A new day and age had dawned for the 2’s team of 2010 with the focus for the season being to maintain at least a top half position in the league and blooding as many youthful stars for the transition to hopefully play 1’s cricket in the years ahead. Looking at the team I was confident the few experienced players and host of youthful talent at our disposal we would be able to compete with the best in the league. Winning the league was not mentioned pre-season and although having confidence in abundance to end the season League Champions was a distant dream which became a reality. Even more incredible is the fact that our team average age throughout the season was 22.
Noticeable player changes coming into the team were the return of Ivan Thomas from a season lay off with a back injury, a new find in Afghan Ahmed Akbari and the emergence of youth from the lower ranks in Charlie-Sid Speller, Adam Senn, Foysol Ahmed and Mehdi Abbas. Finally departing from the 2’s after massive contributions were Christian Dean to Brisbane Australia, Andrew Watts taking a deserved break retiring from league cricket, Dipesh Khartik to Nepal, and Dipayan Paul’s well deserved promotion to the first team.
The 2010 campaign began with Hadleigh Luff as skipper during which time Blackheath had pulverised The Mote, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Hayes with rain the only saviour for The Mote and Hayes in reduced over games denying Blackheath four straight victories. Our first defeat of the season followed in a closely fought contest at promoted Whitstable which was an obvious disappointment for the team, especially for skipper Luff who shortly after decided to relinquish the captaincy. The team were fairly shocked at the timing of this given that Luff was in decent form with the bat and the team placed third in the league after five games within striking distance of the top.
I took over the captaincy for the remainder of the season and was fortunate enough to lead a familiar team without having to change much after our good start. Personally I hoped to finally prove my worth as an all-rounder and get some league wickets after a couple of seasons without ball in hand.
The captaincy hand-over midweek after selection and a breakdown in communication meant I lead a 10 man team onto the Rectory against Bickley Park while Jack Ford was returning from his summer holiday unaware he was meant to be playing. Before we took the field I was starting to lose my sense of humour until Riv Monsell popped up and mentioned he would now have played under me in a team of 10, 11 and 12... Luckily I managed to contact Jack during the tea break and he duly returned to score a valuable 40 in a successful low scoring run chase. My first game as Blackheath skipper is one I will not forget, victory against the 2009 League winners!
There is always a season defining result which gave the team the belief we could mount a serious challenge for the League and this happened away against would be title contenders Bexley. Blackheath unfortunately lost Luff in the warm-up, split webbing requiring stitches but won the toss and elected to bat on a good wicket. At 17/4 Blackheath were staring down the barrel and with emergency replacement Chris Swadkin 30 minutes away I feared the worst. Enter Ahmed Akbari who feared nothing in smashing 77 off 56 balls ably supported by a superb 108 by Jamal Patterson and a quickfire 40 from Swadkin in repairing the damage and setting an unbelievable 284. In reply Bexley were well placed on 70/1 off 10 when first change bowlers Akbari and Hickman ripped through the Bexley line-up with figures of 3-8 and 4-5 respectively. Bexley were 95 all out off 18.3 overs!
This was without doubt the best cricket game I’ve ever been involved in and the most valuable 20 points gained.
We lost at home to Bromley in a close contest without our spearhead opening attack of Ivan Thomas and Riv Monsell who were sorely missed but halfway through the league fixtures we were still well placed to mount a charge to win the league. We continued winning against all opposition and were cruelly denied outright victory against Whitstable in the dark at the Rectory. With 4 games to go Bromley had built up a head of steam and collected almost maximum points in their last 3 games whilst we had been incomplete and rained off twice. Going into our final game instead of already securing the title we only held a slender 4 point lead and the final game of the season would determine the 2010 champions. To make matters worse I would miss my only game of the season along with run machine Seb Slater and opening fast bowler& leading wicket taker Ivan Thomas.
