Founded in 1930, the Buccaneers is a wandering cricket club with Sunday fixtures, some all day, played throughout the South East of England including in Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and London.

"Let us take our stand and play the game, but rather for the cause than for the fame"

2023 Annual Dinner sees a change of leadership

A select group of Buccaneers of all ages met at The East India Club on Wednesday 21 February to toast a successful season.

The evening was preceded by the AGM where two leadership changes were ratified. Simon Woolfries, our longstanding President, stood down to be replaced by former and similarly longstanding Honorary Secretary Rob Rydon. Rob’s role has been filled by Tom Fletcher.

Simon was presented with an engraved tankard for his service from a very grateful club.

Rob reviewed a successful season for the club and in response Simon gave his reflections on the essential but often frustrating role of the Match Manager.

The Geoffrey Moore Award for the season was presented for a second time to Simon Leefe.

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Revised Annual Dinner date: Wednesday 21st February 204

The rearranged 2023 Annual Dinner will be held at the East India Club, Pall Mall on Wednesday 21st February at 18.45.

The speaker is still to be announced but as is now the tradition, we will be announcing the winner of the 2023 Geoffrey Moore Award. Please also feel free to join us for the Annual General Meeting before Dinner at 18.30. The agenda for the AGM will be available in due course.

Please note that due to cost increases, tickets will this year be £65 per person. Please pay this to the Buccaneers’ bank account and advise David Close that you have done so. David’s details are below. When paying by bank transfer, please put your surname as the reference.

To book your Dinner ticket, please contact David Close at dclose@griffithsandarmour.com or on 07947 370069.
We look forward to seeing you there.

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Cricketers and tankard get wet in season finale

Follies Farm game washed out but presentation goes ahead to mark Rob Rydon’s 27 years as Hon. Secretary

Rob Rydon was presented with an engraved tankard at the final fixture of the season at Follies Farm on Sunday 17th. Sept. to mark the end of his tenure as Honary Secretary of The Buccaneers.

Rob is standing down after 27 years in post making him easily the longest serving Hon. Sec. since the days when the Founder fulfilled that role.

As torrential rain prevented any play Rob had plenty of time to give his tankard a proper christening!

Match Manager for the day, Tom Fletcher, will be proposed at the forthcoming AGM to be the next Hon. Sec.”

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A feast of food and wickets

For the first time since before Covid, the Warborough & Shillingford and Buccaneers fixture was played over the longer all-day format. The prospect of the famous lunch no doubt contributed to the rare sight of 11 Buccaneers at the ground well before play was due to get underway. On a humid morning where both searing heat and disruptive rain were expected, and with a green-tinged wicket underfoot, the Buccaneers won the toss and elected to bowl.

Rob Rydon and Charlie Pexton opened for the Buccaneers, both causing problems for the W&S openers with their swing and seam movement. Runs were hard to come by and Rydon drew first blood while at the other end Pexton was joining dots. When Pexton tempted the dangerous Zagoritis to fence at one, Jim Harcourt gobbled it up greedily behind the stumps. Only a four off a no-ball had spoiled impossibly frugal figures, with every other ball in a seven over spell being a dot in the scorebook.

Simon Leefe entered the attack and dominated most of the rest of the innings. Confusion reigned when opener Searle walked, caught behind, despite on-field protestations that there was no intention to appeal. Then it actually rained, with thunder and lightning adding to the drama, an early and extended lunch being taken in the safety of the soon-to-be-refurbished pavilion. Once the players were wet and the outfield was dry, the resumption brought Leefe his three-wicket haul and a startling catch at square leg off Archie Marsh. Marsh was at his bamboozling best while Ollie Robertson would probably have shared more of the spoils if he had worn spikes on a greasy surface. Warborough’s number four, Gedara, held the innings together with some tasty blows all around the wicket until Leefe caught him – in more comical fashion this time – off skipper Warwick Okines. Once the second drinks break had been taken, the cricket resuming almost apologetically for interrupting the day’s food and drink, Tom Fletcher’s direct-hit run out closed Warborough’s account at 129. Six bowlers had bowled seven overs and all chipped in with wickets.

