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"

Mel’s 137 spearheads epic run chase at Hurst

Posted on August 19, 2013

Buccaneers 294-7 beat Old HurstJohnians 290-5 dec by 3 wickets

Sunshine, a shirtfront of a pitch and winning the toss; no wonder Buccs skipper Rob Rydon got some funny looks from his team after deciding to bowl first at Hurstpierpoint on the last day of the Old Boys cricket week.

Anyway, Rob was happy as he was able to open the bowling with his eldest son, Tom.
After Rob’s first delivery, just short of a length on middle stump, had been summarily despatched to the boundary, the Buccs looked set for a long day chasing leather. However, Tom showed his resolve after another dismissive stroke by eliciting a sharp chance to 1st slip which Mel Ragnauth pouched with nonchalance. Tom wasn’t so fortunate after the next chance fell to earth, the first of several catches of various degrees of difficulty dropped by the five Shirburnians*.

Rotation of the bowlers brought on Tom’s brother, Alex, down the hill for a steady spell
of seamers until the scorers had to change more than just an initial as Simon Leefe became the first non-member of the Rydon family to be introduced with fellow left-arm spinner Ben Graves. This pair bowled exeptionally well in tandem and enabled Buccs to rattle through an impressive 37 overs before lunch when OHJs had reached 140-2.

Ah to lunch; an imposing 3-course affair with port on offer. Predictably the post-lunch session was less dynamic with fielders diving over balls and President Simon Woolfries,
who had partaken of the port, extending the buffet. Leefe, however, remained sharp in the field and his second direct hit on the stumps left the in-form batsman well short.The confident appeal was inexplicably turned down but Hall evidently felt so guilty he immediately spooned a catch to Hack at midwicket. Alex picked up another wicket
before Mike Harrison began regularly clearing the boundary to bring up a quick-fire 50 and prompt a very fair declaration at 3.30 on 290-5.

Buccs openers Sujay Chakravarti and Ben Atwell saw the shine off the new ball with some aplomb before Sujay was caught behind. Crispin Vollers joined his fellow Shirburnian* in building a promising platform of 70-1 with plenty of time left after tea. However, tea proved our downfall with both departing immediately after the interval. (Sir Geoffrey of Boycott came to mind with his Yorkshire mantra of “look at your score and add two wickets”).

Enter Ragnauth and Leefe who immediately began to strike the ball powerfully and scamper quick singles (particularly impressive from Mel who had ankle ligament problems). After Leefe had been caught off a full toss and Alex Rydon adjudged lbw, Ben Graves provided stylish and sensible support for Mel, who was driving the ball all round the ground in a magnificent reprise of his record match-winning stand of 300 at Hurlingham in 2006.

After Graves had become another lbw victim, the Buccs skipper joined Ragnauth in a display of awesome power which levelled the scores with 14 balls remaining.
Sadly, Mel was given out lbw for a thrilling 137 to enable Hack to face two bals before
Rob appropriately struck the winning boundary.

Rob’s brave decision to bowl in such batting-friendly conditions deserved to end a run of 12 consecutive defeats at Hurst with one of the most impressive run chases in Buccs history.
*Shirburnians are current or former pupils of Sherborne School in Dorset.

Old HurstJohnians innings
T Harrison c Ragnauth b T Rydon 10
S Warrender st Chakravarti b Graves 80
Singh b R Rydon 18
Hall c Gwynn b A Rydon 78
M Harrison not out 50
McGahan b A Rydon 13
Noble not out 23
TOTAL 290-5 dec

R Rydon 10-0-24-1
T Rydon 5-0-38-1
A Rydon 12-0-49-2
S Leefe 9-0-54-0
B Graves 16.5-0-84-1
S Woolfries 4-0-29-0

Buccaneers innings
Sujay Chakravarti c Warrender b M Harrison 10
B Atwell b Hall 33
C Vollers c Warrender b Hickman 21
M Ragnauth lbw b Noble 137
S Leefe c Hall b Moulton 19
A Rydon lbw b McGahan 0
B Graves lbw b McGahan 18
R Rydon not out 33
R Gwynn not out 0

    TOTAL 294-7 #

    Noble 11-0-54-1
    M Harrison 9.5-0-36-1
    Hickman 8-0-47-1
    Hall 9-0-43-1
    Moulton 10-0-69-1
    McGahan 7-0-26-2

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Buccs crowned Maharajahs of Maidstone

Posted on August 15, 2013

Buccaneers (295-5 dec) beat The Mote (107) by 188 runs

The Buccaneers arrived at Mote Park in Maidstone knowing they had to deliver a good performance to make up for the disappointments of previous years at this famous old ground and show the Kent club they intended to provide them with more than just batting practice.

