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Sunday 21st April -v- Chingford at Forest Side
Date added: 21/04/2024
Chingford 274-6dec (35 Overs) Crusaders 147-5 (45 Overs) Sonu Singh 66. Match Result Draw
Sunday 15th October -v- The Covenant at Charlton Park
Date added: 15/10/2023
Crusaders 196 All Out (32 Overs) The Covenant 199-6 (29.4 Overs). Match Result The Covenant Won by 4 Wickets
Sunday 1st October -v- The Covenant at Charlton Park
Date added: 01/10/2023
The Covenant 211 All Out (34.1 Overs) Crusaders 212-5 (32 Overs) Rubaan Butt 60. Match Result Crusaders Won by 5 Wickets
Sunday 24th September -v- Greenwich Meridian Village
Date added: 24/09/2023
Crusaders 152-9 (35 Overs) Greenwich Meridian Village 139 All Out (33.3 Overs) Match Result Crusaders Won by 13 Runs
Sunday 10th September -v- Brockley at Old Roan
Date added: 10/09/2023
Crusaders 156 All Out (35 Overs) Gurwinder Bajwa 69*. Brockley 139 All Out (32.3 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 17 Runs
Chand Channa 7000 Runs Milestone
Date added: 10/09/2023
Congratulations to Chand Channa who became only the 2nd Crusader in History to pass 7000 Career Runs. He is now only 117 Runs behind Leading Run Scorer Glen Timms
Sunday 3rd September -v- Gravesend at Nurstead CC
Date added: 03/09/2023
Crusaders 229 All Out (38.5 Overs) Sonu Singh 51, Jindu Singh 85. Gravesend 177 All Out. Match Result Crusaders Won by 52 Runs
Sunday 27th August -v- Kent Ramblas at Ex-Blues Pickhurst Rise
Date added: 27/08/2023
Crusaders 314-6 (40 Overs) Satnam Singh 110, Sandeep Manak 129*. Kent Ramblas 202-4 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 112 Runs
Records Tumble
Date added: 27/08/2023
Sunday's Score of 314-6 is the Highest Total ever scored by Crusaders
Sandeep Manak Unbeaten 129 and Satnam Singh 110 both recorded Maiden Centuries for Crusaders. This is the first time Crusaders have had two Centurions in the same Match
Congratulations to Stand In Skipper Jindu Singh - not a bad start!
Sunday 20th August -v- Sherwood at Sherwood CC
Date added: 20/08/2023
Crusaders 248-5 (40 Overs) Harkirat Singh 50 (Retired Not Out) Jindu Singh 54 (Retired Not Out)
Sunday 13th August -v- Hayes at Barnet Wood Road
Date added: 13/08/2023
Crusaders 243-9 (40 Overs) Sonu Singh 77, Gurwinder Bajwa 53. Hayes 118-7 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 125 Runs
Spud Whale 1000th Wicket
Date added: 13/08/2023
Spud Whale reached Milestone of 1000 Wickets for Crusaders with the 2nd of 3 Wickets on Sunday against Hayes
Sunday 6th August -v- Eynsford at Riverside
Date added: 06/08/2023
Crusaders 196-9 (40 Overs) Gurwinder Bajwa 51. Eynsford 108 All Out (27.2 Overs) Jagdesh Singh 5-19. Match Result Crusaders Won by 88 Runs
Sunday 30th July -v- Winchmore Hill Tigers at Paulin Ground
Date added: 30/07/2023
Crusaders 177-5 (30.5 Overs) Gurwinder Bajwa 80* - Match Abandoned as a Draw due to Rain
Sunday 23rd July -v- Nazeing Common at Nazeing
Date added: 23/07/2023
Nazeing Common 195-7 dec (42 Overs) Crusaders 196-5 (32.4 Overs) Chand Channa 53* (Retired). Match Result Crusaders Won by 5 Wickets
Sunday 16th July -v- Woodford Green at Woodford Green
Date added: 16/07/2023
Crusaders 203-8 (35 Overs) Jindu Singh 51, Gurwinder Bajwa 51. Woodside Green 179 All Out. Match Result Crusaders Won by 24 Runs
Sunday 9th July -v- Wrotham St. George at Wrotham CC
Date added: 09/07/2023
Crusaders 212-8 (40 Overs) Harry Singh 83. Wrotham St. George 107 All Out. Match Result Crusaders Won by 105 Runs
Harry Singh Maiden Fifty
Date added: 09/07/2023
Congratulations to Harry Singh on scoring his first Crusaders Fifty - finishing with 83
Hat-trick for Sonu Singh
Date added: 03/07/2023
Congratulations to Sonu Singh on taking a Hat-trick -v- Belhus. Sonu Clean Bowled the last 3 Belhus Batsmen to finish with Figures of 4-24
Sunday 2nd July -v- Belhus at Thames (Victory) RFC Ockenden
Date added: 02/07/2023
Belhus 178 All Out (34.4 Overs) Sonu Singh Hat-Trick. Crusaders 181-8 (33.2 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 2 Wickets
Sunday 25th June -v- Broadway at Orpington Sports Ground
Date added: 25/06/2023
Crusaders 226-6 (40 Overs) Sonu Singh 122 - 9th Career Hundred. Sonu Singh & Jindu Singh Stand of 104 for 3rd Wicket. Broadway 195-9 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 31 Runs
Thursday 22nd June -v- Devon Dumplings at Shobrooke Park DEVON TOUR
Date added: 22/06/2023
Devon Dumplings 232 All Out (30 Overs) Jagdesh Singh 5-60. Crusaders 92 All Out (31.5 Overs). Match Result Devon Dumplings Won by 140 Runs
Wednesday 21st June -v- Hatherleigh at Hatherleigh CC DEVON TOUR
Date added: 21/06/2023
Crusaders 174 All Out (37.2 Overs) Hatherleigh 44 All Out (27.2 Overs) Gurtej (Herman) Singh 5-5 - 1st Five Wicket Haul. Match Result Crusaders Won by 130 Runs
Sunday 18th June -v- Locksbottom at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 18/06/2023
Crusaders 285-6 (35 Overs) Jindu Singh 94, Sonu Singh 82, Gurwinder Baywa 54. Locksbottom 0-0 - Game Rained Off at Tea. Match Result Draw
Sunday 11th June -v- Blue Star at Crescent Farm
Date added: 11/06/2023
Crusaders 163-10 (28 Overs) Blue Star 151-10 (30.1 Overs) Match Result Crusaders Won by 12 Runs
Sunday 4th June -v- Bobbing Court & Lower Halstow at Chapel Meadow
Date added: 04/06/2023
Crusaders 252-3 (40 Overs) Chand Channa 57, Jindu Singh 89, Sonu Singh 65*. Chand Channa & Jindu Singh 1st Wicket Stand of 122. Bobbing Court & Lower Halstow 125-5 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 127 Runs
Sunday 28th May -v- Hartfield at Town Croft
Date added: 28/05/2023
Crusaders 259-5 (35 Overs) Sonu Singh 60, Chand Channa 64* (RET), Sanam Pannu 83. Hartfield 149-9 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 110 Runs
Sunday 21st May -v- Staplehurst at Staplehurst CC
Date added: 21/05/2023
Staplehurst 229-8 (40 Overs). Crusaders 230-2 (26.5 Overs) Sonu Singh 100*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 8 Wickets
Sunday 14th May -v- Town Malling at Old County Ground
Date added: 14/05/2023
Crusaders 185 All Out (34 Overs) Gajinder Singh 89. Town Malling 172-7 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 13 Runs
Sunday 7th May -v- Brockley at Old Roan, Kidbrooke
Date added: 07/05/2023
Brocley 40-10(All Out) Pommie Singh 5-2 Crusaders 41-1. Match Result Crusaders Won by 9 Wickets
Sunday 7th May -v- Brockley at Old Roan, Kidbrooke (T20)
Date added: 07/05/2023
Brockley 91-6 (20 Overs) Crusaders 95-5 (16.3 Overs) Match Result Crusaders Won by 5 Wickets
Monday 1st May -v- Belhus at North Stifford
Date added: 01/05/2023
Belhus 135-4 (35 Overs) Crusaders 134-9 (35 Overs). Match Result Belhus Won by 1 Run
Sunday 30th April -v- Bexley Park at Calvert Drive
Date added: 30/04/2023
Crusaders 72-10 (All Out) Bexley Park 73-1. Match Result Bexley Park Won by 9 Wickets
Sunday 25th September -v- Linton Park at Linton Park
Date added: 25/09/2022
Crusaders 269-4 (40 Overs) Sanam Pannu 78*, Jindu Singh 53. Linton Park 120 All Out (32.5 Overs) Spud Whale 5-32. Match Result Crusaders Won by 149 Runs
Sunday 18th September -v- Rettendon at Church Meadow
Date added: 18/09/2022
Crusaders 159 All Out (32.5 overs) Jagdesh Singh 52* Rettendon 163-4 (32.3 Overs). Match Result Rettendon Won by 6 Wickets
Sunday 11th September -v- Locksbottom at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 11/09/2022
Crusaders 227-7 (41 Overs)Sonu Singh 121* Gurwinder Bajwa 71. Sonu Singh & Gurwinder Bajwa Record Crusaders Partnership for 6th Wicket of 126
Sonu Singh Century
Date added: 11/09/2022
Congratulations to Sonu Singh on his 7th Career Hundred for Crusaders - 121* from 106 Balls
Gurwinder Bajwa - Fifty
Date added: 11/09/2022
Well Done Gurwinder on his Maiden Fifty for Crusaders - finally out for 71 from only39 Balls
Sunday 4th September -v- Gravesend at Bat & Ball Ground
Date added: 04/09/2022
Crusaders 212-9 (34.3 Overs)Sonu Singh 52. Gravesend 134 All Out. Match Result Crusaders Won by 76 Runs
Sonu Singh 1000 Runs
Date added: 04/09/2022
Congratulations to Sonu Singh for becoming the First Player in Crusaders History to pass 1000 Runs in a Season
Tuesday 30th August -v- Ex-Blues at Pickhurst Rise, Hayes
Date added: 30/08/2022
Crusaders 167 All Out (32.3 Overs)Ex-Blues 162 All Out (33.3 Overs)Match Result Crusaders Won by 5 Runs
Friday 26th August -v- Johhny Greggains Memorial XI at Old Roan Kidbrooke
Date added: 26/08/2022
Crusaders 163 All Out (29.3 Overs)Johnny Greggains Memorial XI 155-7 (30 Overs)Match Result Crusaders Won by 8 Runs
Sunday 21st August -v- Blue Star at Crescent Farm Sidcup CC
Date added: 21/08/2022
Crusaders 255-6 (40 Overs) Sonu Singh 102* Blue Star 177-7 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 78 Runs
Sonu Singh Hundred
Date added: 21/08/2022
Congratulations to Sonu Singh on Completing another Hundred - his 6th Career Ton for Crusaders - 102* from 79 Balls
Sunday 14th August -v- Broadway at Goddington Lane Orpington Sports Club
Date added: 14/08/2022
Crusaders 251-8 (35 Overs) Jindu Singh 73. Broadway 91 All Out (24.4 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 160 Runs
Sunday 7th August -v- Leigh at The Green Leigh
Date added: 07/08/2022
Crusaders 220-6 (35 Overs)Sanam Pannu 107. Sanam Pannu & Pommie Singh Stand of 118 for 6th Wicket. Leigh 188-8 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 32 Runs
Sanam Pannu Maiden Hundred
Date added: 07/08/2022
Congratulations to Sanam Pannu on his First Hundred (107) for Crusaders. Fifty in 37 Balls & Hundred in 70 Balls
Sunday 31st July -v- Cobham at The Landway, Cobham
Date added: 31/07/2022
Crusaders 193 All Out (31.4 Overs)Cobham 47 All Out (14.4 Overs) Harry Singh 5-24. Match Result Crusaders Won by 146 Runs
Harry Singh 5 Wicket
Date added: 31/07/2022
Congratulations to Harry Singh for excellent figures 7-2-24-5 to claim his first Crusaders Career 5 Wicket Haul
Sunday 17th July -v- Epping at Lower Bury Walk
Date added: 17/07/2022
Crusaders 153-2 (35 Overs)Sonu Singh 129* Atif Hassain 60* Epping 229-6 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 24 Runs
Sunday 17th July
Date added: 17/07/2022
Congratulations to Sonu Singh for his 4th Career Century at Epping and to Atif Hassain for his Maiden Fifty for Crusaders.
The Unbroken Stand of 185 for the 3rd Wicket is a Club Record and also the 3rd Highest All Time Stand for any wicket
Sunday 10th July -v- Hartley Country Club at Culvey Close
Date added: 10/07/2022
Hartley Country Club 213-9 (40 Overs). Crusaders 183 All Out (38.1 Overs). Match Result Hartley Country Club Won by 30 Runs
Sunday 3rd July -v- Belhus at North Stifford
Date added: 03/07/2022
Crusaders 177 All Out (38.4 Overs)Jindu Singh 84. Belhus 159-8 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 18 Runs
Sunday 26th June -v- Winchmore Hill Lions at Paulin Ground
Date added: 26/06/2022
Winchmore Hill Lions 129 All Out (36.3 Overs). Crusaders 130-3 (18.1 Overs)Sonu Singh 60* (Retired). Match Result Crusaders Won by 7 Wickets
Sunday 19th June -v- Bearsted at Hollingbourne CC
Date added: 20/06/2022
Bearsted 106 All Out (37.5 Overs)Crusaders 107-4 (21.5 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 6 Wickets
Sunday 12th June -v- Blue Star at Crescent Farm
Date added: 12/06/2022
Crusaders 192 All Out (38 Overs)Sanam Pannu 58. Blue Star 195-8 (39.2 Overs). Match Result Blue Star Won by 2 Wickets
Sunday 5th June -v- Charlatans at Charlton Park
Date added: 05/06/2022
Crusaders 295 All Out (39 Overs)Harkirat Singh 143, Sonu Singh 60. Charlatans 181 All Out (36.2 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 114 Runs
Sunday 29th May -v- Hartfield at Town Croft
Date added: 29/05/2022
Crusaders 136 All Out (35.2 Overs)Sandeep Manak 54. Hartfield 139-7 (31.3 Overs). Match Result Hartfield Won by 3 Wickets
Sunday 22nd May -v- Woodford Green at Woodford Green
Date added: 22/05/2022
Woodford Green 148-8 (35 Overs) Crusaders 151-4 (24.5 Overs)Sonu Singh 75*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 6 Wickets
Wednesday 18th May -v- Locksbottom at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 18/05/2022
Crusaders 273-8 (35 Overs) Sachin Dahiya 103, Sonu Singh 84. Sachin Dahiya & Sonu Singh 2nd Wicket Partnership 139. Locksbottom 199-6 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 74 Runs
Sunday 15th May -v- Rettendon at Church Meadow
Date added: 15/05/2022
Crusaders 193 All Out (32 Overs) Harcharan Mudhar 53* (Ret N.O.)Rettendon 146-5 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 47 Runs
Sunday 8th May -v- Brockley at Old Roan Kidbrooke
Date added: 08/05/2022
Crusaders 178-9 (40 Overs)Bappi Banik 61 Sonu Singh 66. Brockley 166-9 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 12 Runs
Thursday 5th May -v-Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 05/05/2022
Ashburnham Arms 114-5 (20 Overs) Crusaders 115-7 (20 Overs) Match Result Crusaders Won by 3 Wickets
Sunday 1st May -v- Bexley Park at Bexley Hospital
Date added: 01/05/2022
Bexley Park 119-10 (34.3 Overs)Crusaders 120-3 (22.4 Overs) Sonu Singh 62*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 7 Wickets
Sunday 24th April -v- Chingford at Forest Side
Date added: 24/04/2022
Chingford 269-3 dec (41 Overs)Crusaders 176-8 (44 Overs)Match Result Draw
Sunday 17th April -v- Petts Wood at Willet Way
Date added: 17/04/2022
Petts Wood 161-7 dec (42 Overs)Crusaders 164-7 (29.1 Overs)Harcharan Mudhar 58*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 3 Wickets
Midweek Fixture -v- Locksbottom
Date added: 09/12/2021
As part of Crusaders CC 40th Year Celebration we are playing Locksbottom in a Midweek Friendly on Wednesday 15th May Start 14:00 - 40 Overs Match
Crusaders AGM 2021
Date added: 01/12/2021
Agenda
1. Fixture-Secretary Report
Fixtures for 2022 progressing. As part of 40 Years Anniversary we have agreed to play a couple of Midweek Games against Locksbottom - Wednesday 18th May & Belhus - to be confirmed.
Also agreed to hold a Memorial Celebration Game for John Greggains - Venue to be decided - Date Friday 15th July. There will be a Committee Set up to organise this
2. Treasurer Report
Spud outlined approximate Money Held - this will be finalised but is approx £650
Money will be required for Match Balls and we have agreed to purchase a new Pair of Keepers Gloves & Inners (Chand possibly to supply these)
Request from Team to always have 2 Match Balls for all games was agreed. This will add to out lay for Season so it was also agreed to raise Match Fee to £10 per game
3. Captain's Report
Chand thanked everyone for their support throughout the last Season and a half. For 2021 our Record was good with 11 Victories and 4 Draws from 21 Completed Games
4. Election of Officers
Captain - Jagdesh Singh was Elected unopposed and selected Lucky Singh as Vice Captain
Fixture-Secretary - Spud Whale continues in the Role with Lucky to included in all Processes
Treasurer - Damon White has agreed to take the role. We will explore setting up a Bank Account and also a move towards Cashless Payments
5. Tour
Spud is pursuing some Contacts in North Devon - general agreement from all present that we would go for 3-4 days - Tuesday/Wednesday to Saturday and return to play our Sunday Fixture. It is hoped that we can arrange 2 Full Fixtures and a 20/20. To avoid too many Drivers we will look to Hire a 9 Seater Car and split this cost with all
6. Johnny G Memorial Game
As touched on earlier - will set up a Committee. Hoping to Hire Chislehurst CC for a Old Crusaders -v- New Crusaders Game with BBQ & Music
7. Crusaders CC 40 Years
To celebrate 40 years of Playing there will be a Club Dinner - general consensus to have it early or late Season straight after Sunday Game to make use of earlier finish time
Will also be playing two Full Midweek Games as per Fixture-Sec report
8. Any other Business
Website - Addition of Facebook & Instagram to Website. Lucky to explore this. Anyone with Website knowledge please advise - would be good to have more going on with the Site
Current Media - we discussed the Current High Profile Allegations of Racism and agreed that we should temper our on field exchanges to avoid potential upset to third parties and also in light of how evidence has been sourced we advised Whatsapp Exchanges to be sensitive to causing upset that could be viewed at a later date
Match Day - it was reinforced that Players requiring a Lift had the obligation to be at the Pick Up point on Time
9. Attendees - Spud, Lucky, Sam, Sonu, Parvesh, Sanam, Jindu, Harry, Jagdesh, Nita, Chand Mani, Damon & Pommie
Sunday 26th September -v- Hayes at Barnet Wood Road
Date added: 26/09/2021
Hayes 169-5 (35 Overs)Crusaders 171-4 (28 Overs)Sonu Singh 59. Match Result Crusaders Won by 6 Wickets
Sunday 19th September -v- Newenden at The Wharf
Date added: 19/09/2021
Crusaders 170-8 (35 Overs)Sonu Singh 56 Newenden 174-4 (26 Overs)Match Result Newenden Won by 6 Wickets
Harry Singh 100 Career Wickets
Date added: 19/09/2021
Congratulations to Harry Singh for reaching 100 Career Wickets on Sunday
Sunday 12th September -v- Locksbottom at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 12/09/2021
Locksbottom 202-6 (35 Overs)Crusaders 119-10 (27.5 Overs)Sonu Singh 54. Match Result Locksbottom Won by 83 Runs
Sunday 5th September -v- Gravesend at Wombwell Park
Date added: 05/09/2021
Crusaders 206-9 (40 Overs)Jindu Singh 75, Jagdesh Singh 65. Gravesend 138-10 (36.5 Overs)Lucky Singh 5-33. Match Result Crusaders Won by 68 Runs
Lucky Singh 100 Wickets
Date added: 05/09/2021
Congratulations to Lucky Singh for his 3rd Career Five Wicket Haul in the game at Gravesend. His second wicket also took him to 100 Career Wickets
Sunday 29th August -v- Bearsted at The Green Bearsted
Date added: 29/08/2021
Crusaders 185-9 (40 Overs)Bearsted 186-2 (36.1 Overs). Match Result Bearsted Won by 8 Wickets
Sunday 22nd August -v- Winchmore Hill Tigers at The Paulin Ground
Date added: 22/08/2021
Crusaders 224-8 (40 Overs) Jag Singh 65, Son Singh 51. Winchmore Hill Tigers 2-1 (1.5 Overs). Match Result Draw
Sunday 15th August -v- Chevening Amblers at Pikely Mead
Date added: 15/08/2021
Crusaders 191-6 (40 Overs)Singh. Lucky 66*. Chevening Amblers 173-8 (40 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 18 Runs
Sunday 8th August -v- Eynsford at Riverside
Date added: 08/08/2021
Eynsford 171-9 (35 Overs)Crusaders 142-9 (35 Overs)Match Result Eynsford Won by 29 Runs
Sunday 1st August -v- Charlatans at Charlton Park
Date added: 01/08/2021
Crusaders 166 All Out (34.1 Overs)Singh Jaggi 70. Charlatans 139 All Out (34.3 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 27 Runs
Sunday 18th July -v- Epping at Lower Bury Walk
Date added: 18/07/2021
Crusaders 211-9 (35 Overs)Channa. C 87. Epping 148-7 (35 Overs)Match Result Crusaders Won by 63 Runs
Sunday 11th July -v- Wrotham St. George at Wrotham
Date added: 11/07/2021
Crusaders 79 All Out (24.1 Overs)Wrotham St. George 45 All Out. Match Result Crusaders won by 34 Runs
Sunday 4th July -v- Belhus at Victory RFC, South Ockendon
Date added: 04/07/2021
Crusaders 221-5 (35 Overs)Singh. Jag 83 Singh. Nita 57. Singh.Jag & Singh.Nita 3rd Wicket Partnership 121. Belhus 169-9 (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 52 Runs
Thursday 1st July -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 01/07/2021
Ashburnham Arms 111-6 (20 Overs)Crusaders 100-8 (20 Overs)Dhooper. Mandeep 29*. Match Result Ashburnham Arms Won by 11 Runs
Record 5th Wicket Partnership
Date added: 27/06/2021
Well done Sonu Singh 147* and Damon White 47* sharing in a Crusaders Club Record Unbroken 5th Wicket Partnership of 165
Sunday 28th June -v- Nazeing Common at Nazeing
Date added: 27/06/2021
Crusaders 251-4 dec Singh. Sonu 147*. Nazeing Common 120-3 Innings Closed. Match Result Draw
Sunday 20th June -v- Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians
Date added: 20/06/2021
Crusaders 219-4 (40 Overs)Singh. Sonu 75,Singh. Jindu 79*. Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians 93-10 (28.1 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 125 Runs
Sunday 13th June -v- Woodford Green at High Road Woodford
Date added: 13/06/2021
Crusaders 213-6 (35 Overs)Woodford Green 214-7 (34.4 Overs. Match Result Woodford Green Won by 3 Wickets
Sunday 6th June -v- Old Wilsonians at Hayes Hill
Date added: 06/06/2021
Crusaders 188-8 (35 Overs) Singh. Lucky 59* Old Wilsonians 114-10 (29.1 Overs)Singh. Sanam 5-22. Match Result Crusaders Won by 74 Runs
Thursday 3rd June -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 03/06/2021
Crusaders 168-3 (20 Overs)Mudhar.H 28*,Perhar.G 27*,Singh.Jin 26*, Bhuiyan.S 25*, Parvez.Mo 25*. Ashburnham Arms 76-6 (20 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 92 Runs
Sunday 30th May -v- Hartfield at The Croft
Date added: 30/05/2021
Crusaders 192-9 dec (41.3 Overs)Hartfield 110-10 (28.1 Overs)Singh Lucky 5-16. Match Result Crusaders Won by 82 Runs
Sunday 9th May -v- Broadway at Orpington Sports Club
Date added: 09/05/2021
Broadway 118 All Out (31.3 Overs)Crusaders 122-2 (21.5 Overs)Match Result Crusaders Won by 8 Wickets
Thursday 6th May -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 06/05/2021
Crusaders 110 All Out Singh.Jindu 26 Singh. Pom 27* Ashburnham Arms 105-6. Match Result Crusaders Won by 5 Runs
Sunday 2nd May -v- Bexley Park at Calvert Drive
Date added: 02/05/2021
Crusaders 117-9 (28.3 Overs) Bexley Park 120-2 (18.1 Overs) Match Result - Bexley Park Won by 8 Wickets
Sunday 25th April -v- Chingford at Forest Side, Chingford CC
Date added: 25/04/2021
Chingford 177-10 (All Out) Crusaders 144-7 Bhuiyan.S 92*. Match Result Draw
Sunday 18th April -v- Petts Wood at Willett Rec
Date added: 18/04/2021
Petts Wood 212-7 (Declared) Crusaders 143-9. Match Result Draw
Sunday 27th September -v- Orsett & Thurrock at School Lane
Date added: 27/09/2020
Crusaders 209-5 (35 Overs) Singh. Son 50* ret. Channa. C 51* ret. Orsett & Thurrock 152 All Out (35 Overs). Match Result Crusaders Won by 57 Runs
Sunday 13th September -v- Charlatans at Charlton Park
Date added: 13/09/2020
Charlatans 232-4 (40 Overs) Crusaders 149 All Out (26.2 Overs) Singh. Jaggi 54. Match Result Charlatans Won by 83 Runs
Sunday 06th September -v- Gravesend at The Bat & Ball Ground
Date added: 06/09/2020
Crusaders 154-10 (40 Overs) Gravesend 155-6 (34.3 Overs). Match Result Gravesend Won by 4 Wickets
Sunday 23rd August -v- Orsett & Thurrock at School Lane
Date added: 23/08/2020
Orsett & Thurrock 169-9 (40 Overs) Crusaders 171-0 (25.2 Overs) Singh. Jag 50 ret n.o Channa. C 53*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 10 Wickets
Thursday 20th August -v- Ashburnham Arms at Charlton Park
Date added: 20/08/2020
Ashburnham Arms 85-7 (20 Overs) Crusaders 86-2 (14.5 overs) Mudrha. H 25* Banik. B 26*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 8 Wickets
Sunday 16th August -v- Chevening Amblers at Pikely Mead
Date added: 16/08/2020
Chevening Amblers 135 All Out (40 Overs) Crusaders 139-8 (35.4 Overs)Banik. B 51* Unbroken Stand of 80 between White and Banik for 9th Wicket. Match Result Crusaders Won by 2 Wickets
Sunday 9th August -v- Eynsford at Riverside
Date added: 09/08/2020
Eynsford 233-8 (40 Overs) Crusaders 88 All Out Match Result Eynsford Won by 145 Runs
Sunday 2nd August -v- Rettendon at Church Meadow
Date added: 02/08/2020
Crusaders 174-6 (35 Overs) Rettendon 176-4 (34 Overs) Match Result Rettendon Won by 6 Wickets
Sunday 26th July -v- Ardleigh Green & Havering atte Bower at Central Park
Date added: 26/07/2020
Ardleigh Green 180 all out (40 overs)Crusaders 181-4 (37.3 overs) Singh Sonu 50. Match Result Crusaders Won by 6 Wickets
Sunday 19th July -v- Nazeing Common at Nazeing Common
Date added: 19/07/2020
Nazeing Common 203-5 dec (38 overs) Crusaders 130-8 (36 overs)Singh. Jag 61. Match Result Draw
Sunday 22nd September -v- Locksbottom at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 22/09/2019
Locksbottom 242-8 (35 overs)Crusaders 159-9 (all out) (34 overs)Singh. Lucky 56. Match Result Locksbottom Won by 83 runs
Sunday 8th September -v- Rettendon at Church Meadow
Date added: 08/09/2019
Rettendon 201-3 (35 overs)Crusaders 203-5 (32.5 overs)Singh.Nita 50*, Singh. Sonu 50*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 5 wickets
Sunday 01st September -v- Orsett & Thurrock at School Lane
Date added: 01/09/2019
Orsett & Thurrock 167-3 (35 overs)Crusaders 168-6 (30 overs)Channa.C 50*. Match Result Crusaders Won by 4 wickets
Sunday 25th August -v- Earlswood Strollers at Bromley Common
Date added: 25/08/2019
Earlswood Strollers 222-6 (40 overs)Crusaders 211-10 (38.4 overs)Singh.Jag 54. Match Result Earlswood Strollers Won by 11 runs
Monday 19th August Locksbottom 6-aside at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 19/08/2019
Match 1 Crusaders 50-3 (5 overs) Locksbottom Seniors 51-0 (4 overs). Match Result Locksbottom Seniors won by 5 wickets
Match 2 Crusaders 38-4 (5 overs) The Bartons 39-2 (3.5 overs). Match Result The Bartons won by 3 wickets
The Bartons featured Martin McCague (Ex Kent CCC and England)
Sunday 18th August -v- Chevening Amblers at Pikely Mead
Date added: 18/08/2019
Chevening Amblers 146-6 (35 overs) Crusaders 137-10 (29 overs)Channa.C 86. Match Result Chevening Amblers won by 9 runs
Sunday 11th August -v- Eynsford at Riverside
Date added: 11/08/2019
Eynsford 229-7 (40 overs)Crusaders 183-10 (31.4 overs)Match Result Eynsford won by 46 runs
Sunday 4th August -v- Kingstonian at Cottenham Park
Date added: 04/08/2019
Crusaders 193-7 (30 overs)Singh. Jag 52 Kingstonian 167-9 (30 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 26 runs
Sunday 28th July -v- Ardleigh Green & Havering atte Bower at Central Park
Date added: 28/07/2019
Ardleigh Green & Havering ate Bower 130-8 (35 overs)Crusaders 134-3 (25.2 overs)Singh.Jag 50*,Singh Sonu 57*.Match result Crusaders won by 7 wickets
Thursday 25th July -v- Ashburnham Arms at Old Roan
Date added: 25/07/2019
Ashburnham Arms 110-6 (20 Overs)Crusaders 110-8 (20 Overs)Bhuiyan.S 26 ret. Match Result Tie
Sunday 21st July -v- Nazeing Common at Common Road
Date added: 21/07/2019
Nazeing Common 200-4 dec (42 Overs)Crusaders 183-10 (35 Overs. Singh. Gaj 60. Match Result Nazeing Common won by 17 runs
Sunday 7th July -v- Belhus at North Stifford
Date added: 07/07/2019
Belhus 235-2 (40 Overs) Crusaders 229-7 (40 Overs)Channa.C 63. Match result Belhus won by 6 runs
Sunday 30th June -v- Downe at Luxted Road
Date added: 30/06/2019
Downe 116 all out (35.3 Overs)Crusaders 119-1 (18.3 Overs)Singh.Nita 52* Singh.Sonu 50*. Match Result Crusaders won by 9 Wickets
Sunday 23rd June -v- Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians at Lime Meadow Road
Date added: 23/06/2019
Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians 169 all out (43.4 overs)Crusaders 173-5 (35.2 overs)Singh. Sonu 102.Match Result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Sunday 9th June -v- Woodside Green at Addiscombe CC
Date added: 09/06/2019
Woodside Green 178-7 (40 Overs)Crusaders 85 all out (27 Overs). Match Result Woodside Green won by 93 runs
Sunday 2nd June -v- Hartfield at Town Croft
Date added: 02/06/2019
Crusaders 227-9 dec (36 overs) Singh. Sonu 73.Hartfield 165-8.(39 overs) Match Result Draw
Sunday 19th May -v- Orsett & Thurrock at Orsett
Date added: 19/05/2019
Orsett & Thurrock 156-9 (40 overs)Crusaders 157-7 (37.2 overs)Singh Jag 68. Match Result Crusaders won by 3 Wickets
Sunday 12th May -v- Chaldon at Six Brothers Field
Date added: 12/05/2019
Chaldon 115-7 (30 overs) Crusaders 116-3 (15.2 overs). Match Result Crusaders won by 7 wickets
Sunday 5th May -v- Bexley Park at Calvert Drive
Date added: 05/05/2019
Bexley Park 106-10 (33.1 overs)Crusaders 110-6 (24.5 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 4 wickets
Thursday 2nd May -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 02/05/2019
Crusaders 105-6(20 overs)Singh.Gaj 30 Ashburnham Arms 106-5 (18.4 overs).Match Result Ashburnham Arms won by 5 wickets
Sunday 28th April -v- Chingford at Forest Side
Date added: 28/04/2019
Chingford 256-6 dec (38 overs)Crusaders 175-10 (35.3 overs)Singh. Amrit 65. Match Result Chingford won by 81 runs
Sunday 14th April -v- Eynsford at Riverside
Date added: 14/04/2019
Eynsford 249-6 (40 overs) Crusaders 170-10 (33 overs)Channa.C 53, Singh.Jag 57. Match Result Eynsford won by 79 runs
Sunday 30th September -v- Ightham at Tonbridge Road
Date added: 30/09/2018
Ightham 146 all out (31.3 overs)Singh. Sam 5-25. Crusaders 150-6 (40.2 overs). Match Result Crusaders won by 4 wickets
Sunday 16th September -v- Tillingham
Date added: 16/09/2018
Crusaders 129 all out (36.5 overs) Tillingham 130-4 (27.5 overs). Match result Tillingham won by 6 wickets
Sunday 9th September -v- Rettendon at Church Meadow
Date added: 09/09/2018
Rettendon 157-6 (35 overs) Crusaders 161-5 (27.2 overs) Singh. Sonu 79 not out. Match Result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Sonu Singh passes 500 runs for the Season
Date added: 09/09/2018
Congratulations to Sonu Singh who's unbeaten 79 at Rettendon not only took him past 500 runs for the Season but he also reached 1000 Career Runs for Crusaders
Sunday 9th September Team Group -v- Rettendon
Date added: 09/09/2018
Crusaders CC -V- Rettendon CC at Church Meadow 9th September 2018
Back Row; Johnny Greggains, Spud Whale (capt), Mr Sandhu, Nita Singh, Sonu Singh,Harry Singh, Parvesh Sahay
Front Row; Dan Quy, Lucky Singh, Anmol Singh, Damon White (wkt)
Sunday 02nd September -v- Lessa Wanderers at The Pavilion
Date added: 02/09/2018
Crusaders 159-8 (35 overs) Lessa Waanderers 117-7 (35 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 42 runs
Sunday 19th August -v- Eastons at Manor Road
Date added: 19/08/2018
Crusader 172-9 dec (43 overs)Singh.Nita 65 Eastons 174-2 (28.3 overs). Match result Eastons won by 8 wickets
Sunday 12th August -v- Eynsford at Riverside
Date added: 12/08/2018
Eynsford 195-7 (35 overs) Crusaders 178-9 (35 overs) Singh.Jag 73. Match result Eynsford won by 17 runs
Thursday 26th July -v- Ashburnham Arms
Date added: 26/07/2018
Ashburnham Arms 118-4 (20 overs) Crusaders 119-7 (20 0vers) Jhandu. R 43 not out Channa. C 26 retired. Match Result Crusaders won by 3 wickets
After the fiasco of the previous week’s non-event game at Greenwich Park, Crusaders scrambled a much changed ten players for a game at Old Roan. Spud called in the Home Guard, welcoming Bill, Kevin and Pommie, whilst Harry introduced Robbin Dhanju on debut. With the dynamic Teji and the Golden Arm of Jason also at his disposal Spud was untroubled by the missing eleventh man.
