CAPTAINS' CORNER

Holiday season, or is it silly season.. by David Wells and Carlo Thompson

2013-08-23T10:41:00.003+01:00

What a great summer, plenty of sunshine, bbq's, parties on the beach, generally having fun. Before we go any further, congratulations to the Horspath 1st team from the 4's, great achievement and inspiration.

There is a slightly odd thing that happens at this time in the lower reaches of the Cherwell league, teams who have hardly won a game all year, start winning..

A good example is our game away at Aston Rowant. In the first game we bowled them out for 90 and won comfortably. A very strong Horspath 4th team played the return fixture against a completely different side, and lost by 13 runs! Apparently students back for the summer...Derek top scoring and Foxy taking 3 for.

The following week normal service was resumed at home, Tiddington
being bowled out for 130 with Greg Handley taking 5 wickets. Unfortunately despite Pan's very quick 30 we could not beat the rain with the game abandoned. Not our best 2 weeks for points.

Next up at home was bottom of the table Leigthon Buzzard. Just about half the team on holiday, Graham and Dennis turned out to help us! Anyway good bowling from Omar and Adeel with 3 wickets each, and 51 from Graham and 30 from Asad seeing us back to winning ways in strong fashion.

So a confident but young Horspath 4's took the field away at Bledlow Village. Again a side we had comfortably beaten in the home game, and suddenly with about 4 fit young university students! After a long afternoon in the field we were set a target of 219, and fell well short! Bit of a pattern here..Omar takes a lot of credit with 5 wickets and bowling 17 overs on a warm afternoon.

Needless to say our home game against Chearsley last weekend followed a similar pattern as we quickly bowled them out for 67, Dan Edwards with 5 wickets and Omar another 3 wickets, Tom Holmes taking us to a quick win before the rain came with 37 not out.

I think you get the picture, its the silly season:) Good news is despite the ups and downs we are still on top and in good shape to gain promotion. 3 games to go..

Dave and Carlo

The Andy Murray Factor ... by David Wells & Carlo Thompson

2013-07-24T06:23:00.000+01:00

Murray Factor

Yes, lets celebrate the end of 77 years of hurt, finally an inspirational, determined and worthy British winner of wimbledon! (OK, so Scotland hasn't become the 'Peoples republic of...' just yet, so he is a Brit!!). If you managed to watch the final game you could not have failed but be impressed by the guys tenacity and ability to handle huge pressure moments, really a great performance by a great athlete.

As an analagy for the 4th team, yes its a bit over the top, but not that far off the mark...well maybe not the athlete bit....

In the last 3 weeks we have posted 2 wins, 1 winning draw and a defeat, whilst our rivals have stuttered, taking us back to the top of the league. Firstly, chasing 117 to win against Kimble after excellent bowling from Hayden and Asad, we stumbled to 30 for 6 and a panicking skipper! Mike Naylor, Hayden and Adeel Rehman to the rescue to calmly take us over the line for a 3 wicket win with a few overs to go. True grit example no.1..

Following week we were stuck in to bat on a blistering hot day, where Ian Belcher gave a masterclass in batting, posting 105 in 35 overs, supported well by Gareth, Omar and a general team effort with the bat to get to 232. On a flat back pitch at Horspath the guys stuck at it with 3 wickets to our new recruit Pankaj, and good support from all the other bowlers. James Wittenberry was excellent behind the sticks, unfortunately running out of overs with Tew 7 wickets down for 170. Stick at it example no 2...

Finally another home game on a hot day, and a 'best of the season' performance from Ragga to take 7-36 to restrict one of our closest rivals Brackley to 160 (topping the co-skippers '6 for' earlier in the season!). Welcome back mate, you are just what we need on dry turning pitches!! Derek has been consistent all year posting 53 in response with a good stand with Tom Holmes, the team getting over the line for a 5 wicket win. Thanks to Stu for standing in, another determined performance from all, no.3...

I won't cover Aston Rowant, I'll save that for next time..

Mr Murray showed us all what it takes to be a winner, probably another 4 wins out of 7 games will see us promoted back to Div 8. Maintain that focus in the wonderful sunshine and we'll get there...

Cheers David and Carlo

The Battle of the B's by Robbie Cooke

2013-07-16T07:29:00.001+01:00

Brackley CC in a heatwave ....

So the mid-point of the season has arrived and what a difference two months makes - the gales and horizontal rain of May replaced by baking sun and dust bowls of July … well, unless you’re Brackley CC of course, with a wicket that’s still as green (and thick) as the Amazon.

More importantly though, the 3s are well placed for a late season charge at promotion.

It’s certainly been an interesting three weeks - somewhat ‘testing’ availability meaning our side was probably the most fluid of all the Horspath teams.

First up was Bledlow Ridge, facing an HCC 3XI who probably wouldn’t have looked all that out of place 2 or 3 divisions higher (skipper excepted)! Youthful seamers Beer and Du Plessis leaving the oppo reeling at 0-1 after 6 overs, Bledlow barely recovered to make 140 which were duly knocked off in style with runs for myself and Dom.

Bledlow Village CC

A different week, a different situation however, and as a rather inexperienced Horspath 3’s stared down the barrel of Bedlow Village’s huge 270 on a wicket closely resembling the colour and density of marble, it could have been easy to let heads drop. Quite the opposite though, the attitude and energy in the field - especially from the players promoted from the 4s - was excellent throughout, even if our battling 160-8 (having been well set at 80-1) was far from good enough to earn us more than a miserly 4 points.

Last week brought another away game (Brackley), and another fresh-looking line-up didn’t bode too well for consistency and so it seemed to prove when - put into bat - we scraped to 156 with sensible batting from Earnie, Perko and Murray.

How naive we were though! As green as Hammy cocktail and hard as rock, the Brackley wicket made life tough for batsmen on both teams, and some incredibly disciplined bowling from the whole squad meant that wickets kept falling just as Brackley looked to gain the upper hand.

While Muz and Earny took the plaudits for their bowling figures, a personal highlight of the day was Foxy’s yorker to remove their most dangerous batsman - luring him into a false sense of security with an oscar-worthy effort by to look as tired and bedraggled as possible between balls!

Brackley subsequently struggled to 123-9, gifting us an important 17 points and a crucial leapfrog back into the title race - just like the other the Horspath sides.

Selection this Tuesday will probably provide yet another headache, but at least it will be soothed by a few beers watching the 20/20 cup at the Rec!!

Jekyll and Hyde by Robbie Cooke

2013-06-24T20:32:00.001+01:00

I think it was Hendo who joked on Saturday that Lions brothers Tom and Ben Youngs looked like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because you could hardly believe they could be so different yet both end up playing rugby together at the same level.

Well that’s not a bad analogy for the 3’s performances over the last two weeks.

First up - Mr Hyde and last week’s deserved hiding (pun alert!) at the hands of a strong Nondies side who have proved yet again to be our bogey side. Perhaps distracted by the fact we only got two overs in before tea because of constant rain, we quickly took our eye off the ball. Put into bat we ticked along at a respectable run rate from the off, but crucially never prized our wickets
enough and quickly ran out of batsman, aside from a nice cameo from Tom Murray.

