniah Vijendran. Sadly, his innings came to end with a rapid 50 in sight. Two more wickets fell to leave us 73 for 4. Will Evans and Alex Smith then consolidated in style seeing us through to lunch with no further alarms. After the usual leisurely Hurlingham lunch, Will and Alex opened up and the scoring rate increased massively. So much so that Will scored his second fifty off only 20 balls to reach a very entertaining century. Meanwhile Alex was making his way to an assured 77. Once those two had gone (Will for 124) some big hitting from Nathan Reay and John Murphy took us to 335 for 7.
“In response, Hurlingham got off to a flyer and by tea we had lost a number of balls out of the ground, seen tiles fly off local roofs and Hurlingham reach 98 for 1. Andy Sutton came on just before tea to end the mayhem by taking the wicket of their left-handed opener. John Murphy struck soon after tea to remove the other opener - a well judged catch taken by Paul Durban. At the other end Andy Sutton was in the middle of a long, accurate spell of line and length, ably helped by Matt Drew standing up to the stumps. Sutton and Nick Mumby bowled well in tandem for a while, but the runs were always easy to come by on an excellent batting track with one very short boundary. With Hurlingham cruising to their target we did finally manage to break the big third wicket partnership, wickets being taken by Nathan Reay, made by a stunning catch behind the stumps by Matt Drew, and Will Evans. In the end we lost by 6 wickets with 4 overs to spare. So a comfortable win for Hurlingham, but an excellent game of cricket on a lovely April day.”
28th March - No midnight revels
Sadly Midnight Cricket Club have cancelled their game with us on 15th July. They fear they will be unable to raise a side as many of their regular players will be at a club member’s wedding the day before.
10th March - Another new fixture
We’ve just arranged to play Epsom on Sunday 3rd June, the day after the Derby which takes place nearby. Epsom dropped off the fixture last season but many of you will remember playing there in previous years.
20th February - New fixtures for 2007
This season we can tempt you with as many as six new fixtures: Little Missenden Misfits, Deutsche Bank, Hampshire Hogs, Midnight Cricket Club, Rickling Green and Barnes Common. With possibly one or two more to come. There is now a game on almost every weekend of the season.
Many thanks to Simon Cleobury for his hard work arranging these and filling the several gaps in last year’s fixture list.
15th January - Dates for nets at Lord’s
This year nets at the Lord’s indoor school are on Tuesdays, 7-8pm. Dates are 6th and 20th February, 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th March, 3rd, 10th, 17th April. Cost is £6.00 per person per net
To book you place contact Andrew Short. The usual rule applies - if you drop out and we are unable to find a replacement you will be charged for the place.
1st December - News from the AGM & dinner
Forty four Jesters and guests gathered at the Lord’s Tavern for a very enjoyable evening. This was one of the largest turnouts in living memory and a good barometer of the club’s health.
At the AGM all committee member were re-elected while Nick Mumby joined the committee. The club’s finances are in good shape, with new Hon Treasurer John Murphy making excellent progress collecting unpaid subscriptions. We are looking fill several holes in the fixture list for the first half of the season - all suggestions to Simon Cleobury.
The three end of season awards were presented:
Performance of the season to Nick Mumby for scoring 83 and taking 4-17 at Maidenhead & Bray. Nick’s peformance just pipped Ponniah Vijendran’s 98 against Amersham and the combined efforts of Sandy Ross and Allan Dodd in taking the last eight Chobham wickets for no runs in 20 deliveries.
Most Jester-like performance to Simon Cleobury for muddling the dates of fixtures so we turned up to play Broadhalfpenny Brigands on the wrong day.
The Michael Meyertrophy for big hitting to Ponniah Vijendran for his straight drive at Amersham that clipped the top branch of an enromous oak tree across the road from the ground.
4th October - 2006 annual dinner
The AGM and annual dinner will take place on Friday 17th November at the Lord’s Tavern Bar & Brasserie next to Lord’s cricket ground. You can find full details of the event and how to book your place here.
10th September - Amersham ambushed (almost)
Needing six to win off the very last ball isn’t a bad way to end the season. Especially after chasing down the intimidating target of 260 in a 45 over game - and with Ollie Doward ready to face it, wielding the magnificent bat given to him by Marcus Trescothick that had already launched one huge six over extra cover.
Five hours earlier it had all started somewhat differently as our rather thin bowling attack took on Amersham’s New Zealand opener. Or rather he took us on. Sportingly, after 22 overs he decided to give someone else a turn and retired on 102. Sighs of relief all round.
