Buccaneers Cricket Club

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

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

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

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

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

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)

Hurlingham Club 120 all out (35 overs) lost to The Buccaneers 121-3 (26.1 overs) by 7 wickets

As ever, with Hurlingham comes gloriously sunshine. This year we were invited to play a timed game format, starting at 13.30 with 20 overs from 18.00. The Buccaneers lost the toss and were put into the field. After the liberal application of factor 50, the Buccs took to the field with Hamish Robertson and Ludo Milne opening up the attack with the new ball. Both bowled well but had little luck with catches not reaching or streaky edges through the slips. It was looking like it could be a long stint in the field until the first wicket fell in the 13 th from the first change Stephen E Moules. The middle stump cartwheeling towards Fletcher as Steve bowled the opening bat. A few overs later Moules struck again with an LBW and Simon Leefe added another through Tom Fletcher’s fast handed stumping. Moules continued his form with another bowled and a couple of catches behind reaching an excellent first five-for of his playing career! (7 overs, 5-30).

Chris Leech soon came to the fold with his tweakers mopping up the tail with a keen three wickets in 4.4 overs. This left Hurlingham all out for 120 in 35 overs.

We were all set to head back out to play following a 15 minute changeover, when we all heard the tea trollies clinking down the path. At which point, a tea comprising sandwiches cakes and refreshments was taken.

Berry and Kalidasan were tasked with opening up for the Buccs and, like Hurlingham, our opening pair got off to a solid start reaching 48 runs without loss before the first wicket fell in the 15th over. It was Berry walking back to the pavilion with an admirable 26 runs. Michael Harms (centurion in the most recent fixture between these two sides) came and went fairly quickly with one run from his five balls faced before blocking one with his pads in front of the sticks. Eswar remained the steady constant for the Buccaneers as Charlie Leefe stepped up to the crease dispatching his first ball for four through the covers.

As ever, Charlie continued to see ball, try to hit ball and a few more crushing fours came off until he missed a straight one and was bowled for 26 runs from his 21 balls faced. Ludo Milne came in to support Eswar to his wonderful 50 no out, sending the Buccaneers to a seven wicket victory. Further revelry and Pimm’s was enjoyed in the setting sun.

The full scorecard can be found below:

Steve Moules’ analysis can be found below:

Eswar’s batting stats can be found below:

Armadillos 181-9 (40 overs) beat Buccaneers 160 all out by 21 runs

A long wet spring meant the Sheffield Park outfield had only had its first cut a few days before the Buccs’ arrival. Nevertheless, despite the lush outfield the pitch itself played remarkably well with little variable bounce. A close fought 40 over game followed, which the Buccs narrowly lost by 21 runs.

The Armadillos were put into bat by the Buccs’ skipper Simon Leefe, to groans all round. However, a tight opening spell (Robertson 3-36, Rydon 1-14) soon had the Armadillos at 38 for 4 and struggling to score. The Dills’ skipper, Ant Pickering, held their innings together and was out to a good ball from Moules, clean bowled on the last ball before lunch. After lasagne and rosé, Miller and Davison started scoring freely and took their side to 140 for 5 before debutante Rhys Skinner bowled a very tidy spell of medium quickish to finish with 2 for 8. Berry joined the party with two quick wickets (2-35) and Jim Mann showed typical Buccs’ ruthlessness by catching out son Ollie at cover point. Plaudits should also go to Kalidasan who showed great athleticism and skill behind the stumps having been persuaded to don the gloves. A total of 181 for 9 off their 40 overs seemed eminently gettable.

Berry was the star of the Buccs’ innings. He kept the scoreboard going by leathering anything that was up to him, frequently taking the aerial route rather than trying to hack his way through the undergrowth. Unfortunately, partners came and went. Moules looked particularly dangerous and scored a useful 30 but was unlucky to be out to a pea roller. Rydon and Skinner also contributed, but once Berry had fallen for the day’s best of 67 there was a certain inevitability to the outcome. The Buccs got close but were finally undone by a direct hit from the boundary which did for a hurtling Close (are you sure?, Ed.), trying to get back for a second.

