Buccaneers Cricket Club

The Buccaneers’ 2012 campaign began on Sunday with an emphatic 136 run win over Ripley CC. Two unfamiliar sights would have greeted the casual observer as they took their Sunday constitutional on historic Ripley Green – the sun was shining and the Buccaneers were netting more furiously than England under Graham Gooch.

On winning the toss, and wearing black armbands in memory of Ed How, Ross and Stringer opened up against the nine men of Ripley. Despite the tight bowling of Cliff, the openers moved calmly to 95, before the first wicket fell – Stringer edging to Rawding for 33. With Ross’s perception evident that the tail began with Steele at three, he changed gear, accumulating 30 runs in eight scoring shots. Steele (13) and Chakravarti (7) lent support to Ross as his three figures beckoned, before the promising partnership of the two R’s – Ross and Reid ended with Ross being run out for 98. Leefe, McCann and Woolfries continued to score quickly as the Buccs finished their 35 overs with 220 for the loss of six wickets.

A special mention must be made of the excellent tea and the cosy pavilion (with many original features, as an Estate Agent would say). Worth a journey according to Michelin.

Ripley’s innings began with a minute silence for Ed How, observed by both teams with the club flag fluttering at half mast. The Ripley innings could not have begun more positively for the Buccs, with Sheikh and O’Brian repeating the running fiasco seen earlier by Ross and Reid. Miller and McCann proved a useful opening combination – Miller hitting the deck hard with his muscular action (more Freddie than Funky), and McCann’s easy style and height leading to more than one chant of “Ooh Ah, Glenn McCann” from the slips.

Wickets continued to fall, with Ripley at one stage being 17 for 4. G Christiansen and M Cliff then decided that attack was the best form of defence, and for a while they attempted to hit Ripley back into the game. With Hack claiming Christiansen and Miller castling Cliff, the game was nearly up. With the über-experienced combination of Woolfries and Gwynn wheeling away, the Ripley tail quickly subsided. Ripley finished at 84 all out.

The only blemish on a perfect day was the Buccs catching which was even worse than usual. The bowlers soon realised this and resorted to the alternative methods of dismissal – bowled, leg before and run out. It seemed the safest option, particularly with a helpful umpire.

With the game over, the chat in the bar turned to the weekend’s other great victories – Manchester City clinching the league, a Columbian getaway driver finally getting the credit he deserved and Pudsey the dog’s form-busting dancing on Britain’s Got Talent. The action now moves on to Midhust where under a new match manager a victory is long overdue. A reminder that Ed How’s Memorial Service is at 11.00am at Charterhouse on Sunday 20th, all welcome.

Innings of Buccaneers

K Ross run out 98

J Stringer ct Rawding bowled Giles 33

J Steele ct G Christiansen bowled Gibbons 13

S Chakravarti bowled O’Brien 7

R Reid ct A Sheikh bowled O’Brien 7

S Leefe not out 10

P McCann bowled G Christiansen 7

S Woolfries not out 8

Extras 37

Total 220 – 6 (35 overs)

FOW 95 (2), 152 (3), 166 (4), 197 (1), 208 (5), 212 (7)

Bowling

M Cliff 7-1-15-0

A O’Brien 7-0-44-1

J Giles 7-0-45-1

C McWilliams 4-0-18-0

C Gibbons 2-0-33-1

G Christiansen 5-0-24-2

T Rawding 3-0-15-1

Innings of Ripley

A Sheikh run out 0

A O’Brien LBW Miller 0

G Christianson LBW Gwynn 38

T Christiansen LBW McCann 0

T Rawding bowled McCann 0

M Cliff bowled Miller 22

R Baddock LBW Woolfries 2

C McWilliams bowled Gwynn 2

J Giles bowled Woolfries 1

C Gibbons not out 0

 Extras 19

Total 84 (19.1 overs)

FOW 1(1), 6 (3), 6 (2), 17 (5), 66 (6), 81 (7), 81 (4), 84 (8), 84 (9)

Bowling

A Miller 6-0-48-2

P McCann 5-1-15-2

S Woolfries 4.1-1-10-2

R Gwynn 4-2-7-2

Attached are details of umpire contacts for the season. These details will also be sent to match managers and can also be found in the Fixtures details for each match.

Click here for the PDF.

Many Buccaneers will already know the shocking and very sad news of the death of Buccaneer Ed How last week. Ed was a Chemistry master at Charterhouse School and had played many times for the club over the past 15 years.

The Committee will pass on details of the funeral arrangements once they are known.

Kim Ross was named the winner of the Geoffrey Moore award for 2011 for his superb batting performances during the season at the Buccaneers’ Annual Dinner on 23 February 2012 in London.

Kim averaged over 150 with the bat and pipped others including Simon Woolfries who took 20 wickets at 11 and Bob Palmer’s match-winning 6 for 28 against Brook. Kim received his prize from former New Zealand Test captain Jeremy Coney.

