2004 Season Match Reports

Match Report - 12th September 2004 - Strollers vs Knebworth Park (A) at Knebworth Park

On a cold, drizzly Sunday morning, The Strollers began the long journey up to rural Hertfordshire for their last game of the season. It was a fixture arranged through the Cricket Conference and Knebworth Park Cricket Club were the opposition. The pitch was in the grounds of Knebworth House and the Disney like castle provided a picturesque backdrop to the game.

The Serbians continued their gradual annexation of The Strollers by providing four players, including Ilija Krunic, captaining for the second time, who won the toss and elected to bat.

Opening with fellow Serb Winston Gaye, the pair put on 66 for the first wicket before the silver rinsed one fell for 42 (including ten fours).
Jital Patel joined Winston at the crease and, while wickets fell steadily at one end, Jital held his end up before being run out having scored 79 - his highest score for The Strollers. His innings included four sixes, which took him to five for the season - the most by a Stroller in 2004. An 8th wicket flourish of 42 between Simon French and Paul Lees (the third highest 8th wicket partnership in Stroller history) helped give the final score of 226 for 9 from 40 overs a degree of respectability on a relatively small pitch.

French and Lees also opened the bowling together. At the end of their allotted eight overs each the score had been kept down to 46 for four, with one wicket to French and three to Lees - including one catch down the leg side by wicket keeper John Reidy (deputising for the injured Mick Matthews who was having his third testicle of the season removed [see article on Morden match on 4th July]), and another by the captain, who appeared not to notice the ball heading high in his direction. Whilst the rest of the team were waiting for what seemed like an age for him to move, Ilie at last woke up and, realising that the ball was falling behind him, turned, ran 20 yards and with the ball dropping over his shoulder, took a splendid catch.

A leader by example! French finished with 1 for 28 and Lees 3 for 17.

Paul Lupton & Jital Patel also bowled eight overs each, Paul taking one wicket which was his 200th for The Strollers and he is now only 8 wickets behind the all time record holder, the immortal Jim Bird, who is the only other person to break the 200 wicket barrier.

It was during this spell of bowling that the day's only sour note took place. All Strollers who have played this season will have heard the familiar "we're here for a good time not a long time" chant voiced by Simon French. It's not clever, it's certainly not funny - but it keeps Simon amused. On this occasion, however, the batsman was not amused and promptly told Simon so. In order to take the heat out of what could have turned into a nasty situation, Simon was banished to the boundary by his captain for a few overs.

The next bowlers used were the Serbian pair of Seama Dragicevic and Colin Purdon. In the darkening evening light and with four lights on the scoreboard (qualified umpire Lupton had not brought his light meter with him), this deadly duo needed only 23 deliveries between them to take the remaining five wickets (finishing with 3 for 10 and 2 for 22, respectively). Knebworth Park had been bowled out for 152 in 35.5 overs.

The rain had kept off (well, almost) and The Strollers had won by 74 runs. Man of the Match was Jital Patel.

Looking back at the season, The Strollers won 13 of the 16 games they played, losing the other 3.

Fayaz Aziz won the Best Batsman award, with 295 runs, closely followed by Simon Robinson with 263, Ilija Krunic 238 and Jital Patel 201.

The Best Bowler award was won by Simon French with 25 wickets, with Paul Lees and Owain Lloyd-James taking 14 each.

Simon French also won the Players' Player award with three Man of the Match awards - Mick Matthews, Jital Patel and Simon Robinson all had two awards.

Match Report - 5th September 2004 - Strollers vs Chalfont St Peter (A) at Chalfont St Peter

The picturesque setting of Chalfont Park Cricket Club in Chalfont St Peter Buck, was the venue for the latest Conference venture for The Strollers.

This was truly perfection in terms of cricketing locations, with rolling countryside hills, 3 sets of patio doors within easy six-hit reach of any batter worth his salt and excellent facilities and hospitality to boot. It was hot, seriously hot and it seemed like June (in Florida of course) not September in the UK .

Clark won the toss, elected to bat and Illy failed in his quest to run up with adequate resources to make 11. Hence 12 year old Matthews Junior turned up fully regaled in all his white glory, ready to take on the mighty Bucks professionals.

The cream of Serbia opened the batting and carefully evaluated the ferocity of the opening bowling attack. Krunic Senior (at least he looked senior with less golden and silver rinses) soon fell to a devilishly straight and slow ball and Matthews Snr joined the Golden Girl in the middle to take on the fight. After adding around 60, Matthews perished to the season's outstanding catch at square leg, the incumbent apple-picker missing out on his Granny Smith only to stun everyone present by plucking a boundary-bound ball from the air with ease.

Further Serbian reinforcements were called to the wicket and they proceeded to add merrily to the total - Dragicevic and Krunic adding 69 before further wickets began to fall. Krunic again made 50, this being the umpteenth time he has done so and failing subsequently to celebrate with a jug.

Lees and Matthews Junior put on the season's highest 9th wicket partnership with Lees cruelly running out the 12 year old to further his own ambitions of ending the season with a double-figure average, but the subsequent justification for this course of action came in the way of a majestic square-drive to the point boundary two balls later.

214 runs were accumulated and Strollers left the field feeling they were around 25 runs short of a comfortable total.

After an excellent tea, Chalfont took to the field to face the might of the Strollers. 'Gavaskar' and 'Botham' opened for the oppo with the former flaying the ball all around and keeping his side up with the required rate. Lees and Patel bowled manfully at the obviously late-in-the-day recruited first-teamer (when they saw how strong we looked of course) and managed to contain him such that he never got away from us. Lees took the first wicket without help from anyone else and steadily the pressure began to build on Chalfont through tight bowling and good fielding.

The astute captain cottoned on to the fact that the boundary was only 10 yards away from the square and began to protect it more forcefully with agile fielders (and also Illie) and farmed the Indian international off the strike, thus building more pressure in terms of the run-rate. The aces in the pack proved to be the Adonis and the Golden Girl. French postured in, firing the ball down at high velocity and Illie just ambled in. But runs were saved, the pressure built and mistakes were made by the batting side.

The International departed, 'cleaned up' by French, who then proceeded to bowl him too. Krunic kept things tight at his end (and in the bar afterwards) and Chalfont found themselves needing 22 off the last over.

Clark did his best to make a fair game of it, but even his 'pie chuckers' couldn't shed 22 runs and so The Strollers had won again.

In summary, a great Summer's day, lovely venue, competitive opposition, nice hospitality and only 20 mins from the Matthews house. What more could you ask for?

The Strollers Won by 13 runs. The Man of the Match was Ilija Krunic.