Roan had managed to keep the pitch well grassed and watered, whilst the outfield in contrast was baked, bumpy and barren. The Ash won the toss and with temperatures still nestling in the 30’s had no hesitation in opting to bat. Despite not taking wickets, Sam and Harry were effective in stemming the runs and were well supported by Bill donning the gloves and some efficient ground fielding. Teji twirled beautifully from the bottom end and was rewarded when he nonchalantly took a return catch to dismiss opener Adam; the celebration more than matched the delivery.
At ten overs The Ash had reached 56-1 and really needed to press on to set a defendable target, but with Pommie, Spud and Jason all performing with the ball Crusaders were firmly in the box seat. Jason’s long awaited hat-trick delivery – held over from the May 3rd meeting – failed to produce fruit, but it didn’t take long for Parvesh’s spiritual brother to make his mark. A loud appeal for LBW was upheld by the Umpire, despite little support from Bill behind the stumps – whose gloves were up around chest height trying to follow the path of the ball. Next ball a far more conventional rap on the pads also saw the finger raised; it also saw the hasty removal of the aforementioned official. And so to the Hat-trick delivery! To the uneducated it appeared to be a poorly directed ball that drifted to leg and was well taken by scampering Gloveman Bill. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy, with the thought that the batsman might charge down the track, leaving Bill to affect the sharp leg side stumping; I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. Ash closed on 118-4 from their allotted overs setting Crusaders a target that should have been comfortable.
Bill changed into some bigger pads joining Chand at the wicket and together the opening pair faced off against some intriguing slow bowling. Bill perished first, top edging a sweep that was well caught by the diving wicketkeeper. This brought Robbin to the crease and was the start of The Ash’s problems. In just nine deliveries faced he had rattled to retirement, cheekily turning down Chand’s invite for a second run when on 23, so that he could pass 25 in style with a maximum. Chand soon reached 26 but his retirement exposed a brittle middle order. Runs had come at a canter, but wickets were falling too frequently, as Kevin, Harry, Sam and Pommie did little to excite the crowd. Pommie was able to teach son Guneet a valuable lesson – watch and learn from anyone but your father.
Luckily we still had Super Teji up our sleeve and a number of hefty strikes took us close to the target. Teji fell for 18 just thirteen short of the target, which meant a return to the crease for Robbin and four balls later the end of the game. Spud was able to lean on his bat as a four and a single to keep the strike was followed by successive boundaries to overhaul the target
Sunday 22nd July -v- Nazeing Common at Common Road
Date added: 22/07/2018
Nazeing Common 206-7dec (41 overs) Singh.Lucky 5-30 Crusaders 152-9 (37 overs). Match Result Draw
Sunday 15th July -v- Wrotham St. George at Wrotham
Date added: 15/07/2018
Wrotham St. George 141 all out (39 overs) Crusaders 144-5 (24 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Match Report -v- Wrotham St. George at Wrotham
Date added: 15/07/2018
Crusaders made a first ever trip to the picturesque setting of Wrotham, returning with the spoils after surviving a typical middle order crisis to win by five wickets. An early arrival allowed time for a pre-match livener in the quaint George and Dragon – a pint of Harvey’s is never a bad way to start the day.
Wrotham’s home ground is set up a secluded end of the High St and sits in a natural tree-lined bowl, with an imposing wooden pavilion overlooking the pitch. With so little rain recently the outfield was parched and a little bumpy and the pitch dry and grassy.
Spud won the toss and the opposition appeared surprised to be offered first knock. An extra treat was Wrotham providing two umpires and a scorer for the game. Sonu and Sam made good use of the new ball, with neither opener laying much bat on ball intent merely on survival. Sam was the pick of the pair, removing the unfortunate Witts, who could only glove a ball to Spud at slip after the ball reared off a length and soon after catching Harrison in front with a low full toss for a routine LBW.
Lucky replaced Sonu, whose six overs had cost just six runs and after a wayward start he settled into a good rhythm. Harpreet took over from Sam and he soon removed the obdurate Pickford (15) who had batted with great resolve to survive a number of deliveries of indifferent bounce. Perhaps conscious of the need to push the score along his first real attempts at aggression resulted in an easy catch for Sam. Harpreet and Lucky traded further wickets, leaving Wrotham in a tricky predicament at 42-5 with half of their allotted overs used.
The pressure was released by the introduction of Damon into the attack and Chand behind the stumps – not sure who was worse. Damon had been sitting proudly at the head of the bowling averages, but after a three over spell he was jettisoned to the foot. Chand made Damon look very accomplished – which of course he is; with every dropped ball and bye conceded greeted with much mirth. Nita started his spell with two great deliveries, but the promise of what might have been never materialised. Patterson (45) firstly in partnership with Dallison and latterly with Maylan, took advantage of the buffet cart and dragged Wrotham towards a respectable total. Spud broke both partnerships, bowling Dallison and then benefitting from a fine slip catch from Harpreet to remove Patterson. He nearly added a broken foot, as he deflected a wild throw from Sam on to the stumps to run out the unfortunate Ives; a touch not out of place in this afternoon’s other showcase event The FIFA World Cup Final. Harpreet picked up another catch at slip and was widely and probably justifiably acclaimed as the best slip fielder in the club.
Wrotham’s innings was brought to a close by a splendid slower ball from Preet, which cleaned up Dallison Snr and left our hosts hoping to defend 141.
After a cracking tea featuring some lovely home-cooked fare, Spud settled back for some quality time with his Grand-daughter Luna; after all what could possibly go wrong!
Both Wrotham’s openers bowled at a lively pace and caused Chand and Harry a number of early scares. Gradually both batsmen started to get used to the vagaries of the surface, with Chand playing some trademark shots and Harry growing in confidence. In soaring temperatures it wasn’t difficult to get hot under the collar. A few scampered singles and a behind the legs Squash Shot ensured Wrotham’s fielders were soon over-heating. Chand had moved effortlessly to 49 when he took one chance too many, attempting a quick single and was run out by the bowler backing up.
When Harry (45) was out shortly after with the score at 99, it still appeared just a routine task to knock off the 42 runs required – but this is the Crusaders. Damon, Jagdesh and Nita ‘the padless’ all departed with the score locked on 106 and Wrotham suddenly had their tails up. Sam went out to face the hat-trick ball from Patterson surrounded by a cordon of close catchers. It is not in Sam’s nature to play a defensive shot even if it is to prevent a hat-trick and his wild haymaker missed the ball by some margin but agonisingly for the bowler the ball eluded the leg stump.
With Johnny ‘the Rock’ at one end exhibiting calmness and relying on the nudge and nurdle for his runs and Sam supplying raw aggression at the other end, the target was surpassed without further alarm. Sam thwacked a couple of brutal sixes in an unbeaten 20, whilst G Man delivered the victory with a beautifully crafted leg glance.
Sunday 08th July -v- Belhus at South Ockendon Rec
Date added: 08/07/2018
Belhus 172 all out (31.4 overs) Crusaders 91 all out (22.3 overs). Match result Belhus won by 81 runs
Match Report -v- Belhus at South Ockendon Rec
Date added: 08/07/2018
Sunday 01st July -v- Downe at Luxted Road
Date added: 01/07/2018
Downe 154 all out (32.2 overs) Crusaders 160-2 (25.3 overs) Singh Sonu 88 not out. Match Result Crusaders won by 8 Wickets
Date added: 01/07/2018
Johnny G and Sonu Singh after unbeaten 3rd Wicket stand of 70 at Downe
Match Report -v- Downe
Date added: 01/07/2018
Spud returned from holiday to find that a week of ‘Damon Captaincy’ had not irreparably damaged the mighty Crusaders; moreover he had overseen a highly entertaining game at Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians that had stretched our unbeaten run to six games. Prolonged sunshine and a short trip out to the Kent Countryside was enough to lure Denise and Gnasher out for the day and after a very pleasant pint at One Inn the Wood we arrived at a parched Downe. Pet loving Chand tried to befriend the pooch, but Summer is obviously a good judge of character and was having none of it.
Closer inspection of the wicket revealed a good covering of grass that had understandably been left on to prevent the pitch turning into a dustbowl. The toss was won and Spud sensing some inconsistent pace and bounce and also having been told by Vice-Captain Sam that batting second was a guarantee of victory, gave Downe first use.
Sonu struck immediately, with Matt Warne showing no signs of the patient application that would be needed to compile a decent score, as he lofted an injudicious drive straight to Harry at Mid Off. With the outfield bare, any decent connection that bisected the field had every chance of running away to the boundary. Despite this advantage to the batsman, there was always enough in the pitch to offer the bowler some encouragement. New batsman Hollands was quickly into his stride taking advantage of anything over-pitched or with any width and looked set for a big score. His partner Taylor was however struggling to establish himself. Perhaps conscious of the need to rotate the strike he dabbed a delivery from Sam towards Gully and called for a single – Jagdesh swooped and brilliantly threw down the stumps with Hollands short of his ground; one wonders what the outcome would have been if G Man had been in his usual fielding position?
More of the same came from Parfett Jnr as he looked to dominate the bowling from the outset. Harry had replaced Sonu and was bowling a good line and length and he was rewarded when Taylor chased a wider ball and snicked it through to Damon, who comfortably pouched the catch. Runs were coming at quite a pace, with Parfett and Holden-due to the steamy conditions- opting to trade almost solely in boundaries. Harry should have picked up another wicket, with Holden spooning the ball towards Backward Point, but alas Johnny G was ‘running too fast apparently’ to gather it safely and gave The Bear a reprieve. Was this to be a costly error? It did give us more time to savour the entertainment value that The Bear brings to the game; a repertoire that included hitting his foot with the bat, an indiscretion that resulted in some extravagant hopping around; almost putting his back out on more than one occasion chasing balls too wide of Off Stump, and a gloriously swiped maximum.
Harry continued to put the ball in the right areas, inducing Parfett to sky an attempted Straight Drive that he steadied himself superbly for to take the return catch. This was despite G Man adding to his day’s misdemeanours by offering Nita as a potential catcher. He soon added a third wicket, completing the ‘Family Double’ as the Senior Parfett could only fend a delivery up in the air, with Damon showing remarkable fleet of foot to take the catch.
Sam completed another excellent spell, with his seven overs yielding just 27 runs and after a brief but tight spell from Chand, Spud turned to the Spin of Lucky Singh. The Bear’s innings came to an end immediately after he had hit Lucky over Mid-Wicket for six, with the next ball crashing into middle stump. Parvesh replaced Harry, who returned an excellent 3-35 from his full quota. Parvesh – is a little like Life in the Film Forrest Gump – you never know what you are going to get!! What he does have is the remarkable knack of surprising batsmen with the occasional unplayable delivery. Matt Walker had seemed fairly untroubled, looking to push the Downe total towards something defendable until a delivery leapt off a length and was feathered to Damon who took several attempts to safely gather.
Taylor Jnr and Neville carried the score to respectability at 154, until Neville popped up a straightforward return catch to Lucky to end what had been a good partnership. Damon had obviously got one eye on the Tea preparations and sensing a spread of some magnitude he requested that matters be brought to a swift conclusion. Spud had held himself back, satisfied that all his bowlers had performed well in trying conditions, but it took him just the first two balls of his initial over to remove the final two Downe wickets. Taylor’s enterprising knock of 26 was firstly curtailed by an excellent catch from Sam ‘Bucket Hands’ Singh on the Long On boundary and Last Man Hobbs was trapped in front attempting a sweep shot. This left Crusaders a victory target of 155, with Downe probably ruing nearly 8 un-used overs.
Damon is rarely wrong when it comes to food and today was no exception – the Tea Ladies of Downe delivered a sumptuous spread, finished off with pre-Wimbledon Strawberries, Cream, Ice Cream and Chocolate Bars for those of a particularly gluttonous nature.
In the absence of Mr Shah, the familiar opening pair of Nita and Mr Sandhu was restored and they confidently promised the skip that the game would be done and dusted by 18:30. Call me a sceptic but claims like that don’t necessarily guarantee that victory will be the result. Our response started in a similar vein to Downe’s innings, with Nita finding the boundary for his first three scoring shots. Jagdesh tried a similar approach, but was less successful as he top edged a full toss from Walker to Square Leg, where he was well taken by Tom Hobbs. Sonu survived an early scare, when he was dropped, but from then on he continued his fine form with the bat. Together the pair added 76 in just thirteen overs, before Nita holed out five short of fifty. With plenty of time and overs available Johnny G was able to drop anchor and play the perfect support role to Sonu. With few alarms the required runs were negotiated; Sonu unbeaten on 88 and G Man a stout 8, as the target was overhauled with nearly 14 overs in hand.
Date added: 01/07/2018
Date added: 24/06/2018
Sunday 24th June -v- Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians at Lime Meadow Avenue
Date added: 24/06/2018
Crusaders 139 all out (39 overs)Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians 124-8 (41 overs) Match result Draw
Sunday 17th June -v- Lessa Wanderers at The Pavilion
Date added: 17/06/2018
Crusaders 211-7 dec (38.4 overs) Singh. Harry 81 Singh. Jag 63 Lessa Wanderers 159-7 (40 overs). Match result Draw
Crusaders extended their unbeaten run to five games, but were unable to dislodge the Lessa Wanderers lower order, who batted with a mixture of firm resolve and some gay abandon to see out the overs for a draw.
Buoyed by a run of good form, Spud was put under pressure to bat first, regardless of the weather or pitch condition. With heavy cloud cover, humid conditions and a very grassy covering on the track, given a choice he would have opted to bowl. After an incorrect call at the toss, that decision was not his to make, with Lessa taking the opportunity to bowl first and Crusaders given two and a half hours to set a target.
Crusaders made a number of changes, with Harpreet, Shahzad and Herman freshening up the eleven. Mr Shah returned to the starting line-up and partnered Nita for what the skipper hoped would be a steady and fruitful opening stand. Nita was on a run of three consecutive fifties and appeared to have overcome the nervous start to the season that had seen him dismissed three times without scoring. Shahzad later told me that he offered to take first strike, but Nita was adamant that he would deal with the opening exchanges. Hopes of a solid foundation were ended when Nita drove expansively at the first ball of the day and was held at widish Mid Off by Hameed - despite two fielders converging on the same catch. Not the ideal start.
Shahzad looked typically unhurried, playing an exquisite back foot Cover Drive and a nicely timed Drive through Mid On for boundaries, while Sonu was typically aggressive, but was finding the Lessa bowling difficult to time. He perished in a similar manner to Nita, with Clark taking a well-judged catch over his shoulder. Harry was next in and soon had Mr Shah scampering singles and a couple of two’s. This energetic episode was never going to be sustainable and with The Whitechapel Hospital on Red Alert, Shaz’s innings came to an end with a rather ungamely heave at a straight ball from Feroz.
Jagdesh joined Harry at the crease and the pair set about repairing the damage. Harry played very sensibly with a straight bat and Jagdesh played as Jagdesh does. It was not without some scary moments, but runs came steadily and when Feroz completed a good ten over spell, the backup bowlers were taken to task. Harry completed his Maiden Crusaders fifty, and was particularly severe on Clark and Glancy, whose combined eleven overs disappeared for 90 runs. Harry eventually fell for 81, with a partnership that yielded 121 runs for the 4th wicket.
Jagdesh passed fifty and finally perished for 63, with Parvesh, Damon and Sam all dismissed in the closing overs trying to push the score beyond 200. The declaration was made at 211, five minutes before time after Sam had his stumps re-arranged by Feroz Jnr.
Damon bemoaned the lack of Cakes during the Tea Interval, but it was a decent spread to set us up for a stint in the field.
Harpreet and Sam were given the New (Old ) Ball with Lessa choosing to promote Kai a pinch-hitter to the opening spot. It was soon apparent that anything full was going to get the kitchen sink thrown at it and Spud immediately had to re-think his field. Preet was bowling beautifully down the hill and with two men back on the fence protecting the straight drive he held one back and Spud pouched the miscue at Mid On. This brought Feroz to the middle and he was quickly into his stride aided by some unusually loose bowling from Sam. Harry replaced Vice-Captain Sam and after a couple of wild early deliveries he was soon rubber stamping a Man of the Match performance. Preet completed an eight over spell that yielded just 15 runs and put Crusaders firmly in the ascendancy, however wickets would be required if we were to win the game.
After Harry held on to a firm return catch to dismiss opener Bishop and Sonu trapped Faheem in front it appeared that the game was swinging in our favour. Some frenetic running between the wickets and bold hitting from Feroz and Glancy soon reminded us that we were still very much in a contest. As so often in cricket, it only takes one magic ball to potentially change a game. Parvesh was at his mercurial best serving up array of half trackers, head high full tosses and wides, interspersed with the odd pearler. It was one such delivery that did for Feroz, who was beaten by a Leg Stump Yorker, dismissed for an entertaining 64. Glancy continued to chase the improbable victory, but his blustery innings of 39 was ended by the introduction of Herman. Replacing Parvesh at the bottom end, his first ball found the outside edge and to the surprise of many it nestled in the hands of Shahzad at slip, who up until that point had appeared to be on the field only for decorative purposes. Herman added a second wicket, trapping Clark LBW - one of threeClark’s playing for Lessa, but time was against Crusaders and Lessa closed on 159-7.
Harry Singh 81 after scoring his first fifty for Crusaders against Lessa Wanderers
Date added: 17/06/2018
Harry (81) leaves field after sharing in a partnership of 121 for the 4th wicket with Jagdesh against Lessa Wanderers
Jagdesh Singh after a fine 63 against Lessa Wanderers
Date added: 17/06/2018
Mr Sandhu leaves the field after his 63 helps Crusaders post 211 against Lessa Wanderers
Sunday 10th June -v- Woodside Green at Addiscombe CC
Date added: 10/06/2018
Woodside Green 172-10 (37.3 overs) Crusaders 174-1 (27.2 overs) Channa. C 87 not out Singh.Nita 56. Match result Crusaders won by 9 wickets
Crusaders selected a strong eleven, including Bangladeshi Super League players Shakil and Nazir, against opposition that they had failed to beat in three previous encounters. The Sun was out, the outfield lightning fast and the pitch hard and dry. If we had put together a run of reliable batting totals it was a no-brainer to bat first, but such is the fragility of our line-up Spud offered first knock to Woodside Green.
Sonu and Sam opened the bowling, but neither side could claim to have won the opening exchanges, with runs being accumulated at a steady rate and only opener Stevens returned to the hutch, clean bowled by Sam for 15. The turning point for Woodside Green was the unfortunate injury to opening bat Smith who aggravated an existing back problem turning for a quick second run. Up to this point he had been scoring freely and appeared set for a big score – he was to play no further part in the match.
From then on Crusaders bowlers began to turn the screw, backed up by some solid fielding. Sonu completed a tight six over spell, conceding just 16 runs and was replaced by an equally profligate Shakil, who removed the dangerous looking Borrett courtesy of a wonderful catch from Nita at Point. For the previous fifteen overs Nita had been performing like a ‘Big Nancy’, shying away from catching opportunities and wafting arms and feet at balls he should have been stopping - a definite case of ‘from the ridiculous to the sublime’
With time running out Woodside tried to go on the offensive to push on towards a defendable total. Chand, Spud and Harry continued to do the basics well, bowling wicket to wicket and ensuring that each shot from Woodside was not without risk. For a while it appeared their most likely route to runs was to let the ball go and rely on a floundering Daymo to allow the ball through for byes – a tactic that yielded 22 additional runs. Chand and Harry picked up a brace each and Spud mopped up the tail, reducing Woodside Green to 172 all out, with two and a half un-used overs. It was a total that should have been well within our compass, but we had been here before.
Damon attempted to diffuse the ‘ByeGate’ situation by way of a self-deprecating changing room speech – some nonsense about the ball disappearing when it went past the batsman. This seemed to un-nerve Johnny G from his usual course of attack – maybe he was feeling sorry for an unusually reticent Damon? Tea finished with a sparring session in the Addiscombe Weights Room with Gman’s inability to lay a glove on Damon mirroring Damon’s inability to lay a glove on the ball.
Woodside Green were missing the opening bowler who had done the damage in the 2017 fixture and were very much hinging success on making early breakthroughs with the opening pairing of Mears and Imthiaz. Both Chand and Nita walked the tightrope in the early exchanges, with Chand dropped at Long On from a powerfully hit drive and Nita playing and missing outside off stump. Woodside Green appeared to have made the breakthrough with Imthiaz convinced that Chand had feathered a chance to the keeper. Chand stood his ground and Mr Sandu was un-moved. After several overs of chuntering the opposition eventually calmed down – one decision was not going to change the outcome of this game. Chand was at his expansive best, striking the ball to all parts, passing fifty that was met with an undignified silence from the opposition and managing to fit in his renowned behind the legs Squash Shot to irk the oppo even more. Nita played a – dare I say it sensible supportive role.
Woodside Green’s back up bowlers were lacking in threat and the only mild disappointment was that Nita couldn’t see us through to a 10 wicket victory, as he holed out to Long Off for 56 with only a few runs required. Chand remained unbeaten on 87, as a huge six from Nazir took us past the target.
