OCCC win second Cricketer Cup crown

OCCC 175 for 8 (Burgess 56, Cope 31, Waters 29) beat Old Malvernians 123 (Broughton 3-8, Dahl 3-27) by 52 runs
Click here for match photos

The OCCC won our second Cricketer Cup title, beating Old Malvernians by 52 runs and in so doing  avenging two previous final defeats  on a drizzly and overcast day at Arundel.

For a long time it seemed the match would be cancelled as light but persistent drizzle fell and the many checks of a variety of forecasts all showed the rain was not likely to stop long enough for a game.  An early attempt to toss was curtailed by a squall, then an early lunch was taken, and spectators started to drift home.  An announcement of an inspection at 2pm seemed little more than going through the motions, but to their credit the umpires and organisers wanted to play and a lull in the rain allowed for a toss and a 2.40pm start.  The consensus was that a full game was unlikely to it was decided to play a T20 match.  Despite the rain the outfield was damp rather than wet and the wicket itself good.

We lost the toss and were stuck in and got off to a flier with Seren Waters (29 off 15) and Michael Burgess (56 off 31) attacking from the start. Forty came off the first three overs, and when the rain returned we had raced to 64 for 1 off 5.3 overs. After a 20 minute delay Burgess resumed with a towering six.   Jack Scriven made 18 off nine balls before falling to an uncharacteristic reverse sweep, but Alan Cope kept the scoreboard moving with well-taken singles punctuated with some rasping drives.   Burgess’ onslaught ended with a good catch at long-on – Malvern had just moved their best fielder there – and thereafter the impressive spinners, just as they had done in the 2016 final, slowly stifled the innings. 

Brad Scriven (4) and Stuart Meaker (7) came and went, Lewis Bedford (13 off nine) perked things up but the last eight overs yielded only 55 runs while the first eight had produced 84.   Cope’s valuable innings of 31 from 29 ended in a run-out before Angus Dahl smacked a six and four in the final over.  The final total of 175 for 8 looked to be over par even if it was slightly less than had seemed likely in the early barrage.

Malvern’s start was good but, crucially, they lost early wickets and with it momentum.  Meaker took the first, Haynes tamely chipping to Waters at mid-on, and then Will Rollings, fired up after being stopped in his run, completely beat Hardinges (22) for pace, sending his off stump cartwheeling.   Soon after Dahl produced a snorting leg-break to bowl a bemused Malik for 7 and Malvern were wobbling at 54 for 3 after eight overs.  Milton (38) and Twing (17) gave them hope, the latter smacking Scriven for a huge six over long-on, but he soon after holed out to Scriven off Dahl.  Two overs later the same pair combined to take the crucial wicket of Milton and the sense was that Malvern, by then needing over ten an over, were out of it. Bruno Broughton, an ever-present who has not bowled much in this year’s competition, then came on and took three wickets in two overs, two caught behind by the reliable Bedford and a quite superb low return catch off a hard-hit drive. 

Meaker returned to trouble the lower order, picking up a second wicket, and Rollings polished the innings off with two balls remaining, less than a minute after Ollie Pope (who had chosen to make his Test debut at Lord’s instead of playing at Arundel!) had taken the catch to win the Test against India. It was, on the day, no less than we deserved and shortly after Waters lifted the trophy the rain returned, heavier than ever.

The win capped a memorable week for Cranleigh cricket.  It is worth remembering that we only were admitted to the Cricketer Cup 11 years ago and in that time we have reached five finals.   Only four of the 2008 side played at Arundel – Waters, Cope, Meaker and Crump – and the youth of the current team, allied to the talent coming from the School, gives us real optimism for the future.  Mention should also be made of our fielding which was consistently outstanding throughout the competition.  Our two county pros were, unsurprisingly, excellent, but on the day Dahl and the veteran Cope shone. 

All of this young squad (only the old lag Matt Crump is over 30) were coached at Cranleigh by Stuart Welch and his involvement in the competition has been welcome and very important.  The three players who have been a key part of the success but missed out on the final – Callum Kent, Sam Dickson and Ed Tristem – were all present and will all certainly have their chance in the years to come.

A final thanks to all those who braved the elements and turned up to support (as one Malvern mother noted “you won the battle of the blazers easily”) and also to Heather Dean, our reliable and vital scorer.

