Buccaneers Cricket Club

Buccaneers beat Hoddesdon by 7 wickets

Kim Ross  battled through the perils of the North Circular and last ditch cry-offs to lead the Buccaneers to their most satisfying victory for many a moon on Sunday with the most impressive match-winning century by a debutant match manager within living memory. 

Reinforcing the old adage that the Buccaneers are strong when South Africa are strong, this thrilling run chase was signed, sealed and delivered entirely by men from the land that gave us Trott, Pietersen, Prior & Strauss.  

After Warwick Okines’ new career as an opening bat was rudely interrupted by a jaffer from Davis, Scott Power lived up to his Hollywood heritage with a muscular display of quality strokeplay in an exciting  stand of 144 with his skipper. There seemed no reason why this pair shouldn’t win the game on their own on a decent pitch and a parched, bumpy outfield. But Power unaccountably missed an arm-ball from Curtis to be bowled for a fine 80.  Paul Larkin helped add another 20 before being adjudged lbw.

Ross Smyth then kept Ross company in an increasingly urgent partnership. As the overs ticked by, the running became more frantic, the fielding more desperate and Ross more inventive with his trademark range of cuts. With the target just a boundary away and the great left-hander on 99, Smyth almost spoiled the party with clog to leg. Happily square leg grabbed it and gave Ross the chance to seal his 2nd century of the weekend and a great win with 9 balls to spare.

However, this victory had been set up by the bowling of in-form off-breaker Simon Woolfries (3-30) and high class left-arm spinner Power (2-46) who put a brake of Hoddesdon’s headlong charge and restricted the target to reachable proportions.

Hoddesdon’s openers had made a flying start on a hard pitch against two of their own youngsters who had been kindly lent to the Buccaneers. Having reached 61 in 10 overs, young Andrews was dazzlingly caught high in the gully by Woolfries off Maughan. Power then bowled the dangerous Purves at the same score.

But Curtis and Handy continued the onslaught until Larkin unexpectedly bowled Handy and had Walters caught off a high full toss first ball. Power then bowled Walters for a duck and the Buccaneers were back in business at 113-5.  But, accompanied by the disconcertingly confident young Fryers, Curtis cracked on and looked like setting a tall total until he was crucially deceived by Woolfries’ non-turner.  

This sparked another cluster of wickets, with the sturdy Fryers finally being caught and bowled for a valiant 16 by a Hack at least 50 years his senior and Davis being bowled by Woolfries for a duck. Sturdy strode in to provide a sting in the tail and set a target that didn’t prove quite testing enough.

Hoddesdon innings

B. Andrews   c Woolfries b Maughan  18

C. Purves                          b Power        41

J. Curtis                            b Woolfries   81

C. Handy                          b Larkin        29

R. Walters c Woolfries   b Larkin          0

H. Spicer                          b Power          0

T. Fryers               c and b Gwynn       16

S.Davis                             b Woolfries     0

G.Duke        c Smyth      b Woolfries     6

A. Sturdy    not out                               28

extras                                                       6

Total       (all out)                         223

Fall of wickets:  1-61, 2-61, 108-3, 108-4, 5-113, 6-185, 7-185, 8-189, 9-223

Pells             5 -0-32-0

Maughan      5-0-29-1

Power          10-2-46-2

Larkin           4-0-50-2

Woolfries   9.2-1-30-3   

Gwynn          4-0-22-1

Buccaneers innings

K. Ross             not out   104

W.Okines           b Davis    0

S. Power            b Curtis  80

P. Larkin  lbw   b Curtis  14

R. Smyth            not out  14 

extras                                14

Total   (3 wkts)         226

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-146, 3-166

Davis          8-0-44-1

Sturdy     10-0-52-0

Handy      10-1-45-0

Walters     3-0-34-0

Curtis     7.3-0-40-2

Buccaneers beat Reigate Pilgrims by 9 wickets 

The Buccaneers launched their season in style at Betchworth on Sunday thanks mainly to Adam Wyartt (4-33) and Simon Woolfries (4-38) who turned the game on its head as the grassy wet pitch dried in the sun and beeze after lunch. Having lost a valuable toss, Pilgrims had recovered impressively from losing their openers to demanding new ball bursts from Bob Palmer and Rob Rydon.

