League/Division News - NELCL

Island Comunity CC retained their North East London League championship crown as they secured the title outright with a victory over local rivals Victoria Park Juniors CC on Saturday (8th August).

After losing the first match of the season to Tower Ravens CC back in the first weekend of May, Island have since remained undefeated all summer in the North East London Cricket League. When they beat Stepney-based London Tigers by 8 wickets on 1st August, they were assured at least a share of the title, but this Saturday's victory over Victoria Park Juniors assures them of the title outright.

"After sharing the title with London Fields last year, it's nice to have it to ourselves now" said Club Secretary Steve Hill. "We've played exceptionally well all season, and apart from the very first game when Ravens got the better of us, we've hardly been pushed close. It's felt quite comfortabe all summer. The lads have done terifficly well."

The final victory of the season came against Victoria Park Juniors CC. Although all the league is always played in a positive and friendly community spirit between al lthe clubs, the rivalry between these two Colts Development Clubs was evident in the amount of friendly sledging going on throughout both innings. But Island's batsmen had the last word as they neared the winning line with plenty overs and wickets to spare: "They don't half talk a lot for a team that's getting battered!" was never a truer statement. After winning the toss, The Juniors had elected to bat at Millfields Park on a very slow and heavy wicket. Openers Joe and Charlie were playing solidly against the well pitched up bowling and punishing anything short until 6' 6" Jack Stollery, whose bowling has really matured this year, took two wickets in two balls. Joe (8) very sportingly walked after fine-edging behind to Joe Tousent with the umpire in two minds then James lost his middle stump next ball from a great full pitched in-swinger to put Stollery on a hatrick. Scott (18) and Charlie (21) steadied the ship a little before Dammika Silva came on as first change to take his usual two wickets, then Australian Kirk Fleming produced perhaps his best spell of off spin all season, destroying Juniors middle order cheaply and finishing with three for 14 off his 6 overs. Batting at no.6, young Rofiqul, just 15 yrs of age and one of the stars of the Tower Hamlets schools' cricket team, showed some of his emerging talent as he put on 26 before moving across his stumps and being bowled behind his legs by Shoyab. Leg-break bowler Ravi Ramanuja bowled Chris for 2, and feeling confident, captain Rob Jones brought on part-time bowler Motiur Rahman who was duly launched for a huge straight six by Hussein, only for him to leave his crease trying to drive the next ball. Fast hand work by Joe Tousent earned Mo a stumping as Juniors lost their final wicket for 146 all out. They had only stayed in for 29 of their allotted 36 overs, and Island were set just over 4 runs per over to win.

Steve Hill was promoted to open the batting and although he fell for a duck in the first over from Rafique to a good catch at point, Island never fell behind the required rate. Steady batting from Mo Rahman (14 off 15 overs) was accompanied by expansive stroke play by New Zealender Paul Stewart (34), and though both fell shortly before the mid-innings drinks interval, Island were already well ahead of the rate and had batting in depth. Charlie took his second wicket in the first over after drinks as captian Rob Jones was caught for 11 but young wicket-keeping all rounder Joe Tousent was in fine form with the bat and accompanied well by Dammika Silva (17*). When Joe was bowled by Scott for 31, Jack Stollery (14*) joined the Sri Lankan at the crease and they comfortably saw Island home with 9 overs and 5 wickets to spare.

Island's season was highlighted by good quality and fast paced run scoring, with both regular openers, Tanjeem Chodhury and Kirk Fleming averaging over 40. Good middle order support from Robert, Mo and Shiplu, all averaging in the mid-30's over the season, gave Island an astonishing rate of 7.5 runs per over across the season, whilst only being bowled out 3 times in 12 games.

But their bowlers weren't without credit either, conceding just 4.8 runs per over across the season, and 10 out of 12 times managing to bowl out the opposition within the 36 overs. Wickets were shared fairly evenly between the bowlers, Ravi Ramanuja's leg spin leading the pack with 15 wickets, but it was Miran the Mullett (Tousif Fiaz) who had a remarkable average of just 8.8 runs conceded for each of his 13 wickets, and that at an economy of just 2.9 runs per over, incredibe for limited over cricket. This included figures in one match of 6 overs, 4 maidens, 2 for 5. He was joined by Kirk, Dammika, Jack, Shiplu, Shoyab and Paul all conceding under 5 runs per over across the season.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Mon Aug 10, 2009

COLONEL SANDERS SHOOTS TIGERS

London Fields vs London Tigers, 18th July 2009, Millfields

London Tigers 136 all out
Ben Sanders 6/15
Arthur Smart 2/15

London Fields 140/7
Karl Lacis 37
Ben Sanders 21*

London Fields win by 3 wickets

A match report can be seen here

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Sun Jul 26, 2009

COACH TAUGHT A LESSON

Island vs Coach & Horses 18th July 2009 at London Fields

Island Community 310 - 4 off 36 overs
Tanjeem Chodhury 120
Kirk Fleming 100
Shiplu Chowdhury 36 not out
Joe Tousent 26 not out
Ibrahim 6-0-39-3

Coach & Horses 160 all out off 31.1 overs
Dammika Silva 6-2-16-3
Shiplu Chowdhury 6-1-24-3
Miran Tousif Fiaz 6-0-16-2

Island Community won by 150 runs

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Sun Jul 26, 2009

TIGERS SNEAK PAST VILLAGE

4th July

In a close encounter between the leagues 2 new sides, London Tigers were narrow victors...

Hackney Village 222 all out

London Tigers 224/6
Tanvir - 74
Ali - 58
Jamil Ahmed - 16

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Tue Jul 7, 2009

RAVENS GIVEN THE BIRD

Tower Ravens vs Island
Saturday 4th July 2009 at Millfields

Tower Ravens 178 all out (33.3 overs)
Island Community 180/2 (22.2 overs)

Island won by 8 wickets

Island's Steve Hill writes...

The match started 45 mins late after a delay due to the home side losing their stumps in last weeks hail storm and sending Island back to the Isle of Dogs to fetch a spare set, giving both sides a bizarre three quarters of an hour for much needed catching practice which didn't help much as both sides put down a series of chances in the ensuing game.

Tower Ravens eventually won the toss and elected to bat.

Nick and Ian put on 28 before Nick nicked one off Paul Stewart's first over to be caught behind by Joe Tousent for 8. Paul B fell in the same way off Miran the Mullett's bowling in the 8th over for 1 closely followed by Ian, bowled by Miran for 24. When Jamie was bowled by Paul for a duck, Ravens were struggling at 49 for 4 but stands of 42 between Ajmal and Irfan (10) then 33 between Arjan and Dennis (14) helped restore some credibility. Ajmal was dropped in the deep by Jack Stollery which proved costly as he went on to score 77 not out, holding together the tail end. A partnership of 45 with Michael (13) for the 8th wicket helped things further, but Island's spinners, Ravi Ramanuja, Kirk Fleming and Tanjeem Chowdhury kept the run rate down. Three run outs proved costly as Ravens eventually finished on 178 all out off 33.3 of their full 36 overs. Paul Stewart, making his 2009 debut after sustaining a broken finger in a pre-season friendly, topped the Island bowling figures with 2 for 15 off 5 overs.
Island's reply got off to a very positive start with Kirk Fleming (45) and Ravi Ramanuja (36) putting on 85 for the first wicket. oth fell in successive overs but Robert Jones and mo Rahman came in and continued the momentum, lifting Island to 138 for 2 at the half-way drinks break (18 overs). It took only 4.2 more overs after the interval for these two batsmen to overtake Ravens total with 13.4 overs spare, Jiones finishing on 44 not out and Rahman on 30 not out. Dropped catches dropped the pressure on Island's in form batsmen and made the win seem more comfortable than it should have been, but a convincing victory nonetheless that lifts Island clear at the top of the N.E.L.C.League, now unbeaten ion 14 games in all competitions.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Tue Jul 7, 2009

WEEKEND RESULTS ON ICE, LARGE ROCKS OF IT

All fixtures last weekend were abandoned after hail struck in spectacular fashion in late afternoon.

The extremely modest Coach & Horses skipper reports from their game Vs. Hackney Village...

Hackney Village 181 all out (36 Overs)
Staz 68
Jon Schnadhorst 4-22

Coach and Horses 50-1 (5.5 Overs)

It started off a lovely day, but by 6.30 the square was under a covering of very large hailstones. In between there was some good batting from Hackney Village, notably their Captain who scored his second fifty this season against us. Unlike the last match where he almost batted alone, this week he was joined by other batsmen who got their nuts to the ground and posted a good total. They only just failed to get to 200 due to some very beguiling bowling by the Coach and Horses Skipper, who in his second match as a new specialist spinner took 4 wickets at the end of the innings, including a hat-trick of wickets(albeit the second wicket was a run out).

