Another great week of results for the club as we notched 10 wins from our 14 games across the club.
Richard Loader tonned up in the 2s, while a strong youth contingent in the 3rd XI played phenomenally to pile on the runs and win their game.
In other news, please come along to the Srpingbok social on Saturday 20th July! Koot will be in his element on the Brai, cooking up some South African treats, and we hope for some more surprises too!
As ever, best of luck to all those playing this weekend!
Chris Webster
Club Captain
Video of the Week
Richard Loader reaches his 100 for the 2s away at Bromley
Match Reports:
1st XI v Gravesend
With our esteemed skipper flopping around Glastonbury with Mr Parr (I think they had fairly different weekends), the boys were being led by C Dubz looking to continue their good form and keep up the 100% record at home.
Chris kept up the recent top-quality tossing and won the toss and we were once again batting first looking to set a decent score. On a tricky wicket that had a lot of variable bounce early doors, OJ and Koot got us off to a decent start putting on 40 quick runs before the South African got cleaned up. OJ got lidded nicely by a length ball that jumped up, but he and F Webs dug in consolidating the good start. 40-1 became 104-3 leaving the skipper and Joe fresh off some pre-game VR action at the crease. These two batted beautifully, with Chris bringing up yet another half-century (his 5th in a row at home or something serious like that). Joe got a well-made 40 leaving OD’s looking to post a score of 250 plus which would puts you in a really good spot at the home of cricket.
Sadly, the all too familiar story of the season once again unfolded with the lower order failing to capitalise on the foundation that had been set. 200-4 became 240 all out with OD’s failing to bat out their 50 overs again. Isaac the pick of the lower order, stranded on 21 red, this despite Baylis using a bat previously used by none other than Virat Kohli! It should be noted that Nick was on the receiving end of one of the best balls ever delivered at OD’s (footage can be seen on YouTube.)
With 240 on the board, OD’s were in a good spot heading into the second innings. Nick and Davo took the new ball and couldn’t quite string together enough good balls in a row to put any consistent pressure on the Gravesend openers, and it wasn’t until a great catch from Baylis saw a breakthrough at 37-1. Weast came on and unsurprisingly dealt with their left handed opener which brought their Afghan overseas to the crease. This was about as good as got for OD’s. Said overseas proceeded to hit 20 from his first 4 balls, including one of the biggest ‘s seen at the home of cricket (Joe was very quick to get on google earth to measure the distance the ball travelled at the end of the game to let his brother know how far it had gone).
Chris got the big wicket of Sikandar leaving the oppo 79-3 before some good batting, average bowling and sloppy fielding saw a superb partnership that put Gravesend in control of the game. The next wicket eventually falling with the score 190-4. The skipper cleaned up two more of the oppo’s batsman but their overseas remained in and ultimately saw them home with a chanceless (88*). Chris was the pick of the bowlers (3-39) for the home side, but that one innings deserved to win them the game.
Wandy back next week as we travel to bottom of the league Old Wils, looking for a big 18 points to finish the first half of the season.
MOM – Chris 54 (37) with the bat and 10-0-39-3 with the ball
DOD – No vote took place, honouree mention to Baylis for his new run prevention methods.
VPCOM – Baylis
Match report by Nick Worsley
2nd XI v Bromley
The 2s arrived at “the smallest ground in Kent” looking to avenge last year's ruthless defeat in the same fixture.
Aiming to build on last week's win, stand-in skipper Richard won the toss and chose to bat on a grassy wicket with the intention of setting a big score to defend. With usual opener Lawrence being late back from Italy, Henry opened with Richard, with Lawrence slotting in at 4. However, he may as well have been opening as only 2 overs in he found himself at the crease after Henry (5) nicked off and Olly, chasing a not-out, retired hurt after a brutal ball spat off a length. Both Lawrence and Richard ticked over nicely, putting away any loose balls and rotating the strike, preventing the weekly collapse. There was a clear shift of momentum after the second drinks break as OD’s looked to accelerate. Both batsmen reached 50, dealing in boundaries, Lawrence even bringing out the scoop a few times. Lawrence, after a few overs of trying, got out and was eventually stumped for 69 with Kieran soon departed after. At the other end, Richard was still going strong with wonderful shots on the off side and was able to make it to his maiden ton for the 2s, well supported by Olly (10*). Richard (110) was dismissed with one ball to go and couldn't quite carry his bat but helped OD’s to a formidable 230. Shoutout to Hugo who was sat down and padded up for all 45 overs, good preparation for his 6 hour long trip to Denstone the day after.