As always, a great fixture and for the first time in a while, actually played under a cloudless sky.

Armadillos innings

A Pickering bowled S Moules 46
S Maclay ct Kalidasan bowled H Robertson 3
J Bebb bowled R Rydon 3
H Park bowled H Robertson 3
D Myrtle ct Kalidasan bowled R Skinner 0
E Davison bowled H Robertson 31
C Miller ct J Mann bowled A Berry 47
O Mann ct J Mann bowled R Skinner 15
B Pickering ct and bowled A Berry 0
G Colville not out 8
J Colville not out 0

Total 181 for 9 off 40 overs

Bowling

H Robertson 10-1-36-3
R Rydon 6-0-14-1
S Moules 5-0-23-1
R Skinner 6-2-8-2
S Leefe 4-0-13-0
R Hobbs 5-0-37-0
A Berry 4-0-35-2

Buccaneers innings

A Berry bowled H Park 67
J Milne ct S Maclay  bowled J Bebb 1
E Kalidasan ct O Myrtle bowled O Mann 9
J Mann bowled C Miller 5
S Moules bowled E Davison 30
R Rydon ct ? bowled B Pickering 16
R Skinner bowled G Colville 14
R Hobbs bowled H Park 1
S Leefe not out 10
H Robertson bowled G Colville 0
D Close run out 2

Total 160 all out

Bowling

J Bebb 4-0-14-1
O Mann 8-0-25-1
C Miller 6-0-27-1
E Davison 4-0-23-1
B Pickering 8-0-42-1
H Park 6-0-30-2
G Colville 1-0-1-2

11 golfing Buccs enjoy rounds at Felixstowe Ferry and Woodbridge GCs

Founded by the late Reverend Frank Cocks and Howard Spencer, The Golfing Society returned to its spiritual home at the links of Felixstowe Ferry GC on Thursday 27th April. Two teams – The Bazballs and The Boycotts – battled it out in dry but windy conditions where experience (and age) triumphed over (relative) youth. It certainly wasn’t a day to ‘grip and rip’.

The Boycotts made up of Del Fulcher, Chunky Goulstone, Simon Woolfries, David Close, Chris Wykes and Mike Shilling beat the Bazballs of Doc Holliday, Johnny Philips, James Stringer, Phil Butler and Paul Thompson. Nearest the pin was Paul Thompson and longest drive was James Stringer.

After an overnight stay in historic Woodbridge and an interesting dinner, day two was played at Woodbridge GC’s Heath course. In warm but changeable conditions where nightingales on the course were the most numerous of birdies, an individual stableford competition was won by Jonny P who also won the nearest the pin. James S won longest drive again.

The Golfing Society will be meeting for a round in October and is planning another two day trip to Dorset in 2024. If you would like to be added to the Golfing Society mailing list please contact James Stringer on stringer.redhill@gmail.com.

Sunday 13th November saw the 2022 autumn meeting of the Buccaneers Golfing Society. Eight golfers competed in two teams (the ‘Allstars’ and the ‘Legends’) for the Buccacup at North Downs GC with the Allstars triumphing by 133 points to 105.

After a misty start, the sun appeared on what was a soft track. Despite that, a number of players played to or better than handicap. Winners of the individual awards were as follows:

• Nearest the pin (with an outrageous Bubba Watson power fade): Angus Berry

• Longest drive: Richard Hobbs

• Highest individual points: For a second year running (Handicap Committee? Ed.): Chris Leech with 37 points

Beside Gus’s curly whirly nearest the pin, Phil Butler took honours for most memorable moment when he thudded his approach to the 18th green into the roof of the club house causing a shower of tiles. A part of the course will forever remember Mr Butler.

Photos of the teams and play: