Match Reports:
1st XI v Canterbury
After a long winter and particularly damp few weeks, the 1st XI was finally about to receive a warm welcome into the Championship from division veterans Canterbury CC. The day started well, with new skipper Ainger winning the toss (1/1) and electing to bowl, with hopes of easier batting conditions later in the day, as both the pitch and outfield dried.
Nick and DWebs started steadily, limiting runs from the bat which soon led to a successful LBW shout to finish the 6th over. DWebs quickly doubled his Championship wicket tally, encouraging a loose shot into the covers and shortly after, Koot trapped the new man in front leaving Canterbury 28-3 from 11. The next phase to drinks was very balanced. Koot struck twice, ending a strong Canterbury partnership with ODs doing their best to take control shortly before the break (96/5 from 25).
Unfortunately, the Canterbury middle order had other ideas and the number 6 started accelerating the run-rate. Relief following the dismissal of their number 6 was far too short-lived, as the number 8 proceeded to accelerate things further. The damp outfield was not enough to slow down the onslaught, with many strikes flying well over the rope. Canterbury finished on a mighty 258/6, well above par given the conditions.
With many successful performances still in recent memory, the ODs batting line-up remained optimistic and eager to face their first spell of Championship bowling. Alas, it was not to be, and the Canterbury bowling attack (notably T Davis 10-5-8-6) kindly condensed the innings into an hour-long “highlights” package which you can enjoy on our YouTube channel.
Onwards and upwards, as the team face the familiar Whitstable side next week, to continue their fiery battle from last season.
MoM: Koot for a tidy spell and top-scoring.
DoD: Nick Worsley for confusing the Dalai Lama with Mahatma Gandhi.
Match report by Cameron Sanders
2nd XI v Blackheath 3s
Following the excitement of the Kent League restructure, the 2s find themselves in the mysteriously named Division 5 (Spitfire). It sounded like a major demotion from Division 1 (2nd XI) but in truth, with a mix of 1s, 2s and 3s all jumbled in together, no one really knows!
The opening fixture was at the picturesque setting of the Artillery Ground in Woolwich against Blackheath 3s. Sunshine was promised in the afternoon, so with the pitch and outfield looking damp, the skipper for once eschewed the well-established doctrine of Runs On The Board and elected to field.
The Davison/Bennett partnership which had begun to blossom last year was immediately in full flow, hitting good lengths and getting the ball to nibble around. Davison soon cleaned up the Blackheath President with a booming inswinger while Bennett endlessly beat the outside edge of the opposing skipper. Nonetheless, with some luck and punishing strokeplay against the rare bad balls, Blackheath made it to 40-1. However, Robin East (9-1-27-3) and Pooley (9-5-13-3) to squeeze the life out of Blackheath with the middle order crumbling rapidly. This was well supported in the field, with Richard Loader taking a trademark diving catch at slip and Oscar Jasper, for once not in exile at deep cover, cutting off potential singles in the ring. With the innings in tatters, Arora befuddled two tailenders and Davison returned to take the last wicket, with Blackheath all out for 117 inside 38 overs.
Low chases are never straightforward, but the ODs chase was extremely efficient. Sanders (44) and Loader (13) calmed any nerves, putting on 39 for the first wicket before a grubber did for the latter. Pete White (29*) unleashed some lusty blows and was accompanied by debutant Gary Howarth, a very welcome addition to the ODs batting stocks, who made a very composed 24* to take ODs to a comfortable victory by 8 wickets, with more than 13 overs to spare.
Next up Bexleyheath 2s as ODs look to back-up this impressive start to the campaign.
Many thanks to Steve Sawko for umpiring for us!
Match report by Laurence Sanders
U17 v Bexley
After a nervous day reviewing the weather forecast that was a typical May bank holiday weekend mix of rain, more rain and rain with sunny intervals, we got away with it, the forecast was totally wrong, it stayed dry, and the first match of the season was on!
Captain OJ unfortunately lost the toss, so we were bowling first. No worries, Big Al Walker opened the bowling and had Bexley searching for runs, followed by Max Morgan, keeping it tight. The first wicket was a run-out, courtesy of a very accurate (did I hear someone say flukey?) throw from the deep by Hugo Jones that was a direct hit and saw the end of one of the openers.
Bexley’s number 3 then started a bit of a partnership with the number 1, though the scoring was not quick, with Ollie Bennett and Luke Colby bowling very well. New joiner, Charlie Neil, bowled the number 1, then got another for a duck, caught by OJ, leaving the visitors on 48-3. Ollie Arratoon and Rahul Mehan were the next bowling pair, again keeping it tight. Bexley’s top-scorer, Leek, was next out for 32, caught Morgan, bowled Mehan. Now on 67-4, with overs running out, Bexley knew they needed to up the scoring rate but a run-out by Tom Lake and a clean-bowled by Alex slowed the scoring and Bexley finished on 103-6.
This left a seemingly very gettable 104 to win. Openers Jasper and Bridges started well against some swift bowling until Rohan went for a run that was too tight and was run out for 4 with the score on 18. Hugo came in at 3 and a partnership was building until OJ holed out for 27, after hitting 3 4’s and looking in control.
Tom Lake came in at 4 and put on 40 with Hugo, until he was bowled for 19. The game was very close with OD’s having wickets in hand but only just scoring at the required rate. So it continued, nip and tuck to the last over, needing 6 to win.
6 balls left. 1 for Hugo, 1 for Max, dot ball, 2 for Hugo, 1 for Hugo to tie the scores then 1 for Max off the last! Victory for OD’s, with the not out batters Hugo (32) and Max (12).
What an exciting finish to a very close game, with both teams fielding very well and making run-scoring difficult. Very well done to all the U15’s playing their first U17 match. There were strong contributions throughout the team and with great support from the OD’s faithful it was a fine start to the season.
