Captain: John Sutherland Vice Captain: Andy Cox

Congratulations to John and all who played in an extremely successful season. John is 2nd in the league wicket taking standings, Mike Chesters is 4th and Graham aka Silver Fox is 6th. Foxy Coxy is second in runscoring with 292 in just 8 games. Best of luck in the Championship! [Alex Duncan]

19th August 2006: vs Chobham (A) - Won by 164 Runs [20pts]

Last game of the season and we needed 8 points to clinch promotion. OP's batted first and made 224 in 40 overs. Great batting By James Renshaw 39, Tim Cato 35, G Skelton esq 65 and Jack Redknapp 64 enabled me to declare with 55 overs to bowl them out. At 34 for 0 the skipper was quitely getting neurotic. However Geoff Warriss had a flash of inspiration and started to bowl around the wicket. 10 overs later with 5 wkts for 15 and the skipper getting 5 for 13, we bowled them out for 60. We had won. Big thanks to every one who played. A curry night on 1/2 or 8/9 September - details next week, and do not forget the dinner at St Paul's on the 15th September. John S

12th August 2006: vs Southern Railway & Kenley (H) - Won by 9 Wkts [20pts]

The 3rd XI march on to the last game of the season in the knowledge that 7 points against Chobham will secure promotion. SRK were convincingly beaten by nine wickets to a strong OP 3s team.

Fielding first the opening OP bowlers, Mike Chesters and Wazza showed good pace and accuracy, and tied SRK down to less than 3 an over. Mike also took two good wickets. Godders at first change was a late addition to the side but his mystery knee injury seemed to relieve itself enough for him to take a superb caught and bowled diving instinctively to his right. The Silver Fox is not called the Leaping Salmon for nothing.

Cliffy and the skipper weaved their magic, and the Squirrel Nathwani bowled a couple of overs, sticking at the task when the SRK tail end were trying to steal his nuts. Pick of the figures was skipper with 3 for 26. SRK were 172 all out in 46.2 overs.

In response, Cato & Cox batted fluently for an opening stand of 141. Tim’s shots square of the wicket were a joy to watch, and it was a surprise to see him fall on 54 to a young (maybe 13?) Shane Warne impersonator. Coxy and Keith then saw it through to the end with Coxy finishing on 77 not out. [JS]

5th August 2006: vs Frimley (H) - Frimley conceded [20pts]

A good weekend for the 3's - with Frimley only having 6 players they conceded at 10am gifting us 20 points in the process and a return to the promotion places. With the top two playing each other as well, Sinjuns Grammarians did us a favour by hanging on for a 1 wicket win over Farnham, leaving us 2 points ahead of Farnham with 2 games left to play! [JR] - Nb the SKR game has been switched to TD next week, I know you were all looking forward to a long trek to South London.

29th July 2006: vs Churt (H) - Winning Draw [xxpts]

A winning draw against bottom of the league Churt wasn’t really enough to calm the nerves of Mr Sutherland in the great 3rd XI title chase of 2006.

Again we failed to make a full team, and were grateful for the enthusiasm of three schoolboys to make up a team of 9.
Having lost the toss, we batted first, and probably had the better of the conditions on a good track for batting.
Dickson (56) and Cox (51) put on exactly 100 in a good opening partnership. Momentum was maintained throughout the top order and with good knocks also from Flett and Martin, a competitive total of 204 for 4 off 44 overs was reached.

It was therefore hard to stomach Churt’s unorthodox batting response which featured premeditated foreward defense followed by cross-bat sweep to the exact location of our two missing fieldsmen.

The bowling highlight was two wickets from Joshi, including a self proclaimed ‘perfect ball’. We also saw two catches from Ed Martin, and two wickets for Godders and Mr Mannering. Good keeping also from Richard Hay.

Churt scrambled to 181 for 7 off 51 overs.
The result meant that the Old Paulines are out of the top two for the first time this season, being leapfrogged by Farnham.

22nd July 2006: vs Maori Oxshott (H) - Maori have withdrawn from the League

15th July 2006: vs Thames Ditton (A) - Won by 3 Runs [20pts]

OP's won by 3 runs. Batting first we made 166 which did not feel enough. John Wacher made a patient 66 and Kavit 32. Then tight bowling by Godfrey [maturing like a good wine] took 2 wkts and young Edrich took 6, with a sensational final wkt by Fletty to win us the game. Not too many games like this please - very bad for the Skipper's disposition. Well done everybody including Bish - the pressures of Fatherhood obviously affecting him.

8th July 2006: vs Farnham (H) - Lost by 15 Runs [xxpts]

A bitterly disappointing loss to Farnham saw the thirds post only their second defeat of the season in an evenly matched contest.

Fielding first, the OPs restricted Farnham to 185. The wickets were shared evely amongst the bowlers with good performances by Squirrel Nathwani with two wickets, and a good spell by debutant Jez Roberts, who proved he is more than just a 20 goals a season footballer. Good bowling also came from Manning, Chesters, Sutherland, and Godfrey.

In reply, OPs were chasing down the total nicely at 110-3 (Cox 56 , Sutherland 29), but collapsed to 170 all out, chasing victory.

1st July 2006: vs Ripley (A) - OPCC Conceded [0pts]

The 3rd XI had to concede the fixture due to a severe player drought across the Club - thus denting the promotion charge. [JR]

24th June 2006: vs Staines & Laleham (H) - Won by 7 Wickets [20pts]

The third eleven got back to winning ways this week with a good all round performance against Staines. Fielding first, Godfrey (2-59) and Chesters (3-47) bowled extremely well restricting opportunities for the top order S&L batsmen. They were soon struggling on 54-4. However, their middle order proved to be stronger and they ended up rallying to a 52 over total of 165-9. Adam Greenhalgh deserves a mention for a solid performance behind the stumps, with very few byes being given.

Irfan Ladak apparently only bats one way when he opens, and his attacking style really turned the game in our favour. He exuded confidence at the wicket and was a pleasure to watch , as he reached 50 in 49 balls with great shots all round the wicket. With Andy Cox grateful for playing second fiddle, an opening partnership of 117 in 17 overs was achieved. Irfan then fell for 63, and Cox for 32, in quick succession. This left Fletty, the Victorian, to see the side home in typical style with 36 off 31 balls. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a more pleasing display. [JS]
ps. Top of league and 19 points clear of Sinjun Gammarians

17th June 2006: vs Sinjun Grammarians (A) - Won by 6 Wkts [0 pts]

A first loss of the season for the 3rd X against a strong Sinjuns team.
A little startled by seeing an opposition practicing their fielding before the game, and unclear as to the number of players that were turning up, the OPs batted first on an excellent batting track. It was evident from the off that the oppo were keen to get a victory that would see them leapfrog over the OP 3s.

We set a target of 165 after batting for 52 overs( the maximum allowed). Good knocks by Cox and Brooks at the top the order, and then a wagging tail, with Captain Sutherland hitting a rapid 54 not out, and D Moon (who made himself available at 1.35 approx on the day of the game) hitting a sparkling 34.

Perhaps the target set was 50 odd short with the oppo hitting the runs off 36 overs with 6 overs to spare. Thanks must go to the Moon brothers, and Ross who was poached from the boundary to bat and field, despite not having any whites and really just expecting a nice afternoon stroll in Wandsworth. [JS]

10th June 2006: vs Battersea Ironsides (H) - Won by 33 Runs [20pts]

A good result to beat 3rd placed Battersea Ironsides. Asked to bat we made 182 for 8. Chesters 24 Fletty 31 an excellent 56 n.o. by Kavit, the skipper a little 20. We then proceeded to bowl them out for 149 - Mike Chesters taking 6 for 67 and Geoff Warriss 2 for 20. A very pleasing result. [JS]

3rd June 2006: vs Olinda Vandals (A) - Won by 12 Runs [20pts]

OP 3's third victory in a row sees them retain their lead of the division. Batting first, on a tricky pitch, OPs made 105 runs. The main batting protagonists being Kavit Nathwani, Calvin, and Richard O'Hagan. Calvin in particular giving some much needed big hits.

The bowling performance was pretty strong. Particularly pleasurable viewing was Mike Chester's bowling: some great control saw him get 5-35. The wryly captain also bowled with his usual flight and guile for 4 wickets. Champagne moment was Kavit's leaping salmon catch that set the tone for a good team performance [JS]

27th May 2006: vs Merstham (H) - Won by 7 Wkts [20pts]

Godders got 6 for 31 and Hynes 3 for 9.Bish top scored with 26 and Flett 13no.Merstham were all out for 85.Top result with 8 men. [JS]
ps Now top of the League on 46pts - 2 ahead of Old Grammarians!!

20th May 2006: vs Camberley (A) - Won by 5 Wkts [20pts]

Camberley batted first and were well contained by some tight OP bowling. With Mike Chesters getting 3 for 36 and Geoff McNamara getting 4 for 35, ably supported by the two oldest members S & G. OP's needed 151 to win. We stuttered to 66 for 5 when James Rolfe 41 no and Geoff McNamara 55 no saw us home. Excellent fielding with no dropped catches and a fine win. [JS]
ps currently flying high in 2nd place in the league with 3rd place Merstham at home next week.

13th May 2006: vs Oxted (H) - Losing Draw [6pts]

Overall, the 3rd XI can take some positives out of a losing draw to Oxted. This was a creditable result given that we defended a total of 170 with only 8 fit fielders and an injured Dave Peck, who risked his squash-playing livelihood for the cause.

Batting first, and facing a strong Oxted attack, 170 was a good total over 52 overs, with Coxy the top-scorer (92). In reply, the OPs fought well to the end. Godders taking four wickets, and it was also good to see a lively spell by Kavit Nathwani. Perhaps in the end, the lack of fielders meant that the victory was just out of our reach. At a rain-affected close, Oxted were 141-8. [JS]

2005 Season Review

This was a year that started off well for the 3rd XI - always in the top four, until at the end they lost two of their last three games. Finishing 7th overall and some 50 points off the pace, they met their match, too often, against some strong sides
Paul Bishop was man of the team averaging 37 with the bat and taking 25 wickets for 9 apiece. 7 against Pyrford, 6 against Valley End and 5 against Staines and Laleham ensured the top teams had to fight for their points. The Bishop was ably supported by the “Silver Fox”, Graham Godfrey who took 30 wickets in 177 overs and had the cheek to complain that he was required to bowl too much! Skipper, John Sutherland with 27 wickets and Geoff Warriss (20) added crucial support.
Vice Captain, Andy Cox bagged 275 runs in his trademark swashbuckling manner whilst last years captain, Adam Greenhalgh, weighed in with 258 just to prove there is still life in the “young dog”, yet. Overall, the batting was variable and since no-one ever posted a big score, the team had to rely on every member to contribute. Fewer 50`s were posted this year ( by Tim Cato, Paul Bishop, Andy Cox, Adam Greenhalgh, John Sutherland and Rohan Flett) and this was rarely enough to give our bowlers a fighting chance of keeping amongst the leaders. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic and enjoyable season for a side with a great team spirit and even (dare we say it!), competition for places.
With more players at winter nets and with all guns blazing, we hope for a more successful season next year. Finally, grateful thanks to Natalie Dale, our scorer – the envy of the league. [JS]