This proved to be a turning point. Galvanised by his absence, our bowling attack began scrapping for every run, perky fielding produced two run-outs, and 260 was somewhat less than it might have been.
But it was still a formidable target. That we mounted any sort of challenge was entirely thanks to Adam Long and Ponniah (“Bob”) Vijendran who put on over a hundred for the third wicket. They began slowly, building a solid platform, and then cut loose. Adam went for 53 but Bob continued with as dashing a display of strokeplay as we’ve seen all season. One towering six that hit the top of a huge tree beyond the long-on boundary will linger long in the memory. He eventually fell on 98, the New Zealander making a tricky boundary catch look easy.
That was 196-4. It became 256-7 with one ball remaining after several exciting overs of bashing and , scurrying in fading light. The Trescothick blade was unsheathed and several savage blows followed.
Sadly, a good piece of bowling denied us the winning (or tieing) boundary and we lost by 3 runs (Ollie Doward 31*). But a great way to finish the game and the season.
3rd September - Mumby’s Maidenhead Magic
Nick Mumby turned in a star performance as we beat Maidenhead & Bray by 31runs in a 40 over game.
Opening the batting, Nick stroked a dashing 83 from just 78 balls. Our middle order was then checked by tight Maidenhead bowling - before Charlie Wilson and Andrew Short hit 50 off the last six overs to take us to 204.
Maidenhead got off to a flyer, their no.3 racing to a quick fifty. But the introduction of Allan Dodd and John Murphy into the attack turned the match. John dismissed the no.3 on the way to taking 4-35 while Allan was unlucky to suffer from several dropped catches in a miserly spell. That man Mumby then cleaned up the tail with 4-17 from 4.5 overs.
Nick has Paul Durban to thank for one of these wickets. Fielding at backward square leg, he flung himself full-length to his left, clinging on with both hands to a ball going like a tracer bullet. One of the most spectacular catches you are ever likely to see.
It was an exciting game with fortunes fluctuating throughout. Many thanks to Maidenhead & Bray for turning out a good Sunday side.
28th August - Eight wickets for no runs!
Our game at Chobham produced the most extraordinary and scarcely believable statistic. We took the last eight Chobham wickets for no runs in 20 deliveries. They were 99-2 and then, less than four overs later, 99 all out. We won by 62 runs.
Heroes of the hour were Sandy Ross (5-32, including a hat-trick in a four wicket over) and Allan Dodd (5-33, and on a hat-trick himself at one point).
Sandy’s miraculous over began with a single - their last as it turned out - followed by a smart Robbie Hudson stumping and a dot ball played by the Australian pro. Then Fred Allen took a catch at cover to dismiss the pro. Sandy had the next man plumb lbw first ball and then, with everyone round the bat, had the satisfaction of demolishing the stumps to complete his hat-trick.
Allan wound up the innings by taking the last four wickets, clean bowling two, Fred Allen taking a good catch out of the sun, and finally luring the no.11 into a return catch. We were stunned. They were stunned.
It has to be said that until that point we hadn’t played well. Our batsmen had found curious ways to get out against a succession of slow spinners. And 161 was a disappointing total. In the field we had been lacklustre. But then, in a moment, everything changed.
Our commiserations to Chobham. We have suffered so many collapses over the years that we know these things happen. Their hospitality was excellent and we look forward to returning next year.
15th August - Courageous chase at Cuckfield
We were dismissed just 15 runs short of Cuckfield’s 275.
In the usual fast scoring conditions we managed to bowl the home side out. Alistair Evans starred with the figures of 9.3/5/23/5. But the “champagne moment” was definitely Mark Hepple’s catch at long-on, plucking nonchalantly out of the air the missile launched in that direction by Chris Mole, Cuckfield star batsman and Devon player.
In reply we had to face Cuckfield’s Pakistani off-spinning pro - complete with doosra - who sent down a challenging 20 over spell. Our openers rose to the occasion magnificently, putting on over a hundred. Farouk Mirza eventually fell for 56 followed by Matt Hepple for a very good 80. At 172/2 we were well placed. But wickets tumbled as we tried to maintain the scoring rate and were eventually all out for 260 in the penultimate over.
9th August - New match manager for Maidenhead & Bray game
John Murphy has taken over as match manager for this game on Sunday 3rd September (2pm). You really should play - it’s a pretty ground and Maidenhead always turn out a decent side. John’s contact details are on the club contacts page.
8th August - Headley
Match drawn. Jesters 264-7 declared (Ansbro 128, Drake 41*, Mehdi 26, Murphy 22*) Headley 188-8 (Ross 3-38, Murphy 2-34, Orr 2-38)
One our side sent in this match report:
“A combination of short boundaries and a wicket giving plenty of assistance to the bowlers, meant that it was extremely difficult to know how many to set the opposition. 264 proved to be about right. Guest-player Matthew Ansbro batted extremely well, before he holed out for 128. Captain Will Drake scored an unbeaten 41 and held the innings together after a mini-collapse.
“The Jesters bowled well early on and were unlucky not to take more than one early wicket. All the seam bowlers managed to extract variable bounce and sideways movement from the pitch. Sandy Ross bowled an accurate 13 over spell, taking 3 for 38. William Orr bowled well to take 2-38. The Headley captain batted well for an unbeaten fifty, although good line-and-length Jesters' bowling meant that the opposition required over 160 to win in the last 20 overs.”
Match manager Will Drake has written a longer account that you can read here.
30th July - Nail biting finish at Roehampton
We beat Roehampton by 1 wicket off the penultimate ball of the game, calmly stroked to the boundary by no.11 Nick Mumby. Match manager Robbie Hudson describes the hysteria:
“Roehampton prepared a very perky wicket. Adnan Mohammed and new boy Ruchit Patel got all kinds of lift and movements, and were unlucky not to find edges on a number of occasions. Mumbers (Nick Mumby) took wickets with full tosses and long hops, we had them 111-6 after 30-something overs, which was good on such a lightning outfield with one very short boundary. We missed a few chances and got sloppy as they pushed on to 170 at 5.10, leaving us, I think, 29 overs.
“This was a good declaration; we lost wickets regularly, but a dashing 42 from Fred Price (one six over the bowler's head) in a strong partnership with Brian Pote-Hunt laid the bedrock. There was a flurry of wickets, but the Jesters bat to eleven, and for once this fact wasn't one we shook our heads about in disbelief after contemplating a catastrophic collapse. After some great hitting from Adnan, he was facing the first ball of the last over with scores level. He missed with three huge swipes and was bowled off the fourth. Enter Mumby, number eleven, to nonchalantly sweep the ball to the fine leg boundary.
“Exciting Roehampton news: the horrible barnlike pub of yesterday has been transformed into the very whizzo The Telegraph, and it was a great place to sit and relax.
“Ned (our scorer) is worth solid gold.”
28th July - Horsham
We had a good win at Horsham beating them by 6 wickets. Match Manager Brian Pote-Hunt writes:
“Having been ‘turffed off’ the main ground at Horsham by the little matter of Middlesex 2nd v. Sussex 2nds we played a great game on the John Dew Ground. The surface, inferior to the main ground, gave our bowlers and edge and Horsham were restricted to 17 off the first 10 overs. This put them behind for the rest of the game and wickets for David Upton, Simeon Douse, Billy Harris and Simon Hardy restricted them to 212 for 8 when the home side declared.
“Jesters opened with new man Furrakh Mirza and Matt Hepple. An opening partnership of 60 odd established Matt to bat throughout the innings being out on 96 with just 5 to win. He was supported by Furrakh (28), Dave Upton (37) and Billy Harris (27) and we won with 7 overs to spare a with a score of 214- 4.”
23rd July - Gemini give us a thumping
It’s not often you lose by 10 wickets and reckon you didn’t play badly (and had a great day out into the bargain). But those were precisely our thoughts after our inaugural fixture with Gemini at Sunningdale School.
Gemini are the old boys of the school (plus friends) and their approach could best be described as “competitive but gracious” - a welcoming atmosphere and hospitality that is beyond first class combined with serious cricket. What’s more the setting is beautiful. While the bouncy wicket and shortish boundaries make for interesting cricket.
Our 190-9 (Robbie Hudson 45, Dave Hancock 37) in a rain shortened innings probably wasn’t going to be enough. But we thought early wickets might generate sufficient pressure to conjure a result. Unfortunately not one wicket fell as the dazzling hitting of their opening pair completely took us apart. And we really didn’t bowl badly! Although dropping the chap who scored 115* early on was rather a painful mistake.
20th July - Dorset tour
Many thanks to Simon Rawson for once again organising a fantastic week.
It rained heavily on the Monday but we managed an indoor game against Bryanston Butterflies in the school sports hall.
Tuesday saw us at Canford, possibly the prettiest ground in the country. We bowled out the Cygnets for 259 in the 64th over and after a gallant run chase our last pair blocked out the last six overs some thirty runs adrift.
It was even more exciting next day at North Perrot where we lost a 45 overs game with Somerset Stragglers by just one run. Chasing 250 we needed four to win off the last ball and Chris Garcia was only denied by a diving stop on the boundary.
