Archive: 2013 News & Reports
Take a stroll down memory lane with club news and match reports from the Jesters CC 2013 season.
Updates appear in reverse chronological order...
20th November - John Burmester new club President
We are delighted John Burmester has agreed to become our new Club President. John is a Jester through-and-through, having first played for the club in the late 1960s and serving as Hon Sec during the late 70s and early 80s.
20th November - AGM and annual dinner
The Jugged Hare proved to be an excellent new venue - a smart private dining room downstairs from a lively pub. The turnout of only 25 Jesters and guests was a little disappointing. But a good time was most certainly had by all.
At the AGM, Robin Atkins handed over as Club President to John Burmester. Matt Williamson stood down from the committee while all other members were re-elected. Chris Smith and Louis Harris were proposed as new committee members and duly elected.
The club’s finances remain in a good state, with John Murphy having once again made heroic efforts to chase up unpaid annual subscriptions. It would make John’s life so much less painful if more members would set up an annual payment from their bank account.
The annual awards were presented at the dinner to:
Arnold Woods Trophy (best performance of the season) to Simon Butler for his century in little more than 50 balls at Hurlingham.
Jester of the Year: the award for the “most Jester-like” performance went to Jonny Bridcut for cracking two of Ollie Doward’s ribs during Club Day - following up a mean bouncer with a perfectly directed beamer.
Michael Meyer Award for big-hitting went to Nick Mumby for the straight six he launched back over Louis Harris’s head during Club Day.
10th October - Dinner venue announced
The AGM and annual dinner will take place at The Jugged Hare on Chiswell Street near the Barbican. Please contact Nick Mumby to book your place and John Murphy to arrange payment (by cheque or transfer into our bank account). Full details are:
Date - Friday 15 November 2013
Venue - The Jugged Hare, 49 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SA
Time - 6:45pm for the AGM / 7:45pm for dinner
Replies by - Thursday 7 November to Nick Mumby (ndpmumby@gmail.com)
Cost - £36 (being £32 plus service includes 3 courses - all other drinks to be paid for separately)
See you there.
18th September - Annual Dinner
The AGM and annual dinner take place on Friday 15th November - so make a note in your diary now. Full details to follow soon.
15th September - Barnes Common cancelled
Sadly our last game of the season, against Barnes Common, has been cancelled with the square too wet for play after heavy rain.
9th September - Plucky defeat at Ashtead
We fought hard at Ashtead but eventually lost by 5 wickets on a cold and damp end of season afternoon. In a 40 over game our 167 all out was perhaps 30 runs light after some careless dismissals. But we applied ourselves better in the field, bowling and fielding tightly. The difference between the two sides was the Ashtead number 3 who struck a hard hitting century. Had we dismissed him we might well have won - but we didn’t.
Highlight of the game - and possibly the season - was Sean Oliver’s extraordinary salmon leap of a caught and bowled. Hurling himself forward and to his left at the end of his follow through, he took the ball in mid-air at full stretch with his left hand. In a season of memorable Jesters caught and bowleds this was the best.
2nd September - Great win at Bray
This was one of the good days. One of those days when the Jesters looked like a highly talented bunch of cricketers and a really efficient team.
On a far from straightforward pitch we beat Maidenhead & Bray by 9 wickets, chasing down their competitive 164 in only the 29th over of what was a 40 over game. Fred Price, playing his first Jesters game for six seasons, stroked a languid 66 not out. Mike Palmer (55) joined him in an opening stand of 137.
All the bowlers put in controlled spells - with Phil Berman especially economical (5 overs for 8 runs). And behind the stumps Mike Palmer was exceptional for a stand-in keeper.
22nd August - Chobham game cancelled
Unfortunately we could muster only half a side over the bank holiday weekend so have had to cancel the game on Sunday against Chobham.
20th August - Good win at Middleton Stoney
We beat Middleton Stoney by 31 runs after looking dead and buried not long after tea. On a slow track we made what we thought was a defendable 143-9 but Middleton Stoney had raced to 85-1. But once we finessed the second wicket the rest tumbled. Three falling on 111. Nick Mumby had best figures of 4-20. A full account will appear here soon.