Cricketer Cup - Eton wilt in the heat

OCCC 215 for 2 (Scriven 100, Bedford 86*) beat Eton Rambers 214 (Vanderpar 97, Waters 2-45) by eight wickets
Click here for match photos

The OCCC eased into the semi-finals of the Cricketer Cup thanks to an excellent display in the field and charismatic batting from Jack Scriven and Lewis Bedford.  We now meet Bedfordians on Jubilee on July 29.

On one of the hottest days of a sweltering summer we lost the toss and fielded. But an excellent pitch had a little more grass than usual – to try to give some protection in the heat – and so played true throughout rather than crumble as the game progressed which so many tracks have done this year.  With a lightning fast outfield, a score of 280 seemed around par.

Will Rollings, lively in his first spell, struck in his first over, and Sam Dickson, introduced as an early first change, did the same to leave Eton 15 for 2.   When McDonagh nicked the impressive Ed Tristem to Callum Kent, Eton were 41 for 3 and wobbling.

Tristem is something of an unpredictable quantity when handed the ball. Some days he looks all at sorts and hobbles and grimaces around like a pensioner.  On others, when his tail is up, he is genuinely fast and all but unplayable.  Today was one such day.  His return of 1 for 30 off eight did not show how many times he beat the bat or was edged into space.

The early wickets meant Eton were reliant on Vanderpar, and he started confidently with some sublime drives off Nathan Thorpe. But thereafter he played a curate’s egg of an innings, at times looking as if batting was easy and at others poking at the seamers and skewing the spinners.

The innings really came off the rails with two run-outs in five balls, both resulting from poor calling.  Scriven scored a direct hit to remove  Ginoda and then a sharp return from Bedford accounted for O’Brien with both batsmen marooned mid pitch.  From 80 for 3 Eton slipped to 81 for 5.

Vanderpar and Halstead slowly and patiently rebuilt in a stand of 107 off 16 overs.   The momentum was swinging away from the OCs as 42 came off 17 deliveries after the second drinks break;  Vanderpar suddenly woke up and showed why he is so feared as he slammed 28 off seven balls but with the eighth, and out of nowhere, Matt Crump bowled him for 97.  Two overs later Halstead drove Scriven to Tristem in the deep and the innings never recovered.  The last five wickets produced only 26 runs in seven overs.  All seven bowlers used took a wicket with only Seren Waters picking up two. At the end of a cricket week where targets of 280-300 had proved chaseable, 215 was always well within reach as long as we did not lose early wickets.

By his own admission, Scriven’s form with the bat this summer has been disappointing and as runs proved elusive he almost tried too hard rather than play his natural game.  This hundred was him back to his imposing best. After a cautious maiden, his next six balls produced two driven sixes and a four, and then having scattered the field to all parts with his belligerent hitting, he milked the gaps for easy ones and twos.  On his way to fifty he smote three sixes and five fours.  From 50 to 70 he only hit one four but almost every shot had real power in it.

Waters was content to play second fiddle and looked untroubled until given out caught behind for 10 off a ball he seemed to miss – his habit of taking two steps towards the pavilion after playing and missing may have persuaded the umpire he was walking.  Rather than check our progress at 62 for 1, that brought to the crease the in-form Bedford who upped the tempo, mixing placement for ones and twos with some exquisite drives.

Scriven reached his deserved hundred off 93 balls in 134 minutes before skying the next delivery back to the bowler, but by then the game was all but over.   Alan Cope, who had shown his confidence by preparing for his innings by lounging romantically in the shade with his girlfriend, then produced an entertaining cameo as Vanderpar tried to knock his head off and Cope, eschewing a helmet, took him on in his OC cap.  It was the last hurrah and the winnings runs soon followed – Bedford’s unbeaten 86 taking an hour and coming off 62 balls – as we reached the target with ten overs to spare.

The day was a credit to a young side whose approach in the field never flagged despite the trying conditions.  It is also worth mentioning the sizeable contingent who took root in the shade of the trees, the superb catering provided by the School, yet another excellent track produced by Sean and his team, and the patient scoring of Heather.

So we all come back in a fortnight for what will be a tough semi-final.  Tristem has offered to fly back from holiday Portugal for the match if Eds Copleston buys him a ticket. In a week that saw Will Howard fly Matt Foster to Prague for taking a five-for, that seems a small price for the captain to pay.

Cricket Week summary

An excellent cricket week saw the sun shine (almost) throughout, some good matches, four individual hundreds and more young players take part than ever before.  Here are the reports of the seven matches which produced four wins, two losses and only the one draw

Old Malvernians 253 (Waters 4-51) lost to OCCC 254 for 4 (Jordan 91, Bedford 78*) by six wickets
Click here for photos

This game was notable for the first rain in a month. Rain is a little of an overstatement, but a few heavy drops accompanied by distant thunder sent the umpires scurrying for safety. The players remained in the middle and the umpires had to rapidly return.   Malvernians recovered from 64 for 4 to reach 232 for 6 before Waters spun through the tail.

On a brown and fast outfield this was unlikely to be enough, and Will Jordan, in his one game of the year, played some lovely shots and appeared set for a hundred before he ran out of steam. Ed Tristem hit 34, including two massive sixes, before reverse sweeping into his middle stump, and then Lewis Bedford batted as if he had a colts session to go and coach (he did) hitting an unbeaten 78 in 40 minutes to end the game with 16 overs remaining.

OCCC 299 for 6 dec (Kent 100, Tristem 58, Hannah 41) beat Free Foresters 286 (Blain 91, Reingold 82, Horsey 4-55, Hannah 3-56) by 13 runs
Click here for photos

A cracking game which went down to the wire thanks to the Foresters chasing to the bitter end, a tactic which saw them come close to winning a game which at tea seemed dead and buried.   Callum Kent’s 100 (106 balls, 122 minutes) and Ed Tristem’s brutal 58 formed the basis of our innings although Elliott Hannah (41), Sam Langmead (34) and Eds Copleston (32) provided good support.

A target of 300 looked impossible when Hannah took two wickets in his first over to reduce the Foresters to 11 for 3 which became 58 for 4 shortly before the interval.  But the Foresters always bat deep and a Blain and Reingold savaged the bowling in a stand of 112 in 11 overs, and when Blain fell to a juggling catch by Kent , Reingold continued to flay all comers before he was superbly stumped down the leg side.  At 235 for 8 that should have been that but Babbs and Saul got the Foresters to within touching distance with plenty of overs in hand before Horsey polished off the innings.  There was earlier drama when Ed Henderson announced he was now a spinner; he bowled 6.1 overs for 56, his mauling ended by the umpire who banished him to the outfield after a second beamer.  Back to the drawing board.

Grasshoppers 240 (Horsey 3-42) lost to OCCC 244 for 3 (Bugler 110*, Kent 63, Chase 43*) by seven wickets.
Click here for photos

Jack Horsey put the skids under ten-man Grasshoppers with three early wickets and it took a last-wicket stand of 65 to enable them to post a defendable target.   The oddity of the innings (ever day has one) was 57-year-old Mike Chase deciding to field silly point to the very occasional offspin of Sam Bugler, 39 years his junior.  One offside long hop later and he departed back to gully.  Chase had also turned up at 11.30 rather than 11 “as that’s the time we used to start”.

We lost Max Richards and Ollie Trower early but Callum Kent and Bugler scored with ease, and when Kent was stumped, Chase belied his years with an attacking innings as he added 117 with Bugler in 53 minutes.  Bugler reached his deserved maiden hundred off 93 balls and then finished the game with a four and a six.

OCCC 178 (Copleston 50) lost to Old Georgians 224 (Foster 5-54, Kennedy 3-51) by 46 runs
Click here for photos

A slightly surreal day and, for us, a rather uninspiring game of cricket which we lost after seemingly being set a very gettable target.   OGs started well to reach 148 for 1 before the innings fell away to the seam bowling of Matt Foster.  Will Howard, who usually finds unusual ways to impact on a match, told Foster if he got a five-for he would take him to Prague that night – Howard was going there en route to the World Cup semi-final in Moscow.  So a second ticket was booked with the only snag both had to leave by 4.30 to get to Heathrow.  Howard hit a breezy 26, Foster a less breezy 13 and they were off.  By the time normality returned we were in trouble. Eds Copleston kept us interested with a 63-ball fifty but nobody was able to stay with him.

OCCC 278 for 5 dec (Bedford 150, Trower 57) drew with Flashmen 172 for 5 (Crump 3-15)
Click here for match photos

A match which promised much ended in a rather dull draw as Freemen, after losing early wickets, decided to play out time.

The OCCC innings started with a bright stand between Lewis Bedford and Ollie Trower (57); after Trower fell, Bedford took the attack on with a barrage of pulls and drives and became only the seventh OCCC batsman to reach 150. A flurry of wickets as the declaration loomed caused some urgency in the dressing-room; Matt Crump hurriedly kitted up and strode to the middle only to be met by the fielders coming off as Cope declared.


On his day, Crump has been devastating with the ball. Of late, that devastation has tended to be inflicted on the slips. But he has shown signs of late he may be back as a bowler and three early wickets left Freemen wobling and then a suicidal run-out on the stroke of tea left them 32 for 4. Another wicket after the resumption ended their challenge and in the remaining 25 overs they scored 120 runs for the loss of one wicket against increasingly generous bowling.

OCCC 258 for 4 (Cowdrey 118) beat Old Etonians 256 for 7 dec by six wickets
Click here for match photos

Over the past three decades we have had some cracking games against the Etonians on Jubilee.  Sadly, this was not one of them.   The day was all but decided before we took to the field. At the appointed start time there were three visitors on the ground; by the time the first ball was bowled there were eight and that's how it stayed.

Given the numbers, Eds Copleston felt he had no choice but to stick Eton in but even then the game seemed likely for an early finish as Eton lost two quick wickets.  But they battled back, aided by some enterprising bowling changes, and were able to declare, although after a long session in the field the captain's sense of humour was tested to the limit when the seventh - and what he thought would be the final - wicket fell only for the OCCC tea lady (in reality an UVIth leaver from last summer) strode to the middle to prolong the suffering.

On a normal day a target of 258 would have been a challenge, but with no OCs willing to go straight back out in the heat to field, Eton were left with a lot of space to defend with eight men.  Most batsmen made the most of this, with Rob Cowdrey scoring his second OCCC hundred.  The game was done and dusted with 14 overs remaining.

Old Millfieldians 248 (Tristem 4-45) beat OCCC 244 (Harris 64, Copleston 40) by four runs
Click here for match photos
This was a superb start to cricket week and a match which went right down to the wire.  Millfield recovered from 110 for 5 (Ed Tristem doing some early damage) but the star for us was 14-year-old Tommy Ealham who, with his older brother George, was making his debut. He took two wickets and deserved more.  Our innings was not helped by two shocking decisions - Lewis Bedford adjudged caufght behind off his pad and Tristem somehow given lbw to a ball down the leg side and which the keeper was preparing to take a chest height.  Nonetheless, both sides pressed for the win and firstly Eds Copleston and then Jamie Harris kept us in the chase.  We still looked down and out before  Tommy Ealham and Max Bell (both in the School XI) brought us to the brink of victory before Ealham fell with five needed.

Cope and spin sink Sherborne

OCCC 261 for 9 (Cope 89) beat Sherbourne Pilgrims 160 (Waters 4-10) by 101 runs
Click here for photos

A potentially difficult visit to Dorset to face Sherborne was overcome thanks largely to an excellent innings of 89 by Alan Cope and some nagging spin bowling from Jack Scriven and Seren Waters. In a searing hot summer the match was played under leaden skies with a downpour always looming. As it was in stayed hot and humid but dry.

We started cautiously with few alarms on a pitch which provided uneven bounce.  Jack Scriven (16) holed out to mid-on after struggling to find his touch and then Seren Waters played an uncharacteristly loose shot to cover to leave us 64 for 2.  Cope and Angus Dahl (25) put on 98 for the third wicket, Cope unleashing some sublime pulls and drives, and then found support from Lewis Beford (32) who was aided by some poor catching.

Cope eventually fell leg-before and Bedford was crazily run-out after a mix-up with Nathan Thorpe, after which the innings fell away, with us adding only 48 in the final 10 overs for the loss of five wickets.  We ought to have put the match to bed in that time, but as it was we left the door open for Sherborne.

Sherborne's reply started dismally as they slid to 1 for 2 in eight balls, Elliott Hannah and Scriven striking early blows.  Walsh (41) and Cheal (29) then steadied the ship with some aggressive hitting before Walsh holed out to Cope at long-on.

It was the spinners who were always going to pose problems and so it proved was Waters (4 for 10) and Scriven (2 for 29) ended Sherborne's challenge.  Thorpe, who took an outstanding running catch at backward square-leg to remove Cheal, was unlucky not to take a wicket, and it was heartening to see Dahl's legspin return after his serious injury sustained over the winter.  He took the final wicket to wrap up a convincing win and set up a quarter-final at home to Eton.

During the course of his innings Waters passed 1000 Cricketer Cup runs for the club.  What was also so pleasing was the age of this side.  Four were in the Cranleigh XI last summer and only one - the ageing Cope - was over 30 (just).   Other than Waters (28) everyone else was 23 or under.   The future is bright.

