Technical notes

This is one way to make a grid, when you are posting stats:

I use the code < tt > < / tt> when I want to make a grid. (Use it like blockquote to enclose the whole thing.)

It makes the type a monospace font (usually courier). That way you can align columns using dots.

If anyone has a better idea, please add it to this post.

Partnerships 2007

All matches, , Harpsden 28-Apr-2007 to 16-Sep-2007
Wkt Runs Name Name Date Opposition
1 101 H Cary W Stevens 25-Aug-2007 Cranbourne
2 66 C Pohl H Cary 19-Aug-2007 Fiddlers
3 93 T Caston M Hayward 29-Apr-2007 Wargrave
4 75 I Whittaker W Stevens 16-Sep-2007 Turville
5 74 W Stevens Matt Thomas 04-Aug-2007 BBC Caversham
6 113 R Harris A Balaji 09-Jun-2007 Reading UVikings
7 110 I Whittaker C Whittaker 02-Jun-2007 Reading Lawyers
8 90 M Greenwood A Cary 05-May-2007 L Erratics
9 38 E Birkett M Hodgkiss 08-Jul-2007 Chairman XI
10 11* E Birkett M Farmer 28-Jul-2007 Greys Green

Top Partnerships
All matches, , Harpsden 28-Apr-2007 to 16-Sep-2007
# Name Name Wk Opposition Runs
1 R Harris A Balaji 6 Reading UVikings 113
2 I Whittaker C Whittaker 7 Reading Lawyers 110
3 H Cary W Stevens 1 Cranbourne 101
4 K Stormount W Stevens 1 Hurst 97
5 T Caston M Hayward 3 Wargrave 93
6 M Greenwood A Cary 8 L Erratics 90
7 C Whittaker R Birkett 6 Medmenham 88
8 N Adley S Imlay 1 Henley 78
9 M Hodgkiss W Stevens 8 Cranbourne 76
10 I Whittaker W Stevens 4 Turville 75
11 W Stevens Matt Thomas 5 BBC Caversham 74
12 Mark Thomas A Norton 4 West Reading 73
13 M Hodgkiss W Stevens 4 Henley 71*
14 T Hancock W Stevens 6 Shiplake College 70
15 S Imlay J Bradley 1 Crazies Hill 66
16 C Pohl H Cary 2 Fiddlers 66
17 Matt Thomas W Stevens 6 Stoner 60
18 J Bradley A Norton 3 Crazies Hill 59
19 N Adley W Stevens 1 Shiplake 58
20 J Bradley N Adley 1 Woodcote 55
21 S Imlay A Imlay 1 Medmenham 54
22 Mark Thomas A Norton 2 West Wycombe 54
23 I Reissman W Stevens 1 BBC Caversham 54
24 A Imlay J Bradley 2 Crazies Hill 52
25 C Whittaker R Birkett 8 Reading Lawyers 51*
26 M Hodgkiss H Cary 1 Effigies 51*
27 J Butler W Stevens 3 BBC Caversham 51
28 M Hayward J Bradley 1 Stoner 51
29 H Cary I Reissman 1 West Reading 50
30 H Cary W Stevens 1 Whitchurch (Sixes) 50

Top Wicket Keeping
All matches, , Harpsden 28-Apr-2007 to 16-Sep-2007
# Name Mts Byes Catch Stump Total
1 R Moyle 15 80 19 7 26
2 R Birkett 14 81 5 4 9
3 Tridip 3 34 2 - 2
4 A Bryan 2 10 1 - 1
5 A Norton 1 4 - 1 1
6 S Imlay 1 1 - 1 1
7 W Stevens 1 2 - - -


Captain's Results
All matches, , Harpsden 28-Apr-2007 to 16-Sep-2007
# Name Mts Dr Lost Tie Wins
1 W Stevens 13 2 1 1 9
2 A Norton 12 2 4 - 6
3 R Birkett 5 1 1 - 3
4 M Hodgkiss 3 1 - - 2
5 I Whittaker 1 - - - 1
6 A Bryan 1 1 - - 0
7 M Greenwood 1 - 1 - 0
8 T Hancock 1 1 - - 0
9 J Butler 1 1 - - 0

Batting 2007

Bowling 2007

Harpsden Sun Vs Woodley 1-Innings Match Played At Harpsden, 16-Sep-2007, Time

Harpsden Sun Win

Woodley 1st Innings 193/4 Closed (Overs 40)
Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs
S Brar b E Birkett 8
G Wickens Not Out 67
J Raja* ct R.Birkett b H Cary 62
A Ali ct R.Birkett b W Stevens 5
K Ali b W Stevens 26
D Stone Not Out 1
Extras 23
TOTAL 4 wickets for 192

Harpsden Sun 1st Innings 184/9 Closed (Overs 33.5)

Batsman Fieldsman Bowler Runs
H Cary ct Wickens b A Ali 43
W Stevens+ ct K Ali b A Ali 5
S Imlay ct Soper b Raja 23
I Whittaker Not Out 83
I Reissman Run Out 8
R Birkett Not Out 15
Extras 16
TOTAL 4 wickets for 193


With the potential Harpsden opening batsmen feeling the effects of the annual dinner and its aftermath the decision was taken to ask Woodley to strap the pads on first. So the sprightly Tom Sampson and Ed Birkett opened the bowling and to good effect, as Tom bowled with great accuracy restricting the runs whilst Ed picked up the first wicket of the day. This piece of success was to be the only one that Harpsden would see for a while as Woodley started to pile the runs on.

Meanwhile those nursing hangovers hid themselves in the slips and passed the time with that most important of ‘day after’ discussions: Could it really be JUST the dodgy burger on the way home that was causing the stomach to churn or would some blame have to go to the Stella, this commentator thinks it does!

Woodley continued to accumulate runs and as the hundred partnership came and went Harpsden looked to be in a bit of a pickle. On the positive side the drinks break arrived at a pretty critical time for the Harpsden skipper who could be seen rushing from the field to be sick much to the amusement of one or two of his troops. His response punish one such person by bringing him on to bowl, this seemed to work on two fronts. First the big partnership was finally broken and secondly it was Horatio’s turn to rush from the field in order to find something to settle the stomach. From the other end Stevens took the ball and in the eyes of the batsmen the ‘brothers’ stemmed the flow of runs. Woodley ended on a competitive 193-4 although having lost so few wickets they should probably have added another 20 or 30.

After a much needed tea the Harpsden openers took the field and managed to amass 28 before the first wicket fell. This seemed to spur Horatio on who dispatched the bowling all around the park to end with a quick fire 43. Sam Imlay played some classy strokes on the way to a quality 23. But he was some what upstaged by Ian Whittaker at the other end who was busy grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. When Sam departed Ian Reissman came in and the ‘Ian’s’ added 58 in no time. Although it should be said that Ian Reissman did depart having only scored 8 of those runs!

This left Harpsden needing 41 with 9 overs to go, enter the chairman. Rod decided that it was getting a bit dark so having run a quick 3 off his first ball dispatched the Woodley quick back over his head for 4. After this the result never looked in doubt at Harpsden destroyed what was left of the Woodley attack sealing victory with over 3 overs to go. Man of the match certainly went to Mr Whittaker for a magnificent 83 which included 17 boundaries!

"Holyport" Debriefing - 29th September 2007 - 7.30?

Hancock's Half Hour

Harpsden v Hambleden 22nd September 2007

Hambleden
J Weight ct Balaji b Butler 15
J Ogburn ct Hancock B b Greenwood 22
N Arnold Run Out 2
I Wright b Hancock T 22
M Smith b Hancock T 1
S Bradford b Stevens 0
A Weso b Hancock T 0
J Trueman b Hancock T 2
Ottoway ct Moyle b Hancock T 2
G Bridges st Moyle b Farmar 2
Mattingley Not Out 0
Extras 12

TOTAL 80
Best Bowling: T Hancock 5-6

Harpsden
R Harris ct Ottoway b Mattingley 2
B Hancock b Ottoway 0
Balaji b Arnold 34
Stevens ct ? b Ogburn 24
Greenwood b Ogburn 0
Hayden Not Out 7
Hancock Not Out 4
Extras 10
TOTAL 84
Best Bowling: Ogburn 2-31

Harpsden won the toss and put Hambleden into bat on a hard, dry pitch. Hambleden made a solid start with both openers reaching double figures. They rode their luck along the way with three or four edges through the slips. The first wicket finally fell after Ogburn chipped the ball straight to Ben Hancock off the bowling of Greenwood.
The other opener fell soon afterwards, when he hit ball in the air to be pouched by Balaji off the bowling of Butler. This brought Wright to the crease, who hit the ball all round the park in his 22. He was bowled by a beauty from Tom Hancock. Tom went on to take four more wickets to complete one of the best five wicket hauls ever seen at Harpsden, and one of the quickest. He finished with astonishing figures of 5-6. Other wickets were picked up by Stevens (1) and Farmar (1).
Harpsden then started their innings in the hope that the low target of 80 was easily gettable. But they didn’t start as they had hoped, losing both openers cheaply, for 2 and 0 respectively. This brought Balaji and Stevens together. They shared a strong fifty partnership that as good as ended any hopes of a Hambleden win. The game was polished off by Hancock and Hayden to complete a comfortable five wicket win for Harpsden.