9th August - Nail-biting finish at Cuckfield
18 to win and last man in. That was the drama at Cuckfield as skipper Andrew Short and 18 year old Rebecca Silk were left to score the winning runs after a calamitous batting collapse. Men round the bat, the Aussie pro bowling offies and, from the top end, the whippy left-armer whose late swing had caused the collapse.
With a dozen overs left there was no hurry - and the tension slowly mounted. Andrew blocked - and blocked some more. Rebecca waited patiently for the ball she could hit - and hit it. There was a four down the ground off the Aussie, a nice shot through the covers off the left armer, and a low snick through the slips that scuttled away to the boundary.
Three to win and three overs remaining. All four results possible. The Aussie drops slightly short. Andrew, sensing the winning runs, goes back to pull. But it’s a quicker delivery! He’s too late on the shot and is pinned plumb lbw. So plumb that the Jester umpiring can find no excuse for not raising an apologetic finger.
It was a great end to what had been a great day’s cricket. The sun shone, the ground was a picture and Cuckfield’s cricket week hospitality as fine as ever. Jesters Doward, Harris, Mohammed and Short were bolstered by several young players from Preston Nomads cricket club, all fine cricketers who are very welcome to play for us again whenever they wish.
At lunch Cuckfield were 100-6 and we were firmly on top. Adnan opened up hill and bowled a long, containing, 15 over spell. No mean feat as the Aussie pro - Cameron Borgas - went in first. Adnan was unlucky to take only one wicket.
Ollie Deme opened from the top end and took the first wicket. He was replaced by James Silk bowling leggies, and we witnessed a fascinating contest between the Aussie and our spin twins. It was a moment of great celebration when James finally lured the Aussie down the track and the ball skewed into the safe hands of Ollie Doward at backward point.
Half an hour before lunch Adnan was replaced by Rebecca Silk, of Sussex Ladies, who bowled her off-breaks through to the end of the innings, causing problems for all the batters and snaring three victims.
After lunch Ollie Deme struck twice early on and it looked as though we’d be chasing fewer than 150. But some late hitting took the total to 179. Surely gettable by our talented batting line up.
A brief word about the fielding which our young guests raised to heights rarely explored by Jesters sides - catching, boundary fielding, you name it. Behind the stumps, Luke Appleton kept very tidily to our predominantly spin attack which is never easy.
The Ikram brothers, Taron and Sakib, opened the batting for us and were going well until Taron was unluckily given out caught off his forearm. Sakib batted beautifully - a six flicked over square-leg stands out in the memory - and with Louis Harris in his usual dashing mode our total built steadily.
Ollie Doward replaced Louis, and put together a nicely crafted 50, using his feet to the spinners and batting well out of his crease against the left-armer swinging the ball very late into the right hander. All looked fine and dandy as our score approached 150.
At this point the left armer struck. And struck again. And again (and I think again). Late swing at a decent pace castling several of our batters. In little more than the blink of an eye - or so it seemed - we were 162-9. 18 to win and last man in...
30th July - Rickling Green game cancelled
Unfortunately Rickling Green are unable to raise a side so the game on Sunday 4th August has been cancelled.
1st July - Convincing victory at Hurlingham
Hurlingham: 141 all out
Jesters: 142/2
Jesters won by 8 wickets
“Traditionally the curtain-raiser for the season, our fixture at the Hurlingham Club was this year pushed back to late June, with the immediate benefit of glorious blue skies and perfect picnic weather for the loyal Jesters entourage who spread themselves around the boundary to cheer the visitors on. Despite the mercury levels, the Jesters won the toss and bowled, knowing that the perfect condition of the wicket and the croquet-lawn outfield may well favour the team chasing later in the day.
“The Jesters got off to a strong start, with Max Harris picking up a wicket in the second over, though the hosts’ top order battled through the remainder of the new ball without further loss and, when 75/1 half an hour before lunch, looked on course to post a sizeable total.