Chand Channa at Woodside Green
Date added: 10/06/2018
Chand Channa hits out on way to an unbeated 87 against Woodside Green at Addiscombe CC
Nita Singh in action against Woodside Green
Date added: 10/06/2018
Nita Singh pushes a single on way to third consecutive half century against Woodside Green at Addiscombe CC
Addiscombe CC Pavilion
Date added: 10/06/2018
Spud scores Damon snores - at the picturesque Addiscombe CC
Sunday 3rd June -v- Hartfield at Town Croft
Date added: 03/06/2018
Crusaders 129 all out (33.2 overs) Singh. Nita 51 Hartfield 86 all out (33.1 overs) Whale. S 6-06. Match result Crusaders won by 43 runs
Match Report -v- Hartfield
Date added: 03/06/2018
Crusaders returned to ‘domestic cricket’ from a very successful foray across the Northern Border, with a trip out to East Sussex and a ‘Timed Game’ at Hartfield. An early departure in the ‘Daymobile’ allowed for a pre-match pint of Harvey’s in The Anchor, where Lucky and his passengers were already assembled.
On arrival at the ground there was some frenzied late mowing and raking of the outfield being undertaken and a cursory inspection of the wicket revealed a good covering of grass. Spud called incorrectly and was not surprised to be asked to bat first.
After two good batting displays in Scotland it was an unfortunate return to our frailties, as too few batsmen were prepared to invest in time at the wicket. Mr Shah was first to go hitting uncharacteristically in the air and failing to clear Mid On and he was followed by Sonu, who was a little unlucky to drag a delivery on from well outside Off Stump and Johnny G who was trapped in front and shown no mercy by Umpire Lucky Singh.
Nita had mixed early patience with some fearful hitting of anything loose and went to fifty with a huge six – a couple of balls later a moment of indecision cost him his wicket, as he flicked a ball harmlessly in the air to Short Fine Leg. Jagdesh played as Jagdesh does – a seventeen ball stay yielding 24 runs from just 7 scoring shots. Runs had come at quite a pace and even when debutant Avtar and Parvesh failed to add meaningfully to the scorebook; at 108-6 we still had plenty of time available with which to build a substantial and defendable total. Alas only Damon applied himself, sensibly waiting for the bad ball and accumulating what transpired to be a very valuable 11 not out. The tail failed to wag as we stumbled to 129 all out in little over 32 overs and in the process ceded an additional thirty minutes of batting time to Hartfield.
For Crusaders to have any chance of victory it was essential that early wickets were taken and a tight rein kept on the scoring. With Sonu ever reliable at one end, Spud opted to open from The Anchor end, finding immediate success as opener Bristowe was clean bowled without scoring. Sonu found the outside edge of the other openers bat and Damon pouched the catch; the perfect start.
Hartfield appeared to have no answer to Sonu’s pace and nagging accuracy combined with the wily guile of Spud at the other end. Spud added a further three wickets and Sonu took a second to leave our hosts reeling at 33-6. With Hartfield pursuing a low target and having strong batters in the lower order these early inroads were no guarantee that an unlikely victory would be achieved. Key wicket was the dismissal of Jan Ball, who had joined Sanders – a regular bane against us in the past. The two paired were more than capable of working down the deficit and with plenty of time still on the clock they had no need to play recklessly. When Spud managed to beat Ball’s defences with an Arm Ball to snare his first five wicket haul for some time, it put the onus squarely on Sanders to individually try to guide Hartfield home.
With Spud and Sonu completing twelve over spells it fell upon the back-up bowlers to finish the job. Sanders was doing a very good job of farming the strike, mixing sound defence with some solid ball striking, whilst protecting Simpson the Hartfield Number 10 from facing too many deliveries. Eventually Lucky got one through Simpson’s defences and Hartfield were 9 down still some 50 runs short. Exall the number 11 was less inclined to drop anchor and played expansively at a few deliveries, offering every chance of an edge. Perhaps sensing it was all or nothing Sanders launched Lucky down the ground and was superbly caught by Jagdesh at Deep Mid Off, out for a splendid 47, but Hartfield 43 shy of the target.
Scotland Tour 2018
Date added: 02/06/2018
Tour Party at Deanston Distillery
L to R Johnny G, Sam Singh, Damon White, Spud Whale, Sonu Singh, Harpreet Singh, Lucky Singh, Shahzad Shah, Harry Singh, Nita Singh, Chand Channan
Scotland Tour 2018
Date added: 02/06/2018
The boys of Loch Lomond
L to R Shahzad Shah, Lucky Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sam Singh, Sonu Singh, Parvesh Sahay, Harry Singh
Sam Singh at Deanston Distillery
Date added: 02/06/2018
The oldest cask of Deanston Single Malt Whisky worth about £80k - Sam Singh priceless
Date added: 30/05/2018
Crusaders and Gargunnock Village Teams after Crusaders 4 wicket victory
Date added: 27/05/2018
Nita Singh (Centre) after his unbeaten 76 against Gargunnock Village
Date added: 27/05/2018
Sunday 27th May -v- Gargunnock Village at Meiklewood
Date added: 27/05/2018
Gargunnock Village 207-2 (40 overs) Crusaders 208-6 (35.1 overs) Singh. Nita 76*. Match result Crusaders won by 4 wickets
Saturday 26th May -v- Doune at The Grazings
Date added: 26/05/2018
Crusaders 197-8 (35 overs) Singh. Sonu 112. Doune 169-9 (35 overs) Match result Crusaders won by 30 runs
Crusaders CC -v- Doune CC Team Photo
Date added: 26/05/2018
Crusaders 2018 Tour to Stirling - Team -v- Doune CC
Left to Right (Back Row)Lucky Singh, Harpreet Singh, Chand Channa, Sonu Singh, Nita Singh, Harry Singh, Damon White, Parvesh Sahay
Seated Shahzad Shah, Sam Singh, Spud Whale (Capt), Johnny Greggains
Sonu Singh 112 -v- Doune CC
Date added: 26/05/2018
Sonu Singh after scoring 112 his Maiden Century for Crusaders at Doune CC
Sunday 20th May -v- Hayes at Barnet Wood Road
Date added: 20/05/2018
Hayes 251-7 (40 overs)Crusaders 195-10 (33.1 overs)Singh. Jag 81. Match result Hayes won by 56 runs
Sunday 6th May -v- Bexley Park at Calvert Drive
Date added: 06/05/2018
Bexley Park 131-6 (35 overs) Crusaders 132-6 (27.5 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 4 wickets
Sam Singh after unbeaten 49 at Bexley Park
Date added: 06/05/2018
Sam Singh unbeaten 49 and Sonu Singh 14 guide Crusaders to first win of 2018
Thursday 3rd May -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 03/05/2018
Ashburnham Arms 88-3 (20 overs) Crusaders 80-9 (20 overs). Match result Ashburnham Arms won by 8 runs
Sunday 29th April -v- Chingford at Kimberley Way
Date added: 29/04/2018
Crusaders 91 all out (41.4 overs) Chingford 92-6 (31 overs). Match result Chingford won by 4 wickets
Sunday 22nd April -v- Holtwhite Trinibis at Kirkland Drive, Enfield
Date added: 22/04/2018
Holtwhite Trinibis 145-6 (35 Overs) Crusaders 135 all out (32.1 Overs) Match Result Holtwhite Trinibis won by 10 runs
Locksbottom -v- Crusaders 2015 Team Photo
Date added: 10/12/2017
Locksbottom -v- Crusaders 2015 Team Photo
Back: Upkar Singh, Nita Singh, Jagdesh Singh, Loepreet Singh Spud Whale, Gajinder Singh, Jony Singh, Lucky Singh, Sam Singh
Middle: Chand Channa, Herman Singh
Seated; Wajih Rehman (capt) Damon White
Happy Birthday Rich 'Choker' Carr
Date added: 10/12/2017
Rich Carr 988 runs for the Season
Spud Whale receives the Ray Willis Trophy 1988
Date added: 10/12/2017
Today's other Birthday Boy
Belhus -v- Crusaders 2009 Team Photo
Date added: 10/12/2017
Belhus -v- Crusaders 2009 Team Photo
Back: Jabir Sarwar, Azam Elahi, Jagdesh Singh, Chand Channa, Neil Morrison, Nomi Qureshi, Don East, Spud Whale (capt)
Front: Damon White, Gary Magnus, Gordy Schultz
Brasted Invicta -v- Crusaders 2005 Team Photo
Date added: 10/12/2017
Brasted Invicta -v- Crusaders 2005 Team Photo
Back: Neil Morrison, Wajih Rehman, John Greggains, Mike Taylor, Chand Channa, Simon Burr
Front: Alan Edwards, Spud Whale, Richard Carr, Darren Moyse (capt), Glen Timms
Sunday 24th September -v- Locksbottom at Tugmutton Common
Date added: 24/09/2017
Locksbottom 152-6 (35 overs) Crusaders 153-6 (32.4 overs) Match result Crusaders won by 4 wickets
Sunday 17th September -v- Tillingham at Vicarage Lane
Date added: 17/09/2017
Tillingham 178-8 (35 overs) Crusaders 158-10 (30 overs)Match result Crusaders lost by 20 runs
Sunday 3rd September -v- Spartans at Old Camdenians
Date added: 03/09/2017
Spartans 222-8 (35 overs) Crusaders 160-10 (34.2 overs)Singh.Nita 68. Match result Crusaders lost by 62 runs
Monday 28th August Locksbottom 6-aside Tournament
Date added: 28/08/2017
Match 1 Crusaders 30 all out Tugmutton 31-2
Match 2 Kings Hospital 49-1 Crusaders 22 all out
Match 3 Crusaders 51-0 Locksbottom 54-0
Match 4 Crusaders 47-1 Kemsing 49-0
Top Run Scorer Sonu Singh 54
Top Wicket taker Sonu Singh 2
Sunday 27th August -v- Earlswood Strollers at Bromley Common
Date added: 27/08/2017
Earlswood Strollers 190-7 (40 overs) Crusaders 153-10 (35.5 overs). Match result Crusaders lost by 37 runs
Sunday 20th August -v- Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians at Lime Meadow Avenue
Date added: 20/08/2017
Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians 144-7 (40 overs) Crusaders 145-5 (36.2 overs) Singh.Nita 50. Match result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Thursday 17th August -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 17/08/2017
Ashburnham Arms 83-5 (20 overs)Crusaders 84-8 (19.4 overs)Match Result Crusaders won by 2 wickets
Sunday 13th August -v- Nazeing Common at Common Road
Date added: 13/08/2017
Nazeing Common 198-2 dec (45 overs)Crusaders 199-5 (28.3 overs) Singh. Jag 76. Match result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Sunday 6th August -v- Old Wilsonians at Hayes Hill
Date added: 06/08/2017
Old Wilsonians 125-10 (36.5 overs)Crusaders 47-10 (27.2 overs)Match result Crusaders lost by 78 runs
Sunday 30th July -v- Dunmow at St. Edmunds Lane
Date added: 30/07/2017
Dunmow 138 all out (31.5 overs) Crusaders 140-8 (33.5 overs. Match result Crusaders won by 2 wickets
Sunday 16th July -v- Trinity Mid-Whitgiftians at Lime Meadow Avenue
Date added: 16/07/2017
Trinity Mid- Whitgiftians 225-5 dec (45 overs) Crusaders 181-9 (45 overs)Channa.C 70. Match result Draw
Sunday 09th July -v- Belhus at North Stifford
Date added: 09/07/2017
Crusaders 232-8 (40 overs) Singh.Nita 75 Belhus 200-10 (39.3 overs)Match result Crusaders won by 32 runs
Sunday 02nd July -v- Downe at Luxted Road
Date added: 02/07/2017
Crusaders 272-9 (40 overs) Channa. C 123, Dhillon.D 57. Downe 130-10 (28.2 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 142 runs
Chand Channa after 123 against Downe CC
Date added: 02/07/2017
Chand Channa after Match winning 123 at Downe
Sunday 25th June -v- Nazeing Common at Common Road
Date added: 25/06/2017
Crusaders 191-9dec (40 overs) Nazeing Common 78-6 (39 overs)Match Result Draw
Wednesday 21st June -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 21/06/2017
Ashburnham Arms 98-10 (20 overs)Singh.Loe 4-20 Crusaders 101-1 (15.1 overs)Stevens.C 26*ret, Dhillon.D 25*ret. Match Result Crusaders won by 9 wickets
Sunday 18th June -v- Lessa Wanderers at The Pavilion Edf
Date added: 18/06/2017
Lessa Wanderers 64-9 (13.2 overs) Crusaders 65-5 (15.3 overs)Match result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Sunday 11th June -v- Woodside Green at Addiscombe CC
Date added: 11/06/2017
Woodside Green 164-8 (40 overs) Crusaders 116-10 (38.1 overs)Match result Woodside Green won by 48 runs
Sunday 4th June -v- Hartfield at The Croft
Date added: 04/06/2017
Crusaders 187-7dec (38 overs)Bhuiyan.S 72 Hartfield 133-9 (39 overs). Match result Draw
Sunday 4th June -v- Cincinnati at Greenwich Park
Date added: 04/06/2017
Crusaders 158-9 (35 overs) Cincinnati 159-8 (34.2 overs). Match result Cincinnati won by 2 wickets
Thursday 1st June -v- Ashburnham Arms at Greenwich Park
Date added: 01/06/2017
Ashburnham Arms 73-6 (20 overs) Crusaders 76-3 (13.1 overs)Channa.C 25*ret, Singh.Sam 28*. Match Result Crusaders won by 7 wickets
Sunday 28th May -v- Highgate Irregulars at Old Cholmeleians
Date added: 28/05/2017
Crusaders 252-9 (35 overs)Singh.N 110*,Singh.Jag 58 Highgate Irregulars 174-9 (35 overs). Match result Crusaders won by 78 runs
Sunday 21st May -v- Hayes at Barnet Wood Road
Date added: 21/05/2017
Crusaders 157-9 (40 overs)Hayes 160-5 (24.5 overs).Match result Hayes won by 5 wickets
Sunday 14th May -v- Willow Herbs at Blackmore Sports
Date added: 14/05/2017
Crusaders 165-8 (40 overs)Willow Herbs 94-5 (32.3 overs)Rain stopped play. Match result Draw
Sunday 7th May -v- Lessa Wanderers at The Pavilion Edf
Date added: 07/05/2017
Lessa Wanderers 118-10 (25.4 overs)Crusaders 119-3 (23.3 overs)Singh.N 70*. Match result Crusaders won by 7 wickets
Sunday 30th April -v- Chingford at Forest Side
Date added: 30/04/2017
Chingford 303-4dec (34.2 overs) Crusaders 304-5 (48 overs)Singh.N 102, Singh.Jag 77. Match result Crusaders won by 5 wickets
Sunday 16th April -v- Sidcup at Crescent Farm
Date added: 16/04/2017
Sidcup 214-7 (40 overs)Crusaders 214-5 (40 overs)Bhuiyan 50. Match Result Tie
Test image
Date added: 31/12/2016
New Season Fixtures now available to view
Date added: 31/12/2016
Matches for 2017 Season are available to view in Fixtures
We have a few gaps across the season that I hope to fill with Bureau games
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH -V- LOCKSBOTTOM AT TUGMUTTON COMMON
Date added: 18/09/2016
LOCKSBOTTOM 216-7 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 217-7 (36.1 OVERS) SINGH. GAJ 86 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 3 WICKETS
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11TH -V- OAKWOODHILL AT HONEYPOT LANE
Date added: 11/09/2016
OAKWOODHILL 218-7 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 159-9 (ALL OUT)(36.5 OVERS)RIYAD.M 64 MATCH RESULT OAKWOODHILL WON BY 59 RUNS
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH -V- PALM TREE AT HIGHGATE WOODS
Date added: 04/09/2016
PALM TREE 177-9 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 112 ALL OUT (35.5 OVERS)MATCH RESULT PALM TREE WON BY 65 RUNS
SUNDAY AUGUST 29TH LOCKSBOTTOM 6-A-SIDE
Date added: 02/09/2016
SQUAD; Singh.Param, Singh.Loe, Singh.Ricky, Whale.S, Riyad.M, Ahmed.Naz
MATCH 1 -v- Kings College
Crusaders won toss and elected to bowl
Kings College 80-0 (5 overs) Crusaders 81-0 (4.1 overs)
MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 5 WICKETS
MATCH 2 -v- Locksbottom Lions
Locksbottom Lions won the toss and elected to bat
Locksbottom Lions 57-3 (5 overs) Crusaders 46 all out (4.5 overs)
MATCH RESULT LOCKSBOTTOM LIONS WON BY 11 RUNS
SEMI-FINAL -v- Tugmutton Tigers
Crusaders won the toss and elected to bowl
Tugmutton Tigers 53-3 (5 overs) Crusaders 45-2 (5 overs)
MATCH RESULT TUGMUTTON TIGERS WON BY 8 RUNS
SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH EARLSWOOD STROLLERS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAIL
Date added: 30/08/2016
EARLSWOOD STROLLERS 240-6 (35 OVERS) CRUSADERS 107-1 (18 OVERS)MATCH RESULT DRAW DUE TO INJURY SUSTAINED BY EARLSWOOD PLAYER
Locksbottom 6-aside Loepreet and Nazir after unbeaten 81 stand
Date added: 29/08/2016
SUNDAY AUGUST 21ST LEIGH -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 21/08/2016
CRUSADERS 147-10 (35 OVERS) LEIGH 149-7 (30.4 OVERS) MATCH RESULT LEIGH WON BY 3 WICKETS
SUNDAY AUGUST 14TH BLUE STAR -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 14/08/2016
CRUSADERS 190-9 (40 OVERS) BLUE STAR 83 ALL OUT (32 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 107 RUNS
SUNDAY AUGUST 07TH BELHUS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 07/08/2016
BELHUS 213-9 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 214-3 (36.1 OVERS) REHMAN.W 107 SINGH.GAJ 58* MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 7 WICKETS
SUNDAY JULY 31ST KIMPTON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 31/07/2016
CRUSADERS 211 ALL OUT (39.5 OVERS) KIMPTON 105 ALL OUT (29.3 OVERS)MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 106 RUNS
SUNDAY JULY 24TH SOUTH LOUGHTON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 24/07/2016
SOUTH LOUGHTON 135-9 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 124 ALL OUT (39 OVERS)MATCH RESULT SOUTH LOUGHTON WON BY 11 RUNS
SUNDAY JULY 17TH WOODSIDE GREEN -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 17/07/2016
WOODSIDE GREEN 120 ALL OUT CRUSADERS 51 ALL OUT MATCH RESULT WOODSIDE GREEN WON BY 69 RUNS
SUNDAY JULY 10TH SUTTON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 10/07/2016
SUTTON 251-4 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 102 ALL OUT MATCH RESULT SUTTON WON BY 149 RUNS
SUNDAY JULY 03RD DOWNE -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 03/07/2016
DOWNE 135-6 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 114 ALL OUT (32 OVERS)MATCH RESULT DOWNE WON BY 21 RUNS
SUNDAY JUNE 19TH LESSA WANDERERS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 19/06/2016
LESSA WANDERERS 139-9 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 143-7 (30 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 3 WICKETS
WEDNESDAY JUNE 15TH MEANTIME BREWERY -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 15/06/2016
CRUSADERS 165-7 (20 OVERS) MEANTIME BREWERY 118-9 (20 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 47 RUNS
SUNDAY JUNE 05TH HARTFIELD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 05/06/2016
HARTFIELD 127 ALL OUT CRUSADERS 131-8 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 2 WICKETS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders continued their fine form of late, returning from Hartfield with the spoils. Hero for Crusaders was debutant Paramjeet Singh, who followed up an excellent bowling return of 4-33 with a dashing 35. In true Crusaders style the margin of victory was made unnecessarily narrow by some injudicious batting, which necessitated Loepreet and Spud to scuttle for pads and gloves. The winning runs were mowed to cow corner by the irrepressible Sam Singh.
Team -v- Hartfield
Back Row LtoR; Riyad.M, Singh.U (Umpire), Singh.Loe, Singh.Sim, Rehman.W (Capt), Singh.N, Singh.Gol
Seated; Ahmed.Naz, Singh.Jag Singh.Sam, Whale.S
Front; Singh's Herman & Anmol, Singh. Paramjeet
Amazingly at 13:45 Wajih was at the ground and able to carry out and call correctly at the ritual coin toss. Alas a car containing four of our players was obviously following a route previously taken by the skipper; somewhere on the M25 was the only message conveyed and no real idea of estimated time of arrival.
With Wajih doubting the likely penetration of his bowling attack and it's ability to take ten wickets, the decision was made to field. Our seven man team was supplemented by Anmol and Herman and two players kindly loaned by Hartfield - the fact that we didn't have to hide Damon and Johnny G made it feel like we had thirteen players. The unavailability of pitch expert Johnny G to spot any demons in the surface meant the diagnosis fell to Spud. The sun had baked a firm top layer, but close inspection revealed a soft underbelly, something that would make batting an uncomfortable experience for the majority of the game.
Riyad proved the point with a fine opening spell that made survival the main aim of the Hartfield openers. In Ball and Bristowe, Hartfield had two obdurate examples of how to ride out a storm. Supplemented by a good spell from Sam from the top end - to the surprise of Wajih - Hartfield limped along, presumably hoping that our second string bowlers would offer more opportunities to score.
There was to be no let up.Eventually the additional team members appeared. Nazir replaced Riyad and apart from a couple of deliveries that were helped to the leg-side boundary he bowled a good line throughout. A revelation at the other end was Loepreet, who delivered his best spell in a Crusaders shirt, returning 1-12 from 7 beautifully flighted overs. All of this was the perfect 'fluffing' for Paramjeet and Spud. With Hartfield under pressure to score quick runs before the tea declaration, accurate spells from both ends were rewarded with four wickets a-piece for Singh and Whale. The Hartfield demise was rapid and when Spud removed Brown for 10, the Hartfield innings ended at 127 all out. Several of the Hartfield side kindly asked after the health of 'the fat bloke who injured himself last year' and it was generally agreed that the injury was made worse by the 40-50 kilos of excess baggage that he was carrying.
Crusaders response was typically flamboyant, with both Wajih and Jagdesh trying to remove the leather casing from the ball. Runs came freely, but wickets tumbled at an uncomfortable ratio and at 50-4 with a tail of Brontosaurus proportions to come, the game was in the balance. Fortunately Paramjeet and a resolute Simran Singh (also on debut) steadied proceedings and added 45 for the 5th wicket. There was still time for Nita to have a woeful hack and Upkar to add to his reputation for impulsive LBW decisions; sending a disconsolate Riyad back to the pavilion for a duck, before Sam delivered the finish.
Hartfield as ever were excellent hosts and we look forward to future to visits to a beautiful part of the world.
SUNDAY MAY 29TH HIGHGATE IRREGULARS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 29/05/2016
HIGHGATE IRREGULARS 153-7 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 156-5 CHANNA 56, GAJ SINGH 74* MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 5 WICKETS
Crusaders Match Report
Crusaders made a fruitful first visit to the leafy Old Cholmeleians ground for a fixture against the intriguingly named Highgate Irregulars, returning around the North Circular with a comfortable five wicket victory.
The Irregulars were a seasoned bunch that made us look a fairly spritely side; something that has been very rare. The late arrival of the 'Singh Bus' caused the match to be reduced to 35 overs and on winning the toss our hosts elected to bat; a decision not greeted with wide spread home approval.
Gajinder and Riyad stamped their authority on the game, making life very uncomfortable for openers Trevor and Mitchell. Riyad penetrated the defence of Trevor - the Highgate Irregulars skipper - who was probably now wishing he had opted to bowl as he trudged back to the hutch with a duck to his name. With only 3 runs on the board from the first six overs, Jagdesh turned to spin in the form of Lucky and Loepreet. Both performed ok but were prone to dropping the odd ball short, something that was readily punished by new bat Osborne. A steady if not spectacular recovery enabled the Irregulars to reach 63 without further loss, when drinks were taken at the halfway stage.
After Drinks Spud and Uppy complimented each other perfectly; while Uppy served up a never-ending buffet from one end, Spud was back to bowling somewhere near his best, stemming the flow from the other. Spud eventually breached the defence of Osborne for a well made 50 and Highgate desperately needing to up the scoring rate started to play more expansively. It was about this time in the game when Damon joined Johnny G in some sort of Alzheimer based cloud cuckoo land. G Man had been wandering between overs seemingly unable to grasp what his fielding position was and all of a sudden any ball passing the stumps comfortably evaded any attempt from our portly gloveman to intercept it; to the untrained eye this may have appeared normal for Damon.
Jagdesh - fresh from a maiden five wicket haul the previous week - was again in fine form with the ball benefitting from the merits of bowling stump to stump. His return of 3-19 was well supported by Chand at the other end, who removed their token Singh. Some desperate scuttling in the last couple of overs produced useful additional runs, with the youthful Gallagher probably reducing his senior partner Elves life expectancy in the process.
For a change there were few complaints to be levelled at our fielding, with Upkar pouching a fine running catch at Mid-Off and Johnny G executing another 'Tom Daleyesque' dive at gully - the obvious highlights. I believe the ball was some way towards the boundary when the dive began and back in the bowlers hand before G Man had regained his feet.
Crusaders required 154 for victory.
Tea was a fine spread, including a sumptuous sponge cake to celebrate Highgate Irregulars 25th Anniversary - hats off to Mrs Singh for both the cake and the samosas.
Crusaders had fallen foul of 'Cakelag' in the past and perhaps in hindsight it would have been wise to drop Greggains and White down the order to enable some time for their gluttony to abate. Instead they were amongst some early successes for our hosts, that reduced Crusaders to 15-3; two of these wickets the result of Quickdraw Upkar. Highgate were certainly enthusiastic in the appeal, but a speculative enquiry to a delivery that appeared to be heading well wide of Goldie's leg stump was amazingly upheld by Umpire Singh, after the bowler improved his opening shout by a few extra decibels. I am led to believe the second LBW that removed Johnny G was far less controversial. Damon who had been batting rather well returned to more expected form, chopping a ball straight to a freshly positioned gully; much to the pleasure of the home skip.
From this precarious position most teams would seek to re-group and repair the damage with a steady partnership. This it appears was not an option that either Chand or Gajinder considered taking. The pair added 114 for the 4th wicket, with both passing fifty. Chand as ever, was unable to see the game through to it's conclusion, aiming wildly at a straight delivery from Singh, that bowled him for an entertaining 56. Jagdesh went in similar fashion, not needing to produce the heroics of last week and it was left to Gajinder to see us home, as he finished undefeated on 74.
Highgate Irregulars Match Report
HICCS vs The Crusaders CC, 29/5/2016
The Crusaders are new opponents this year so we had no idea what to expect. Indeed we didn’t know whether to expect them at all as Charles, our fixture maestro and captain for the day, fretted and the clock on the Old Choms pavilion approached 2pm - however they duly appeared having struggled round the North Circular from the opposite south-east corner of London.
They seemed a friendly bunch comprised of three “veterans”, seven Sikhs and a Pakistani, who we subsequently learned was once ranked the seventh best squash player in his country. Given his age he was presumably a contemporary of Jahangir Khan widely considered as the greatest player of all time who was unbeaten for 555 matches, the longest winning streak of any professional sportsman according to the Guinness Book of Records, he was no slouch.
Charles won the toss. Believing we had a strong batting line up he elected to bat having agreed a 35 over format and negotiated fifteen inches of leeway down the leg side for wides much to Steve’s relief. I like his style of captaincy. He understands the game and our limitations. Charles is however unashamedly old school and likes to bat first unless he perceives the wicket is demonic. To be fair given Giles and whoever he is giving a lift to have probably gone to the wrong ground and we are significantly under strength at the start he often has little choice. However Old Choms is a sluggish pitch, with tricky bounce and a slow outfield. In the sun it tends to dry out and improve even over the course of an afternoon so his decision wasn’t greeted with universal approval.
Charles and Tony opened. Unsurprisingly a Singh bowled the first over at a good pace and accurately. His partner Riyad was also on the money. Scoring was going to be difficult and in the fourth over Charles went back to a ball he should have gone forward to. It kept low and the inevitable followed - Nought for one.