So, over to the batsmen, who also shared the workload between them. Eswar Kalidasan tried to finish it in the first over but a lavish drive against the prodigiously swinging ball ended his day. Will Gresswell demonstrated why he shouldn’t be considered the weakest player in the Gresswell-Marsh-Pexton household with some powerful shots including a brilliant leg side swivel-shot that hasn’t got a name. Owen Gibbons was unluckily given out LBW while later Harcourt benefited from Warborough’s trademark sportsmanship to have an on-field decision reversed and then scored fluently. In between came the biggest shock of the day, Fletcher getting out for the first time at a ground where he has feasted many times before. He and the upper order had done most of the work by the time an enormous tea was taken, but it still required Leefe and Robertson to see the away team home without any late dramas.

The day was dominated by two meals and four drinks breaks, but in between the Buccaneers played some excellent cricket to notch their first win here since Fletcher’s century in 2018. Both teams retired to the Six Bells with full bellies and in good cheer, looking forward to what 2024 would serve up. 

2023 scorecard

Innings of Warborough & Shillingford

M Searle                     ct Harcourt      b Leefe                        11
Maple                                                  b Rydon                      1
A Zagoritis                   ct Harcourt      b Pexton                      5
Gedara                        ct Leefe           b Okines                      61
Firth                             ct Gibbons       b Leefe                        6
Hartley                                                 b Leefe                        5
E Potter                                               b O Robertson             0
Allen                            ct Leefe           b A Marsh                    14
I Potter (c)                                           not out                         5
Du Winton                                           b A Marsh                    3
Bell                                                      run out (Fletcher)        0

Extras 18                                                                    
Total (42.3 overs) 129 all out

Bowling

R Rydon                      7-3-13-1
C Pexton                     7-6-5-1
O Robertson               7-1-26-1
S Leefe                        7-2-27-3
A Marsh                      7.3-3-16-2
W Okines                    7-1-27-1

Innings of Buccaneers

E Kalidasan                                         b Hartley                      0
T Fletcher                    ct Zagoritis      b Gedara                     31
W Gresswell                                        b Gedara                     29
O Gibbons                   lbw                   b Gedara                     2         
J Harcourt (wkt)          ct                     b Du Winton                31
S Leefe                                                not out                         17
O Robertson                                       not out                         8
R Rydon
C Pexton
A Marsh
W Okines (c)
Extras 15
Total (29 overs) 133 for 5wkts

Bowling

Hartley                         8-0-25-1
I Potter                        3-0-24-0
Gedara                        5-0-21-3
Du Winton                   4-0-15-1
Firth                             4-0-20-0
Bell                              4-0-15-0
E Potter                       1-0-10-0

Buccaneers won by 5 wickets

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Proper full day declaration jazz hat cricket

Various crack troops assembled at Hurstpierpoint (some more prompt than others) on a cloudier than expected August day. The Buccs captain duly won the toss and decided to bat (without really looking at the wicket). Jim and Will kicked off proceedings in a measured way before Will was caught behind. Max Sutton entered and calmy accumulated with Jim, before again being caught behind. Jim meanwhile was cutting and driving with gay abandon and notched up another fifty at the ground before (tactically?) falling just before lunch – a splendid affair in the top gallery of the school dining hall, with plenty of strawberries and cream.

Surprisingly, Stephen was out quickly after lunch and so Tom Fletcher joined Ludo to carry the load. Runs flowed and continued to flow as Simon replaced Tom. Ludo upped the tempo and responded to the captains request by moving from 61 to 80 in one over. On 224 for five after 46 overs, Rob felt he had enough. Ludo thought otherwise as he was eyeing a century, but it’s a team game and Rob wanted as many overs as possible to bowl OHJs out. A special mention must go to O Khot who bowled unchanged from the bottom end for 23 overs.

The Buccs opened up with Harry and Ollie Mann and it wasn’t long before Harry castled one of the openers.  Then OHJs regrouped and counter-punched, keeping well above the required run rate. A change of bowling with Tom Rydon charging down the hill did the trick as he took two quick wickets.

