Article 26

The Strollers headed south for perhaps the final time this season to take on the Brixton Casuals on the well-maintained South Bank University Sports Ground. Captaining The Strollers for the first time was Simon French and he called 'heads' correctly and invited the opposition to bat on a good pitch with a fast outfield hoping to make early inroads with the new ball. There were whisperings of Brisbane 2002 as Brixton set off at 6 an over as the opening bowlers of French and Ilija Krunic were inconsistent in their length against some aggressive batting although their efforts were hindered by two dropped catches.

At drinks Brixton had reached just 109/0 off just 17 overs with no success for the bowling changes that had seen Nick Clark and Mick Mathews into the attack. With the incapacitated Paul Lupton unable to bowl the skipper shuffled his pack once more and turned to the wily Paul Lees who made an instant impact with three wickets in his first two overs that included a wicket with his first ball and the 98th catch of John Reidy's Strollers career to bring the score to a more respectable looking 119 for 3. In his sixth over he took his fourth wicket of the innings (caught by debutant Colin Purdie) with the score on 153 in the 29th over. Paul has now taken a wicket in all 8 games that he has bowled in this season. Aided by tight bowling from Mathews at the other end the skipper was relieved to apply the breaks on what had threatened to be a large Brixton total. After a late flurry, Clark came back to take the wicket of the Casuals remaining opener - out for 103 - caught off his own bowling, with the score on 181in the 33rd over. The innings closed with the Brixton Casuals having scored 193 from their 35 overs, with a solitary over of left arm spin from Purdie showing the benefit of taking the pace of the ball.

Facing a challenging task of scoring over 5.5 per over, openers Krunic and Lees set about their task with gusto. Keeping up with the required rate from the off, the pair put on a century partnership before Lees fell on 40 in the 15th over with the score on 105. This was he highest opening partnership of the season and Paul's 39th run was his 1,750th for Strollers - the 6th Stroller to achieve this feat.

Krunic was joined at the crease by Aziz and although his short innings ended on 28, with the score on 158 from 24 overs, during this time Fayaz hit his 500th run of the season, the first ever Stroller to achieve this feat twice (he scored 604 runs in 2002). French and Krunic saw The Strollers safely home, French hitting 16 and Krunic carrying his bat with an unbeaten 74. The Strollers passed their target with over 6 overs to spare to complete a professional victory. Matthews, Clark, Purdie, Edens, Reidy, Lupton and Thomas did not bat.

On an end-of-summer pitch that had been heavily watered the night before and a parched outfield, The Strollers took on the West London Deaf in a new fixture that produced some exciting cricket and a victory by 113 runs.

Captain Fayaz Aziz elected to bat, however 'Poor knees' a.k.a. Paul Lees, found an athletic opening bowler defy his years and take a well-judged caught and bowled chance in his first over. At 0/1, The Strollers seemed to be in trouble but one wicket down this season appears to be the cue for a significant partnership as the Captain and Rob Fell took on the bowling to register the third century second-wicket partnership of the year yet also the sixth highest in Strollers' history.

Unfortunately Aziz (47) and Fell (a well-constructed 41) were both out in quick succession just short of their half-centuries leaving the innings interestingly poised after 28 overs at 120/3. Sunil Mohan was then joined by his brother-in-law, Raj Sharma and they proceeded to put on 84 in just 9 overs to take the game away from the West London Deaf as they posted the highest fourth wicket stand of the season. 'Raj-followers' will have been disappointed thus far this season by some low scores, but he was not to be denied as he ripped into the opposition to register the third fastest fifty in The Strollers' history, off just 26 balls (The record is held by Mike Yates off just 22 balls in 1993). His shock dismissal for 52 was quickly followed by that of Ilija Krunic (both LBW), the latter who did not trouble the scorers, as The Strollers reached 204/5 in the 37th over. Sunil continued to play well to reach 37 not out at the end of the innings as he added a quick-fire 22 with Simon French who made an agricultural 16 not out off 13 balls. The Strollers closed on 226/5.