David came in at number three and he and Tony saw off the openers but after their six overs we only had three runs, two thirds of which were byes. The Crusaders switched to a new Singh and spin. The pressure came off slightly as a few loose balls were served up. David is strongest off the back foot and generally bowlers can’t afford to bowl short on the Old Choms pitch and he took advantage when he could. By drinks at seventeen overs we’d advanced to sixty-three for one, respectable but we needed to accelerate. Tony tried to push on but was bowled by Singh number three for twenty-one. By his high standards he’d struggled to time the ball but even when he’s not on top form he gets runs.
David went on to reach a well-constructed fifty and was then done by another grass cutter from Whale, an appropriately large framed left arm spinner, who was by a margin their best slow bowler.
The bowling remained tight throughout. The usually pugnacious Yash hit twenty-four but after a flurry of early boundaries was restricted to ten singles in a row and was again bowled swishing across the line. Tim, Alex and Diyen all came and went without much to note except one towering six from Gray junior and Diyen out bowled Singh caught Singh, the only HICC not clean bowled. The Crusaders mixed it up well, using eight different bowlers all of whom were competent.
Giles and the elegant Will ran hard in the last few overs, too hard for Giles who at one point needed to be resuscitated by the wicket keeper. This was Will’s first appearance and he looks a good batsman, strong off the front foot and probably should have come in earlier. Our final total of one hundred and fifty-three for seven was respectable but below par.
At tea we tried to weaken the opposition with a very generous tea from Mrs Yash including an excess of spicy vegetable samosas and a magnificent home baked cake commemorating our twenty-fifth season.
The earlier clouds had burned away and the sun was shining. Singh and Channa, their ex squash international, opened the innings. Mike was making a welcome return to the fold after not being able to play much last season and took the new ball. He was clearly a bit over-enthusiastic; appealing for LBW off his second ball for one that was going at least a foot down leg. David at wicket keeper and Charles and Giles in the slip cordon stared silently embarrassed at the ground only for the umpire to raise his finger. The batsman looked incredulous but to his credit accepted his fate without a murmur. We suspected the drive back south would however be a quiet one in which ever car the umpire was in.
Tony opened from the other end and soon had their number three - this time legitimately LBW.
By this time Charles and noticed they were going hard at the ball and had decided to put in another catcher at a deep square gully. Dutifully their number four attempted a cut from Tony and the ball arced perfectly towards exactly where the skipper had placed Steve. Even more remarkably Steve hadn’t wandered off to another position and snaffled the ball clam style - Fifteen for three. “Catches win matches” said Charles with a smile on his face. Unfortunately this was the high point from HICC’s perspective.
Another Singh joined Channa at the wicket and promptly smashed Tony over mid-off for four. This one was clearly a class above the three departed batmen and we speculated whether the umpire’s previous generosity had merely been a means of getting him to the crease earlier.
Suddenly the scoring rate started to climb. Channa was also a decent bat unsurprisingly quick between the wickets with good hand-eye coordination. At the end of their spells Mike and Tony suffered a bit. On came Steve and Will and the two decisive moments followed. A short wide one from Will was given the treatment from Singh. However it was a bit uppish and went straight at Tony like a tracer bullet. He got his hands to it but at that speed it wasn’t enough and it was painfully dropped.
From the other end Steve was bowling his in-swingers well and keeping the batsmen thinking. He sent one down wide of the off stump that didn’t move. Singh swung hard and feathered one through to David behind the stumps or so he believed. It was the finest of edges, too fine for the umpire to spot. The keeper tried to stare the batsman into admitting his guilt and walking but to no avail.
From then on the partnership rattled on at an increasing pace. Giles missed a sharp caught and bowled. Channa was given a let off and Singh was given a third life but in truth it was probably too late. Yash finally caught a good one off his own bowling.
They reached our total in twenty-one overs winning by five wickets. In the score book we were thrashed. However the bounce had improved and the outfield quickened up a bit over the afternoon so they’d had the best of the conditions. If we’d held a catch or two it could have been closer. Nevertheless they were a tight bowling side and in truth were the better team but it wasn’t a mismatch.
SUNDAY MAY 22ND HAYES -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 22/05/2016
HAYES 133 ALL OUT (34.3 OVERS) JAG SINGH 5-20 (INC. HAT-TRICK) CRUSADERS 137-7 JAG SINGH 51 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 3 WICKETS
Match Report -v- Hayes
Having suffered a couple of batterings over the previous two encounters, it was probably a toss that Wajih was happy to lose and we were not surprised to find ourselves in the field. Bolstered by a strong Bangladeshi contingent and naming only two Singh's in the side it was difficult to guess what Crusaders side would turn up.
Shakil opened up down the hill, playing against several players that both he and Chand had played with for Hayes;there was a some gentle banter, as if Chand needed any encouragement. From the bottom end, debutant Talukder shared the new ball.
Hayes included amongst their ranks two Hayes Ladies players, one of whom Caitlin Gurrey - a New Zealand overseas player - opened. It was soon apparent that she was accomplished and was not unduly troubled by our opening salvo.
It took the skip to bring on the wily Whale, before any visible chinks in her armour were exposed. Utilising somewhat more flight than perhaps she was expecting, Gurrey's attempt to pull a waist high full-toss resulted in a gentle looping chance that was safely pouched by Talukder at leg gully. Talukder then finished his spell with a flourish, clean bowling Thompson - one of Chand's sledging targets - and Mills to put Crusaders in the ascendancy.
Opener Wheatley was joined by the Hayes West Indian overseas player Readhead. Despite plying his trade primarily as a fast bowler, it was reasonable to presume he would be able to do more than just hold his bat.
Wheatley finally perished playing one cross batted shot too many, top edging a steepling chance that was well taken by Riyad. This brought Kent Ladies bat Lottie Bryant to the crease. For once Chand had a bowling plan that worked, informing Spud that she was very strong off her legs but tended to push at deliveries outside off stump. Spud has had to listen to Chand's often incomprehensible chuntering for far too long, but after a couple of straight balls that were defended immaculately, a ball tossed a little higher outside off stump was thinly deflected and what was even more inconceivable, actually held by Damon.
Chand and Spud continued to apply the pressure, limiting Readhead to some slim pickings and tying down the usually free scoring Jones. This ensured that the Hayes lower order would have to play their shots if they were to set a meaningful total.
The stage was set for some Spin Wizardry, but no one could have expected what came next. After a fairly innocuous opening two overs, punctuated with seven wides, Jagdesh finally found his line and length. A nonchalant caught and bowled removed Jones (18),was followed by the Jaggi arm ball to take care of Hayes skipper Robertson. With Readhead unable to keep the strike, a youthful tail was exposed to the now rampant former Temple Preacher. They had no answer, as three consecutive deliveries crashed into the stumps to give Jagdesh not only a hat-trick but also a maiden five wicket haul. Hayes had been skittled for a very modest 133, with only 34.3 overs used, on a pitch that didn't appear to throw up any demons.
Crusaders have built a treasured reputation, making the apparently comfortable appear anything but. From the moment Nazir ran himself out, bizarrely expecting Wajih to return for a second run, the writing was on the wall for one of those typically inept Crusaders run chases. With the skip continuing his modest start to the season and Goldie and Talukder also falling cheaply, we were soon precariously placed at 21-4.
There are some that would say Johnny Greggains moniker 'The Rock' has more than a tad of sarcasm attached to it. If ever a display of staunch defence was required, it was now; G Man is never one to disappoint. Whilst Jagdesh went about putting bat to ball to back up his spell with the ball, John played the perfect foil. The pair added a priceless 57 for the 5th wicket, before John ran himself out for 11.
Chand added an entertaining 21, before getting out once again when victory was in sight and Jagdesh decided to ramp up the excitement when he holed out having just completed his fifty. This caused Spud an un-necessary scramble to get padded up, as he realised that what stood between success and disaster was Damon, Shakil and Riyad; three batsmen few people would stake their lives on. Damon is however in a rich vein of form, as YouTube video evidence duly recorded and ably supported by Shaks, the Son of a Woodcutter hewed his way to the target.
At some point I will trawl the Crusaders History Book to see if any former player has ever got a Hat-trick, a Five Wicket Haul and a Fifty in the same game; I somehow doubt it.
THURSDAY MAY 19TH ASHBURNHAM ARMS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 19/05/2016
CRUSADERS 125 ALL OUT (18.2 OVERS) ASHBURNHAM ARMS 92-8 (20 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 33 RUNS
SUNDAY MAY 15TH NORTH WEALD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 15/05/2016
NORTH WEALD 184 ALL OUT (41.3 OVERS) MO SHARIF 6-14 CRUSADERS 188-7 GOL SINGH 72 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 3 WICKETS
SUNDAY MAY 08TH LESSA WANDERERS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 08/05/2016
LESSA WANDERERS 132 ALL OUT (39.5 OVERS) CRUSADERS 134-4 (22.2 OVERS) JAG SINGH 56 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 6 WICKETS
SUNDAY MAY 01ST CHINGFORD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 01/05/2016
CRUSADERS 215 ALL OUT MO SHARIF (50*) CHINGFORD 219-5 MATCH RESULT CHINGFORD WON BY 5 WICKETS
SUNDAY OCTOBER 4TH GAGAN -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 04/10/2015
GAGAN 203 ALL OUT (33 OVERS) CRUSADERS 184 ALL OUT (33.3 OVERS) MATCH RESULT GAGAN WON BY 19 RUNS
I had prepared myself for World War III. Apparently this fixture last season had got quite feisty so I mentally prepared myself for a bit of grief.
Early October and you would expect cold and rain but it was a lovely sunny day in Gravesend – and it was (as it turned out) a lovely sunny match.
The opposition take their cricket seriously – you can tell that they are a useful league team – but they were friendly with it and were able to have a laugh. Generally, they could all bat well but had one stand-out score, young Padiyar making 62 not out. Of our eight bowlers, Riyad and Gurjinder were the pick of the bunch. Gagan finished their innings with 203 runs.
In response our top three batsman (Himanshu, Goldy and Jagdesh) made good scores, with Goldy top-scoring with 46. Then came Crusaders’ Mid-Order Collapse (CMOC) – 5 wickets for just 12 runs.
Harry at no.9 started the fight back with 14. At the end we had Johny Singh and Johny (Greggains) Singh with only 40 runs needed to snatch an improbable victory – could they do it – no. Still they had fun trying with the real Johny Singh being particularly entertaining by liberally employing his KP reverse sweep. Unsurprisingly, JS ended the match by playing one rash shot too many.
We wish to thank Director Lucky and all at Gagan for their warm hospitality and copious pizza and fizzy drinks for tea.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 27TH NORWOOD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 27/09/2015
NORWOOD 149 ALL OUT (37.3 OVERS) CRUSADERS 63 ALL OUT (32.1 OVERS) MATCH RESULT NORWOOD WON BY 86 RUNS
The 2015 drew to a close with a comprehensive defeat at Norwood, with the hosts recording an 86 run victory. On a day that started well after Wajih had won the toss and elected to bowl first on a grassy pitch, Crusaders batsmen failed to back up the good work of their bowlers.
Gajinder and Shakil both found good rhythm and were regularly beating the bat, while the lush outfield ensured that runs were difficult to come by; as a result Norwood stuttered along at little above one per over. When Gajinder removed the swashbuckling Khan quickly followed by Obiod, it brought Norwood’s best batsman to the crease. Matches often hinge on game changing moments and when Ahmed lofted his first delivery from Gajinder towards Chand at Mid Off there was a collective holding of breath. Apparently wearing a glove to protect your Squash Playing hand also inhibits the movement of your legs and what appeared to be a regulation chance fell harmlessly to ground without any interference from the ILM. Ahmed went on to make 62 runs, mixing some well judged running with some big blows; Spud, Rich and Chand were his principal victims. Norwood were dismissed within the 40 overs, with Gajinder taking an excellent 3-12, but not before their recovery had taken the score to 149.
Crusaders response never materialised, with only Lucky (14) recording double figures against an accurate attack well supported by good catching, fielding and shrieking. A wretched display of batting ended with Spud gloving down the leg-side to the keeper with the final score a seasons low 63.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH LOCKSBOTTOM -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 20/09/2015
LOCKSBOTTOM 155-7 (35 OVERS) CRUSADERS 157-4 (31.5 OVERS) SINGH. GAJ 73*. MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 6 WICKETS
Crusaders returned to winning ways with a solid display at Tugmutton Common, comfortably chasing down Locksbottom’s target of 155, in a game reduced to 35 overs. Transport difficulties necessitated Damon detouring via Sidcup and Orpington Train Stations to collect players, which led to the inevitable question – How many Singhs can you get in the rear of a Range Rover? And thus the proposed start time came and went.
With all the transport shenanigans even Wajih was at the ground before the heavily laden White mobile rolled up to the pavilion and with the toss lost and a reduced format agreed, we found ourselves in the field. Sam had shaken off the Immigration Authorities as well as a Ball and Chain and partnered Gajinder with the cherry. Whilst Gajinder was a measure of consistency, maintaining a good line outside off stump, Sam tended to spray the odd ball about, although he did advise me that he could supply me with false documents and plenty of narcotics if I ever had the need; amazing what you can learn whilst at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.
Openers Lambourne and Crawford were a ‘Chalk and Cheese’ partnership, with the former strong on the front foot and the latter frustrating Gajinder with an unerring ability to play a Chinese Cut down to fine leg. Gajinder eventually got his man, yorking Crawford (26) with the final ball of a five over spell to reduce Locksbottom to 51-1. Upkar produced some very slow loopy leg-spin as replacement for Sam and on a couple of occasions probably had time to beat the arrival of his own delivery and make a far cleaner gather than Cymbals White.
At the drinks break Locksbottom were handily placed on 93-1, with Lambourne looking in ominous form and the projected target appearing likely to exceed the two hundred mark. Results often hinge on a game changing moment and this came shortly after, with Damon taking a smart catch to remove Lambourne as he chased a wider delivery from Spud. This exposed a middle order of Crusader brittleness. After a long period of recuperation some may have suggested that Damon would struggle to return to the peak of his form, but as a bowler who has had a perfect view of his fumbling and floundering I am glad to confirm he has lost none of his sharpness and agility. Indeed his form is only likely to improve after he enrolled for Full On Pilates, having misread the advert believing it to be an All You Can Eat Buffet.
All of a sudden the impetus swung to the bowling side, with Locksbottom’s lower order struggling to cope with accurate spells from Chand and IPL Jony. More particularly it was Loepreet’s slow turn from the top end that did the damage, returning fine figures of 3-21 from his six over spell. Hollands guided the Locksbottom tail through to 35 overs, but the final score of 155-7 appeared several runs light.
An excellent tea, supplemented by a Free Ice Cream Van was taken, with some of the more Junior members of the home side partaking rather too freely. Wajih set his stall out immediately by pulling the first two almost identical deliveries for boundaries to take advantage of any ’99 Lethargy’ that remained. Jagdesh, following on from last week’s maiden century did all he could to get out, surviving two straight forward chances offered to Mid-On, before finally launching a huge straight six. His innings was curtailed when Locksbottom made their first bowling change, with Hollands disturbing the timber to make the breakthrough. Gajinder joined The Skip and the score ticked along to 86 with few alarms, before Wajih decided he ought to spend some time with the family and spooned up a simple chance. With Chand and Lucky falling in quick succession and Sam next to bat, Locksbottom sensed the game was still very much alive; indeed former Crusaders Paine and Moyse were licking their lips in expectation of the classic collapse. It was not to be. Sam began with a trademark baseball home run and the watching Crusaders happily predicted the number of further balls he would survive, but there was to be no dismissal. Gajinder raced past fifty, playing some meaty straight drives and Sam connected with anything that was bound for the stumps and managed to keep anything airborne away from the fielders. Victory was achieved with three overs unused, with Gajinder unbeaten on 73 and Sam a steady 11.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13TH COLEMANS HATCH -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 13/09/2015
COLEMANS HATCH 284-4 DEC (43 OVERS)CRUSADERS 219 ALL OUT (33.2 OVERS)SINGH. JAG 100. MATCH RESULT COLEMANS HATCH WON BY 65 RUNS
I cannot recall who won the toss but the outcome was Crusaders to start this time game in the field.
It is fair to say that the Crusaders struggled with the ball in hand. It is a fairly small ground and the outfield is undulating but we bowled fairly poorly. The bowlers consistently went for 5/6 per over with only Sam Singh bucking the trend – his average was 14 an over.
Coleman Hatch’s opening batsmen did most of the damage – both making their centuries. Mr Singer T was the more buccaneering of the two but did offer up chances for a relatively early dismissal. One of these was a zinger that went straight to one of our best catchers. Unfortunately it was a bit too hot for Upkar to hang on to.
So, with Coleman’s Hatch ending up with 284 for 4, they must have felt secure in the knowledge that they had the match in the bag.
Goldy and Jagdesh opened the batting for the Crusaders but, against recent form, he only managed a duck. Jagdesh was immense, smashing the ball all around and beyond the pitch – he scored 100, no more, no less. He was ably supported by captain Waj who scored 33. With Nita also scoring well I think the Colemans Hatch boys might have started to doubt their ‘impregnable’ lead until ….. the common and recurring Crusaders collapse.
Nita was the last of the decent scorers with 26. Chand and Damon did just OK with 12 and 14 respectively but the last four batsmen went for a total of just 14 runs.
We lost the match by 65 runs – close (ish) but no cigar.
I would just like to add a note to offer our wicket keeper, Damon White, a warm welcome back from what was a serious achilles injury he sustained at the beginning of the season. I can assure all of those who know Damon but were not at the match to witness for themselves, that he has not lost any of his stopping, catching and stumping skills.
SUNDAY AUGUST 16TH BLUE STAR -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 16/08/2015
CRUSADERS 144-8 (40 OVERS) BLUE STAR 116-8 (40 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 28 RUNS
Following a five week run of 200+ scores, Crusaders found run scoring tough on a sticky green topper at Sidcup and relied on a good all round bowling performance to extend the winning streak to three. Gajinder, IPL and Loepreet gave way to the return of Chand, Upkar and G Man, with Spud again deputising for the absent Wajih. Again the toss was won, but this time the decision to bat was a more hesitant one. Overnight rain, leaden skies and a lush outfield presented far from perfect batting conditions, but Spud was confident that his in form batsmen would continue to shine, once the new ball had been negotiated.
Grimsley and Mills were miserly with the cherry and a well set field made the accumulation of runs difficult. Mills soon accounted for Himanshu – chasing a wide ball – and Goldie – mis-timed pull to mid-wicket. Chand followed soon after, probably the victim of an LBW reprisal and at 32-1 we were facing an uphill climb. When Shakil holed out to Mid-Off and Johnny G slapped straight to Cover, the wise money was on an early finish. Lucky and John Rana had other ideas, adding 44 valuable runs for the sixth wicket, before Lucky was bowled by the loopy spin of Jerrom. The last ten overs yielded another 56 runs, with good contributions from Riyad (29) and Upkar (17) to enable a target of 144 to be posted; in truth it was probably worth another thirty runs.
Pommie’s family decided that staying to watch Papa would be a wasted afternoon (Guneet is obviously wise beyond his years) and departed just before his opening delivery cut back through the guard of Shuttle; the perfect start. When Cruze cut straight to Riyad at Point and Edwards was trapped in front, the Blue Star innings was in disarray. Peters led the recovery with a hard hit 64, although he did survive a very confident appeal for a caught behind, that would have curtailed the run chase much earlier. Himanshu increased his status behind the stumps, executing a smart stumping to get rid of the Blue Star skipper; some reward to Upkar for the decision he didn’t get. Shakil supplied the finishing touches with a three wicket burst, including a nonchalant caught and bowled to end Peters stay at the crease and the Blue Star innings meandered to a close, with the Father/Son combination of the Bird family happy to have a net for the last two overs.
SUNDAY AUGUST 9TH BELHUS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 09/08/2015
CRUSADERS 227 ALL OUT (40 OVERS) RANA. J 53 BELHUS 189-11 ALL OUT (39.2 OVERS) SINGH GAJ 6-14 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 38 RUNS
With Wajih on vacation, Spud took charge of proceedings on a steamy afternoon in Essex. Pommie made a rare guest appearance and the side was supplemented by Lucky and IPL, replacing Shakil and Abdul from last week’s eleven. Heads was again the correct call and on a sun-soaked strip Crusaders took first knock.
At 65-5 Spud was beginning to rue the decision, but the middle order, so often the butt of cruel jibes, produced a rescue act that eventually carried us to a competitive total. Gurjinder and Himanshu both fell early, to the pace of Norris, while Goldie was run out from a direct hit, when he appeared well set for another big score. Jony Singh slipped seamlessly into G Man’s number four slot; practically a mirror image in athleticism, grace and not too dissimilar in scoring. John Rana formed the bedrock of the recovery scoring a studious maiden fifty and he was well supported by Riyad (35) and Pommie (40), as the score progressed to 201-7. From the relative comfort of his scoring position, Spud then had to perform a Mr Benn style transformation as Lucky and Loepreet contrived to lose their wickets in double quick time. Pommie’s fine innings of 40 was curtailed at the final delivery of the innings, when he failed to complete a quick single; comfortably run out by the bowler. Crusaders total of 227 was viewed as slightly light, but with a useful bowling attack and some nimble fielders confidence was high that it could be defended. A ruthless spell of medium pace seam bowling from Gajinder ensured that it was defended with ease.
With one ball being used throughout, Spud was happy to open the bowling, with Gajinder operating from the other end. Randall and Fogg negotiated the first few overs without alarm and even when Spud found the outside edge to remove Fogg, with the catch well pouched by Himanshu, there was little sign of the carnage to come. Bowling unchanged Gajinder returned Club best figures of 6-14 by sticking to the principle of bowling full and straight. Belhus hopes rested on Randall getting support, particularly from Norris, but when he drove firmly to mid-off and was superbly caught by Loepreet, Crusaders were firmly in the driving seat. When drinks were taken Belhus were teetering at 69-9, with Pommie and Lucky each picking up wickets. Crusaders rotated their bowlers and the Belhus Number 11 put bat to ball with good effect to restore some semblance of order to the scorecard. Well supported by Williams (52), Maidment recorded a maiden fifty and a stand of 111 carried the score to 180, before the re-introduction of Pommie completed our victory. Belhus had fielded 12 players in rotation throughout their time in the field and the extra player was allowed to bat with no affect to the result. This allowed Riyad to pick up the eleventh wicket of the innings with Maidment’s contribution ended with an injudicious attempt at a reverse sweep.
SUNDAY AUGUST 2ND DUNMOW -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 02/08/2015
CRUSADERS 308-5 (40 OVERS) REHMAN. W 119* DUNMOW 217-9 (40 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 91 RUNS
It was ‘runs for fun’ on Sunday, as Crusaders made the most of a perfect batting strip and fast outfield at Dunmow, recording a Club record 308-5 from their allotted overs. Wajih led from the front recording a th century and with all the top order making double figure contributions there was no let up for Dunmow’s beleaguered bowling attack. Our hosts made a valiant chase, but any hopes of victory dissipated with the dismissal of Sedman (68) that gave John Rana his maiden club wicket.
On a glorious sun-drenched afternoon, few were surprised that the skip was still negotiating the M11 when start time approached and Spud was relieved to win the toss. He had no hesitation, even withstanding the oft seen fragility of the Crusaders batting line-up in taking first use. Gajinder and Himanshu opened up and were soon demonstrating that anything well hit and wide of a fielder was likely to find its way to the boundary. Unfortunately both players, having made a start did not go on to maximise the conditions. With the skip strangely subdued, the third wicket partnership of 68 was dominated by some free flowing strikes from Goldie, who continued his recent run of good form with a brisk 40. Wajih gradually found his range and was offered solid support from G Man (11) and Shakil (23), as the scoring rate began to escalate. Dunmow rotated their bowlers, desperately searching for a formula that would both slow the scoring and take wickets, but they encountered a remorseless Crusaders. The last ten overs yielded a 100 run partnership between Abdul Tariq (31) on debut and the Skip, with the latter ‘firing up the afterburners’ to breeze through three figures, finishing undefeated on 119.
Dunmow made a decent fist of the chase, but after Spud had removed opener Coupe. T in the first over, they were always up against it. Wajih was able to give John Rana and Loepreet an extended bowl, with their final analyses not a true indication of how well they had bowled; Dunmow finishing on 217-9 from 40 overs.
SUNDAY JULY 19TH WOODSIDE GREEN -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 19/07/2015
WOODSIDE GREEN 261-5 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 230 ALL OUT SINGH. GOLDIE 100 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS LOST BY 31 RUNS
MATCH REPORT Having put themselves in a strong position to chase down Woodside Green’s imposing score of 261, Crusaders suffered a disappointing reverse when the lower order failed capitalise on a magnificent maiden century from Goldie.
With Wajih deciding to opt out, team management was left to Spud, with Chand, IPL and The Rock replacing The Skip, Harry and Pommie; pretty much like for like substitutes.
On a very dry, green pitch Spud called correctly – that was about as good as it got - and conscious of his slightly weak side opted to field. As in previous weeks the scoreboard rattled along aided more by our wayward bowling and poor fielding than any batting craft. Shakil got the early breakthrough, with Spud pouching a catch low at slip to remove Hasler for 5 and Riyad regularly beat the bat without reward. Woodside Green built up a steady head of steam through a good partnership between Cowles and Shellard, but it was the arrival of Naraine that really ignited the innings. From a fairly circumspect beginning he was soon punishing anything short – and there was plenty – racing to an unbeaten 130. With the last ten overs disappearing for over a hundred runs, the chase was always going to be a tall order.
Chand and Jagdesh immediately signalled their intentions, with Chand hooking and cutting boundaries in the first over and Jagdesh also finding the boundary twice. Unfortunately neither managed to occupy the crease for anywhere near the time that was necessary for us to mount a serious pursuit of the target.
The middle order marshalled superbly by Goldie, continued to take the Woodside Green attack to task, with Shakil (29) and Johnny G (24) making quick runs to keep us up with the asking rate. Goldie reached a maiden century, having scored his runs all around the ground but reliant particularly on a curious paddle sweep; his occupation was ended LBW to the ‘Finger of Fate’ delivered by Chand.
Requiring 54 to win from 10 overs, Crusaders capitulated, losing their last six wickets for 23 runs to finish 31 runs shy of the target. With a little application the result could have been different, but with 491 runs scored in the day there was little doubting the entertainment value.
SUNDAY JULY 12TH SUTTON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 13/07/2015
SUTTON 217-5 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 214 ALL OUT (40 OVERS) REHMAN 52 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS LOST BY 3 RUNS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders fell agonisingly short of overhauling Sutton’s total of 217, with Spud holing out in the deep attempting to hit a winning boundary from the final ball of the day.
Sutton won the toss and had little hesitation in taking first knock. With a blend of youth and experience, Crusaders were given a lesson from the younger end of the spectrum; Sutton’s colts gave the Crusaders fielder’s a torrid time.
Riyad and Harry opened the bowling, with each presenting problems to the Sutton openers. Riyad eventually got his man, removing the elder statesman of the partnership, who then embarked on the long walk back to the pavilion chastising and self flagellating for the whole route. Noble’s removal brought a succession of well schooled, fleet of foot youngsters to the crease. What they lacked in power, they more than made up for with speed between the wickets. Any shot that evaded a fielder was a single taken with consummate ease; the fly in the ointment was the odd one that was turned into a two. Riyad’s bowling action came under close scrutiny from the Square-Leg Umpire and Wajih chose to withdraw him after 5 overs; a shame as he was tying an end up. Blake. J, who was put down early in his innings by Spud at slip and Green added a largely untroubled 70, with few if any boundaries, until Blake aimed an optimistic pull at Pommie and top-edged to Rana. When Green slashed to Spud at Backward Point also off Pommie, our hosts were 79-2 and close to half way through their allotted overs.
If Crusaders thought there would be some let up, they were sadly mistaken. New batsmen Leonard and Ogunlana continued the theme, adding another 69 runs, before Ogunlana chipped a delivery from Gajinder and was well taken by Jagdesh for a breezy 45. With overs running out but wickets in hand, Sutton was able to push the score along, despite all Crusaders bowlers performing well. Only a last over aberration from Harry blotted the copy book; for some reason he thought it better to bowl the final over left handed. Sutton agreed and took 19 runs from it. This slightly disappointing finish meant we were chasing 218 for victory, rather than a score that should have been closer to 200. The moral of this tale is – unless you are Jony IPL Singh stick to what you do best.