As The Mote pitch is now usually slow, low and offering turn, very similar to sub-continental tracks in fact, skipper Kim Ross was delighted to be able to call upon 3 players who learnt their trade in India.

The Indians did not disappoint. Having been invited to bat first, the Buccs made a solid start with Jeremy Milne playing some delightful cuts and Sujay Chakravarti providing staunch support. Following a classic dialogue of “yes, no, yes, maybe, no” Milne was run out for 27 with Sujay caught behind for 18 shortly afterwards.

Freddie Greenish showed his intent early on with some impressive driving down the ground before being bowled for 40. Subir Chakravarti joined Ghatak and they quickly showed that their experience of Indian pitches would prove helpful in Maidstone. Ghatak, in particular, illustrated the importance of waiting for the ball to come on to the bat and showed how to be “wristy” on slow pitches.

This pair lifted the score to 228 before Ghatak departed trying to up the tempo for a well-played 69. Ross and Subir took on the spinners and added some quick runs before
the Buccs captain was caught and bowled for 37. Ludo Milne and Subir continued the attack until the declaration at a handsome 295-5, Subir finishing unbeaten on 61.

Richard Manyon and Paul Hobson opened the Buccs bowling impressively with Hobo taking a wicket in his first over after tweaking an arm muscle and completing the over with leg spin. The jury is still out as whether this was a tactical ploy or a genuine injury as Hobo proceeded to bowl another 10 overs of medium pace showing no sign of injury and picking up a total of 4 wickets.

Spinners Milne and Greenish also took a wicket apiece as Milne bowled 5 successive maidens. Manyon returned to the attack and got a memorable scalp with a jaffa which pitched middle and hit off before young Milne wrapped up the Mote innings.

The whole team made valuable contributions to one of the Buccaneers’ biggest victories over the renowned Kent club with Ludo Milne keeping very tidily and promising a bright future with bat and gloves.

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Handbags fail to stop Buccs victory at Lindfield

Posted on August 5, 2013

Lindfield vs Buccaneers 28th July 2013 – 40 over game

With the skipper fielding his preferred make-up of “age before beauty” – added to this year by the “properly injured” – Buccaneers arrived mostly on time for this annual showdown with some of the best young Sussex has to offer.

Oppo skipper Matt won the toss and elected to bat on a track which had clearly seen plenty of the previous night’s rain. Wyartt immediately bamboozled the well-drilled and helmeted Lindfield openers by kicking off both ends with the gentle turn (and laser-guided accuracy) of Brandes and Leefe. After the initial shock wore off, both openers moved into their twenties (which they will not do in age terms for a good three years) with some ease until Brandes employed keeper Chakravarti to have Lawrence caught behind.

Sensing a collapse, the skipper unleashed Woolfries up the hill who struck with his first ball, Ragnauth showing admirable falling-and-catching skills at first slip. This tempted Wyartt to have a trundle down the hill and, with the enormous pace this generated, he soon accounted for Lawson and O’Brien – with shades of the Betchworth Red Lion sticky wicket in evidence.

Scoring slowed, helped by uncharacteristically diligent fielding as led by the mightily enthusiastic Mike Best, and the Buccs remained miserly. As the inevitable charge came, Wyartt turned to Leefe who responded magnificently with a tight spell and two great caught and bowleds. Meanwhile John Bryant tied down the other end with almost imperceptible variations of pace.

Lindfield, at one point heading for a total over 200, returned to the hutch (and an extremely fine tea!) 165 for 7 wickets.