Overly-confident our bowling and fielding was woeful from the off, allowing our concentration - and our heads - to drop far too quickly when their swashbuckling captain was smashing 6s over cover. Two wickets in two balls from Ricksy gave us brief glimmer of hope before shelled catches put the result to bed.

How pleasing it was then for Dr Jekyll to turn up for large parts of the game against Didcot 2s - another promotion contender in what is turning out to be a tight league indeed.

The not-so-overseas Pierre was one of the few bowlers to remain in credit after last week and his good form continued with a miserly opening spell that deserved more than the one wicket it got. At the other end, Stu’s only regret will be that those pesky boundaries he bowled which grossly inflated what was already very decent 4-49. With Omar making his debut, and Ricksy causing lots of trouble for the middle order, it was a shame that we couldn’t quite capitalise from an excellent start, and let Didcot accelerate slowly but steadily to a below-par 180.

The Emperor Ricks

The attitude and energy in the field however was much improved on last week, and some decent catches were taken (bar my own horrible dolly at mid off!), with Clive ‘The Emperor’ Ricks showing the youngsters how to take a high ball whilst wearing five cricket sweaters.

On to the batting, Didcot’s opening bowlers proved a handful with plenty of nip and swing, but slowly and surely Dom got ourselves up to 40 runs at just shy of 3 runs an over. However when I was caught chasing an over-ambitious sweep, the runs suddenly plummeted off a cliff with 10 runs in the next 10 overs.

With the run rate now approaching 7-8 RPO, it took the steady presence of Dom and Hendo to bring us back into the game. When the former departed on 49, we still had work to do. Up stepped Perko with an important 24, Dan Jones with a quick cameo, and then finally a classy finish from Stu and Ricks who showed all their experience to get us over the line.

It was a big relief then, not just the win, but the fact that we even got a game in at all without a drop of rain! The less said about the 2s game being rained off when our 4s were playing the better!!!
It’s been an odd couple of weeks for the club, but I doubt any of the teams would be too unhappy with our league positions at this stage, and with 10 games to go it’s all to play for!

It's a four horse race .... by David Wells & Carlo Thompson

2013-06-24T20:14:00.002+01:00

Seven games in and Div 9 is proving to be a real mix of 4 very well matched sides, and the rest. The
gods of cricket have looked at us with some mixed fortunes in the last few weeks, but we are deservedly sitting in second spot.

Like an exciting horse race, the league leadership has changed hands several times in recent weeks. Comprehensive win against Bledlow Village, an abandoned game against Chearsley (when our rivals managed to gain max points, not great!), and then this week losing to Witney in a very competitive game (the toss was the difference on a damp wicket that dried out!).

It's clear that the broad squad of players (we must have had at least 20 players this year) is actually very strong, all of whom could hold their own in the 3's. Experienced regular players like Dan Edwards, Oli Delamore, Greg Handley, Omar Chowdrey, Derek Watts, Gareth Hamilton, Mike Naylor, Steve Meredith, Chris Fox, John Perkins, Ragga, I can go on..deserve to be playing a higher standard each Saturday.

Its also very pleasing that we have fielded 5 U15 players (Jamie, Ross, Adeel, Hasam and Asad) who are gaining excellent experience for the coming years, hopefully in a higher league! As we move to the summer months, always a bad time for availability, we will see if we can give 1 or 2 others a go.

So, we are approaching the half way mark in the race, Witney are out in front by a head, Tiddington and Brackley are neck and neck with us. Who can last the pace and make it to Div 8! Please keep the faith, make yourself available, help the 4's make it to the winning post!

Cheers Carlo and Dave

Belch and Hamid Bros do the Business at Banbury by Robbie Cooke

2013-06-10T16:53:00.001+01:00

Banbury has never been a great hunting ground for the 3s. Despite finishing well above them

Trip to Banbury

most seasons, we always seem to save our very best calamities for our trip down the M40. Case in point - our rather lacklustre performance there in the pre-season, along with injuries to Bisto and Foxy.

You can imagine my delight then, to come away with all 25 points from a hard-fought game against a solid opposition.

If winning the toss was easy, bowling out Banbury out on a fairly flat track proved less so. Solid - if unspectacular - bowling and fielding wasn’t enough to dislodge any of their batsmen quickly, their no. 3 and 4 in particular
showing patience to build several strong partnerships.

Ricksy's Banana Swing

However good bowling discipline and commitment in the field meant we always felt somewhat in control. There were some highlights too - Pierre Du Plessis picking up his first ever Horspath wicket in an important second spell, Ricksy finding some bananna swing, and Stu taking two sharp catches.

Coming off for tea, wiser heads in the side felt that 193-4 from 53 overs was below par, and so it proved to be. Not that we made it look easy of course!

Three early (and equally bizarre) dismissals saw myself, Adi and Dom back in the changing room with barely a run to our names, and so it was left to Belch Snr. to tuck into the bowling with some trademark drives, giving us much needed momentum. When he finally succumbed for a stylish 47, there was still just under 100 runs needed and much work to be done.

Enter the Hamid brothers. With Bilal tucking into the spinners with a series of lovely drives and flicks off his legs, Kammal set about feeding his brother the strike with clever nudges and singles.

It was a really intelligent partnership, and the most pleasing part was the way they steadily increased the run rate with proper cricket shots. Almost every shot was along the ground.

Eventually both departed, but not before Bilal had secured his first half century for the 3s and with victory now well within our grasp.

Quick wickets (Robbo and Pierre) however, quickly brought Banbury back into the game, and victory wasn’t secured until 3 balls before the end - Lloyd Belcher adding to his growing batting reputation with some smart sweeping and an important 12 runs to see us home.

Overall, it was just the kind of test we needed after two incredibly one-sided games, and proof that it’s not just the older players in the side who can bat with maturity.

So another 4 from 4 for the mighty ‘Path, some excellent run chases from the 1s and 2s, and the 4s made it look easy as usual - well done lads!

Kick on and Keep Working by Adam Krol

2013-06-06T20:19:00.002+01:00

Mase 9 for 20 - skittled Shipton for 38

Well what a start to the season it has been…. As we begin June I cannot have asked for much more from the 1^st team, as we sit pretty at the top of Division 1, and having reached the Regional Final of the Village Knockout. And to think it all started with a rather frustrating opening league game at home to Thame, where despite dominating proceedings we were eventually rained off at 6.40, leaving us with 6 points. Fortunately no one else played and we all began on a level footing the following week. Since then we haven’t really looked back, and Shipton away was an excellent start to the season with a gritty batting display with Pat and Wyndy dominating near the end, followed by an incredible spell of new ball bowling by Mase as he took 9-20 and Shipton were bowled out for 38!! It really was one of the best spells I have ever seen and he has played a big part in our early season dominance, as he took a further 10 wickets in 2 games last weekend!