A bit more regrouping and a bit more keeping well above the run rate, gave Rob a few nervous minutes as he calculated that the Buccs would bowl at least 50 overs. No worries, as he turned to Simon who took the crucial wicket of Mark Semmence. Stephen quickly followed with another wicket and then between them they changed the game with four wickets for one run. With twelve overs to go and two wickets needed, the Buccaneers surely had this in hand.

The tail for the OHJs thought otherwise and resolutely defended. Back came the Mann brothers and Ollie took out their number 10 with four overs to go. With everyone round the bat, each play and miss was greeted with a groan. In the final over of the last 20 (and what was the 50th of the innings), Harry bowled the first ball: short, fast and straight. It looped off a glove, arcing to leg gulley and Tom Rydon safely wrapped up proceedings. A Buccs victory by 77 runs.

Innings of Buccaneers

Jim Mann                                  LBW       Khot    54
Will Metcalfe……………ct Warrender    McGahan  6
Max Sutton………………ct Warrender   Harrison     29
Ludo Milne                         not      out                     80
Stephen Moules            LBW                 McGahan     2
Tom Fletcher               ct Moulton         Khot           13
Simon Leefe                      not                      out      18

Harry Mann, Ollie Mann, Tom Rydon, Rob Rydon did not bat

224 for 5 dec

H.McGahan   12-3-45-2
0.Khot              23-2-104-2
M.Harrison      7-0-34-1
R.Lunn              4-1-20-0

Innings of OHJs

O.Meredith                   bowled      H.Mann   2
J.Pilgrim                         bowled      T.Rydon  35
M.Semmence                LBW          S.Leefe  39
B.Moulten                      bowled      T.Rydon  7
R.Willsden                      LBW           S.Moules  28
S.Warrender         ct T.Fletcher      S.Leefe    2
R.Simms                    bowled            S.Moules 0
M.Harrison              ct H.Mann        S.Leefe     0
R.Lunn                      ct T.Rydon        H.Mann 13
H.McGahan               bowled            O.Mann    2
O.Khot                        not                      out      5

Total 147 all out

H.Mann                             8.1- 1-23-2
O.Mann                             10-1-34-1
T.Rydon                             7-1-19-2
L.Milne                             7-1-35-0
S.Moules                           8-3-13-2
S.Leefe…………………………10-4-18-3

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Good win for Buccs at Lindfield

Innings of Buccaneers   

J Marsh b Yashveer Kakkar            22          
W Hammersley b Ross Pedley      25          
C Portman run out Ross Pedley                   19          
F Kottler c Abidine Sakande          b Yashveer Kakkar            0            
L Milne b Peter Booth     18          
M Sutton b Imesh Udayanga       24                          
T Fletcher lbw    b Jack Beaumont              1                            
J Milne run out Ross Pedley                          44          
R Rydon lbw       b Monty Brown 0            
H Kane c Pranay Krishna b Monty Brown 6                            
B Evans not out                 0                            

EXTRAS: 44 (1b, 5lb, 32w, 6nb )       Total: 203 ( 32.1 Overs, All Out )

Fall of Wickets

47-1  W Hammersley (J Marsh-0*); 65-2  J Marsh (C Portman-0*); 66-3  F Kottler (C Portman-0*); 114-4  C Portman (L Milne-0*); 120-5  L Milne (M Sutton-0*); 125-6  T Fletcher (M Sutton-0*); 179-7  J Milne (M Sutton-0*); 192-8  R Rydon (M Sutton-0*); 203-9  M Sutton (H Kane-0*); 203-10  H Kane (B Evans-0*);

* not out batter

BOWLER              

Abidine Sakande 4           0             34           0            
Pranay Krishna  6            1             30           0            
Ross Pedley         4            3             1             1            
Yashveer Kakkar 3            0             51           2            
Peter Booth        4             0             20           1            
Jack Beaumont  5             1             31           1            
Monty Brown    4.1         1             17           2            
Imesh Udayanga 2           0             13           1            

FIELDING EXTRA RUNS: 6     NON-BOWLER WICKETS: 2     TOTALS: Overs: 32.1, Maidens: 6, Runs: 203, Wickets: 10, Wides: 0, No Balls: 0