“It took a gem of a delivery from the rejuvenated arm of Simon Butler to remove the second Hurlingham opening batsman for a fluent 43 and from that point the home side never quite recovered.
“Adnan Mohammed, so often a thorn in an opposition’s side, tore through the middle order with devastating effect; his cunning and guile bemused both the batsmen and the umpire and earned him the incredible figures of 6/15, including a hat-trick. Fellow spinners Nick Mumby and Louis Harris wrapped up the innings not long after lunch to round off an impressive fielding display by the visitors.
“As the Jesters’ openers strode out to the wicket in pursuit of 142 to win, Simon Butler knew it would be most unlikely that he would have enough time to make it three Hurlingham hundreds in a row (following sensational knocks of 168* and 105* in the last two years).
“However, 17 overs later, with the score on 124/1, the crowd was cheering deliriously as Simon raised his bat to all corners of the ground after a quite brilliant (and at times brutal) century off just 59 balls. He was particularly impressive when driving through the covers and down the ground, though showed his destructive best when pulling their opening bowler over the netting at the far side of the ground and almost out of the Hurlingham estate, a hit that must have gone 90 metres.
“Simon was ably supported by Ponniah Vijendran, Chris Smith and Louis Harris, who hit the winning runs bang on 4pm to record a famous 8 wicket victory in time for tea.
“The Jesters would like to thank the Hurlingham for another wonderful day at their club and we very much look forward to returning next year.”
Thanks to match manager Jonny Bridcut for this report.
11th June - Game of two halves at Jesus
Match manager Ollie Doward explains how we escaped with a draw against Jesus College, Cambridge.
Jesus College 170-8 declared
Jesters 107-9
“Two Jesters sides turned up to play the students of Jesus College, Cambridge - the first, a disciplined bowling unit backed up by one of the finest Jesters fielding displays in living memory; the second, a nervy batting line-up that never troubled a tempting target of 171.
“With the toss lost, Adnan Mohammed was entrusted with the new ball and immediately set the tone, rattling the timbers of occasional Jester Sam Grimshaw, now a seemingly eternal PhD student at the College.
“That brought their classy number three to the wicket. Having put our bowlers to the sword the previous year, he was threatening to do the same with a series of beautifully timed drives before being stifled by a ring of steel on the off side, including two short covers. A game of chess ensued and the pressure eventually told. An attempted flick to the inviting leg side gap produced a leading edge. Alex Smith stayed calm under the steepler at mid-off to spark wild celebrations. Check mate Mohammed.
“Debutant Chris Ancil bowled an excellent length throughout a tight opening spell, before making way for returning 1996 Jesus skipper Ros Atkins. Ros' last game of cricket was for the Jesters at Jesus in 2008, when he deposited his second delivery over point for six. This time the man with the golden arm made an even quicker impact - his first delivery tempted the batsman into a rash slash to Mike Palmer at point! Ros' 4-42 included a spectacular catch off his own bowling, thrusting out a palm to pluck a fiercely struck drive out the air.
“Adnan operated unchanged for 16 miserly overs, deserving more than his two wickets, the only blemish coming when a new 'magic' delivery - The Magnum - was dispatched over wide long on for a towering six.
“He was eventually replaced by Andrew Short whose 2-22 off 5 overs kept the flailing tail-enders in check and included another fantastic caught and bowled as he somehow clung on to a howitzer smashed back at him. In keeping with the excellent fielding display, Andrew's other wicket came courtesy of another crowd-pleasing pouch by the tumbling Mohammed at long on.
“What seemed a generous declaration (170-8 off 42 overs) soon proved otherwise.
“Mike Palmer nicked to slip. Robbie Hudson slapped a full bunger straight to deep square leg. Louis Harris was castled. Three big guns back in the hutch. Smith and Williamson consolidated and there were still seven wickets in hand when the final 20 overs were called, but the rapidly increasing run rate took its toll on a collapsing middle order. Adnan's defiant 30 briefly gave us hope but in the end skipper Ollie Doward battened down the hatches and blocked out the final over for an inauspicious draw.”