Stringer and Sujay Chakravati had the privilege of opening and faced two Sussex junior bowlers. James seemed the more awestruck as Sujay set about displaying his swashbuckling approach to one-day opening, quickly reaching 25 before holing out to young Wilkes. Stringer, supported by Best, found his own form and used the pace of the bowling well to guide, tickle and drive his way onto the scorebook. As Best fell, Subir Chakravati joined the fray and enjoyed similarly trouble-free batting as Stringer reached a hard fought 50, to the growing chagrin of the “rather vocal” opposition skipper.

At the halfway stage, Buccs were nailing the run rate, Stringer and Subir pulling back any maidens with powerful hitting and running. Subir departed, the only timbers of the day, and Ragnauth defied medical wisdom by stepping out to the middle. A display of controlled aggression followed which was the last straw for the brittle nerves of the opposition skipper – failing to match Mel’s wit and repartee in the square – and a brief spot of handbags ensued, soon quashed and play continued. Buccs appeared to be Saga-cruising to a win but a flurry of last minute wickets thanks to the tall arm of O Morgan brought in D Close in a rare cameo, making a nerve-steadying 11 leaving Rhino and Woolfries to bring the Buccs home with an over to spare.

Innings of Lindfield
G Lawrence Ct Suj Chak (wk) b Brandes 26
J Newcombe Ct Ragnauth b Woolfries 27
P Barron Run Out (Wyartt / Leefe) 55
V Lawson Ct Best b Wyartt 9
J O’Brien Ct Brandes b Wyartt 3
M O’Brien Ct & Bld Leefe 12
J Wilkes Ct & Bld Leefe 15
J Morgan Not Out 11
D Morgan Not Out 1
10 and 11 DNB

Brandes 7-1-23-1
Leefe 11-1-44-2
Woolfries 9-0-35-1
Wyartt 5-1-18-2
Bryant 8-0-42-0

Innings of Buccaneers
J Stringer Ct x bld Barron 53
Sujay Chakravarti Ct x bld Wilkes 25
M Best Ct x bld Lawson 8
Subir Chakrakvarti bld J Morgan 24
S Leefe Ct x bld O Morgan 4
M Ragnauth Ct x bld O Morgan 21
D Close Ct xbld O Morgan 11
S Brandes Not Out 6
S Woolfries Not Out 0
A Wyartt DNB
J Bryant DNB

D Morgan 4-0-23-0
O Morgan 12-4-29-3
J Wilkes 4-1-16-1
V Lawson 6-0-22-1
J Spence 2-0-15-0
J O’Brien 4-0-17-0
P Barron 2-0-14-1
J Morgan Figures missed from other page of scorebook

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Lovestruck Harcourt misses OD loss

Posted on August 5, 2013

A rather chaotic squad was announced (for the first time in 2 seasons) to play Oxford Downs. The usually reliable James Harcourt was absent, after he informed the captain that he was going on a ‘date’ instead.

A huge effort from the Rydon and Robertson clan ensured we had a competitive X1 to take on OD. After losing the toss the young Buccs were invited to bowl first. The City boys did not disappoint, with Rydon and Noble bowling a very testing opening spell restricting Oxford to very limited scoring chances, usually behind square. This was followed by Wigley and Alexander Rydon who continued to turn the screw, Wigley’s 7 overs going for 15 runs and Noble’s 12 overs going for 24. Robertson Hamish and young Sam Collins also bowled very well, with Sam (guesting from Downs) removing the Sunday skipper. The never say die attitude of the Buccs had a knock on effect of meaning the home side batted on; perhaps a little too long, for 201 for 8 off 55 overs.

A confident reply looked like we would knock off the runs. Two new Buccs in Wigley and Luxford taking us to 45 before tea without trouble. The introduction of the slow bowlers on the warn pitch was a key intervention: Watts and Collins, in particular, slowed us. A loss of 4 quick wickets turned the game on its head. Will Noble and Alexander Rydon then counter-attacked, with Alex particularly fluent with 32 and Noble 42 in taking us towards 150. Sadly it was not to be, once both perished – Noble throwing away his wicket while in pole position. The innings ended at 161 all out.

