2nd XI - 2010

08/05/10 - Maori Oxshott vs OPCC  - Lost A. Cox 67, I. Bester 61, P. Sen 86*

Er...where to start. Having lost the toss, OPCC batted and despite the early loss of the skipper we piled on the runs superbly. On a good pitch with a lightning fast outfield and short straight boundaries we cashed in ruthlessly, in what looked like a superb and unbeatable display. The massive total of 323 was achieved thanks to two superb partnerships between debutant Ian Bester (61) and Andy Cox (67) and another later on between Peter Sen (86*) and Nav Kokri (57*).
We took the field with 10, availabilities having been poor across the board, and this quickly became 9 as unfortunately keeper Lyons was hit in the mouth by a Sen lifter and taken to A&E. Grant took over the gloves for 30 overs until he realised he had to bowl, and in fact we had 4 keepers as Bester and Cox also deputised. Maori Oxshott played their shots from the off and rode their luck, the ball disappearing to the boundary with increasing regularity and fielding options limited by numbers. We had to keep to the 4 inside the circle rule even with 7 fielders, which didn't help. The strange thing was, we didn't bowl badly yet still conceded 325 runs (no typo, 325) to lose. Amazing. Well done to Sen, Bester, Kokri and Cliffy for plugging away with the ball. We didn't have another specialist and the 5th ten had to be filled in by Kavit and our new wicketkeeper Grant.
An encouraging display with the bat, and a game we would have won handsomely, even with a weakish team, had we had a full quota of players. I will find out if the 648 run total is a record!

15/05/10 - Cranleigh CC vs OPCC  - Won B. Parker 63, Matt Kiernan 59
  C. Malkan 5/17

An excellent first win of the season for the twos, with everyone contributing. The skipper was determined to put last week's horror show in the field behind him and chose to bat first again. A very solid start came from Grant (36) and Parker (63) before Matt Kiernan came in to score a classy 54. There were few other scores of note however as the runs dried up towards the end of our 50. 205 looked 45 short of the target score, particularly as we again only had 10 men with which to defend the total.
An excellent performance in the field however saw us bowl Cranleigh out for 135. Chetan Malkan wiped out the tail ruthlessly to pick up 5-17. Before that however there were excellent spells from Edrich (10 overs 1 for 23) Sen (8 overs 1 for 29) and Bester (10 overs 2 for 29). We took some excellent catches, notably a sharp take by Lyons behind the stumps and that rarest of occurrences, a catch on the run by the skipper.
If we can play like that and keep 5 or 6 core players this season we could well challenge in what looks to be a league with no outstanding teams.

22/05/10 - OPCC vs Godalming CC  - Lost Mike Kiernan 53

A disappointing loss if truth be told, the twos failing to put on a challenging total and not having enough runs to defend despite a better performance in the field than with the bat.
The pitch was a batsmans paradise if you played straight and cut out the pull shot, although spin was very difficult to get away. Manav (49) and Mike Kiernan (53) scored the bulk of our runs but unfortunately no one else could make a score and 154 was at least fifty short.
Godalming went at our total like men possessed and at one point looked like winning in under 20 overs. They were however pegged back by spin, with Cliffy unlucky not to snare any. Chetan picked up another four wickets after a shaky start and for a time Godalming looked nervous but they got over the line with five wickets in hand.

29/05/10 - Old Hamptonians CC vs OPCC  - Lost A. Baldock 50

Another disappointing loss in a winnable game, with not enough runs on the board again the problem. The game was reduced to 37 overs a side and a strongish batting line up should have done better than 157. Not an easy pitch with the odd ball popping but some disappointing dismissals nevertheless. Only Baldock (50), Robinson (37) and Parker (20) made meaningful contributions, though special mention to Jasper Jennings for some dogged defending towards the end.
A few too many release balls saw Old Hamptonians get off to a good start, though the run rate went down considerably when Quayle and Sen found their rhythm. Further tight spells from Holland and Parker (the only wicket taker) saw OHCC slightly under pressure, though with so many wickets in hand they would have been confident. Sadly our 5th regular bowler had pulled out that morning and in the limited overs format 5 bowlers must be used. As the rain started again, the opener (who ended up 86*) and canny number 3 capitalised on the 5th bowler overs, which were split between Jasper and skipper Grant, who apparently used to be a bowler, but only Holland and Baldock could remember that far back.
A frustrating 1 win from the 4 limited overs games, but still much to play for as the declaration games offer more points and the opportunity to make up ground on the sides above us.

