Buccaneers Cricket Club

A young and athletic Buccaneers side arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed at the fine Hurlingham ground. A thirty minute delay ensued as the “home” umpire and scorer were not prepared to officiate the game as the Buccaneers failed to turn up with an umpire. It turns out revenge is indeed a dish best served cold.

When play eventually got underway, the Buccaneers were put out to graze. The “Oval-induced” hungover Will Metcalfe (10-3-40-0) and debutant James Rutt (10-1-38-0) opening the bowling tightly. The introduction of Charlie Leefe (12-0-64-3) with his excellent leg spin saw the breakthrough, via an excellent catch by father Simon. The father and son show continued as Simon got a wicket with the last ball before lunch to leave the home side on 107-2 after 27 overs. The nagging line and length of Nav Kokri (4-0-16-1) got an early post lunch wicket which brought to the crease former Kent and England batsman, Ed Smith. A rather circumspect 22 from 36 balls was ended when Charlie Leefe drew him into an ugly hack and was caught on the boundary! Hurlingham declared on 249-5 off 52 overs.

The Buccaneers top order was blown away by the excellent opening spell from McAlister (11-2-28-3) and the bandanna wearing Jack Brooks lookalike Cattermull (12-4-24-2) Umpire Sam Glass got into the action early on with the wicket of Simon Leefe and Ollie Metcalfe being given out LBW to the left arm over McAlister. Having been reduced down to 35-4 , gritty resistance came in the form of debutant Richard Hobbs (21) and power packed Will Metcalfe (32). Umpire Glass was brought on at the other end and captured a further 3 sharp LBW decisions to prompt a slightly faltering chase. Nav Kokri (31) tried to steer the tail to victory and at 127-6 entering the final 20 overs, the remaining 120 looked possible. However a low order collapse left the last wicket pair needing 100 runs. Some big hitting for our final debutant Oliver Svhelik (15 from 10) propelled us to 166 when the rain came down with 10 over remaining.

Having burgled a draw, some members of the team were intent on recapturing the winning formula and after some fine drinks at Hurlingham, the Fulham Road once again bore the brunt of thirsty Buccaneers. The last wicket fell at 3:30am with Paul Hobson pulling up stumps after another long post match knock. A superb day out at one of the most imperious grounds and all played in great spirits.

Innings of Hurlingham

S Razvi  c S Leefe b C Leefe 19
R Cripps b C Leefe 101
F Lyon b S Leefe 22
S Chapman c Cunynghame b N Kokri 26
E Smith c E Cunynghame b C Leefe 22
C Stewart-Liberty not out 17
M McAllister not out 19

Extras 23
Total 249 for 5 dec
FOW 1-75(1), 2-107(3), 3-164(4), 4-198(5), 5-224(2)

W Metcalfe 10-3-40-0
J Rutt 10-1-38-0
R Hobson 10-1-36-0
C Leefe 12-0-64-3
N Kokri 4-0-16-1
S Leefe 1-0-7-1
O Svehlik 3-0-29-0
R Hobbs 2-0-7-0

Innings of Buccaneers

S Leefe lbw McAllister 7
S Bose b Cattermull 1
P Hobson c R Jenkins b Kenwood 9
O Metcalfe lbw McAllister 7
R Hobbs lbw Kenwood 21
W Metcalfe lbw Cattermull 32
N Kokri c Jenkins b McAllister 31
E Cunynghame c E Smith b Lyon 13
J Rutt lbw Chapman 2
C Leefe not out 1
O Svehlik not out 15

Extras 27
Total 166 for 9 – abandoned (rain)
FOW 1-10(1), 2-10(2), 3-30(4), 4-35(3), 5-61(5), 6-109(6), 7-126(8), 8-138(9), 9-142(7)

M McAllister 11-2-28-3
M Cattermull 12-4-24-2
F Lyon 11-2-43-1
A Kenwood 7-0-46-2
S Chapman 3-1-12-1

The Buccs got back to winning ways on a new ground against The Nomads at North London CC on Sunday.