The weekend just passed was one of those you look forward to and I am delighted for the club that we have managed to reach the Regional Final of the VKO, where we will face Tiddington. There has been a lot of heartache for Horspath over the last few years as we seem to have always missed out on success, but this year presents an opportunity to lay to rest some of those memories. The semi final against Tew started well with winning my first toss in weeks, and asked them to bat first as I always

29 for 5 .......

back us to chase with our batting line up. Mase and Will went about their work brilliantly and with Shabba cleaning up the tail, I was delighted to dismiss them for just 71. Now the VKO has never been straight forward and this proved the case on Sunday, as Tew’s openers proved a real handful as we were reduced to 29-5, and it was squeaky bum time for all of us. But enter Will “grade A tear” Eason and Andy “Krolly please let me bat higher” Wynd to dig deep and see us home 5 wickets down, a real gutsy partnership which displayed our fight and spirit within the group.

So what have we learnt as a team and club during the first few weeks of the season? It has proved vital that we have our fitness sessions with Deano on a Tuesday, as I am positive that these sessions give us an extra edge over everyone else, and gives us that extra 10% needed at the end of games to see us over the line. May has been an excellent month for all teams, as we remain unbeaten in the Cherwell League and this gives us all a great platform to work with moving into a busy period. One thing is for sure though, there are some tough tests ahead for HCC, and whilst we have had a near perfect start, we now need to kick on and keep working and scrapping hard for positive results. From a first team point of view, we are entering one of the those weeks that can shape a season, with a tough away game at Brickhill followed by 20/20 vs Tiddington, Buckingham at home a week Saturday and then Tiddington in the VKO. None of these games will be easy and we will have to be at our best to win 4/4, but this is what we are all about, so I cannot wait!!!

Cheers Krolly aka Yuvraj

Fed to the Lions by Robbie Cooke

2013-06-03T16:32:00.002+01:00

Wolverton IIs fed to the 3rd XI Lions

As I caught up on the highlights of the British and Irish Lions' brutal dismantling of the Barbarians in the heat of Hong Kong, I - quite naturally - couldn't help draw parallels with the 3rds crushing win over Wolverton IIs at a sunny, but significantly less Humid, Horspath CC!

While the Welsh, sorry, British Lions put the star-studded - if slightly hung-over looking - Barbarians to the sword, I was enjoying the sights of Jnrs Belch and Hamid knock a quick 50 past a beleaguered 9-man Wolverton not long after 3pm.

And just like the Lions game, I think many people will be wondering whether we really learned anything from
what was probably the most one-sided game I can remember playing at the club.

After winning the toss and putting the oppo into bat, the ever-grey Tom Murray bowled with customary stinginess and variation, knocking over the majority of their rather makeshift 'top order' in quick fashion for his first fivfer (surprisingly) in many a year. At the other end Moon recovered from a terrible first over to produce some nippy stuff, and sergeant straight himself Stu Berry quickly mopped up the tail. Behind the stumps, Robbo showed typical class with his keeping, and DOC even managed to hold on to a decent effort at backward point!

Moon's spiffing Tea

With the young pals Kammal and Lloyd thrown in to open the batting, they dispatched some wayward bowling at a cool and collected 5 an over to gift this returning captain his first league win of the year, and all just in time for Moon Catering Co.'s rather spiffing tea!

So what of next week? Well I'm a firm believer in not looking at tables and form so early on in the season. It only takes one or two decent players in an otherwise average village side to make them a danger. As I said to the lads in the pre-match warm up, our last Div 6 championship was built on taking as many points as we could in the early games, and not distracting ourselves about what other teams were doing around us.

I'd also like to say a big thanks to Stu who led the team to two healthy victories in my stead, and as ever, applaud the attitude of chaps like Jonah and Andy Roberts for taking the disappointment of being dropped and turning it into a positive with match-winning performances for the 3s.

With another 4 wins out of 4 for the lads this week, and our 1s into the Oxon area cup final, it's turning into the kind of start we were all hoping for. With the weather looking dry for this week let's get down to nets and work hard for another big weekend!

Fantastic 4th team! by David Wells & Carlo Thompson

2013-05-22T09:00:00.000+01:00

4th XI captains know the feeling...

Carl and I now know what it feels like to be a 4th team captain (all credit to Dean and Tony..). Its a really weird thing that on a Friday morning you can have 10 players, by lunch time 7, and then by the evening 13! Life at the bottom of the food chain I guess...:)

Despite these early season challenges, what a great start. We have bowled out the opposition for less than 100 twice, and completed two wins, fantastic! I think we have already fielded at least 16 players and I am very pleased to report this includes two u15's players (well done Hassam and Jamie, great debuts in adult cricket, and great value in the fantasy league). We hope to provide opportunities to more of the juniors in the coming weeks.

Gareth Hamilton - Mature 61no

I think we should call out some excellent individual performances from Dan Edwards and Chris Fox (lost him to the 3's already..) in the first game and last Saturday Ollie's 3 for (I have worked out the way to motivate him, threaten to take him off). Top performances go to Omar Chowdry (5 for on debut, excellent effort) and great to see Gareth's photo after his very mature 61 not out on Saturday, including supporting a few of the young lads to get us over the line.

Oh, and champagne moment goes to Ragga, the ecstatic cheers when he took his second catch...or was it shock!!

We face Tiddington in our 'local derby' this Saturday, and hope the availability situation will now improve. We want to continue to encourage the youngsters to turn out, so please complete your availability online if you want to play.

Fantastic start, well done and thanks to everyone.

Carl and David

Two out of two for the twos by Andy Cummings

2013-05-21T06:41:00.000+01:00

Greeny invests in Hat-Catcher

After an indifferent pre season, I was a little apprehensive with our first game at Bicester & North Oxford, a team that finished 4th last season. But I need not have worried. A superb all round bowling performance by Creedy, young Graham Beer (my prodigy), myself and especially Ceri, who was outstanding with 6 for 27, restricted Bicester to 89 for 9 from 43 Overs. Special Mention must go to Greeny with some outstanding fielding of his cap as it blew away across the Bicester outfield. The last we saw of him was sprinting towards a gap in the fence as it blew of his head for a second time... hysterical!!!

After tea we set about getting the 90 runs needed. The dismissal of Joey, brought Mitchell and Greeny together and they dispatched the ball to all parts of the ground. With the help of Jonah at the death we scored the runs just before the Monsoon arrived!! Great Start 25 points in the bag.

Ginge considers
a bowling change

On to game 2 against Shipton 2's. For this game we welcomed Mossy back into the side. Having lost the Toss again we were inserted on a soft wicket. We started cautiously against some tight bowling but woeful catching. With Mitchell and Greeny departing early, Kit Cutter joined Joey at the Crease and slowly the run rate started to pick up and then accelerate as they both dispatched the ball to all parts. Kit was out for 63 and Joey was joined by Mossy. They took the score 241 for 3 with Joey finishing 100no and Mossy 25 no.