A few photos of the dinner

You'll find Rod's speech and a photo of all the prizewinners in the previous post - but here are a few pictures of last night's dinner ...

Rod's dinner speech 2007

2007 has been another tremendous season for Harspden Cricket Club – even surpassing the heady heights of 2006. Despite the dreadful summer weather, we have still managed to play an incredible 40 matches plus the Fathers and Sons, Presidents vs Chairmans and Harpsden Sixes. The fact that we have played so much cricket, despite losing 8 matches to the weather, is testimony to the enormous effort that goes into organising our fixtures. Suzie Bradley puts in a lot of work every year to organise opponents to come to Harpsden, just to be beaten – her powers of persuasion must be immense! I have here just a small token or appreciation to Suzie for managing to keep these lambs coming back to the slaughter year after year! SUZIE [Plant].

Of the 40 matches that we have played, incredibly only 6 of those have ended in defeat. One to Will and Horatio’s team from Oxford University, who beat us off the last ball (my guess is that’s the last time we let either of them play on the other team!), one to Shiplake College where our skipper decided in his wisdom, and the pursuit of long term cordial relations, that it was about time WE batted in the dark and not them, once each to a couple of new teams, The Wall and Young Lions, just enough to entice them into our lair before subjecting them to a series of defeats over the next few years (it makes Suzie’s job just a little bit easier for the new fixtures). The other 2 defeats were to Shiplake and Sonning Common Village – and they were definitely not going to want to play us again unless we lost following many years of humiliation at the hands of Harpsden.

What I find amazing is that of the other 34 matches only 10 were drawn, and ONE tie. One is a recurring theme this year so be prepared! All the other 22 resulted in thrilling, and well-deserved, victories.

In 2006 we just couldn’t stop piling on the runs and, from time to time, we couldn’t finish the opponents off by bowling them out. 2007 has been a marked contrast with our bowling being truly devastating and our batting, at times, losing consistency. Maybe the weather and the pitches have had some impact but we have been much more able to strike the killer blow with our bowling than our batting.

Let’s look firstly at the batting. Last year we had 2 double century partnerships and countless century partnerships, this year we have had only 3 century partnerships. The highest of those was against Reading University Vikings. In response to the Vikings very respectable 188, Rob Harris opened the batting– quick as a flash he lost five partners, including Miles – leaving us in the almost dead and buried position of 20 for 5. In strolls Balaji to join Rob – they started slowly but then accelerated with Rob scoring his maiden half-century for Harspden, eventually finishing on 74. When Rob was out, he and Balaji had put on 113. This still left 56 to win with 4 wickets remaining. Balaji decided it was time to attack – and attack he did. Balaji marched to HIS maiden Harspden 50, finishing on 66 not out and Harspden pulled off another amazing recovery with a magical 3 wicket victory. A little something for BALAJI [Wine] and ROB [Photo] in celebration of the highest partnership in 2007.

The second highest partnership for the year was a family affair. As I mentioned last year I am keen to beat any team who hasn’t been given a sound thrashing by us in the last few years – one of those who we always used to beat but haven’t beaten them for about 3 years is the Reading Lawyers. Batting first and at 78 for 6, it didn’t look like 2007 was going be our year either. On the fall of the 6th wicket, Ian Whittaker who was already at the crease, was joined by son Christian. After a period of steady accumulation the partnership started to flourish with Ian being particularly brutal on anything full, in fact, anything he felt like. Ian’s knock that day in early June proved to be Harspden’s only century of the summer – after 11 hundreds last year, only one (back to that number again) in 2007. Up on the screen is a picture of Ian when he scored his last hundred. IAN [Photo] – here’s a photo taken during that innings and will give you something to remember your first hundred for……well, let’s just say, your first hundred for a while!

James Butler, last year, kindly organised for Tabbits (Henley’s best car repair operation), to sponsor our 6 batting, bowling and all rounder awards and the clubman shield. They have all now been engraved with the names of last years winners and are here to be presented again for this years winners to look after until this time next year. The first of our awards is for the junior batsman which was won last year by Sam Imlay. Christian Whittaker has had some superb knocks, Ed Birkett scored a great 70 for the Golf Club against Harpsden including big sixes off both Tom Hancock and Miles. Alfred Cary scored a tremendous match saving 58 in a 90 run 8th wicket partnership with Mick Greenwood against the London Erratics and has looked good on several occasions but has probably come in too low down the order to build another innings like that – maybe Alfred’s in a shout for this award next year. Dan Hayden has batted superbly on the 3 times he has played for us when Peppard haven’t had a game; a lovely 50 against Hurst on his maiden appearance and two very impressive 30’s against the quicks of West Reading and Bradford. Kit’s 50 against Hurst was another Stormont masterclass, Mark Thomas has had a few decent knocks including a destructive display in the 20/20 against the Effigies, and Matt Thomas playing a couple of very important innings including a match-winning 37 against the might of Stonor in a low scoring game. But our young batsman of 2007 goes to master reliable at the top of the order – essentially all his scores have been between 16 and 43. For always getting us off to a solid start – congratulations SAM IMLAY [Photo].

Now to the batsman of the year. With over 1000 runs, and 5 centuries, this was won in 2006 by Andy Bryan. This years batting feats have not reached the same heights but nonetheless there have been some tremendous displays, not least Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad earlier this week – sorry about that one, I couldn’t resist it! I have already touched on some of the great performances by Rob, Balaji and Ian. Will has had a great season with the bat, including a brilliant 93 against BBC Caversham. Miles has batted beautifully, on occasion, although given the amount of bowling he has done he has not had as much of a chance as he has had in previous years to display his swashbuckling style. Andrew Norton scored a superb 80 against West Reading and has been involved in several important partnerships. But before coming to the main award I would like to mention a special achievement this year – our second longest serving player, started off his Harspden career as a youngster. Although he bowled a lot for Harspden in those days he doesn’t normally bowl now in fact he has bowled just one ball (that number again) in 2007 and got one wicket. Though the special achievement award is not for that it is for his 87 against Crazies Hill, almost as many runs as Crazies Hill managed as a whole team. It was a performance of pure devastation and was the highest score that he has scored for Harpsden in his over two decades with us. 2007’s special achievement award goes to JUSTIN BRADLEY [Wine].

Back to the batting trophy, there have also been important knocks from Tom Caston, Matt Hayward, Ollie Heath, Ian Reissman, most notably in partnership with Will against BBC Caversham, Tom Hancock and Andy Bryan but the person who we feel is most deserving of the award has scored his 373 runs at an average of 34. He tore into the Fiddlers and his 89 produced a win for us against a side we had not previously beaten, his 66 against Cranbourne displayed Yuvraj-esque hitting skills and his 58 for Tax Avoidance Cricket Club, the guys at Oxford University, against the best and quickest we had to offer was full of guts and determination. His hitting in the Sixes tournament set up several of the wins for us. The 2007 batting trophy goes to HORATIO [Photo].

At this point I would like to pop in a couple of special thank yous. Umpiring is a seemingly thankless task but NEIL CRAIG [Photo] comes to wherever we are, every Sunday afternoon. Neil is the undoubtedly the fairest umpire on the circuit, despite the pressure that we in general, and I’m sure me in particular, put him under. Neil, a special thank you for all your support.

Talking of support there are many people who come to support us on a regular basis but there are three that we would like to single out. Our young supporter, nearly doesn’t qualify because he has now played 2 games for Harspden on the tour, but we will make an exception this year. He is always around to help with the scoring, preparing the pitches, helping out behind the bar and just generally cheering us on. Our young supporter of the year award goes to ADAM BIRKETT [Photo]. The next mention goes to someone who because both her dad and her brother plays spends hours at Harspden – she is not a cricketer herself, probably doesn’t understand many of the rules, doesn’t do a lot of cheering but for all her smiling, friendliness, cooking of burgers and hot dogs and hours of presence at the ground, reluctant supporter of the year goes to FLORENCE WHITTAKER [Photo]. The third person is at every single game, come rain or shine, sits on the hill surveying the scene, considers carefully where our guys are going right, and wrong, and only disappears when he has to put the dogs away when the balloons come out – our supporter of the year for 2007 goes to President, JULIAN BURTT [Photo].

Will Stevens has done a brilliant job on the statistics and he will hand those out when I eventually sit down – the only games missing from the stats are the BBC Radio News game and the Medmenham 20/20 so apologies to all those who did well in those two games, and for those who did badly, you owe Will a drink!

Now the bowlers. I said earlier how devastating our bowling has been this season, that is particularly true of our youngsters. Last season this award was won by Tom Hancock but we have promoted him to the senior category for consideration this season. What is most impressive when one considers the potential winners of our young bowler of the year award is their economy rates – that is, how few runs they give away each over. We have some really good spinners coming up from the junior ranks; Alfred Cary has taken 9 wickets but has gone for considerably less than 4 an over, Chris Welford who takes the Andrew Symonds approach to bowling (and batting!), mixing up a heady cocktail of spin and medium pace. The other young spinner who has been in great wicket-taking form is Ben Hancock who is the equal fourth highest wicket-taker for Harpsden this season with 19. He has produced some match winning performances with his legspin and has taken a wicket every 5 overs. My tip is that next year, with just a little bit more experience, and hence economy, this could be Ben’s award.