Following a top class tea – vegetarians well catered for – Crusaders made their response. It was soon apparent that the two sides approach to batting was poles apart; why run quick singles when you can smack boundaries? Unfortunately with playing big shots comes risk, with both Goldie and Jagdesh the victims of rash shots. When Riyad over committed to a second run, the victim of a direct hit from the deep, it brought Lucky to the crease for what proved to be the biggest partnership of our reply. Together with the Skip 62 was added to the total, before Wajih – having just passed fifty – succumbed to a tired looking shot. Our hopes of victory were further dashed, when Gajinder changed his mind ‘ramp-shot’ and only succeeded in helping the ball to the waiting keeper.
The tail wagged, with good contributions from Rana, Harry and Loepreet, but the asking rate gradually escalated, with too many dot balls on the scorecard. Lucky was the opposite of his moniker, when having surpassed his career best score he fell one short of fifty and despite a valiant attempt from Pommie and Spud Sutton held on.
SUNDAY JULY 5TH DOWNE -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 06/07/2015
DOWNE 147-8 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 148-9 (39.4 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 1 WICKET
Amid late controversy Crusaders scrambled to a one wicket victory at Downe on Sunday, with final pairing Rana and Whale scoring the necessary 14 runs from the final 3 overs, in a game that ebbed and flowed from start to finish.
Wajih decided to leave the team text until as late in the week as was humanly possible and was rewarded with a positive response from sixteen players. After some juggling, Richard May made his debut, Pommie returned to the side, having apparently fulfilled all the Indian-male parental responsibilities for a new-born and our ‘Professional Cricketer’ this week was Jagdesh.
After a week of prolonged sunshine, early morning rain livened up the pitch, whilst patches of the outfield were still in the process of drying out when start time approached. Downe were in no great rush to get the match underway, with several of the side nursing Post-Wedding ailments, following the nuptials of Tom Hobbs the previous day and when the toss was finally made the home skipper elected to bat.
Pommie showed no signs of his lengthy sabbatical and in partnership with Riyad immediately put the Downe openers under pressure. After eight overs the score had trickled along to only 10, with the ball regularly beating the bat and the Crusaders fielders ensuring no easy runs were conceded. Pommie made the breakthrough, when Warne feathered a leg-side delivery and was smartly snaffled by Rana. Once again Riyad was unlucky to remain wicket-less, but the constraints he placed on the opposition batsmen clearly paid dividends to the bowlers that followed him.
Capital Glovers duo May and Whale replaced the openers and after initially struggling to find his line and length Richard settled nicely, bowling some gentle in-swingers. He could have had two wickets early in his spell, with Chand unable to bend his knees and Goldie spilling a chance at Long On, before eventually getting his reward, with Taylor adjudged LBW by his ‘umpiring’ son to a delivery that appeared to be heading leg-side. When Spud removed the dangerous Parfett Jnr with a ball that spat off a length and was fended to Chand at slip, it appeared that Crusaders might run through our hosts. Foot and Holden had other ideas, with the former quick to dispatch anything loose and the latter happy to survive. It took a marvellous piece of cricket to break the partnership, when Foot trying to keep the strike was taken one handed, by Pommie diving at full stretch. From the sublime to the ridiculous, Pommie followed his moment of brilliance with the sort of fielding to which we have become accustomed – two dropped dollies and several fumbles.
After Chand and Wajih had made further breakthroughs and Rana had executed a bizarre run out following Johnny G’s dropped chance at slip, Downe owed their final total of 147 to some late scampering from Walker (19) and Taylor Jnr (9). With a wealth of batting talent at our disposal, what could possibly go wrong?
Wajih, having bowled, opted to drop down the order, hoping he might not be needed and opted for League Pro Jagdesh in partnership with Goldie. Jagdesh’s contribution was almost as short as last week, when the first ball he faced was flashed through the slips at a catchable height. Two balls later he was not so fortunate, playing ambitiously at a swinging ball from Taylor he failed to connect, with the ball going on to hit middle. Rich was given the number three spot (must be the new Skipper’s pet) and he produced a patient, watchful innings to anchor what proved to be a fairly woeful start. Goldie struck three boundaries on his way to 16, before he became Taylor’s second wicket and he was quickly followed by Johnny G – bowled behind his legs – and Pommie to a rash attempted pull shot, which spooned to Warne at Cover.
When Rich was out in the nineteenth over, having gradually found his timing to accumulate a steady 27, we found ourselves five down for only 63. Chasing a relatively low target, the run rate never became an issue, but we relied on a typically bullish knock from Wajih, who clattered a brisk 40 to get us back on track. John Rana, who’s batting, has been steadily improving over the past few games played the perfect foil, trading mainly in singles, but more importantly keeping his wicket intact.
Chand, Riyad and Nita ensured that Spud would not have a comfortable afternoon sat in his shorts doing the scorebook, when they each contrived to throw their wickets away. With 14 needed for victory last man Spud joined Rana in the middle. Four balls into the 38th over came a moment of some controversy. Rana wafted at a shortish ball from Parfett that continued through to the keeper. There were loud appeals – apparently the nick had been heard in the village, the square-leg umpire was on his way in to collect the stumps – but the Downe Umpire, after tapping his hearing aid and waving his white cane – remained un-moved.
Somewhat fortunately for Crusaders, the Downe skipper had miscalculated his bowling quotas, which left one over to be bowled by a ‘sixth bowler’. The task fell to Foot and unfortunately his first two deliveries matched his name times 3 outside off stump and were called foul by Umpire Greggains. With a further eight runs taken from the remaining legal deliveries, Crusaders comfortably collected the final two runs required from Parfett’s final over to scramble home with two balls to spare.
Yorkshire Puddings and Roast Potatoes washed down with some Harvey’s was a fitting end to the day.
DOWNE REPORT
Following the dismal early season form, experienced Downe observers looked on in trepidation as the team gradually arrived in various states of disarray. The previous day had seen the happy nuptials of Tom and his new bride Becky in what was a fabulous day. Some of the team were clearly suffering from over indulgence, the worst offenders being The Bear (excess drinking) and Danielle (sweets and lemonade!) Skipper was entertaining the Dutch and assorted family leaving the sinking ship in the hands of Marcus - what could go wrong.
Following a week's sunshine an early morning downpour added a bit of zip to the pitch. Marcus won the toss and elected to bat on the basis we were not good at chasing. The new opening partnership of Spindles and Liam set off at the speed of a drunk snail, or indeed The Bear! The first 8 overs resulted in a paltry 8 runs, with the sparse crowd beginning to chant for the return of JD.
Spindles soon departed gloving one down the leg to be taken smartly by the keeper. Strangely he walked and was later disappointed to hear the umpire wasn't sure what it had hit!
With the 'son of JD' gone the rate picked up a little before the day's first controversy. The Taylor household clearly shows no favours as Josh gave his father out twice in two balls. The first was caught off his pad, even though the ball was dropped. The second Lbw which from Liam's face was heading anywhere but the stumps. Josh later tried to justify his decision with a bit of coaching advice, before admitting he can't see very well.
Bob continued in the vain of his debut, hitting a series of boundaries before picking out some safe hands off Spud. Marcus soon followed caught by the same fielder after the spinner found one to spit off a length. With the top order again failing all eyes focused on the middle order and especially The Bear. Having struggled to the middle, it would appear his bat would be for support rather than any stroke play. Somehow he survived and gradually woke up. His mobility, already suspect, was further affected when he dived trying to make his ground, injuring his ankle. He did now begin to find his range. Alas just as he was getting into full swing he too departed.
Parf and Nev were next and the score progressed though with around 6 overs left the total stood around 110. Parf provided a true comedy moment when having thought he had been caught began to walk off the pitch. Alas he had been dropped but his relief did not last long as he was then run out. Sweet provided some much needed impetus with Nev before the latters departure brought Zack to the crease. Sadly he departed without scoring to leave Josh to finish things off.
The target of 148 was considered rather light and around 40 below par. The Crusaders tend to be of the swash buckling type and the game was not expected to go the distance. Josh provided a great spell bowling out from the top and taking two good wickets. Sweet was generally tidy though the introduction of Parf with 2-19 helped keep the game interesting. At drinks the game was evenly poised at 70-5 off 20. In fact all the bowling was reasonably tidy as Marcus rotated his bowlers. Wickets gradually fell and both teams remained in the game. The fielding was also sharp with Zack sprightly in the field and Danielle taking a great catch off her brother
As the overs fell it became apparent that the Captain's sums were wrong and an over would have to be found from someone else. Bob was the chosen man and waited with trepidation. With four overs left 3 wickets remained and a run rate set around 4. Sweet given his first, and only over, down the hill found an extra 40mph to take one. Marcus then had another to leave the last pair. The next moment of controversy again centred on a Downe umpire however it was hearing this time that was questioned. Marcus and indeed everyone on the pitch heard a nick to Liam. With the batsmen cutting away from his body there seemed little doubt and indeed the other umpire was walking in to collect the stumps. The batsmen remained, as is his right, and Hillsy stood firm claiming not to have heard a thing! Bob's chance to regain the all rounder tag was now here with last weeks pace replaced by slow loopy stuff though I'm not sure he'd been practicing much. Marcus had the last over with 3 needed. The game was taken to the fourth ball before the winning run was hit.
Defeat was perhaps harder to take as victory had not really been expected but a great effort was put in by all.
MATCH REPORT FROM DOWNE CC
Date added: 05/07/2015
Following the dismal early season form, experienced Downe observers looked on in trepidation as the team gradually arrived in various states of disarray. The previous day had seen the happy nuptials of Tom and his new bride Becky in what was a fabulous day. Some of the team were clearly suffering from over indulgence, the worst offenders being The Bear (excess drinking) and Danielle (sweets and lemonade!) Skipper was entertaining the Dutch and assorted family leaving the sinking ship in the hands of Marcus - what could go wrong.
Following a week's sunshine an early morning downpour added a bit of zip to the pitch. Marcus won the toss and elected to bat on the basis we were not good at chasing. The new opening partnership of Spindles and Liam set off at the speed of a drunk snail, or indeed The Bear! The first 8 overs resulted in a paltry 8 runs, with the sparse crowd beginning to chant for the return of JD.
Spindles soon departed gloving one down the leg to be taken smartly by the keeper. Strangely he walked and was later disappointed to hear the umpire wasn't sure what it had hit!
With the 'son of JD' gone the rate picked up a little before the day's first controversy. The Taylor household clearly shows no favours as Josh gave his father out twice in two balls. The first was caught off his pad, even though the ball was dropped. The second Lbw which from Liam's face was heading anywhere but the stumps. Josh later tried to justify his decision with a bit of coaching advice, before admitting he can't see very well.
Bob continued in the vain of his debut, hitting a series of boundaries before picking out some safe hands off Spud. Marcus soon followed caught by the same fielder after the spinner found one to spit off a length. With the top order again failing all eyes focused on the middle order and especially The Bear. Having struggled to the middle, it would appear his bat would be for support rather than any stroke play. Somehow he survived and gradually woke up. His mobility, already suspect, was further affected when he dived trying to make his ground, injuring his ankle. He did now begin to find his range. Alas just as he was getting into full swing he too departed.
Parf and Nev were next and the score progressed though with around 6 overs left the total stood around 110. Parf provided a true comedy moment when having thought he had been caught began to walk off the pitch. Alas he had been dropped but his relief did not last long as he was then run out. Sweet provided some much needed impetus with Nev before the latters departure brought Zack to the crease. Sadly he departed without scoring to leave Josh to finish things off.
The target of 148 was considered rather light and around 40 below par. The Crusaders tend to be of the swash buckling type and the game was not expected to go the distance. Josh provided a great spell bowling out from the top and taking two good wickets. Sweet was generally tidy though the introduction of Parf with 2-19 helped keep the game interesting. At drinks the game was evenly poised at 70-5 off 20. In fact all the bowling was reasonably tidy as Marcus rotated his bowlers. Wickets gradually fell and both teams remained in the game. The fielding was also sharp with Zack sprightly in the field and Danielle taking a great catch off her brother
As the overs fell it became apparent that the Captain's sums were wrong and an over would have to be found from someone else. Bob was the chosen man and waited with trepidation. With four overs left 3 wickets remained and a run rate set around 4. Sweet given his first, and only over, down the hill found an extra 40mph to take one. Marcus then had another to leave the last pair. The next moment of controversy again centred on a Downe umpire however it was hearing this time that was questioned. Marcus and indeed everyone on the pitch heard a nick to Liam. With the batsmen cutting away from his body there seemed little doubt and indeed the other umpire was walking in to collect the stumps. The batsmen remained, as is his right, and Hillsy stood firm claiming not to have heard a thing! Bob's chance to regain the all rounder tag was now here with last weeks pace replaced by slow loopy stuff though I'm not sure he'd been practicing much. Marcus had the last over with 3 needed. The game was taken to the fourth ball before the winning run was hit.
Defeat was perhaps harder to take as victory had not really been expected but a great effort was put in by all.
MATCH REPORTS 1992
Date added: 03/07/2015
For anyone who wants to have a nostalgic look back, Match Reports for all Sunday games in 1992 have now been added
SUNDAY JUNE 28TH NAZEING COMMON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 29/06/2015
CRUSADERS 162-9 (40 OVERS)NAZEING COMMON 156-7 (38 OVERS) MATCH RESULT DRAW
An entertaining afternoon’s cricket ended with both teams sharing the spoils, as Nazeing’s run-chase fell just short of Crusaders target of 162. With persistent drizzle falling from late morning through to start time, the pitch and outfield had endured a liberal soaking and after winning the toss and electing to bat first, openers Rehman and Channa found the going tough against the pace of Sturdy and the accuracy and turn of Quinn. Steady, if not spectacular progress, was made until Chand aimed an un-gamely heave at a ball from Quinn and was bowled. League Star Jagdesh lasted just one ball, opting to try and hit over the well set leg side field – contract negotiations could be tricky next season. Lucky and Wajih (36) perished to the persistent Sturdy and all of a sudden we were 58-4. In situations such as these, there is no better than The Rock to steer an ailing ship back on course. John was the perfect foil to another breezy knock from Shakil (44) and together they put on 53, before John was out LBW; his second favoured method of dismissal. Quick-fire contributions from the tail, with John Rana (14) and Harry (14*) pushed the score up to 162-9 at the declaration.
Defending a relatively low total, it was vital that we put Nazeing under pressure from the first ball and Riyad answered the call in emphatic style, clean bowling Achillea with the opening delivery of the innings. At the other end, Harry was varying his pace and getting some prodigious swing, which none of the upper echelon of Nazeing batsmen was able to counter. After a seven over spell he had returned figures of 3 for 8 and reduced Nazeing to 21-4 – contract negotiations far less tricky. When Spud removed the obdurate Rivers to a smart piece of work behind the stumps from Rana, to reduce Nazeing to 47-6 it appeared that Crusaders were well on top. Nazeing had other ideas.
A scenario similar to our recent visit to Hartfield began to unfold, with Sturdy and Barker initially rebuilding the innings and then accelerating the run rate to such an extent that it was Nazeing who looked more likely to win. Shakil’s experiment with spin and the final couple of overs in Spud’s spell proved expensive, with Nazeing comfortably keeping pace with the required run rate. Sturdy in particular was quick to latch on to anything short and Barker was happy to pass the strike to the more dominant partner. With most of Crusaders fielders defending the boundary, Nazeing resorted to scrambling singles and the occasional two in an effort to overhaul the target. Shakil reverted to his normal pace and Riyad was brought back for the final few overs, with the latter bowling particularly well. At the close Nazeing had reached 156, still 6 runs short, with Barker and Sturdy sharing an unbroken partnership of 86.
SUNDAY JUNE 21ST EDMONTON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 21/06/2015
EDMONTON 172-7 (40 OVERS) SINGH. HARRY 4-32 CRUSADERS 176-8 (34 OVERS) CHANNA. C 54 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 2 WICKETS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders made their first ever visit to Edmonton (fondly referred to as ‘Shank Town’ by my son) and returned victorious after a good all round team performance. Wajih opted to play the dutiful son on Father’s Day, which left Spud in charge of a team bolstered by the inclusion of League Quality Players Jagdesh and Harry and giving a Sunday debut to Himanshu Pathania. Our hosts, a mature mixture of West Indians and Asians appeared in no rush to get proceedings underway, but eventually Spud won the toss and elected to field. The pitch was dry, but with a good grass covering, with boundaries short in all directions.
Harry opened up the hill and almost immediately had the openers in trouble. With subtle changes in pace and the ability to swing it both ways, he was soon rewarded with a slower ball that opener Abbas played over and was bowled for one. The other opener Reid was a veritable ‘One Man Cricket Team’ offering advice to the Umpires as to what constitutes a no ball, as well as advising John Rana that he shouldn’t stump him unless he was prepared to stand up to the stumps. I am sure he had a scorebook in his back pocket as well to complete his duties. He was looking to push the score along at every opportunity, aiming some lusty swishes to the short leg-side boundary, which brought him some success, but it is testimony to the fine bowling of Harry and Riyed that more often than not he failed to connect. Riyed was working up a fair head of steam down the hill and was unfortunate not to register a wicket, he was however responsible for the second breakthrough, removing Choudhry with an excellent run out from mid on after he was called through for a risky single. Harry added two further wickets in quick succession, one a perfect in-swinger, before Spud took the decision to keep two of his overs back.
Turning to spin, Spud partnered Chand through the middle overs of the innings and gradually the runs dried up. Chand bowled an excellent spell up the hill considering his first delivery disappeared for six. Changing to around the wicket he was able to cramp Reid for space and he eventually holed out to Harry at mid-wicket for 47. Edmonton seemed content to keep wickets in hand and batted cautiously, with Adolphe and Skipper Brown putting on 82 for the seventh wicket, but they never really put their foot down, posting a target of 172-7 at 40 overs.
After a tea break attempting to instil the virtues of laying a sound foundation and not taking unnecessary risks, Spud realised he had been talking to Chand and retired to the score box to watch events unravel. Jagdesh made a typically positive start, with some lusty blows taking him to sixteen, before he chipped straight to mid-wicket. Chand was joined by Himanshu and together the pair put on a largely un-troubled fifty partnership. Himanshu was the perfect foil to Chand, playing each ball on its merits, while the senior partner did what Chand does. With the game drifting away from Edmonton it took a moment of Chand madness to restore a glimmer of hope to the home side. Attempting to turn a close run two into a ridiculous three, Himanshu was found well short of making his ground and was comfortably run out. To compound matters further Chand then chased a wide delivery and sliced the ball into the waiting hands of point. To his credit he had made 54, but as has been all too common this season we had heaped some unwanted pressure on the lower order. The Rock, who was sent in to restore some semblance of order, promptly slapped the ball to gully and liking the sound of the shot set off, calling Lucky through for a single. A scampering Lucky made his ground comfortably, but G Man for some reason was standing mid stumps seemingly in suspended animation and was run out by half a pitch length. Lucky was in no mood to hang around (something to do with work commitments), clattering boundaries in all directions and he quickly collected 29 runs before being caught in the deep. At 129-6 with overs in hand we needed a cool head to guide us home – a position tailor-made for IPL Jony Singh. With John Rana batting responsibly at the other end they carried the score to 150, before Jony aimed a rash swing at a full delivery and was bowled. Fortunately we still had our Star performer Harry in the hutch and helped by some loose bowling and well judged running between the wickets we edged home by 2 wickets with six overs to spare.
FRIDAY JUNE 19TH NEWHAM DOGS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 19/06/2015
CRUSADERS 192-9 (20 OVERS) BHUIYAL. S 54* NEWHAM DOGS 141-7 (20 OVERS)MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 51 RUNS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders recorded a second T20 victory of the season, racking up an impressive 192 from 20 overs, against Newham Dogs at Flanders Field. Quick-fire contributions from Gurjinder (29) and Himanshu Pathania (21) on debut, set the platform for a late barrage of boundaries from Shakil. Sandwiched between were useful knocks from Jason and Harry, which kept the momentum going. At the end of 20 overs, Shakil had bludgeoned an effortless 54, setting a T20 record partnership of 43 for the 10th wicket, partnered by Spud, who had spent most of it leaning on his bat at the non-strikers end.
Harry and Jason soon had ‘the Dogs’ in trouble taking three quick wickets, before they rallied through good contributions from Heath and Colin. With the run-rate escalating, Crusaders regained the initiative, with Teji helping himself to two wickets from consecutive deliveries. His hat-trick ball was typically ‘Crusaders’ – no threat to the stumps at all!! When Gurjinder removed the dangerous Heath, Newham’s chase fell away with the innings closing on 141-7.
Once the inconvenience of the Cricket was out of the way, most of the squad went for the traditional Buffet Curry – this year in The Khyber Pass Restaurant.
GLENN McMAHON
Date added: 17/06/2015
It is my sad duty to inform the club that Glenn McMahon lost his battle with cancer and passed away surrounded by his family, in the afternoon of Saturday June 6th.
TRIBUTE TO GLENN 'MACCA' McMAHON
Date added: 17/06/2015
Crusaders Team -v- Brasted Invicta Sunday 29th April 1990 at Valence School
Back Row; Spud Whale, Simon Grater, Darkie Paine, Glen Timms, Nigel Henderson, Geoff May
Seated; Darren Moyse, Ken Chapman, Macca, Neil Morrison, Kevin Gibson
Glenn's Crusaders career started in the Club’s formative year, when on July 3rd 1983 he made a quick-fire 45 against London Marshes Select at Goddington Park, which had his new team-mates enthusing about a new find. Macca soon quashed this enthusiasm, with displays that were far more typical of a Crusaders middle-order bat.
Glenn's importance to the club cannot be understated, as quite possibly without him engaging the newly-formed Crusaders in conversation at the Bulls Head, the club may not have survived past the first two seasons. As a result Glenn and Bill Webb agreed to raise a side to play against Crusaders, with the legendary Pearl Assurance Select XI, including younger brother Pad, fulfilling two fixtures to help supplement their first fixture list. Several of the Pearl side then started playing occasionally for Crusaders and by 1985 formed the backbone of the side. Glenn would be the first to admit that his ability as a cricketer was limited; something that has never prevented anyone representing Crusaders. This however did not diminish from his enjoyment of Sunday afternoons spent with his mates, exploring the idyllic Kent countryside and more particularly it’s Public Houses.
As a ‘Social Cricketer’ Glenn particularly enjoyed and was an ever-present on the annual Club Tour. During the 2002 West Country Tour he featured in a match winning partnership with Johnny Greggains at Timberscombe, top scoring with 42 (see photo).
Macca 'takes the applause' after a fine 42 at Timberscombe
The same evening, after many Beers and several bottles of Red Wine he retired (a little the worse for wear) to bed with room-mate Wing Commander Nick McCall. Apparently at home with wife Ros, Nick had a pre-sleep ritual that involved Radio 4 acting as a lullaby. Nick immaculately turned out in Cotton Pyjamas and Silk Dressing Gown politely asked Glenn if it would be ok to have the radio on. As Glenn had only arrived that morning, didn’t know Nick particularly well and was a tolerant person, he considerately agreed. After several minutes Glenn’s patience and consideration had worn thin and he told Nick in a fairly colourful way that he should turn the radio off. The following day, prior to taking the field against Lord Tankards, he agreed to drop Moysey at The White Hart in nearby Bratton Fleming. Sensing Darren would probably get ‘lonely’ spending three hours on his own in a pub, Glenn decided that Crusaders could manage with ten and he would stay as well. The two miscreants returned at Tea to be confronted by a very disgruntled Captain Johnny Chuckles. As a ‘punishment’ Glenn was told he would be opening the batting. His innings lasted two balls, the first of which was lofted straight back over the bowler for six; this was followed by a brief mid-wicket chat with his fellow opener, doubtless telling Glenn to take it easy and have a look at the bowling- the next delivery clean bowled him as he danced down the track attempting to repeat the dose. After negotiating the frosty stare of the skipper and with punishment duly served Glenn and Darren returned to the pub.
The 2003 Tour to Weymouth saw him given the Captaincy for the fixture at Thornford, where after a narrow 32 run defeat we were given a civic reception in the Village Hall. Glenn, never one to miss the opportunity for a spot of public speaking, delivered a Churchillian speech, thanking Thornford for their hospitality. This was being well received by the locals, until an expletive laden finale, in which Glenn assured our hosts we would be back next year to avenge our defeat. Amid deep inhalations of breath from his fellow Crusaders and some audible mutterings and clinking of bone china from the Women’s Institute - as well as a smattering of polite applause - Glenn returned to his team-mates looking very pleased with himself. In the words of Basil Fawlty – I think he got away with it. In the interests of diplomacy this was Glenn’s only match as Skipper.
In all Glenn made 69 appearances for Crusaders, across twenty-two seasons, scoring 462 runs at an average of 8.40. In 1985 at a rain-lashed Sutton-at-Hone Glenn recorded the only fifty of his career; an innings that was ended by a beamer that cut him below the eye, just as it appeared he was steering us to an improbable victory.
With the ball he was used sparingly, recording Best Bowling figures of 2-1 at Ash in 1992; a game better remembered for a very lengthy session in the nearby pub after play was abandoned due to rain. His bowling action; a cross between Tony Greig and a slightly demented Bob Willis, had many a batsman guessing, as well as a few umpires doubting the legitimacy of his action and it is a mystery that he only picked up ten career victims at a cost of 29 runs per wicket.
Glenn made his last appearance for the club in a midweek game against Centymca on July 13th 2005, a team for whom he also played Veterans Football. Knowing several of the opposition Glenn stationed himself at Short Mid-Off; a position from which he could advise opposing batsmen of their short-comings and earned the unique scorebook entry ‘talked out McMahon’ when his chuntering got too much for Matt Walker, leading to him throwing his wicket away.
Statistics are often used to demonstrate the value of somebody to a team. Amidst the ‘Car Crash’ captaincy of Glen Timms in1985, it was Macca who was instrumental in getting teams out and ensuring we fulfilled fixtures. It was Macca who was first to ‘drink back the fixture’ after games, apologising for our lack of organisation/etiquette/scorebook/ability (*select any or all of the previous) and somehow ensuring we got a return fixture for the following season. Some contributions cannot be shown with statistics and Glenn’s is immeasurable.
Despite turning more of his attention towards the golf course - a game he was apparently quite good at - Glenn was always keen to discover how the team had fared, both on and particularly off the field.
He will never be much further from our thoughts than one of his trademark lofted drives – Rest in Peace Macca – a True Crusader.
SUNDAY JUNE 14TH OLD WILSONIANS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 14/06/2015
OLD WILSONIANS 222-8(40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 207-8 (40 OVERS) BHUIYAL.S 85. MATCH RESULT OLD WILSONIANS WON BY 15 RUNS
Despite a valiant 85 from Shakil Bhuiyal, Crusaders fell 15 runs short of Old Wilsonians total of 222. A stand of 106 between Chand (35) and Shakil re-ignited hopes of overhauling the target, after a promising start had been undone by the loss of four quick wickets.
On a pitch that had soaked up some rain and was fairly grassy, Old Wilsonians called correctly and elected to bat. Mahmud Riyed and Shakil opened the bowling and although the openers struggled against the new ball, runs were accumulated through extras and the occasional boundary. Patience finally ran out for Morley, who was put through a torrid time by Shakil and eventually took one heave too many and was bowled. This brought Udan to the crease for an enterprising display of clean hitting, which took the score to fifty, before Mo Sharif deceived Hammond off the pitch to bowl the opener for 20. Sharif then got rid of the dangerous Udan (38), with Wajih plucking a back-peddling overhead catch at deep backward point. Shortly after Maxwell feathered a delivery down the leg-side and was well taken by John Rana behind the stumps. This flurry of wickets briefly derailed the Old Boys run charge, with Sharif and Gurjinder Singh dramatically slowing the scoring rate. At drinks Old Wilsonians were 81-4.
Unfortunately the second twenty overs saw Old Wilsonians accumulate another 141 runs, due largely to some poor fielding and inconsistent bowling. Spud was dropping the ball too short, conceding boundaries to the short leg-side boundary and Razzak and Jony Singh both conceded far too many extras. In all we conceded 24 additional runs in Wides and No Balls, which in itself contributed to us bowling an additional 3 overs and given the margin of defeat was instrumental in our defeat.