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Dropped catches sink Buccs in Framlingham thriller

Posted on July 10, 2013

Gentlemen of Suffolk 273-9 beat Buccaneers 272-9 dec by one wicket

Old adversaries Mark Nicholls of The Gentlemen of Suffolk and Simon Woolfries both knew the shape of the match when Mark, on winning the toss, bravely chose to field in perfect batting conditions at Framlingham College last Sunday.

The opening overs were somewhat bizarre with Harry Franks sending down a volley of wides from one end while Roger Luxmore-Styles purveyed very slow, but accurate, left-armers from the other.

David Bugge settled in to make the most of his opportunity after a long journey but two early LBW decisions reduced the Buccs to 49-2. LBWs were to be a feature of the day with four in each innings. Sujay Chakravarti strode in at No4 and struck the ball impressively before failing to pick a googly from Alex Carlisle during a lengthy spell of testing leg spin. With Sujay departing for 40, the Buccs lunched at 135-3.

With Bugge sailing serenely on into the afternoon against a toiling Stephen Willis and more spin from Carlisle and Luxmore-Styles, the timing of the declaration loomed as a pivotal point in the match. Although Bugge finally fell for a fine 105, No8 Andy Morgan kept the score moving with an enterprising 43. Woolfries finally called a halt after 66 overs at 3.50pm on 272-9 which, he calculated, gave the Gents a target of about 6 runs an over for around 45 overs.

Richard Elston and Nick Hasler opened up with some tidy seamers but Taylor and Carr were in no great difficuly on this pitch until Carr was LBW to Elston. Hasler. unfortunately, pulled a muscle so Bugge, despite his long innings in the heat,
took over and delivered 9 accurate overs.

Harry Franks came in at No3 and the Buccs knew what to expect from the tall right-hander who had taken two rapid hundreds of them in previous encounters. Franks was soon unleashing drives of great power although most of them were
in the air so the introduction of John Bryant’s flighted off-spin
was likely to be a significant moment. So it proved, as Franks
hit his 2nd ball straight to a carefully-positioned long off who promptly dropped it.

Woolfries brought himself on just before the start of the last 20 overs and quickly had Taylor well caught by Hasler for 54.
At this stage the Gents had 8 wickets in hand and were well up with the required run rate but their attacking approach was producing regular chances, particularly of the patient Bryant.

Although Sujay Chakravarti held two well-judged catches at long on five others went down of Bryant. He was finally rewarded with the vital wicket of Franks who was stumped for a thunderous 107 at which stage any result seemed possible.

Tim Sheldon and Will Nicholls contributed twenties but Woolfries and Bryant worked their way through the Gents batting to set up a tense finish. Ian Collett finally saw his side home in the penultimate over in company with with the exhausted No11, Stephen Willis.

Such a close ending had seemed extremely unlikely an hour earlier when Franks was going strong. It was a great day in the sun and a triumph for declaration cricket!

    Buccaneers innings:
    D Bugge 105
    J Levick 0
    P Boughton 8
    S Chakravarti 40
    N Hasler 13
    A Elston 2
    R Elston 11
    A Morgan 43
    J P Levick 1
    S Woolfries 11 not out
    J Bryant 10 not out
    extras 28
    TOTAL 272-9 (declared – 66 overs)

    Gents of Suffolk bowling:
    H Franks 4-0-23-0
    R Luxmore-Styles 16-4-67-2
    I Collett 6-0-16-1
    S Willis 17-2-65-2
    A Carlisle 17-5-69-2
    W Nicholls 6-0-28-2

    Gentlemen of Suffolk innings:
    P Taylor 54
    O Carr 24
    H Franks 107
    T Sheldon 22
    F Law 5
    W Nicholls 28
    A Carlisle 5
    R Luxmore-Styles 2
    M Nicholls 2
    I Collett 10 not out
    S Willis 0 not out
    extras 9
    TOTAL 273-9 (43.1 overs)

    Buccaneers bowling:
    R Elston 10-1-47-1
    N Hasler 3-0-21-0
    D Bugge 9-1-48-0
    J Bryant 10-0-63-4
    S Woolfries 10.1-0-60-4
    J P Levick 1-0-10-0

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JB keeps Pilgrims at bay on gardening leave

Posted on July 2, 2013

Reigate Pilgrims 206-8 dec drew with Buccaneers 155-9

John Bryant was the Buccaneers hero as the shadows reached across the pitch behind The Red Lion on Sunday evening . Having nobly opted to forego the prospect of a Sunday’s gardening to complete the Buccs XI only 24 hours earlier, the distinguished barrister joined the Hack in the middle when the 9th wicket fell with an improbable 57 needed from the last 7 overs.