Match Report - 22nd August 2004 - Strollers vs Serbian Sloggers (H) at Chiswick

Every team has its nemesis. Arsenal and Manchester United in football, England and Australia in cricket, England and everyone else in rugby . The Strollers bogey side is The Serbian Sloggers, who we faced on Sunday at Chiswick.

The Strollers arrived under-strength (and with only 9 players), but things began to look up when Clark unexpectedly won the toss. This was very much the high point of Clark 's day - the skipper's performance dropped off after that one success.

The Strollers elected to bat and Knight and Matthews (Snr) opened up. The pair put on a an opening stand of 65, laying the foundations to what everyone was expecting to be a 'challenging' Strollers' total. However, the Sloggers captain and part-time Stroller, Ilija Krunic, showed us that he did not get where he is today (Captain of the foremost Serbian cricket team in West London) on good looks alone. Oh no, he knows a thing or two about tactics as well. Knowing that after Knight's dismissal for 24 that The Strollers would be looking to push on, he brought his own brand of medium-pace dross into the attack. Realising just how tempting that would be, he hoped to 'buy' himself some wickets. As it turned out, the Strollers were more than willing to sell and at bargain basement prices too! The rest of the batting order crumbled like last week's biscuits. After Matthews (Snr), who had made a stylish 66, and Knight, the next most successful Strollers' batsman was Sharma with 2. A record equalling 6 players failed to trouble the scorers and we were all out for 108.

Clark had much to think about as he led the side on to the field. At the forefront of his mind was who to find to open the bowling in the absence of Ginger Flash Lupton - how does one replace the irreplaceable? With 12 year old Matthews (Jnr) that's how... The Sloggers eventually managed their first run off the fifth over, after some impeccable bowling from Matthews Jnr and Lloyd-James. When our recently acquired Slogger, Palmer-Tompkinson replaced Matthews, The Strollers had a double-barrelled bowler at both ends, and they weren't firing blanks!! T-P bowled the legendary Winston and it looked like the Strollers were beginning to exert some much needed pressure. However, after Lloyd-James had completed his high class, but unlucky spell, Clark needed to find someone else, capable of keeping the run downs and the pressure 'cranked-up' to maximum. Who could he turn to in his moment of crisis? Never one to shirk responsibility, the skipper brought himself on. And we were all so glad he did! In conceding 30 off 3 overs and 22 off one particularly exciting over, he proved to us all that whilst Lupton was absent, his spirit was certainly present. Clark took himself off, brought on Sharma and went to hide on the boundary in cow-corner. However, there was just enough time for him to drop the Sloggers' star batsman before the winning runs were hit.

The Strollers lost by seven wickets and Man of the Match was Clark. No, not really, it was Matthews (Snr).

Match Report - 15th August 2004 - Strollers vs The Whalers (A) at South Bank Sports Ground, Dulwich

South Bank Poly Sports Ground, Duwich, provided a pleasant afternoon's cricket in warm, becoming overcast South London. This saw the Strollers get back to winning ways with a relatively easy win against their gritty opponents, in the end with some glittering individual performances.

Windies organiser and skipper Clarkie won the toss and elected to use the willow. Out trooped 'I luv NY' kiwi 'Nik' Knight only to troop back 3 balls later having been bowled by their one genuine 'quicky'. He bowled very tightly and all of the top order had difficulty getting any runs off him. So a slow start for Strollers.

The other opener was Blodwen Boyo Lloyd-Jones of the Valleys MP, who hit one beautiful off-drive inbetween wide after wide at the other end. But he lost his cool almost as much as his leg side strokes and succumed like others to lollipop bowling.

However, cometh the hour cometh Raj and Sunil. They offered the mediocre bowling the tonic it deserved at five down for not a lot off 12 overs and promptly played themselves in with some varied pinch hitting despite orders from everyone otherwise. Sunil in particular was batting with a Freddy-style freedom helping the run rate rise and a big partnership of 151 flourished. Whalers got a bit dispirited and rotated their bowling attack and they complained about the umpiring - with Luppers (who was out there 30 overs !) calling Raj not out (for a high full toss) as he approached 50 having been bowled.

Their bowler queried the decision, but Luppers correctly interpreted the no ball. Strollers closed on 234 all out (extras 46 ! ....wides 31 - that's 5 extra overs). Shot of the innings was David Haigh's effortless onside drive for four having fooled the fileding side - note, all along the ground and nay footwork. Raj top scored with 72 and Sunil with 70 and then Patrick Thomas ran out of buddies. 

Whalers began very well after a good wholesome tea. The two openers well above average. They saw off Luppers and Sunil with circumspect batting, protecting their wicket against good balls and then assuringly despaching any poorer deliveries. Chasing at 6 an over, they were running at 5 an over until the Welsh wizard David L-George James and the Yorkie Bar enigma Monsiuer French put on the brakes. After that and a most spectacular but difficult diving slip catch by Sunil at first slip - Fayaz (nay boots used) - The Strollers regained their advantage.    

At halfway, the scores were pretty even but wickets were a-tumbling, coincidentally just like that of the Windies middle order. The other taller opener whacked one to the fortunately uninjured arm pit of the skipper, as pressure to raise the run-rate beckoned. After that apart from a few lusty blows to bring in some respectability, The Whalers were harpooned for 178. Incidentally the last pair put on 33, of which No 11 scored 0, which caused a 20 minute later finish than desired.

Bowling figures were:
Luppers         0-33 and a back strain
Sunil   0-21
Lloyd-J 3-21 (2 maidens)
Frenchie 2-28 (1     "     )
Krunic  2-42 (interesting)
Sharma  3-28 (effective)

Dropped catches - Lloyd-J 2, Clark 1, Matthews 1

The Strollers won by 56 runs.

Match Report - 1st August 2004 - Strollers vs Franklyn Lewin (H) at Chiswick

It was a hot and sunny day when The Strollers faced the Franklyn Lewin XI for the first time. With yet another toss made, another toss was lost and The Strollers had to bowl first on what proved to be a slow and flat pitch.

The opening bowlers, Lees and then Lupton found an early line and length, but quickly saw that a wide and loose ball was four runs every time. Lupton in particular was punished, sometimes harshly, ending his 8-over spell with 1 for 46 from his 8 overs. The field was set for the off-side but he was hit mostly through mid-wicket / cow-corner. Lees did better with 1 for 22 from his 8 overs.

The first change saw Simon "Iron Man" French take the pavilion end, starting and ending with an accurate and pacy spell. At the other end, Clark struggled with numerous over-pitches and was removed from the attack after only 3 overs, to be replaced by Patel. In the meantime, at the pavilion end, French was doing much better, aiming for a second, but unanimous Bowling Award (the award was tied last year between French and Lees). Twice the off-stump of the opposing batsman was sent cart-wheeling towards the slips, and later, the Iron Man was on a hat-trick. The new batsman was made to play the hat-trick ball, but defended it well. Patel completed his 4 over spell with figures of 2 wickets for 12 runs.