Finally, on Thursday, we concluded with another high scoring draw, this time with Clayesmore Cormorants.
We declared on 260-8 after 50 overs, Jake Sharland scoring a century. At one point they looked like getting them but Tony Duckett struck with four quick wickets and the finally played out time at 230-8 after 51 overs.
Thanks to all these side for their hospitality, which was first class. The wickets were superb, the cricket high quality and we’ll definitely be back next year for more!
2nd July - Merrow
Our match manager writes:
“Result - Merrow 244 all out; Jesters 133 all out - lost by 111 runs. Notable performances from Luke Carby who bowled superb line and length, 3-41; Eddie Fulbrook 2-28, Simeon Douse 2-55, Jon Ward 2-42. We had them 105-4 at lunch, but things got away from us in the hour afterwards. Good and most un-Jesters-like fielding performance - great catch from Simeon Douse at long off. On the batting side, there was plenty of poor shot selection on a deteriorating wicket - several batsmen got out skying the ball - although Merrow bowled well - Andy Windus taking 5-25. Simeon Douse was the pick of the batsmen, making a solid 39. Thanks to Merrow for lending us two good young players at short notice, one as result of Ali Evans dislocating his ankle playing on Saturday. The game was also a first for several new Jesters - Adam Hall, Simeon Douse, Luke Carby and Jon Ward, all of whom I'd heartily recommend for future fixtures. Great tea this year too, with wine added to the traditional lunchtime bottle of port. Certainly livened Mr Fulbrook up anyway!”
26th June - We beat Blackheath
A comfortable win at Blackheath in a game reduced to 30 overs a side, and with an early start, to accommodate World Cup watchers. Our match manager writes:
“10 v 10 on the day England (football) play their 2nd round knockout match. Jesters won the toss and decided to bat, scoring 235 for 4 off their allotted 30 overs. We should really have scored more with 250 a reality after the first 5 overs.Solid runs from Chris Garcia (88) Matt Hepple (41) and Adnam Mohammed (42) saw our side to a competitive total on a pitch which played well, albeit rather bouncy and with a lightening fast outfield.
“Blackheath came out to bat with the thoughts of Beckham, Cole and Ferdinand cheering in their heads. In the second over Adnam bounced out their opener for 0 and the rot set in from there. Adnan was a formidable proposition, despite only bowling at three-quarter pace, getting bounce from just short of a length. We took him off after four fiery overs. Huw Oeppen bowled well for his 9 overs, 3-20 and the tail was mopped up by Chris Garcia 3-8 and Billy Harris 4-2. We finished them off at 4.15 and tea was taken when the score in Germany was 0-0 and we were bored rigid till ‘Golden balls’ scored England’s only goal mid way through the second half. Suggest we had our own fair share of golden balls and the lads done well!”
24th June - Simon Cleobury
Simon has extended his stay in the US until well into August so will probably not return before the end of the season. In his absence plaease refer all fixtures matters to Andrew Short.
22nd June - NPL game cancelled
Sadly NPL couldn’t raise a side - despite it being their cricket week - so our mid-week game was cancelled.
18th June - Lording it over the Gnomes
Our inaugeral game against Lord Gnome’s XI was very enjoyable. Many thanks to LG’s XI for organising the Great Missenden ground so our two wandering sides could meet. One of our team reports:
“I am writing to report on a fine victory for the Jesters. Despite only having one seam bowler we bowled well and held all our chances. Nick Mumby bowled a good fifteen over opening spell. In reply we lost seven wickets, although we batted better than the scores suggest, as three/four of the wickets lost were guest players who hadn't played very often. Will Drake and Robbie Hudson shared a critical partnership of 70.”
The scores: Lord Gnome's XI 153 all out (Dodd 4-27, Doward 3-21, Murphy 2-58, Mumby
1-42). Jesters 155 for 7 (Drake 53, Hudson 41, Gallico 26, Hancock 24*). Jesters won by 3 wickets
11th June - Fantastic day at Shenley
Our rearranged game with HAC at the Shenley Cricket Centre was a marvellous occasion. On a beautiful sunny day the ground looked a picture and the wicket was the best some of us had ever played on.
Skipper Nick Mumby’s controversial decision to field in the heat reaped handsome rewards as we bowled them out for 196 on what was a 250 pitch. Chris Garcia filleted the top order with a hat trick in a spell of 4-51. He was backed up by a cunning, economic spell from Simon Rawson who kept their most dangerous batsman at bay. In reply a big partnership between Andy “Nudger” Newton (66) and Robert Gordon Clark (58*) saw us most of the way home. Simon Rawson provided the end of innings entertainment - 34* off 14 balls (including two lost balls!). We won by 7 wickets with 12 over to spare.