JB was rock solid against 3 overs of thunderbolts from
Pilgrims skipper Guy Mitchell even nonchalantly driving him twice through extra cover while the Buccs captain blocked the off-spin of Sakia. The veteran Arnold was brought on for the last over but the lawyer negotiated this with ease to put the final seal on what seemed a triumphant draw.

This was probably a fair result after the Pilgrims had won an enviable toss on a sunny day, a decent pitch and a smooth verdant outfield.

Paul Hobson kept the Pilgrims openers guessing with clever variations of pace and swing while Will Goulstone gave a passable impersonation of Mitch Johnson and took the first wicket thanks to sharp gully catch by 14 year-old Charlie Leefe.

Charlie’s father Simon earned the next two wickets with his deceptive flight while Richard Gwynn maintained the stranglehold with his dobbers as Pilgrims rather limped to an early lunch at 59-3 off 22 overs.

Burnside and Jordan eventually upped the tempo after lunch before two more Simons, Woolfries and Varney, induced a middle order collapse. “Reg”, a Teddington Town and Buccaneers legend known as the “white Sobers” in his pomp, celebrated his break from running the ICC in Dubai, with a nice return catch before the President suddenly took 3 wickets with straight balls.

With Pilgrims wobbling at 126-6, the Buccaneers felt they had a chance of facing a modest target. However,
skipper Mitchell dashed such hopes by launching several soaring sixes into the neighbouring fields. Subir Chakravarti threw down the stumps for a spectacular run out but Mitchell drove on until setting a tough but fair target.

After a wretched start as both former Teddington Town openers departed tamely, Sujay Chakravarti launched the Buccaneers chase with some forthright driving in company with the watertight Hobson. Having been adjudged lbw to the Ajmal-like offspin of Sakia, Sujay was replaced by his brother Subir who repaired the early damage with a promising 4th wicket stand of 40.

But Subir and Charlie Leefe both fell to Sakia at 96 to plunge the Buccs into serious trouble. Simon Leefe briefly raised hopes again with a sprightly 20 but Mitchell then brought himself on to take the decisive wickets of Leefe and the adhesive Hobson to a diving slip catch by Burgess.

Will Goulstone showed glimpses of his class before becoming Safia’s 5th wicket and setting the scene for
John Bryant’s heroic last stand.

Reigate Pilgrims innings

Burgess c C Leefe b Goulstone 16
Janardanan c & b S Leefe 22
Peddenini c Goulstone b S Leefe 5
Burnside lbw b Woolfries 58
Jordan lbw b Woolfries 17
Sakia c & b Varney 4
Kanagarajah b Woolfries 0
Mitchell not out 56
Wood run out 0
Arnold not out 8
extras 18
TOTAL (8wts -dec) 206
Fall of wkts:
1-33; 2-54; 3-59; 4-108; 5-125; 126-6; 159-7; 176-8.

Buccaneers bowling:
Hobson 10-2-22-0
Goulstone 9-2-22-1
Gwynn 8-2-10-0
S Leefe 8-1-41-2
Woolfries 7-0-37-3
Varney 6-0-46-1
Bryant 1-0-10-0
C Leefe 1-0-10-0

Buccaneers innings

James Stringer c Mitchell b Wood 0
Simon Varney c Mitchell b Arnold 3
Sujay Chakravarti lbw b Sakia 34
Paul Hobson c Burgess b Mitchell 44
Subir Chakravarti c Wood b Sakia 17
Charlie Leefe c Jordan b Sakia 0
Simon Leefe c Janardana b Mitchell 20
Will Goulstone c Burnside b Sakia 13
Simon Woolfries st Jordan b Sakia 5
Richard Gwynn not out 0
John Bryant not out 4
extras 15
TOTAL (9 wkts) 155
Fall of wkts:
1-0; 2-10; 3-56; 4-96; 5-96; 6-127; 7-136; 8-141; 9-150.