When French was (prematurely ?) removed from the attack he had taken 3 wickets for 29 runs from 7 overs and The Strollers were looking good. He was replaced by Sharma (that's R Sharma) and Patel was replaced by Mohan, after a tidy spell.

Franklyn Lewin meanwhile dug 'deep' and extended their final score to 171 all out from 38.3 overs (Sharma 2 for 15 from 4.3 overs) but still a score that was definitely 'gettable' on this pitch. Tea was taken at the interval, during which there was a minor incident when 'tea' (of the drinking variety) wasn't provided, on the grounds that it was too 'hot'. A good enough reason, but bad judgement.

Matthews and Lloyd-James opened up for The Strollers. The first casualty was Matthews, out bowled for a duck. This was disappointing but in was coming Fayaz Aziz. He had a point to prove while his West Indian countrymen were being put to the sword at Edgbaston, and before he was to take 3 weeks off due to matrimonial duties. He once again carefully crafted an innings (of 40), sharing a partnership of 67 with OLJ before falling to a 'plumb LBW' (according to French) and thereafter the wickets continued to fall. Lloyd-James was next out having batted well for his 26 runs. Mohan batted with some panache, but many of his best shots were to go to straight to a fielder. His eventual downfall was a fine catch just 10 yards in from the long-on boundary, when attempting a six, and his final score was 23 runs.

French and Clark offered only a brief resistance with the former hitting a six that temporarily troubled air-traffic control at West Drayton. But still the Franklyn Lewin would not say die. Their consistent policy of taking the pace 'off the ball' reaped dividends. One after another The Strollers holed out to fielders, mostly in the deep.

Still, there was the final partnership of Lupton and Reidy which provided only the briefest of hope. Lupton hit a career-best, square-cut four to what was a very wide delivery before. Having shared in a partnership of 10 runs, Reidy aptly 'holed out' at mid-wicket. The Strollers were 14 runs short with 3 overs to spare having scored only 157.

A loss, but a good game of cricket was the final verdict. The Strollers had lacked any real composure chasing what was only a mediocre target. But this takes nothing away from the bowling and fielding of Franklyn Lewin who stuck at it, and took match-winning catches.

The club wishes Fayaz Aziz all the BEST for his forthcoming marriage in the coming few weeks..

Other breaking news : Simon French's chicken has been relocated to Hampshire to live out its days in some sort of peace. Ilija Krunic returns from Siberia, where he has been enjoying the very short 2-week summer, at the expense of The Strollers. Paul Lupton has been talking of what would be a premature retirement. And Mick Matthews' stock of old jokes has completely dried up. He is now visiting Stonehenge to see if there any stone inscriptions that tell a good joke.

The Strollers lost by 14 runs. The Man of the Match was Simon French.

Match Report - 25th July 2004 - Strollers vs Ealing Wanderers (A) at Osterley

On an overcast but muggy day, The Strollers took the field for their eleventh game of the season against Ealing Wanderers at Norwood Hall, Osterley. In the absence of usual captain Nick Clark, the Serbian Slogger Ilija Krunic donned the Harlequin cap for the first time and promptly proceeded to lose the toss - the ninth time this has happened this season.

Ealing Wanderers elected to bat and the new skipper dispensed with the services of the usual opener, Paul Lupton (saving him for the crucial last few overs) and elected to begin the attack with Simon "what a fine body I've got" French, more often used as a "shock" bowler this season (he certainly shocks some of his colleagues), and the steady Paul Lees. The tactics soon paid off with the first Wanderer wicket being caught by John Reidy (the 105th catch of his career - just 5 behind Phil Connell's record of 110) continuing where he left off in the previous game, from the bowling of French with the score on 11 in the third over. The score had moved on to 29 when French struck again, this time former blues singer "Blind" Paul Lupton taking the catch - his first for 2 years.

Although French was proving slightly more expensive than usual, Lees stemmed the tide with maiden after maiden, eventually finishing with 7 of them in his 8 over spell - easily a club record for a 40 overs game. What's more, the 4 runs he did concede came from a boundary, which meant that of the 48 balls he bowled, 47 were not scored off - truly remarkable. Captain Krunic took the catch which gave Lees his solitary wicket and then put himself and Owain Lloyd-George on to bowl the next lot of 16 overs.

By the time these two had finished their allotted number, the Wanderers had reached 125 for 6 off 32 overs so it looked quite feasible that their final total would be around the 150 to 160 mark, or 4 an over, especially when the captain was about to execute his master plan by unleashing Lupton on the opposition.

Unfortunately, by the end of his spell it was the Ginger Flash who was nearly executed - by his team mates. His 4 over spell went for 38 runs, ensuring that the Ealing Wanderers finished with 197 for 6 from their 40 overs. This total included 43 extras - the second highest ever in Stroller history (60 being the highest against Haud Magnum in 2002), of which 15 were leg byes - a new club record, beating the old one by 2. An asking rate of 4.95 runs per over was required.

The captain plumped for Paul "Kiwi" Knight and Lees to begin the reply and they didn't let him down, putting on 67 for the first wicket off 14 overs, before Lees was bowled for 18. Along with the new batsman came a new umpire, Simon French. When he failed to give Knight out stumped all hell broke lose, rekindling the embers that smouldered from this fixture last season. So intense was the heat Simon had to return to the pavilion, wounded and hurt, because being the coy soul that he is, he could not take the uncalled for abuse that flowed from the lips of the opposition. Knight, in his 40s at the time, was eventually out for 58 - stumped ironically enough. This was his highest score for the Strollers, doubling his previous best of 29. He was ably supported by Jital Patel, who eventually made 30 - his highest Stroller score as well.

With the score on 108 for 2 from 21 overs, the Strollers were up with the required rate, but then wickets began to fall. Fayaz Aziz (1), Mick Matthews (14) and Lloyd-George (3) fell in quick succession and it was left to Captain Krunic and the prodigal son Simon French (pride still hurting) to restore order. From 145 for 6 with just 9 overs to go they steadied the ship. Playing sensibly, they took the quick single when available, drawing in the field and then hit boundaries forcing the fielders out again. The Wanderers didn't know where to go. The last shot of the game summed up their dilemma. With 4 runs wanted but with 13 balls left, most of the fielders were stationed on the boundary. This did not detour our man French (on the day Lance Armstrong won his sixth race) who went for a sensational finish. A hard hitting stroke high to the mid off boundary was tipped over the rope by the incoming fielder trying to get back. The umpire signalled 4 and the game was over.

Captain Krunic deserves much praise in talking the young prodigy through the innings and calmly steering the Strollers to victory. He was unbeaten on 21 and the Simon likewise on 19. The eventual winning margin was 4 wickets, Paul Lees was voted Man of the Match and the total number of extras scored by both sides (77) was the fifth highest ever. Our final score was 198 for 6 from 38.0 overs.

Strollers won by 4 wickets and The Man of the Match was Paul Lees.

Match Report - 11th July 2004 - Strollers vs Energy Exiles (A) at Chiswick (alternative version)

Although the smallest winning margin in the club's history is 1 run, that was a 20 overs game. The smallest margin of victory in a 40 overs game was 7 runs against Alderley Edge in 2002 and 10 runs against Frimley Green in the same year. There have also been victories over Custom's & Excise by 12 runs in 2000 and The Strays by 14 runs in the same year - so Sunday's victory is 5th in the all time smallest margins in a 40 overs match.

This was the 4th time a Stroller wicket-keeper (Mick Matthews) has taken four catches in a match, which equals the club record. Mick also took 4 against Sunderland in 2000 (a match in which he also had a stumping to equal the club record of five dismissals in a match) and 4 against The Whalers in 2003 and Phil Connell took 4 against WRECC in 1997.

The only other time that there were 5 dismissals in a match by a single player was when Mick took 3 catches and 2 stumpings in 2001 - against Energy Exiles!

Simon French's figures were 8 overs, 4 maidens, 5 wickets for 9 runs - a new personal Strollers' best. His previous best was 4 for 13 against Frimley Green last year and 4 for 24 against WRECC in 2002 - his 2nd game for the club.

This was the 37th time a Stroller has taken 5 wickets in a match and he becomes the 23rd player to achieve the feat. The immortal Jim Bird leads the way, having achieved it 8 times. Paul Lupton and Mick Matthews come next with 3 occasions, Simon Lawton-Smith, Paul Lees and Bruce McIntyre have achieved it twice and 17 others (including Simon French) have done it once.

Ilija's figures were 8 overs, 2 maidens, 2 wickets for 22 runs. His best for the club is 3 for 15 against the Whalers last year and he has taken 3 wickets in a game on two other occasions (for 27 against Eastern Wanderers earlier this season and for 33 against Brixton Casuals last year).

This is a club record in successfully defending a low total in a 40 overs match. Although lower totals have been defended they have all been in either a lower limited number of overs or an unlimited overs game.

The previous record for a 40 over game was 124 all-out against The Strays in 2001 where we won by 17 runs, followed by 131 all out against Lewisham Police in 1992 where we won by 79 runs and 150 for 6 against Alderley Edge in 2002 where we won by 10 runs (as mentioned above).

Then there was the famous "tied" game against Hammersmith Blades in 1994 where we made 127 all-out and they scored 127 for 8.

We bowled a total of 8 maidens but against the Serbian Sloggers and Frimley Green earlier this season bowled 10 maidens in the match. The most bowled in a game is 18 against WRECC in 1991 but that was "unlimited". The most bowled in a 40 overs game is 14 against John Lewis in 1997 and 13 against Major Mick Mannon last season.

There were 10 maidens bowled by the Energy Exiles (the record against The Strollers is 17) making a total of 18 by both teams. The record is 22 against DES in 1985 (14 by us and 8 by them).

The most maidens bowled in a game by an individual was 7 by Mike McCann against DES in 1985 and Jim Bird against WRECC in 1990 but both these games were "unlimited". Simon French bowled 6 maidens against Haud Magnum last season, but that was also unlimited. The most bowled in a 40 overs game in 5 maidens - by Jim Bird against Commonwealth Secretariat in 1980 (maximum 10 overs per bowler), by Rick Bond against Cambridge in 1994, by Paul Lees against the Home Office in 1994, by Mick Matthews against John Lewis in 1997 and by Malcolm Nicholls against Inland Revenue in 1993 (maximum 10 overs per bowler).

Simon has now bowled 39 maidens in the 139.4 overs he has delivered in his Stroller career - an average of 27.98, the highest average of any bowler who has bowled more than 20 maidens in their career (the next highest is Jim Bird with 20.46%). The 39 maidens put him 11th in the all time "maidens bowled" list, which is topped by Jim Bird with 189, Paul Lupton with 173 and Paul Lees with 166. These are the only players to have bowled over 100 maidens although Nick Clark is close on 98 maidens.

Match Report - 11th July 2004 - Strollers vs Energy Exiles (A) at Chiswick

Another Sunday dawned and Strollers travelled far to yet another away fixture, this time "at home" at Chiswick against Energy Exiles, who share the same lack of judgement about quality teas and salad only sandwiches. The toss was won (curious term that) and Strollers were duly inserted by their Captain, bats in hand. The clouds bore heavily down but like our batting prodigy Aziz, the rain stayed away for much of the afternoon and indeed Aziz arrived just before the tea was being boiled. Strollers opened with Tavare and Steel in the guise of Robinson and Clark, both of whom murdered the corners of their creases (yes, all creases) with mistimed drives, pulls and defensive shots. On a difficult, slow and sloping pitch, Exiles bowled straight and accurately and restricted Strollers to 3 off the first 6 overs and the Silver Statto fidgeted nervously over his book as the runs proved impossible to glean. Clark perished to a ludicrous decision by the Ginger Minger to give him out LBW when the ball was hitting middle stump and this only brought to the crease another Tavare-esque batter in the shape of Mick Matthews.

10 overs passed with little or no addition to the scoring and only when the Serbian Golden Girl managed to defeat the crease with his shots with regularity, did the score begin to edge up. Batsmen came and went, French also came and went but after he had cleaned that up, he made his way to the middle and bludgeoned a few blows until his inevitable dismissal half way down the wicket sticking his tongue out at the quickie. (probably thought he was being offered one maybe). Strollers innings petered out to a measly 109, but the talk in the pavilion was not about the inclusion of salad in every sandwich, but of the fact that we were in this game and a win was not out of the question, such were the devils in the wicket.

Off we trundled, ball in hand and Lupton and Lees were given the easy task of bowling the Oppo out for less than 107. Obviously sniffing the oats and beer from the Fullers End, a slightly tipsy Lupton struggled to find his length (French and Krunic DID offer to help) and his bowling was despatched with regularity. Lees faired little better, but he DID remove one of the danger men and Exiles neared 50 with little effort and only 8 overs on the board.

Fearing he would have to make an early appearance at the bar, the Adonis appeared with ball in hand and all changed. Having said this, French also came on to bowl and this too had an effect. Steaming in (“the showers at home don't work” was his excuse), French proceeded to rip though the batting, aided by Clive Dunn behind the stumps and some superbly accurate bowling from the other end by the silver (or is it gold) haired Serb, Krunic.

Exiles lost their Energy and The Silver Fox wrapped things up with a fine catch in the outfield off of the fired-up OLJ with no-one else daring to be near him, should he spill the chance. All out for 94.

French finished with '5-for' and Man of the Match but the bar never witnessed his presence during the post-match celebrations.

Great game, good Oppo and testosterone moments apart, all played in the right spirit. Well done to all!

Strollers won by 15 runs. Man of the Match was Simon French.

Match Report - 4th July 2004 - Strollers vs Morden (A) at Morden

It was finals day at the All England club, Wimbledon. But there were bigger events afoot nearby. (or 'down t'lane' for you Northerners) The Strollers were on the march again ready to pulverize anyone in their path. This week's willing victims were Morden and The Strollers were certainly 'morden' they could handle! (Boom Boom!)

Strollers batted first on what promised to be the most enjoyable game of the season......Simon French wasn`t playing! (Big cheers all round) Frenchie had still not made it back from a tour with another side. A vote was held as to whether a search party should be put together to look for the Big Fella but it was decided not to. But the voting was very close - Frenchie just losing out (0-11).Opening was Paul "Kiwi fruit" Knight. Big Paulie started off with some flourishes but as usual flattered to deceive (perhaps he's missing his sheep!) being caught out by a guy who looked like King Henry VIII's grandfather! I guess that`s no disgrace being dismissed by the head of The Tudor Dynasty! (note to history geeks: Don`t give me a hard time.I know it was Henry VIII's father who started the Tudor dynasty. Allow me some poetic licence! "Off with their heads!") WOW. sorry about that. Bit of an acid trip! Back to reality. Who is more real than Mick Matthews??? It was a welcome return for Strollers' star man after having an operation to remove two of his five testicles!**!?*! Now that takes balls! What can`t this boy do? He bats, he bowls, he keeps wicket (sometimes simultaneously) he breaks wind on a regular basis! You name it, he does it. He hadn`t picked up a bat for nearly a year. Did it make any difference? No way Jose! Mighty blows (I said enough!) were struck all around the park. He raced to 50 in no time. It was mass destruction.....but done with elegance (Blimey. When did I turn into a brown nose!?! Need some better quality acid!) MM scored 71. Oh yer. Simon "still desperate for a date with Mary but fat chance"Robinson also scored a lucky 50. Apparently this made it 4 50's in a row. A club record. (Do we care?) This information was obtained by The Simon Robinson 'Self-Love is a beautiful thing' society. Membership : ONE. Anyone wishing to join, phone..............THE SAMARITANS!!!!

Strollers ended up with their highest score of the season 264. A mighty total made by mighty men (and Robinson). After tea Strollers took the field pondering some deep thoughts......How come The Yank lost to a Swiss cow herder on Independence day? I ask you. Baseball instead of cricket!! Lets raise a glass to His Majesty King George III. Also. Why could no one breach the Greek defence? Surely after all this time they should be able to locate Achilles' heel??? (laugh you ungrateful heathens) And the biggest conundrum of them all.....How come there`s so many Bloody Northerners in the Strollers? (can any one team be that unlucky!)

But even with all these questions swirling around Strollers pea-brains (Northern contingent that is) They stuck to the task in hand(getting to the pub in time to watch the football)Bowling was opened by The Living legend himself Paul "Red Arrow" Lupton and by Captain "I`m not a 'Rod ofIron' I`m a very reasonable chap" Clark. After the openers were cheaply dismissed. in came Morden`s Golden boy. A good-looking chap playing some handsome strokes. (Where`s Frenchie when you need him!) What was Lupton going to do? Was it going to be the inswinger? The Leg-cutter? The toe-crushing yorker? No. He fooled us all. It was the double bluff. He bowled the ideal wide long-hop (not an easy delivery to perfect) It was all too much for the hapless chap(No.Not Frenchie) the ball took the edge and Mick "Letit rip" Matthews claimed the catch. That was that.Game. Set. Match. The rest of Morden's batting fell away like a pack of cards. 76 all out. Jital Patel finished with best figures of 3-13 but it was Mr.Lupton (Soon to be Sir Paul) who did the real damage. That`s why he`s a Living legend and we are mere underlings. Arise Sir Paul, your country salutes you!

Match Report - 27th June 2004 - Strollers vs Effingham (A) at Effingham

The Strollers arrived at the ground of Effingham CC on Sunday in good spirits. The weather was good, the ground was unusually picturesque and there was even the promise of a barbeque after the match. However, for some, Sunday turned out to be a day of disappointments.

The Strollers only arrived with nine players. Messrs Reidy and Robinson had clearly struggled to come to terms with Lees' detailed directions and had been delayed. However, our plight was a mere inconvenience compared to the eight man Effingham outfit. Exams, vomiting and holidays meant that they would be three short for the duration of the game.

The toss was predictably won by Effingham, or more accurately, lost by Clark and The Strollers were asked to field. In Reidy's absence Lloyd-James took temporary charge of the keeping gloves, and very well he did to. Clark decided to open with his two most experienced henchmen, Lees and Lupton. Whilst both are around the same pace, they employ vastly different styles to take their wickets. Lees relies upon a monotonous corridor of uncertainty line, constantly probing in a similar fashion to Glenn McGrath. Lupton employs a more 'dolly mixture' approach, keeping the batman (and keeper and own captain) guessing, in a similar fashion to England's current one day bowling attack. Naturally Lupton's opening spell was rewarded by three wickets (to Lees' none). After 10 overs and with Effingham three down, Clark made a double bowling change and brought on Lloyd-James and Patel. Both bowlers continued where Lupton left off with the former showing that a good length and line can get wickets, by taking three of his own and Patel taking one. With only seven wickets needed, Effingham were dismissed for just 42. A special mention must go to Robinson, who after arriving late, proceeded to stand at second slip and did not touch the ball once throughout Effingham's innings (he didn't get a bat either). That'll teach him to miss the train.

French and Haigh opened up for The Strollers and French signalled his intentions by driving the first legal ball for four. Two mighty sixes shortly followed as the openers set about the Effingham attack with relish, with French particularly aggressive. 42 was reached off just 6.5 overs, for the loss of no wickets (French 23 and Haigh 12) - this was The Strollers second consecutive 10 wicket victory.

Given the early finish of the match Effingham decided that they required practice and went back out to play another game amongst themselves. Sadly this meant no barbeque.

The Strollers won by 10 wickets. Man of the Match was Owain Lloyd-James

Match Report - 20th June 2004 - Strollers vs Frimley Green (A) at Frimley Green

The Strollers set off for the capital of the Darts world, Frimley Green. However there was not a Jocky, Eric or Big Cliff to be seen. But Paul "Red Arrow" Lupton was ready and eager to chuck a few. Another major player in this all-star line up was Simon "Row, row, row your boat" French. He was concentrating intensely on sharpening his arrow.

A big favourite for the title of Flatcap of the Year was Simon "can you get me a date with the luscious Mary" Robinson. But having lost his flatcap trying to stop his whippet from devouring his racing pigeons, he started off with a distinct disadvantage. Before the major event there was the small matter of a cricket match to be played. The Strollers took the field with storm clouds gathering. Bowling was opened by the "Top Dog" himself. Paul "The Power" Lees who bowled straight as an arrow conceding a mere 2 runs an over during his stingy spell. He was ably supported by Paul "Living Legend" Lupton. The "Red Arrow" produced some unplayable deliveries. But what`s new!?!!

Then the heavens opened and the rain fell on the just and the unjust rapidly followed by hailstones which were seen bouncing off the rock hard cranium of Simon "We can still play in these conditions" French. Finally the storm abated. Blue skies appeared and so did Ned "Batting gloves are for whinging Poms" Kelly. He took instantly to Simon "I wax my chest" French flicking him over the slips for four on a regular basis. 'Ned' then invited Frenchie to come to his homeland where he promised another kind of punishing schedule! The Strollers took up a collection on the spot for a one-way ticket.

'Ned' soon got bored of punishing his new plaything and to give himself another cheap thrill proceeded to run out half of his team. "Who cares they`re all bloody Poms anyway!" Thanks to this mini massacre Frimley Green failed to reach 100 but 'Ned' made sure he got his 50 before perishing gloriously to Prashant who finished with the best figures of 2 for 9.

The Strollers headed for tea in a happy frame of mind especially Simon "I`ve finally found a friend" French. But Simon "Still can`t find my Flatcap" Robinson was in sombre mood. Knowing he had to open the batting without his favourite head gear which contained all his Super-powers. Help was at hand.

Swaggering to the pavilion after yet another immaculate bowling display was Strollers best-looking, most talented and of course, current Player of the year (not to be confused with Simon "current Aussie playmate of the month" French) Ilija "Prima donnas don't bowl uphill" Krunic wearing his magic hat. Upon receiving a much needed back rub from Robinson after being forced to bowl into a stiff breeze by Captain "Rod of iron" Clark, King Krunic handed over his crown (for a short while) to Robinson who visibly grew 6 inches!

Simon "my life has meaning again" Robinson took Frimley Green to task with well-directed (magical) blows to all parts of the field. Once more the pigeons were singing the whippets were howling, northern bitter tasted sweet again. All was well in Robbo`s world. Despite this match winning display, Simon "By hook or by crock, gonna win the player of the year award" French started canvassing for man of the match votes but every time he approached his fellow Strollers, they seemed to be unusually preoccupied. After a mere 2 hours of not so friendly persuasion Simon "Here for a good time not for a long time" French gave up a lost cause.

Just as he was departing for home, head bowed along came Frenchie`s new best friend Ned "Bare knuckles" Kelly. He picked him up brushed him down (then up then down....) and off they walked into the sunset hand in hand..................NO GLOVES REQUIRED.

Man of the match was Simon "could it be magic?" Robinson.
Strollers won by 10 Whippets.

Match Report - 13th June 2004 - Strollers vs The Red Cow (H) at Chiswick

"Useless tosser!" That was the cry as yet another toss went against The Strollers ( 6 out of 6), who were asked to bowl on a good batting track in sunny, warm conditions. A fulll-ish strength bowling attack was available for selection, and so the outcome of the toss was put to oneside immediately. Lees and French opened up and were quickly amongst the wickets at both ends. By the end of their seven over spells they had picked up 3 and 2 wickets respectively for 30 runs or less. French bowled with some good pace, but on one occasion was disappointed to see one of his best half-volleys dispatched for a massive six by the opposition captain, who drove the ball sweetly off his front foot for the most part through his innings.

Clark replaced Lees and failed to make any impression despite beating the bat on numerous occasions. Mohan replaced French and bowled tightly enough with no particular sign of breaking through the Red Cow batters. Along came the drinks break, during which a cunning plan was hatched. The first part was to try and stop the ball when ground-fielding. The second part was catch rather than drop any chances that came along. The third and crucial part of the plan was for Mohan to offer up a slower ball to the settled opposition captain and see what happened.

And this Mohan did, midway the first over after the break. With a massive 'grunt' he propelled the slower ball at the batsman, who then hit the ball towards the heavens and the salivating Simon French, who ran one way, then the other, before finally calculating where the ball would actually land. He pouched the catch amidst cries of 'hurrah' and Frenchie was suddenly the most popular player in the team, for the first time in his career.

Meanwhile Robinson had replaced Clark, who started and maintained a pretty tight line and length. He went on to take 2 for 17 from his 6 overs. Mohan finished his spell with 1 for 16 from 7 and was replaced by Nikam. Robinson and Nikam finished off The Red Cow innings for 124 all out, just prior to the end of their allotted overs. Nikam had a tidy catch taken by Mohan at short mid-on and himslef ended with a tidy 2 for 7 off 2.4 overs.

Sharma and Knight took to the field with the words of 'patience' and 'get your heads down'. This piece of excellent advice was clearly heeded by Sharma who proceeded to 'mow' his early deliveries into the cow-corner region of the outfield, before bailing out on 17, from 14 balls. Knight meanwhile did keep his head down and commenced a new, more solid partnership with Aziz. Both players stuck to the task fantastically, especially as the bowlers were one-by-one changed for a new attack. A number of problem deliveries were dealt with properly, while all the time runs accumulated. Aziz eventually fell on 29 and was replaced by Patel, who took no time at all to get to 19 not out and see out the required total. Knight carried his bat for the first time in his Strollers' career with 29* and made up in some way for his compatriots, who were being put to the sword at Trent Bridge.

Both teams were afforded a prompt departure to watch the England vs France football game. And to make matters worse - French was voted Man of Match. It must have been a sign...

Strollers won by 8 wickets. Man of the Match was Simon French, whose pet chicken will apparently be available for purchase on eBay in the near future.

Match Report - 6th June 2004 - Strollers vs Dealers (H) at Chiswick

The Strollers regrouped on a flaming June day following the successful tour of Rochester. Tour stats - played one, won one. In the absence of Captain Cook, Simon Robinson took command and tossed up enthusiastically. Dealers captain, Cass Eeno, not surprisingly called correctly and asked Strollers to bat first. After a short pause Robinson accepted the invitation.

On a fine day for batting, Trinidadian master Fayaz Aziz took the visiting attack apart to record a sumptuous 93. However, batting honours of the day go to Mary, friend of Rosella Krunic, for her hard hitting batting display throughout the afternoon. Despite no batting pads, thigh pad or box Mary treated us all to a vintage display of straight hitting. She took a particular liking to the bowling of Simon French who clearly enjoyed and was used to this type of domination. Sparks were flying at this point but Simon's offer of a French kiss behind the sightscreen was rejected. Rumour has it that Mary is more interested in men with power and influence, and jealous glares were directed at skipper Robinson by our hunky 20 year old fast bowling discovery.