181 though was a total that would be defendable, though with a deep batting line up this week, the Coach were confident.So it seemed in the first five overs as the Coach raced to fifty for the loss of Ramu. New players Matt and Tom 'No Arms' Dollard showed fine technique.

The weather though was the winner, with one of these newfangled summer storms scuppering a potentially very exciting match. Hackney Village were very happy to gain their first points in the league, and i'm sure that given time there will be many more from them.

The Final note though, must go to Jon Schnadhorst. Since his retirement as a seam bowler, his re-invention as an Off Spin Bowler, has been a revelation. Bowling at a decent pace, the batsman can hear the fizzing of the ball before it pitches, on a length, drawing him forward, before spitting either one way or the other. Born with giant hands, and supple yet mighty fingers, the spins imparted on the ball make it dance and whistle like a thing of absolute beauty. It would not surprise this match reporter if we didn't see a five-for before the end of the season.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Tue Jun 30, 2009, Updated Tue Jun 30, 2009

ISLAND JUMP ON JADED JUNIORS

Island Community vs Victoria Park Juniors
Saturday 21st June 2009
at London Fields

Island won toss and elected to bat.

Island Community CC 286 for 9 off 36 overs
Ravi 62
Miran 54 not out
Mo 44
Kirk 44
Rafique 6-0-40-2
Moynul 6-0-27-1

Victoria Park Juniors 75 all out off 20.1 overs
Charlie Challinor 26
Joe Lawrie 14
Jack Stollery 6-0-34-3
Miran Tousif 6-4 5-2
Shoyab 2-0-4-1

Island won by 211 runs

Island's Steve Hill writes:

A very convincing win for Island to keep them top of the NEL Cricket League against a dispirited Victoria Park Juniors side who seemed, from their very first over not to want to attempt the 8 runs per over run chase.

Island had posted their highest score of the season, despite losing the season's top scorer, Tanjeem Chowdhury, for 12 in the 3rd. Ravi Ramanuja, opening for the first time this season, was joined by Mo (44) to put on a century stand for the second wicket lifting Island to 154 for 2 off 24 overs, Ravi top-scoring with 62. With wickets in hand, Island could afford to push on quickly. Great contributions from Miran Fiaz (54 not out, including 3x Fours, 6x Sixes) and Kirk Fleming (44, 4x Fours, 4x Sixes) saw the run rate raised to almost 8 runs per over in a stand of 78 off just 5 overs. With Island confident of a big score, Kirk, known affectionately as Turkey, was booed by his team-mates after only hitting a 4 off the 4th ball of the 33rd over, the first three balls having been dispatched for three consecutive sixes, but this must have affected the big hitting teacher from George Green's School as Rahat clean bowled him off the next delivery for 44 off 17 balls. When Jack Stollery fell for a first ball, Tanjeem's attempt to draw a duck (instead of entering a simple "zero" in the scorebook) turned out to look more like a schoolboy-style penis and was quickly scribbled out, much to the annoyance of Steve Hill, the very particular, Bill-Frindle-esque regular scorer(!). But Island went on to amass an impressive 286 for 9 of their 36 overs.

"Miran the Mullet"

Juniors reply started badly. Wicketkeeper Scott had been winding up the Island batsmen from behind the stumps throughout their innings and Jack Stollery got revenge in the sweetest way as he forced him to edge the last ball of the opening over to Shiplu at first slip. With opener Charlie still not off the mark, Rafique lifted the score to 19-1 off 6 overs before the other opening bowler Miran the Mullet bowled him with a full toss then took Louis's middle stump out of the ground in a double wicket maiden. In the very next over, opener Charlie scored his first two runs off the bat only for terrible calling and lack of communiction with new batsman James to leavet them both stranded at the non-strikers end as James was pushing for a third run, and a good throw from Shoyab allowed Island's keeper Joe Tousent to remove the bails as Charlie sent James (0) back well short of his ground. Rashed edged two boundaries of Stollery before the tall opening bowler bowled him and then had Jubayed LBW in what would have been, except for an unfortunate wide off the last delivery, a second double wicket maiden for the Island opening bowlers, who had reduced the VP Juniors to 29 for 6 in the 9th over. A partnership of 22 between Charlie Challinor and Joe Lawrie (14) brought relief as the Juniors passed their lowest ever score of 47, but the "pudding thrower bowlers" they were hoping for never materialised as each of Island's supporting bowlers took a wicket apiece to finish off Juniors for just 75 in 20.1 overs. The last wicket was off debutant Kharul's first ever ball for the Island team, as Charlie Challinor, who had carried his bat through to the last wicket stand, failed to finish off the innings undefeated. He had scored just 13 off the first 18 overs and after accelerating to 26 off 20 overs, went for an expansive hoyke over mid-on which he top edged and was comfortably caught by Tanjeem Chowdhury. Island won by 211 runs. Miran the Mullet (Tousif Fiaz) took the man-of-the-match award for his 54 not out and bowling figures of 6-4-5-2. Island remain top of the North East London league and on this form look well set to retain their title.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Sun Jun 21, 2009