Reigate Pilgrims bowling:
Wood 7-1-15-1
Arnold 7-1-16-1
Sakia 15-1-44-5
Janardanan 4-0-25-0
Burgess 4-0-16-0
Kanagarajah 1-0-10-0
Mitchell 6-0-21-2

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Knockers let off the hook

Posted on June 25, 2013

Knockers 181 beat Buccaneers 102 by 79 runs

The Buccs succumbed limply in their 2nd fixture at picturesque Bitchet Green having let The Knockers off the gigantic hook of 100-9.

With a blend of youth from Tonbridge School and experience from St Lawrence CC, Knockers skipper Stuart Seldon opted to bat on a decent-looking track.

However, the Buccs hit the ground running through incisive swing and seam bowling from captain Bob Palmer (3-27), Johnno Gordon (1-9), Choudhury (1-38) and Rege (2-42) as the Kent side slid to 60-6.

Amid a mild panic, the hosts requested a delay to give their Nos 10 & 11 time to arrive from a family barbeque.Good control from Simon Woolfries (2-26) and Richard Gwynn (1-23) kept Knockers on the rack as wickets continued to fall.

The Buccs felt pretty pleased with themselves when they thought they had taken the 10th wicket at 100 only for the umpire to call a no-ball for a full toss over
waist high.The youthful last pair proceeded to take full advantage of some loose bowling and the Buccs misplaced, if understandable, sense of complacency to turn the game on its head with an increasingly assured stand of 81.The Knockers had been let off the hook and were allowed to set a challenging, but scarcely impossible,target of 182 at 4.5 runs an over.

Apart from Paul Hobson’s typically upbeat and positive knock of 35, the Buccs batting never really got out of first gear after a judicious opening exploration by James Stringer (18) and Gordon (14).

Against testing seam and spin bowling supported by impressive fielding, the Buccs batsmen were unable to score with the fluency and urgency required to keep up with the required scoring rate.

Hobbo’s breezy innings aside, the batting was lackadaisical and fizzled out for a sickly 102. It was a disappointing performance and a salutary lesson to captains not to take the pressure off a batting side in trouble. However, a good turn-out at the nearby Padwell Arms sent us home in a happier spirit.

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Pratik stars in vain versus impressive Nomads

Posted on June 17, 2013

Nomads 238-2 dec beat Buccaneers 100 by 138 runs

Simon Woolfries won the toss and invited the Nomads to make first use of an odd-looking track at St.Paul’s School, Barnes on Sunday. Discretion was certainly in the skipper’s mind as he found himself one man short and nervous of his side’s ability to defend a total.

The first problem was soon solved, however, by a hasty call to a slumbering Andy Close who, magnificently, took the field 45 minutes later.

A small piece of Buccs social history was made as ‘father-in-law’ Richard Gwynn shared the new ball with ‘son-in-law’ Will Metcalfe and a decent job they made of it with Will picking up an early wicket.

The track was playing fine but the outfield wasn’t and value for ground strokes was hard to come by. Pratik Patel and Steve Brandes took up the attack after a dozen overs and the cricket was tight and hard-fought all the way to lunch. The two off spinners bowled very few loose balls and opener Sachin Puri,joined by skipper Brockton at 50-2, played with due caution. Lunch was taken at 108-2 after 37 overs.

Puri and Brockton continued in similar vein long into the afternoon and couldn’t be parted by any Buccs combinations which, admittedly, comprised largely successively older purveyors of off spin.

Patel completed a marathon spell of 19 impressive overs while ‘Rhino’ Brandes returned to deliver no fewer than of 17.3 accurate overs. The two Nomads both completed their tons during an epic stand of 188 before the declaration at 3.40pm after 60.3 overs to post a
daunting total on such a long, slow, outfield.

