CtC today announced a very strong squad of nine for the LMS London South FInal on Wednesday 29th August.
Chairman of selectors George Dean commented "As ever it was very tough to pick a squad for the final and we've left out some serious players who can consider themselves very unfortunate. Ed Cassels for example has scored 100 runs this season without dismissal at a healthy rate, and we haven;t managed to squeeze in either of our middle-order cannons Dillon or Pemberton. Behind the stumps Shaw is unlucky to miss out to Skinner, and would surely find himself walking into most sides" Director of Cricket Henry Rudkin said "Make no mistake this is a strong side. Five of the team are averaging over 50 in this format, and Davidson is almost there at 47. Cass and Hammo have been in unreal form this season with the bat and I back them to get us off to a flier. With the ball it looks a balanced attack with Pearso and Conway providing slow bowling options, Rutty bowling tight, and of course Shez - he bowls rockets and clears the ropes" The Last Man Stands South Wednesday Final vs. The Jiminy Crickets, 18.20, Kennington Park
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Twenty CtC members enjoyed a fantastic evening at The Oval watching Glamorgan chase down 194 against Surrey in the Natwest Blast. CtC would like to thank Surrey for the tickets given to the club as part of the affiliation scheme.
CtC ended the season top of the London South Wednesday league despite a tricky run-in which saw a loss to HCS wanderers and a rained off game against second placed side The Jiminy Crickets.
Going into the final game of the season against Platinum Ducks CtC knew they needed at least 4 points to qualify for the final which they did in some style, racking up 239 from 18 overs thanks to 69 from Rory Davidson promoted to open the batting, 67 from in form Ben Cassels and a typically classy 51 from Ed Pearson. Platinum ducks were limited to 157 in reply to give CtC a 10 point victory and seal first place. Due to some fairly sloppy admin from Ross at LMS HQ CtC had been forced to play their last two games on various south london 'outgrounds' which proved to be absolutely tiny, and with the games reduced to 15 overs, became somewhat of a lottery. In the first in Brockwell Park CtC racked up an enormous 211 from 15 overs against The Jiminy Crickets, thanks to quick fiftes from Hammond and brothers' Cassels. However for much of the chase TJC were ahead of the rate (despite some unbelievable fielding efforts from Rutty) and it took a phenomenal spell of bowling from in form Ben Cassels to secure victory. In the second game CtC came off worse in another high scoring game, this time HCS wanderers batted first and racked up170-3 from just 12 overs. Cassels, in the form of his life and now ranked in the top 100 batsmen worldwide, smashed 54 from just 14 balls, but it wasn't enough and CtC finished well short on 134-4. CtCCCC were playing their first ever match at Highgate Wood and were intrigued to know what the opposition had to offer as the quality of the ground raised expectations. The opposition in question were The Strongroom CC, a friendly side with a 34 year old history, who had nearly felled the Chairman with excitement when sending an unsolicited email requesting a fixture over the winter. Not only was this new opposition for CtC, but also a first domestic Saturday fixture, a detail which had made raising an XI quite tricky, with most of the team engaged in weddings, stags, yoga-brunches or other cappuccino-swilling millennial urban nonsense. As such CtC were forced to borrow friends from old-friends and north London dwellers And That's Lunch to form something of a hybrid team, which became known as the "Prius XI", much to the mirth of your correspondent Rupert Rudkin.
The majority of the team were in fact still fuelled off fumes from an ATL social at Rowans bowling alley the night field in somewhat cautious fashion. However, a slightly overcast day had the seamers licking their lips and an attack led by wise old head Davoe (5-1-18-1) and debutant May (5-0-10-2) made no mistake by putting the batsman under a lot of early pressure. This pressure gave way to wickets and after getting the top few batsmen out quite easily it soon became apparent that this may not be CtC's toughest opponents of the season. That said the opposition managed to scramble together a few runs, despite strong bowling from Eric Heath, and some unorthodox hitting by their lower order got them to 124ao, which they declared to be only just under par for their home ground. (Ed - your correspondent Rupert Rudkin finishing with 2-17 which he modestly forgets to mention) The hosts put on a more than satisfactory picnic for lunch which was thoroughly enjoyed by all, before CtC openers and debutantes Powell and Wright went out to open the batting. The physically mismatched pair got the team off to a solid start, albeit in contrasting styles. Whilst Wright was watchful on a tricky pitch Powell raced to a quickfire 20 before being caught. Wright was joined at the crease by Nunez who both in true test match style punished the bad ball and slowly edged the team towards a victory. The oppositions bowling wasn't overly dangerous but nonetheless it still took some proper application from Wright and Nunez to put CtC into a commanding position, and soon it looked like the two would guide CtC home unbeaten. However with the end in sight Wright fell on 38 and in came "Hammmmo" who stated that he was keen to try and catch the end of the England South Africa rugby match in the pub and wasn't looking to hang around in the middle. Seeing the self-styled big show stride to the middle the opposition captain cunningly called for substitute fielder Davidson to enter the attack. This brought strong attention from all members of the team as they were keen to see who would win the duel. After some testing first balls from Davoe, his attempts to bounce Hammond were to prove as predictable as they were easy to play, and Hammo played some lusty blows to take CtC over the line for the loss of two wickets. Hammond finished on 18* and Nunez 30*. All in all a very enjoyable trip to the charming Highgate Wood for a well spirited fixture which we hope to repeat next year. CtCCCC are announcing today that the Rwanda Tour report will not be published on Saturday 18th August as had been previously communicated.