Forty Buccaneers past and present as well as their guests enjoyed a traditional dinner at the East India Club in St James’s.

Afterwards they heard a review of the season by the President Simon Woolfries as well as entertaining reminiscences on his tours with his country to Pakistan by Jeremy Coney.

The Buccaneers’ averages for 2011 have now been published and a can be accessed through the link to the attached PDF (click here). 2011 was a successful season for Kim Ross, Bob Palmer and Simon Woolfries in particular as the Buccs had mixed results – winning four and losing four games.

Simon Woolfries will give his review of the season at the Annual Dinner on 23rd February.

This year’s Annual Dinner is to be held on 23rd February at 18.30 at the East India Club, Pall Mall.

This year’s speaker is the former New Zealand Test captain and TV pundit Jeremy Coney. For tickets please download this order form (click here).

With the prospect of a warm sunny day and 12 men arriving at Brook, Simon Woolfries won the toss and chose to bat. Openers Simon White and Paul Bradford raced to a commanding position during the first hour of play, dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground with some aggressive shots.

Bradford reached his fifty in some style, before the introduction of Nethula’s wily spin had him caught by Davenport and the Buccs were 110 for 1.  An impressive start!

Nethula, Brook’s overseas player and New Zealand A “ tweaker”, started to turn the screw at his end,  putting White under pressure with an array of googlies and quicker balls before finally dismissing him for a well fought 46.

Metcalfe and Harcourt managed to  steady the ship and we were 124 for 2 at lunch.

After a lunch which consisted of no butter or cheese products, a  disheartened  Harcourt and Metcalfe exacted their revenge, and launched a brutal assault on the Brook bowling attack before Metcalfe was stumped off the spinner, Nethula.

Supported by some attractive and imaginative ground strokes from Leefe (20) and Bob “I’m at the wrong Brook” Palmer (23 no),  Jim Harcourt managed to scramble to 101 not out, with some belligerent hitting including two sixes into the herb garden  off the bowling of Nethula.

The Buccs declared on towering  291 for 6 with Nethula scooping 3 wickets for 66 from his 14 overs.

Nethula and Straker opened for Brook and raced to 22 from the first 2 overs,  however the nagging line and length of Bob Palmer started to pressurize Nethula (16) and he gave his wicket away cheaply after being brilliantly caught by Simon Leefe at mid-off.

The wickets came thick and fast as Palmer ripped through Brook’s batting line-up supported by the sharp bowling of Rydon.

Three of Brook’s wickets fell in quick succession, before Archie Marsh was introduced into the attack  with some excellent flight and guile.  The 13 year old spinner  managed to bag two wickets with impressive figures of 3 overs, 1 maiden, 2 for 5! It was left to Hack to clean up the tail end with a wicket maiden in his first over, Wallis being fabulously caught by son-in-law Will Metcalfe,  and Brook were all out  for 76 runs!

Bob Palmer truly was the man of the match for his devastating bowling spell finishing with figures of 6 for 28 off  9 overs and ensuring we were in the Dog and Pheasant for 6 o’clock!

Old Hurstjohnians 262-3 dec, Buccaneers 228

Report by Rob Rydon

Cudda, Wudda, Shudda against the OHJs

The day dawned bright (not really but at least it wasn’t raining) and the skipper had 11 players so he was happy.

Won the toss and stuck’em in. Rydon R (mid 40s) down the hill on a pretty flat pitch (or perhaps he’s slowing down). Bugge D (late 40s) clutched one of the best slip catches in the last 30 years of Buccs cricket, swooping low to his left after the keeper had thrown him a dummy. Was this the start of a collapse? Not. Although Rydon A (14) also down the hill induced a tickle to Mann J (mid 40s) behind the stumps. After various assotments from Wyartt (40) and McIntosh (late 20s), a very tidy spell from Mann H (16) and a great spell from Graves B (14) with plenty of flight and occasional turn the OHJs lunched at 130-2. 

After lunch Graves B took a well-deserved wicket but Semence M chalked up yet another hundred against us and following a fair bit of leather chasing a generous declaration set us a target of 263 with plenty of time to reach it.

After Ohlson R (early 50s) had removed some of the shine from the new ball, AtwellB (mid 30s) smashed it around to take us to 90-1 at tea. Easy peasy from here the skipper thought. Sadly the egg sarnies and ginger cake proved our downfall as Atwell (after a stylish sixty) and Steele (for a flirty thirty) fell soon after tea.

No worries, though. Plenty of batting to come. Mann J played forcefully for his 60 but the midle order couldn’t keep him company. With 90 needed off the last 20 and only 5 wickets down we could have won it and we would have if Rydon R had not missed a straight one. After the youth policy and Wyartt had gone down fighting, the captain was left to rue – durin g his 5 hour drive to Cornwall – that we should have won it.