05/06/10 - OPCC vs Farncombe CC  - Lost Manav Maini 68

Writing these reports is getting like Groundhog Day...another loss after batting first and not posting a big enough score. This time 169 was a slight improvement on recent weeks but on a sunny day we needed another batsman to make a score. Manav Maini scored an excellent 68 but despite getting starts in most cases, no-one could support him for long enough. Criminally we only used 44 overs before being bowled out, which meant that Farncombe had, in theory, 56 overs in which to chase down the runs. We have enough talented batsmen around to post bigger scores and it's really frustrating because we're bowling and fielding well enough to win games. Farncombe to be fair are a very young and athletic side, with some excellent catches taken, and the one exception to their youthful lineup was a wily old seamer who bowled 17 in a row to pick up 7-43.
Tea brought some confidence to our approach - perhaps the addition of pizza and nice cakes helped. We realised that early wickets were key and we certainly delivered on that. Farncombe stuttered to 9-2 and 31-3 after excellent opening spells from Ian Bester and new boy Tim Denton, whose slower ball was used to good effect. Both seamers swung the ball into the right hander prodigiously. We were on our game, aggressive enough and focussed for the first few overs. Unfortunately their skipper (51*) and no. 5 (46), whose sole contribution thus far had been two dropped catches and some execrable verbals in the field, got them up to 111. A good partnership but we missed chances to dismiss both, and by the time Chetan took two with lbws and Ian returned to rip out the number 7, it was too late.
Next week sees the hightly beatable Stoke D'Abernon visit us and now is the time to show some more application in our batting and start winning games.

12/06/10 - OPCC vs Stoke D'Abernon CC  - Lost K. Nathwani 70, D. Methuen 6/45

An agonising loss in an amazing game. The rules state that the game should be 100 overs or 7.20pm, whichever was later. The over rate from both sides was so impressive that the 100th over was completed at 6.30 and a remarkable 113.5 were bowled.
55 of these were batted out by OPCC who for only the second time this season applied themselves at the crease. Cox, Grant, Benjamin and Malkan all contributed twenty odd and the innings was underpinned by an outstanding 70 from Kavit Nathwani, with shots played all around the wicket. 196 was a reasonable effort on a pitch that was again tricky to score off, particularly off the slow bowlers. Certainly would have been challenging were it not for the extra overs.
We chipped away at Stoke's strong batting lineup, with Chetan taking three and Dave Methuen a superb 6-45 off 22, including an incredibly sharp caught and bowled. Stoke looked home and hosed at one point but some late wickets left them rocking. Number ten fell to the second ball of the last over and so three were required off five balls.
Number 11 hit it straight to mid on and, insanely, hared off down the wicket. Had Richard Benjamin’s throw hit rather than missing by an inch, a stunning victory would have been ours. Sadly it didn't hit and a scrambled two saw us lose with three balls to spare.
Encouraging signs this week and if we can play like that more regularly, with strong players to come back in, we should rise up the table.

19/06/10 - Mitcham CC vs OPCC  - Won J. Grant 79*, N. Mehra 65*

The OPCC 2nd XI arrived at Mitcham, bemused by the separation of pavilion and pitch by a main road, and by the long grass growing on the strip. Apparently the mower had broken. Thoughts turned to winning the toss and skittling the oppo out. Of course, that was not to be as OPCC lost the toss and batted for the 7th game out of 7. Baldock and Burgess showed the value of having two good openers as they dealt with some nasty lifters and nudged us up to 70 before Baldock was bowled for twenty odd. Soon after, Burgess was out LBW for 42 and a collapse started, although skipper Grant remained at the crease as wickets fell at the other end.
At 122-6, we were looking at 140 as our tail has been desperately short of runs this season. Newcomer Nikhil Mehra had other ideas however and counterattacked with an excellent 65*. A partnership of 132 between him and Grant, who finished up on 79*, got us up to a strong 254-6 off 51 overs.
An early wicket from Peter Sen got us right on top, and wickets fell regularly. They did have one rather large left hander who smote the bad balls on offer very cleanly, but he was tempted by the wily old pro Cliffy Holland into hitting it to square leg where another new boy Khandarp took a smart catch. Wickets were shared around with all bowlers picking up at least one, and debutant Lawrie Bartlett and Mike Kiernan picking up two each. We didn't actually bowl well this week but fielded and caught well. At one point their 7th wicket partnership was threatening to block their way to a draw but a couple of rushes of blood to the head, possibly inspired by some mind games from keeper Burgess, saw to that.
We eventually wrapped things up with a few overs to spare and bowled Mitcham out for 177. This was a must win game against one of the weaker sides and saw us climb two places. There is very little points difference between 2nd and 10th and a good run of wins could see us climb further. If we'd just managed to take that last wicket last week against leaders Stoke D'Abernon, it could be very different.
The comeback starts here! Next week sees us at home against the beatable Maori Oxshott.