At the time of the Midnight proofread of the content of the report, Co-Authors Cassels and Davidson concluded that in order to match the consistently high quality of previous tour reports and to do justice to what was by some distance the Club's most significant and successful tour to date, more time was needed to complete a flawless report. Desiree Printing Ltd have been instructed to cease printing and binding activities with immediate effect and to pulp any printed copies which have already left the machine. CtC will seek to prosecute any report content which is leaked by Desiree Printing or any other third parties involved in the report production process. Co-Author Rory Davidson explained that 'after such a long delay in drafting the report, it would not be reasonable or right to publish an expedited report which did not do justice to the unforgettable, era-defining event that was Rwanda 2018'. Co-Author Ben Cassels added 'We always said that a high quality tour report to cover such a long tour could take up to a year to complete. The section describing my brother's catching against the Indian Expats alone has consumed over 500 words and the thesaurus we had to order to find a way of articulating Jamie Rutt's reaction to being run out by Davidson got lost in the post. We can once again reassure everyone that the final report once revised and published will not disappoint.' A new publication date for the report is yet to be confirmed but it expected to be in Q3 FY18 in time for end of season festivities. Please address any enquiries to CtC General Secretary and Interim Press Officer Simon Shaw. Whitgift Staff v. Cambridge To Casablanca Cycling Cricket Club “Bagman,” noun, British dated, informal: “A travelling salesman.” With a full list of domestic fixtures this summer this ‘touring’ side moves from infancy to youth but some features don’t change. No doubt the rank and file remain grateful to the ‘gun’ cricketers for their sterling service, runs and wickets. Grateful if not loyal. The little people remain the beating heart. Smaller feats, maybe, but bigger heroes.
This was 21 June 2018, the Summer Solstice Cup, and the second of the year’s biannual Croydon pilgrimages. Yet another exemplar of the ‘barbecue-and-ice-box’ hospitality on display south of the river. Toss won, CtCCCC to bat. Senior clubmen were in disarray. The Chairman: late, muttering quietly about ‘going upstairs.’ The Director of Cricket: absent full stop. Irrelevant perhaps to this report, committee members Cassels (Social Secretary) and Davidson (no portfolio): busily under-delivering the (Tou)Rwanda Report by, at today’s count, nearly six months. But even when the dog doesn’t bark the tail can wag. Enter the Bagman. A false dawn; opening the batting Baggo fell early, not atypically but valiantly, on the hook in the fourth over. Sure, the ‘gun’ batters made runs. 205 of them. Chapeau, Will Hammond, who scored 105 retired by 7.05pm following a 6.05pm start, a run every 36 seconds: a berserk episode in the middle of a strike-hogging patch purple enough to embarrass hallucinations. Tip of the cap to Ben Cassels, 22* off 11, smashing a pavilion window to conjure memories of a past more glorious than the present. Nod of the head Edward Pearson, a flawless 48* off 23. True performers. These were great successes, no doubt, but the evening should be judged in context. 40 overs overall leaked 393 runs at 9.83. A true batsman’s paradise and run-plundering carnival. But yet, into this unpromising environment, onto this unwelcoming stage, up to this intimidating crease … Enter the Bagman. First, a little background. Off the pitch and on his touring debut Ollie “Baggo,” ”the Bagman” Roberts famously made the carrying role his own with an enthusiastic debut which even now shows no sign of abating. On the pitch, in truth, Baggo has been better known for self-celebratory episodes of momentary individual brilliance, mostly in the field, and one glorious extra cover drive in Corfu. Maybe he carries the bags, but not the team*. So they thought. Somewhere tonight, as the Bagman handed the umpire his cap before bowling the first over, bells tolled and angels sang. His first over: a maiden. The other opener, much heralded young recruit and fast bowling so-called rude boy Thomas Sherwin, bowled the second over for 17. One run off the bat in Baggo’s third. Nervous to lose their wickets to this part-Basset hound and full time talisman, Baggo’s staff colleagues prodded nervously forward, wafting outside the off stump. Shez’s second went for 16. It went on like this. First change, the skipper switched to ever-present Jamie Rutt and renowned B&P cricketer Mark Conway. Rutty economic, Conway solid. Whitgift scored 90-0 in the first 10 overs, primarily off Sherwin whose overall figures were 47-0 off four. (The more generous minded were liable to assume that his placid spell, not to mention the suit he wore to the game, were intended to buy social capital among his new staff colleagues.) The first wicket finally fell, snick’d off by Rutt. 97-1. Conway bowled a ball so unthreatening that the batsman endangered people quietly filling their cars at the petrol station some distance away across the A235. Not to mention endangering the opposition as they scuttled out of the ivory towers to ask locals for their ball back. Whitgift back on track. Ed P to bowl now – risky choice at this stage but maybe the right call, bowling the other Whitfgift opener and only a single overstep. 152-2. Another over from Gimson passed safely. Whitgift were poised on 165-2 off 17 overs, needing 41 off three with proper hitters at the crease. Wicket needed. Enter the Bagman. Five off the first three balls. Baggo under pressure. Fourth ball: the breakthrough. Joubert – a enormous South African – was caught by Dean at midwicket. Checkmate. Baggo getting the job done. The Bagman set off at a sprint, waggling his finger in magisterial send-off. After the grandmaster stepped away from the board Whitgift were reeling, 170-3 needing 36 off 2, and limped blandly to 188-4. 4-1-15-1. The travelling salesman had earned his commission. Exit Bagman. *Ed: Those that saw Baggo bowl 8 overs in the heat in Brittany or his full allocation in Valencia, when no-one else was physically capable or mentally willing to bowl, may suggest otherwise |
AuthorGeorge Dean. Archives
October 2023
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Cambridge to Casablanca Cycling Cricket Club
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