After a superb Horspath tea it was time for the Mossy and Ceri show, taking 9 of the 10 wickets between them. Mossy taking 2 for 25 and Ceri, a superb, 7 for 29. Two of these wickets came whilst yours truly was off the pitch for a jimmy riddle! Must remember to do this every game if Ceri keeps getting the wickets!! Shipton were dismissed for 77 - a magnificent performance by the whole team and a superb atmosphere. Would just like to see one or two more at nets.

So there you go.. Onwards and Upwards.

Flashing Blade

Youth the Key by David Wells

2013-05-06T08:02:00.000+01:00

New 4th XI Kit

What a start to the season for the 4's, Carlo's a Dad! Doesn't get any better than that, but a sunny afternoon's cricket must be a close second.

Just to say, all comers welcome in the 4's particularly youngsters looking for some league cricket, so please make yourself available!

Finally, sorry to Greenie, can't remember the last time I flattened anyone with my bowling, I blame the pitch...

Aim for the Stars by Adam Krol

2013-05-03T21:29:00.000+01:00

Well, well, well…It only seems like yesterday that we were walking off after beating Cumnor at the Rec on the last day of the 2012 season, having been agonizingly close to winning the league. Here we are almost 8 months on, and I must confess my first Captains Corner for quite a while, so I will try to cram in as much as I can.

So without domestic cricket over the winter months, what has been going on in UK sport… Liverpool continue to improve under the Rodgers Revolution (ok I’m biased), despite millions spent QPR have been relegated (sorry Rob), United have won their 20^th championship, England failed to win in New Zealand but produced a wonderful rear guard on the last day to prevent defeat, and Andy Murray is still a complete knob!!

So back to the wonderful institution that is Horspath Cricket Club, and I must say during this pre season I have been impressed. Consistently good turn outs to winter nets, the coldest out door training I have ever been involved in (2 degrees in April), and last weekend an excellent double victory against the pace setters in Oxfordshire cricket, Banbury. To go to Banbury and beat pretty much their strongest side is very encouraging, and as I watched the first couple of hours as a spectator, I thought our quality and attitude shone through, and really set the standard for the season. Our bowling and batting was a good all round team performance, and our fielding on the whole was first class, and this is what will make a difference as we begin the competitive fixtures this weekend.

We host Cherwell League winners Great Tew on Saturday with a bit of a point to prove and I am sure it will be as competitive as a league fixture, but what’s important is we continue to improve our level of performance and I am sure we will. Then of course Sunday we go to Oxford Downs in the Village Cup, and what a game that will be I am sure.

The club has been waiting a long time for success in the VC, and we certainly have the squad to make an impression in this year’s competition, but we need to hit the ground running this weekend to give us the best chance and pre season has given us that early momentum. It’s also important for the guys to take the game in their stride, its just 80 overs of cricket and get the basics right then everything else will follow…AND ENJOY IT!

So a couple of people have asked me what I expect of the 2013 season? Firstly I expect a highly difficult year for the selection committee, as the number of good players we have is unrivalled by any club I know of! The key to success will be the strength of the squad, and whilst it’s hard to be left out of the team at times, an opportunity is only round the corner for our growing list of promising younger players. So here we go, another cricket season and all I can say is let’s aim for the stars, 4 leagues, Village Cup, Sunday League, 20/20 and friendlies…. Let’s try and win everything because that is what HCC is all about… WINNERS!

Returning to the Scene of the Crime! - by Robbie Cooke

2013-05-02T15:22:00.002+01:00

Last year’s relegation from division 5 was a bittersweet one. The euphoria of bravely dragging ourselves out of the relegation zone with the last ball of the season (complete with the Chairman’s promise that we’d be staying up!!) was quickly dulled by news in the off-season that league logistics were sending us down whether we liked it or not.

Ricksy renews his
vows at CL

But fear not! The drop to Div 6 of course sees the 3’s return to the scene of arguably
their finest hour (just don’t tell Murray I said that), when we took the league by storm in a season where most predicted a mid-table position at best.

That means there’s plenty to be excited about. Some old heads remain, some older heads return, and some youngsters are bound to be knocking on
the door of greater things.

Two ‘youngsters’ in particular - Dom O’Connor and Lloyd Belcher - might well taste their first proper league cricket in teams higher up the club this year, but if they do get time in the 3’s I’m certain they’ll play crucial parts in the season ahead. No doubt there’ll be others following in their footsteps too - just as Dan Jones burst into the team last year - and with some strong new additions to the club as well, the 3’s can only benefit.

Bisto's injured thumb!

And what of the not-so-old guard? Well hopefully more runs for me and Belch, more wickets for Moon and Murray and co, and a swift recovery for Bisto and his shattered thumb. Oh and I might need a hand with my field positions from time to time!

One of the fun things about the 3s is that it’s a real melting pot, with the regular players mixing it with lads from the 4’s and 2’s who always join the team with nothing less than 100% enthusiasm. On the flip side, that means we need to work that little bit harder to find the consistency (particularly with the bat!) that a team needs to win trophies, but I’m sure we’ve got it in us.

Mooney considers the odds!!

So targets? Well long term, we want to return to Div 5 of course, but it’s crucial we don’t take this league lightly (unlike Moony who’s been to Ladbrokes already placing bets on an unbeaten season!!), as our recent warm-up game against a weakened Banbury 3’s will testify!

After the highs and lows of last season if there’s one thing I want to be able to say in my black tie at the end-of-year dinner, it’s that the 3’s worked hard, enjoyed their cricket and performed consistently well across the season.

In the end lads, that’s all you can do - the rest will take care of itself!

Good luck to Krolly, Ginge, Carlo and Wellsy and all the teams this season. I’m sure it’ll be a cracker!

2013 - A Player's Perspective by Rob Eason

2013-04-12T13:42:00.001+01:00

Well the new season is about to start and low and behold it’s raining as I write this column. It’s just relentless, the poor weather we have had over the past year with the particularly cold weather stopping much needed grass growth.

On behalf of all the players, I must thank Max, Graham, Richard, Derek and all involved for their work in getting the two grounds and surrounds in such fantastic nick.

As I write this on the eve of the Plumtree game, it’s great to see at long last our fantastic players and team getting some recognition, with Will Eason and Pat Foster due to play for Oxfordshire against Buckinghamshire at Aston Rowant on Sunday.

Our level of performances over the past 3 years have seen us go 56 games unbeaten in Cherwell League cricket, so it was only a matter of time before the County had a look at some of our players ... long overdue. I’m sure all members and players involved at Horspath wish both Pat and Will all the best and I’m certain they will both show the skills and attributes they have and do well on Sunday.

The last time two Horspath players were involved for the County was most probably when myself and Ben Thompson played together in the same side. I feel that if the Gloucestershire link up had been around when we were youngsters, we could have gone further with our game. Ben certainly made a bold move choosing to playing semi-pro rugby for Exeter and Nottingham when I feel he could have gone on to have a career in county cricket.

Plumtree visit tomorrow, weather permitting, and the lads are chomping at the bit to get going. Training has been hard work with Dean Holmes punching us to the maximum on Tuesdays. With no let up on the Thursday sessions either, the squad is looking fitter and stronger, which will give Krolly and Ginge headaches.

The players to impress me most at training are our Asian brothers - Shabaz, Mohson and Jehan. No one has been more committed than these lads and I feel all three will have superb seasons if they keep their work-rate and desire up.
Can’t wait to get going!, let’s hope the weather and Ed’s beer is spot on for this weekend’s fixtures.

Ace

Sun at Last by Adam Krol

2012-07-24T17:33:00.000+01:00

So the sun is finally shining, birds are singing, and all Brits are joyously skipping about in a newly found good mood as the weather turns for the better.... Well the sun is shining anyway, and about time too. I can’t remember a more miserable first half of summer with regards to weather, and I am amazed that we have only had 2 games completely rained off. It was great to get up on Saturday morning knowing that we were guaranteed a full day of cricket, and it turned out to be a very important game as well...

Now the saying goes that the league table doesn’t lie, however I really felt that Saturday was a potential banana skin if we didn’t turn up and perform. I wasn’t surprised to see Oxfordshire’s captain, Oxfordshire’s opening bowler and Oxon’s highest ever wicket taker in the opposition line up, and this acted as a sharp reminder that this game wasn’t to be taken lightly. Now the game started predictably, we lost our 8^th toss on the bounce (me 7, Will 1) and Banbury decided to bat on what looked a pretty flat pitch. We started slowly as well, with 30 runs coming off the first 6 overs, with my field placings as much to blame as anything else. However we seemed to wake up and Shabba produced an efficient piece of fielding to run out Andrew Sabin.

After this the game went a bit flat, and whilst Ed Phillips in particular batted well, we were probably at 80%. It’s a pretty open ground at Banbury and if you are chasing leather it’s easy to get lost in the outfield, and suddenly we found them at 120-1, nicely placed to set 220. Fortunately it was very much a case of “cometh the hour” and Shabba produced a game changing spell of 5-26 to dismiss Banbury for 166, a great effort on a good batting track and fast outfield. One of our great strengths is to overcome little spells of below par performance which is bound to happen from time to time, and collectively we did that in the field on Saturday with Shabba being the catalyst.

Our reply didn’t start well with Joey being bowled by a decent nut second ball, but this did allow for our reply to become the Jimmy Phillips show... A lot had been made of Jimmy not getting a sniff for Oxfordshire which of course I agree with, and what better stage than to produce one of your best performances in front of the county captain Ian Hawtin. Both Jimmy and Robbie put on a match winning partnership of 120 to allow us to comfortably get home despite losing 4 wickets in total, and the only thing missing from Jimmy’s 91 not out was that extra 9 runs to secure as classy a hundred as you will see. Whilst I have highlighted both Shabba and Jimmy’s performances, I thought all the lads did well on Saturday and as always we win and lose as a team!!!

Now with the weather suddenly improving one thing I do expect from everyone is better attendance at training. There was 14 people last Tuesday on a dry day, and if we want to win leagues as a club this has to be better. Things don’t happen by accident and if we take our foot off the pedal we won’t meet the targets we all set at the beginning of the season. Both the 1’s and 2’s are well set for a promotion push so this is motivation enough to train hard, and the 3’s and 4’s both need to target safety in what are challenging divisions, so let’s all make a massive effort this week to train hard and work towards Saturday. On that note I look forward to a good session tonight and Thursday and lets go for 4 out of 4 on Saturday!!!

Cheers

Krolly

Cubs in the Rain by Andy Cummings

2012-06-29T22:33:00.000+01:00

Cubs in the Rain

Last Saturday we welcomed our old rivals Cublington to the Rec. Having had the best of both games last season, I was confident that, with the side I had available to me, we were more than capable of getting another good result against the league leaders.

Having won the toss we batted on an excellent wicket and were able to rattle up a score 226 for 6 with Matt O'Connor & Jehan both scoring 60 plus, and Andy the "WelshMan", Jonah & Greeny all chipping in with 20 plus scores.

After another excellent Horspath Tea we set about Bowling "Cubs" out. Mossy soon accounted for 1 of their Openers and the "Blade" accounted for the other. With Mossy then bowling there Aussie overseas Cublington were soon on the backfoot. Bisto then Chipped in with a wicket and after a very smart runout by
Hendo they decided to shut up shop. Mossy took another wicket and at 97 for 6 Cublington were reeling. Then the Heavens opened and that was that!!!

But a decent effort by the lads and we were able to garner 17 points with Cublington gaining just 2.

So with 2 games to go before we reach the half way stage, we are perfectly poised to go on another good run and hopefully be in the title race!!!!

So to Oxford this week with another strong team at my disposal. Lets hope we can bring home another 25 points!!

Onwards & Upwards

"Flashing Blade"

Tea & Crumpets at Bletchley by Adam Krol

2012-06-26T13:42:00.000+01:00

Tea & Crumpets @ Bletchley

Well, I don’t often get my football predictions correct, but from the outset I fancied England vs Italy to go to penalties, and this proved to be the case. Whilst it was disappointing, I think that most England fans have realised that the quarters is probably about our level, and Roy Hodgson’s job starts now by creating his own squad, maybe having 6 Liverpool players in the Euro’s was a bad omen.....

The footy result on Sunday is the secondary sporting event in my thoughts today however, as I reflect on an uncharacteristically poor performance by the first team on Saturday. Now don’t get me wrong, playing at Bletchley Park is an interesting experience with highs and lows (I will cover these shortly), but you need to perform at these places to become champions and we really didn’t turn up at the weekend! It didn’t start particularly well with me losing the toss again (5 weeks running this

has happened), and they predictably stuck us in. Throughout our innings of 150 all out, Robbie stood out as he battled hard for a vital 61, and Shabba shared an important stand with him to set us up for a decent total. Unfortunately our middle and lower order didn’t shine at Bletchley with me very much included, and we limped to a score probably 25-30 runs short of par on a green but not unplayable pitch.

One thing we can certainly take from the weekend is that luck seems to be on our side at the moment, as rain intervened with Bletchley needing 38 runs off 9 overs with 8 wickets in hand! I didn’t think we bowled badly but were not at our top level that we have set so far this year, and so to escape with 10 points was rather fortunate!! Now it’s important not to get carried away when we do under perform, and the fact that we didn’t lose and are still top of the league by 29 points is encouraging. What we must do collectively though is learn from our batting display in particular, and if we did think we were unbeatable, the last couple of weeks has proven that we must continue to work hard during the week and on Saturday’s to keep improving!

Rugby Lads!

I mentioned earlier in the piece that there were highs and lows to playing at Bletchley, and the real high was most definitely teas... not only was it a top spread, I think I can speak for the lads when I say the tea ladies made it even more memorable (quotes from the day I will not repeat)!! Also another positive was seeing Tommy Pritchard fall in love with their scorer (female), and I believe arrangements have been made for the return fixture... The lows included the uncut outfield, the nets with no nets, and the absolute moron that decided to bike across the field during play, knocking off the bails and appealing, and then biking off to his meat head drunk friends all celebrating like they had finally lost their virginity... 2 words...RUGBY LADS!