10th June - Jesus students teach us a lesson
Robbie Hudson has always said that almost no total is defendable on the Jesus pitch if two good batsmen get set. How right he is! The wisdom of his words was revealed as we were walloped after posting a perfectly respectable 190-6 in what was a 30 over game. Stylish 50s from Robbie Hudson and Anish Newman were supported by late order violence from Adnan Mohammed (34*).
Our mistake was then to take several Jesus wickets, for their two best batsman had dropped down the order in anticipation of attacking our change bowlers. Before they arrived at the crease we were comfortably in control. When they did... well,... “carnage” just about describes it.
A unique feature of this game was the playing hours. We began at 11.30, played the first innings, took a two hour “tea” to watch England v. Paraguay in the World Cup, and finally started the second innings at 4pm. As it turned out, a much more satisfactory arrangement than traditionalists thought.
4th June - Victory at Ventnor
Disappointingly the Ventnor 1st XI were otherwise engaged playing a cup game. We beat the side they turned out convincingly, scoring about 190 and dismissing them for 99. Many thanks to everyone who played on what was a very long day, and especially to Simon Rawson who organised.
21st May - Match manager for HAC game
Nick Mumby is the new match manager for this rearranged game (Sun 11 June at Shenley, 1pm start). If you fancy playing you can find Nick’s details on the club contacts page.
20th May - Broadhalfpenny Brigands
Unfortunately this game didn’t take place. We turned up to find the Brigands were playing another side and were expecting us the following Sunday. They very kindly made their game 12-a-side allowing two Jesters to take part.
The mix-up was entirely our fault so many apologies to the Brigands for the inconvenience caused - we look forward to playing them next year.
1st May - the 2006 season begins
Our opening game at Hurlingham was rained-off, persistant drizzle from early morning preventing even a start to the game. A huge disappointment.
Fortunately the St.John’s College Cambridge game the following weekend was a great way to start the season. We lost by 5 wickets with just two balls remaining. Declaring on 212-5 (Andrew Short 55, Alex Smith 52*, John Murphy 40) we kept the spinners on and the game open after having the college in trouble. Several dropped catches later - none of them easy - we lost in a tense finish.
Thanks to all those who battled up to Cambridge through bank holiday travel chaos (one car took almost four hours from London). And special thanks to Gerrit ten Hove who stood in as keeper at no notice - only the third time he had ever kept. What’s more he took a catch standing up.
10th April - New date/venue for HAC game
The HAC game has moved to Sunday 11th June. It will be a 1pm start at the Shenley Cricket Centre, a beautiful, purpose-built site near Radlett and Borehamwood in south Herts.
We’re really lucky to have the opportunity to play here so please support the fixture by volunteering to play. Please apply to Andrew Short.
24th March - Annual subscriptions
Annual subscriptions fall due in April. If you don’t pay by standing please make every effort to send a cheque to new Treasurer John Murphy as soon as possible (for £10 payable to “Jesters Cricket Club”).
In recent years it has become a real pain having to chase non-payers, so your assistance would be much appreciated.
15th March - Can you suggest a ground?
The Honourable Artillery Club ground in the City is still in use by the authorities following the 7/7 bombings so we are looking for a ground for our match with the HAC on Sat 13th May. Please send any suggestions to Andrew Short
14th March - Changes to fixtures
There have been amendments to two fixtures since the list went up on the site last month. The NPL game moves exactly a week later to Thursday 22nd June. Magdalene College, Cambridge are unable to play us after all so this game has been cancelled.
1st March - Overseas departures
Two committee members are disappearing overseas for a while. Matt Williamson is taking up a post with BP in Vietnam for the next couple of years. Simon Cleobury is in Chicago from mid-March to mid-June.
1st February - 2006 tour
The 2006 tour will be to the same part of the country as last year, the Dorset/Somerset borders. This year we’re playing four games from Monday to Thursday with a mixture of old and new opponents:
Mon 10 July v. Bryanston Butterflies @ Bryanston School
Tues 11 July v. Canford Cygnets @ Canford School
Wed 12 July v. Somerset Stragglers @ North Perrot
Thur 13 July v. Clayesmore Cormorants @ Clayesmore School
Arrangements are once again in the capable hands of Simon Rawson
20th January - New fixtures for 2006
We have arranged a couple of new fixtures for next season, against Lord Gnome’s XI, to be played at Great Missendon on 18 June, and against Gemini to be played at Sunningdale School in late July.
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