Well, that didn’t go as planned.
The Clapham In season was cut short in 2020, of course, but while we didn’t get a full season in, we at least did get some cricket.
When the ECB and government finally started to talk about lifting restrictions at the beginning of July, the CICC Fixtures Team kicked into action. We had already had nine fixtures cancelled due to Covid-19, and everyone was keen to move quickly to secure the rest of the season.
Honoring our existing fixture list was the first priority, but finding grounds became a challenge. Luckily for us, James ‘Hedge’ Royal, Fixtures Secretary, and Jon Stern, Vice-Captain, were the heroes of the hour. Thanks to their efforts, CICC were able to play eight matches this season, against opponents old and new.
After three long months of the season passing by, from 11 July…
There was drama.
There was despair (leading to a lockdown podcast).
There was camaraderie.
There was (finally) cricket.
Plastics CC 204-8 v CICC 205-4 – Won by 6 wickets
11 July 2020, Barn Elms Sports Trust
With a little help from our friends at Lords Travellers and the oppo, we managed to get eleven players out at short notice to fulfill our fixture against Plastics CC (the only Mean Girls themed cricket club in the world) as lockdown eased. Thanks to the Fixtures team, we were able to secure one of the astro pitches available at Barn Elms.
Plastics put up an impressive 204 despite ClCC Lords Travellers’ ringer Ed Hewens keeping the opposition on the back foot, taking wickets at key intervals (6.0-0-23-2). Debutant Ben ‘Jet’ Gillard also bowled incredibly well (5.0-1-16-0), booking his ticket for, well… the rest of the season [Ed: It’s not like he was flying anywhere anyway…]
Bear Grylls, I mean… Riaan Ferreira (71) and Steve Smith (52) anchored the Clapham In response, looking remarkably composed through a 98-run partnership. Ed Hewens (21*) and James Frecknall (17*) saw CICC through to the end for a well-deserved win in Matt Goodman’s first match as skipper.
[Editor’s note: wait, what the fuck? We won a game?]Top Scores: R. Ferreira, 71; S. Smith, 52
Best Figures: E. Hewens, 6.0-0-23-3; M. Goodman, 6.0-0-26-2
Champagne moment:
Headband:
CICC 160 v Lords Travellers CC 161-1 – Lost by 9 wickets
19 July 2020, Barn Elms Sports Trust
The second week of the season saw us at Barn Elms again for our second match against one of our favorite oppositions – the ragged band of lay-abouts that is Lords Travellers CC. Takes one to know one, I suppose.
CICC batted first and struggled to build any serious partnerships, despite an anchor innings from Ed Gregory who batted for nearly two hours for his 62. After a hard-worked 19 from Riaan Ferreira, no one else gave Ed much support and Clapham stuttered to a 160 all out. On the artificial turf at BEST, this was always going to be a tough total to defend.
The Lords Travellers made the chase look easy. Steve Hallam (43) played the anchor role for the opposition, while Hylton Philips (92*) spent the next hour and a bit putting Clapham’s bowling to the sword. The only highlight of the match was James ‘Smithy’ Smith’s first wicket for the club, strangling Hallam down the legside with his unique whirligig action and ably snaffled by the other (Steve) Smith. Unfortunately, CICC didn’t have anything more to show for our 23.4 overs in the field.
A well deserved win for our (so-called) friends at Lords Travellers.
We’ll get them next time.
Top Scores: Ed Gregory, 62; R. Ferreira, 19
Best Figures: J. Smith, 2.0-0-13-1; E. Gregory, 3.0-0-14-0
Champagne moment: Smithy’s first wicket for the club
Headband: [TBR]
Barely Bluies CC 178-6 v CICC 141/9 – Lost by 25 runs
24 July 2020, Barn Elms Sports Trust
After a late change in venue and opponent, the Clapham Thunder turned out for their first and only T20 of the season, again at Barn Elms and this time against the Barely Bluies.
[Write-up TBC]Top Scores: Sam O’Connell, 27*; D. Burgess-Bellay, 20
Best Figures: J. Tooze, 2.0-0-13-1; L. Nitch-South, 2.0-0-10-2
Champagne moment: [TBC]
Headband: [TBR]
Ploughmans CC 123 v CICC 71 – Lost by 52 runs
2 August 2020, Dulwich Sports Ground
By the 2nd of August, Clapham In was starting to shake off some of the rust of a longer-than-normal off-season, but some of the pitches we played on hadn’t yet got the memo.
Our match at Dulwich was a spicy one, in the classic sense of the word. The pitch had been uncovered and not fully prepped due to lockdown, which meant the ball was either doing a lot or nothing at all off the pitch, and the team that was going to come out on top was always going to be the team that batted for time.
Clapham bowled well, particularly ‘Jet’ Gillard who was putting the ball on a dime before the captain pulled him out of the attack with four wickets to show for his six overs. Goodman had the self-professed ‘top order dangerman’ out for one, top-edging to Steve Smith behind the stumps. Jet stuck to a stump-to-stump line and had the numbers two, three and five batsman out cheaply. Ploughmans skip Tom Lonnen (80) held the Ploughmans innings together before Frecknall had him LBW in the 37th over with the score on 117. They were all out for 123 in the 38th.
The Clapham response weren’t able to muster
Top Scores: J. Shinner, 22; D. Burgess-Bellay [link?], 16
Best Figures: B. Gillard, 6.0-2-21-4; M. Goodman, 6.0-4-6-2; J. Frecknall, 6.0-1-27-3
Champagne moment: [TBC]
Headband: [TBC]
CICC 147 v Isis CC 148 – Lost by 3 wickets
8 August 2020, Stanton St. Quentin, Oxfordshire
Ten men went to Oxford. (Some of them took their partners, parents and children.)
Isis bowled a tight line and length, as always, with all their guile and experience on display. Jon Ponsford showed where his true loyalties lie with a more than respectable three wicket haul (8.0-3-16-3), including the scalps of Riaan Ferreira (19) and the in-form Steve Smith (3). With wickets falling at regular intervals, none of the CICC batsmen were able to get into their stride, though Ed Gregory (33) and James Frecknall (32) managed a solid partnership to take Clapham’s score over the hundred mark. Ben Gillard flashed his blade for a quick-fire 24 at the close of the innings, including five boundaries, but CICC’s total of 147 looked a little light on the lovely village track.
The Clapham Ten bowled and fielded well. They dove and hustled, cut off boundaries and restricted the singles – everything that they needed to do to defend a small total. Ben Gillard (6.0-2-8-2) and Tom Bage (8.0-2-28-1) were the pick of the bowlers, but two watchful 50 partnerships in 30 overs for the home side meant that Isis moved steadily towards the target.
It was looking tense with 23 needed off the last five overs, and with Isis needing five to get off the last over, Clapham took the game to the wire. All the heroics were in vain, however, as P. Jacobs (60*) saw his team over the line with a final nudge into the legside with two balls to spare.
Clapham left it all on the field, and their captain couldn’t have been more proud of them in what was the most exciting match of the season.
Top Scores: E. Gregory, 33; J. Frecknall, 32; B. Gillard, 24*
Best Figures: B. Gillard, 6.0-2-8-2; T. Bage, 8.0-2-28-1; J. Frecknall, 8.0-1-22-1
Champagne moment: [TBC]
Headband: PVS’s dramatic attempt at a run-out
Gents of West London CC 246-5 v CICC 147 – Lost by 98 runs
16 August 2020, Old Tenisonians, Raynes Park
Gents is another long-standing fixture against a club that has earned a reputation in CICC circles for competitive cricket (and for amazing teas.)
Top Scores: M. Cheetham, 46; R. Ferreira, 20
Best Figures: M. Goodman, 7.0-0-52-2; R. Ferreira, 3.0-0-22-1
Champagne moment:
Headband: Five dot balls into the over: “Hedge this is the best over I’ve ever seen,” says James Frecknall. Next ball – a towering six over long on. ‘F*#%!’
CICC 227-4 v Paddington Rabbits 174 – Won by 61 runs
23 August 2020, Paddington Recreation Ground
A new fixture against a like-minded club.
We knew this was going to be a good fixture when we turned up in the middle of a crowded Paddington Rec to see a giant golden cup, an open cafe and loads of spectators (none of them there for the cricket.) We weren’t disappointed.
Goodman won the toss again and elected to have a bat. The highlight of the Clapham Innings was – no, not the bacon sandwich from the cafe – it was Josh Shinner (108) and Callum ‘Heidi’ Taylor’s (67) third wicket partnership of 149. Our highest partnership of the season set us up nicely, particularly against some class opening bowling from the Rabbits’ left-arm quick Gowling. Josh played some excellent straight drives to complement his traditional (read: ‘leg-side heavy’) wagon wheel, while Callum was his usual fluent self. Heidi showed that he should absolutely be playing more for Clapham and not some poncy Hampshire league club. With a bit of help from Tom Bage (13), Jimmy Curtis (12*) and the lesser spotted Nighthawk, Adam Farmer (7*), Clapham rounded off their innings with a competitive 227 for the loss of four wickets.
The Rabbits innings never really got going, with Royal, Gillard and Bage all bowling particularly well to keep the hosts on the back foot. Gowling batted well for his 52, punishing the bad balls but didn’t get much support at the top of the order. The tail wagged a bit, but they still fell short of the target, bowled out for 174.
Top Scores: J. Shinner, 108; C. Taylor, 67
Best Figures: B. Gillard, 5.0-1-23-2; T. Bage, 2.3-0-13-3; J. Royal, 6.0-0-26-3
Champagne moment: Josh Shinner’s second ton for the club
Headband: [TBC]
Thames Ditton 218 v CICC 84 – Lost by 136 runs
6 September, Thames Ditton CC, London
A late addition to the fixture calendar was a rescheduled match against Thames Ditton on the first weekend in September, as Hedge tried to make the most of the sunny weekends.
TDCC – always a tough if friendly oppo – had managed to book the weather for a gorgeous late summer day. It was great to get a run out on a properly tended grass wicket as well after a season of predominantly astro strips.
Despite an early breakthrough from Salman Hasan (8.0-0-49-1), Thames Ditton opener J. Annandale (87) played beautifully, judging his scoring shots well, until Radar Gregory bowled him
With only two overs left in the match, Tom ‘Quiz Master’ Bage came back on, searching for that elusive final wicket to complete his five-for.
Top Scores: S. Smith, 22; E. Gregory, 10
Best Figures: T. Bage, 6.2-1-22-5; E. Gregory, 6.0-1-20-2
Champagne moment: Steve Smith’s legside take?
Headband: [TBC]
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