Another good result for the 2’s on Saturday with a convincing draw against table toppers Cublington, and it seems that Ginge has got the right blend of youth and experience in the side at present. With the amount of good players we have this year it’s proving quite a task picking 4 sides and obviously it has meant some players not getting a game every week! All I can say is keep training, put in the hard yards and the opportunities will come...

So a big weekend ahead as we welcome Oxford Downs to the Rec on Saturday, and needless to say this is a very big game... Despite the league table I feel that Downs are our biggest threat and have some potential match winners in their side. Personally though I don’t worry about them, I know that if we perform like we can do we will get 25 points. However if the past 2 weeks have taught us anything (other than English weather is s**t), it’s that we have to turn up every week and give it everything..... and I fully expect us to!!

Cheers

Krolly

Skelly Stars Again by Andy Cummings

2012-06-15T19:14:00.000+01:00

With all the rain, I was expecting to arrive at Buckingham with welly boots in hand, but I was very surprised to find the ground in perfect condition.

DJ Mossy

Having won the toss for a change I decided to bat and was able to watch one of the best and enjoyable innings by a Horspath player for many a year. Skelly was patient at first and then destructive at the end scoring 106 not out. He was ably supported by our semi pro footballer, Mitchell, and our resident DJ, Mossy, and we were able to post a decent score of 238.

After tea we set about trying to get the wickets. Mossy made the first breakthrough followed by Skelly with a couple and the ever dependable Chuck!!! The game was evenly poised with Buckingham 2's at 110 for 4.It was then the turn of Angry Brian, Dean Creed. After a superb piece of fielding at cover ran the batsmen out he decided that he wanted to bowl - after telling me at the start of the game he didn't want to bowl.
He procedeed to end the game in 2 overs taking 3 for 1.

So another 25 points in the bag.

This week we welcome Stokenchurch to the Rec with a slightly different team as we welcome Bisto for his first game in the 2's this season.

Onwards and Upwards

"Flashing Blade"

Master Blaster & the Ginger Tosser by Andy Cummings

2012-06-08T19:29:00.000+01:00

Master Blaster Jonah

Well where to begin - it's been a very interesting start for the 2nd team this season.

Our 1st game against Great Tew II was a very 1 sided game. In fairness I think they had a very weakened team.

In the 2nd game against Wallingford I thought we did not use the best of the bowling conditions and were made to pay by Wallingford, but we were determined not to lose.

On to a very hot and dry Horspath for the 3rd game against Leighton Buzzard II. I thought our bowling & fielding were excellent to keep them to 200 after 53 Overs. We were able to knock off the runs inside 30 overs mainly thanks to my 1st team imports, Skelly & Jahan, and my 2nd team Master Blaster, Jonah. It was some really impressive batting by the 3 of

them.

2nd XI Captain's
Favorite Drink

Finally on to last Saturday at Long Hanborough. Having lost the toss for the 3rd time in 4 games, annoyed to say the least, I knew we would be inserted on a soft wicket. But to say we have a strong 2nd team these days would be an under statement. The batsmen went about their business with no fear whatsoever. With Jahan, Mossy my new 1st team import, Jonah again, and the more and more impressive Skelly, we rang up a total
of 270 in 51 Overs. We then set about bowling them out for 184 with the impressive Skelly, Chuck and myself collecting 9 of the 10 wkts needed. Also 1 of the best Slip catches I have seen for a long time by the "Skip", Ady Manger.

So onto this week's game at Buckingham II, weather permitting. Again we have a strong team for the 2's. I feel a very lucky Captain to have such good players at my disposal..

Onwards & Upwards

" Flashing Blade"

Woy, Wio and Wyndy by Adam Kwol

2012-06-06T20:41:00.001+01:00

Roy Hodgson

I must say I already pity Roy Hodgson as the new England boss... It’s a poisoned chalice at the best of times, but when you have a ongoing feud between arguably your best 2 centre backs which results in one (Rio Ferdinand) not being selected and then being slated for it, it must feel like the toughest job in the world. Despite the fact I am an avid Liverpool fan, the fact that Stewart Downing is a possible starter and Jordan Henderson, whilst he has promise, is in the squad I don’t hold out much hope for the Euro’s. This coupled with our inability to perform at major tournaments doesn’t bode well. Regardless of this however, I am starting to feel quite excited about the competition as we all do when a major tournament arrives, and the fact there is no expectation only helps our boys try to make an impact...

Pat Foster

No expectation is not something I am used to at present, with our victory on Saturday completing a fantastic 100 points out of 100, and for me it was our best win of the year so far. Firstly because we got stuck in and then proceeded to recover from 135-7 to get 209, mainly down to Robbie’s patient and accomplished 60, followed by a fluent and game changing partnership between Pat and Wyndy. With our batting line up this year and talent throughout the club it’s almost a bit of a guessing game picking my order every week, and what I want is exactly what happened on Saturday. Pat and Wyndy (batting 8 and 9) showing their ability and not only changing the game in our favour but also saying “Krolly, this is what I can do”!! Pat has looked like a class act since joining the club and am delighted to see him enjoying his cricket at the ‘path, and his 5 wicket spell on Saturday was full of quality and skill. I was really pleased for Wyndy also as he hasn’t really got going with the bat since joining the club, and I more than most know the talent he has with the willow! Hopefully this can be the springboard for Wyndy to kick on and get 350/400+ runs this year.

Wyndy

In the field on Saturday it was pretty convincing and I have already mentioned Pat’s burst with the new ball. I was equally as pleased with Biggsy and Shabba, both making an instant impact and taking a couple of wickets a piece!! As a club it was great that 3 of the 4 teams won at the weekend, and some notable individual performances which bodes well for the season, and makes selection that little bit harder every week. Both Skelly and Jahan have excelled in the 2’s and their attitude has been spot on after they both started the year in the 1’s, and again, this is what we need as a club to move forward. There will be opportunities around the corner and everyone is playing for their place in all 4 sides, so let’s keep up the spirit and work ethic that has made us the best all round club in Oxfordshire!

So we can all pat ourselves on the back for a great start to the league campaign, but again, that’s all it is! We still have areas to improve and for me one of them is training! I thought that last Thursday was a good session, but overall I think our attendance as a club can be better, remember the fitness training in 2010 was a key factor in all 4 teams winning the league! All the selection committee have to go on is Saturdays, Sundays and training, so let’s raise our levels and we can only get better!

Cheers

Krolly

Chopper Stops Play by Clive Ricks

2012-06-05T21:29:00.000+01:00

Bistow and Headley look enviously at a large chopper.