26/06/10 - OPCC vs Maori Oxshott  - Losing Draw Manav Maini 87

Catches win matches they say. Well in our case dropped catches cost us the win, though we held on at the end very well for a draw.
Strangely the Maori Oxshott skipper won the toss and then hid in the changing room before deciding to bat, which is unusual and meant a late start. We dropped both openers at least once and this really hurt, with one scoring 64 and the other 100. Particularly hurtful as they didn't have a lot else. Pete, Tim Quayle, Tim Denton, Tom Speller and Dave Methuen in particular tried very hard with the ball, with the 8 wickets shared between Dave, Tim and Tim. Also an excellent runout from Kavit.
278 from 51, leaving us 49, gave us a chance if two players could make scores. Unfortunately only one did, Manav making an excellent 87. Baldock, Grant, Robinson and Kavit all got out in the 20s without pushing on, and a collapse left Dave M and Pete to bat out for a draw, Tim Q having gone to hospital with a badly broken finger.
5 or 6 dropped catches made the difference. Most unlike us. Nice to deny MO the  victory though, as their behaviour when denied LBW appeals left a lot to be desired. Catching aside, a decent effort on a hot day against a good batting side, but a frustrating outcome.

03/07/10 - Oxted and Limpsfield CC vs OPCC  - Lost A. Baldock 70, A. Cox 58

A disappointing week all round, with all three captains having to spend their Friday night on the phone trying to recruit. The 2s scraped up to 11 thanks to a midnight confirmation from Keith Dickson, but reversed back to 10 when John Sutherland dropped out in the morning. Given that Baldy could only agree to play if he left at 6pm, and that we had more wicket keepers available than seamers across the 3 teams, the signs were not good as we pitched up to play the well drilled Oxted and Limpsfield.
We did however start very well, with an excellent century partnership between Coxy (58) and Baldy (72). Only Kavit with 30 added meaningfully to this platform however, and our run rate slowed rather than accelerated. Knowing that we had a tough session in the field ahead, we had to bat the 55 overs and eventually scraped to 218. You're always in the game if you post over 200 but with the handicap of 10 fielders and then 9 for half the innings and a lack of bowlers, we'd have needed to be on top of our game and have a fair amount of luck.
Mikey struck early, removing one opener caught by Methuen at square leg. He then rapped their lefty opener full on the toe, in his crease. having not even shuffled forward, and an enormously confident appeal ensued. It was turned down and frankly that cost us the game, as he went on to score 130. We did grab another early wicket, c&b Methuen, but the opener and the skipper realised when we went down to 9 that all they had to do was nudge it around and hit the bad balls, too many of which were offered up. O&L eventually won by 7 wickets, Kavit capturing the 3rd.
We are now in a dangerous position and need as many players as possible to put their names forward over the next few weeks. Last season proved that we are capable of going on a winning run in July and that's exactly what we need to do, starting against Hampton Wick and their delightful skipper.

10/07/10 - Hampton Wick Royal CC vs OPCC  - Won T. Denton 7/55
  Mike Kiernan 52*

All season we've been saying we'd get stronger once the availabilities turned a corner and some of the schoolboys and students came in. With that in mind, and given our lowly league position, it was vital to notch a win once we were able to field a strong side. 
Hampton Wick would have been quite surprised at how hard we came at them, and how we never let them off the hook, and we focussed extremely well on a hot day. Ian Bester and Jack Harrison got us off to a great start on a pitch that had demons when the ball was new, but the key was that they got the batsmen playing. A brutal lifter from Ian brushed the openers gloves and was sharply caught by Robbo, while Jack did for the opener and, crucially, the skipper with full balls that rattled the stumps.
New boy Cam Smith, Mikey, Tom Speller and Charlie Dewhurst all bowled from one end, Charlie bowling particularly tidily, while Tim Denton owned the other end. Tim's was a Herculean effort, he swung the ball in dangerously and used his slower ball to good effect - and rather often!  A top, top effort from the big man to bowl 15.2 overs in a row on a scorchingly hot day.  He got his reward with 7-55.
We started carefully, as we had to with the new ball doing lots and the HWCC opening bowlers giving nothing away. Although they only scored 10 between them, Charlie and Riggers did a good job of getting the shine off. Cam played some attractive strokes for his 21 but wickets fell consistently and when Grant came in, batting down the order at 7 this week, the score was 79-5 and HWCC were smelling blood. All the while however, Mike Kiernan was at his belligerent best and a partnership of 50 or so saw us near the finish line before Grant was bowled. Bester calmly helped Mikey knock off the remaining runs and Mikey ended up on 52* - a fantastic innings showing huge character.
A vital win but a very good one too and if we can keep putting out strong sides we should make strides up the table.