Mitchell (59) and Burnside (26) looked set to post a testing total but on 100-2 Burnside was discombobulated by Woolfries do-little armer to be dextrously caught by keeper Jim Harcourt. This breakthrough blew Pilgrims apart and they lost their last 8 wickets for 33 as Wyartt persuaded the middle order to poke early at balls suddenly sticking to the pitch and Woolfries cut off the tail with a clever mixture of deviation and straightness.

But with the pitch beginning to play tricks and boundaries hard to hit over a long, slow outfield 134 was a stiffer target than it looked.  However, the Buccaneers openers started brightly until The Very Reverend James Stringer paid a penance for a sinfully late night entertaining his Synod. Flashing at the lively Wise, the Archbishop was wickedly caught one-handed at slip by the diving Scotty Burgess.

The rest was plain-sailing though as Johnny ‘Boon-boy’ Steele (54 not out), fluent from the off,  made light of any gremlims left in the pitch in an increasingly authoritative match-winning stand of 114 with Kimbo Ross whose stylish unbeaten 67 showed why he’s far-famed as the Justin Langer of the Eastern Cape.  

 Ross, who had made 70 not out in both 2010’s victories at Betchworth and Charterhouse,  stroked the winning runs as the clock struck six to speed his side into the adjacent beer garden.   

Reigate Pilgrims innings

Burgess    c Harcourt  b Palmer 10

Baty                               b Rydon    7

Mitchell   c Stringer   b Wyartt   59

Burnside c Harcourt b Woolfries 26 

Saikia       c Rydon     b Wyartt     4

Peri           c Gwynn   b Wyartt     6

Bond         c Steele      b Wyartt    2

Wise         c Harcourt b Woolfries 12

Wood                           b Woolfries  0

Fairchild                     b Woolfries   1

Arnold                         not out          0

extras                                                9

Total                                           133    

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-38, 3-100, 4-111, 5-111, 6- 118, 7- 123, 8-130, 9-132

                 0    m    r     w

Rydon         9  3   23   1

Palmer      11  1   35   1

Wyartt      11  2  33   4

Woolfries 8.1  0  38  4      

Buccaneers innings

Stringer  c Burgess  b Wise   5

Ross                          not out 67

Steele                       not out 54

extras                                      8

Total               (1 wkt)   134

Fall of wicket: 1-20

             o  m  r  w

Wise     7  1 21  1

Rob Rydon holding the Geoffrey Moore Trophy

Rob Rydon proudly holding the Geoffrey Moore Trophy he received from former England leg spinner Ian Salisbury (left) at the Buccaneers 81st Annual Dinner held at the East India Club on Thursday 10 February.

Ian Salisbury, the former England leg spinner and currently Surrey’s 2nd team coach, revealed that he had been ‘volunteered’ to replace his boss Chris Adams as guest speaker for the Buccaneers Annual Dinner at the East India Club last Thursday. Having presented the Geoffrey Moore Trophy to Rob Rydon for his outstanding contribution to the club in 2010, Ian recalled fondly how his boyhood hero, one I.T. Botham, took him under his wing against Pakistan at Lord’s in June 1992 during his debut as the first England leg spinner for 21 years.

“Having survived the previous evening with Beefy, Ian was rewarded when the Great All Rounder caught Javed Miandad at slip from a jaffa of a leg break that grazed the glove of Pakistan’s star batsman. Ian also told of how he made up for the unusual mishap of hitting his own wicket against Mustaq Ahmed in the 1st innings with a plucky knock as nightwatchman before being trapped lbw by match-winner Wasim Akram in the 2nd innings. After Pakistan had snatched a tense 2-wicket victory, Ian was deputed to drive the injured Botham down to Horsham and, as it happened, away from Test cricket for the last time.”

The Hurlingham scoreboard recording the club’s record stand of 300 between Jim Harcourt (left) and Mel Ragnauth in our famous 8 wicket victory in 2006.