Typical of the thirds to make the headlines in the local and regional press without their cricket getting a mention! Our condolences to the family of old guy who preferred suicide to watching Mooney bowl, but the lengthy interruption almost certainly cost us the game. Before the arrival of the police helicopter Bistow had made mincemeat of the Abingdon top order taking their first five wickets but after an early tea he stiffened up to such an extent he could barely land it (the ball that is, not the helicopter) and the home side took advantage, the last two wickets doubling the
score so that a potentially easy chase became a tricky target of 163.

Horspath lost wickets regularly until they had 30 overs left and needed 80 runs to win but with only 2
wickets in hand. At this point the aging captain joined the full Moon and bored the large crowd to death (apologies – sic) reducing the target to 12 from 3 overs at which point Ricksy was dismissed for 35. Unfortunately the last pair couldn’t manage the five needed from the last over and we settled for the draw and ten points.

And then there were two!

Week 3 saw us travel to Tiddington but we didn’t turn up! To be honest the pitch was slower and lower than an arthritic snail with the home side fielding four spinners to our half (no disrespect Lloyd!) and we duly lost heavily with only Dick Decaires performing (if not sprinting) to his potential. At this point Horspath 3s were the strongest team in the division as we were holding everyone else up by languishing in bottom spot.

Banbury 4s were next up in our first home game of the season but when they eventually arrived (minus an Umpire and therefore five points!) they loyally called heads on the Jubilee weekend, which proved correct, and we were ‘inserted’.

Horspath debutant James Earnshaw (41) and season debutant Robbie Cooke (78) put together an excellent opening stand of 120 before being parted but the usual flurry of wickets meant that it was left to a limping skipper (33*) to push us past the 200 mark.

The sizeable visiting skipper then set about our seamers with relish and Banbury piled up 91 in their first ten overs before Tom Murray got us back on track with three wickets. Thereafter it was left to our spin twins Lloyd and James to tempt the remaining Banbury batters to surrender and wrap up a 57 run win which amazingly lifted us from bottom to the top half of the table!

This week we visit top of the table Horley in the hope to inflict on them their first ever Cherwell League defeat. Now that the batsmen have started to score runs I am hoping that some of our seamers start to take wickets at the start of the innings; the Kaka ball may have disappeared but we are still bowlers like choppers!

Finally, my thanks to Sophie for providing the photos and to the Queen for the rain (reign?).

Clive

25 Big Ones by Adam Krol

2012-05-18T09:43:00.001+01:00

25 Big Ones

Well I think it’s now fair to say that my unfortunate record of no wins as first team captain in 2011 has been banished... and more importantly a great way to start our league campaign in 2012... with 25 big ones!

I think it’s fair to say that all cricketers are in the same boat approaching the first league game, with anticipation and a burning desire to win that all important first game, to set your stall out, send a message to other teams... whatever it is that you personally feel, a new league campaign has everyone starting on an even keel and we were certainly no different!

I have been very careful in making bold statements or predictions into this year, a lot has already been said by people outside the club that with the squad we have and the signings we have made we should be competing for honours and winning things. However I am very much a “one game at a time” sort of character, and with that in mind, Saturday was a pleasing start.

It was good to get an early toss won as neither Robbie or myself had too much luck with the coin last year, and I had no hesitation to bowl first on a track that had a bit of damp on it, and would surely dry out. The Great Tew openers went about their business pretty well to be fair, and we were maybe a bit guilty of trying too hard, which can happen in the first league game. Mase and Will were by far the best 2 seamers in the Cherwell League 2 years ago and showed signs of this by beating the bat or edges evading our slip contigent, but Tew were setting a good base at 40-0. The introduction of our newest recruit Patrick “Bradley” Foster seemed to change our luck, and he instantly showed what a good bowler he is, bamboozling the Tew batters and it was truly a great spell, summed up that 30+ runs out of 42 he went for went through slips or third man. Pat picked up 3 good wickets and Mase 2, as we showed the infamous Horspath “squeeze” in the field, and with myself and Jakey also picking up wickets, we bowled Tew out for 140.

Now as an opening batsman sometimes it can be a good day, and sometimes a bad day, such is the nature of opening the batting... Unfortunately for Matt O Connor it was a bad day as he was out first ball of the innings, and when Robbie was caught behind, the balcony started to twitch ever so slightly. Enter Jimmy and Shabba, who’s 85 run partnership in difficult conditions and against a disciplined bowling attack was inspired as it set the base for us to win, eventually by 5 wickets. We all knew that with signing Shabba we were getting a class act who can change games with the bat, however his innings on Saturday was my sort of knock, gritty, hard and full of determination! At the other end Jimmy showed his wonderful ability with the willow and I must say that watching “the silent assassin” bat like he did at the weekend is a joy to watch!

Silent Assassin - Jimmy Phillips

As I write this on Friday morning we have just completed another scalp by beating Banbury in the Home Counties 20/20 competition. Another great batting display, this time by Robbie and Jimmy, saw the mighty Horspath reach 196-3 off 20 overs. In reply the talented Lloyd Sabin kept the Banbury reply together with a accomplished 70, but after he was run out by Wyndy we cruised home, winning by 42 runs. 20/20 competitions are a great opportunity to build momentum and for our younger players to gain valuable experience under pressure, and Jack Biggs bowled with skill and a cool head to help us home, and it was good to see Dan Todd fit straight in and pick up a wicket as well.

So 25 points on Saturday combined with an excellent 20/20 win sees us off to a good start, but that’s all it is so far. We have another big weekend with league and village cup campaigns resumed and we must continue to put everything into these games, and it also presents a great opportunity to several players coming into the side. It also looks like the weather with be reasonable enough for all 4 sides to play this Saturday, and good luck to all players and teams as it would be good to get off to a winning start for the 3’s and 4’s.

Finally I was saddened to hear last weekend that Terry Bishop has passed away. A Horspath vice president, he was a real winner who had a great passion for the game and those involved, and on behalf of the first team our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Cheers

Krolly

Words of Wisdom by Adam Krol

2012-05-10T09:03:00.000+01:00

Words of Wisdom from Krolly

Firstly my apologies this is the first blog of the year, but thought that it would be fitting to offer words of wisdom before the first league games, which is always an exciting time for everyone involved in this wonderful sport.

Plenty has happened over the last few months with new players joining the club, new appointments from within, and also more recently, a s**t load of rain!

It’s an ideal opportunity to formally welcome all of our new acquisitions, and I am delighted that the club have continued its tradition of attracting quality new players, who fit in perfectly on and off the pitch!

I am not too sure where the time has gone since the sun set on the 2011 season, another all round good year for HCC. As first team captain I had time to reflect on relegation from the Home Counties, and this was done with a few ifs and buts, and a lot of pride in the way we performed and conducted ourselves.

With the 2012 campaign now upon us, the club looks stronger than ever. With the new additions we have a playing squad to rival any club, and with the right spirit and determination, we can have another successful year. Pre season has been a resounding success in my eyes, as we have managed 4 Saturday games of high quality, whereas some of our rivals haven’t even played yet! This can only stand us in good stead, with 3 wins out of 3 heading into the village cup game.