10th June - two tense draws
We closed 9 wickets down chasing in both games over the weekend of 8/9 June. We were a long way short against a good Jesus College Cambridge bowling attack, but in with a chance of beating the Pink Elephants until the final over. Match reports of both games to follow soon.
26th May - Victory against Bedouins
Bedouins 162 all out (Mohammed 3/15)
Jesters 163-4 (C Smith 65)
Match manager Chris Smith describes the day:
“Following a strong performance and good win in 2012, the Jesters travelled to the picturesque Ascott Park for a second year to take on the Bedouins in yet another sunny Bank Holiday Sunday all-day encounter.
“Jesters won the toss and against all odds inserted the
Bedouins with the hope that the Jesters’ strong bowling line-up could restrict the Bedouins to a modest total.
“Bridcut and Murphy shared the new ball and started well, with the ball swinging nicely and causing not only the batsmen trouble, but also stand-in wicket keeper Chris Smith, who could be seen scrambling down
the leg-side a few too many times.
“The late swing was quick to assist the Jesters, as Bridcut breached the Bedouins defences with a James Anderson style beauty. Then just as the Bedouins seemed to be recovering Bridcut produced another delivery that moved off the pitch just enough to beat the bat and trap the Bedouins skipper, Joe Phelan,in front LBW. Bridcut finished with good figures of 8/1/31/2.
“From then on the innings was a combination of accurate bowling and tentative batting. An important run-out, after good work from Nick Gregori, and a good spell from Phil Berman (9/1/27/1), meant that the Bedouins could never get away from the Jesters.
“When Mohammed (10.1/3/15/3) and Gregori (8/0/27/2) set about the lower order it was looking like a low total would be posted. However, some late hitting from Bedouins' number 9 secured a total of 162 for the Jesters to chase in plenty of time.
“Special mention should be given to Louis Harris’s excellent (and very sharp) slip catch off the excellent Mohammed, which defied logic and Jesters’ tradition.
“The Jesters’ response was good. Chris Smith and Andrew Short set the platform by putting on 80 for the first wicket in excess of 20 overs. With the big Aussie opening bowler seen off, the Bedouins turned to their 14 year old leg spinner in order to extract similar turn to that surprisingly seen from the bowling of Mohammed in the first innings. The young spinner bowled beyond his years and took 3 quick wickets including Smith for a well played 65 and Harris for a breezy 24.
“However, the damage had been done by the top order and it was left to James Williams (20 not out) and Nick Gregori (17 not out) to see the Jesters home with over an hour in the day to spare.
“Many thanks to the Bedouins for hosting yet another fantastic fixture at one of the finest grounds of the summer. Both sides will look forward to a re-match next year.”
23rd May - Sawbridgeworth
We lost a 40 over game with Sawbridgeworth by 30 runs but played reasonably well. On a fast scoring ground - one short boundary down a slope - we did well to restrict a powerful batting line up to 245 after many more seemed possible at 30 overs. Phil Berman bowled his usual cunning spell of late swing, new member Tom Bell bowled intelligently under fire, and Adnan was economical at the death. We weren’t helped by having only nine players on the ground for the first hour.
In response no one was able to play the major innings needed when chasing such a substantial total. Mike Palmer and Louis Harris looked fluent but we lost wickets at crucial times. Adnan smote several sixes in his 60 not out but their total seemed always just out of reach.
Hopefully there will a full report of this game soon.
16th May - Great win at Radley
Jesters: 218 all out (Vijendran 90)
Radley Rangers: 126 all out (A Harris 3/32, Mohammed 3/16)
Jesters won by 92 runs
Match manager Jonny Bridcut takes up the story:
“Radley College was the scene of the Jesters’ most humbling experience of 2012; chasing 257 to win on a sunny summer’s afternoon, we crumbled to 54 all out in a painful 35 overs. From the very moment that the Jesters’ team bus passed underneath the school’s Memorial Arch and slipped its way unnoticed down the drive that evening, planning had begun for atonement in 2013.