The short boundaries meant that OD’s still had to bowl well and early wickets were key. Kieran picked off from where he left last week taking two early wickets thanks to good catches from Dan and Lawrence. Debutant Howard shared the new ball and after he found his rhythm, he picked up the wickets of both of the well set batsmen with his variations. The change bowlers; Ash, Pooley and other debutant Alex Walker then came on and were able to control the run rate, leaving Bromley a mountain to climb. Alex and Ash were both exceptional, taking 3 poles each, skittling Bromley and leaving them 90 runs short. Our fielding was faultless with skipper Lawrence ending up with 4 catches and a stumping.
A dominant, all-round, team performance from the 2s, never giving Bromley a sniff we they soar up the table.
MOM - Richard Loader
Match Report by Olly Colby
3rd XI v Beckenham
“You can’t win anything with kids”, the football pundit Alan Hansen famously once said.
“But, I’ve only got kids available”, said the returning Robin East who stepped in for the injured skipper and brought the average age just out of the teens.
“I can’t believe I’m a veteran”, said 21 year old Lucas Mackenzie getting a glimpse into the future.
“I can’t believe I’m missing out on this road!,” said reluctant scorer C Colby to East who won-toss-batted on a beautiful looking pitch at Sydenham Girls High School.
East opened with the returning Ewan Laycock (U20) who got the team off to a great start with a run-a-ball 39, ably assisted by Rohan Bridges (U17) who rode his luck with some catchable drops early on to make a magnificent 80.
It took a runout to break the partnership but there was no respite for Beckenham as Max Morgan (U17) played a mature knock of 28 up the order at 3. This was followed by Tom Lake (U17) at 4 who probably played his best innings for OD’s with 59 not out with a mix of wristy singles and some power hitting including a memorable six which sailed over the 4 fielders placed on that short boundary.
The only blemish on Tom Lake’s innings was a horrible barbeque of Luke Colby (U17) as he knocked the ball straight back to the bowler and then set off leaving Luke stranded having faced only one ball in his post-GCSE comeback game.
In came Rakesh Posam (O21) to enjoy himself late on with some massive swishes, with just enough time left for the veteran Lukas Mackenzie to test his knees and smash a quick 19 to leave OD’s on a massive 250-5 off their 40 overs, their highest score in a long, long time.
With Beckenham needing over 6 an over to chase down our total surely the game was in the bag?
Our openers had other ideas as the first couple of overs were a mix of wides, no balls and full tosses that had the score racing along.
Thankfully Asa Smith (U20, 4-0-14-0) and Simon Henley (O21, 5-0-29-1) settled in with Henley making the breakthrough thanks to a smart slip catch from the veteran Mackenzie who was somehow still able to reach his ankles to make the catch.
On came Olly Arratoon (U17, 5-0-27-0) who bowled some beauties in a spell which proved a good test of his skills as he came up against Beckenham’s two best batsmen who were doing their utmost to keep the scoreboard ticking along.
He was joined by Max Morgan (5-1-13-3) who swung the game firmly in OD’s favour with the only maiden of the whole day and 3 very valuable wickets in a miserly spell.
Beckenham were near OD’s equivalent score at the half-way point, but having lost significantly more wickets, it was always going to be tough chasing 250.
Rakesh Posam (7-0-28-3) came on to take the key wicket of their number 3 for a well made 40, picking up two more wickets as OD’s applied the squeeze and the run rate climbed towards double figures an over.
The veteran Mackenzie (4-0-28-2) was thrown the ball and with no doubt creaking knees sent down an absolutely filthy first over (as he predicted) that somehow took two wickets before he used all his years of experience to settle into his lines and lengths.
It was left to Luke Colby (2-0-15-1) to seal the win taking the last wicket, thanks to another good grab in the slips, this time by Ewan Laycock.
Like the famous Man Utd Class of ‘92 that Hansen was referring to in the opening quote, the OD’s Kids are Alright.