In reply the West London Deaf soon found themselves on the back foot against a miserly opening salvo from Krunic and French. Owain Lloyd-James took a good low catch at cover to give Krunic the first wicket with the score on just 3 and three overs later a successful LBW appeal from French had the West London Deaf reeling at 15/2. This became 30/3 in the 13th over as Krunic disturbed the furniture to end the stubborn resistance of the remaining opening batsman. Right-arm seam was then replaced by left-arm swing as Paul Lupton and Lloyd-James set about the middle order. It was Lupton who found success with three good wickets (aided by a good catch from Lees) to take him to 189 Strollers wickets and just 19 behind the all-time record holder, Jim Bird. Despite a late cameo from the tail, the British Deaf were all out for 113 from 32.4 overs with Lees and Mohan taking a wicket apiece. The captain of the West London Deaf (who looked a very good bat) was dismissed by one of the best pieces of fielding seen by The Strollers this year with Fell and John Reidy combining to contrive an excellent run-out as the batsmen attempted a second run to third man. Rumours drifted round Chiswick that evening that Alan Knott had come out of retirement…

Patrick Thomas also fielded expertly as The Strollers took the game by 113 runs and now travel to Dulwich on the seventh of September for a fixture against the Brixton Casuals.

On a warm Chiswick afternoon the Strollers found themselves facing the Serbian Sloggers on a pitch that led Clarkey to comment ‘it was a good toss to lose’ as the pitch had been recently watered and whereas one end reflected the effects of a dry English summer the other end had the look of a Headingley wicket in late April. Opting for a mix of experience and youth in the forms of Paul Lupton and Simon French with the new ball the breakthrough came as early as the second over as French got one to nip back and trap the Sloggers opener in front. A miserly opening spell ensued with considerable lateral movement and was supported by the ‘ageless’ Lupton who bowled eight overs straight off the reel with one wicket off perhaps not his best ball of the day! Owain Lloyd-James and the returning Calbert MacLean (making his first start for the Strollers this season) found wickets hard to come by as the Sloggers looked to post a 200-plus score against some attacking fields. The skipper turned to his own brand of seam-up for the breakthrough and with the score on 89 got one arrow straight to have the danger man (and part-time Stroller) Ilija Krunic leg before. Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals as the run rate was well pegged back by Rob Fell and Clark and the athletic keeping of Mick Mathews who took his 50th and 51st catches for the club, the second being the dismissal, off Fell, of another Stroller, Fayaz Aziz whose career average as a Stroller is safely ahead of that he averages as a Slogger!

The innings was finally completed as the Sloggers last wicket partnership pushed the score to 170/8 with three wickets for Clark, two for French and one a piece for Lupton and Fell who also executed an excellent run-out. A few dropped catches marred an otherwise sound fielding performance with John ‘Statski’ Reidy almost clinging on to a diving blinder in the gully that would have taken some beating as catch of the season.

In reply the slightly under-the-weather Lloyd-James opened up with Zia Sadique. From early it was clear that Zia was in great touch and Mystic Meg Mathews commented after just one over ‘….. he’ll get a ton, just you see’. The dismissal of Lloyd-James for just 5 was a blip as the Sloggers strike bowler, I.Krunic (one of three Krunic!) broke down with a hamstring strain and French and McLean helped Zia post two consecutive half-century stands with both making 23 as Zia continued to play an expansive but chanceless knock. Clark joined Zia with 14 required and still 13 overs remaining. Clark unselfishly avoided the strike for Zia to post his first century of the season and to become the 15th Stroller to achieve the feat and the 21st century by a Stroller. His knock included 15 four’s and a six and was made off just 87 balls. The game ended with a wide and with 11.5 overs remaining. The Strollers next game is against the British Deaf at Chiswick in 2 weeks time.

On a day that saw the highest temperature ever recorded in England, captain Paul Lupton skilfully won the toss and decided to let the gallant men from Haud Magnum field first in this 35 over game.

Openers Paul Lees and Mick Matthews shared a stand of 61 before Lees fell, shortly after the first of many drinks intervals, out LBW having scored 22. The top order batsman all made solid contributions with Matthews hitting 38, Ilija Krunic 43, Sunil Mohan run out for 40 (20 runs in one over which included three 6s) with the score on 193 off 26 overs. Would there be a collapse as there had been in previous weeks (the last six wickets falling for 4 runs in the last but one game)? Well, this time the tail wagged, with all eleven players batting and no one scoring less than five runs. There were seasonal high partnerships for the 8th (9 from Tim Lalor and Patrick Thomas) and 10th (an unbeaten 14 from Lupton and John Reidy) wickets and The Strollers finished with a score of 267 for 9 from their allotted 35 overs.

Captain Lupton shared opening bowling duties with Simon French and early breakthroughs were made with the score on 21 and then again at 23. Although a 82 run partnership between Magnum's Allen and Gundry slowed The Strollers progress, victory could not be denied. In the end, eight Stroller bowlers were used with Lupton (his first of the season), Clark (bowling the 3,500th delivery of his Stroller career) and Lalor taking the wickets (there were also two runs outs). Haud Magnum finished on 159 for 5.

The Strollers won the game by 108 runs and Ilija Krunic was voted Man of the Match.

The third of August 2003 is a day that will go down in infamy in the history of The Strollers Cricket Club. When historians look back on the Club that went on to dominate the world (à la Real Madrid) they will point to this day as being our darkest.

The day started well with eleven players arriving at Chiswick on a hot day, to play an affable bunch called Suraj (the team, they didn’t all have the same name). That eleven soon became ten when Mike Campbell decided that he felt that he would get more of a game playing for a different side on the pitch next to us. Still unperturbed, The Strollers elected to bat first.

The openers did well to survive the opening exchanges with the Suraj opening bowlers showing themselves to be useful opponents. However, Sadique and Lloyd-James are made of stern stuff and managed to put on 50 in twelve overs for the first wicket. Lloyd-James was first out, missing a straight one for a credible 27. Captain Aziz then joined Sadique and the pair set about building the innings’ major partnership. When Sadique fell on 47, Mohan entered the fray, went nuts and slapped a quick-fire 47. Aziz was eventually dismissed for 62 and the innings closed on 229 for 5 off 40 overs.

Suraj had to score at nearly a run a ball to defeat The Strollers, a tall order under normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances! Bowling with an old ball, with ten players, in the heat and on a lightening outfield, things were going to be testing. Things got even more testing when French left after 20 overs for a social. For the last twenty overs The Strollers fielded with only nine men.

All things considered, The Strollers stuck to their task commendably, with new boy Harold and Tim Lalor taking particular plaudits for their attitude. However, against a strong opposition batting line up, The Strollers eventually capitulated in the penultimate over. Suraj scored 231 for 6, with Lloyd-James and Sadique each taking two wickets. Who can say what a difference just one extra fielder could have made?

Despite losing, there was much to be taken from this fixture: the grit shown by the nine players that stayed on the field, the bowling of Lalor and the quality and friendliness of the opposition. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!

Suraj won the match by 4 wickets and The Strollers man of the Match went to Fayaz Aziz.

In this match The Strollers faced the double peril of a pitch that did everything and an opposition that did nothing - very quickly. The side were the Brixton Casuals, who also possessed the strongest bowling attack we have faced this season.

Skipper Aziz elected to bat first and the opening three batsman were so glad he did. After a promising opening couple of overs, where Brixton’s opening attack struggled with the right and left hand combination of Iliya Krunic and Owain Lloyd-James, Brixton began exerting pressure. It began with the dismissal of Lloyd-James, caught behind trying to pull. Sunil Mohan joined Iliya and together they faced some quick and hostile bowling. It is to both the batsmen’s credit that they stuck it out and put together the innings’ most substantial partnership. It ended when Mohan was caught trying to hit over the top for 40. After that, wickets fell regularly and when Iliya was dismissed for an excellent 75 the rest of the batting capitulated. The Strollers, who were at one point 186 for 6, were all out for 190.

That total looked frighteningly low when one of Brixton’s openers began setting about The Strollers' opening attack of Lloyd-James and Mohan. Taking early wickets has been a feature of the season thus far and when neither bowler managed a breakthrough, things looked bleak. It is at such times of crisis that the cream rises and when Fayaz needed a wicket he turned to our own bionic man, Paul Lees ‘Majors’. Bowling off a negligible run up he caught & bowled Brixton’s danger man and brought new hope to the side. After Lees had to be withdrawn due to injury (another trip to the mechanics beckons), Matthews removed the keeper’s pads and took over. With a clever mix of wides and slower balls (which seemed to get slower as his spell wore on) he kept the Brixton batsman guessing. Ably backed up by some classy out cricket (a stumping by Reidy, one catch by Aziz and two by L-J, including one ‘stunner’) Matthews tore the heart out of the Brixton batting with figures of 5 for 10 and secured the match. Oh, and Iliya took wickets as well (3 for 3), but he always does.

The Strollers won by 52 runs and the Man of the Match award went to Iliya Krunic.

The Strollers began the day hoping to avoid defeat and thus equal the club record of 29 games unbeaten, set in the summers of 1995 and 1996. Despite some noticeable absentees from the starting line up (Nick Clark, Simon French, Ilija Krunic, Owain Lloyd-James, Paul Lupton, Raj Sharma and Simon Robinson) the Strollers were still optimistic when The Energy Exiles won the toss and elected to field first on a baking hot day at Chiswick, in a "timed" (as opposed to limited overs) fixture.

Making a surprise return to The Strollers side was Charles Sampson, last seen emigrating to the West Indies (but back to tidy up 'loose ends'). Charles opened the batting with Mick Matthews and together they put on 70 runs for the first wicket (the highest opening partnership of the season so far) before Matthews was cleaned bowled. One wicket down with 18 overs gone, The Strollers looked to increase the run rate and make use of the wickets in hand. Sampson was eventually caught for 38, and Fayaz Aziz with 39 and Sunil Mohan with 26 made useful contributions, as The Strollers moved from 99 runs off 24 overs to 200 off the 35 overs they faced, within their allotted time limit.

Taking the field in the still stifling heat, The Strollers had to make some adjustments to their normal bowling line up in view of the absentees. Regular wicket keeper Matthews had to bowl for the first time in a year but despite his, Mohan, Paul Lees and Mike Campbell's best efforts, an early breakthrough could not be made. Eventually, with the score on 117 from 20 overs, a magnificent catch by stand-in wicket-keeper John Reidy (his 50th catch behind the stumps) off the bowling of Mohan, saw the first wicket fall and raised The Strollers' hopes.

Shortly afterwards, another catch by Reidy, this time off the bowling of Matthews, appeared to signal the start of a collapse by the Exiles. As The Strollers celebrated, it slowly dawned on them that the batsman had not moved and neither had the umpire's finger. Despite a clear 'nick' the batsman was allowed to continue his innings. Somewhat understandably, The Strollers' heads went down after this bitter disappointment and although Mohan took a further brace of wickets, the Exiles eventually totalled 204 for 4, with two overs to spare.

The Strollers had lost a match for the first time since Alderley Edge on 22 July 2001 and the first time in London since 10 September 2000. Despite this, the atmosphere after the game was up-beat and there was a resolute determination that The Strollers will be back to resume normal service shortly.

On Sunday, The Strollers were once again exposed to a 'trial by pot-hole', on a wicket at Richmond Old Deer Park. This time it was against a remarkably good-natured (all things considered) bunch of lads, who go by the name of The Whalers.

The Strollers batted first and it soon became obvious that it wasn’t going to be a day where ‘proper batsman’ flourished. Robinson, Matthews and Aziz all were out for less than we would usually expect from these three run-machines. Instead, on a track that did everything, it was a day where the more belligerent batsman filled their boots. Lloyd-James (50), Clark (44), Lees (32) and Krunic (53, the second of two maiden half-centuries) all made runs. The innings closed with the score on 256 for 7 off 40 overs. A mammoth score for an opposition to chase on flat track at Chiswick, but near impossible at Richmond.

That total looked even further away by the time Krunic (3 for 15) and Lloyd-James (2 for 16) had The Whalers 5 down within the first 12 overs. Wickets fell regularly throughout The Whalers' innings, with Campbell and Arnold each picking up a wicket and Robinson (3 for 8), doing his usual harvesting of tail-enders. The Whalers were all out for 71. Special mention must also go to Matthews, who behind the stumps defied both age and girth to take 4 catches, some of which were actually quite good.

On the long drive down to Frimley Green in Surrey, intermittent showers were the order of the day. Captaining the side for the second time this season, Simon Robinson won the toss and decided to bat whilst the rain held off.

Unfortunately, Raj Sharma was out first delivery when he could not prevent the ball from rolling under his bat and onto his stumps, having played a classic forward defensive stroke. New batsman Fayaz Aziz then joined opener Mick Matthews and together they put on 103 runs for the second wicket before Matthews was caught for 54 - the ninth half century of his Stroller career. In his innings Matthews scored his 2,000th run, becoming only the fifth Stroller to have achieved this feat, and hit his 250th 4 - a landmark reached only three times before.

Aziz, Zia Sadique, Zia Masud and Sunil Mohan all came and went before Robinson and Nick Clark put together a 32 run partnership for the 7th wicket. The innings closed when John Reidy was cleaned bowled for 0 in his 100th innings for Strollers, with the score on 189.

Many felt this not to be enough, especially after last season's tight finish when the Strollers emerged with a narrow 10 run victory , but their fears were soon allayed when Ilija Krunic had the Frimley Green opener caught by Matthews off the second ball of the innings. And in a devastating bowling attack both Krunic, and his opening bowling partner Simon French, saw the Frimley Green batsmen reduced to 23 for 5 wickets in fourteen overs, French ending up with four wickets for 13 runs in his eight over spell. Thereafter, the Frimley Green innings could offer little resistance and although they reached a respectable 95 all out, the damage had already been done. Robinson and Clark chipped in with two wickets a piece and Sharma, with two good catches, and Matthews, with three catches and a stumping, illustrated the Strollers' mastery in the field. Matthews' 3 catches in a match was the third time he had such a return and he joins Reidy as the only Stroller wicket-keepers to have achieved this feat three times.

Mick Matthews was unanimously voted Man of the Match in his 99th game for the Strollers.

Frimley Green vs. The Strollers at Frimley Green, June 22nd 2003 (another version)

The Strollers travelled to Frimley Green on an overcast and muggy day anticipating one of the toughest matches in their fixture list. On winning the toss on a firm pitch with plenty of grass, captain Simon Robinson elected to bat and looked concerned as to what lay ahead as an innocuous first ball accounted for a bemused looking Raj Sharma. Fayaz Aziz (who claims to hate opening the innings!) thus found himself facing the second ball of the innings and despite an edgy start looked increasingly composed as he and the in-form Mick Matthews put on one hundred and three for the second wicket with Mick reaching his first fifty of the season with some assured drives and pulls.

At the halfway stage with The Strollers going at almost five an over and nine wickets in hand, a score in excess of 200 looked a certainty. However Fayaz and Mick, having rode their luck somewhat, both perished trying to accelerate the innings and the new batsmen found runs harder to come by, as the Frimley bowling began to tie the Strollers batsmen down. Despite some useful contributions from the skipper, Nick Clark and Simon French, wickets fell regularly and the innings closed an over and a half prematurely with an under-par total of 186.

Frimley sensed the match was there for the taking after a snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory last year. Robbo had other ideas and rallied his bowlers into an aggressive counter-attack to silence the increasingly vocal Frimley players. French and Ilija Krunic shared the new ball and the breakthrough was not long in coming with Ilija coaxing an edge with just the second ball of the innings and Matthews snapping up the chance behind the stumps. French coming down the hill began to generate a fair pace and got the Frimley batsmen wafting at and dodging some sharp deliveries. The innings slowed to a crawl with two wickets from French and a staunch defence from the opposition's star batsman. However, at 20 for 4 and the pressure mounting, he was tempted into an edge and Matthews collected his third catch of the innings. At the end of the 16th over Frimley had reached 34 for 6 with Sunil Mohan collecting a wicket and French finishing with four - the game was effectively up. Despite some late order resistance from the 'Green', Robbo and the jetlagged Clark varied their pace effectively to grab a pair of wickets apiece, assisted by a couple of catches from Raj and a stumping by Matthews who just couldn't stay out of the game. Frimley Green were bowled out for just 96 and The Strollers kept their unbeaten season intact. The Strollers' next engagement is against Effingham this Sunday at Chiswick.

Result: Strollers won by 90 runs.

Salix vs. The Strollers at Richmond, June 15th 2003

The Strollers had a baking hot day and a dodgy track to contend with at Richmond on Sunday 15 June as they did battle against Salix (a nice bunch of lads, who we've only played once before).

You know not to expect too much when the opposition captain returns from the changing rooms describing the groundsman as a half-wit and saying we can choose whatever pitch we wanted (providing we can find one that has been marked up). We were not disappointed. Captain Fayaz Aziz won the toss and decided to bat on what can only be described as the pitch from hell. With that in mind, the fact that Strollers went on to make 233 of just 35 overs is very much to their credit. Sharma (26), Matthews (20), Aziz (65), Mohan (47) and Robinson (38) all made runs, though it was the innings of Mohan and Robinson that particularly caught the eye.

The prospect of bowling on the track had Lloyd-James recovering miraculously from a shoulder injury and Matthews willing to give Reidy a shot behind the stumps (Mick kept hold of the gloves, despite JR taking a catch and conceding only 2 byes on a rain affected pitch the week before!). Salix lost their first wicket with the score on 5, through a magnificent diving catch which saw the ball safely clutched just an inch from the ground by Robinson, off the bowling of Mohan, and thereafter they lost wickets on a regular basis. Salix eventually scored 143 for 9 with Owain Lloyd-James (2 for 22), Robinson (2 for 19) and Sharma (2 for 15) each taking two wickets and Mohan, Mike Campbell and Paul Edens taking one each. Special mention must again go to Robinson and Campbell who both would have got the figures they deserved had it not been for the usual suspect Stroller fielding (what about some catching practice?). Gary Arnold, John Reidy and Patrick Thomas also played (the former two not given an opportunity to show their prowess with either bat or ball).

In the end, The Strollers came out winners by 90 runs.

Strollers vs. Ealing Wanderers, 8th June 2003

The Strollers headed west on Sunday to Osterley to take on the Ealing Wanderers. On arrival at the picturesque ground it soon became apparent that we were facing a talented and well-organised side with excellent facilities. Five minutes before the arranged start, Paul 'The Flash' Lupton arrived at the ground tanned and relaxed from his Mediterranean adventure. After a brief look at an uneven pitch he invited the Wanderers to have a bat and scurried off to the changing rooms to prepare his eyes, limbs and brain for the next 40 overs.

Opening up with Owain and Simon French, The Strollers found a breakthrough hard to come by as the opposition mixed stern defence and expansive drives to reach 40/0. At this point Simon let off the hand-break and began to run into the breeze and up the hill with renewed vigour, with the help of two catches from the prowling Simon Robinson at cover and the evergreen John Reidy behind the stumps the Wanderers innings began to stumble. The 'pacy' Owain was replaced by debutant Ilija Krunic who instantly settled into an awkward length for the Ealing batsmen and the Strollers found further joy as two wickets in two balls reduced the Wanderers to 46/5. The heavens then opened and forced the Strollers into an enjoyable early tea.

Unfortunately, to steal a football cliché, the break came at the wrong time as the Wanderers regrouped and set about posting a respectable score in bright sunshine on a fast drying pitch. The score was approaching 100 when Simon Robinson nipped out two quick wickets with a combination of some straight bowling and a well-judged catch from Owain who seemed to be everywhere in the field. After a brief but economical spell from the skipper, he turned to his 'fastest!' bowler 'Everyman' Lloyd-James who wrapped up the tail to finish with three wickets.

Chasing 121 for victory, Raj and Zia Masud opened the batting against some straight and pacy Wanderers bowling. Raj was first to go chasing a wide half volley and hitting it 'too well' to cover. With Ilija and the increasingly composed Zia seeing off the new ball bowlers the Strollers set about their target with more freedom however both perished with the score on 20 bringing another debutant, Rob (Surname?!) and the attacking Sunil to the crease. Batting suddenly appeared easier as both batsmen opened up against the support bowling that lacked the penetration of the opening attack. As the score passed 80 with 17 overs remaining the Strollers looked to be coasting to a straightforward victory, cue a collapse of Zimbabwe proportions as Sunil and Rob who both made well made thirties, Owain, Patrick and Simon Robinson (first ball to a yorker that "came out of the trees") departed for the addition of just 10 runs.

A crisis loomed as our blind captain trotted to the wicket sporting a crash helmet and shades (the resemblance to a right handed Jack Russell is scary) and Simon French the last 'recognized' batsman reminded the skip that he should not like to be responsible for a Strollers defeat. The Wanderers sensing that a further breakthrough would ensure victory returned their quickest bowlers to the harness however with some clever farming of the strike Simon and Paul accumulated steadily to the increasing frustration of the Wanderers skipper. Realising that Ealing had to turn to their change bowlers for the last few overs the partnership saw out the final burst and a welcome boundary in the 37th over (the first for 13 overs) saw the Strollers close in on a tense win. Fittingly the skipper pulled the last ball of the 38th over to long leg for the victory and collective sighs of relief. Special mention to Paul 'bionic knees' Lees who just a week after going under the surgeon's knife was taxi-man, diplomat with the upset Wanderers captain and anxious supporter for the day. The Strollers travel to Richmond next weekend for a fixture against Salix CC.

Result: Strollers won by 2 wickets.

The Strollers vs Haud Magnum at Chiswick, May 25th 2003

Arriving at the ground for this, the first timed game of the season, skipper Fayaz Aziz informed the team of his intention to bat on a firm 'A' table pitch. In intermittent sunshine Fayaz duly called correctly and sent in the right/left-hand combination of Raj and Owain. This ploy seemed to upset the Magnum bowlers line and very soon the Strollers were rattling along at almost six an over. The breakthrough was as unexpected as it was unfortunate with Raj getting a glove on a leg sided delivery on its way through to the keeper. The skipper strode to the crease and with Owain playing himself into form the rest of the batting order consigned themselves to a lazy afternoon.

As both batsmen reached 40 and The Strollers passed 100 of just 18 overs, the scene was set for an attack on 200-plus. However, with the quick dismissals of the two established batsmen (Yes, Fayaz has now been dismissed two weeks in succession!) and Sunil Mohan after a number of lusty blows, The Strollers found themselves wobbling at 130/4. In times of mini-crises, Paul Lees tends to play the makers name in a way that few others can match and together with Simon French they set about accumulating a defendable total.

After both being dismissed in the teens, the Strollers closed on 176/8, off just 35 overs. With a Chiswick tea inside them, Sunil and Simon French took the 'old-ball' and immediately began extracting life out of a previously benign pitch. The combination of late outswing from Mohan and steepling bounce from French had the opposition 7 wickets down with just 40 on the board. A couple of blinding catches by Gary Arnold and Raj (a one-handed missile-stopper) assisted Fayaz and Owain, who were getting black and blue hands from the sharp catches heading their way behind the wicket. Some late order resistance was quickly nipped in the bud by Lees whose golden arm gave him three wickets and leaves him as The Strollers top wicket taker for 2003, as his bionic knee goes under the surgeons knife this week (we can rebuild him, better than he was before...).

Unbeaten so far this season, the Strollers head to Osterley on the 8th June for an engagement with The Ealing Wanderers.

The Strollers vs The Serbian Sloggers at Chiswick, May 18th 2003

On yet another overcast day on Pitch 'D' at Chiswick, the Strollers played host to the Serbian Sloggers. The Strollers batted first, but were soon one down. As Aziz strolled to the wicket to join 'skipper' Robinson little could they have known of the momentous events that were to follow. The pair put on 166, the 4th highest in Strollers history, made even more credible by the quality of the Sloggers bowling attack. The innings ended when Aziz was out for 63 (yes you did read that right, Aziz was out!!) chasing a wide one. Robinson became the first ever Stroller to register 3 centuries for the club by the time he retired for 103. After 40 overs the Stollers had notched up 230 for 6.

Simon Robinson who on Sunday became the first Stroller to score three centuries

Lloyd-James and Lupton opened the bowling in typically miserly fashion and the opposition were forced to rely on increasingly suicidal singles to keep the score ticking over. Run-out chances came and went as the Strollers became increasingly frustrated by their inability to pick the ball up and throw it at the stumps in under five minutes. It fell to the evergreen Lees to show the way, breaking the opening partnership with a quick yorker that would have had Brett Lee salivating with jealousy. After that the match was pretty much over as wickets fell regularly. The Sloggers went from 101 for 2 to 111 all out, with Arnold and Campbell (two wickets each) reminding more experienced colleagues of the value of bowling straight.

The Strollers won by 119 runs.

The Strollers vs Major Mannock VC CC at Chiswick, May 11th 2003

On an overcast day The Strollers won the toss and elected to bat first against a newly founded team. The opposition bowlers were moving the ball in the swinging conditions, in some cases too much. Mick Matthews fell cheaply for 3, caught behind chasing an outswinger. Enter Fayaz Aziz to join Sadique who was already established at the crease. After an early disappointment, the pair compiled a partnership on 196, two more than the previous highest partnership for any wicket. Sadique was tamely run out backing up too far, as the pair just fell short of the 200 mark. Sadique finished with an excellent 89 and Fayaz 56 not out.

FFayaz thinks about his next defensive shot

At the run out, Captain Clark made the declaration, with 204 for 2 sensing enough runs on the board and a batting track that was becoming damper on top, by the hour.

Paul Lees and Owain Lloyd-James bowled tightly and with enough movement to trouble the top order batsmen. In one of Paul Edens' overs, Clark had the presence of mind to ping the ball back to keeper's end and nice work by Matthews led to a run out of the ambling batsman. Later in the over, Clark held onto a sharp left-handed catch, that left the rest of the team startled with mouths wide open.

Robinson and French came on second and third change - and bowled tightly for the most part. The opposition had probably thought the bowlers had been seen off...The last man fell onto his own stumps giving French a consolation wicket and The Strollers the win by 120 runs.