The Strollers posted a total of 246 for 6 wickets in their allotted 40 overs before tea was taken. When play resumed, accurate bowling by French and Ilija Krunic restricted Dealers to slow progress in their quest to secure victory. Krunic, enjoying the reflected glory of bringing real live women to spectate, infuriated his team mates by constantly moaning about having to bowl uphill. Prima Donna. The stage was set for Tango Lupton to run through the Dealers batting after French had softened up the early batters. Tango treated us to his full repertoire of no balls, wides, beamers and half volleys before surpassing even himself with a delivery that went directly to 3rd slip. Quote of the day followed later when Tango claimed to have 'outclassed' the batsman. Hmmmmm...........

Chairman Paul Lees replaced Krunic and bowled a tidy spell 'up the hill' and managed not to complain once. Lees joined the Hall of Fame when he bowled his 5,490th ball for the club, a new endurance record. However, by the end of his spell Lees was so exhausted by the tropical conditions that it seemed like he had bowled all 5,490 balls in the day. After the game John Reidy presented Lees with a peel off car sticker to mark the occasion.

Highlight of the Strollers fielding display was the departure from the field of play without permission of Simon French. He was seen strutting in front of Rosella and Mary before removing his shirt to reveal a rippling torso. At the time our guests claimed not to have noticed but did admit later that they had witnessed this peculiar mating ritual.

Prakesh Nikam and Sonny Mohan were called up late in the innings to polish off the tail enders with a bowling performance oozing, pace movement and accuracy. Dealers finished up with 117 all out in 31.2 overs, leaving The Strollers victorious by 129 runs. Safe hands Aziz took his first catch of the season to improve his catching ratio to 7% of all chances, and was voted Man of the Match.

Finally, John Reidy has asked you all to congratulate him on setting a new appearance record for the club (234 matches). So, well done John! Luckily it's only in recent years that Chelsea have played so many Sunday matches - otherwise someone else might be celebrating today.

Strollers won by 129 runs. Man of the Match was Fayaz Aziz

Match Report - 23rd May 2004 - Strollers vs Coopers Arms (A) at Rochester

A warm, bright, sunny day in the heart of Kent - it must be The Strollers 2004 tour (or as near as we are going to get this year). Yes, King's School, Rochester (some of the buildings date back to 604 AD and the school was founded in 1541 by Henry VIII) provided the setting and the Cooper's Arms pub (the local of former Stroller Tim Elliott) provided the opposition as two cars, a people carrier and Network South East endeavoured to get the squad to the ground in time.

In these pleasant surroundings The Strollers captain lost the toss for the fourth time in 4 games, this time it was Fayaz Aziz, replacing the unavailable Nick Clark, who made the wrong call. The Coopers Arms elected to bat in this 40 over match.

Opening the bowling with Ilija Krunic and Paul Lees, the score was kept down to 15 from the first 10 overs but no breakthrough had been made. The captain took decisive action and made a double bowling change - on came Simon French & Prashant Nikam. In his fourth over French took the first wicket of the game, having the Coopers Arms' opener caught behind by John Reidy. This was Reidy's 100th catch (55 as wicket-keeper, 45 as fielder) for The Strollers, a feat only achieved once before - by Phil Connell 110 catches (75 & 35).

Another double bowling change saw the return of Paul Lupton (with 189 wickets he is just 19 wickets shy of the all time wicket taking record) and Sunil Mohan but the second wicket didn't fall until the 28th over, when some spectacular fielding by Paul Knight, throwing the ball directly over the stumps to the waiting Lupton, ran out the Coopers Arms number 3, leaving them at 74 for 2. Thereafter, wickets fell steadily with Lupton, Simon Robinson and Raj Sharma taking a wicket each (Robinson's being his 50th wicket for Strollers - the 18th player to achieve this feat) and another run out (this time from Mohan's throw) meant that the Coopers Arms' innings closed at 130 for 6 from their allotted 40 overs. However, The Strollers were unable to take the prized wicket of Tim Elliott who remained unbeaten on 17.

The Strollers began their reply with Robinson & Knight. Although alarm bells started to ring when Knight fell in the third over with the score on 5, the captain joined Robinson at the wicket and the pair of them put on an undefeated 127 runs (the 6th highest ever for a second wicket partnership) with both players hitting half centuries - Robinson the 4th of career (55 not out) and Aziz the 11th of his (the fourth most by a Stroller) - 57 not out. With a few lost balls along the way (having been hit out of the ground) and spectators who couldn't get in to see the action (which Stroller inadvertently locked the school gates?) The Strollers scored 132 for 1, from 29.5 overs.

One cannot finish this report without mentioning the superb spread put on by the landlord and landlady of the Coopers Arms after the match. It really was a case of eat as much as you can! We certainly hope to be invited back again next season.

Strollers won by 9 wickets. Man of Match was Simon Robinson

Match Report - 16th May 2004 - Strollers vs Serbian Sloggers (H) at Chiswick

Strollers took the field against the Sloggers with three changes from the previous week and were strengthened by the absence of Krunic who deserted the cause. Captain Nicholas Clark tossed poorly and The Strollers were asked to bat on a drying wicket. Inconsistent Sloggers bowling allowed Strollers to amass 30 runs for the first wicket before 'Big Paulie' played all round a half volley. Wickets fell steadily throughout the innings and not even Robinson could make a decent score - being dismissed by a wonderful ball that had pace, bounce, swing and moved both ways off the wicket. Secretary French then strode to the wicket but did not last long as the onset of his chicken's puberty had affected his concentration. Strollers continued to lose wickets (Lees 0) and it was left to the last wicket pair of Reidy and Thomas to raise the score from 97-9 to 131. Thomas cut loose with some majestic strokes and Reidy could only watch in awe from the other end. Incidentally, this was the Strollers' 4th highest last wicket stand. Fascinating.

After a hearty tea Strollers regrouped to take the field minus Robinson who attended to matters of the heart. Lees and Lloyd-George bowled tight lines to pile the pressure on the Sloggers, and French twisted the knife with a series of well-timed comments that destroyed Serbian morale. As wickets began to fall Ronald Brown entered the fray but did not last long as French's innovative round the wicket policy paid dividends. French's impression of Martin Keown on van Nistelrooy as Mr Brown left the wicket will now be discussed by the club's hard line disciplinary committee. Strollers bowling was considerably more reliable than the slip catching. Eh, Fayaz? Three chances, three spills. Oh dear! Things got so bad for our Trinadadian professional that mickey-taking was replaced by sympathy as Captain Clark vowed that Fayaz would never again take his customary position at first slip.