Match report by Chris Colby
4th XI v Bexleyheath
For the 2nd week running Captain Coles lost the toss, but was happy to be asked to bowl first, as this was where our strength seemed to be.
And so it proved to be, as an exceptional bowling performance by every bowler, young and old, restricted our opponents to just 132 in 38 overs, nobody going for more than 4 an over, this was backed up by good outfield cricket and catching, it was a solid team performance.
Stand out performances worth particular mention were the masterclass in offspin bowling by Steelo that yielded just 18 runs in his 9 overs for 1 wkt (he deserved more, just ask Rousey) Tom Fox returned figures of 9-2-39 bowling many unplayable balls, strange how the few bad ones seemed to claim the wickets. Ben Westamacott had the best figures of 7-3-26, but particular mention must go to young Felix Jones who bowled 5 immaculate overs for just 17 runs and 1 wkt, a real star for the future.
Opening Pair Colesy and the Chairman strode to the wicket knowing that a steady start was needed to set about the run chase. Unfortunately the Chair was to return shortly missing a straight one to be adjudged LBW by away team umpire, who perhaps seemed a little less generous in our claims earlier in the day and was proved to be equally disproportionate in his judgement of wides during the innings (13w vs 3w in our chase!)
Steelo, hit some nice shots early on, coming in at 3 but then mistimed one to be caught at cover (11). Ben Westamacott came out at 4, and looked good for 10 runs off 26 balls (should have been more but some long singles were passed up, a recurring theme subsequently) Felix was bowled by a fast bail trimmer, which brought Phil Parke to the crease for his first bat of the season. It was worth waiting for as he hit a personal record-breaking 21, before being 'adjudged' LBW to one that looked to be missing another set by the aforementioned umpire.
By now Colesy was calling for Oxygen and a rub down between overs as he was struggling to 'run one' to what many watching were calling easy 'threes'. Tom Fox was dead-batting 25 balls for a chanceless 3 runs, all of which left us needing 2 runs off the last over, when the first two balls failed to bring a run and then the 3 the wicket of Tom clean bowled, those watching from the sidelines were getting restless, fortunately Kev managed to scramble a single which left the deserved glory to Hero Captain Colesey to hit the winning run and carry his bat for 72* and, as he said later (in A&E) for a perfectly judged run chase!
Match report by Kev Harding
Sunday Development v Dartford
First game of the dev season was under way pulling in a large crowd, mainly for the football, but we all know which game would be more interesting. Overcast conditions and a hint of rain in the air and skipper Will won toss and bowled first. Yuck. What is his master plan? Well if the plan was to let the Dartford opener’s get off to a flyer it worked. Davo and Lucas opened the bowling for ODs and with early swing in play for Davo (8-0-49-2) in the first over, we had high hopes for the second. Unfortunately, Lucas (4-0-45-0) wanted his value for his money and decided he would bowl 12 balls in his first over. The Dartford pair raced along to a 50 run stand not helped by some poor fielding. C Webs (8-0-29-1) was brought on to steady the ship before being replaced early for some spin. Will (8-0-32-1) got the first breakthrough, bowling the lad who played round a straight one, with the score 116-1. An inspiring team talk from Dan basically told the lads to be better and it worked. Back to back wickets for Asa (8-1-39-2), not without a Bunners fumbled catch after 4 attempts, meant
Dartford were 128-3 at drinks.
With the boys buzzing round the field, the familiar ODs squeeze began, restricting the run flow. Isaac (4-0-29-2) was brought into the attack to take wickets and managed 2 key wickets including the last opening bat. Chris and Davo finished well against the Dartford tail. Dartford finished 227-8 a big target from 40 overs.
Bunners (35 from 30) and the experienced Baylis (21 from 35) were opening up for the boys and unlike the poor start from the England football team, this opening pair got the score ticking putting on 57 for the first wicket. With a strong start like that surely there’s a good platform set for the middle order to churn. Nope. In OD’s fashion wickets tumbled leaving the team struggling at 66-5. ODs required 150 to win from the last 20 overs with 5 wickets in hand. We are in for a close finish. Chris and Isaac batted well together with Isaac (37 off 56) taking a step back nurdling the singles for Chris (77 from 40) to bludgeon the ball around including a 6 which nearly landed in the river from the strip furthest away, at least 90m.