“The immediate build-up to the big day had not gone well. Losing our first choice wicketkeeper a couple of days before the game, would be sure to test the team’s inner steel.
“Having won the toss, the Jesters opted to bat, knowing that rain was forecast later in the day and therefore that the pitch might be at its best first up. Ponniah Vijendran and Simon Butler strolled out to the wicket with one aim in mind: to surpass 54.
“The Radley Rangers’ attack featured a couple of familiar faces from last year’s rout, though the wide blades of Bob and Reg ensured that the visitors got off to a flying start and overhauled last year’s total with no wickets down in only the 8th over. The only thing that unsettled our diminutive openers in their opening stand of 93 was the apparently large playing surface, as caressed cover drives would frequently result in weary threes rather than deserved boundaries.
“Reg was first to go for a spritely 43, but Bob continued to defy exhaustion and threatened a hundred before lunch, a feat not achieved since the halcyon days when Strauss and Dalrymple graced these sporting fields. However, with 10 minutes till the break, Bob unfurled one shot too many, perishing for a superb 90. As we settled down to our scotch eggs and pork pies, we were quietly confident that 163/4 had given us a great foothold in the game.
“After lunch, the priority was quick runs to enable a sporting declaration so that our three-pronged seam attack could be unleashed before the Oxfordshire rains set in. The Jesters’ middle and lower order obliged, though surrendering a few wickets along the way; lofty blows from the likes of James Douse and Nick Mumby ensured that we reached 218 all out by 3pm.
“The opening ten minutes of the Rangers’ innings could not have been in greater contrast to the serene start made by the visitors earlier in the day. The first ball hit the batsman’s gloves, the second found a thin edge which could not quite be grasped, the third saw a huge lbw appeal turned down, the fourth a huge lbw appeal upheld, the fifth a whisker away from off stump, the seventh plumb lbw, the ninth also lbw and the tenth reared up from the increasingly lively Radley wicket into the face of the unfortunate batsman, forcing him to head to the pavilion for stitches (he later valiantly emerged to resume his innings at number 11).
“After 12 balls the scoreboard read 2/3. Amidst the fire and brimstone, the hosts number 3 stood tall and peppered the boundary on a few occasions before a beauty from Andy Harris (3/32) rattled his timbers. The entrance of James Haggie (2/18) into the attack caused further damage, and the hosts walked off for tea on a perilous 41/5.
“After the interval, some clean hitting from the lower order ensured the Rangers passed three figures, but spin twins Nick Mumby (1/31) and Adnan Mohammed (3/16) were on hand to clean up the tail for a total of 126.
“The fielding was of an exceptional standard, especially given the wet conditions, and good catches were taken by Louis Harris and James Douse. It was an all round team performance of the highest quality. A particular mention should go to DJ Chak, who did not concede a single bye in the entire innings after taking the gloves at the eleventh hour, and also to the umpires, who persevered despite the persistent English drizzle from mid afternoon.
“Many thanks to the Radley Rangers for their tremendous hospitality and we look forward to another engaging contest next summer!”
11th May - Madness at Magdalene College
Jesters 177-9 dec
Magdalene College Cambridge 178-7
Cut this game in two and you would find the word “shambles” running right through its centre.
The exception was our batting. 177-9 declared was a good effort on a low wicket and there were several important individual contributions. Most notably Tom Lee - last year’s Jesus College captain guesting for us - who top scored with a well-crafted 40. James Douse’s 30 was an intelligent knock at a time when we might have collapsed. And Sean Oliver applied late impetus blasting a quick 22 not out before the declaration.
But Magdalene had only seven players - not all in whites or long trousers. And were reinforced by several players from an entirely unrelated Cambridge-based side who drifted in during the first hour of play on spec after their own game had been canceled and they had seen an email saying the Jesters might be short of players! (unusually this season we had managed to assemble a full side).
So at tea Magdalene had cobbled together a team - and were chasing 178 for victory, which should have been far too many on that surface.