Innings of Lindfield

Charlie Weir c J Milne     b F Kottler           48          
Phil Weir b R Rydon         10          
Pranay Krishna b B Evans              14                          
Abidine Sakande run out M Sutton                           6            
Monty Brown b B Evans 4            
Ross Pedley c M Sutton  b W Hammersley              19          
Imesh Udayanga lbw       b R Rydon            63                          
George Lawrence run out W Hammersley                              8                            
Peter Booth ct & b J Marsh           5                            
Yashveer Kakkar not out                3
Jack Beaumont not out                  3                            

EXTRAS: 12 (1b, 2lb, 8w, 1nb )       Total: 195 ( 35 Overs, 9 Wickets )

Fall of Wickets

32-1  Phil Weir (Charlie Weir-0*); 51-2  Pranay Krishna (Charlie Weir-0*); 69-3  Abidine Sakande (Charlie Weir-0*); 89-4  Monty Brown (Charlie Weir-0*); 93-5  Charlie Weir (Ross Pedley-0*); 131-6  Ross Pedley (Imesh Udayanga-0*); 183-7  George Lawrence (Imesh Udayanga-0*); 188-8  Imesh Udayanga (Peter Booth-0*); 191-9  Peter Booth (Yashveer Kakkar-0*);

* not out batter

BOWLER              

R Rydon               5             1             29           2            
L Milne  7             0             28           0             0            
B Evans 7             1             43           2             0            
J Marsh 6             1             28           1             0            
W Hammersley  7             0             45           1            
F Kottler               3             0             19           1            

FIELDING EXTRA RUNS: 3     NON-BOWLER WICKETS: 2     TOTALS: Overs: 35, Maidens: 3, Runs: 195, Wickets: 9, Wides: 0, No Balls: 0

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Buccs rue dropped catches in Chilts run fest

Much to everyone’s surprise given the monsoon the previous day, the Buccaneers completed a full 40 over match on 23 July at West Chiltington & Thakeham CC, and came up just short in a high-scoring thriller.

Buccs lost the toss and found themselves fielding on a pitch offering good pace and bounce and an outfield on the slow side after Saturday’s rain. Unperturbed, the WCTCC openers got off to a flyer, B. Van Noort in particular punishing anything slightly off length. The introduction of Stephen Moules and Archie Marsh saw wickets begin to fall, but Buccs struggled for control in the face of some big hitting, and did not aid their own cause by dropping nine catches in the process. Special mention must go to Warwick Okines who bowled his leg spin with guile and was unlucky not to pick up a couple of wickets. WCTCC finished their allotted 40 overs on 251 for 6.

Following an excellent tea, Berry and Marsh, J. made a steady start to our chase and were beginning to go through the gears when Angus was superbly caught at long off attempting a lofted drive and James was grabbed on the deep long-on boundary. Ludo Milne joined the party and struck the ball cleanly on his way to 52, before he too was very well caught in the deep. As Sutton and Milne snr departed in quick succession – the latter “googled” for the first time in his career by Davies, who extracted significant turn both ways – much depended on messrs Moules (58) and Rydon (38). Stephen and Rob kept us very much in the game with some lusty blows and speedy running between the wickets, but both eventually fell to yet more good West Chilts catching. The Buccs late-innings wobble left us needing 11 from the final over and five from the last ball – which alas proved to be just too many.

A brilliant day out at a wonderful ground and we very much look forward to returning next year.

