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)
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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
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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.

Thorpe leads rout of Haileybury

OCCC 311 for 9 (Crump 54) beat Haileybury Hermits 76 (Thorpe 5-10) by 235 runs

We got our Cricketer Cup 2018 campaign off to a flying start with an emphatic 235-run win over the Haileybury Hermits.

With the team looking pretty strong and a bowling line up full of spinners, captain for the first time in this competition, Seren Waters, won the toss and with no hesitation on what looked like a good wicket that was likely to take some spin later in the day.

Waters and Jack Scriven got us off to a flyer with some assistance from some wayward open bowling and we reached 77 for  0 off the first 10 overs. With things going well, we then had a minor stumble, where a flurry of wickets; first Seren (33) bowled playing for some turn when the opposition changed tactics for some spin, then Jack Scriven (36) was stumped brilliantly down the leg side. Angus Dahl(38) and Alan Cope (37) steadied the ship before the former knicked off, then his new partner Bruno Broughton edged the first ball that spun for 15 and Cope then miss-timed a pull shot.

This brought ex-skipper Matt Crump and Lewis Bedford to the crease. Both took their time and batted patiently re-building from what had been a brilliant start to a floundering middle... Crump eventually holed out for 55 and Bedford went for 48, a brilliant sixth-wicket stand of 113 and really putting us in firm control of the game. The remaining batters chipped in nicely and we ended up 311- for 9.

We opened up with a familiar but not typical option - Jack Scriven and his misley off spin with Sam Dickson at the other end keeping it nice and tight. Scriv picked up three early wickets which rather stalled the opposition's reply before it got going and they never recovered; Toms hit some big sixes but it was really a flash in the pan. Hailebury bowled out for 76. Nathan Thorpe, one of four Cricketer Cup debutants, took  5 for 10, showing impressive control and plenty of drift and spin.

Our next assignment is Sherbourne away who will no doubt provide a much tougher test.

Langmead sees us home at Headley

The disappointment of the previous week’s drubbing at Bradfield was put aside on a sunny and warm afternoon at Headley as we eased to a six-wicket win in a game which only last a total of 41 overs and which was done and dusted by 4.30pm.

We first played Headley in 1971 - it is our oldest continuing fixture other than the School match – and the appeal of the charming ground has never diminished.   The pitch has in the past been bouncy but on this occasion the ball kept low and batsmen who played back did not stay long.

The opening overs suggested we were in for a long afternoon as no fewer than five catches went down – four off the luckless Damien Hill – but once that was out of our system we took charge.  Rory Kennedy secured an unfortunate footnote in OCCC history when he became the first bowler to be ordered from the attack for bowling successive beamers.

Phil Roper (4 for 29) and Peter Hobbs (3 for 27) took regular wickets and only Barton (37) offered any real resistance before he fell to a spectacular catch by Roper off his own bowling.  Hobbs rolled back the years with the ball but wheezed and groaned his way round the field, while Steve Bailey managed to field with every part of his anatomy other than his hands.

The innings ended in a moment of shame for Rob Merry, who to the open-mouthed surprise of his team-mates decided to catch a chance offered off the first ball faced by Headley's 11-year-old No. 11.  Perhaps his earlier howler had addled Rob's thinking or perhaps he was under the impression this was a league game, but he took the catch leaving the rest of the OCs dumbfounded and the poor youngster disconsolate.

Chasing 122 in 35 overs, we started shakily, Noble and Tunnell taking two wickets each as we slipped to 41 for 4, and for the first two overs he was in the middle Ross Kingsnorth (21*) looked like a walking wicket.  It looked as if much would depend on Will Lamgmead (52*), who was batting with ease and class, but from nowhere Kingsnorth launched two massive sixes to take the remaining fight out of the bowlers.  Langmead rounded things off with a four and a huge six.

The OCs left bemused after Merry's catch ...