2nd XI - Surrey Championship : Division 5

12-May-071.00HOxted Limpsfield

19-May-071.00AOld Tiffinians

26-May-071.00HOlinda Vandals

02-Jun-071.00AKempton

09-Jun-071.00AAshford

16-Jun-071.00HRipley

23-Jun-071.00HValley End

    (Club Night at TD)

27-Jun-072.30ASt Pauls School

    (Wed - Friendly)

30-Jun-071.00HWallington

07-Jul-071.00AOld Rutlishians

14-Jul-071.00HOld Tiffinians

21-Jul-071.00AOxted Limpsfield

28-Jul-071.00HKempton

   (Club Night at TD)

04-Aug-071.00AOlinda Vandals

11-Aug-071.00HAshford

18-Aug-071.00AValley End

19-Aug-071.00HClub 6-a-sides

     (Sun - Enter a side)

25-Aug-071.00HOld Rutlishians

01-Sep-071.00AWallington

08-Sep-071.00ARipley

Lost by 55 Runs

Lost by 2 Wkts

19th May 2007: vs Old Tiffinians (A) - Lost by 2 Wkts [0 pts]

A miserable way to lose from a winning position. On a tricky track only Irfan Ladak (32) and Sunimal Jayasekera (48) got going, and while 155 should have been enough given our bowling lineup, it was still very disappointing. Still not enough practice going on I'm afraid.

In reply Old Tiffs lost early wickets, Stu and Sunimal breaking through and putting us in a very strong position. Olly Fairbank bowled very well for 3 wickets and Max Dickens nipped one out too, but then a 75 run partnership out of nowhere from 80-8 (nb OPs were 80-2!) won them the game. [AD]

12th May 2007: vs Oxted Limpsfield (H) - Lost by 55 Runs [0 pts]

An ultimately disappointing loss by 55 runs after a bright start. Some excellent new ball bowling by Sturdy and Monck brought early reward with, remarkably, a sharpish slip catch from skipper Grant. Bowlers were rotated from one end as Monck wheeled away for 26 overs, in an excellent marathon spell. Two wickets for him, two for leggie Angus Hamilton and one each for Sturdy, Mason, Jayasekera and Grant - the latter with his first ball since a shoulder injury and broken elbow. Oxted finished up on a par score of 198, which would have been considerably less had it not been for their nuggety opener Dalziel who scored a ton.

In reply we fell victim to the usual OP collapse, which was very disappointing. Most victims were bowled, indicative of a lack of practice and not much playing straight. New recruit Sunimal Jayasekera batted beautifully for 29 and from 60-6, a recovery to 130-6 from Grant and Sturdy raised hopes until the skipper stupidly holed out. Sturdy finished with an excellent 50*, reward for some lusty hitting. OPs were 141 all out, contriving to once again lose a game they should have won - though to be fair Oxted's new ball attack was one of the better ones we will face in Div. 5. [JG]

2006 - Season Review

The Old Pauline 2nd XI can look back with satisfaction on a relatively successful season, which saw us finish 6th in the league, though only 4 points behind the team in 4th. Remarkably, we managed to use 56 players during the summer and it was our inability to put out anything resembling a settled side that made any chase for promotion implausible. Having said that, everyone who represented the club did a great job and although we weren’t mathematically safe from relegation until the penultimate weekend of fixtures, we were generally able to maintain a decent position in the table throughout the season.

Our best two performances of the season came in the victories at Ashford and at home to Wallington, with Julian Partridge scoring unbeaten hundreds in both successful run-chases. Jules, ended up with 3 unbeaten hundreds, and an astonishing average of 141! He also bowled with great accuracy and an economy rate of 2.51 which is excellent, especially for someone who bowls on our fantastic Thames Ditton wickets. The quality of our pitches could be underlined by the fact that we twice chased 200 runs in less than 35 overs, as well as 241 against Oxted, an especially satisfying chase as it was achieved without Jules. This game saw the Kiernan brothers take 9 wickets between them, and it would have been all 10 if the elder brother hadn’t dropped an absolute dolly!

The disappointments this season usually coincided with poor availabilities as twice we were forced to perform with only 9 men. On the second occasion, on the day of the World Cup quarter-final, the club could actually put out only 20 players, meaning that the third-team game had to be forfeited.

Whilst Jules deservedly won the player-of-the season award, there were a number of players who also excelled. New-boy Chris Titley was superb behind the stumps and averaged 42 as an aggressive opening batsman. Chris Rampling also scored heavily and with great syle in the number 3 spot. Left-arm spinner Dave Newsome was very impressive after he returned from university, displaying such control that his economy rate was third best in the division for all bowlers who took at least 5 wickets. Spin-twin Cliff Holland also bowled with great guile and control and fully deserved his 16 wickets. Tom Dean, Andy Mason and Stuart Read impressed when available to bowl with the new-ball, whilst Matt Kiernan, Alastair Grant, and Rich Charlton were outstanding in the field. It was also great to get some current schoolboys involved in the club, with Jay Vara and Anand Ashok both impressing, Anand scoring 57 and 84 in his only 2 innings.

Whilst we would undoubtedly have liked to have finished higher than sixth in the table, we can be pleased with our efforts this season. The effort was generally very good in the field and the spirit amongst the team was always excellent. Many thanks to all of our opponents and umpires also. [MK]

2005 Season Review

Relegation was a cruel blow for the OPs this season, but not a surprising one given poor availabilities in the First and Second XIs. Another 40 players used, of whom an incredible 28 bowled! Of last years top six only Alex Millward played anything like regularly, with players lost to fatherhood and the First XI. Millward scored 3 fifties but was rarely supported. Skelton scored useful early season runs but the batting was a problem all season. Partridge's magnificent 117 against Ashtead showed how much we missed him, while there were good knocks from Baldock, Lee, Cato, Dickson and Grant at various times. Failure to chase 150 four times tells its own story and is the main reason for our relegation.

With the ball however and in the field we were often superb, and looked nothing like relegation candidates. Stu Read, before he was snapped up by the Ones, Christian Edrich, Paul Mann, Nav Kokri and Al Dalrymple all performed very well. The star however was Dave Methuen who added a yard of pace to his left arm orthodox to great effect. Many bowlers only played 2 or 3 games (not ideal for rhythm).

Highlights were a chase of 230 against eventual champions Sinjuns, and a thumping 10 wicket win over Streatham and Malborough. Low points were many, most obviously our failure to chase low totals and back up our efforts in the field.

Dropped catches were a contributory factor in our demise but the feeling remains that this was 'one of those seasons' and that Old Paulines will be a team to watch in Div 5. Bouncebackability will be our word of 2006! [JG]