Moving on to the young quicks. Both Mark and Matt Thomas have bowled very well on occasion and I’m sure we will see lot more of them next year. Toby Stevens, who is not far away from playing a few more games for us, and is a big Harpsden wicket taker of the future, picked up his first Harpsden scalp this year – Toby, can you remind who it was? Dan Hayden has been absolutely awesome; he has taken 5 wickets in his 12 overs for us, going at less than one and a half an over and taking his wickets at the impeccable average of 3.6! If Dan is able to play just a few more games next season (we need to hijack that Peppard fixture list!) he will be able to pick his own award. A special clap for Dan please. Harry Williams has been in good form with the ball, most particularly against Whitchurch in the Sixes. Christian Whittaker has bowled exceptionally well for us but the award this year goes a youngster who Will describes as the Harpsden bowler he least likes facing. His 70 overs this season have gone for considerably less than 3 per over at an average of just over 16 per wicket. In a high scoring match against Reading Lawyers he only went for 14 runs in his 6 overs, whilst in the game against our strongest opposition, Greys Green, he bowled 10 overs, 5 maidens and took 1 for 21. He then destroyed Cranbourne with his second consecutive 5 wicket haul against them, 5 for 15. Our young bowler of the year for 2007, ED BIRKETT [Photo].

Now the seniors. This was Mick Greenwood’s trophy last year. Despite the wet summer, spin has played its part. Kit opened the bowling and picked up wickets in the Effigies 20/20 match, Matt Hayward snared a few against BBC Radio News. Andy Bryan took a great ‘5 for’ against the Lawyers, Ian Whittaker produced some awesome displays of controlled legspin but the spinner who has really stood out this year is Mike Farmar. Mike has taken 34 wickets at only just over 13 per wicket, has taken a wicket less than every 4 overs and has gone for only three and a half an over. In most years this would have been enough to win the bowling trophy. If this season was all about Mike getting back into full-time cricket I think we should be getting his name engraved on this cup for next year already!

The quicks have been in awesome form. Balaji, as ever, has been very hard to get away, James Butler is always able to take the important wicket and has gone for alot less than 4 an over. Horatio (fast Monty) has taken a few. Booballa has been underused and underrated – 5 wickets at less than two and a half an over and less than 6 runs per wicket – we need to see more of Booballa’s bowling next year. Mick has not been in the destructive form of last year but he is still one of the skipper’s go to bowlers when he wants to tie things up or take a wicket. This was a get back into cricket year for Tom Sampson – and get back into the opposition he did. His bowling is seemingly getting back to its best and his 4 for 13 against Shiplake nearly won us a highly unlikely victory. Ollie Heath, who has sadly spent a lot of time on the physios couch this season, has taken some important wickets, most notably destroying West Wycombe. Will Stevens has bowled some magical spells and his 5 for 17 setting up the win against Henley was the stuff of legends. But there have been two outstanding quicker bowlers for us this season – first of all, Mr. Evergreen, Miles Hodgkiss, who has bagged an incredible haul of 55 wickets at only just over 12 runs apiece. His 8 for 42 against Stonor was particularly memorable. In 2005 Ollie got a clean bowled hatrick against Greys Green, in 2006 it was Andy Bryan’s turn. Against Stonor this year Miles picked up a glorious hatrick. A little something for Miles to celebrate his hatrick. MILES [Wine]. But the bowler of the season award goes to somebody who made considerable further strides after a very good season last year. He has produced some devastating displays – most notably against Holyport where his 7 overs went for 1 (that number again) run, and that was a no ball, and 4 for 14 against the Effigies. He has picked up 38 wickets, at better than 1 every 4 overs, and costing less than 15 runs apiece, but what has been quite clear is that his aggressive bowling has helped bowlers at the other end to amass wickets. The bowler of 2007, TOM HANCOCK [Photo].

I would like now to thank the committee for all their help in what has been another tremendously busy season. David Heath has done a great job managing the money side of things and keeping us out of the US sub-prime market, and Northern Rock – David also needs to be thanked for all his scoring efforts, even when Ollie isn’t playing. David, for all your scoring we have a photo of you too – scoring! DAVID HEATH [Photo]. Ian Whittaker for being procurements officer and organising caps, shirts, jumpers, bats, balls, pads, etc. – I know he’s taking orders this evening from anyone who doesn’t feel properly kitted out. Will Stevens for organising a tremendous Sixes tournament and vice captaining. Mick Greenwood for the onerous secretarial duties, some of which Julian has mentioned earlier. Richard Moyle for an enormous amount of work on maintenance and pitch preparation. Andrew Norton for skipping. Andrew Imlay for guidance. But I would like to save the special thank you here for a wonderful lady who combines the unlikely pairing of roles of bar-lady and chairman of selectors unbelievably well and with great humour. Some days the chairman of selectors has up to 15 of us down for a game and other days only 6 – the fact that we always end up with exactly 11 is a triumph of both man management and mathematics. A little something for the very special JANE BURTT [Photo].

Good bowling is no good without good fielders and gee have we got some good fielders. I won’t run through a list of the skills of our youth contingent but I do want to present this lovely trophy for catch of the season, won last year by Rob Harris. Fifth place goes to Ed Birkett’s grab at square leg, playing for the golf club against Harpsden to dismiss Miles. Fourth place goes to Miles for his left handed diving catch at slip off Ben Hancock against West Reading. Third place goes to Mike Farmar for his brilliant diving catch at mid-wicket – what made this one so special was that he was bowling at the time. Second place goes to somebody who is great to have around – a wise cricketing head and a tremendously nice guy, Carl Pohl. Carl caught an absolute screamer, millimetres from the ground, at backward point in the President versus Chairmans match to dismiss Will. We hope to see a lot more of Carl next year. The difficulty rating on the catch that wins catch of the season this year is off the scale – 20/20 against Shiplake College, Andy Dix batting, our star at mid off. Andy Dix doesn’t get hold of the shot very well and scoops it directly over the bowlers head – only just high enough to clear the bowler. In a flurry of arms and legs Mike Farmar sprints 15 yards, sends the body horizontal, stretches out an arm and catches the ball just as it is about to hit the ground. A somersault later, and we’re not too sure if our next duty is going to be to take Mike to hospital or to congratulate him – fortunately it is congratulations that are required. Catch of the season 2007 – MIKE FARMAR [Photo]. Before moving on I did just want to say congratulations to Richard Moyle for a great year behind the stumps – a clap for Richard please.

The next award is the one Horatio won last year – junior all-rounder. I have already mentioned some tremendous all-round performances from the juniors; Alfred, Dan, Ed, Matt, Mark, Ben, but the junior all-rounder has excelled in both batting and bowling. He has taken 11 wickets at less than 10 runs apiece and has had the best economy rate, runs per over, of any of the top 12 wicket-takers. His batting has been magical, pulling us back from poor positions on several occasions, as well as knowing how to time an acceleration. He has averaged over 40 with the bat, and with thanks to Carl Pohl for coaching our winner last year – the award for junior all-rounder goes to CHRISTIAN WHITTAKER [Photo].

The senior all-rounders award was won last year by Ollie. This year there have been two absolutely outstanding candidates; the first of those, Miles who has taken 55 wickets at 12 runs each and scored 468 runs at nearly 25. In any other year I suspect Miles would have strolled this one. This year, however, our winner scored 571 runs at an average of 57, finishing off matches when the rest of us were throwing away our wickets, and taking 19 wickets at less than 3 per over. He has also taken an extraordinary 14 catches, not dropping many along the way, and captained the side beautifully, getting the perfect balance between including everybody and wanting to win. He has lost just one (that number again) game as skipper and has been run out backing up! I ran into one of our regular opponents last Saturday night who was paying compliments to me about Harpsden – one of things he did say was ‘everybody wants a Will Stevens, where did you get him’. All rounder of the year 2007 – WILL STEVENS [Photo].

Now, the final award for this year is the Clubman award. This is for the person who has done most for the club, but is not on the committee. In second place is Ben Hancock who does a lot both visibly but also behind the scenes. We employ Ben, and Tom, to prepare pitches for us so I’m not really counting that, but his willingness to help on all things is almost unparalleled. He will score, even when he’s not playing, he will write match reports and in fact will offer to help on almost anything. A token of appreciation for BEN HANCOCK [Photo] – shown here in characteristic pose.

But our clubman of 2007 goes to somebody who has put a tremendous amount into this club over the last 5 years or so. He is always happy to help, on the pitch, moving the sightscreen, coming up and scoring on days when he’s not involved, helping the social side of things during and after a game and feeding our dogs. He was our best batsman for 3 years in a row and watching him destroy, dare I say humiliate, the Effigies South African quick, he’s certainly not lost the skill. He’s been our highest wicket-taker this year and has caught countless inspiring catches over the years. And how many miles do you think our Miles has driven on Harspden cricket club duty over the last 5 years? (15,000!) Miles is also a great help when it comes to the cricket – he’s always happy to move the field for the skipper, he’ll change the skipper’s batting order, he’ll have a chat to the opposing batsmen to make them relax and he’ll put himself inches from the batsmen to check for bad breath. Clubman of 2007 – and there is only one (that number again) MILES HODGKISS.

So what about 2008. We‘re going to win a lot of close finishes, we’re not going to be afraid to lose in the search for victory, we’re going to get ALL the match reports into the Henley Standard, and onto the blog, (we’ve been pretty good on that this year but as a fairness to all those who play well in game we do need to get the reports in), we’re going to have even more fun with Fathers and Sons and President’s vs Chairmans, we’re going to have another great Sixes competition. We are also going to get well deserved victories over Woodcote, Reading Lawyers and Greys Green (the only 3 teams we play who we haven’t beaten in the last couple of years). In fact, anybody who wants to play in the 2008 Greys Green game had better tell Jane this evening as she has people from all over the south of England wanting to help Harpsden give them a good hammering!

That’s all from me….and well done again to Joanna for all the photos.

Hancock and Birkett Too Much For West Reading

Harpsden v West Reading 8th September 2007
Harpsden
N Adley b J Ahmed 48
J Bradley b Sajjad 0
H Cary b Sajjad 47
R Harris LBW Saddiq 24
D Hayden Not Out 33
Tridip b Saddiq 0
R Birkett Not Out 51
Extras 31
TOTAL 234
Best Bowling: Sajjad 2-30, Sadik 2-33

West Reading
Kisham b Greenwood 10
Kaseem b B Hancock 24
Ias ct Birkett b Cary 18
Imran ct Hodgkiss b B Hancock 11
Sankeel ct Tridip b B Hancock 0
Khurrum b Cary 1
Asad b Hodgkiss 12
Jibran ct Hayden b Hodgkiss 26
Saddiq ct Birkett b Bradley 7
Khaliq Not Out 0
Extras 21
TOTAL 129
Best Bowling: B Hancock 3-31, Cary 2-6

Harpsden were put into bat in a 35 over contest. They got off to a good start with 8 coming off the first over. Unfortunately, they then lost a wicket with Bradley getting clean bowled. Horatio Cary and Nick Adley then built a solid partnership with both batsmen timing the ball sweetly. Adley then fell for a well crafted 48. This brought Rob Harris to the crease who wasted no time in dispatching three fours in his first over. Soon after Cary fell for 47. Dan Hayden then came to the crease knowing that the scoring rate needed picking up; and that is exactly what he did, with his first five scoring shots being fours. Harris was next to go for a hard hitting 24. With Tridip falling for a duck, Rod Birkett then came to the crease with 38 balls left in the innings. Birkett tore apart the bowling, hitting eleven fours in a quite brilliant 51. Hayden finished on a quick 33 not out.
West Reading then got their turn with the bat. Both openers got off to a solid start before Mick Greenwood bowled Kisham. Soon afterwards leg spinner Ben Hancock bowled the other opener, Kaseem. Hancock then also picked up the wicket of skipper Imran after a superb one handed catch by Miles Hodgkiss in the slips, and then got a third with Tridip taking the catch behind the stumps. Hancock finished with figures of 3-31 off 7 overs. It was then left to the rest of the bowlers to clean up the tail of the West Reading line up. Hodgkiss picked up two, one of which was a good low catch from Hayden. Cary picked up 2 wickets, and Justin Bradley finished off the innings with his first ball to condemn West Reading to 129 all out.
This was a good all round performance from Harpsden, with players starring with the bat, and then the bowlers doing a great job.

Harspden vs Effigies - 9th September

Harspden in devastating form

Harspden entertained one of traditionally their toughest opponents, the Effigies, a team of Private Bankers from London. Having been beaten by the Effigies last year in a very high scoring game, Harpsden were keen on revenge – and on a bright sunny day, revenge they got. Scheduled as a 40 over a side match, it never looked likely to go the distance as a truly destructive spell of bowling from Tom Hancock, aided by some probing support from Tom Sampson, ripped the heart out of the Effigies batting line up. Evidence of Hancock’s accuracy was that all his 4 wickets were either bowled or leg before and he finished with the well-deserved figures of 4 for 14 off his eight overs. With obvious relief the visitors eventually saw off the opening bowlers but were entranced by the leg-spin duo of Matt Hayward and Mike Farmar. Both bowlers showed great control as Hayward finished with 1 for 4 off his 3 overs whilst Farmar ended up with the impressive figures of 3 for 5 off 1.3 overs after 2 clean bowleds in his first 2 balls! Sam Imlay and Mos Afzal batted valiantly for the visitors, with the latter running out of partners in the 19th over.

Harspden’s target of 49 to win could either be achieved by careful accumulation or pure aggression. With Grayling, the Effigies spearhead, bowling faster than anything seen at Harpsden in many a year, the experienced Miles Hodgkiss and the impressive Horatio Cary had only one thought in their mind. Hodgkiss carved and smacked his way to a truly impressive 23 whilst Cary cut and hooked himself to a cultured 19. After 4.2 overs Harspden needed just 4 to win – Grayling steamed in from near to the sightscreen, Hodgkiss gave himself some room and then launched the ball back faster than it had arrived at him, straight back over the bowlers head and into the graveyard over the road – a shot WG himself would have been proud of!


Effigies

S. Imlay ct. R. Birkett b. Sampson 16
N. Johnson b. T. Hancock 4
M. Rhodes run out 0
J. Grayling b. T. Hancock 4
J. Kaye b. T. Hancock 0
M. Afzal not out 8
G. Wolfe LBW b. T. Hancock 2
A. Kapour b. Farmar 1
J. Vaughan b. Farmar 0
R. Ahyja b. Hayward 5
T. Claridge st. R. Birkett b. Farmar 0

Extras 8

TOTAL 48

Best bowling; T. Hancock 4 for 14, Farmar 3 for 5


Harpsden

M. Hodgkiss not out 23
H. Cary not out 19

Extras 9

TOTAL (for 0 wickets) 51

Cary Demolishes Cranbourne Attack

Harpsden V Cranbourne 25th August 2007

Cranbourne
Jones b Birkett 0
Dainty b Birkett 0
Thorpe ct Hodgkiss b Greenwood 18
Tanton b Birkett 43
Kirton b Cary 2
Rose b Thomas 26
Johnson b Birkett 13
Driscoll ct Moyle b Thomas 0
Allerton Not Out 9
Castle ct Moyle b Birkett 1
Powell Not Out 1
Extras 25
TOTAL 138
Best Bowling: E Birkett 5-15, M Thomas 2-25

Harpsden
H Cary ct Jones b Driscoll 66
W Stevens Not Out 39
J Bradley Not Out 22
Extras 4
TOTAL 139

Best Bowling: Driscoll 1-23

Harpsden lost the toss and put into the field in the heat of the day. Harpsden got off to a great start with Birkett bowling both openers without troubling the scorers. Then Cranbourne built up a decent partnership before Hodgkiss took a good high catch off the bowling off Greenwood, who bowled very economically all day. Cary was then brought into the attack, and after an erractic start he managed to bowl Kirton, yorking himself on the second bounce. Harpsden then tightened the screw even further, with Birkett picking up three further wickets, to finish with excellent figures of 5-15 off 10 overs. A further two wickets came from 13 year old Matt Thomas.
Harpsden then got their turn with the bat. Harpsden started at express pace with Cary and Stevens hitting the ball all over the park. Their 50 partnership came up in the 5th over. Cary carried on timing the ball exquisitely, including five huge sixes and five fours, he departed for a rapid 66. It was then left to Stevens and Bradley to finish off the match. Stevens finished with a near run a ball 39. Bradley finished on a hard hitting 22.

Harpsden Vs BBC Caversham

On a hot Saturday afternoon at the Harpsden ground the host won the toss and elected to bat in this 40 over game. With the new ball nibbling around early on Harpsden openers Ian Reissman and Will Stevens did well to survive. But soon batting became easier and the opening pair managed to ease past the 50 mark. Reissman was finally dismissed LBW in the 17 over this brought captain Andrew Norton to the crease, unfortunately for Harpsden he did not hang around long and departed soon after arrival. James Butler was now in and managed to increase the scoring rate with some lusty blows.

With Butler departing for a rapid 24 and Hodgkiss departing before scoring Stevens was in desperate need of a partner and more aggression in his play. Both coincided with the arrival of 13 year old Matt Thomas whose key 25 runs enabled Stevens to launch an assault on the BBC bowling. With a few powerful blows, as well as a couple of cheeky reverse sweeps Stevens managed to accelerate to 93 before finally being dismissed by Watkins. The Harpsden innings closed with the home side on 208 which looked a daunting total for BBC who had fielded valiantly in the heat of the day.

This indeed proved to be the case as the Harpsden bowlers got on top of the BBC batting line up and remained on top throughout. The initial damage was done by Lovelock and Butler, and the job was completed by Boobala and the evergreen Hodgkiss. At one stage Hodgkiss did have an attempt at a hat-trick after a sharp piece of work from Moyle behind the stumps. Unfortunately the pressure seemed to tell and one of the worst balls of the day was the result. The game was wrapped up by Boobala taking his 3rd wicket and dismissing the BBC for just 83.

Harpsden

I.Reissman LBW Watkins 23
W.Stevens LBW Watkins 93
A.Norton ct Ballard b. O'Donnell 1
J.Butler ct Ballard b. McClure 19
M.Hodgkiss b. O'Donnell 0
M.Thomas b. Dowse 25
R.Youdale b. Dowse 2
S.Lovelock b. Watkins 5
M.Farmer ct Treder b. Burton 6
Boobala b. Burton 3
R.Moyle NOT OUT 0
Extras 31

Total 208

Best Bowling
Watkins 3-28

BBC Caversham

Burton ct Farmer b Lovelock 13
Deeks b. Butler 0
Treder ct Moyle b Lovelock 3
Townend b Lovelock 0
Lavers ct Moyle b Hodgkiss 9
Dowse b Boobala 5
Watts b Boobala 2
O'Donnell st Moyle b Hodgkiss 0
Watkins NOT OUT 20
Ballard ct Norton b Thomas 4
McClure b Boobala 2
Extras 23

Total 81

Best Bowling
Lovelock 3-16, Boobala 3-14

Harpsden See Off Shark Attack

Result: Harpsden win by 43 runs.

Harpsden Innings
Total 176-7
N Adley b R Wilson 23
W Stevens b B Bolton 49
T Hancock b B bolton 20
O Heath ct R Wilson b Fooks 5
R Harris ct J Atkinson b M Bolton 44
T Ham ct Jenkins b Gill 18
R Youdale not out 13
B Hancock run out 10
Extras 10

Best bowling B Bolton 8-2-18-2

Shiplake Innings
Total 133-9
Coombes ct Farmer b Stevens 2
Fooks ct Stevens b Ham 31
M Bolton run out 21
J Atkinson ct Moyle b T Hancock 15
D Jenkins ct Farmer B Hancock 1
K Ellis ct Ham b B Hancock 11
R Wilson st R Moyle b B Hancock 14
M Gill st R Moyle b B Hancock 11
Strudwick b T Hancock 1
B Bolton not out 8
T Atkinson not out 0
Extras 17

R Ashmore 8-2-22-0
W Stevens 4-2-4-1
M Farmer 8-1-18-0
T Ham 5-2-19-1
B Hancock 8-0-41-4
T Hancock 7-1-23-2

A 40 over per side format was agreed by the captains with Harpsden to bat first. The temperature was as warm as it had been all summer as Harpsden opened their innings with Nick Adley and Will Stevens. The pair put on 58 runs in the first 12 overs before Adley was clean bowled by a Wilson yorker for 23. Stevens, who had made 91 the previous day, continued to bat confidently dispatching one straight drive over the road for six.

The introduction of Bobby Bolton to the attack helped to keep the run rate in check. He claimed two wickets including that of Stevens for 49. His spell of 8 overs cost just 18 runs.

Harpsden needed some fresh impetus to their innings and it came in the form of Rob Harris who smashed 44 runs in his usual no nonsense style. Harpsden finished their innings strongly to post a total of 176 runs from their allotted 40 overs.

Shiplake got off to a relatively slow start in their reply with 48 runs coming from the first 20 overs for the loss of two wickets. Harpsden bowled accurately and fielded well with Mike Farmer bowling a spell of 8 overs for 18 runs and Rory Ashmore a spell of 8 overs for 22 runs. Fooks made a good contribution of 31 runs before the pressure to score more quickly led to him being caught out in the covers. M Bolton also batted well before being run out for 21.

The Shiplake middle order looked to up the scoring rate but no batsman could put together a big score. Spinner Ben Hancock claimed 4 wickets including two stumpings aided by wicket keeper Richard Moyle. The Sharks finished their 40 overs with a total of 133 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

Shiplake will be looking to avenge their loss when the two sides meet again on Sunday the 2nd of September.

HARPSDEN tee up against Henley Golf Club 29 July

As part of the ongoing centenary celebrations the 'cricket section' of Henley Golf Club took on their close neighbours Harpsden CC in a keenly contested friendly match on Sunday.Fielding a side consisting of youthful talent and timeless experience,forged on the anvil of missed putts and shanked wedges,the golf club were put into bat.Ed Birkett and Christian Whittaker,poachers turned gamekeepers,both being youthful stalwarts of Harpsden's usual Sunday side,opened the batting and put on 21 for the first wicket before Christian fell to a sharp catch by Chris Ham off the bowling of Tom Ham- a case of family 'ham and egging it',to borrow a well known golfing term.Rod Birkett then joined son Ed and moved the score swiftly on to 46 before he fell to a catch at the wicket by Richard Moyle off Tom Hancock for 22.This heralded the arrival at the wicket of European challenge tour professional Joe Templer who,should his putting stroke desert him,could have a promising career as a Harpsden middle order batsman as he crashed his way to 22 before having his middle stump removed by the evergreen Hodgkiss.At 103 for 2 the veteran Ian Thomas arrived at the crease in his usual understated and quiet way and expectations of fireworks were naturally high.Unfortunately he succumbed,without scoring,to the guiles of Boubala's off spin.All the while Ed Birkett had been accumulating runs as the backbone of the golf club's innings and on reaching his maiden 50 on the Harpsden ground he accelerated rapidly to 70,including 2 monstrous sixes,before being run out enabling the club to set Harpsden a total of 156 to win.Harpsden had generously used eight bowlers during the innings,the pick of whom were Hodgkiss with 2 for 24,Boubala 2 and 15 and Ben Hancock,whilst wicketless,with 0 for 27 off 7 overs.
After a splendid tea,the highlights being Sylvia Heath's egg sandwiches and Jane Burtt's chocolate brownies,Harpsden lost Horatio Cary early on off the bowling of Yonjan and Tom Hancock fell to a sharp catch behind the wicket by Rod Birkett off the graceless leg spin of Ian Whittaker for 12.Tight bowling by Simon Lovelock,10 overs 1 for 20 and Christian Whittaker,6 overs 1 for 10,ensured that Harpsden would find it difficult to chase down the total required however with Will Stevens going steadily along the match remained poised.Marcus Lovelock,captaining the club,kept the fielding side on their toes and Ian Thomas's cat like ability at short mid micket in swallowing a hard hit ball in his midrift exemplified this.Yonjan continued to perplex the home side a nd finsihed his spell with 3 for 24.
At 80 for 5 and with Will Stevens still at the crease Harpsden needed 76 to win from the remaining 15 overs and with the dangerous Miles Hodgkiss and Alfred Cary to come hopes were high.At this point Marcus Lovelock entered the fray with his loopy seam up bowling and Hodgkiss sweeping the ball to square leg was superbly caught by an outstretched Ed Birkett for 2.Despite a text book 7 from Alfred Cary and an unbeaten 58 not out from Will Stevens the loss of Hodgkiss effectively ended the chance of a Harpsden victory and notwithstanding some generously flighted bowling from Ian Thomas,rolloing back the years once more,the Golf Club were unable to take the last remaining wickets as Harpsden stoically ensured that the match would end in a draw as their innings closed at 113 for 7.

Harpsden vs Greys Green on 28th July

Harpsden's young bowlers on top

Greys Green won a very good toss and put Harpsden into bat under cloudy skies and on a seaming pitch. All the Harpsden batsmen found the going tough with a slow outfield also restricting the scoring rate. Marathon, and high quality opening spells from Ahmed and Shafqat left Harpsden at 52 for 4 after 23 overs before the first bowling change was seen. It was at this point that the Harpsden middle order started to make some impression with Hodgkiss scoring a quality 29, Ian Whittaker a cultured 17 and Rod Birkett a typically hard-hitting 32. A final flurry from Mike Farmar left Harpsden with a barely defendable score of 145.

Clearing skies and a dryer outfield meant that Greys Green undoubtedly got the better of the batting conditions but Harpsden's young bowlers weren't going to be deterred. The two 15 year old opening bowlers, Ed Birkett and Christian Whittaker, bowled with great variation and control ending with figures of 10 - 5 - 21 - 1 and 7 - 3 - 11 - 1 respectively. This tight bowling ensured that Greys Green were always going to have to try to push the score along when the change bowlers came on. The time Greys looked to be in complete control was when Matt Skilleter and Mohamed Shafqat were at the crease; although a good catch behind the stumps by Matt Shanahan off Mike Farmar to dismiss Skilleter proved to be the turning point. A great caught and bowled by Farmar and one cutting back from Birkett to clean bowl Ahmed gave Harpsden a sniff of victory although Shafqat and young Hoskins managed to hold on well for the last 6 overs to earn a draw for Greys.


Harpsden

R. Harris c. Skilleter b. Shafqat 12
J. Bradley c. Barclay-Watt b. Shafqat 12
A. Bryan c. Shafqat b. Ahmed 4
A. Norton c. Chesterton b. Ahmed 6
M. Hodgkiss lbw b. McLeod 29
I. Whittaker b. McLeod 18
R. Birkett c. Howse b. Ahmed 32
C. Whittaker st. Chesterton b. McLeod 1
M. Shanahan b. Ahmed 2
E. Birkett not out 2
M. Farmar not out 10

Extras 17

TOTAL for 9 wkts 145

Best bowling; Ahmed 4 for 42, McLeod 3 for 43


Greys Green

N. Dennis caught and bowled C. Whittaker 4
Cross b. Hodgkiss 7
D. Barclay-Watt lbw b. Hodgkiss 7
M. Skilleter c. Shanahan b. Farmar 30
M. Shafqat not out 31
McLeod lbw b. Farmar 5
Hoggart caught and bowled Farmar 0
B. Ahmed b. E. Birkett 0
Hoskins not out 3

Extras 27

TOTAL for 7 wkts 114

Best Bowling; Farmar 3 for 31, Hodgkiss 2 for 30

Harpsden Beat Henley On Damp Afternoon

Henley InningsTotal 154-9 (35 overs)
Russel lbw Farmer 26
Johnson b Stevens 16
Poulson ct Imlay b Stevens 0
Satin b Stevens 7
Kendrick b Stevens 8
Ali b Stevens 0
Neville NO 34
Maitigu ct Hodgkiss b Heath 4
Gould ct Farmer b Hodgkiss 26
Harris b Heath 3
Dennison NO 1Extras 29

Best bowling Stevens 7-1-17-5

Harpsden Innings
Total 156-3 (31.4 overs)
Adley run out 38
S Imlay run out 35
T Hancock lbw Kendrick 0
Hodgkiss NO 47
Stevens NO 25
Extras 11

Best bowling Kendrick 6-0-26-1

The captains agreed to a 40 over per side match and Henley elected to bat first. The opening pair for Henley reached 50 without loss in 10 overs thanks to some solid batting and several wide deliveries. At this point, light drizzle began to fall but the play continued with Will Stevens taking the wickets of Johnson and Poulson.At the end of the 13th over with the rain falling heavily, the covers were brought out.

When play resumed, the conditions were far less favourable for batting thanks to the soggy outfield and slower pitch. Just three overs proved possible before the next rain delay and in that time, Stevens claimed 3 more wickets. In successive deliveries, the leg and middle stumps were uprooted simultaneously. The hat-trick ball just drifting down the leg side but another wicket soon followed with the off stump disappearing on this occasion.

An early tea was taken and when play resumed with Henley on 73-5 a reduction to 35 overs per side was agreed. Harpsden soon reduced the home side to 88-7. Gould and Neville were now at the crease and they formed a strong partnership. Gould hit 5 boundaries on his way to 26 whilst Neville made 34 not out with 7 boundaries. Henley completed their 35 overs with one wicket to spare posting a target of 154.

Harpsden began their reply solidly making 33 without loss from the first 11 overs. At this point Nick Adley and Sam Imlay upped their scoring rate with 43 runs blazed to all corners in the next 4 overs. Adley had accumulated 38 runs with 7 boundaries before some sharp fielding saw him run out whilst attempting a quick single. Imlay followed him just 3 balls later with a direct hit leading to him being run out for 35. Kendrick claimed another wicket in the following over to leave Harpsden needing 70 more runs from 17 overs.

Miles Hodgkiss was now at the crease and after a few overs getting his eye in, he started to strike the ball aggressively. Captain Will Stevens also looked in good form albeit with a much more patient approach to batting. With 8 overs to go, Harpsden still needed another 39 runs for victory, but they polished these off with 3.2 overs to spare. Hodgkiss finished his innings with 47 not out including a six and 5 fours whilst Stevens made 25 not out including 4 boundaries.

In the final analysis, it was a miserably wet afternoon, but the result, the tea and the beer made it worthwhile.

Photos from Lobstershire

Lobster bowling

Christian and Elton practice the quadrille

The Chairman's front foot offensive

Mike the butchers bbq

Spectators awake???

Lord Lobster and fellow dinosaur communicate telepathically

Whittaker's back leg and 'that stumping'

The Chairman confers,danger ahead

Jamie Thompson,leggie and occasional scorer

LOBSTERS CRUSHED IN HARPSDEN'S CLAWS

Harpsden Tourists claw their way to victory over The Lobsters
Harpsden’s depleted touring party departed on Friday last for the village of Damerham in the New Forest,home toThe Lobsters Cricket Club,a talented peripatetic team founded in 1978 by William Norris,aka Lord Lobster QC.With two matches over a two day period Harpsden fielded a small squad of seasoned pro’s augmented by a number of debutants and players from the flourishing youth section.
On the Friday night,in a keenly contested 20 – 20 match Harpsden elected to bat first under a clear blue sky which stood in stark contrast to the preceding three weeks of rain.We had been expecting to ‘surf on the turf’ and a slow ‘pudding like ‘ wicket and an outfield that had clearly benefited from the copious amount of rain to nurture its growth ensured that the totals would be modest.Harpsden accumulated 125 runs off their allotted overs.Miles Hodgkiss with 37 and Christian Whittaker with 33 provided the backbone of the innings whilst Rod and Ed Birkett with 13 each made cameo contributions.Lampard,with 3 for 7 proved to be the pick of the Lobster bowlers and Hugh Storry- Deans proved the maxim that whilst form is temporary class is permanent with a balletic display of keeping behind the wicket including one very sharp stumping to remove the ponderous elder Whittaker.
In a spirited reply the Lobsters started well before Ed Birkett removed the off stump of danger man Peter Ruttledge.At 30 for 1 the Lobsters then suffered two disasterous run outs induced in part by the sharp fielding from the Harpsden juniors.Jamie Thompson,bowling great line and length on his debut,then tempted the dangerous Noel Coward into a huge swipe and Mile Hodgkiss running fully thirty yards to his right took the ‘catch of the day’ on the boundary.Rod Birkett and David Chambers polished off the Lobster tail and their innings closed at 116,some 9 runs short of the required total.
On Saturday,after wonderful Lobster hospitality provided in the form of a BBQ by the local butcher,the two teams took to the field once more for a ‘ proper cricket match’.Harpsden,now up to a full complement of players with the arrival of Will Stevens and Kit Stormont invited the Lobsters to bat in what should have been perfect batting conditions.A large crowd of locals settled down in the garden of the Compasses Inn at the corner of the ground to watch their local talent dispatch the ‘arrivistes’ from Oxfordshire.Whether it was the shock of being asked to bat first or a surfeit of merriment from the night before they were in for a shock.Early breakthroughs by Christian Whittaker,3 for 12 and Jamie Thompson,2 for 14 bowling a tandem pincer movement of pace and spin had the Lobsters receding into their shells at a staggering pace.Some resistance from Tim Piper,who clawed his way to 23 before being bowled by Thompson briefly stabilised the Lobster innings.The veteran John Twentyman in his five hundredth match for the Lobsters together with John Sanger,recently returned to cricket after major knee reconstruction,briefly extended the Lobster innings to post a total of 77 all out.Hodgkiss with 4 for 13,Rod Birkett,1 for 7,Neil Thompson and David Chambers all applied the pressure throughout whilst Kit Stormont held onto three sharp catches on a day when everything that went to hand stuck.
In reply Harpsden modified their batting order and opened with thirteen year old Adam Birkett,the third member of the Birkett clan on display.Although falling for 5 runs he showed good promise and technique and one particular pull for 4 remains in the memory.Will Stevens with 25 not out,Ed Birkett,7 patient runs,Neil Thompson,a rumbustuous 10 and David Chambers,11 not out secured victory for the visitors by 5.35pm ensuring that the tourists were able to return home unbeaten,unbended ,on time and in reasonable shape for the Presidents v Chairman match on Sunday .

Harpsden Vs Tax Avoidance CC

Harpsden Sun Vs Friends of Oxford Uni
1-Innings Match Played At Harpsden, 10-Jun-2007, Time

Friends of Oxford Uni Win by 4 wkts

Harpsden Sun 1st Innings 205/9 Closed (Overs 41)

N Adley c W Stevens b A Miller 20
A Bryan c W Fortune b F Nagutha 17
A Norton* c R Ashmore b J Hogan 29
T Ham c A Keech b W Stevens 14
R Birkett+ b T Stevens 37
T Hancock b W Stevens 8
S Imlay c W Stevens b R Ashmore 28
O Heath not out 11
M Hodgkiss c W Stevens b R Ashmore 7
M Greenwood c J Hogan b R Ashmore 0
B Hancock not out 0

Extras (b14 lb5 w15 nb0) 34
TOTAL 9 wickets for 205

Bowler O M R W
R Ashmore 6 0 34 3
F Nagutha 4 0 26 1
W Stevens 8 0 32 2
A Miller 10 2 34 1
J Hogan 6 0 16 1
T Stevens 5 0 31 1
W Fortune 2 0 13 0

Friends of Oxford Uni 1st Innings 206/6 Closed (Overs 39)

H Cary b T Hancock 58
W Fortune b M Hodgkiss 14
J Furniss b M Greenwood 48
J Hogan Not Out 26
A Miller Run Out 25
A Keech c M Hodgkiss b O Heath 0
F Nagutha Run Out 6
W Stevens* Not Out 4
Extras (b10 lb8 w6 nb1) 25
TOTAL 6 wickets for 206



Bowler O M R W
M Greenwood 12 2 60 1
O Heath 9 1 31 1
M Hodgkiss 6 2 14 1
B Hancock 6 0 50 0
T Hancock 6 0 33 1


On a bright sunny day Friends of Oxford University took the questionable decision to bowl first on what looked to be a good batting pitch. This proved to be the case as seven of the Harpsden top eight made scores in double figures. The problem for Harpsden was that none of these batsmen went on to a significant score. This was not down to the great quality of bowling on display but more the high quality catching and ground fielding. One highlight for the Friends of Oxford University side came when 11 year old Toby Stevens picked up his first senior wicket when he bowled the dangerous Rod Birkett for 37. Harpsden posted a competitive score of 205.

In response Friends of Oxford University started cautiously and Horatio Cary and Will Fortune managed to see off the opening bowlers. Unfortunately Fortune was to fall soon after which brought Jack Furniss to the crease. Cary fell to a very good ball from Hancock for a well crafted 58, this appear to free Furniss form the shackles and he powered the ball to all parts including one huge six. With the required run rate still above six and a half the Friends of Oxford University were in desperate need of an injection of pace to their scoring. This was provided by Andrew Miller whose quick fire 25 brought the rate down to six an over. As the game entered the last over 6 runs were still required, the first two balls went for quick singles, the third a wild swing from Stevens handed Harpsden the initiative. This was made up for the on the fourth when a scampered two brought the game back in the balance. With one run required from the last ball Hogan was struck on the foot a huge appeal was made but the umpire was unmoved, and the single was taken.

Harpsden Vs Crazies Hill & Cockpole Green

Harpsden Sun Vs Crazies Hill
Played At Harpsden, 18-Jun-2007, Time

Harpsden Sun Win by 111 runs


Harpsden Sun 1st Innings 224/4 Closed (Overs 43)

S Imlay c Bowden b Rechner 41
J Bradley c Bowden b Rechner 87
A Imlay c Jagger b Searle 27
A Norton* Not Out 52
M Hodgkiss c Rechner b Simpson 7
O Heath Not Out 4

Extras (b1 lb2 w3 nb0) 6
TOTAL 4 wickets for 224

Crazies Hill 1st Innings 113/10 All Out (Overs 35)

Noyes+ c T Hancock b T Ham 11
Steward Not Out 50
Hopkins lbw b T Ham 0
Emerson b T Ham 0
Simpson b T Hancock 10
Bowden* b T Hancock 5
Maccoystal b T Hancock 1
Scholfield b T Hancock 4
Rechner c A Norton b M Hodgkiss 1
Searle b W Stevens 8
Jagger b W Stevens 0

Extras (b16 lb3 w2 nb2) 23
TOTAL 10 wickets for 113

Bowler O M R W
O Heath 6 2 19 0
T Ham 6 1 16 3
T Hancock 10 2 28 4
W Stevens 9 3 14 2
M Hodgkiss 4 0 17 1


On a humid day Crazies Hill won a good toss and asked Harpsden to strap the pads on first. This appeared a good decision as the Harpsden openers Sam Imlay and Justin Bradley struggled with the early movement. Rechner bowled especially well and can feel hard done by to only return figures of 15-3-56-2. As the ball softened and batting became easier Imlay and Bradley set about increasing the run rate. When Sam finally fell for 41 he was replaced by his father Andrew, who with typical aggression raced along to 27. Meanwhile Bradley now seeing the ball well hit it to all corners of the ground, finally departing for 87 {his highest score for Harpsden in a 20 year career!}. Captain Andrew Norton smashed a quick fifty to leave his team with a commanding total of 223 at tea.

In response Crazies were restricted in their reply by Heath and Ham. The initial breakthrough was made by Ham, who went on to have a hat-trick attempt unfortunately despite the numerous men crowding the bat Simpson survived. Hancock was the next man to take centre stage, bowling a beautiful line and with a huge amount of movement he ripped through the heart of the Crazies batting line up ending with 4-27. As the game entered the last three overs Harpsden still required 2 wickets and with Steward still at the crease Crazies looked in with a chance of saving a draw. This was until Will Stevens, having earlier bowled off-breaks for the team, reverted to his more usual medium pacers, and managed to take both wickets in his final over. This left Harpsden convincing winners by over one hundred runs.

Harpsden V Hurst 16th June 2007

Harpsden
K Stormont b Baines 52
W Stevens c ????? b Baines 51
R Harris Run Out 3
D Hayden c Bannister b Smith 53
H Cary c ????? b Christian 1
M Hodgkiss c ????? b Christian 13
T Sampson Not out 9
M Greenwood Run Out 1
B Hancock c Robert b Male 0
M Farmar b Smith 1
R Moyle Run Out 0
Extras 22
TOTAL 206
Best Bowling: Baines 3-47, Smith 2-31, Christian 2-40

Hurst
D Orford b Hayden 2
Andy c Cary b Hayden 0
I Smith c Sampson b Hancock 24
T Male c Moyle b Hayden 7
B Male Run Out 1
Williams c&b Farmar 1
G Smith c Harris b Farmar 21
Robert b Hancock 0
A Thomas b Cary 8
R Bannister Not Out 10
Extras 17
TOTAL 91
Best Bowling: Hayden 3-9, Farmar 2-3, Hancock 2-13

Harpsden lost the toss and were put into bat on a damp, spongy wicket. Harpsden got off to great start with Stormont and Stevens timing the ball brilliantly, and on one occasion the ball was timed too sweetly as the ball nearly took off umpire Mick Greenwood's head. Their 50 partnership came up in the 10th over with both looking to go on to get half centuries. Stormont fell to the bowling of Baines for a well earned 52. This brought Harris to the crease on the back of a 74 the week before. He didn’t last long after being run out for just 3. Harris was obviously disappointed as Hayden went out to join Stevens at the crease, soon after Stevens fell for a well hit 51. Cary was next man in with Harpsden on 149-3. He didn’t last long after he chipped one straight to mid off. Hodgkiss then showed his aim as he drilled a straight four after just a few balls. He was then caught and departed for a quick 13. Almost immediately after Hodgkiss was out Hayden also fell for a hard hitting 53. After this everything fell apart a bit for Harpsden and they were bowled out for 206.
Harpsden then started off at express pace as Hayden took 2 early wickets leaving Hurst reeling on 8-2. Hurst then set about building a total before Hayden took a third. Another wicket fell almost immediately after a superb direct hit from Stormont got rid of Male for just 1. Williams was next to fall after he chipped one straight back to Farmar off his own bowling. G Smith fell after a reflex catch from Sampson off the bowling of Hancock. Hancock then removed Robert just 3 balls later after being bowled by one that hit leg stump. Then came the turn of Horatio 'Monty' Cary. He removed Thomas with his first ball as he celebrated ecstatically. It then took Harpsden a further 10 overs to finish the match off after Farmar had G Smith caught after a composed 21. This was a strong all round performance from Harpsden with Hayden, Stormont and Stevens batting superbly, and with the ball Hayden, again, Hancock and Farmar all showing brilliant control to take 7 wickets between them.

Harpsden v Reading University Vikings 09/06/07

Harpsden v Reading University Vikings
(Harpsden won by 3 wickets)

Reading University Vikings

Davidson, Bowled Farmer, 7
Fokes, Caught, Balaji, 35
Naylor, Bowled Farmer, 0
Kendrick, Bowled Farmer, 3
Stotti, Caught, Balaji, 12
Brett, Caught, Sampson, 40
Dare, Caught, Hancock, 64
Strichman, Caught, Sampson, 16
Jones, Bowled Sampson, 0
Stephen, Not Out
Sanders, Bowled Sampson, 0
Total, 188 all out

Harpsden

Harris, Caught, Brett, 74
Sampson, Stumped, Kendrick, 0
Tridip, LBW Brett, 5
Ord, Bowled Brett, 0
Hodgkiss, Caught, Brett, 0
Shanahan, Bowled Brett, 1
Balaji, Not Out, 66
Bradley, Bowled Brett, 18
Hancock, Not Out, 0


Harpsden won the toss and chose to bowl. Harpsden got off to a good start taking early wickets and restricting the Reading University Vikings run rate. Wickets came from Sampson (4 for 37), Farmer (3 for 32), Balaji (2 for 21) and Hancock (1 for 56). Harpsden were disappointed not to have reduced the total, however valuable contributions from Brett (40) and Dare (64) late in the innings gave Reading University Vikings optimism after reaching 188 all out at tea.

With Reading University Vikings reaching a respectable total, Harpsden set out on their run chase. After wickets falling early in the innings for Harpsden, Reading University Vikings sensed victory. The introduction of Balaji proved to be the turning point in the match. A fine partnership between Harris (74) and Balaji (66 not out) swung the game back in Harpsden’s favour. A much needed contribution from Bradley (18) proved to be enough as harpsden won the game by 3 wickets finishing on a total of 192 for 7.

Harpsden vs West Wycombe Sunday 3rd June

(Harpsden won the toss and batted 40 over match)
Harpsden won by 101 runs
Harpsden
A Norton c&b Jones 60
T Sampson LBW Parrett 9
M Thomas Ct Woolans B Jones 13
M Hodgkiss B Jones 6
O Heath B Smith 35
T Hancock B Reucessel 37
T Ham B Parrett 17
Tridip Ct Smith B Reucessel 2
M Farmer Run Out 0
M Greenwood Not Out 8
R Moyle Not Out 1

Extras 25

Total 213-9

Bowling
Parrett 8-0-40-2
Reucesssel 8-1-34-2
Smith 8-0-39-1
Jones 8-1-40-3
Hemmings 6-0-31-0
Woolems 2-0-12-0


West Wycombe
Smith Ct Farmer B Thomas 54
Woolems B Heath 0
Jones B Heath 0'
Coode C&B Heath 1
Knowles B Farmer 3
Deighton B Farmer 0
Reumand-Tebbit B Hodgekiss 1
Reucessel Ct Moyle B Thomas 33
Hemmings Ct Norton B Farmer 0
Parrett St Moyle B Farmer 2
Barry Not Out 0

Extras 18

Total 112

Bowling
Heath 5-3-4-3
Greenwood 5-1-14-0
Farmer 7.1-2-13-4
Sampson 5-2-5-0
Hodgkiss 5-1-13-1
Hancock 6-1-29-0
Ham 3-0-22-0
Thomas 3-2-1-2


Harpsden batted first on a hot afternoon and got off to a good start with Andrew Norton scoring 60.The slow outfield meant that boundaries were hard to come by and Harpsden were grateful to their youthful middle order of Ollie Heath(35), Tom Hancock (37) and Tom Ham (17) in helping them get to a total of 213-9 from their 40 overs. Ham was particularly fortunate when he was bowled by a full toss but the bails remarkably stayed in place.
Jones was the pick of the bowling with 3-40.

When West Wycombe batted Ollie Heath bowled 5 very fast overs and ripped out the early batsman leaving the homeside 12-3. From that point The batting side were always going to struggle. Some very high quality bowling followed from all of the bowlers and this restricted Wycombe to a total of 112. Farmer gave a fine display of spin bowling with a combination of legspin, googlies and top spin totally confusing the batsman. Only Smith showed any resistance scoring 54 runs before falling to a stunning catch from Farmer.

Harpsden vs. Reading Lawyers 2nd June 2007

Harpsden
A. Imlay Bowled M.Burrows 0
D. Ord LBW Seymour 0
A. Bryan LBW Seymour 13
S. Imlay LBW Al. Davies 29
I. Whittaker Run Out 105
M. Shanahan c. Lynch b. Ash. Davies 3
M. Hodgkiss c. Symms b. Al. Davies 12
C. Whittaker Not Out 58
R. Birkett Not Out 25
Extras 4
Total for 7 wkts 249
Best bowling Al. Davies; 2 - 32, Seymour; 2 - 56

Reading Lawyers

M. Symms c. I. Whittaker b. Hodgkiss 0
J. Wood - Smith c. Bryan b. Hodgkiss 8
C. Lynch c. Hodgkiss b. Bryan 66
D. Loosemore ct. & b. Bryan 45
Ash. Davies b. Bryan 0
W. Baker LBW S. Imlay 12
M. Burrows c. C. Whittaker b. Bryan 4
Al. Davies b. I. Whittaker 3
N. Burrows c. S. Imlay b. Bryan 0
S. Clements Not Out 20
M. Seymour Not Out 11
Extras 37
Total for 9 wkts 206
Best Bowling Bryan 5 - 49, Hodgkiss 2 - 49

Whittakers pile on the runs for Harpsden

Reading Lawyers won a good toss and put Harpsden into bat on a wicket, and atmosphere, that was giving the bowlers some significant help. Harpsden lost their openers in the first two overs leaving them 0 for 2 and although Andy Bryan and Sam Imlay managed to stabilise things, they both departed to LBW decisions and Harpsden were soon back in trouble. Shanahan and Hodgkiss came and went pretty swiftly which left the batting side in the precarious position of 78 for 6. Cometh the hour, cometh the father and son combination of Ian and Christian Whittaker. Ian batted beautifully, putting away the bad balls for boundaries, defending the good balls, or playing them round the field for well run ones and twos whilst 15 year old Christian looked untroubled from the moment he came to the crease launching an array of trademark cover drives. Ian's knock of 105 was his first hundred since he was a 15 year old, some years ago, and included 13 fours and 2 sixes, and was undoubtedly a triumph of both skill and concentration. Ian's innings inevitably ended with a run out, as so often happens with father and son combinations. This brought Rod Birkett to the crease and with Christian they put on 51 in less than 15 minutes, declaring just moments before tea. Christian's 58 was his first of what will hopefully be many half centuries for Harpsden.
Despite the rather daunting target, and the loss of 2 early wickets to the steady bowling of Miles Hodgkiss, Reading Lawyers never lost faith in their ability to score at the required 6 runs an over. Lynch and Loosemore came together at 21, looking very much at ease and put on a swift 107 before Andy Bryan had Lynch caught for a very powerful 66. Ashley Davies proceeded to get a first baller from Bryan leaving Will Baker to safely defend the hatrick ball to deny Bryan him a second hatrick for Harpsden after one last season. The many bowling changes helped to confuse the batsmen and wickets fell steadily, and with great credit to the Lawyers, they didn't give up the chase until the 9th wicket had fallen. The final pair managed to hold on for the last 6 overs for a well deserved draw. The highlights of the Harspden display in the field was an outstanding piece of fielding on the boundary by Matt Shanahan, tight bowling by Ed Birkett in a high scoring game going for only 14 runs in his 6 overs, really good catches by Ian Whittaker and Sam Imlay and a tremendous, first ever, 5 wicket haul for spinner Andy Bryan.

At the end of a day's cricket ...

... some people are more helpful than others (title supplied by Jane!):































































NB this is not a definitive list of helpful people - just a few who happened to be around while I was taking photos!

... and finally, Will's dog helpfully chasing away a hot air balloon:

Harpsden vs Old Josephians - 29th May

On a cloudy and damp afternoon, Harpsden won the toss and put the Old Joesphians into bat on what seemed to be a slow and sticky wicket. With the clouds the opening bowlers were rubbing their hands together in the thought of a swinging ball. 15 year olds Christian Whittaker and Ed Birkett opened the bowling with enthusiasm and pace, and frequently beating the bat. Ed broke the 50 run opening partnership with a fine edge to a great away swinger to the safe hands of father Rod behind the stumps. Tom Hancock came on to bowl a fabulous spell of 4 for 33 which included 3 very good catches by the young teenagers. From the other end our newcomer, Ben Rinck, bowled an exceptional spell taking 4 for 13 off 7.4 overs. The clouds started to darken with the threat of heavy rain. Fortunately they passed over with only a few minutes of rain. At 5 O’clock the players took tea with the Old Joesphians all out for 101.

The Harspden openers, Kit Stormont and Mark Thomas, got off to a rapid start with Kit hitting a very quick 20. The first wicket to fall was the run out of Thomas with some fine fielding from backward point. Matt Shannahan was unfortunately bowled first ball by a stunner from Patel. This brought Tom Rose out from the dressing room with Harpsden on 24 for 2. An excellent caught and bowled by Hill to dismiss Stormont brought in Huysinga on his debut. He started off solidly in partnership with Rose before some more great fielding ended the partnership. At 36 for 4, Rod Birkett came in and with Huysinga steadied the ship moving the score on promisingly towards the total. But the Old Joesphians, fielding like tigers, put their bodies on the line. Harspden’s 5th wicket fell at 72 with a wonderful ball by O’ Donohue. Aggressive stroke play from the incoming Christian Whittaker ended the match swiftly with Huysinga finishing on 29 and Whittaker on 25.


Old Josephians

McGuire Ct Birkett.R b Birkett.E 20
Daniels Ct Stormont b Rinck 39
Mitchener.P Ct Rinck b Hancock.T 1
Mitchener.J Ct C.Whittaker b Hancock.T 2
Patel Ct Birkett. E. b Hancock.T 2
De Giovanni b Rinck 3
Ahern b Hodgkiss 2
Grindrod.P b Rinck 4
Grindrod.R Ct Hancock.T b Rinck 1
Hill Ct Stormont b Hancock.T 1
O'Donohue Not Out 6

Extras 20
Total All Out 101


Best Bowling; Rinck 4-13, Hancock T 4-33


Harpsden

Stormont C&B Hill 20
Thomas Run Out 4
Shannanhan b Patel 0
Rose Run Out 8
Huysinga Not Out 29
Birkett.R b O' Donohue 20
Whittaker.C Not Out 25

Extras 11
Total 5 Wickets 107


Best Bowling; O'Donohue 1-14








photos by Alfred Cary