Against an accurate, pacy attack, Wajih and Gurjinder batted studiously, building a solid base. Having seen off the openers Wajih fell to the first change bowler for 20, with the score on 58. On adding a further four runs we had managed to lose the services of Gurjinder (34), Mo for a first-baller and The Rock for a rather porous single.
Chand, who was complaining of tiredness, was then content to play the support role to a splendid innings from Shakil. Despite Chand’s supposed lethargy he gathered sufficient energy to tease the opposition with some scampered singles. With over a hundred added to the score in just over 14 overs, we needed just under ten an over, when Chand returned a catch to Lawrence. Shakil kept the target within reach, but a defensive field was making it difficult to find the necessary boundaries. Hopes evaporated when he was caught, inches inside the long on boundary, with the score on 204.
SUNDAY JUNE 7TH HARTFIELD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 07/06/2015
CRUSADERS 137-7 DEC (39.4 OVERS) HARTFIELD 140-7 (32.1 OVERS MATCH RESULT HARTFIELD WON BY 3 WICKETS
-v- Hartfield Sunday June 7th at Town Croft
A midday meet at Spud’s meant that ten of the eleven (plus kitbags) selected for our trip to Hartfield, crammed into two cars for the journey to East Sussex. Goldie and Loepreet ensured there was some Singh representation and Dave returned from his gambling excesses in Las Vegas.
Hartfield won the toss and had little hesitation putting us in, on a grassy green topper. Local pitch expert Johnny G, resplendent in gleaming New Balance footwear, predicted that there would be low bounce – how wrong can you be!! It proved to be extremely lively, with a nasty tendency towards injuring Wicket-keepers.
Wajih and Chand negotiated some accurate bowling from Ball and Sanders, with both getting swing and movement off the pitch, but no reward in the wickets column. Having survived the opening barrage, it was disappointing that both fell in quick succession to mis-timed shots off the slower bowlers. This was perhaps an indication of the differing bounce from each end; with both falling to pull shots that spooned gently back to the bowler. Goldie and Johnny G offered little resistance, with G Man probably wondering if he could sue the Shoe Company under the Trades Description Act – more No Balance than New.
From then on Hartfield held the upper hand, with ball regularly beating the bat. One such delivery put paid to the Hartfield keeper who opted to use his face to prevent some leg-side byes. Fortunately Chand was on hand to administer First Aid, which to the casual observer consisted of removing his pads and little else. Wicket-keeper injury number two was not far away.
Having struggled to pass three figures Damon joined Riyed, who had already played some hefty shots and together they pushed the score towards respectability. Day was looking particularly balletic at the crease, with the alleged loss of a stone in weight clearly paying dividends. Alas, with still twenty minutes of ‘crease time’ available Day pushed the ball into the covers and set off for a single, but his scurrying came to an abrupt end, as he crumpled to the floor with what proved to be a ruptured Achilles. With Damon lying on a ‘good length’, there was much discussion about whether we could ‘play around him’ or alternatively what was the best way to remove him. The favoured option was to roll him down the hill towards the road, which would have offered the added benefit of flattening out the pitch, but eventually he was hauled back to the dressing room in the back of a car.
Rather than take more time out of the game, Wajih opted to declare, with Crusaders setting Hartfield a score of 137 to overhaul. A fabulous tea was served and with Damon advised by the Hospital to take Nil by Mouth, thankfully there was sufficient for everyone. By the time the Ambulance Crew arrived Rough Tough Day had experienced some dizziness and degenerated into a sweaty mess on the floor, clad only in his underpants. On arrival the female medic commented that it was one of the most harrowing incident sites she had ever attended.
With Damon snoozing peacefully in the back of the ambulance, the game resumed. Hartfield found the going equally uncomfortable, with Riyed generating a fair head of steam down the hill and Shakil getting some movement from the bottom end. Shakil got his reward for consistently beating the bat, when he produced a perfect Yorker to remove Fred Ball for 14. There then followed a steady stream of wickets, with Riyed removing the other opener and Sharif producing a perfect first delivery to clean up Dyer. When Chand pouched a catch to remove the wonderfully named Christophe Lockhart (70’s Porn Star or Local Sommelier – make up your own mind) and Riyed produced a spectacular direct hit to run out Simpson it appeared Crusaders held the upper hand.
Hartfield had other ideas with Jan Ball and Sanders giving a lesson in how to chase down a target. With a mixture of straight hitting and well judged running, they comfortably accrued the seven per over requirement over the last twelve overs, with Crusaders not able to find an answer. Both batsmen offered difficult chances during their quest for runs, but the target was overhauled in the final over, with Ball recording his fifty and Sanders ably supporting with an unbeaten 29.
Word reached us from Pembury Hospital that Damon was ready for dispatch, so we had to cut short our social and Spud and Chand went to collect him. After a game of dodge the A21 diversions we returned him to the bosom of his family, knowing he would get all the loving support he needed from Den and Dee.
Good news came on Tuesday that the injury was not as bad as first thought and that Damon should be back on his feet and tumbling gracefully behind a set of stumps quite soon.
THURSDAY MAY 28TH ASHBURNHAM ARMS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 28/05/2015
CRUSADERS 129-9 (20 OVERS) SINGH. MAN 25*, SINGH GUR 33* ASHBURNHAM ARMS 92-9 (20 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 37 RUNS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders supplemented by a heavy presence from Gagan CC, played their first T20 game of the season at Greenwich Park on Thursday. Under leaden skies Spud called correctly and with a wealth of batting talent at his disposal opted to take first knock.
Gurjinder and Mandeep dominated the opening exchanges, each making their way to ‘retirement’ at 25, with an array of boundaries. After 6 overs we were well placed on 54 and there was much talk of a score upwards of 160 being set. Having overseen many of these fixtures, Spud was less inclined to speculate, safe in the knowledge that Crusaders are never too far from a batting collapse. It soon became apparent that the slower you bowled the more difficult run scoring became. With pace taken off the ball and an inconsistent low bounce from a typically slow Greenwich pitch, a succession of Crusaders batsmen perished with little addition to the score.
Luigi restored some order to proceedings with a watchful 15 and some late scurrying by Spud and Lucky ensured we set a respectable target of 130 for victory.
The Ash set about the target in robust style, content to take on the field and rotate the strike. Harry made the breakthrough after initially struggling with his line, when he found the outside edge of Charlie’s bat to send the opener back for 9. The Ash continued to test our fielding reactions, with both of their better batsmen eventually taking a risk too far and falling to accurate throws from Mandeep and Gurjinder respectively. The inconsistent bounce of the Greenwich strip was perfectly demonstrated when Mandeep took wickets with consecutive balls, the first which reared off a length and was gloved to Chand at Square Leg and the second which barely got off the turf before crashing into the stumps. These setbacks knocked the stuffing out of our hosts, allowing Spud the luxury of rotating the mercurial bowling talents at his disposal. Tejinder must surely have caught the eye of Gagan’s hierarchy, with three accurate overs and a maiden wicket for the club and Luigi explored a corridor of uncertainty just below City Airport’s flight path. A wicket a-piece for Daljit and Jagdesh brought the game to a close, both by virtue of good catches from Gurjinder and Sam ‘bucket hands’ Singh. With Ashburnham having twelve players attending, we were able to take a look at the developing Sukhi Singh. He has obviously not taken too much notice of his father and looks to be a talent for the not too distant future.
SUNDAY MAY 24TH HAYES -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 26/05/2015
HAYES 195 ALL OUT (39 OVERS) CRUSADERS 174-8 (40 OVERS) SHARIF. MOH 57*. MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS LOST BY 21 RUNS
MATCH REPORT
A much changed Crusaders travelled to Hayes, hoping to exorcise the memories of a fearful battering last season. Wajih decided to ‘fall on his sword’ and pass responsibilities to Spud for the day and on winning the toss he gave our hosts first knock, safe in the knowledge that the scorer of an unbeaten 209 last year had left the club.
Riyed opened the bowling, down the slope and was soon generating good pace and regularly beating the bat. Eventually Pratt feathered a catch to Spud for the breakthrough, with the Hayes opener not waiting for the Umpire’s decision, which was just as well, as the finger was staying firmly in his pocket. A couple of overs later Riyed repeated the delivery to Hayes number three Robertson, with Spud again pouching the catch from a clear edge. This time the batsman was not as keen to ‘walk’ and left the decision to the umpire, who again kept his ‘dismissal digit’ hidden. It proved a pivotal point in the game, with Robertson adding another seventy to his tally, before finally holing out to Sam Singh at mid-on from the bowling of Razz Sikdar. Harpreet struggled with his length from the bottom end, but picked up two wickets, which is some reward for previous spells where he has bowled better without taking wickets.
Mo Sharif (on debut) and Shakil were first change, with Hayes content to re-build and rely on some fairly inept fielding from Crusaders to compile a total. After Shakil had claimed a wicket with his first ball, Robertson was well supported by Jones (38) and Desai (20) as Hayes moved towards a decent total. The introduction of ‘Golden Arm’ Sam Singh brought the Hayes innings to a close, with one over unused, as he picked up two wickets and a run out, with Hayes setting 196 for victory.
The usual high quality tea was served up by Hayes, with the Chicken and Bacon Sandwiches a particular favourite and then we set about the run-chase.
Unfortunately the chase failed to gain any momentum, from the moment we lost the early wickets of Shakil and Riyed. John Rana and Chand followed quickly after, leaving us at a precarious 25-4 after 14 overs, with good spells from Millard and Day putting Hayes firmly on top. A partnership of 60 between The Rock and Mo Sharif, who went on to score a splendid unbeaten 57, gave some stability to the innings, but the early damage had put us well behind the required run rate and despite late contributions from Sam and IPL Jony, we fell 21 runs short.
AVERAGES UPDATE
Date added: 19/05/2015
AVERAGES ARE NOW COMPLETE - COVERING ALL CRUSADERS MATCHES FROM 1983 TO THE PRESENT DAY. THEY CAN BE ACCESSED VIA 'STATS' DROPDOWN
SUNDAY MAY 17TH NORTH WEALD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 17/05/2015
CRUSADERS 158 ALL OUT (43.5 OVERS)SINGH. GUR 66 NORTH WEALD 154-6 (44 OVERS) MATCH RESULT DRAW
MATCH REPORT -V- NORTH WEALD SUNDAY MAY 17TH AT MEMORIAL GROUND
Crusaders managed to resist a late onslaught from North Weald to return from Essex with a well earned draw. Gajinder Singh was drafted in as a late replacement, for the injured Sam Singh and there was also a debut for John Rana.
Wajih won the toss and elected to take first knock, on a pitch that appeared firm, but proved rather like Damon, to have a soft under-belly. Spud was again offered the ‘poisoned chalice’ of opening and accompanied by Gajinder they laid the foundations of what should have been a decent total. Spud was largely a spectator, during an opening partnership that was dominated by some lusty hitting from Gajinder, as North Weald’s opening bowlers were put to the sword.
North Weald finally turned to spin and almost immediately got their reward. With the score on 78, Spud wafted at a wide delivery and was smartly stumped down the leg-side for a turgid 16. Gajinder had by this time reached a very entertaining maiden fifty and went on to make 66, in an innings that contained twelve boundaries including a maximum. When he was out, with the score on 99, Crusaders rather lost their way, with the North Weald slow pairing of Jagai and Elby dominant.
Some audible quacking greeted Johnny Grrs brief stay at the crease and our cause was further dented by the incapacitation of Damon with a back injury. For those that were not aware Damon has lost a considerable amount of weight recently. It appears this has freed some nerves from within the fatty tissue of our Tubby Keeper and enabled them to become trapped elsewhere – let that be a lesson to all.
The middle order vanished without trace and only an IPL inspired cameo from Jony Singh remained to entertain the crowd. Right or left handed, this maverick of the cricketing world gave a demonstration of most of the shots in his armoury – to say that North Weald had no answer to him is probably untrue. Brief knocks from John Rana and Harpreet pushed the score up to a modest 158, with Elby, pick of the bowlers, claiming his fifth wicket to demonstrate the virtue of bowling straight.
Mahmud Riyed and Harpreet were entrusted with opening the bowling, with the North Weald batsmen content to survive the opening onslaught and build a base. Replacement keeper Spud had a torrid time behind the stumps, scrambling around on the floor, dropping a sitter off Riyed and generally looking just like the ‘normal keeper’, much to the amusement of the normal keeper. Wajih rang the changes, introducing Chand and Jason to the attack and it was the latter that made the breakthrough. Taunted by overhead geese, while he desperately tried to find some semblance of line, length or anything vaguely associated with bowling, Jason eventually provoked a leading edge from Ginn, which was well caught by Harpreet at mid-off.
When drinks were taken, North Weald required 84 to win from the final twenty overs with nine wickets in hand. Spud removed the pads and joined Wajih in the attack and together they kept the scoring in check, with Spud claiming two wickets and Wajih removing the other opener with help from a tumbling, grimacing White at slip. A period when not a lot happened ensued, with North Weald accumulating runs without ever having a really big couple of overs. They did however have the advantage of wickets intact, which meant that the only positive result for Crusaders would be the draw.
With thirty required from the final three overs, North Weald made their charge. Some suicidal running was countered with two run outs from Riyed and one run out that was ‘missed’ by the square leg official, whose only reason for not giving it was that ‘he wasn’t really paying attention’. Twelve were required from the final over and some tight bowling from Mahmud ensured that North Weald remained four runs short of the target.
Damon’s favourite pub The King’s Head had no gas and hence no beer, so we bade a quick farewell to the ‘friendly’ locals.
SUNDAY MAY 3RD CHINGFORD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 05/05/2015
CHINGFORD 136 ALL OUT (38.4 OVERS) CRUSADERS 137-3 (25.5 OVERS) SINGH. JAG 63 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 7 WICKETS
MATCH REPORTER - WAJIH REHMAN
Following on from an evening of thunderous showers, the Crusaders lay in wait for a decision from the Chingford groundsmen at 11:30am as to whether we would be cracking leather with willow that afternoon. With the pitch being covered and a much brighter and sunnier skyline than had been expected....we were good to go!
As the Crusaders assembled in good time before the match (even Wajih made it for 1:30pm.....the North Circular seems to work a lot better than the South Circular!), there was much talk about match tactics ahead of the intended "time" game against an in-form Chingford side and the infamous coin-gate incident, which Chand vows to never let Pommie forget.
Both skippers walked out to the middle; having noted some dampness in the wicket, Wajih was secretly harbouring a intention to bowl first, and therefore was not concerned about winning toss, knowing very well that Chingford would most likely want to bat and bat long. As the coin landed, there was no hesitation from the Chingford skipper.
Chingford's opening batsmen arrived at the crease to be welcomed by some fiery bowling from Riyad and Shakeel. The ball was definitely talking and the wicket was not particularly helping the batsmen's efforts with some variable bounce to add. The batsmen's frustration was becoming more and more evident through their shot selection, as runs were proving hard to come by....with the breakthrough eventually being providing by Shakil. This pretty much set tempo for the rest of the Chingford innings; with none of the batsmen being able to get a start with the exception of Baldock, who was made to work hard to grind out his 40 runs before being given LBW.
There were some impressive contributions with the ball combined with some unusually sublime fielding and catching. Riyed led the wicket taking with 3 to his name at a miserly economy of 2 runs per over. Ronny, Sam and Chand all picked up wickets as well for not many runs.....Although Kabir will probably want to be forgetting about the 2 overs he bowled at the end!
As the Chingford batsmen continued to struggled...There was no let up from the Crusaders bowling...and the innings was brought to an end well with Chingford all out within their prescribed time for a total of 136 runs.
The debutant Kabir was sent in with the swashbuckling Jagdesh to get the Crusaders reply on its way. Two things became very apparent very quickly...firstly, the contrasting styles in technique of the opening batsmen....and then secondly, how well the Crusaders had actually bowled as runs were come quick and without much trouble for the Crusaders batsmen. Jagdesh was looking confident as he took the attack to the Chingford bowlers.
Crusaders were close to the 100 run mark when they lost their first wicket...Jagdesh, who smashed a rapid 63 runs. Harpreet was promoted to the number 3 slot but made very little impression on the bowling and scorecard...as he returned to the pavilion 2 balls later on a duck!
Damon enjoyed his short cameo and Kabir seemed to be doing his best to avoid reaching his 50....which left it to Nita to hit the winning runs and concluding a comprehensive win for the Crusaders by all accounts.
SUNDAY APRIL 26TH CHARLATANS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 26/04/2015
CRUSADERS 172-8 (40 OVERS) REHMAN.W 85* CHARLATANS 45-9 (ALL OUT) (21.5 OVERS) CHANNA 4-21 GLAMPSON 3-3 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 127 RUNS
MATCH REPORT CHARLATANS -V- CRUSADERS AT WOOLWICH BARRACKS
After the crushing defeat at Catford Wanderers on the opening day of the season, Crusaders had two weeks to reflect and ready themselves for the visit to Woolwich Barracks, with the opposition provided by Charlatans.
Overnight rain and a cold grey morning, meant that pre-match conversations were dominated by how many layers of clothing would be required, rather than what tactical nous we would require to record our first win of the new campaign.
Chand’s mystery player, known only as ‘Hassan from the DLR’, failed to materialise for a second game, with Chand’s phone calls and texts seemingly ignored (Hassan obviously worked Chand out pretty quickly) and we were indebted to Goldie for railroading his younger brother Loepreet into playing, to bring us back up to a full compliment. Wajih called correctly and opted to bat.
Nita and Goldie provided a solid platform, taking advantage of any loose deliveries on offer, while the score was helped along with a few extras donated by the home side. When the score had reached 38, Goldie holed out at Mid On and a couple of balls later Nita feathered a catch behind, with no further addition to the score. Chand followed soon after, adjudged LBW by his close friend Sam Singh, who appeared to be leading the appeals, before jubilantly raising his finger. From a position of some strength we had quickly regressed to where a period of patient rebuilding was needed. The Rock, amidst some Charlatans heckling that claimed that ‘it doesn’t matter where you bowl it he wont hit it anywhere’, was the man required. With Wajih mixing caution with some hefty drives, John was happy to prove that Charlatans were quite correct in their analogy, but importantly he remained with the Skipper, pushing the score up to 71 before he was bowled for 3.
The lower order ‘wagged’, with a typically brief but explosive contribution from Sam and a valuable partnership between Wajih and Harpreet, that produced 43 runs in the closing 6 overs. At the close of our innings Wajih, on a pitch of variable pace and bounce remained unbeaten for a chanceless 85 and a target of 173 was set for our hosts.
In the absence of our normal Master of the Gloves, Spud stepped up to fill his ample void, whilst Wajih threw the ‘new’ ball to Chand and Sam. Any one with the vaguest cricketing knowledge would surmise that this was potentially a recipe for disaster. From the moment Chand slipped a yorker under the reaching bat of McMurray in the first over, Crusaders held and maintained the ascendancy. With Sam bowling a consistent line and length at the other end, without any fortune, despite several optimistic ‘whodat’ appeals, it was Chand that filled the wickets taken column. A smart catch behind from Spud and a Nita special at square leg along with another clean bowled, took Chand close to a first ever club 5 wicket haul. A return to normality in his final two overs ensured this was not to be, as he reverted to type, sending down an array of full tosses and long hops that are more usually associated to his bowling.
If Charlatans had thoughts that they had seen off the cream of our attack, the introduction of Jason and Harpreet soon gave them other ideas. Jason’s looping spin and the line and length of Harpreet ripped out the tail, with Jason returning 3 wickets for only 3 runs and Harpreet taking the other two without conceding a run. There was even time for some comedy keeping from Spud, with a ‘smart’ Damonesque leg-side stumping to remove a bemused Webb for nought. Charlatans sorry demise concluded when Hicks was clean bowled by Harpreet with the total on 45.
SUNDAY APRIL 26TH -v- CHARLATANS AT WOOLWICH BARRACKS
Date added: 23/04/2015
Team for Sunday - Rehman.W*, White+, Whale, Singh.S, Singh.Goldie, Singh.Harpreet, Greggains.J, Channa, Singh. Nita
We have 9 players at the moment - contact Wajih if you are available.
Please allow adequate time to be at the ground by 13:30, as there will be some disruption in the area as a result of the London Marathon.
Ground Address; Garrison Field (entrance Ha Ha Road), Woolwich Barracks SE18 4DN
SUNDAY APRIL 12TH CATFORD WANDERERS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 13/04/2015
CRUSADERS 154-9 (40 OVERS) CHANNA 79 CATFORD WANDERERS 157-1 (20 OVERS)MATCH RESULT CATFORD WANDERERS WON BY 9 WICKETS
MATCH REPORT -V- CATFORD WANDERERS 12TH APRIL 2015
Crusaders were soundly thrashed by a well organised Catford Wanderers on the opening day of the season, succumbing to a nine wicket defeat, with Catford requiring only twenty overs to knock off the 154 target.
A late cry-off from 'Bad Man' Glampson left us one short, with an eleventh player kindly supplied by Catford, in the shape of young Raven Walcott.
Wajih had obviously not made any New Year's resolutions with regards to Cricket Time-keeping, but instead of the usual 'stuck on the South Circular excuse', he opted to omit the use of a car altogether. The inevitable text arrived informing that all was not well on the Public Transport network and a journey involving pretty much every mode except a helicopter, would deliver him to the ground some time after the projected start. This put the maverick vice-skipper Pommie at the helm, who recognising our indifferent looking line-up, opted to bat first. The sound reasoning behind the decision was that they had thrashed us all around the ground last year and Pommie was not prepared for a repeat. In hindsight and against most opinions of his judgement, his decision proved wise.
Spud was press-ganged into opening with Chand and a steady start was made. Unfortunately for Spud, all the steadiness was coming from Chand and he had failed to trouble the scorers (despite bottom edging a single that was given as a bye - no sour grapes Damon you blind git) when he popped up a simple catch to Silly Mid-off.
Goldie played some expansive shots in an entertaining 16, but thereafter Chand got little support and decided to take the game to Catford. A swashbuckling innings of 79 enabled us to at least post some sort of target, with Damon (17*) and Raven (9*) topping up the score in the last couple of overs.
Tea was the usual splendid array of Chicken and Pasta, giving time for Wajih to ponder exactly where the required ten wickets were going to come from.
The result of his pondering was to start with the opening pair of Pommie and Harpreet. It was about as good as it got. Harpreet struggled with both line and length and although Pommie managed to remove an opener, we were unable to take the few chances that Catford offered up. A couple of flying edges eluded even that most agile of Slip cordons that consisted of Whale and Greggains and when Ali replaced Harpreet he couldn't hold on to two sharp return catches.
A level of resignation descended on our fielding efforts and runs came at a canter, with Clarke (80*) cashing in. Damon supplied some light relief with more of his calamitous comedy glovemanship. After he had missed a stumping - though apparently it wasn't a chance - he wallowed gracefully to the leg-side to claim his fumble as catch, much to the bemusement of the Batsman and Umpire, not to mention his own side.
It seemed appropriate that Chand be given the opportunity to complete a worthwhile all round performance. He duly obliged, handing back half the runs he had accumulated in two boundary laden overs that brought the game to a close.
It is difficult to take positives from such a hammering so I won't try.
TEAM SELECTION FOR SUNDAY -V- CATFORD WANDERERS
Date added: 10/04/2015
Rehman. W*, White. D+, Singh. P, Singh. L, Channa. C, Whale. S, Glampson. J, Ali, Singh. Har, Singh. Gol, Greggains.
Meet at ground Beckenham Hill Road, London SE6 3NU no later than 12.30 for a 13.00 start
SUNDAY 12TH APRIL SEASON OPENER AT CATFORD WANDERERS
Date added: 08/04/2015
Crusaders begin the 2015 Season with a visit to Catford Wanderers on Sunday 12th April 13.00pm start. Please contact Wajih with your availability. Full season fixtures are available to view.
AVERAGES UPDATE
Date added: 18/03/2015
Batting and Bowling Averages for 1983-2014 are complete and can be accessed by 'Stats' and then Year dropdown
UPDATED AVERAGES
Date added: 26/02/2015
Gradually all Seasons Averages will be updated from 1983 to the present season. These can be viewed via 'Stats'. Eventually via 'The Match' complete Scorecards will also be available to view.
2013 AND 2014 BATTING AND BOWLING AVERAGES
Date added: 13/02/2015
Batting and Bowling Averages for 2013 and 2014 Season are displayed via the Stats Page
2015 FIXTURES
Date added: 15/01/2015
Confirmed Fixtures for 2015 are now updated
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH GAGAN -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 29/09/2014
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21ST LOCKSBOTTOM -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 22/09/2014
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH CATFORD WANDERERS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 16/09/2014
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7TH SOUTHGATE ADELAIDE -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 08/09/2014
CRUSADERS 178-8 (40 OVERS)C. CHANNA 41 SOUTHGATE ADELAIDE 144-7 (40 OVERS) S. WHALE 4-21 MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 34 RUNS
SUNDAY AUGUST 31ST OAKWOOD HILL -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 02/09/2014
CRUSADERS 156-10 (36.4 OVERS) OAKWOOD HILL 93-10 (23.1 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY
63 RUNS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders paid their first visit to Oakwood Hill, returning victorious after a good bowling and fielding display, had enabled them to defend a slightly scrappy target of 156. Spud won the toss and elected to bat on a grassy track. It soon became apparent that the pitch was a little temperamental and most definitely bowler friendly.
Shakil, promoted to opener, having edged one through the slips, perished soon after when a repeat shot was well taken at gully and Wajih followed soon after, mis-timing a lofted drive. With arguably two of our most talented batsmen back in the pavilion, a period of re-building was necessary.
Chand joined Jagdesh in the middle and together they smoothed troubled waters, with a stand of 55. Without doubt the highlight of the innings was Herman Singh running his Dad out on 49 after Johnny G had called him for a risky single. Useful contributions from John, Damon - including a six to get off the mark - and Daljit enabled us to post 156 as a target.
Oakwood Hill went about the task in positive fashion, happy to play aggresively at just about every delivery, but although runs came quickly it was at a cost. Shakil made the early breakthrough, removing the quirky opener who had caused some amusement by taking guard with his feet, let alone his bat way outside off-stump. However it was Sam who did the damage, taking three quick wickets, including a 'whodat' appeal for LBW.
Spud joined the wicket-takers with three of his own, aided by a couple of fine catches from Harry at mid on and after that Oakwood Hill's chase fell away. Perhaps a weekend that had seen both their two elevens win respective leagues had taken it's toll. A catch from Wajih off the erratic bowling of Jason - who had regaled us with news of his career best figures of 6-11 the previous day - was the final nail in Oakwood Hill's coffin, as they were bowled out for 93
SUNDAY AUGUST 24TH OAKHILL TAVERNERS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 25/08/2014
CRUSADERS 204-8 (35 OVERS) AMAN KHAN (83) OAKHILL TAVERNERS 192 ALL OUT (34 OVERS) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 12 RUNS
SUNDAY AUGUST 17TH BLUE STAR -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 18/08/2014
BLUE STAR 151-6 (40 OVERS) CRUSADERS 152-8 (39.1 OVERS)
MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 2 WICKETS
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders narrowly defeated Blue Star, overhauling the target of 151 in the final over, with two wickets in hand. Under heavy skies and following a brief pre-match downpour, Wajih called correctly at the toss and wisely opted to bowl, with the wicket damp and looking two-paced.
The new ball partnership of Harry and Nita soon had Blue Star on the back foot and with the openers consistently beaten by swing and seam, the score barely rose above 2 an over. Indeed the total would have been even less, but for some generous wides from the home umpire. After Spud had spilled a sharp chance at slip, Nita made the initial breakthrough, making a comfortable caught and bowled look ridiculously difficult - he went on to complete an excellent eight over spell of 1-14. It was good to see that Nita has chosen to omit the now legendary slower ball from his armoury.
Spud replaced Harry and immediately removed the other opener LBW for 12 and Jason, after sending a volley of balls down the leg-side eventually got his line right, getting one to clip the top of off-stump to remove Edwards for 3.
At drinks Blue Star were barely past 50 and not showing any signs of mounting a recovery. Wajih rang the changes, bringing Lucky into the attack and he soon took his season tally to 7 wickets, capturing the prize scalp of Goldie (guesting for Blue Star), caught - after some circus work - at slip by Spud and then seeing his 'slow bouncer' carved to Johnny G at backward point.