A good toss to win on what first looked like a bit of a pudding wicket and with a hint of that fine rain in the air; The Buccs chose to bat.

Vic Kandampully and Ollie Metcalfe both started well and after 15 overs a healthy total of 94 was already on the board for no loss. Vic unluckily fell for 43 to a deft catch down the leg side by the keeper after attempting a 20/20 style ramp off The Nomad’s spinner Ireland. Enter the in form Hobbo, fresh off the back of an unbeaten ton the week before. Ollie continued to deal in boundaries alone, reaching his fifty without troubling the scorers with any 1s, 2s or 3s.

Ollie and Hobbo continued to pile on the runs; some particularly powerful pulled flat 6s over mid-wicket from Metcalfe saw him quickly go on to make his first hundred for The Buccaneers and really put the pressure on The Nomads. Ollie eventually fell for 107 after miss-timing a drive to mid-on. Hobson did not relent and continued to score freely before being caught with a sharp catch to dismiss him for 87. Dilip and Crispin took up the reins and kept the scoreboard ticking, Dilip falling for 27. At 311 from 42 overs, The Buccs thought they had enough on the board and decided to declare 4 wickets down.

After a hearty tea and a medicinal ale, The Buccs took to the field to try and get a result. Metcalfe Senior opened the bowling with newcomer Richard Hobbs at the other end. A tight first couple of overs led to the fall of the first wicket, as the pressure of the run rate got too much for The Nomad opener Ramjag, trying to hit a ball that wasn’t there to be hit ending up caught at mid-wicket. The other opener Liversidge found his feet and started to score more freely with The Nomads beginning to make a comeback. The number 3 for The Nomads (Stokes) also started to pick up the pace until he was brilliantly caught at mid-off by Dilip, a very low and powerfully hit shot.

Hobbs tired after 5 overs of ripping spin and was replaced by The Buccs superstar all-rounder Hobbo. The names were not confusing at all for the scorers. Hobbo made an impact in his first over picking up the wicket of Steele for a duck. Metcalfe then struck again with a sharp caught and bowled to dismiss the dangerous opener Liversidge for 48. Hobson picked up another wicket with his next over, again claiming another victim without troubling the scorers. Hope was restored for The Nomads when Ireland came to the crease batting at 7. He came in and had obviously been just watching the Eng v NZ ODI in the bar as he straight away started pumping the ball to all corners of the ground. The Buccs began to get a little worried, but eventually Ireland holed out to another great Dilip catch at long off from the bowling of Nav Kokri for a swashbuckling 73. Little resistance followed and The Buccs wrapped up proceedings bowling The Nomads out for 187 off 29 overs.
Innings of Buccaneers

V Kandampully 43
O Metcalfe 107
P Hobson 87
D Bharadwaj 27
C Vollers not out 25
N Kokri not out 3

Extras 19
Total 311-4 (42 overs)

Robbins 10-0-69-0
Matthews 4-1-38-0
Ireland 10-1-64-1
Ormiston 12-0-53-2
Paige 2-0-27-0
Smith 4-0-39-1

Innings of Nomads

Liversidge ct & b W Metcalfe 48
Ramjag ct b W Metcalfe 1
Stokes ct b W Metcalfe 16
Steele ct b Hobson 0
Smith ct b Hobson 0
Ormiston ct b Hobson 21
Ireland ct b Kokri 73
Latchman ct b Hobson 10
Page lbw Kokri 11
Robbins not out 0
Matthews bowled Kokri 8

Extras 25
Total 187 all out (29 overs)

W Metcalfe 9-2-50-3
R Hobbs 5-0-36-0
P Hobson 9-1-53-4
S Bose 3-0-31-0
N Kokri 3-1-11-3

The Buccs failed to halt the slide to 4 defeats in a row at Bitchet Green on Sunday against The Knockers (St Lawrence CC, Sevenoaks).

