Saturday 28th July 2001
Saturday 21st July 2001
Saturday 14th July 2001
Saturday 7th July 2001

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Saturday 28th July 2001

1st XI vs. Calthorpe

Report by: Alan Barnard

As is standard for Saturday games, especially at Hydeside (the home of North London Cricket) the toss meant victory, or a bore-draw. In this case we won the toss, and effectively won the game, bowling first against a struggling Calthorpe team, who in all honesty, would have struggled to defend 300 on arguably one of the best wickets outside of county cricket.

Matt Worton and John Street opened up, and both looked very effective, picking up a couple of wickets apiece. Matt especially deserves a mention, who has turned out this season bowling as well as he ever has, and is basically a band new opening bowler for the club to compliment the superstar batsmen show have stolen the show week in week out.

Calthorpe were struggling, and I was hearing about it. Being based in Portsmouth, and being on call, it is difficult to keep in touch with the going on a Saturday if you are not playing, but luckily Tim 'Free Willy' Beeden had a phone close to hand. Calthorpe were beginning to look comfortable against the quicks, when skipper Tony Willett brought on the spin-twins of Stav 'Bubble' Elia and Rico 'You Throw Like a Girl' Lewis. This had an immediate effect, and wickets began to tumble at a fast pace.

Calthorpe finished up on 96 all out, perhaps 150 shy of a good total on a batting track. Edmonton opened up with Chris '1 inch punch' Stockman and Sesiri 'Jaya' Jayasena. They both looked comfortable and had made 40 apiece, when Ses was caught. Venki came in to bat, produced the goods, and finished on 5 not out, With Chris Stockman finishing with a solid 46*.

Having not been there, I can only comment on the drinking session that ensued, but I've heard rumours of skipper Tony Willet stumbling home after 10 pints and a couple of Tequilas and After Shocks. I'd love to see any side on the league sink as much booze as us on a Saturday after a win!! The win took us to within reaching distance of MTSCC and West Harrow in second and third respectively - it's nice not to have to look over your shoulder at the relegation places.

Team:- Willett, Jayasena, Stockman, Vengkatesh, Prinsloo, Cooke, S Roche, Elia, Lewis, Worton, Street

2nd XI vs. Osterley

Report by: Martin Loveday

We made our belated journey Osterley after waiting till 12:30 for Neil Jackson who did not turn up and Johnny Squires took his place. We arrived later than the others and was told that the oppo claimed the toss despite them not having a full side there either. We had a look at the ground which could easily be mistaken for a farm and we changed in the barn which stank and had no locks on our changing room.

After being somewhat forced to bat Kevin Lawrence set the standards hitting anything loose to the boundary. He was shortly joined by young David Hinnigan and they shared a partnership off 100. David was dismissed for 57 and Pat Carr was given LBW shortly after by D.Baker. Cooper went in and was shortly out for 2. Kev was next to go for a good 64 and a minor collapse seemed to be happening before a good partnership between N.Waker and D.Stevenson jnr. Both were scoring quickly and got around 20 a piece. D.Baker was next in and hit an inspired 31 no and L.Miller stayed around putting on about 10 - 15. When 55 overs were eventually bowled we finished at 246 for 7.

We went out to bowl and P.Carr and M.Loveday opened the bowling both getting an opener a piece bowled bringing to the crease a muppet and a ringer. D.Baker had a go at bowling as did L. Miller but to avail and D.Stevenson came on at the end but Nothing was working as a catch went down lbw's and run outs not being given. As it turned out the ringer who smashed 110 the previous week and also holds the club record of 188 no hit everything to the boundary and finished on 148 no. as they proceeded to knock off our runs in just 32 overs. A game we should not have lost and means we have to win all our remaining fixtures if promotion is going to be possible.

If we wish to avoid playing clubs such as this in the future week in week out we really need to step up a gear and make promotion. I for one do not wish to play at grounds with ceremic tiles sticking out of the ground as boundary markers and a club house which should be condemned.

Saturday 21st July 2001

1st XI vs. Alexandra Park

Report by: Alan Barnard

After last weekends indifferent result, away to Turnham Green, it was important that we bounced back against an AP side struggling somewhat since being relegated from division 1 last season. After winning the toss for just about the first time this season, skipper TONY WILLETT had no hesitation in putting AP in to bat on what looked to be an absolute belter of a wicket. I realise it's been said before, but after playing on Barnet's wicket on Sunday our wicket, square and outfield are of a superior standard than many county league sides and credit for this has to go to groundsman BRENT RICKARD.

We couldn't have asked for a better start, as MATT WORTON and Tony Willett took early wickets. Matt was bowling probably the best I've seen this season, possibly ever, and his 14 overs we bordering on unplayable at times, and would have dismissed many better batsmen. Wicketkeeper VENKI chipped in with a superb catch off Willett, taken in front on second slip, one handed - we were flying at this point. Once Willett and Worton had finished up, it was left to spin twins STAV ELIA and RICKO LEWIS to do the damage, and they shared 5 wickets between them. Alexandra Park we dismissed for a poor 126, and a bouncy, but true wicket.