I decided Jamal would captain for the title decider and after winning the toss he elected to bat. Blackheath started well and at 150-1 with Luff and JP both reaching their fifties we were well placed to set an imposing target. Wickets then began to fall at regular intervals and at 174-7 the good start seemed to be squandered. Joe Kerridge accumulated a well played 38 towards the end ensuring we ended on a respectable total of 230-9 but well within reach for Bromley’s powerful batting.
The Bromley chase never got off the ground due to the brilliant bowling of Riv Monsell, Ahmed Akbari and Shojib Ali. Monsell removed both openers within his first 2 overs and special mention goes to Shojib who bowled superb line & lengths to decimate the Bromley top order. At 61-5 they didn’t recover and at 125 all out Adam Senn claimed the final wicket of the season and the title was ours. Monsell 10-4-30-2, Ali 7-3-13-3 , Senn 9.5-0-41-3.
The 2010 campaign for the 2’s saw a successful conclusion clinching the title ending on 253 points with 10 outright victories, 2 winning draws, 2 losses, 3 incomplete and 1 abandoned.
On the batting front we were the only team not to be bowled out throughout the season and won outright batting first on 4 occasions and won chasing on 6 occasions which is testament to our quality batting line-up and the foundation on which we set challenging totals or frequently chased them down. There were 3 centurions one each for Jamal Patterson, Seb Slater and Will Hickman. Jamal ended up top run scorer in the league with 558 at an average of 46 (1x100 5x50) Not many guys practice as hard on batting and he deserved this accolade. Seb had a fantastic season and at times was sensational in scoring 510 runs averaging 46 (1x100 4x50) including his maiden hundred in a blistering 118 not out in a rain reduced 30 over match at Hayes. Hadleigh Luff continued performing well with the bat scoring 486 runs averaging 44 (4x50) with a top score of 73.
Charlie-Sid Speller averaged 42 in scoring 210 runs in 5 knocks and Will Hickman managed 303 runs at an average of 37. The most exciting and powerful batsmen in the team was without doubt Ahmed Akbari. He is a game changer and hits a very long ball just ask the likes of Bexley and The Mote...new ball please! Foysol Ahmed started his season well with a stylish 60 and owned the number 4 slot but a sudden loss of form and confidence meant a tough 2010 season for the Middlesex U17 player.
On the rare occasion when we needed our lower order to shine someone did. Joe Kerridge scoring 38 in the League decider against Bromley, Adam Senn 31 not out against Whitstable valuable knocks.
In the bowling department the return of “The Great Ginger Hope” Ivan Thomas was without doubt the quality ingredient we required to win the league. He ended up taking 32 wickets at an average of 11.8 and economy of 2.6 with best figures of 6/21. Ivan was the league’s best fast bowler by some distance and a thorn in any oppositions batting line-up. I hope he works on developing his run up, if this is perfected he will be an even scarier prospect next season.
Riv Monsell was very consistent and although 2010 was probably not his best season with the ball he always does the difficult work horse job the team required and still ended up with 26 wickets at an average of 17. Will Hickman managed 19 wickets at an average of 13 followed by Shojib Ali with 15 wickets at 21. Other prominent bowling performances came from Adam Senn, Ahmed Akbari and Mehdi Abbas who ended the season with 14, 13, and 12 wickets respectively.
Only playing in the final half of the season both spinner Senn and the medium pace of Abbas were crucial in our success as they managed to get wickets with the older ball on flat pitches.
I would like to congratulate all the 2’s players who played a part in winning the 2010 League title. Special thanks to Chris Swadkin who often filled in at the last minute and Paul Frith who reluctantly agreed to play a few games towards the end of the season. Your experience and club spirit are second to none. Thank you to our umpires Vivian Lawrence, Anthony Gibson, Tony Pope, Mike Bohndiek and a special mention to our scorers Claire and Carolyn your time and effort are much appreciated. Last but certainly not least thank you for the continued efforts of Jon Taylor and Mike Bohndiek without your tireless dedication the club would not function.
Up the club and looking forward to defending the title next season.
