Cope leads side against Eton Ramblers

Alan Cope will lead the side in the Cricketer Cup first-round match against Eton Ramblers at Eton College on Sunday, June 12. The match starts at 11am.

Abeed Janmohamed was selected as captain at the start of the season but he has had to go to the USA for some flimsy reason or another.

The full side is:-

Alan Cope (captain), Matt Crump, Tom Crump, Elliott Hannah, Jonathan Haynes, Will Howard (wkt), Rob Jones, Will Langmead, Seren Waters, Henry Watkinson, Graham Webb. Phil Roper will act as 12th man and Heather Dean will score.

Regular updates will be carried on the club homepage in the twitter module on the right-hand side, or on the club’s Twitter page.

Crump and Barson seal win at Winchester

Old Cranleighans 221 for 4 (M Crump 72*, Barson 44*) beat Old Wykehamists 218 for 7 dec (Barson 3-52) by six wickets

A good start with the ball and a clinical batting performance made amends for a ragged fielding performace to see us beat Old Wykehamists comfortably.

Max Barson bowled with pace and control whilst Henry Watkinson bowled with control to reduce OW's to 45 for 4 within the first hour. The OW middle order then dug in for what was a fairly tergid hour of cricket before lunch. Graham Webb varied his flight and pace nicely on a pitch offering no spin. Crump, who along with Gates, had arrived late and mosied over to the pavilion with no great haste once they say their team mates in the field, broke the partnership before lunch when the OW No. 6 tried to heave him into the River Test and got a leading edge.

After lunch, captain Henderson induced an edge from the OW No. 5 which was held in impressive fashion by Will Langmead diving to his right at slip. Langmead was one of the few bright sparks in the field all day, taking a high catch off Watkinson later in the innings.

OW's had left their Cricketer Cup opener to come in at No. 7 and he played some fine shots and had an interesting duel with Barson who targeted his helmet with some sharp bouncers. At the other end, an OW batsman who probably wouldn't be considered a Cricketer Cup man was slashing, edging and chipping mainly Watkinson just over or in front of fielders much to the bowler's disgust. A particularly comical effort by Gates to catch a steepler wasn't found amusing by his boss who showed a marked lack of sympathy as Gates writhed on the ground with what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder (it wasn't).

The OC reply got off to a brisk start with Langmead, Gates and then Hume playing attractively until they holed out in the twenties. OW's deployed mainly spin which Spreadsheet Merry treated with unusual respect (possibly bemusement) before also departing in the twenties. It was left to Crump, fresh from a 98* at Cranleigh (or, after he had altered the scorebook, 103*) the day before to whittle down the target with ease assisted by some decent hitting from Barson.

It was a pleasant afternoon in which those fielding at slip next to Vickers were left in no doubt as to his delight with the bread and butter pudding at lunch. Anyone in the vicinity mentioning the word 'house' were immediately offered the use of Jock's his Polish workforce for a new kitchen, a new bathroom or indeed a spot of gardening. No contracts have yet been signed. Ed Henderson

Chetwode and his children guide us to a winning start

OCCC 230 for 5 (Gates 56*, T Crump 55, W Langmead 52, Jones 50) beat Esher 211 (39.4 overs, Chetwode 4-14) by 19 runs
Click here for match photos


Our first line up of the season was a blend of experience and youth, and on paper a very strong batting line up. We won the toss and took the opportunity to post a score for Esher to chase down in their 40 overs. The unseasonably fine weather, in evidence again on the day albeit accompanied by a cold wind, had allowed a good track to be nurtured and we were able to build a strong start.


Rob Jones and Will Langmead eased their way to 94 at the 15 over mark. However we were 109 for 2 just four overs later, with both openers falling shortly after celebrating their half centuries - Jones leg-before for 50 and Langmead caught behind for 52.

Damien Hill missed his opportunity after being caught for 3, and we got bogged down over the next 15 overs as the scoring rate dropped from 6 an over to 4 an over. Jonny Gates and Tom Crump then began to find more fluidity as the rate climbed to over 8 an over during the last 10 overs. Credit should also be given to Gates for his incredible ability to farm the strike!

Crump, who eventually got to face, was then caught and bowled by the Esher captain (another OC) for 55 in the last over, which brought Rich Aston to the crease. He was promptly on his way back after being run out without facing. Gates eventually finished unbeaten on 56 and we posted 230 for Esher to chase.

Roo Hume opened up with a maiden, and Marcus Fletcher opened at the other end up the hill and into the wind. Although we got of to a reasonable start we never really created an opportunity in the opening overs and the good batting track meant that anything full or short was duly dispatched.

Langmead came on to bowl spin and caused some problems, beating players in the air. He was unlucky not to have a stumping to his name but then got his reward when OC Alex Szepietowski smashed the ball back at him and he parried it to the waiting Crump at mid-off. Experience then came to the fore, as the ever dependable Mike Chetwode tightened things up and then bowled the left hander for a duck.

At the halfway stage Esher were 85 for 3 as Chetwode strangled their middle order and that pressure brought wickets. Despite a number of missed opportunities, with Rob Merry having a shocker behind the stumps, we looked to be just in front. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and Esher remained behind the curve – needing 96 off the final 10 overs and then 83 off the final five.

Hill bowled with uncharacteristic control and captain Abeed Janmohamed’s first spell was also tight. However having bought a wicket Abeed brought Esher’s pro (Ahmed) to the crease – who then calmly dispatched some fairly friendly Janmohamed pies for two sixes and a four. This gave Esher something to cheer about and a glimmer of hope but a fantastic diving catch in the deep by Crump off Hume removed the Ahmed threat and Esher’s chances. The game was wrapped up by an easy run-out as we finished them with two balls to spare, 19 short of our total.

A good result and first outing this season for a number of players. Several batsman put their hand up for Cricketer Cup places, and it was pleasing to see the recent school leavers play their part. Four batsman got half centuries but the stand out performance once again was old lag Chetwode with figures of 4 for 14 off his eight overs.