So to the Sunday just gone, and as always a lot has been built up approaching another village cup opportunity. The draw made in February didn’t make life too easy for us, with Aston Rowant our opponents in Round 2. After our resounding win against Thame on Saturday, I was confident going into Sunday, although we still needed to learn lessons when approaching limited overs cricket with the bat! To restrict Rowant to 125-8 was a great effort by all the lads, and I thought our fielding and bowling as a unit was excellent, with Ginge, Will, Mase and Jakey all performing very well with the ball. I must say though the thing that pleased me the most was our run chase. It’s never easy chasing a low score, and Matt and Robbie batted them out of the game with an excellent 100 opening stand, with Jimmy finishing it off with 3 consecutive boundaries to complete a victory by 8 wickets. I look forward to the next round against Oxford Downs, who present a tough a challenge after a good league campaign in 2011, and would love to see the same support at the Rec that we received on Sunday, all the lads appreciate it and it drives us on to perform!

Good luck to all players that wear the prancing pony over the course of this season, and more immediately this weekend! Cross that white line, give it your all and let’s aim for the top, for we are Horspath.....

Cheers

Krolly

Thoughts on the Hosepipe Ban and Other Fantastic Ideas by Clive Ricks

2012-05-03T19:06:00.000+01:00

Max sets about marking

the pitch at Horspath

As we enter May and the League season approaches it seems appropriate to reflect on a busy winter.

The ludicrous decision by the Home Counties League to delay the start date to 12th May now looks like a stroke of genius! And the lengthy negotiations with the local water boards have paid dividends and CL clubs now all have dispensation to water their pitches on health and safety grounds! Perhaps the timber used to construct the extension to the equipment store might have been better used to build an ark.

Unfortunately, due entirely to holidays and my hernia operation I was sadly unable to attend net sessions. I am grateful to the new second team captain for representing the ‘old-timers’ at nearly all the practice sessions – Ginge is obviously keen to get all ten this season. Andy’s rise to his position of authority is rather similar to that of Lyndon Baines Johnson (if you don’t know who he was just ask someone with white hair or someone who went to MCS) following the assassination of Adi Manger by overwork.

The 3rdXI skipper gets to

grips with his new

hi-tech fitness equipment

(Has he got slightly more hair

than last year?)

Judging by the pre-season matches Krolly’s boys are fully justifying their favourites tag for Division One and the word on the street is that the ‘Path are the team everyone wants to beat, unlike the thirds who are the team everyone expects to beat! However, as long as the availability of those pencilled in for higher things remains good, the third team should have a strong squad of players and our aim is to pull off a few surprises and keep chasing the seconds up the divisions.

In order to keep our spirits up and hone our competitive instincts I am considering a few innovative schemes. The first idea came about when I was charged some vast amount at an airport for my bag being 2 kilos over weight when the fat b*****d behind me in the queue weighed more than me, my luggage and my car combined. Thus the plan is to charge for teas by weight ratio (i.e. the heavier you are the more you pay) so Dan Todd and Lloyd Belcher will probably get paid to eat their tiny cocktail sausage whilst others (who will obviously remain anonymous) will need a kitbag full of fivers to cover their grub.

My second suggestion is to make an award for the club member who has the most appropriate surname. Belcher is an obvious candidate with Wynd up for consideration. However, anyone who can better the dictionary definition below is requested to contact me for their prize:

Verb - 2. Moon - be idle in a listless or dreamy way

Finally I propose that the longer your name is the more drinks you have to buy; this scheme is backed by Adam Krol, Joey Todd and Lee Mason but the idea has not yet been mentioned to Bagerathan Ragunathan!!

Like they say at the end of the best films – “That’s all folks”.

The Twelve Days of Christmas - (HCC 2ndXI Remix) by Adi Manger

2011-12-17T23:49:00.000+00:00

Here it is my Last Captains’ Corner of 2011–

Close season nearly halfway through and winter yet to do it’s worst, it must be time for Yule festivities, good cheer and for putting the building blocks in place for next season.

Good to see a best ever attendance at the Annual Players Meeting at the start of December, a great source of encouragement for the new year’s campaign and for Captains old and new. In the ‘boot-room’ style of Liverpool FC we have gone for evolution rather than revolution, with promotions from within as Clive and Tony take over as skippers of 3rds and 4ths respectively. I really look forward to working with them next season as we endeavour to strengthen the Club’s position still further. Many thanks too, for their contributions to such a winning 2011 season, must go to Tom and Dean who are stepping down.

Importantly, Krolly continues as 1stXI and Club Captain and with some good work done on the recruitment front so far, the focus for 2012 must be winning the Cherwell League and having another crack at the Home Counties where we far from disgraced ourselves. It was great to see we picked up the HCPL fair-play award and a welcome cash boost, but I must admit to instant concern that it might bring with it a Europa Cup qualifying place. Thankfully not, so no trips to play in the Faroe Islands or Uzbekistan in February!!

As well as a time for celebration, Christmas and the end of another year offers the opportunity to reflect on our past efforts and what better I thought than a 2^nd XI scamper through last season in the form of a popular ‘carol’ – so here goes; sung in the usual chorus style, it almost scans!-

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, One point from League victory!

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Two broken arms (Robbie and Steve)

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Hat-tricks from Ginge and Stu.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me,Four young bowlers (Toddy, Ceri, Jack and Hendo)

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Five Old Things! (Skipper, Jonah, Andy, Belch and Ricksy)

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Six from Hendo off Thommo’s first ball

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Seven rain breaks at Banbury (Twenty)

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Eight glorious years from Ed

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, A ‘nine-for’ from Andy C

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Ten texts a day from Hayden

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Eleven blind umpires twitching

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me , Twelve weeks from outdoor nets!

It wouldn’t be my Captain’s Corner entry without a ‘what have I learnt this week’; and I must say a bit of a cracker on Thursday, when I learnt you’re never too old to be involved in a drugs raid!

A Quiet night in Wheatley

Quietly having a beer in the public bar of an almost empty Kings Arms, Wheatley with Pete Wright and a couple of other ‘veterans’ after five-a-side footie when 4 or 5 of the Thames Valley’s finest suddenly announced their arrival complete with a ‘sniffer’ dog.

A marvellous waste of Police resource, (possibly a deterrent had there been more than eight people in the pub at the time) was wonderfully added to by a humourless lady Constable’s reaction as we pointed out her chat-up line of “stand up while my dog checks you out” would never work! Only for Mr Wright to inform an equally sombre colleague that if we’d actually had any banned substances, as over 50’s we’d already have used them earlier to help get us through to the end of an hour of five-a-side! Thankfully, they didn’t find anything.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a quiet rest of the run-up to Christmas with the only regret that I couldn’t didn’t get an invite to Man City’s player’s Christmas Party – anything organised Mario Balotelli has got to be the must-attend event of the year.

Wishing everyone connected with the Club a very Merry Christmas and Happy and prosperous New Year.

Roll on 2012 and more success for the Prancing Pony..

Together with all our hearts

Adi