Carr blasts School to T20 victory

OCCC 139 (Carr 6 for 30) lost to Cranleigh School UVIth Leavers 143 for 6 (Job 42) by four wickets

The annual OC Day match used to be the highlight of the year for the School and eagerly anticipated by old boys. Sadly, of late the game has become rather devalued.  First it became a T20 match and then with the School switching Speech Day (and so OC Day) to a Saturday, it became almost impossible for us to raise a strong side because most cricketers were playing in leagues.  And so the fixture became an UVIth Leavers XI against as many OCs as we could musters supplemented by a few boys and masters.

That was a shame because Benji Carr produced one of the best pieces of bowling seen for many years on OC Day.  Tall, fast and unable to win a place in the 1st XI, he opened up by ripping out Jock Vickers' off stump with the opening ball of the match and finished with 6 for 30 in his four overs.  His final over included four wickets interspersed with a brace of wides.  The only substantial stand of the innings - 64 for the fifth wicket - was between Rory Kennedy (20) and Eds Copleston (33) but the total of 139 always looked below par on a fast track and even faster outfield.

The OCs kept a tight line early on - Will Jay especially good - but 1st XI slipper Callum Job and Sam Bugler warmed to the task to put the School in charge.  Andy Houston (who explained an earlier drop by claiming he "could not catch East's deputy house captain") and 56-year-old Michael Chetwode dragged us back into contention but the School squeezed home with three balls to spare.

Honours even in annual School match

OCCC 263 for 4 (Cope 81, Broughton 75, Dahl 56*) drew with Cranleigh School 190 for 8 (Pyle 74)
Click here for pictures

The oldest fixture in the calendar - this game was first played in 1869 -  produced exactly the kind of cricket which one would hope for and a fair result after a hard-fought day.  It was an excellent advertisement for school and OC cricket.

The School made an immediate impression when Freddie Austin fell for 2 from the fourth ball and then with the first delivery of the second over Jack Scriven edged behind.  Briefly, a repeat of the dismal OC performance of 12 months earlier appeared possible.  But Bruno Broughton (75) and Alan Cope with a third-wicket stand of 153 at a run a ball and aided by a fast outfield.  When cope tamely chipped Yousuf Majid to Will Dahl, the catcher's brother, Angus, took over with a 35-ball 56 not out which included two sixes. Broughton's breezy innings ended with his first false shot, but Ollie Trower maintained the quick scoring with an unbeaten 41.

Set a stiff target of 264 (the School had not managed to make over 200 all season) Chris Pyle took on the bowlers and although several batsmen got starts, none was able to play the big supporting innings he needed.  Matt Crump, whose bowling has lost its way in recent seasons, looked like his old  lively self, and Jack Horsey and Ed Tristem both picked up a brace.  Pyle's excellent innings ended with a good catch in the deep by Crump shortly after he had been struck a painful blow in the groin, and the School settled for a draw.

This was a young school side - Majid and Tommy Ealham are both in the IVth form - and the prospects for the next few seasons are good.

Dropped catches cost us dear against Radley

OCCC 231 for 9 (Dickson 55) lost to Radley Rangers 232 for 6 (Cooper 3 for 43) by four wickets
Click here for match photos

If the Cricketer Cup the week before had provided us with a crushing win, it was out turn to be on the receiving end as we were well beaten by Radley Rangers.

On a hot day, we won the toss and got off to a good start before Ollie Trower (28), Tom Cooper (29) and Max Subba Row (3) fell in quick succession.  Callum Kent (38) and Rory Kennedy steadied the ship before another collapse left us on the ropes at 117 for 7.  We were rescued by two of the Cranleigh School Dream Team of 2017, Ed Tristem (39) and Sam Dickson (55) adding 78 for the eighth wicket.  Dickson's opportunities with the bat at school were limited because of the strength in depth of the XI but since leaving he has proved his worth as an allrounder. The week after this game he hit a hundred for the MCC.  Eds Copleston declared probably 20-30 runs light of what he would have wanted.

Radley started confidently and Brooke (85) and Vetley (46) took them to 146 for 1.  Our cause was not helped by some howlers in the field with Cooper the unlucky bowler on several occasions.  As the game seemed to be heading to an early finish we finally got our act together with the spin of Cooper and Subba Row gnawing through Radley's middle order.  It was, however, too late to affect the outcome but if gave some respectability to the margin of defeat.