Unfortunately, Chris fell to an uncommitted attempt at a catch which somehow ended up in the Dartford player’s right mit at 166-6. Will (29* off 34) joined Isaac requiring under 6 an over thanks to Chris’ innings. The pair ran well with the help of a few misfields. Dartford were really trying to out do our fielding in the first 20 overs. With only 28 runs needed Isaac fell trying to sweep a straight one. Lucas (16* off 12) came in with a job to do and a job he did. Anything in the arc went. His innings included the shot of the century playing a beautiful on drive followed by a slap over cow to finish off the game with an over to spare. Great win and well played from all the lads.
Match Report by Will East
U17 v Orpington
A comprehensive away win.
In spite of the heavy Friday traffic and multitude of roadworks, we arrived at Goddington Lane in time for the game - well, apart from Tom, who came via Thorpe Park!
A lovely sunny evening and a good-looking wicket, facing one of the weaker teams in the division. We welcomed back the 2 Lukes, Colby and Curtis, after their GCSE breaks and fielded a strong team. An ideal opportunity to bat first and post a big score. However, it was a lose toss bowl scenario!
We had a perfect start with 2 wicket maidens from Alex and just a single from Hugo’s over, leaving Orpington 1 for 2 after 3. The fielding and bowling were very good. Tom ran back to take a catch that looped over his head from a leading edge and Max caught cleanly at mid-wicket. Rohan took a good catch at deep mid-wicket of Ed’s spin and they were just 27-3 at half way. Charlie N ran out the number 5 before the number 3, who had been in since the first over put on a stand of 36 with the number 6 and they finished on a below par 70. We had used 7 bowlers, who all had great economy rates but we would have liked more wickets.
The chase looked straightforward, but they boys were warned not to take it for granted. Ollie A and Rohan put on 43 for the first wicket before Ollie was bowled for 8. Charlie N was bowled for 0 then Hugo came in and scored a quick 15 to chase down the last 20 in 2 overs with Rohan (37).
It was a very slick all-round performance. Shot of the day was a towering straight six from Rohan off a free hit. Funniest sight of the day was 6’ 6” Charlie Pickup wearing my spare trousers as he’d left his at home.
Match Report by Bob Bridges
Junior Results
Fantasy Cricket
Welcome to the 2024 edition of OD CUACO CC Fantasy Cricket!
Here you are able to make the decisions and choices that you want to make. Who are your big hitters going to be? Who are you going to trust to be your team's captain? Will you make the correct choice when selecting your all important all rounder? The answers will soon be clear in the coming weeks.
Every single adult match played on a Saturday will count towards the points tally so use your talent spotting to select their best possible 11 from a budget of £55 million.
Cost of entry per team is just £6, payment must be made via this website when you set your team up. You can enter as many sides as you like. There will be prize money available (details TBC).
Good luck and thanks for playing!
Communications - OD CUACO WhatsApp Announcements Group
Join our ODs WhatsApp Announcements group! By scanning the below from a mobile phone / tablet etc. you will be asking to join our newly formed members information group. The administrators of the group will provide amongst club updates, news of social/ cricket events, and any quick one line information bulletins considered useful to members. This will be an information only group and will not be a chat. Newsletters with more in-depth information will continue to be sent.
200 Club
The 200 club is a monthly raffle that occurs throughout the season giving members the opportunity to win up to £200. Entry is just £20 per ticket for the year.
Its not long until the first draw for the season, so if you would like to join, details can be found here along with the payment link.
Ball and Match Sponsorship
We are still looking for ball and match sponsorships for our games this year. These come at just at £25. This is a very important way for us to raise funds for various projects at the club, not covered in our normal budget. The link for this is below.
Training times
The following times are designated for club training sessions. Nets will be available to use for club members outside of these times, and if there is no game on the main square.
Group | Day | Time |
Senior Nets | Wednesday | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm |
Additional 1st XI nets | Tuesday | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm |
U15-U17 | Tuesday | 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm |
Under 11 and below | Sunday | 10:00 am - 11:15 am |
Under 12s - U13s | Sunday | 11:15 am - 12:30 pm |
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