TIGERS MILKED

Island vs London Tigers
Sat 13th June 2009 at Millfields

Island Community CC 199 for 7 off 36 overs
Dammika Silva 34

London Tigers CC 115 all out off 20.5 overs
Masum 24
Raqib 18
Jamil 14

Island Community CC won by 94 runs

Island's Steve Hill writes...

Island got off to a quick start scoring at 14 rpo to bring up the first 50 within 4 overs for the loss of just Kirk Fleming in the 3rd over. After opening bowler (#1) had gone for 45 off 3 overs, tight bowling from Salman and Sammi and a steady fall of wickets reduced Island from 61-1 to 65-4 then 111-6. Tigers were bowling very well, and on top. The run rate inevitably slowed as Dammika and Ravi sought not to lose more wickets, and put on a steady 59 before the 7th wicket fell at 170. A quick fire 29 off the last 3 overs left Island with a defendable target off 199 off their 36 overs, with Dammika scoring a slow but necessary 34..

London Tigers lost their openers to Miran and Jack Stollery in the first 4 overs. Miran took another 2 wickets in his next three overs and Tigers were looking shaky against the Island pace attack. When Shoyab replaced Stollery (and eventually turned in figures of 5-1-5-1) Tigers began to panic. Some rash charges down the wicket and extravagant stroke play wasn't what was needed against a moderate total requiring a rate of just 5.5 rpo, and a steady flow of wickets inevitably resulted. Not one partnership lasted over 12 minutes, and the sacrificing of wickets continued from a demoralised Tigers side. Dammika took the last 3 wickets in his 10 balls to secure Islands man of the match award. It looked like Island won the game through knowing when to score slowly and not give wickets away, as Tigers were eventually all out in the 21st over for 105.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Wed Jun 17, 2009

JUNIORS TAUGHT LESSON

Sat 30th May - Victoria Park Juniors were bowled out for 77 runs and beaten by 8 wickets by London Fields at Millfields. The highlight of the day was Graeme Rodrigo's 43*.

With no clear leader emerging so far, the latest table can be seen here

An excellent match report from VPJ v LF can be found here

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Thu Jun 4, 2009

ISLAND FLATTEN FIELDS

An on form Island CCC beat a shell shocked London Fields... Islands Steve Hill reports:

ISLAND vs LONDON FIELDS 23rd may 2009 at London Fields

Island won toss and put London Fields in to bat

London Fields 252 for 5 off 36 overs
Brock Martin not out 95*
Alec McCrindle Retired (hurt) 45*
Dave Hickey ct Stollery b Fleming 37
Best Bowling:
Dammika Silva 6 - 2 - 19 - 1

Island Community 253 for 4 off 29.4 overs
Tanjeem Chowdhury not out 87
Robert Jones bowled W. Isaac 59
Mo Rahman not out 55
Best Bowling
Simon Lee 5 - 1 - 35 - 1
Will Isaac 6 - 0 - 36 - 1

Island Community won by 6 wickets with 6.2 overs spare

Island's Man of the Match -Tanjeem Chowdhury for bowling J. Lord for 17 and carrying his bat as opener to score a quick fire 87 not out.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Tue Jun 2, 2009

ISLAND STRANGLE HORSES

Result from Island Commuity CC vs Coach & Horses Sat 16th May 2009 at Springfield Park...

Island 176 all out (36 overs)
Robert Jones 51
Shiplu Chowdhury 23
Mo Rahman 21

Coach & Horses 140 all out (34.4 overs)
Peter 42 not out
Ramu 36
Tanjeem Chowdhury 6-1-27-3
Ravi Ramanuja 6-0-41-3
Kirk Fleming 6-2-15-2
Dammika Silva 6-4- 9-0

Island won by 36 runs

At London Fields, London Fields CC beat London Tigers by 6 wickets, a match report can be seen here http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~einhorn/2009/matches/tigers_16_05_2009.htm

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Sun May 24, 2009, Updated Sun May 24, 2009

RAVENS CRUMBLE UNDER TOWERING SIXES

In a thrilling game at London Fields, London Fields beat Tower Ravens with two sixes off the last 2 balls.