Thanks to all the parents for getting the registration forms in, the Colts Committee for getting us through the pre-season admin, plus Alex Davison for umpiring and Richard and Ian for scoring.
Match Report by Bob Bridges
U15 v Beckenham B
Driven by an unwavering devotion to the game, the desire to give his players’ match time and a childhood in a country where the sun actually does shine in the summer, Richard was determined that the U15s would rescue cricket after a wash out on Saturday. His optimism was justified and the U15s rewarded their manager’s dogged faith in the English weather by a comprehensive victory against a young Beckenham side.
Beckenham won the toss and elected to field, which, to be honest, was probably fortunate as otherwise it might have been a very short match. Ollie Bennett and Luke Colby opened in a highly competent and professional manner, setting the team in a strong position with 82 on the board before the first wicket fell. Both played some great shots which on a less damp outfield would have resulted in more 4s than the three and four that they scored respectively. Luke was first out, with 40 runs to his name, to a good catch on the second attempt by the fielder. Max scored two quick 4s, but was bowled on 11. Tom came in determined to drive the score along and give his batting partners a good cardio work out with aggressive running between the wickets. Ollie was bowled out on 45, agonisingly close to the magic 50, but a great opening knock for the season. Yuvraj (0), Ed (4), Luke Curtis (3) and Mark (1) came and went, as did Tom eventually on 16, leaving Jay (1) and Carter (0) to finish the final over.
The bowling by the entire team was very impressive and as the stats show, the attack made fairly short work of Beckenham. Ed’s caught and bowled in his first over, with an agile dive to his left, was definitely the most eye catching wicket of the innings. It contributed to great figures of 2-3, with Max also taking a catch off his bowling. Close behind was Luke Curtis, with stats of 2-2, bowling two batsmen out in the same over. Carter’s spin returned an impressive 1-0 with help from a catch by Luke Colby. Luke’s own bowling figures were 1-2. Mark posted figures of 1-5, with a little help from Ollie B taking the catch. Yuvraj turned in 1-6 and Ollie Arratoon 0-5. Tidy as ever behind the stumps, Tom contributed further with a run out.
This was possibly easier opposition than expected and possibly easier than we will face going forward, but it was great to see all the boys contributing with bat and ball and, more importantly, to see them enjoying each other’s company and playing as a team again after the winter break.
Thank you to Richard for getting the match played and to Chris Colby for umpiring.
Match Report by Lindsay Curtis
U15 v Bickley Park
This week’s game was not quite the triumph of weather related optimism of last week, but nevertheless the game started with spectators wrapped up in their coats and bemoaning the English “summer”. However, the weather gods had their revenge on the doubters and by the end of the match, another emphatic win for the team was the only salve for sunburnt parents and manager.
OD CUACO won the toss and elected to bat. With a damp outfield, this made our batsmen work for their runs. Classy shots, which later in the summer will undoubtedly run on for four, were falling short of the boundary rope. Ollie Bennett and Luke Colby coped well with both the strong opening bowling and the conditions. Ollie ran all of his 14 runs and Luke avoided the damp grass altogether by hitting one six on his way to a total of 28. Max got to 5 before being bowled. Tom was nippy between the wickets as ever, but made use of the drying conditions to score 3 fours in his total of 25. Carter added 7 to the score before being out LBW to the opposition’s very handy spin bowler. Bickley made the mistake of dropping potential catches from Ollie Arratoon not once but twice, and this proved very costly for them, as with two fours in his total of 27 from 27 balls he proved an extremely effective batsman. His sharp running between the wickets and desire to pinch yet another run in the final over, saw him run out after trying for a cheeky single. Luke Curtis held the other end up finishing on 2 and Ed came in for the last ball, only to be bowled out.
The OD CUACO boys are looking very sharp in the field this season, so it was fitting that the first wicket was a run out from an excellent throw by Luke Colby, taking the bails off with no assistance required from the wicketkeeper. Later in the innings, Max’s accurate throw in to Tom punished a brave attempt at a run with another run out. Max’s bowling also proved dangerous with 2-3 and one maiden off his 2.3 overs. Ollie Arratoon followed up his great batting display with impressive bowling figures of 2-4 from his 3 overs, assisted by a catch from Max. Ed followed up last week’s excellent bowling with 2-1 and one maiden for his 2 overs, with help from a smart catch by Ollie Bennett. Ollie himself took the other wicket with 1-7 from 2 overs. All the boys had the opportunity to bowl two overs and the rest of the attack was as follows: Luke Colby 0-4, Carter 0-10, Luke Curtis 0-11, Mark 0-13, Leo 0-15 and Jay 0-19.
It's going to be a long season this year, with all teams playing each other home and away, but the boys have got off to a flying start, picking up not just wins but batting and bowling points too. It will undoubtedly get a lot harder, but for now we will enjoy our 31 points and top of the table status!
Thank you to Richard for managing, scoring and organising and to Howard for umpiring.
Match Report by Lindsay Curtis
Picture of the Week
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.
Tour 2023 - 23rd to 26th July
This year we will be touring to Norwich! Leaving early on the 23rd July, we have a full fixture list for the 3 days, starting on the Sunday against Heatherset & Tas Valley Cricket Club during the final day of their Beer Festival. On the Monday, we travel to Cromer CC to play in the first fixture of their cricket week, before a short trip on the train on Tuesday to play against Acle CC.
Total cost of the full Tour will be £265 per person. Please let Mike Parr or Dan Baylis know if you are keen to come, and pay your £75 deposit to the club by 26/05/23 to confirm your spot.
Bank details as follows:
OD CUACO CC
20-49-8
40432628
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 U11s to Under 13s | Sunday | 11:15 am - 12:30 pm |
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