In a game reduced to 35 overs each after the home team turned up late, The Buccaneers batted first on a slow, low wicket. Paul Hobson and Sujay Chakravarty batted positively and put on over a hundred for the first wicket at five an over. Chakravarty struck the ball powerfully, scoring 32 in boundaries out of his 35. When Simon Leefe joined Hobson after 20 overs, the second wicket pairing put on another 60, with Leefe contributing a valuable 25 and then cameos from Ollie Metcalfe, Soumak Bose and Randall Walker took the total to 215 after 35. overs. In form opener Paul Hobson carried his bat beautifully for 110 not out, with a brutal cover drive to bring up his well-deserved ton.

215 looked like giving us a decent chance of recording our first win in this otherwise very enjoyable fixture, but some ordinary Buccs’ bowling and a magnificently ruthless innings of 83 from Paul Seldon (who incidentally also bowled very well), including eleven fours and four sixes, took the game away from us. Redeeming points for the losing side came from the bowling of Simon Leefe, who in one over dismissed Seldon and The Knockers’ captain, Tonbridge schoolboy Calber, who hit a fine 40, and Richard Gywnn, who bowled with his usual guile and economy; and a brilliant catch at cover by debutant Randall Walker to hold onto Seldon’s final exocet.

430 runs scored at over six an over made for a very good game, but the Buccs will have to return in 2016 to record our first victory for long overdue revenge.

Innings of Buccaneers

P Hobson not out 110
S Chakravarti ct B Hut 35
S Leefe b Seldon 25
O Metcalfe b Seldon 10
S Bose run out 3
R Walker not out 5

Extras 27
Total 215-4 (35 overs)

Speed 8-0-30-0
Calber 5-0-33-0
Knowles 7-0-42-0
Elliot 2-0-19-0
Hut 5-0-28-0
Seldon 8-0-37-2

Innings of Knockers

Calver ct & b Leefe 40
Amri ct b Walsh 8
Seldon ct b Leefe 83
Caz not out 33
Howe not out 27

Extras 21
Total 216 for 3 (30 overs)

M Walsh 3-0-29-0
R Walker 3-0-8-0
Metcalfe 3-0-25-0
B Palmer 6-0-41-0
S Leefe 7-0-42-0
R Gwynn 6-0-32-0
R Henderson 2-0-19-0

So down to the cricket. We won the toss, elected to bat and it was a decision that was immediately put under the microscope when on the fifth ball of the innings some strange calling, followed by some equally strange running to the same end, resulted in the umpires converging for quite a while. Did the keeper control the ball? Who was actually run out? Did anyone video it for YouTube? Unfortunately there was no video replay available to aid their decision and Sujay ‘The Wall’ lost his appeal.

Thorpe (left) and Hussain (right) celebrate the win at Forest Row

In gathering gloom reminiscent of England’s famous win in the Karachi twilight almost 15 years ago, the Buccaneers wrestled victory from the slavering jaws of defeat at Forest Row on Sunday 26 April.

With captain James Stringer (46 not out) playing the Nasser Hussain role, though with less good humour but more shots, and Nav Kokri (47 not out) reprising Graham Thorpe’s well-paced match-winning knock, the Buccaneers chased down 195 with four wicket standing and 2.3 overs to spare.

Yet this terrific win looked as unlikely as a Peter Moores knighthood midway through the innings when Buccs were 80 for 5 and then 114 for 6 on a damp greentop. The Forest Row bowling was challenging enough in the conditions and the early tone was set when Sujay Chakravarti departed in the first over.

James Smith looked in very decent nick until given out lbw for 24 by Umpire Close, whose surname seemed something of an oxymoron in the circumstances given the batsman’s view of the questionable decision. Smith reacted to the dismissal with the charm and good grace one would expect from a man raised in the northern leagues.

The Buccaneers’ bowling and fielding was generally impressive considering the challenges that nature placed in the way on the day: arctic temperatures, a wet ball not to mention a short boundary on one side and an even shorter one on the other.