Right from the start of their reply, it was clear the Buccs were going to struggle to cope with the impressive new ball pairing of Jared Schmidt and Sajjad Shawl, who took two early wickets for very few before tea.

After the interval the situation deteriorated alarmingly as numbers 3,4 and 5 were all bowled while barely bothering the scorer. At 31-5 the skipper joined Pratik Patel and, with the opening bowlers out of the attack,
mounted a fightback. While your correspondent dug in Patel struck the ball cleanly until holing out for a well-made 32 just before the start of the last 20 overs.

Rhino settled in with his captain and it looked as if the match could yet be saved. However, this notion was snuffed out by an unfortunate run out featuring a determined ‘charge’ for which his species is feared and which took the skipper by complete surprise.

The excellent Shawl was soon brought back to administer the coup de grace and bowl the Buccs out for exactly 100 with 6 overs left. It could have been worse!

Nomads innings

M Plant lbw b Metcalfe 5
S Puri not out 100
M Budgen lbw b Brandes 23
S Brockton not out 100
extras 10
TOTAL (2 wkts – dec) 238

Buccs bowling:

Metcalfe 9-0-43-1
Gwynn 6-2-17-0
Patel 19-3-63-0
Brandes 17.3-0-62-1
Bryant 6-0-16-0
Woolfries 2-0-16-0

Buccaneers innings

B Cullen b Steele 10
Subir Chakravarti b Shawl 1
Metcalfe b Schmidt 7
Sujay Chakravarti b Schmidt 0
P Battley b Shawl 0
P Patel c Puri b Smith 32
S Woolfries run out 22
S Brandes lbw b Plant 10
R Gwynn not out 1
A Close b Shawl 0
J Bryant c Smith b Shawl 0
extras 17
TOTAL 100

Nomads bowling:

Schmidt 10-2-17-2
Shawl 10-3-14-4
Steele 11-3-20-1
Smith 7-0-34-1
Budgen 5-1-8-0
Plant 2-1-2-1

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Gayle-force Robbery nearly nicks it

Posted on June 6, 2013

Armadillos (187) beat Buccaneers (176) by 11 runs

The Buccaneers’ first-ever fixture against the Armadillos fully fulfilled expectations on Sunday amid the Elysian splendour of historic Sheffield Park against a dazzling backdrop of frothing azaleas, soaring firs and the lordly stately home.

The Buccs lost the toss and were sentenced to sweat it out under a welcome but pitiless sun. A low, slow track and a tight line and length from Rob Rydon and Paul Hobson made scoring difficult and the Armadillos struggled to 8 for 1 off the first 10 overs, Sujay Chakravarti snatching a hard low catch at square leg.

Cunningly taking the pace off the ball to ironic cries of “great hang time, Hobbo,” from Mel Ragnauth, Hobson took three more wickets including a sharp slip catch from Richard ‘the Hack’ Gwynn to finish with impressive figures of 4 for 33.

Hack then bowled a very tight spell with movement and guile to record the scarely credible analysis of 3 for 8 in 10 overs to keep the home side on the rack before and after a sumptuous lunch.

But after losing their 6th wicket soon after lunch while still short of 100, the home side dug in and then accelerated during a torpid afternoon against the father and son spin combination of Simon and Charlie Leefe to establish a defendable total. But good fielding, including another fine catch, this time by Sujay’s brother Subhir, and accurate bowling eventually wrapped up the Armadillos innings for 187 in 55 overs.

With batting strength in depth, at least on paper, the Buccs were quietly confident of reaching their target.
However, early wickets fell regularly, including the prized scalp of galactico Ragnauth who was caught and bowled pushing early at a ball that stuck in the sluggish surface.

Sujay Chakravarti provided the only early resistance stroking several fine shots including a silky on drive before being caught trying to up the tempo for an elegant 59. But having slumped to 107 for 7 with 81 required off 12 overs, the Buccs looked done and dusted until Rydon entered the arena brandishing his cracked Salix blade.

Reprising a creditable impression of Chris Gayle, Rob simply smashed the ball to all parts of the picturesque field in a quick-fire 57 ably assisted by 13 year-old Charlie Leefe who cleverely nudged singles into the gaps to get Rob back on strike.