17/07/10 - Godalming CC vs OPCC  - Winning Draw C. Dewhurst 55, T. Rigby 75

A real shame not to have forced a win with such a strong side out, but in truth we did little wrong and were stumped by a misbehaving coin before the game. I have little doubt that with such batting strength in depth we'd have chased anything.
On a green looking pitch, we were inserted but Charlie Dewhurst (55) and Tom Rigby (75) batted very well and looked comfortable. A dobber and an off spinner, both of whom have played a lot of 1st XI cricket, slowed our scoring rate down significantly, forcing the skipper to review his declaration plans, until Mike Kiernan (48) and Duncan Odds (39* off not many) hit out to get us up to 239 declared from 53.
In the field, we hit them hard from the start, bowling and fielding well. It's an unfortunate quirk of the declaration games that sometimes you can get your wickets too early and kill off the opposition's ambitions to hit out, and that may have been the case. Bester, Harrison, Dodd, Hyman, Dewhurst and Odds all bowled well with debutant Henry Dodd the pick with 10-4-29-4, combining decent pace with excellent control. A special mention too for Jack Harrison who was unlucky to only pick up one wicket in two very good spells, and to Ben Parker, who deputised very ably behind the stumps. We also witnessed that rarest of things, a successful slip catch, ct. Odds b Dodd. Odd indeed.
Unfortunately their numbers 7 and 9 batted extremely sensibly and well to see Godalming through to a losing draw - 4 points for OPCC then and we need a couple of wins very soon to escape the danger at the wrong end of the table.

24/07/10 - OPCC vs Old Hamptonians  - Losing Draw C. Malkan 5/59, T. Speller 76*

A fantastic rearguard action to draw the game shouldn't mask the fact that we played poorly to get ourselves in a position where we had to fight to draw. Grant won the toss and chose to field despite the fact that two players were still in traffic...but strangely, we kept the runs down to 3 an over while we had 9 and OHCC only accelerated once we were up to full strength. Tom Speller kindly agreed to keep in the absence of our regulars, and tried hard but keeping at Colets is tricky even for a specialist. Openers Fairbank and Harrison were desperately unlucky not to pick up wickets and both bowled with good control. OHCC's number 3 played very well for 70 and most of their other batsmen contributed with 20s or 30s. Mahir Maini picked up a wicket but went for a few as he was understandably rusty, Mike bowled well at the end as they swung the bat for the declaration, but Chetan was the star of the show with 5 wickets, all bowled. He mixed it up very well, held the quicker ball back and fully deserved his place on the honours board. Sadly however, the fielding was not up to scratch this week, both on the ground and in the air, and we gave them far too many runs. OHCC did however declare sportingly halfway through the game on 251-7, and you could argue that cutting down runs in the field might only have extended the innings and given us fewer overs. That logic does not however apply to our dropped catches!
Openers Grant and Sharp were surprised to be facing the old ball and the oppo skipper bowling genuine hand grenades, which can't have been delivered at more than 35 mph. These deliveries were incredibly slow - but bouncy, unlike any deliveries from seamers throughout the game - and if truth be told, we should have used our feet and smashed him out of the attack. Sadly we didn't, and slips and gully were very active as he picked up 4 wickets in his first spell, finishing with 7 wickets, which was scarcely believable. Tellingly, the only batsman in the top 6 not to succumb to him was Mike (29) who did indeed play him aggressively. When he was out and Tom Speller walked in with the score at 71-6, we looked down and out and shoe-ins for an early beer. Tom and Chetan played beautifully however, playing their normal games sensibly (until Chetan's dismissal!) rather than blocking, and this was an excellent partnership that put the top and middle order to shame. Their partnership ended when Chetan was stumped for 48 with the score on 192, so a partnership of 121. Tom Speller ended up on 76* and despite Ollie holing out off the last ball, in the end we'd repelled OHCC's efforts to win the game impressively and comfortably with 8 wickets down.