All of the six bowlers took at least one wicket, Smith two with his spin. Paul Hobson hooped the ball around like Jimmy Anderson in a wind tunnel and was unfortunate not to pick up more than one wicket. Manyon returned after a chastening early-season spell first up, to bowl ball of the day, pitching middle and hitting the top of off to dismiss Ellis. Bjorn defied local UKIP prejudices to show that Scandinavians can bowl tidy inswing and Stern bowled with both flight and guile … (enough of this. Ed.). Stern also contributed to the afternoon by offering Hobson cod-instruction on how to bowl the inswinger at the drinks break. The Buccs stuck at it well and for once no catches were dropped.

Forest Row v Buccaneers

Toss: Buccaneers

Forest Row innings

J Holmes         c                                  b Bjorn           47
S Ellis              c Suj. Chakravarti      b Kokri          20
B Ellis                                                  b Manyon       17
J De Souza      c Hobson                    b Smith           9
D Rosslee       st Suj. Chakravarti     b Stern          12
C Franklin      run out                                                37
S Mason                                              b Smith           32
I McPake         not out                                                  4

Extras                                                                             27
Total (for 6 wickets, 40 overs)                                195
FOW 1-57, 88-2, 102-3, 121-4, 122-5, 190-6, 195-7

Bowling:

F Bjorn 8-3-32-1
R Manyon 8-2-49-1
P Hobson 8-1-26-1
J Smith 7-0-32-2
J Stern 5-0-22-1
N Kokri 4-0-24-1

Buccaneers innings

†Suj. Chakravarti                                           b Woodward 0
J Smith                        lbw                              b Mason         24
Sub. Chakravarti                                            b Young          13
P Hobson                                                       b Mason         19
J Stern                                                             b Holmes        7
M Ghatak                    c                                  b McPake        20
N Kokri                       not out                                                 47
*J Stringer                  not out                                                46

Extras                                                                                        22
Total (for 6 wickets, 37.3 overs)                                         196
FOW: 1-0, 2-42, 3-51, 4-66, 5-80, 6-114

Bowling:
Woodward 8-1-27-1
Cryer 3-0-16-0
Mason 8-1-16-2
Young 3-0-17-0
Holmes 7-0-33-1
McPake 3-0-24-1
Franklin 2-0-13-0
De Souza 3.3-0-36-0

The 2014 averages have been published. You can access them by clicking here.

“Don’t miss Matthew Engel and our ‘Ale for All’ reception at the Buccaneers Annual Dinner on Thursday 12 March at the East India Club.

We’re delighted to have persuaded the distinguished writer Matthew Engel (pictured below), author, Guardian and FT columnist and celebrated editor of Wisden, to speak at our 85th dinner in 16 St James’s Square, SW1Y 4LH.

To whet our appetite for Matthew’s original thoughts and observations, a complimentary cask of ale is provided from 6.30pm. Our AGM starts at 6.30pm and dinner will be served at 8pm. After the delicious three-course meal, President Simon Woolfries will review the 2014 season and presen the Geoffrey Moore Trophy to the Player of the Season. A late bar allows plenty time to socialise after dinner and we look forward to welcoming you in March.

To download our booking form, click here 

Was it only 14 years ago that the first House Match took place? A petrol crisis nearly put paid to that match, while this time round holidays, old age and injuries seemed to be the reason why we struggled to get two full teams. With Rob utilising his family connections to get six Rydons into his team and two last minute cry-offs , we assembled at a damp and overcast Betchworth for a prompt 11.00am start with ten a side.

So much for the prompt start. Rob won the toss and as he had the most players on parade (and because of the overcast conditions and green pitch) decided to bowl. A tight opening spell from Rob and Will Wingfield Digby kept James and Sujay under control. Pressure mounted and a quick single to Will Rydon was cut off as a diving stop and throw broke the stumps. Sujay was out by a country mile, but Chunky who was (not) in position thought otherwise. Apart from a plumb LBW against James (who was walking to the pavilion before he realised he had not been given), both Chunky and John Marsh umpired with great skill and sympathy. Anyway, the trundlers didn’t get any wickets and so spin was turned to with Simons Leefe and Woolfries. Leefe induced a catch to Will R (with the compliment later returned by Simon off Will) and Alex Rydon affected a sharp run out with a pick up and direct hit. Hobbo entered the fray and started to show his class with some lovely on drives reaching the boundary (a particularly hard task, with the long wet grass and upward slopes). Muktesh and Subir came and went and Jeremy joined Hobbo to take on assorted Rydons (Will and Henry) and John Bryant. Lunch came after thirty overs with the score on 99 for 5.