Alas, Rob fell with 16 still required which proved too stiff a target for the lower order against the clock and an accurate attack and the Buccs went down nobly guns blazing just 12 runs short, having received 12 fewer overs than their hosts.

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Staggering ton from Kimbo

Posted on May 30, 2013

Buccaneeers 260-9 dec drew with Hurlingham 182-8

The Buccaneers welcomed several new recruits and the reappearance of the legendary Paul Hobson, Mark Gibbons and the long lost sun at Hurlingham on Sunday.

After lengthy deliberation, the home captain decided to bowl first to the barely concealed joy of the Buccaneers stand-in skipper Will Noble, who then suspected that his side might be facing some real quicks.

As befits a true gentlemen’s XI, the Buccs had assembled a side of 11 solid batters and a rather gentle bowling attack.Opening with Johnno Gordon, Kim Ross was a man with the mission of making up for previous disappointments and misfortunes on this beautifully-manicured ground in his last knock before his wedding in St. Andrews.

Like all the best English South African batsmen in this country, Kim combined dogged defence with attacking flair against a strong attack during a one-man stag party. Kim completed his bachelor career with a stylish 102 from 143 balls before being 6th man out on 195.

Noble (36), Hobson (28) and 32 extras also made valuable contributions before the declaration at 260-9 after 56 overs. The other noteworthy innings was played by James Harcourt, who faced one ball before lunch and one ball after lunch which spanned 68 minutes and contained one disappointing child’s portion of pasta with mascapone sauce and one ginger beer.

The Hurlingham Club’s reply was also disappointing due to a combination of good bowling and a reluctance to chase a far from formidable target in 47 overs. Debutant Pratik Patel bowled a fine spell of off spin (12-3-24-2)
containing several doosras which were edged through the slips.

Despite Noble attacking field settings, including leg slips, short legs and upto 5 slips, the scoring rate never exceeded 4 runs and over. Only John Atkinson, who’d taken 4-47 with his off spin, kept the scoreboard up to speed until he was caught at long off by Noble off Hobson for 53.

Despite disciplined bowling from 8 different players, the Buccaneers were unable to take the last two wickets
being thwarted by the determined defence of 13 year old wicketkeeper Martyn Hemphill who looked a real find for Radley in surviving 23 deliveries including a surprise bouncer from Noble.

12 May: BUCCANEERS v RIPLEY rained off at tea

On a drizzly afternoon the Buccs arrived with only a magnificent seven (an administrative cock-up depriving them of an 8th gun). Undaunted, the Buccaneers skipper was confident he had sufficient talent on display – and displayed it was after the captains had opted for a 40-over contest with Ripley kindly topping up the somewhat, er, skeletal Buccs outfit.

With echoes of Agincourt….outnumbered though they were, Rob Rydon led the attack and devastated the opposition with three quick wickets. Indeed, it was Crispin’s day as Mr Vollers of that ilk took a spectacular catch in the covers while Paul McCann bowled tidily in support as Ripley limped to 23-3.

As Ripley threatened a recovery, John Bryant was brought on to bowl. His plan of lulling the batsmen into a false sense of security almost came off; the sense of security was achieved but, alas, it wasn’t false.

A partnership developed with both batsmen making over 70. Simon Woolfries nobly tried to stem the breakout and picked up a wicket or two as a just reward,

McCann was brought back to replace Bryant and bowled a second spell of beautiful swing. He and the returning Rydon took more wickets in the drizzle before Ripley finished their 40 overs with a decent total of 208.
(At least that was what the scoreboard showed while a comparison of the batting and bowling entries in the Ripley scorebook would have baffled even the boffins of Bletchley Park.)

However, the Buccs were confident that with batsmen of the calibre of Mel Ragnauth and Sujay Chakravarti, who had kept wicket superbly, they would reach their target.

While a splendid tea was taken the clouds assembled and the rain became more persistent. More tea was taken. The covers went on. The groundsman threatened to cut off the digits of anyone who suggested the pitch was fit for play. More tea was taken. Eventually, the captains agreed to abandon the field thus depriving what the Buccs felt would have been a certain victory.

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