Innings of WC&TCC
B. Van Noort b. S. Moules 74
O. Holden b. S. Moules 26
A. Tatchell ct. M. Sutton b. A. Marsh 3
C. Davies c&b L. Milne 65
N. Kuchhadia LBW A. Marsh 7
H. Gillespie+ ct. M. Sutton b. L. Milne 52
S. Collyer Not out 10
N. North Not out 9
J. Hodgson* did not bat
P. Rawlins did not bat
T. Beeks did not bat

Extras 6
251 – 6 (40 overs)

Buccaneers bowling
R. Rydon 6. -. 24. –
L. Milne 8. -. 24. 2
S. Moules 8. 1. 36. 2
A. Marsh 8. -. 58. 2
J. Marsh 4. -. 43 –
W. Okines 6. -. 45. –

Innings of Buccaneers
A. Berry ct. [Unknown] b. Rawlins 31
J. Marsh ct. N Kuchhadia b. Beeks 40
L. Milne ct. [Unknown] b. Van Noort 52
M. Sutton ct. [Unknown] b. Beeks 4
S. Moules ct. [Unknown] b. North 58
J. Milne b. Davies 2
R. Rydon ct. [Unknown] b. North 38
A. Marsh ct. [Unknown] b. Rawlins 9
R. Hobbs st. H. Gillespie b. Van Noort 6
W. Okines Not out 0
T. Fletcher*+ Not out 0

Extras 7
247 – 9 (40 Overs)

Buccaneers lost by four runs

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Wisdom guides the exuberance of youth to victory

No doubt due to some administrative error, the Sky cameras found themselves at Lord’s on Sunday 2 July rather than at Brook. The loss was entirely theirs.

Brook won the toss and, very sensibly, elected to bat: the glorious conditions making for a batsman’s paradise. However, they did not bank on having to face messrs Rydon and Milne (JrJr) with the new ball. Milne dismissed one of the openers with his first ball, and Rydon soon took care of the other, neither troubling the scorers. Brook’s three and four, undeterred by the loss of early wickets, adopted a Bazball approach, and they were soon flying.

Persuaded to stay on for one more over, Rydon got the breakthrough the Buccaneers badly needed – the number four snicking off and T. Fletcher leaping like a salmon to take an outstanding catch. A. Marsh bowled with characteristic guile and finesse, and S. Moules steamed in up the hill and made life difficult for the middle order – each finishing with three wickets, Moules at a miserly economy of just 1.57. A special mention must go to Marsh who, not to be outdone by Fletcher, dived to his left at full stretch to take a catch off his own bowling that rivals his brother’s the week before.

The Buccaneers took to the crease needing 117 to win in their allotted 40 overs, but Brook’s two opening bowlers (and their minor counties’ spinner) were to cause some problems. A combination of good bowling, a ball keeping low, and some hot-headed over-aggression saw the Buccaneers lose wickets at regular intervals in an attempt to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.

S. Leefe anchored the innings at number three in the face of men coming and going around him, and it took R. Rydon to steady the ship and bring some calm back to proceedings as he has done so often in his decades-long Buccaneers career.

The wisdom and experience of that partnership took the game away from Brook, with Fletcher finishing things off with his usual grace. The Buccaneers won by four wickets.

Brook innings

West                bowled                        Rydon              0
Jackman          c. A. Marsh                  b. C. Milne       0
Williams          c. Fletcher                   b. Moules        51
Holder             c. Fletcher                   b. Rydon         17
Anderson         c. Rydon                       b. A Marsh     6
Botha               bowled                        Moules          18
Clarke              c&b                              A. Marsh         9
Owen               lbw                              S. Leefe            5
Randall            bowled                        Moules            2
Martin             bowled                        A. Marsh          1
Thompkins       not out 0

Total: 116 all out         Overs: 25.3

Bowling:

Rydon: 5-2-24-2
C. Milne: 5-1-33-1
A. Marsh: 6-1-38-3
Moules: 7-2-11-3
Papasavvas: 2-0-6-0
S. Leefe: 0.3-0-0-1

Buccaneers Innings

J. Marsh           bowled                        Holder             14
J. Milne           bowled                        Williams          5
S. Leefe            not out                                               43*
Hugo                bowled                        Williams          6
E. Kalidasan     caught Martin             b. Clarke           6
S. Moules        bowled                        West                 11
R. Rydon          c&b                              Clarke             20
T. Fletcher       not out                                                8*
C. Milne
A. Marsh
P. Papasavvas

Total: 120-6     Overs: 32

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Buccs smoke a win in sizzling Surrey

Sunday saw the Buccs return to Frensham, on what was set to be a sweltering Surrey afternoon. It was the Buccs who took to the field first, much to the dismay of a few Buccs players whose eyes initially lit up at the prospect of getting first use of what was a pretty flat Frensham deck, with a rapid outfield and small boundaries. After a generous application of sun cream, the Buccs took to the field and it was R Rydon and H Robertson who were tasked with taking ownership of the new ball. Both bowled well but had little luck succumbing to the fast outfields and small boundaries as well as a sharp chance going down in the Buccaneers slip corden off the bowling of Rydon.