Blue Star's 40 over total of 151 was due largely to some good counter-attacking batting from Skipper Peters, who remained unbeaten on 72, assisted by Cruze 18 and an Extras count of 25.
Buoyed by Pizza, Chips and Onion Rings, the Skip was confident that the target was well within our compass. As so often this season Crusaders got off to a solid start, with Wajih playing second fiddle to Jagdesh, who was happy to hit over the top of an attacking Blue Star field. Our hosts finally pushed the field back and reaped immediate rewards, with Jagdesh caught in the deep for a fine 46.
Wajih perished in similar circumstances, followed quickly by Chand, Dave and Johnny G and all of a sudden Blue Star had their sights on what had appeared to be an improbable victory. Nita decided the best form of consolidation was to go on the offensive, but after three successive boundaries he popped one up for a simple catch. A few balls later Damon was bowled off his pads and we were staring a defeat in the face at 111-7.
Spud was joined at the crease by Harry and together they scampered singles and turned two's into threes, taking advantage of some aging bones in the fielding side. With the score at 135, Spud joined a long list of soft dismissals, top edging a sweep straight to short mid-wicket.
With still 17 runs required and only 3 overs remaining it was any ones game. Harry and Lucky kept their nerve superbly, with a vital boundary from Harry and a couple of scrambled byes taking us to 150 at the end of the 39th over. Only one ball was needed, with Harry clipping a legside delivery for the required runs.
FIXTURE FOR SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST - AVAILABILITY
Date added: 18/08/2014
AVAILABLE:Channa.C, Singh.A, Singh.Jagdesh, Singh.Sam, Singh.Harry, Singh.Sonu, Singh.L, Singh.D, Singh.Jony, Glampson.Jason.
We have ten players available, with possibly Wajih. From those selected transport will need to be split between Jason and Lucky.
THURSDAY AUGUST 7TH ASHBURNHAM ARMS -V- CRUSADERS T20 MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 08/08/2014
CRUSADERS 169-2 (REHMAN.W 25*, SARWAR 26*, KHAN.A 28*) ASHBURNHAM ARMS 101-3. MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 68 RUNS
SUNDAY AUGUST 03RD DUNMOW -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 06/08/2014
DUNMOW 196-4 (35 OVERS) CRUSADERS 200-4 (33.3 OVERS) Chand Channa (63*) Dave Thistleton (40) CRUSADERS WON BY 6 WICKETS
Crusaders continued their recent improvement in form with a hard fought victory at Dunmow.
After nightmares on the M11, the match was reduced to 35 overs and Dunmow had no hesitation batting first on a good looking pitch, after Spud called incorrectly.
Our hosts struggled initially against some good swing bowling from Harry Singh and the usual nonsense from Mike Taylor. Harry made the initial breakthrough, with one that held it's line to take the outside edge for a comfortable catch to Spud at slip. This brought the dangerous Sneath to the crease. He batted confidently for the remainder of the 35 overs to hold the Dunmow innings together, but without ever threatening to post an insurmountable total. With Crusaders bowling accurately and fielding well Dunmow reached a respectable 196-4 at the close.
Despite a required rate of close to 6 an over and the knowledge that we had only broken 200 once this season, there was an air of confidence that this was a very gettable target.
Wajih and Jagdesh got the chase off to the perfect start, with some lusty hitting and raised 48 before Jagdesh perished to the 1st change bowler Gilbert for 18. Goldie carried on where he left off last week with a brisk 30 and together with Wajih, took the total to 74 in only 13 overs, before Wajih decided to hack his stumps down - the first Hit Wicket dismissal for some years.
With the skipper gone, there was some concern that our chase would peter out. Debutant Dave Thistleton and Chand made sure this didn't happen, putting on a well paced chanceless stand of 105 to take us within touching distance of the target. Dave made a very steady 40, rotating the strike effectively and ignoring all Chand's mad attempts to steal singles. Dave's demise gave Grant, on his return, the opportunity to remember why he had put so many miles between him and Chand. A couple of suicidal singles later and the game was won, with Chand scoring a splendid unbeaten 63.
FINAL ELEVEN -V- DUNMOW
Date added: 02/08/2014
Final Eleven
REHMAN.W,WHALE.S,SINGH.N,SINGH.HAR,SINGH.H,SINGH.JAG,TAYLOR.M,CHANNA.C,REYNOLDS.G,SINGH.GOL,DAVE (BROMLEY COMMON)
Please bear in mind journey time to Dunmow is at least an hour from South-East London, so leave in plenty of time for arrival by 13.30.
Spud and his passengers will be having pre-match drinks at The Angel & Harp, Church End, CM6 2AD - FROM 12.45
GROUND ADDRESS
Dunmow Cricket Club
St Edmunds Lane
Dunmow
SUNDAY -V- DUNMOW TEAM SELECTION
Date added: 31/07/2014
TEAM FROM; Rehman.W*,Whale.S+,Reynolds.G,Taylor.M,Singh.Jagdesh,Singh.Harry,Singh.Sonu,Singh.Jony,Singh.Harpreet,Singh.Goldie,Channa.C, TO BE CONFIRMED - Dave (Bromley Common),Greggains.J,Singh.Nita
TEAM TO BE SELECTED BY WAJIH BY FRIDAY EVENING
Please bear in mind journey time to Dunmow is at least an hour from South-East London, so leave in plenty of time for arrival by 13.30.
Spud and his passengers will be having pre-match drinks at The Angel & Harp, Church End, CM6 2AD - FROM 12.45
GROUND ADDRESS
Dunmow Cricket Club
St Edmunds Lane
Dunmow
Essex
CM6 3AT
STATS PAGE UPDATED
Date added: 31/07/2014
2014 Season Averages are now displayed via Stats
SUNDAY JULY 27TH NAZEING COMMON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 27/07/2014
CRUSADERS 218-9d in 35.5 overs (Goldie Singh 59, Chand Channa 49, Wajih Rehman 41 NAZEING COMMON 166-9 in 45 overs (Jony Singh 3-9) MATCH RESULT DRAWN
MATCH REPORT
Crusaders had the better of a timed game at Nazeing, the hosts holding out for a draw, with the final pair at the wicket.
An entertaining maiden fifty from Goldie Singh (59), well supported by Wajih (41) and Chand (49), laid the foundation for a Crusaders declaration at 218-9, allowing Nazeing an extra twenty minutes to chase the target.
Harpreet (10-3-23-1) and Sonu (7-1-21-0) ensured that Nazeing were always struggling to keep up with the run rate, but Crusaders needed a catalyst to give them any chance of winning the game. It came in the form of Jony Singh. Not lacking in enthusiasm, there were some doubts that he could deliver on the big stage. These doubts were soon dispelled. Running in looking like a scaled down Honey Monster with ants in his pants, his four overs yielded 3 wickets, reduced the skipper to his knees and left two Nazeing batsmen gazing forlornly at the sky. Mystery is always a wonderful weapon in a bowlers armoury - Jony had it in swathes.
Alas Crusaders failed to press home the advantage. Wajih rotated his bowlers, with some success, but the Nazeing skipper, having survived a first ball edge, into and out of Day's normally so reliable gloves, looked fairly comfortable and found solid support from the 70 year old Burns at number 11. With the arrival of bowling sensation Jony on the scene, it was with some sadness that we witnessed perhaps the final deliveries of Johnny G. In a spell that seemed to last an eternity, but was in fact an incomplete over of 4 deliveries, G Man eventually feigned a muscular injury, thus enabling the game to finish before twilight set in. Dave discarded the gloves (incidentally Spud immediately snared a stumping) and grabbed himself two wickets, but Nazeing held firm, closing on 166-9 from 45 overs - a fair result for a game played in good natured sporting spirit.
SUNDAY JULY 20TH NORWOOD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 20/07/2014
NORWOOD 227-7 (Mike Taylor 5-36) CRUSADERS 159-10 (Jagdesh Singh 42) NORWOOD WON BY 68 RUNS
Big hitting during the final nine overs of their innings carried Norwood to an imposing 227-7 at the close of 40 overs. Crusaders once again failed to capitalise on a sound start, requiring 110 from the final twenty overs. Unfortunately nobody was able to stick around for any length of time and we folded to 159 all out inside 30 overs.
SUNDAY JULY 13TH SUTTON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 13/07/2014
SUTTON 158 ALL OUT (Harpreet Singh 3-34) CRUSADERS 159-9 in 39.3 OVERS.CRUSADERS WON BY 1 WICKET
An unbeaten partnership of 34 for the last wicket, between Mike Taylor and Sonu Singh saw Crusaders home in an exciting finish at Cheam Road. Having bowled out Sutton on a slightly damp wicket for 158, Crusaders found it equally tough, with only Wajih and Nita at the top of the order making worthwhile contributions. It was left to the wagging tail to carry us home, with Spud and Harpreet starting the recovery that was finished by Mike and Sonu
SUNDAY JULY 6TH DOWNE -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 06/07/2014
DOWNE 188 ALL OUT (Spud Whale 4-37) CRUSADERS 190-6 (Wajih Rehman 65) CRUSADERS WON BY 4 WICKETS
Crusaders recorded their first win of the season, after restricting Downe to 188 all out, when at one stage a score of 200+ looked more likely. A well constructed 65 from Wajih was the backbone to a solid response. He was well supported by Aman Singh (30) on debut and double figure contributions from Goldie, Damon, Nick, Lucky and Sonu, that ensured the target was surpassed with 9 balls to spare
SUNDAY JUNE 29TH NAZEING COMMON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 29/06/2014
NAZEING COMMON 181-2d in 36 overs CRUSADERS 147-8 in 39 overs MATCH RESULT DRAWN
SUNDAY JUNE 22ND OLD WILSONIANS -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 22/06/2014
OLD WILSONIANS 169-9d in 33.2 overs (Spud Whale 3-8) CRUSADERS 128 all out in 31.5 overs MATCH RESULT OLD WILSONIANS WON BY 41 RUNS
SUNDAY JUNE 15TH BEECHWOOD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 15/06/2014
BEECHWOOD 199-3 in 44 overs CRUSADERS 83 all out in 31 overs MATCH RESULT BEECHWOOD WON BY 116 RUNS
WEDNESDAY JUNE 11TH MEANTIME BREWERY -V- CRUSADERS 20/20 MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 11/06/2014
CRUSADERS 118-7 in 20 overs MEANTIME BREWERY 56 all out in 14.4 overs (Harry Singh 2-12, Jabir Sarwar 2-9) MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 62 RUNS
SUNDAY JUNE 8TH HARTFIELD -V CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 08/06/2014
HARTFIELD 204-7 in 42 overs CRUSADERS 186-8 in 38 overs (Wajih Rehman 59, Chand Channa 46) MATCH RESULT DRAWN
THURSDAY JUNE 5TH ASHBURNHAM ARMS -V- CRUSADERS 20/20 MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 05/06/2014
CRUSADERS 106-5 in 20 overs (Jabir Sarwar 25*) ASHBURNHAM ARMS 63-8 in 20 overs MATCH RESULT CRUSADERS WON BY 43 RUNS
SUNDAY JUNE 1ST OFFHAM -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 01/06/2014
OFFHAM 294-6 in 40 overs CRUSADERS 100 all out in 25.1 overs MATCH RESULT OFFHAM WON BY 194 RUNS
SUNDAY MAY 25TH HAYES -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 25/05/2014
HAYES 300-2 IN 39 overs CRUSADERS 88 all out in 26.3 overs MATCH RESULT HAYES WON BY 212 RUNS
FRIDAY MAY 23RD NEWHAM DOGS -V- CRUSADERS 20/20 MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 23/05/2014
CRUSADERS 77 all out in 18.4 overs NEWHAM DOGS 78-3 in 11.3 overs (Imran Fazal 2-17) MATCH RESULT NEWHAM DOGS WON BY 7 WICKETS
SUNDAY MAY 18TH NORTH WEALD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 18/05/2014
NORTH WEALD 186 all out in 39.2 overs CRUSADERS 145-8 in 38 overs MATCH RESULT DRAWN
SUNDAY MAY 11TH MARGATE -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 11/05/2014
CRUSADERS 169-8 in 40 overs MARGATE 173-4 in 32.3 overs MATCH RESULT MARGATE WON BY 6 WICKETS
SUNDAY MAY 4TH CHINGFORD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 04/05/2014
CHINGFORD 194-6d in 49 overs (Spud Whale 3-21) CRUSADERS 178-8 IN 40 OVERS (Chand Channa 51*) RESULT MATCH DRAWN
Crusaders opened the season with a draw at Chingford, with all result possibilities very much alive up to the last few overs.
Chingford won the toss and elected to bat, against a Crusaders team fielding four debutants from the Lucky Singh Cricketing Academy.
Gajinder and Pommie kept the openers pretty well occupied in the opening exchanges, with only the occasional boundary to the short side giving Chingford's innings any impetus. Gajinder made the initial breakthrough, removing the obdurate Blake for a ponderous 12. The rest of Chingford's innings followed a similar pattern to last year's game, with our hosts happy to occupy the crease with out any real attempt to up the scoring rate.
After 49 overs Chingford obviously felt they had got enough, or taken enough time out of the game, declaring at 194-6. Not quite the 56 overs of last season, but still just short of 3 hours in the field for Crusaders and the prospect of having 45 minutes + 20 overs to chase the target.
Crusaders got off to a positive start, with Nita and Spud putting on 46 for the opening wicket. Gajinder fired a quick 23, taking the score to 80 before Spud was victim to a scandalous LBW decision.
Needing about 100 from the final twenty overs, Crusaders were in a strong position, but defensive bowling from Rehman - bowling into the feet - meant runs became hard to come by. A solid fifty from Chand was not enough to get us over the line and a couple of late wickets briefly gave our hosts a sniff of victory. Inspirational Skipper Pommie calmly batted out the final over to ensure Chingford did'nt gain a victory they would have scarcely deserved.
Superb Ton from Wajih cements 6th consecutive victory as Crusaders comfortably see off Blue Star
Date added: 19/08/2013
A majestic innings of 129 from Wajih was the bedrock of a solid score of 222-9 from 40 overs. Blue Star failed to score quickly enough against a tight opening barrage from Pommie and Rizwan, which was backed up by good fielding, throughout. When 40 overs had been completed Blue Star were still 80 runs shy of the target. Full report to follow
Report from Belhus for Sunday's game
Date added: 14/08/2013
Belhus Cricket Club Sunday 2nd XI v Crusaders on Sun 11 Aug 2013 at 2pm
Belhus Cricket Club Lost by 6 Wickets
Match report Electing to bat in this 40-over encounter at North Stifford, Belhus II's made a reasonable start against some accurate bowing. The 1st wicket partnership of Chris Baker and Jim Banner realised 49 before the out-of-form Baker hit one up in the air to be well caught and bowled by Ahmed for 17. Scot Stonham struggled to get going taking 15 balls to get off the mark before departing for a disappointing 8 runs in a stand of 34 with Banner.The much-improved Greg Mendham then arrived at the crease starting to play shots immediately and with Jim Banner now going for his shots too the innings again gathered momentum, the 3rd wicket realising 99 in good time until Mendham was bowled for 59 trying to force the pace. Amit Gohail chipped in with 10 until he was trapped LBW with the final ball of the match to leave Banner undefeated on 102 (his 7th century) as Belhus closed on a disappointing 214 for 3 due to good field placings and tight bowling by Crusaders perhaps some 25 runs light.
In reply, the visitors scored steadily despite the loss of opener Jabeer Sarwar to a good Paul Newton catch off a Stonham long hop. Crusaders' No. 3 batsman A. Rajhal made a brisk 40 despite a very confident appeal for a caught behind off Amit Gohails first ball before he had scored and amazingly wasn't given out!! He was eventually caught behind "again" by Jack Day off George Maidment ). There were two further successes for the home side but Crusaders got home by 6 wickets with 8 balls remaining thanks to Moyse with a chaceless 54 n.o. and Channa who hit an aggressive 71 in a good-spirited game. Young George Maidment with a happy knack of taking wickets recorded 2 for 37 making a total of nine wickets for the weekend. Well done George.
Credit should also go to Mark Winter and Richard Day and all who strive to produce such good wickets at North Stifford as 429 runs were scored for just 7 wickets in 78.4 overs. A big thanks to them.
Run feast at Belhus, as Crusaders record fifth successive win
Date added: 13/08/2013
Bat certainly ruled ball at Belhus on Sunday, as Crusaders recorded a fifth successive win, in a match where 429 runs were scored for the loss of only 8 wickets.
Belhus had no hesitation in taking first use of a good looking wicket, with a fast outfield. The writing appeared to be on the wall for Crusaders, as the openers plundered 32 from the first 4 overs. Gradually the run rate was dragged back to a more manageable rate, with good spells from Azam and Aftab, complimenting good finishes to both Shakil and Mike's opening efforts. Unfortunately our fielding was woeful, with the only highlight, Aftab's well taken return catch to remove Baker for 17.
Post drinks, Belhus started to up the tempo, running quick singles and scoring relatively easily. Despite Belhus' free scoring approach the last 20 overs only yielded 130 runs, with Chand, Spud and Jabs performing well under pressure. Banner 'carried his bat' for a well deserved ton and Mendham added an explosive 59 to leave our hosts to defend 214. Mutterings amongst the 'home supporters' were that it was thirty runs light.
As this was possibly Mike's last game before heading to warmer climes, Wajih offered him the openers berth. Fortunately it was within earshot of Spud, who quickly quashed the ridiculously foolish idea. If we were to score 215 for victory - it would not involve Michael LEE Taylor.
Instead, the tried and tested partnership of Rehman and Sarwar strolled to the crease. Alas for Jabs, a big score against his occasional saturday side was not forthcoming and he was caught at square-leg from an unconvincing pull shot. Wajih and Russell then rattled along at a steady 5 runs an over, taking the score to 74 before Russell (40) was given out caught behind - allegedly for the second time. Wajih followed soon after, playing all around a full-toss for a well made 33. With 126 required at around 6 an over, the game was well set. Moysey was as 'dug-in' as the Viet-Cong, while Chand played a far more careful innings than for some time.
With a fast outfield, any loose bowling was punished and there was enough to keep the score ticking along nicely. Chand was the main contributor to an excellent partnership of 113, though Moysey was by no means dragging his feet. When Chand fell for 71, we required on 19 for victory from 5 overs and Belhus bore the look of a beaten side. There was just enough time for Moysey to pass fifty, before the target was overhauled.
Hobgoblins defeated at Hilly Fields
Date added: 07/08/2013
Crusaders recorded a fourth straight victory on Sunday against Hobgoblin Nomads, but made heavy work of what should have been a more comfortable win.
With Wajih taking a mid-season break, Spud took charge of a team with three debutants. Assad joined Big Brother Ash for a full debut, having appeared only in t20's and 'The Singh Dynasty' extended further, with first games for Jaspreet and Sandhu. Nomads won the toss and elected to make first use of the Hilly Fields track.
The Hobgoblins top order were all capable of playing their shots and if it were not for some tidy bowling from Mr Taylor and the impressive swing of Sandhu, they might well have got off to a far better start. Despite the track appearing a little green, there was very little movement, nor was there any great bounce. It seemed that the quicker you bowled, the less you got out of it.
Sandhu marked his debut with our first wicket, late swing deceiving Cambage (19) and pegging back his off-stump. This brought the dangerous White to the crease (something that I have never read in an opposition report) and the tempo of Hobgoblin's batting increased. Positive running, mixed with some hefty blows, increased the score to 84, before Spud picked up a return catch to remove White for 20. Amid the congratulations for yet another vital wicket taken by Spud, there was some audible chunterings from Mike that 'the world is not a fair place'.
At this point the tide changed dramatically in our favour. Chand claimed 4 wickets in a fine spell of his particular brand of slow bowling (interestingly one of his deliveries did go above the batsman's eyeline) and Spud added a further 2. Jaspreet finished off the tail to leave Hobgoblin Nomads defending a total of 121, having lost their final seven wickets for just 17 runs.
With no Tea interval, we changed straight around, with Assad partnering Moysey at the top of the order. Hobgoblin's openers kept it tight, with only the occasional loose delivery for Assad to punish and the score meandered to 28, before Assad played around a straight one.
Nita and Darren then added a more fluent 57 for the 2nd wicket, taking the score to 85 at the twenty over point. From here the wheels did'nt completely detatch, but there were certainly some loose bolts. Ash completed a 'day to forget' with a first ball duck and then the crowd were enthralled by Danglers and G Man patting back dot ball after dot ball after dot ball....zzzzzzzzz. Apparently much later we won.
Sarwar fifty the backbone of Crusaders victory at Whyteleafe
Date added: 06/08/2013
A measured fifty from Jabs, ably supported by a typically turgid knock from Moysey, laid the foundations for a successful run chase at Limpsfield Chart on Sunday. After a mid-innings wobble, good contributions from Ben (36*) and Pommie (16*) ensured there was overs to spare when Whyteleafe's target of 146 was overhauled.
With a number of absentees, Crusaders were indebted to Mottingham CC for providing a 'Pair of Dads and Lads' in the shapes of Magnus G&B and Glampson J&J. It soon became apparent that the elders had somewhat passed their sell by dates.
After heavy over-night rain Wajih opted to put our hosts in, feeling that the wicket could only improve for batting, as it dried out. Fine opening spells from Pommie and Mr Taylor, put Whyteleafe on the back foot, with Mike removing Carey in his first over. Whyteleafe never really gained any momentum, with Wajih rotating his bowlers and being rewarded by accurate and economic spells from everyone.
From our Family units, Ben added a different dimension to our fielding - I believe it is known as movement - saving at least ten runs as well as pouching two catches. Our other 'Junior' Jake took a wicket and a catch on debut. Meanwhile the Father's contributed 4 runs and 3 dropped catches between them.
At tea Whyteleafe had reached 146-7 from their allotted 40 overs. And what a tea.
Wajih dropped himself down to number 5, allowing Gary to partner Moysey at the top of the order. All seemed to be progressing nicely, until Gary played all around a full-toss and departed for 4, with the score on 18. A combination of uneven bounce and poor shot selection, saw Mo, Jason and Wajih contributing just one run between them and in the space of ten overs we were 22-4.
Jabs negotiated the hat-trick ball and with Moysey providing the ballast, started to build a valuable partnership. The pair added 66, with Jabs gradually becoming more expansive in his strokeplay, while Moysey retreated so far into his shell you could barely see his nose. After Jabs fell for 56, it was left to Ben and Pommie to knock off the remaining 40 runs, with three overs to spare when victory was achieved.
20/20 Victory -v- Meantime Brewery
Date added: 24/07/2013
Crusaders gained a final over victory against Meantime Brewery at Greenwich Park. Set a target of 108, Spud hit the winning single with three balls to spare. Lucky hit a flambuoyant 25 and was well supported by a dashing 26 from Rizwan Khan. Earlier a sound bowling performance restricted our hosts to 106-6 from their twenty overs, Faisal picking up a tidy 2-18 from his three overs. Report to follow
Crusaders win at Sun-soaked Club Langley
Date added: 22/07/2013
A dashing unbroken partnership of 91 between Jagdesh and Chand carried Crusaders to the 155 target set by our hosts Oakhill Taverners. If Oakhill had taken some of the numerous catches offered, the result could have been very different. Full report to follow
Match Report -v- Oakhill Taverners
Date added: 22/07/2013
After Bromley Town were unable to raise a side, Crusaders were indebted to Beckenham's Oakhill Taverners for entertaining us at Club Langley Sports Ground. Crusaders welcomed back Grant Reynolds from Hong Kong, for a guest appearance.
On a scorching day Wajih chose incorrectly and inevitably we found ourselves in the field. The pitch was a good 200 yards from the Club House and with no navigable road, Damon was forced to walk.
With Moysey still nursing a shoulder injury, Mr Taylor was given the benefit of both slope and breeze, in an effort to propel the ball at a speed somewhere consistent with his ridiculously long run up. Shakil opted to come up the hill, hoping for some extra bounce. Despite an uneven appearance, the pitch played remarkably well, with only the occasional low bounce to worry the batsmen. Both opening bowlers completed five overs apiece, with Shakil making the early breakthrough, nipping one back to bowl King, whilst Mike was offering very little opportunity (though I am sure there was every opportunity) to score.
Eadington proved to be the mainstay of Oakhill's innings, playing some meaty drives through cover. From their slow start Oakhill started to up the scoring rate, taking advantage of Grant's four year break from the game. Inevitably our fielding, which had started solidly, started to deteriorate. Jagdesh will certainly need to get himself off to the temple, after a wayward throw was followed, to the complete surprise of the whole team, by a cry of 'Oh Shit' - a sure indication of too much time spent with Sam Singh. Poor ground work turned singles into boundaries and with the opener threatening a big score, it looked at one stage as if we could be chasing 180+.
Chand and Spud took pace off the ball, with Chand picking up two quick wickets and when Damon pouched a catch off Eadington's injudicious reverse sweep, it appeared that we might be into the tail. Following a week when debate raged over the Stuart Broad non-walk incident at Trent Bridge, Crusaders without the benefit of DRS, Hotspot or Snicko, were forced to accept a not out verdict for an obvious edge, that amazingly Damon caught. Whilst Broad charmed the thespian fraternity with his nonchalant stroll down the wicket, Oakhill's bat is unlikely to be collecting any Sporting Oscars for his guilt ridden face.
Some hefty blows from Hudson and Welch carried the total to a respectable 155 and a 'well labelled' tea was taken.
Wajih and Moysey took advantage of anything loose and a fast outfield aided the cause, with Oakhill's openers being picked off for six boundaries in the opening eight overs. As with the earlier innings, scoring became more difficult when pace was taken off the ball. With Wajih and Darren departing in quick succession to the slow guile of Little, Oakhill started to gain the ascendancy. Bowling in tandem with King, the next eleven overs yielded only twenty runs.
Grant finally 'fell on his sword', bringing Chand to the wicket. Jagdesh who had been lullabied to sleep by Grant, was now awoken by the constant jibber jabber nonsense that emits from the ILM. In thirteen overs they added an unbeaten 91, that included a barrage of fours, a medley of dropped catches and a fair share of comical running. The winning runs from Jagdesh also brought up his second fifty for the club. In the end victory was achieved with over two overs to spare, but the result could have been so different if Oakhill had held onto some straight forward catches.
New Opponents for Sunday
Date added: 18/07/2013
Bromley Town are unable to raise a side for Sunday, so we have arranged a fixture against The Oakhill Taverners. Match starts at 2.00pm and is 35 overs duration. Ground address is Club Langley, 2 Hawksbrook Lane, Beckenham, BR3
Old Wilsonians Match report from our opponents
Date added: 14/07/2013
Match report 23rd June
Old Wilsonians’ Sunday Xl 146, Crusaders 90 for 9
This was certainly a day for the youngsters as Joe Jukes, 3 for 24, Josh Lawrence, 3 for 8, Joe Forbes, 2 for 22 and Jack Day, 1 for 18 took all of the nine Crusaders’ wickets to fall, but it was still not enough as the visitors hung on for a draw,
The OW’s had also found runs difficult to come by and had to rely on Billy Woollard (26), Clinton Hibbert (38 n.o) and Azman Shahah (34) to ensure a modicum of respectability.
Unbeaten 88 from Russell Rashal eases Crusaders to victory at Downe. Report to follow
Date added: 08/07/2013
20/20 Revenge against Meantime Brewery
Date added: 08/07/2013
After the debacle of our batting collapse last year, Crusaders bowlers returned the compliment with an impressive all round performance at Greenwich Park. Spud won the toss and was happy to bat (mainly because he only had 3 players). A full eleven was soon assembled, with Gagan Singh pairing Chand as openers. On a pitch of variable bounce, it was soon apparent who had ability and in the case of Chand - who had not. Whilst Gagan played the bowling on it's merits, Chand decided that repeating the same wild swish outside off-stump would, sooner or later accrue him some runs. Several dot balls later and Chand was finally put out of his misery. Gagan soon reached 'retirement', but Crusaders were able to maintain the momentum, with excellent innings from Jagdesh and Jabs. From a slow start runs started to come at a good rate, with the Meantime fielders chasing folornly. At twenty overs we had posted a respectable 135.
Meantime Brewery were never allowed a foothold in the game, with Faz and Waleed bowling tight opening spells. With the pressure to put runs on the board ever increasing, wickets started to tumble. Chand was the pick of the bowlers, helping himself to four wickets as our hosts were hustled out for 44.