A new day and age had dawned for the 2’s team of 2010 with the focus for the season being to maintain at least a top half position in the league and blooding as many youthful stars for the transition to hopefully play 1’s cricket in the years ahead. Looking at the team I was confident the few experienced players and host of youthful talent at our disposal we would be able to compete with the best in the league. Winning the league was not mentioned pre-season and although having confidence in abundance to end the season League Champions was a distant dream which became a reality. Even more incredible is the fact that our team average age throughout the season was 22.Noticeable player changes coming into the team were the return of Ivan Thomas from a season lay off with a back injury, a new find in Afghan Ahmed Akbari and the emergence of youth from the lower ranks in Charlie-Sid Speller, Adam Senn, Foysol Ahmed and Mehdi Abbas. Finally departing from the 2’s after massive contributions were Christian Dean to Brisbane Australia, Andrew Watts taking a deserved break retiring from league cricket, Dipesh Khartik to Nepal, and Dipayan Paul’s well deserved promotion to the first team.
The 2010 campaign began with Hadleigh Luff as skipper during which time Blackheath had pulverised The Mote, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Hayes with rain the only saviour for The Mote and Hayes in reduced over games denying Blackheath four straight victories. Our first defeat of the season followed in a closely fought contest at promoted Whitstable which was an obvious disappointment for the team, especially for skipper Luff who shortly after decided to relinquish the captaincy. The team were fairly shocked at the timing of this given that Luff was in decent form with the bat and the team placed third in the league after five games within striking distance of the top.
I took over the captaincy for the remainder of the season and was fortunate enough to lead a familiar team without having to change much after our good start. Personally I hoped to finally prove my worth as an all-rounder and get some league wickets after a couple of seasons without ball in hand.
The captaincy hand-over midweek after selection and a breakdown in communication meant I lead a 10 man team onto the Rectory against Bickley Park while Jack Ford was returning from his summer holiday unaware he was meant to be playing. Before we took the field I was starting to lose my sense of humour until Riv Monsell popped up and mentioned he would now have played under me in a team of 10, 11 and 12... Luckily I managed to contact Jack during the tea break and he duly returned to score a valuable 40 in a successful low scoring run chase. My first game as Blackheath skipper is one I will not forget, victory against the 2009 League winners!
There is always a season defining result which gave the team the belief we could mount a serious challenge for the League and this happened away against would be title contenders Bexley. Blackheath unfortunately lost Luff in the warm-up, split webbing requiring stitches but won the toss and elected to bat on a good wicket. At 17/4 Blackheath were staring down the barrel and with emergency replacement Chris Swadkin 30 minutes away I feared the worst. Enter Ahmed Akbari who feared nothing in smashing 77 off 56 balls ably supported by a superb 108 by Jamal Patterson and a quickfire 40 from Swadkin in repairing the damage and setting an unbelievable 284. In reply Bexley were well placed on 70/1 off 10 when first change bowlers Akbari and Hickman ripped through the Bexley line-up with figures of 3-8 and 4-5 respectively. Bexley were 95 all out off 18.3 overs!This was without doubt the best cricket game I’ve ever been involved in and the most valuable 20 points gained.
We lost at home to Bromley in a close contest without our spearhead opening attack of Ivan Thomas and Riv Monsell who were sorely missed but halfway through the league fixtures we were still well placed to mount a charge to win the league. We continued winning against all opposition and were cruelly denied outright victory against Whitstable in the dark at the Rectory. With 4 games to go Bromley had built up a head of steam and collected almost maximum points in their last 3 games whilst we had been incomplete and rained off twice. Going into our final game instead of already securing the title we only held a slender 4 point lead and the final game of the season would determine the 2010 champions. To make matters worse I would miss my only game of the season along with run machine Seb Slater and opening fast bowler& leading wicket taker Ivan Thomas.