31/07/10 - OPCC vs Cranleigh CC  - Lost

07/08/10 - Stoke D'Abernon CC vs OPCC  - Lost

The toss was absolutely crucial to win on a pitch that was wet and was clearly going to cut up, not least as there was the odd puddle left as the makeshift covers were taken off. Sadly it was the Stoke D'Abernon skipper who walked back to the pavilion with a massive smile and not the OPCC one. Stoke's new ball pairing exploited the conditions excellently, one bowling full and straight and the other swinging the ball away a considerable amount off a good length. They got their wickets accordingly, Tim Cato bowled by the full straight merchant and Coxy and Freddie nibbling at the pony-tailed swinger.
When Mikey, Kavit and Bala all succumbed to bad balls we were deep in trouble at 32-6, with runs very hard to come by. At this stage Grant was on 8* and hoping to build a partnership. Nav holed out however and we were 47-7. Tim Denton (14) and Mahir (11) contributed cameos but eventually we could only scrape up to 105, with the skipper stranded on 49*. It would be remiss not to mention the single he took early in the over that led to Henry being bowled, it was certainly mentioned a few times on Saturday...
An early tea as we'd only lasted 41 overs and it rained heavily when we came off. This gave us hope however as it was never going to be easy to score runs. Tim Denton was particularly excited to see a puddle left by the covers smack on a length and we believed that we were in the game if we struck early. We didn't until they scored 29, Tim taking a good return catch. Henry Dodd bowled superbly once he got into his stride and it was a particularly good spell given that his runup was muddy, of 10 overs 3-35.
20 overs constitutes a game and Stoke knew this (despite the skipper trying to fox the young number 5 into thinking it was 25) and for them, the arrival of the heavy rain couldn't have come at a better time. Our final wicket came at 19.5 overs annd the number 6 sprinted out to face the ball that won them the game on run rate. Only 4 more balls were possible and the decision was made to call the game off thereby granting Stoke a win.
Very good news is that Mitcham and Farncombe's game was abandoned, so they've only made up a point on us. We play both over the next 2 weeks and must win both fixtures to avoid having to beat 2nad and 3rd to stay up in our last two games.

14/08/10 - OPCC vs Mitcham CC  - Abandoned

21/08/10 - Farncombe CC vs OPCC  - Won Mike Kiernan 55, I. Bester 50

OPCC 2s eventually prevailed in what turned out to be an excellent game, but not without a scare or two along the way. Grant lost the toss as usual and then had to open as Baldock arrived a little close to the game's start...a cynic might suggest he knew Farncombe had a good seam attack and a green seaming pitch, but then we're not cynics. He actually was in the action rather early as Parker was beaten in the drive by an inswinger and bowled, and departed quickly in identical fashion. Kiernan came out to join Grant with the ball doing lots and the scoreboard looking grim at 8-2. While the skipper managed to do nothing more than occupy the crease, Mike played some fantastic shots to get us going. When Grant was bowled by one that apparently didn't keep low and Kavit hung his bat at one we were in trouble again but a superb partnership between Mikey (eventually out for 50) and Ian Bester (55) got us up towards a respectable score.
Very useful runs were contributed down the order by Gus Hamilton, Mahir Maini, Pete Sen and in particular Chetan, who was eventually bowled for 38, playing on off his ribcage trying to hook. 193 was the total and it looked about par.
For the second week in a row Chetan was tried as an opening bowler and was immediately threatening. Pete Sen at the other end was anything but for two overs, going for a lot, although there was a dropped catch in the 2nd over. Grant's decision to keep him on wasn't universally popular but KP rewarded the captain's faith with a wicket maiden and went on to take 4 wickets in his 10 overs, 8 of which were very good. Ian Bester (interestingly down as Vesta on the Championship website, well I suppose he did have a good match) bowled an excellent spell and was unlucky to only pick up one wicket. I've promised to mention the catch he took but not the dolly he didn't get a finger on...
Debutant Tom Taylor looked a little rusty and went for a few in his last over but will take wickets in other games. Chetan's overs were solit into 3 spells and he was excellent all the way through. His last over produced 2 wickets to win the game but it was the wicket of the number 7 that was crucial, as from 60-odd for 6 we somehow allowed a partnership of 100 to develop between their numbers 7 and 8. This was an almost chanceless partnership and had us extremely worried until Chetan made the breakthrough, Mikey then picking up another with a very good spell. The other death bowler was Gus Hamilton who used all of his 40 years experience to keep the pressure on.
A nervy win then but a deserved one, as we managed to put together good partnerships and bowled and fielded well on the whole. This was a victory against that team below us in the table and so was absolutely crucial. One win from our last two games should now guarantee safety, however we play the teams 2nd and 3rd in the table so will need to play well, and just as importantly have players available.


28/08/10 - OPCC vs Oxted and Limpsfield CC  - Lost

04/09/10 - OPCC vs Hampton Wick Royal CC  - Won S. Cato 55