Crusaders well beaten at Nazeing
Date added: 30/06/2013
Despite a valiant rearguard action from Lucky Singh (37*) and Spud Whale (34) that put on 59 for the last wicket, Crusaders score of 154 was never going to be enough against a well organised Nazeing Common XI. An century opening partnership laid the foundations and despite Lucky adding two wickets to his run tally, Nazeing reached target with 3 overs and six wickets to spare. Full report to follow.
Crusaders hang on for draw at Old Wilsonians
Date added: 24/06/2013
Pommie and Faz batted out the last ten overs to secure a draw at Old Wilsonians. Earlier in the day, a good bowling performance had restricted the hosts to 146 all out. Full report to follow
Hayes Match Report
Date added: 21/06/2013
After the debacle of 'Singhgate' at North Weald, the skipper wisely trimmed the Singh contingent from six (including Honoury Member Johnny G Singh) down to a more manageable two. Into the mix came Omar Mahmood for debut, along with Aftab and Azam - collectively known as 'The Boots 3'.
Wajih was traditionally late, with Pommie deputising at the toss. Pommie was not to be tricked by any sleight of hand this week and took his own coin with him - perhaps he is not as stupid as he looks. Perhaps mindful of the dismal display at North Weald we asked our hosts to bat.
Moysey and Pommie took the new ball, with both bowlers regularly passing the outside edge and generally making life difficult for the Hayes opening pair. Eventually both openers were winkled out, which brought Hayes best two bats to the crease. With Wajih still awol Hynes and Painting were happy to push the ball into the gaps, creating a sound base for what could have been a formidable total.
Spud and Azam were introduced, with Spud removing the dangerous Hynes and Azam finding a way through the defences of Painting.
The Skip finally arrived and all of a sudden Crusaders, who had looked like a 'rudderless ship' under the Captaincy of Pommie, seemed re-invigorated. The middle order were hustled out, with further wickets for Spud, Azam and Chand and had the tail not wagged, we could have been chasing twenty fewer than the 193 required for victory.
Talk at tea was of the importance of cementing a good opening stand. Moysey summised that we would probably cruise to 120 for 1 and then crumble to 130-8, before mounting a match winning rear-guard action - there spoke a man with 30 years of 'Crusadering' behind him.
The sound base was provided by Wajih and Jabs, with Wajih the early aggressor and Jabs happy to play a supporting role. With the score trundling along at six an over, it appeared to the neutral observer that the game was well and truly in the bag. Jabs fell two shy of fifty, Wajih 9 runs later for a fine 61 and with their demise came a complete power shift. A weak under-belly ranging from Bat 3 -11 was cruelly exposed.
The collapse was not quite as catastrophic as Soothsayer Moyse had predicted and maybe Danglers had not factored in 'The Omar Mahmood' effect to his calculations. Like something out of a Keystone Cops' movie, he accounted for Darren and Azam with comical run outs, setting off for suicidal singles without a word. I am guessing his role at Boots is non Customer Facing.
Hayes, who had kept their spirits up, with little discernible belief that they could get a result, were suddenly galvanised. Keep Omar in and surely he would get all his team-mates out - game won. Alas for Hayes, Omar got himself out, bringing our 'sensible' Vice Captain to the crease - surely that was the end of the drama! Not a bit of it. Chand decided that there was some merit in the Omar tip and run tactic and promptly ran Pommie out.
Spud who had been happily scoring was now scrambling into his pads, realising the likelihood of Aftab batting in a vaguely sensible manner was virtually nil. A slice of humble pie later and the 28 remaining runs had been knocked off with 3 balls to spare, Chand finishing 22 not out and Aftab's winning runs taking him to 14.
Beechwood's Match report from Sunday
Date added: 20/06/2013
Beechwood were just one wicket away from recording a win before they embarked on their annual jaunt to Austria. On an ever-improving afternoon at Orchard Field, the hosts batted first against Crusaders and recorded 159 for 6 at tea, with Morris (40) and Warner (49) getting the lions' share of the runs, although the partnership of Pogose (18*) and McCrea (14*) once again proved handy at the end as they put on an unbeated 30 in good time.
After tea Crusaders played some shots, and were matching the run-rate until the dangerous Sarwar (45) was dispatched by Gramopadhye (3/41), assisted by a fine catch at deep square leg by Morris. The wickets then began to tumble and an unlikely victory was a real possibility, but 10 and 11 stood firm against the unpredictable bowling of Burgess (1/3) and denied Beechwood victory.
A good game once again against a very friendly team, we look forward to another tight encounter in 2014.
Sukhi Singh saves the day at Beechwood
Date added: 18/06/2013
Crusaders looked like a team that had spent most of the previous two days in the pub, as they took the field at an overcast Otford. Decimated by injury and absentees, those hoping for a rest day were drafted back in and we were supplemented to a full eleven by Sukhi and Hurry Singh, who took turns to field.
Pommie called correctly and opted to field, offering Moyse and Taylor the new cherry. It looked like it would be a long and fruitless afternoon, as the Beechwood openers raised fifty with few alarms. Pommie brought himself on and almost immediately got rid of Morris (40) with an in-swinging yorker. With Spud replacing the weary Mike, Crusaders started to get a footing in the game, with the run rate dropping dramatically. A similar ball from Pommie removed the dangerous McLachlan, whilst Spud managed to get one through Hill's defences.
Jabs took over from Pommie and found the perfect line from the 'Horse Field End', regularly dropping it on the slope just outside off-stump - something that Moyse and Singh P seemed incapable of doing. His seven over spell yielded 2 for 23. Inevitably our out-cricket deteriorated as the innings drew towards a close, with too many people willing the clock to 4.30. Pogose and McCrea took full advantage of our lethargy, adopting a tip and run policy to which we had little answer. This enabled Beechwood to raise a score of 159-6 at the tea-time declaration. After an excellent tea, particularly the cup of tea, we set about our reply.
It was 'chalk and cheese' at the top of the order, with the expansive Jagdesh partnering the tedium that is Moysey. Pommie was rightly looking for solidity at the start and Moysey was in no mood to disappoint. Tins of paint were issued to the watching hordes - most opted to watch it dry. Beechwood's opening bowlers made better use of the facilities and with a well set field we struggled to get going. Jagdesh eventually ran out of patience, mis-timing a pull-shot to be caught at mid-on. Chand followed soon after, which brought Jabir to the crease. After a patient start he started to put bat to ball, dispatching anything dropped short. Moysey was next to go out for a valuable 33, offering a return catch to McCrea.
Johnny G offered stout support to Jabs and for a time it looked like we might make a fist of the target. Alas when Jabs holed out to deep mid-wicket for 45 our aspirations moved towards saving, rather than winning the game.
With Beechwood scenting victory, fielders were posted around the bat. Pommie fell to an ill-conceived sweep and Lucky was cleaned up by Morris for 3
Spud joined Damon at the crease and they looked to have weathered the storm, before Gramopadyn found a bit of extra bounce and Dave could only fend it to Silly Point. Mike successfuly negotiated the remainder of the over, leaving Spud the final over to defend. With only a very keen Sukhi Singh to come, surely Spud wouldn't completely miss a straight long hop and get bowled - indeed he did. So with three balls to face Sukhi, resplendent in the smallest 'whites' we could find and protected by a loaned helmet, strode to the crease for his debut Crusaders innings. With a Singh at the crease, the smart money was on a duck. It seems the 'nouveau' Singhs' have a little bit more back-bone and ability than the present crop. An immaculate 'leave' to the first ball he faced bemused the Wicket-keeper and trundled away for a scrambled bye, bringing huge relief to Spud and a return to strike for Mr Taylor. Two balls successfully negotiated and the game ended in a draw, with Crusaders hanging on at 105-9.
Crusaders snatch improbable draw at Hartfield
Date added: 10/06/2013
An entertaining half-century from Shakil, followed by a solid fifty stand between Upkar and Spud enabled Crusaders to set Hartfield a target of 161 for victory. Despite a solid all round bowling performance the target never appeared enough, particularly when Sanders. J came to the wicket. A barrage of lusty blows took Hartfield to the cusp of victory, before he perished to an attempted reverse sweep. With 3.5 overs remaining, 4 wickets in hand and only ten runs required the game was still tilted very much in the home side's favour. Tight bowling from Shakil and Spud ensured that only six runs were taken and a battling draw was claimed. Full report to follow
Crusaders win in style against The Ash
Date added: 10/06/2013
A strong batting display enabled Crusaders to post a daunting 163-5 at sunny Greenwich Park. Chand (28), Omar (25) and Shakil (27) all reached 'retirement' with twenty plus scores also registered by Jagdesh and Waleed. Spud and Waleed ensured that The Ash were never in the hunt with some tight opening bowling, limiting them to 39 runs from the first 8 overs. At stumps The Ash were still 27 runs adrift,
Crusaders record 3rd win of Season at Chingford
Date added: 09/05/2013
Crusaders made wholesale changes from the team that was victorious at Charlatans, for our first visit to Chingford . The Ground was tucked behind houses,circled by picket fencing,bathed in hazy sunshine, cut on a gentle slope and blessed with Master Brew and Spitfire from two handpumps - what more could you want.
In came Ash Mahmood for a Crusaders debut, Aftab, Azam, Spud and a first appearance of the season for the hard-working Mr Taylor. For those that are un-aware, later in the Summer Mike is heading off to Dubai, to escape the appalling terms and conditions of the Teaching profession in this country - we of course wish him well.
Pommie deputised at the toss and was a little perplexed to report that we were fielding, despite not really seeing the result of the toss. It seems that he was either the victim of some sleight of hand from the Umpire or that the opposition skipper worked out that he was a little simple. Chingford's preference was for a time game, with declaration between innings. Little did we know the ramifications of that decision.
With Jabs allegedly stuck at the Blackwall Tunnel approach, we started the game with only 9 players. It soon became apparent that the absentees would not be missed - too much. Pommie and Mike exerted a stranglehold on the scoring, which was never really relaxed, with Chingford lacking any great urgency to make use of the gaps in the field. It took the introduction of Aftab to make the breakthrough, with Jagdesh taking a comfortable catch at Point. The other opener was soon returned, bowled by a 'shooter' from Azam, much to the enjoyment of Dave behind the stumps, who sent him on his way with some cheery comments.
Despite scoring slowly, Chingford were proving resolute in guarding their wickets and the game soon became a war of attrition, with our hosts hell-bent on survival, thus limiting our time to respond. Jabs and Ash finally arrived, but the two extra fielders merely exacerbated Chingford's scoring drought.
Wajih rotated his bowlers, but we entered a third hour of batting with no sign of a declaration. There was a high level of twitchiness amongst the Crusaders fielders, not least Damon, whose stomach had never been deprived of food for such a time. Eventually, with the clock ticking towards 5.20 Chingford's skipper called time, with a late tail-wagging knock from Harborne carrying the total to 170-9. Crusaders had sent down an eye-watering 56 overs, with the pick of her bowlers Aftab who returned figures of 3-34.
Having been fairly lethargic during game time, Damon showed remarkable fleet of foot to get to the tea table. A shame he is not so nimble when it matters. Tea was top quality, though this may have been my perception due to the protracted wait.
With play re-starting at 5.50 and 20 overs at 6.30, we would need to score at about 5.5 runs per over to overhaul our target.
Where Chingford found runs hard to come by, Wajih made it look easy. From the moment the first delivery was pushed to the cover boundary for four the result never looked in doubt. Jagdesh was a little less fluent, struggling to find his timing, but the score raced to 29 in the first 4 overs, before a spooned chance was gratefully accepted at Mid-on. Wajih, who had looked very comfortable, followed soon after, feathering a catch to the keeper for 23.
Debutant Ash joined Jabs at the crease and the score continued to rattle along. Only Jabs and Ash can say whether their late arrival was caused by a queue for traffic or the 'All you can eat Buffet', but either way the hour's absence from fielding duties was an obvious benefit. After piercing the field several times, Ash was next to go, bowled by the perseverant Harborne for 23.
Chingford battled valiantly to stay in the game, but had little answer to the stroke-play of Sarwar and the aggressive hitting of Azam Elahi. In just under 10 of the remaining 14 overs they accumulated the remaining 79 runs required for victory, with Jabir remaining unbeaten on 63 and Azam 36 not out.
Crusaders triumph at Charlatans
Date added: 29/04/2013
Crusaders won a well contested game at Garrison Field by a margin of 41 runs. Batting first, they set Charlatans a target of 181 for victory, with solid contributions from Wajih (59), Nita (24) and Englishman (25). Fine opening spells from Moysey (2-10) and Shakil (2-23) ensured the task was made even more difficult and despite some Charlatans middle-order resistance, Crusaders were always in control. Full report to follow
Crusaders stroll to victory at Hendon & Edgware
Date added: 02/06/2012
Crusaders gained their second win of the season with a comfortable victory at Hendon & Edgware at Mill Hill Park on Sunday. A solid bowling performance restricted our hosts to 145, with an over and one ball unused, when Mr Taylor removed the pre-pubescent number eleven with one of his quicker balls. Victory was achieved with few scares, Wajih making an impressive and untroubled 54 not out and Jagdesh finding some form with a typically robust unbeaten 42.
Our opposition had requested a 1.00pm start and given the journey distance, amazingly we were all assembled in good time for the projected start. Unfortunately our hosts were in far less of a rush to get started. After a lot of faffing about erecting tents and mobile scoreboards, the game eventually got underway.
Hendon & Edgware won the toss and elected to bat on a green wicket. Crusaders attack was spear-headed by the aging pair of Moyse and Taylor, so the opposition must have been licking their collective lips in expectation of a run feast. Moysey worked up to a brisk pace, regularly beating the outside edge, aided by a lively bouncy track. Meanwhile Mike laboured into the wind, with his complete lack of pace allied to that ridiculously long run up, causing the opposition a different set of problems. Each got a wicket as reward for putting the ball in the right areas, with none of the opposition likely to 'die wondering'.
Chand and Pommie filled the middle of the innings with some non-descript bowling, that allowed our hosts to help themselves to some easy runs. Chand decided that he would finally bowl with flight, unfortunately there was no guile to go with it, as a succession of juicy half-volley's were gleefully dispatched. Crusaders were reduced to ten men when Moysey pulled a fetlock trying to stem the flow of runs from Chand's bowling. He then spent the rest of the afternoon pestering Cei for sexual favours.
Eventually the Skip turned to Spud, who perfectly demonstrated the art of bowling straight. With an up-slope just short of a length, Spud found some excessive bounce and just enough turn to put the opposition middle order in a quandary. A devestating eight over spell reaped 5-21, with four victims clean-bowled and the last caught by Damon after he flicked the initial edge up in the air with the aid of his right nipple. This was the second of three catches for 'gloveman White', who seems to be perfecting the art of juggling the first chance and catching the second.
Mike, with one eye on the game and a second on how far reaching Moysey's hamstring strain had gone, completed proceedings removing Hendon & Edgware's embryonic tail, to finish with flattering figures of 3-18. It was interesting to note Mike bowling off his shorter run up in an attempt to look like a 'caring uncle', then delivering the ball significantly quicker than his normal offerings.
The less said about tea the better.
Wajih loaded the top-order with all the quality bats, opting to partner Jabs in the opening berth - Superstar Jabir picked as a specialist batsman for the day. Johnny G worked out that if everyone got 15 we would win - this week he kept that information to himself. Wajih and Jabs got us off to a good start, against a reasonable attack led by the pacy Ali. He claimed the breakthrough with a delivery that swung and bowled Jabs off his pads, with the score on 23.
Nita joined The Skip at the crease and took the score to 81, before Nita was caught for 15 (for the second successive week he had achieved the Johnny G target). This bought master tactician and expert in the bleeding obvious Johnny G to the wicket - for the second successive week he failed to achieve his own target.
What Hendon & Edgware lacked in ability they more than made up for in over- exuberant and frankly quite ridiculous appealing. I think a session reading through the Laws of the Game, with particular reference to Law 36 lbw would be of great benefit. For simplicity a ball that hits the batsman on the leg is not automatically out and even if your whole team screams like banshees it does not make it 'out'.
Jagdesh, having been dropped down the order to find his form, duly delivered in some style. A cursory look at the first ball, was followed by the second delivery disappearing over the long-on boundary for a maximum. In India I believe this is known as playing yourself in.
With Wajih looking relatively un-troubled, although our hosts were guilty of some dropped catches, the score rattled along and the target was reached with nearly ten overs in reserve.
Date added: 02/06/2012
2012 Season finally under way with nail-biting victory at North Weald
Date added: 22/05/2012
After almost relentless rain put paid to any possibility of play in our first four fixtures, Crusaders finally took to the field at North Weald to open their 2012 campaign. Captaincy for the day fell to Pommie and he was first to the ground for an early pitch inspection.
Meanwhile the remainder of the side had assembled in The Kings Head, to sample the delights of fine ale and buxom wench. Alas, the latter was absent. An anxious skipper finally called at 1.45 to find out where his players were and also to report that the pitch 'was like chocolate cake'. This turned out to be the only full sentence uttered all day by our inspirational leader, as he reverted to single word responses, favouring 'good', 'indeed' and 'yes' to cover the majority of questions asked of him.
With Noah and full compliment of animals only vacating the area on Saturday night, there had been no possibility of cutting the outfield and only some brief groundwork on Sunday morning had been completed. Pommie called correctly and elected to put our hosts in - probably the only decent piece of captaincy performed that day.
Crusaders gave a debut to Harry Singh, which took the Singhquota to six for the match. Ravi was late draft for the eleventh spot.
For the second successive season, Moysey seemed none the worse for avoiding pre-season nets, immediately probing away on a good length and also getting some in-swing.
The closed season had seen various optical adjustments made.Moysey was resplendent in new glasses. Ravi had gone one better opting for laser surgery and Nita had been the beneficiary of completely new eyes - unfortunately they were Ravi's. An early indication of success was witnessed with both Moysey and Ravi able to clearly see, Nita not being able to see and dropping an early chance.
It was soon apparent that this was to be no run feast, as anything hit along the floor ran little further than the edge of the square. Sam made the initial breakthrough, with the North Weald opener pushing a ball that held up in the pitch, straight back to the bowler for a straight-forward return catch. Moysey added the next two, both removed by in-swingers and he completed a fine eight over spell for just ten runs.
Harry had a fair bit of trouble finding range,line,length and any other words to describe decent bowling, but when he finally realised he wasn't a fast bowler, he took his maiden Crusaders wicket.
Ravi was a revelation with the ball, picking up two wickets, including a caught and bowled (last season he would have barely noticed the ball coming back towards him).
Spud and Upkar rattled out the tail, with neither Flopsy, Mopsy nor Cottontail able to resist for long.
The North Weald innings tailed off, with the last six wickets adding only nine runs, setting Crusaders what appeared a comfortable 65 for victory.
After a good tea Johnny G rallied the side, sensibly stating that if everyone got ten we would win comfortably. With that simple target in mind, what could go wrong.
Hats off to 'Nine Lives Nita' (13) and Ravi (14) for achieving the prescribed target. Alas the rest fell short, due to a combination of poor shot selection, impatience and a verrrry slow pitch.
With Jagdesh and the G-Man back in the pavilion with only four on the board it was looking bleak. Nita managed to launch one huge six straight down the ground, intermingled with three shots up in the air, that were charitably dropped, until his luck finally ran out when he was trapped in front lbw for 13.
Damon was the first of three run outs, charging down the wicket until he realised 'mid-cake' that his shot had come down next to him and that Pommie was leaning on his bat at the non-strikers end. There was to be only one winner between ball and bulk.
Pommie played a couple of nice drives for two, then decided he was established at the crease and promptly wafted the next ball to point for a simple catch.
Recovery came through Upkar, Sam and Ravi, with Upkar doing well to ignore some un-necessary sledging from North Weald's wicket-keeper.
Eventually Spud joined Ravi and they took the score to 63-8 and victory in sight. One large heave from Ravi, that passed under the bat and bounced over middle stump was met with a brief exchange of calming words in mid-wicket from Spud. The next ball was exquisitely defended, afterall we did'nt need to do anything silly. Ravi was clean bowled from the last ball of the over as he tried to send the ball into Hertfordshire.
Spud was joined by Harry and they managed to scramble a single to level the scores. Harry survived the one ball he had to face and victory was achieved from a squeaky bye.
Crusaders -v- Old Rutlishians
Date added: 02/05/2011
Crusaders began the new season with a Fixture Bureau game against Old Rutlishians, that wasn’t finalised until Friday morning. Social-Secretary and general Club Superstar Jabz, swung into action and with the power of mobile telecommunication we quickly assembled an eleven. Our opponents ply their trade in the Surrey Championship and were originally expecting a visit from Banstead to start their season, so the game was certain to be a test.
Wajih had retained the captaincy and to the amazement of all, was first to arrive at the ground, a full hour before the start time. The rest of the team slowly materialised, with Chand and Mo completing our eleven, after braving the Northern Line.
Old Ruts won the toss and had little hesitation in taking first knock, in what was to be a timed game. The pitch was firm, but with plenty of grass and the outfield a little bumpy, with an inviting short boundary on the clubhouse side.
Pommie and Jabz were entrusted with the new ball and despite Pommie’s first ball disappearing to the boundary, generally bowled well. Debutant Faisal Bhatti made the initial breakthrough, with Pemberton feathering a catch through to Dave behind the stumps. After that Spud and Chand each took wickets, but our hosts had put themselves into a strong position. Riches (Saturday 1st Vice-Capt) had looked relatively untroubled, scoring at a steady pace and having passed three figures he retired. Our fielding that had been reasonable up to about the 25 over point, suddenly started to become shabby, with a number of dropped chances helping Old Ruts to amass 87 runs in the last 8 overs. Pommie returned to the attack to remove Gray for 40 and the Old Ruts skipper was happy to declare, with Crusaders requiring 236 for victory in about two and a half hours.
If we were to get anywhere near the target, it would require patient batting to see off the new ball. The nearest Wajih had come to Nets over the winter was probably a trip to a curtain shop with the Missus – and it showed. A third ball duck was not the start we were looking for. Price and Cooper bowled well for the hosts and Crusaders struggled to make any headway. At 21 overs all thoughts of victory had been extinguished as we crumbled to 51-6. To their credit Old Ruts played to the spirit of the game, introducing some leisurely spin, whilst Crusaders eyed the possibility of salvaging a draw.
A resolute rear-guard action was duly launched by Jabs and The Claw. Whilst Jabs mixed elegant flicks off the pads with some reserved defensive play, John was doggedly dull. The pair added a mind-numbingly dour 49, which occupied 17 overs and all but guaranteed honours would be shared.
Old Ruts returned to pace and almost immediately John squirted one to gully, followed soon after by Day, caught in the same area slashing at a wide ball. Spud, who had been reasonably relaxed scoring the game, now, had to give Pommie a whistle-stop briefing on how to score, before padding up. Fortunately Tabs managed to keep his castle intact, while Uncle passed fifty at the other end and our innings closed on 127-8 from 45 overs.
Date added: 02/05/2011
Date added: 02/05/2011
Crusaders win season opener at Dorking
Date added: 23/04/2011
Crusaders opened the 2013 Season with a first ever visit to Dorking and returned with a comfortable nine wicket victory.
The pre-arranged 1.00pm meet was adhered to by all but Tabs, whose Satnav advised him that he could get from Dartford Crossing to the ground in 5 minutes.
Wajih duly won the toss and after some consideration, followed by the Moral-boosting words - ''We don't want to be rolled over for 50'', decided to field. The decision was doubtless based on our lack of pre-season practise and the fact that several of our players appeared to have been far too regular at the 'All you can eat Buffet'.
The evergreen Moysey was offered the new ball and within three deliveries, he was clutching his shoulder and taking an eternity to return to his mark. Eventually he managed to complete his opening over, even getting a couple to pitch. Shakil was the complete opposite, as he immediately found his range and was causing both batsmen discomfort.
Dorking's openers stuck to their task and battled their way to 30, before Shakil got his reward, with Russel taking a sharp catch low down at Square-Leg. Moysey managed to complete six overs before Debutant Azam Erahi took over. It did'nt take him long to snare his first wicket for Crusaders, with Spud taking a low catch at first slip.
After that it was very much a one-man show, with Tabs sending down an extremely mixed bag of deliveries that contained the odd 'jaffa'. With the run rate hovering around 2 per over, Dorking obviously decided to target what they perceived to be our weak link, but this only brought about a middle-order collapse and a maiden Five wicket haul for Aftab. Spud bowled some very mediocre slow stuff to support Aftab and ensure he had free rein to take as many wickets as he liked.
At 91-8 Dorking were in deep trouble and owed much to some strong hitting from Kelsey (22) and a stubborn show of resistance from Smith (23) to rally them to a score of 141. Chand picked up two wickets late on and Shakil ran out a rather lumbering Pike with a direct hit to complete the dismissals.
After a very good tea, Wajih was joined in the middle by Jabs to pursue our target of 141 for victory. The questions most people wanted answers for were - 'Is Wajih a lapsed user of Grecian 2000' and 'Just how much food is there left in Kashmir after Jabs' visit'.
After a watchful two overs Wajih carried on very much where he had left off last season. A firm believer that nets just make you practice bad shots, Wajih soon launched into the Dorking openers, clearing the in field with some hefty drives. Jabs having had the 'benefit' of a Friday evening net, defended solidly and was happy to watch the 'Asian George Clooney' go about his work. With two of the more 'reluctant runners' in the club occupying the crease, the scoring consisted of boundaries and slowly ambled singles. Wajih passed fifty first, with a knock that contained eight boundaries and he was soon joined by Jabs, whose innings contained six fours and a maximum. Despite teasing Dorking with some aerial shots the pair were relatively untroubled raising an opening stand of 136, before Jabs was sent back lbw for 57 - a bit of 'brotherly love' from Tabs. It was left to Russel to knock off the remaining runs and victory was achieved with nearly 17 overs to spare. Wajih finished unbeaten on 72.
After a quick beer and Tour discussion at the ground, Jabs led a two car convoy to the Red Bar and Lounge in Dorking. Alas a journey of no more than five minutes descended into farce, when John and Co-Pilot Chand decided to follow a random Ford people carrier instead of Jabs. Eventually we reached our destination and some fine ales from Dark Star and Surrey Hills.
Welcome
Date added: 15/04/2011
Welcome to the Crusaders Cricket Club website.
NAZEING COMMON -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 28/07/2006
On a day when Crusaders welcomed a new bowling genius to the ranks,in the jovial figure of Jony Singh, it was a little sad to see possibly the end of the G Man's career with the ball. Able to deliver only 4 legitimate deliveries in a part over that seemed to last an eternity, John saw out the rest of the match as a virtual passenger, struck down by a mystery rib injury.
A hard-hit maiden fifty from Goldie Singh was the highlight of a briskly compiled 218-9dec, with solid support from Wajih (41), Chand (when will he get some brains - out for 49) and welcome runs for Jason (18).
Nazeing found runs hard to come by, with Harpreet and Sonu bowling well up front. Harpreet got the early breakthrough, with Day taking the edged chance behind the stumps, but it was the 'mystery' of Jony Singh that put Crusaders in the driving seat. What could best be described as a Potpourri in bowling Masterclasses followed, as time and again Jony baffled the opposing batsmen, as well as mystifying the majority of his own side. Three wickets in a devestating 4 over spell, ripped the heart from the Nazeing batting line-up and really should have paved the way for a comfortable Crusaders victory. Nazeing had other ideas and although they were never likely to win the game, they played expansively when the bowling allowed and were resolute in defence on the odd occasion we threatened the stumps. After 45 overs Nazeing closed at 166-9 for a well deserved draw.
SUNDAY 1ST MAY CHINGFORD -V- CRUSADERS MATCH DETAILS
Date added: 01/05/2006
Sunday 21st April -v- Chingford at Forest Side
Date added: 21/04/2006
Chingford 274
Team Photo (Vs. Blue Star)
Date added: 04/03/2006
Team Photo (Vs. Blue Star)
Date added: 04/03/2006
New Fixtures for 2017
Date added: 04/03/2006
Test article.
2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Date added: 08/02/2006
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
CAPTAIN - WAJIH REHMAN
VICE-CAPTAIN - JAGDESH SINGH
TREASURER - JOHN GREGGAINS
FIXTURE-SECRETARY - SPUD WHALE
SOCIAL SECRETARY - JAGDESH SINGH