The target set seemed even more gettable when you looked at the depth in our batting line-up - CHRIS STOCKMAN (who earlier had taken an excellent diving catch at short leg) and SIMON ROCHE going in at 7 and 8 respectively. Things started badly as SES JAYASENA was dismissed off of the first ball of the innings, chasing a wide half volley, and only managing to get a snick to the keeper. This led to an impromptu change to the batting line-up as a slightly nervous EZRA PRINSLOO was promoted to number 3 as Venki was not yet padded up.

Ezras nerves were put to one side in the first ball of the second over, when AP's opener made the mistake of dropping one short of a length on a flat wicket - the ball sailed for a massive six almost into the Grocers. Ez seemed keen on getting on with the task as he hammered another six - perhaps the biggest of the season - into the allotments. Meanwhile the other opener DANNY FULLER was looking accomplished, but not scoring at Ezra's tempo. This was underlined by the fact that Ez had scored 50 out of 62 at one stage.

Ezras innings was prematurely ended when some bad calling led to a silly run-out, the usually mellow South African was not a happy man as he walked back to the pavilion! It was left to Fuller and Venki to see the innings to a close, both scoring 30+ not out and rapping up what has to be our most convincing win of the season so far within 27 overs. Some well deserved drinking was in order as we stayed outside to cheer the Third XI on, taking their last 2 wickets and rapping up another good win. Team: Jayasena, Fuller, Prinsloo, Venkatesh, Barnard, Willett, Stockman, Roche, Elia, Worton, Lewis.

3rd XI vs. Wembley

Report by: Alan Porter

The Es faced a hard fixture on saturday with yhe visit of one of the stronger teams in the league on saturday.Having already lost away at wembley the 3s were looking to reverse the result , after losing the toss theEs were put into bat on a green top after overnight rain and some early morning drizzle and with the ball not coming on to the bat the Es were soon in trouble with the first four batsmen going cheaply.This brought M Billson to the wicket with A Edwards and they set about repairing the early damage with a combination of hard hitting and a little luck the score began to mount but Andres luck ran out as he skied one and was cauhgt for 23 this left Mickey to carry the innings on his shoulders and with the support of the lower order Mick was finally out for a battling of 131, and with J Arrowsmith hitting some lusty blows after Micks departure the Es declared on 240-8.

P Ryan opened the bowling with A Rooban but with an inability to put the ball in the right place the ball began to disappear to all parts and wembley were going along at 5 an over and the Es were not claiming any wickets. Finally a breakthrough was acheived by the bowlers and wickets were coming slowly but the run rate was going up and Wembley were on course for a victory but DAZ pulled it back by taking 4wickets and some pressure was being applied to the wembley batsmen and although they were up with the run rate they were running out of wickets and victory was finnally achieved when man of the match M Billson had there last man caught behind by J Squires who completed an excellent afternoons work behind the stumps by taking his third catch of the innings and this gave the Es a hard earned victory in there push for promotion. Will this be the year?

Saturday 14th July 2001

1st XI vs. Turnham Green

Report by: Alan Barnard

With the weather forecasters predicting yet another day of intermittent rain, we were less than hopeful of getting a full game in for the second week running. When we made the trip round to the Fullers ground in West London, we were not surprised to see a wicket indistinguishable from the square. We would have arrived considerably earlier had it not been for the size of Dave Smith's kit - not that fact that it was so big it would not fit into a car, more that we were laughing so much at Dave's carrier bag with all his kit in.

We lost the toss, and we put in by their skipper, and amid the usual torrent of sledging and abuse from short leg and the slip cordon progressed slowly. Ezra Prinsloo - who seems to either smash a big score of struggle fell early, and was followed by fellow opener Danny Fuller. By this time, Dave Hinnigan and Venki were in, Hinnigan was undone by the bounce, but Venki was looking good, as he passed 50. When he departed to a leading edge caught and bowled, it looked like we were going to struggle, but some quick runs from Tony Willett and late stokes from the tail led us to 189 - not a bad score on one of the most inconsistent wickets in the league.

After tea, we started sluggishly, and allowed the Turnahm Green openers to dominate the opening overs. When they had reached 98-0 with almost 30 overs left, we were struggling. Some indifferent bowling from Willett and Worton did not help the cause, but the crease at the top end being marked out facing down leg side, rather than straight at the stuims did not aid them. This is something that needs to be sorted really, as it does not help bowlers who

Staring down the barrel, skipper Willett turned to Spin, with immediate effect. Elia and Lewis taking 6 wickets for 9 runs, and ending Greens hopes of victory. Some sharp fielding from Barnard and Smith led to three of the dismissals, and it was left to Greens tail end to block for the draw with some 20 overs to go. Not getting the luck of the bounce on several occasions was frustrating, but overall, a good comeback, from a precarious position. We took home more points than them, too. Special mention to Kev Lawrence and Pat Carr, who supported us so well in between playing golf and watching the women's cricket on the next pitch. No surprises there. We go into our next match - at home to AP knowing that we can count on a good batting track to give us a sporting chance of victory.