Now lunch is always an important reason to play all-day cricket and James was particularly keen for this one to take on some significance.  With a feast set for at least 40, the 22 Buccaneers tried their best to make in-roads. After and hour and half for lunch with many partaking of port, play was resumed.

Rob turned to the only sober player on his team (his 11-year old nephew, George) to restart proceedings. Various other Rydons tried their arm and along with Will W-D watched as Hobbo and Jeremy, skilfully followed by Steve Brandes (Rhino), smack the ball to most parts of the ground. Another seventy runs off the last ten overs indicated who had won the battle of the lunch. (For the stato’s amongst you 170 for 6 was two runs less than the first innings last year)

And so to the Rydon Royals’ innings.  With young Henry and Alex leading off proceedings, a steady base was established against a tight attack of Richard Manyon and Hobbo. Henry chanced his arm once too often and was stumped by Sujay off Rhino. As father passed son to bat with nephew, the skipper settled down to watching his family tear things apart. But it was not to be as Will played on. Simon Leefe entered the frame and with Alex proceeded to quietly tick off the runs. Youthful exuberance put paid to Alex as he came back for a second that Simon was not up for and so was run out. Will W-D tapped the ball around (playing much more easily when he replaced his cracked bat) but was stumped when trying to up the run rate. Rob joined Simon with ten overs to go and six an over required. The game was evenly balanced. Rob swung a couple of sixes to relieve the pressure and swing the pendulum to the Royals. But then it swung back to the Super Kings as Hobbo strangled Simon down the leg side. Young George walked out to the crease. A swing and a miss. Two overs left and eight runs needed.

Rob discussed with George the necessity of running twos. James discussed with his fielders the necessity of stopping twos. The Rydon running between the wickets was up to it as George scampered back, turning his whites brown as he employed the full dive. So to final over with two needed and George on strike. A confident hit to backward square leg and a scampered single enabled Rob to hit the next ball for four to win the match. Ed, who was next in, proudly clapped his son off the pitch and was heartily joined by mother, grandfather, grandmother, aunts, uncles  and cousins.

The season was put to bed in the adjoining Red Lion and Rob received the Mynott Thimble, with a moustachioed Hack grumbling into to his beer that it wouldn’t have happened on his watch.

Innings of Stringer Super Kings

J Stringer run out 15
Sujay Chakravarti st A Rydon b Woolfries 17
P Hobson ct H Rydon b W Wingfield Digby 71
M Ghatak ct W Rydon b S Leefe 2
Subir Chakravarti b Bryant 1
J Milne ct S Leefe b W Rydon 26
S Brandes not out 23

Extras 13

Total 170-6

1-38 (2), 2-40 (1), 3-49 (4), 4-59 (5), 5-117, 6-170 (3)

R Rydon 8-4-19-0
W Wingfield Digby 7-1-33-1
S Woolfries 6-0-17-1
S Leefe 7-1-27-1
J Bryant 4-1-19-1
W Rydon 4-0-21-1
H Rydon 3-0-13-0
G Rydon 1-0-8-0

Innings of Rydon Royals

H Rydon st Sujay Chakravarti b Brandes 27
A Rydon run out 32
W Rydon b Brandes 2
S Leefe ct Sujay Chakravarti b Hobson 44
W Wingfield Digby st Sujay Chakravarti b Milne 22
R Rydon not out 37
G Rydon not out 2

1-40(1), 2-46 (3), 3-71 (2), 4-113 (5), 5-163 (4)

R Manyon 8-2-28-0
P Hobson 7.2-1-30-1
S Brandes 8-0-42-2
W Okines 8-0-22-0
J Milne 8-0-39-1