As the Frensham openers raced past 60, and after a couple of lost balls, Rydon and H Robertson were replaced by S Leefe and O Robertson after a much-needed drinks break, to seek a Buccs breakthrough. The breakthrough finally came courtesy of a famous S Leefe quicker ball, which eased Buccs tensions due to what was a well put together Frensham opening stand. O Robertson bowled very tightly from the other end claiming a wicket thanks to a great catch on the long-on boundary from brother Hamish, before striking again with another wicket LBW, after a couple of strong LBW appeals were not given in the overs previous.

It was then time for spin from both ends with A Marsh putting himself on to bowl, with J Marsh attacking from the other end. J Marsh took a superb flying catch to his left off his own bowling to commence what was a flurry of wickets in the next few overs. J Marsh took his second the following over, before A Marsh produced a run out after a fielding mishap, mixed with some dubious Frensham running between the wickets. It was J Marsh who then removed the dangerous Frensham number 3 before single handedly cleaning up the tail and finishing with 6 wickets. This left Frensham 178 all out after 43 overs.

After a quick twenty-minute tea and refreshment break, it was now the Buccs’ time to enjoy the Surrey sunshine from the sidelines as G Clarke & C Leefe took to the crease with the Buccs chasing 178. After a solid start from both, C Leefe was the first to depart, chipping one into the off side after a ‘Baz-Ball’ esque start. After G Clarke was out caught behind next, S Leefe and J Milne set about utilising the rapid outfield, with some glorious boundaries racing off the bat of J Milne as he raced to thirty before being trapped LBW for 30 on what was now a dying pitch, leaving the Buccs 60-3 in the 11th over. This was the first of three relatively quick Buccs wickets which saw both H Machin and R Rydon come and go.

As the overs started to count down and the Buccs at 91-5, the Buccs ship was steadied by S Leefe and J Marsh in the middle order, as they started to take on the Frensham bowling attack. After a sharp chance was put down off the bat of J Marsh, both batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking over with a flurry of boundaries and sensible running between the wickets, easing a couple of Buccaneers’ nerves.

As the total of 178 drew closer, S Leefe departed falling one short of his half century after a brilliant knock, bringing T Fletcher to the crease with the required score now under 30 runs away. More sensible batting followed, mixed with some big hitting, and after the scores were tied, the ball raced off the bat of J Marsh to the mid-off boundary, bringing him to a well put together half century and more importantly, getting the Buccs over the line with 8 overs left.

Buccaneers innings

G Clarke ct ? bowled Shine 7
C Leefe ct ? bowled Kitley 10
J Milne lbw bowled Kitley  30
S Leefe ct ? bowled Warren  49
H Machin lbw bowled Kitley  0
R Rydon ct? bowled Doran  6
J Marsh   52*
T Fletcher  10*
O Robertson
H Robertson
A Marsh

Total 178 all out (43 overs)

Kitley               7 – 0 – 40 – 3
Shine               5 – 2 – 21 – 1
Irvine               5 – 0 – 26 – 0
Doran              6 – 0 – 26 – 1
Smith               3 – 0 – 32 – 0
Warren            3 – 0 – 13 – 1
Evans               3 – 0 – 18 – 0

Frensham innings and Bucaneers bowling not available

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Nomads v Buccaneers: match abandoned

Nomads: Buccs 136-3 (24 overs) match abandoned as a draw (rain)

Buccs innings

L Ward lbw Page 29
K Kalidasan bowled Clark 4
L Milne bowled Chakravarty 5
S Moules not out 51
C Leefe not out 20

Extras 17

Total 136-3 (24 overs)

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