3rd XI vs. North London

Report by: Alan Porter

With skipper Kevin Fursse returning to the helm, the 3rds made the short trip to North London for the 1987 league game. After an inspection of the wicket it was hard to see where the outfield finished and the wicket began. With the loss of the toss the Es were put in to bat on a wet and very green wicket and were soon in trouble with Phil Langdell going early and with the state of the pitch batsmen were playing balls around head height and wickets began to fall. With only John Hinnigan coming to terms with the bowling, the Es were soon reduced to 129-8 when John was joined by Linsford Miller and they began to take the attack to the opposition. With John at last carrying out his threat to slap the attack apart he hit a sparkling 83 not out and with Linsford batting ably at the other end with the highlight being a huge six into the tennis courts the Es were finally all out for 199.

Despite this good recovery, with the sun was shining, the wicket drying and an old ball would it be enough? North London started there innings with Anan Rooban opening the bowling but he probably put his worst spell of the season and N London started to race away on the run chase. Glen Brown was bowling well at the other end but having no luck at all and with short boundaries the score quickly began to mount and on 109 for 0 a defeat seemed certain. At this point, James Arrowsmith came on to bowl and all sorts of things started to happen and wickets suddenly started to fall and with Glen starting to have some luck 4 wickets fell on 109. The Es were back in the game and with James and Glen now bowling well and with the ball now going to hand and with N London contrived to lose a game they had controlled for most of the afternoon the Es finally gained a good victory in trying circumstances. With James taking 4wickets and Glen 5wickets, a lot was owed to these two for bowling so well.

Saturday 7th July 2001

1st XI vs. West Harrow

Report by: Alan Barnard

1st XI vs West Harrow. For the 2nd time in 2 seasons, the 1st teams outing to West Horrow was hit by the weather. This time, we managed to get 37 overs in, but as the weather worsened, the umpires had little choice byt to pull up the stumps, as the wicket became dangerous. MATT WORTON was the pick of the bowlers, defying the slippery run-ups to take 3, while STAV ELIA took a smart catch in the covers. The real winner was the weather, once again.

1st XI: Willett(c), Vengkatesh(wk), Fuller, Prinsloo, Jayasena, Barnard, Larwence, Elia, Lewis, Worton, Street

2nd XI vs. West Harrow

Report by: Alan Barnard

2nd XI vs West Harrow. The second team took on a stong West Harrow side, and batting first, would have taken a score of above 150, when they slipped to 70-6, but some excellent batting from NEIL JACKSON (73) supported by MARTIN LOVEDAY and NICK HUBBARD meant that Edmonton could post a respectable score of 230 a/o. DAVE SMITH, on his comeback was give out controvertially by umpire PHIL LANGDELL, as the top order disappointed once again.

In reply, West Harrow started brightly, scoring freely, but losing wickets in the process. The game seemed to be nicely balanced going into the final few overs, but in true Cowboy style, West HArrows number 9 smashed a couple of sixes to turn the game their way. Earlier, Edmonton had fielded well, with Jackson taking a smar one handed catch, when he might have used two, Dave Smith was a vocal as ever, but it is good to see him back playing. Despite his differences with a number of people at the club, you really cannot fault his will to win, which is lacking from many people at Edmonton at the moment.

All in all, a disappointing was to lose, and you could sense the frustration as the team trooped off the field. This will be a blow to the second team, who are looking to bounce straight back into the Fullers second division.

3rd XI vs. Southgate

Report by: Alan Porter

On a rain affected day the 3s played a complete game at Old Michindians ground on Saturday. With skipper KEVIN FURSSE still sunning himself in devon COLIN TURNER skippered for the last time against Southgate 4s. After losing the toss, Es were put in to bat on a trach, which given the overhead conditions was not in bad condition. With PETER PATE returning to the thirds opened the innings with CT, with a reasonable start Colin was first out steering a rising ball to first slip.

this brought in the in-form JAMES HAZELL but a shocking atteempt at a pull shot to a ball that did not bounce soon accounted for James this brought JOHN HINNIGAN to the crease saying he would be despatching the ball to all parts of the ground. This in part did happen until he decided to play an on drive to a ball which was not in the slot and had his stumps removed and with P Pate going as well and being quickly followed by C GODDARD and mini collapse was in progress.

NICK WAKER and ALAN PORTER steadied the ship with a combination of luck and big hitting with Nick scoring 34 and 28from Alan the Es were all out for 179 with AP stepping on his wicket trying to get the 180 for full batting points.

Southgate started there innings in the best weather of the day with J Hinigan going round asking anyone who would listen whether they would like to look at his big toe which he managed to drive the ball and the bat on to the said appendage it was left to a fully fit ANNAN ROOBAN to wreak havoc amongst the southgate batsmen of which Rooban removed six of them but despite some excellent back up bowling from CIARAN DODDS who bowled and fielded superbly as did CHRIS GODDARD the Es were unableto gain victory which was rightly theirs and Southgate finished on 142-8thus gaining a draw. Should anyone see John Hinigan at the weekend I am sure he will tell the tale of the BIG TOE.