Seasoned Jesters-watchers may already have an inkling what happened next.
First we shipped extras like they were going out of fashion. Poor Adnan Mohammed, behind the stumps as we again had no proper keeper, didn’t stand a chance as the openers bowled wide.
Then the general fielding fell apart in malign sympathy. Usually reliable fielders dropped catches, there was some spectacular diving over the ball in the covers, and... well, you can imagine the rest.
One of the college’s opening bats was a handy player who took advantage of the mayhem to score a rapid 50. But we really shouldn’t have let the others get the runs they did.
Amid all this, Tom Lee (4-54) bowled his slow left armers nicely, Louis Harris (1-24) reminded us why he should bowl more often, and Adnan (2-36), when released belatedly from keeping duties, provided additional penetration. The fielding highlight - believe it or not there was one - was a stumping from Ollie Doward after Adnan handed him the gloves.
We finally lost by just 3 wickets after a late collapse. Final proof that those extras and the poor fielding had cost us the game.
11th May - The “Mighty 9” take on St John’s
Where have all the players gone this season?
After a week of hunting cricketers across the length and breadth of London and East Anglia, it was a nine-man Jesters side that took the field at St John’s College Cambridge. Nine men who did not include a regular keeper.
“What fun” the skipper thought as he won the toss, inserted the students, and looked forward to an afternoon of creative field placing learned from his extensive sofa-based study of the IPL this spring.
Fortunately the Mighty 9 rose to the occasion and fought like lions all afternoon - and for long periods the casual observer would have been unaware we were two short in the field. On a low-bouncing wicket we slowly suffocated the college batsmen and eventually dismissed them for 149.
Adnan Mohammed bowled a long, containing spell, taking four wickets. Alex Smith, given a these days rare opportunity with the ball, showed it should perhaps happen more often, taking two. And Nick Mumby took three, these following a very effective stand-in performance behind the stumps. Curiously, one of Nick’s wickets was a catch by his replacement as keeper, Ollie Doward.
We were left with what turned out to be only 27 overs to get the runs. No one seemed particularly keen to open, so the Mighty Mohammed won promotion up the order. Again the evidence from the day suggests this is something that should happen more often as he carried his bat for a fine 61 not out.
On a low wicket it wasn’t easy to force the pace and everyone else fell in a valiant attempt to keep up with the run rate. Then with 20 needed from the final two overs, and the last (9th) man at the crease, we should definitely have blocked for a draw. But the skipper, no doubt in some IPL-fueled fantasy of last over glory against his old college, thought differently. He promptly missed a straight full toss.
10th May - Streatham & Marlborough mauling
We came second at Streatham & Marlborough. Thanks to Adnan Mohammed, match manager, for this account.
“The Jesters were one man down because of a last minute drop-out. The skipper lost the toss and Jesters took to the field in a limited 40 overs per side game.
“Phil Berman and Sean Oliver opened the bowling with Sean bowling with good pace and carry and Phil moving the ball both ways. Sean was unlucky not to have picked up more wickets but completed his spell of 6 overs, 1 wicket for 31 (with a catch in the middle of it). Phil bowled, perhaps the best spell the skipper has seen him bowl and one which even Jimmy Anderson would be proud of. The batsman did not know which way the ball would swing and seam. Phil ended with 8 overs, 2 maidens and 3 for 17.
“The opposition was looking down and out at 83 for 6. James Douse also joining the wicket parade by knocking middle the stump out of the ground by a dipping yorker. However their number 4 and 8 had defiance written all over them. They mounted a fight back, taking advantage of the small boundary ending at 236 all out in the 37th over. A tall order then for the mighty 10.
“Jonny Bridcut was promoted to opening the batting and had a second wicket partnership with Louis Harris for 99 runs. Jonny was eventually bowled for 45. Louis continued the fight back making a fluent 58 before being caught at the boundary. With Louis gone, the run rate slowed down. Alex Smith tried to continue the run rate scoring a quick fire 21. In the end the Jesters could only score 201 for 7.