I decided Jamal would captain for the title decider and after winning the toss he elected to bat. Blackheath started well and at 150-1 with Luff and JP both reaching their fifties we were well placed to set an imposing target. Wickets then began to fall at regular intervals and at 174-7 the good start seemed to be squandered. Joe Kerridge accumulated a well played 38 towards the end ensuring we ended on a respectable total of 230-9 but well within reach for Bromley’s powerful batting.
The Bromley chase never got off the ground due to the brilliant bowling of Riv Monsell, Ahmed Akbari and Shojib Ali. Monsell removed both openers within his first 2 overs and special mention goes to Shojib who bowled superb line & lengths to decimate the Bromley top order. At 61-5 they didn’t recover and at 125 all out Adam Senn claimed the final wicket of the season and the title was ours. Monsell 10-4-30-2, Ali 7-3-13-3 , Senn 9.5-0-41-3.
The 2010 campaign for the 2’s saw a successful conclusion clinching the title ending on 253 points with 10 outright victories, 2 winning draws, 2 losses, 3 incomplete and 1 abandoned.
On the batting front we were the only team not to be bowled out throughout the season and won outright batting first on 4 occasions and won chasing on 6 occasions which is testament to our quality batting line-up and the foundation on which we set challenging totals or frequently chased them down. There were 3 centurions one each for Jamal Patterson, Seb Slater and Will Hickman. Jamal ended up top run scorer in the league with 558 at an average of 46 (1x100 5x50) Not many guys practice as hard on batting and he deserved this accolade. Seb had a fantastic season and at times was sensational in scoring 510 runs averaging 46 (1x100 4x50) including his maiden hundred in a blistering 118 not out in a rain reduced 30 over match at Hayes. Hadleigh Luff continued performing well with the bat scoring 486 runs averaging 44 (4x50) with a top score of 73. Charlie-Sid Speller averaged 42 in scoring 210 runs in 5 knocks and Will Hickman managed 303 runs at an average of 37. The most exciting and powerful batsmen in the team was without doubt Ahmed Akbari. He is a game changer and hits a very long ball just ask the likes of Bexley and The Mote...new ball please! Foysol Ahmed started his season well with a stylish 60 and owned the number 4 slot but a sudden loss of form and confidence meant a tough 2010 season for the Middlesex U17 player.On the rare occasion when we needed our lower order to shine someone did. Joe Kerridge scoring 38 in the League decider against Bromley, Adam Senn 31 not out against Whitstable valuable knocks.
In the bowling department the return of “The Great Ginger Hope” Ivan Thomas was without doubt the quality ingredient we required to win the league. He ended up taking 32 wickets at an average of 11.8 and economy of 2.6 with best figures of 6/21. Ivan was the league’s best fast bowler by some distance and a thorn in any oppositions batting line-up. I hope he works on developing his run up, if this is perfected he will be an even scarier prospect next season.Riv Monsell was very consistent and although 2010 was probably not his best season with the ball he always does the difficult work horse job the team required and still ended up with 26 wickets at an average of 17. Will Hickman managed 19 wickets at an average of 13 followed by Shojib Ali with 15 wickets at 21. Other prominent bowling performances came from Adam Senn, Ahmed Akbari and Mehdi Abbas who ended the season with 14, 13, and 12 wickets respectively.Only playing in the final half of the season both spinner Senn and the medium pace of Abbas were crucial in our success as they managed to get wickets with the older ball on flat pitches.
I would like to congratulate all the 2’s players who played a part in winning the 2010 League title. Special thanks to Chris Swadkin who often filled in at the last minute and Paul Frith who reluctantly agreed to play a few games towards the end of the season. Your experience and club spirit are second to none. Thank you to our umpires Vivian Lawrence, Anthony Gibson, Tony Pope, Mike Bohndiek and a special mention to our scorers Claire and Carolyn your time and effort are much appreciated. Last but certainly not least thank you for the continued efforts of Jon Taylor and Mike Bohndiek without your tireless dedication the club would not function.
Up the club and looking forward to defending the title next season.