Morale in the camp was restored as Tango Lupton appeared with his long term partner, Janet Davies, to support the team following their romantic weekend in Ebbw Vale. Kindly Tango, 40, then allowed Ms Davies to watch him score for two hours as he set about the
scorebook with aplomb. Krunic gave the Sloggers some hope with a most fortunate innings but the reply of 108-7 allowed the home team to stroll home by 23 runs. Man of the match Thomas backed up his match winning batting performance with some sprightly fielding and deserved his ovation as the teams left the playing arena.

Following the mysterious cancellation of the trip to Cork we are now touring Rochester next week. Let's hope there are more available hotel rooms than in Blackpool.

Result : Strollers won by 23 runs

Match Report - 9th May 2004 - Strollers vs Great Western Railway (H) at Chiswick

Following last week's match against Eastern Wanderers, The Strollers turned 180 degrees to face Great Western Railways in their second game of the season (another team The Strollers had not played before), in a 40 over match at Chiswick. Amongst the selected eleven were Simon Robinson, Sunil Mohan and Simon French (all playing their first games of the season) – two of whom would be out for ducks - and the opposition were captained by former Stroller Vinod Ladwa.

There was some concern following the previous week's shock defeat against Eastern Wanderers and a sense of 'deja vu' pervaded the ranks when The Strollers were allocated the same pitch as last week, skipper Nick Clark lost the toss (like last week), The Strollers were asked to bat first (like last week) and the first four wickets fell cheaply (like last week).

Having lost Clark (for 2), Paul Knight (for 12), Robinson (for 0) and Raj Sharma (for 4) The Strollers found themselves at 36 for 4. Cometh the hour, cometh the man and up stepped Fayaz Aziz. Together with Mohan, they steadied the ship and moved the score on to 76 before Mohan was stumped having scored 19. That brought Simon French to the wicket. Expectations were high. The big fella would surely push the score on to a respectable total. He used the first ball to get his eye in, the second – well, one can one say about the second. It was there to be hit. We all knew it and Simon knew it. Unfortunately, things didn't go to plan. He mistimed a “shortish” one and instead of going high over mid-on it went high (very high indeed) into the slip area where it was safely held.

So at 76 for 6 the questions on everybody's lips were, could The Strollers reach last week's total of 84 and were they heading for their second successive defeat, something that had not happened since 1999? We were forgetting one thing, of course - Aziz was still at the other end. He pressed on and kept the scoreboard ticking over. Having seen the fall of Paul Lees, he struck up a useful partnership of 34 with Ilija Krunic for the eighth wicket, before eventually falling just three runs short of his half century. His score of 47 was the highest by a Stroller this season. Krunic fell soon after with the score on 128 for 9 with 33 overs gone.

It looked like a reasonable total – but it wasn't over yet. The number 10 and 11 batsmen, Owain Lloyd-James and John Reidy, cannily saw out the last seven overs (bar one ball), punishing every loose ball. They ended up with a partnership of 28 (the fourth highest ever for the last wicket) and Lloyd-James' score of 20 was the second highest ever by a number 10 batsman. With a total of 156 all out off 39.5 overs posted, tea was taken in a much happier mood.

Captain Clark opened the attack with Lloyd-James and Lees and although they couldn't make any serious inroads into the GWR batting they did keep the score down to 18 for 1 from the first seven overs. The first bowling change saw Robinson turn his arm over for the first time this season and by the end of the over he had taken 2 wickets for no runs. Wickets then fell steadily, with Robinson ending up with 3 wickets for 3 runs from his 4 overs and Mohan taking 4 wickets for 10 runs from 4 overs. Lees was brought back to mop up the tail and this he did with the last ball of the 30 th over. GWR were all out for 68 and The Strollers had won by 88 runs.

It was noted that all 10 wickets taken by The Strollers had fallen at the same end.

The Strollers are now looking forward to their next match against the Serbian Sloggers, when Ilijia Krunic will be playing for the opposition and Simon French may bring his pet chicken along, which is useful as it could strengthen our batting line up. Read this page next week to find out if he actually does...

Result : Strollers won by 88 runs

Match Report - 2nd May 2004 - Strollers vs Eastern Wanderers (A) at Chiswick

On a warm sunny afternoon last Sunday The Strollers got their 2004 season under way. The place, the top table at Chiswick, the opposition, a pleasant bunch of lads that go under the name of Eastern Wanderers. The day also marked the start of Nick Clark's reign as the side's full time captain. Nick started as he means to go on by losing the toss and The Strollers were asked to bat.

Regular visitors to this website will be aware that The Strollers game relies heavily on its powerful top five. The personnel may change, but the result rarely does, runs, and plenty of them. Sunday's pitch looked a bit stodgy, but surely this would be a mere trifling inconvenience to such talents? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. By the tenth over we were five down and still the poorer side of 40. Our debutant, Paul Knight, will be let off his minor indiscretion (catching practice to mid off) in the hope he may still be wished to be associated with us next Sunday, the others will not. Aziz, bowled trying to pull a half volley, Sharma, LBW playing across the line (having almost being dismissed three times that way already) and Clark, edging a long hop as he tried to clear the river. However, it was Lees who deserves special mention. Realising the chips were down and that grafting was required, he slapped a full toss straight to the cover fielder and thought it would be a good idea to try take quick single. It wasn't. All in all we were lucky to make it to 83 all out. This was thanks largely to 22 from Patel, who batted with substantially more good sense than his more experienced colleagues (though that wasn't hard).

With Eastern Wanderers needing 84 from 40 overs it was a nervous Strollers side that took the field. However, a combination of good bowling and a generous opposition, made for a good game. Opening spells of 0 for 16 from Lees (8 overs) and 2 for 9 from Lloyd-James (6 overs) were reminiscent of Angus Fraser in his pomp. You could count the bad balls on the fingers of one foot. Slowly, but surely, Eastern began to look edgy. Once Lees and Lloyd-James had finished Krunic and Patel took over where they had left off. Krunic with 3 wickets and Patel with a further 2 allowed The Strollers to start thinking the unthinkable. Alas, hope was cruelly snatched away from us as it became apparent that Eastern's number nine was their best batsman - the blighters had reversed their batting order!!!. In the end the match was finished at a canter with The Strollers losing by 3 wickets.

So what positives, if any, can be taken from this? The assured all round performance by Man of the Match Patel, the accurate and intelligent bowling shown by Lees, Lloyd-James, Krunic and Patel and the fact that had there been no game, we wouldn't have learnt that absent fast bowler Simon French keeps a pet chicken in his flat. He went to public school you know.

Result : Strollers lost by 3 wickets