“A good early season batting performance against a good bowling attack! Credit goes to the Streatham & Marlborough young batsmen.”
8th May - “stumped Doward”
Yes, it is true. The Jesters’ scorebook now contains these words, the happiest consequence of a wicket-keeping crisis that saw three non-keepers do stumping duties on the Cambridge weekend.
Nick Mumby kept on Saturday and Adnan Mohammed on Sunday. Ollie taking the gloves when they had a bowl. Such was Ollie’s accomplishment that he also took a catch standing up to Nick.
Thank you to all three novice stumpers for being brave enough to give it a go.
1st May - A good win at Sutton
Sutton CC: 128 all out
Jesters CC: 129/3
Jesters CC win by 7 wickets
Match manager Jonny Bridcut tells the story:
“After last summer’s frequent wash-outs, it was a joy to start the 2013 season under blue skies at the picturesque home ground of Sutton CC.
“Having lost the toss, the Jesters had a chance to assess conditions with ball in hand before showing off our traditional early-season batting frailties. This approach found handsome reward as Sean Oliver and Matt Berry pegged the hosts back with early wickets, the first of which was a flying catch by wicket-keeper Sarbajeet Nag.
“Spin triplets Nick Mumby, Adnan Mohammed and Chris Smith continued to pile on the pressure, with Nick ending with a deserved four wicket haul, as Sutton succumbed to 128 all out.
“However, their total could have been significantly greater if it was not for the dynamic fielding of DJ Chak whose threat should not have been unbeknown to Sutton after his astonishing boundary catch last year as he rifled in a direct hit from short third man to leave the host’s leading scorer a couple of feet short just when he looked set to propel Sutton to a total nearer 200.
“Special mention should also go to birthday boy Matt Berry, who claimed two wickets for seven runs in his last seven overs.
“After a couple of energy drinks, DJ then strolled out to the middle to open up with Matt “the Juggler” Williamson (who had done his best to live up to his new credentials in various fielding positions earlier in the afternoon).It did not take long for DJ, the reigning Arnold Woods trophy holder, to unfurl a few trademark drives and cuts as he and Matt built an invaluable opening partnership of 72.
“DJ eventually fell for 60, allowing Louis Harris and Alex Smith to ease the Jesters home in what proved to be a commanding run chase against a decent attack featuring two of Sutton’s first team regulars. The seven wicket triumph atoned for last season’s narrow 20 run defeat and provided the perfect start to the season.
“The Jesters would like to thank Sutton for their very generous hospitality in a fixture that is fast becoming one of the highlights of the Jester’s summer. We very much look forward to hopefully returning in 2014.”
29th April - One victory, one defeat
A quick update while we wait for match reports from the first two games of the season.
We opened with a good 7 wicket win at Sutton. It was a good bowling performance all round, with four wickets for Nick Mumby and a tight spell from Matt Berry. In response DJ Chak stroked an impressive 60. The Sutton website has the full scorecard.
Streatham & Marlborough were on the rack five wickets down before a couple of young batsman took control with calculated hitting. Sixes rained over the short boundary and we suffered from both the Dil-scoop and switch hit. Their 245 in what was a 40 over game proved far too many - despite a flowing half century from Louis Harris - and we closed on 201-7.
20th April - HAC game cancelled
Unfortunately HAC have had to cancel their game with us on Sat 27 April as their outfield isn’t ready for the new season. They re-seeded a large part earlier this year but the very cold March meant the grass didn’t grow as expected. So they have called off all their April fixtures to give it a chance to catch up.
7th February - 2013 nets at Lord’s
Pre-season nets are booked as usual at the Lord’s indoor school.
The first is Tuesday 26th Feb and after that every Tuesday until 9th April. All sessions are 7-8pm.
Exact dates are: 26 Feb, March 5, 12, 19 & 26, April 2 & 9.
The cost is £8.00 per person per session. And the usual rule applies: if you cancel and we are unable to find a replacement you will be charged. Contact Andrew Short to book your place.