TOWER RAVENS - 199 ALL OUT (32.1 OVERS)

Paul B 58
Ian 31
Ajmal 30

Chris Skinner 3/18
Steve Donelan 2/4 (from 6 overs)
Dave Hickey 2/22

LONDON FIELDS - 200 FOR 7 (36 OVERS)

Jason Lord 34
Will Isaac 32
Ben Sanders 27

Ajmal 3/30
Ken 3/40

LONDON FIELDS WON BY 3 WICKETS

London Fields' Arthur Smart writes...

It was Shakespeare who once said that 'To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first' and it's fair to say the great Bard himself would have found further reason to spout appropriately accurate one liners had he born witness to the incredible, nerve wrenching, to-the-wire cricket displayed by London Fields on Saturday.

This was one of those days, one of those rare moments where this game elevates itself beyond its sporting peers. Beyond the smash and grab showbusiness of ninety minutes of football, beyond the technically repetitive, dizzying spectacle of formula one - to a pinnacle of tension only achievable through the peaks and troughs of constantly keenly-contested cricket.

The day started brightly, Fielders collecting steadily around the pub table, eagerly awaiting the start of the NECL proper. The toss was won by Tower Ravens, the pitch cleared of picnickers and toddlers, a new ball produced, run ups marked and after a brief loosening of limbs and an injection of Captain Skinner's own brand of bearded enthusiasm, Simon Lee and Steve Donelan began the day.

Donelan, as ever, produced a lesson in bowling nous, building and maintain pressure through accuracy and changes of pace. At the other end, Simon Lee worked hard to reproduce his usual in-out, wobble-it-all-about swing, but in rightfully pitching the ball up found it largely disappearing over his head or that of square leg's, as the Ravens openers looked to punish both good and bad deliveries alike.

It took the introduction of Taz Miller, bowling flat leg spinners mixed with flatter off cutters to break a solid looking opening partnership, the right handed giant slicing hard to cover point cutting short a 'fence salesman' of an innings (he dealt only in boundaries…?). This wicket buoyed the Fields, Donelan picking up two more with an excellent slower ball and a round the legs straightener which accounted for another dangerously set Raven.

Fields were fielding tightly, battling to contain the often brutal Ravens batsmen, who ruthlessly took all chances offered, and some not, to score with heavy bats and good eyes. But the bowlers continued to chip away, and periods of sustained pressure brought wickets at regular intervals, largely through excellent ground fielding, solid catching and contributions from a flighty Dave Hickey, a seamy Captain Chris Skinner and a sleeves-rolled-down-pace-turned-up Will Issac.

Tower Ravens concluded their innings on a respectable 199 all out, and doubtless went into tea feeling that they had a competitive score to defend.

Fields, having gathered under the London Plane trees to tuck into both open and closed sandwiches, vegetarian mush and cigarettes, could feel satisfied that the strong Ravens batting had been at least partially contained. There was a game to be won.

The child-like figures of the Fielders' opening batsmen Saunders and Teasdale dropped pants and donned pads, and strode off to the middle to face an accurate opening burst from a bandana-ed quick and a tricky left armer. Teasdale, having had an excellent day behind the stumps, looked once more to be settling in for another pretty innings in front of them. However, having clipped behind square leg for four, he miscued his next ball high into the waiting buckets of short cover. This indiscretion brought former captain Dave Hickey to the crease, but in an all too similar manner to the previous wicket he smashed a biblical cover drive and then didn't smash a less than pious straight drive, which cruelly bowled him. Two down and only twenty on the board.

This brought to the wicket Jason Lord, a horse for the course. A man you would want stood next to you in the muddy trenches, if only because he would have brought chocolate digestives. Jason and Ben, although visually from the boundary looking like they were competing in a Dads and Lads match, began to settle. The nuggety pair began late cutting, nurdling and in Jason's case unloading the third best shot of the day, a flat cover driven six, on their way to a foundation partnership of 60 from a patient but squeaky-bum-inducing sixteen overs.

Lord, reacting to encouraging shouts from the boundary to "Get on with it", responded by being bowled for a well compiled 36, an innings that, although it left the Fields run rate worm trailing behind the now required nine runs an over, would go on to further strengthen the cricketing cliché that anything is possible with wickets in hand.

Now, Napoleon Bonaparte once said that 'a leader is a dealer in hope' and with the Fields innings requiring a burst of power Captain Skinner sent forth Alec McCrindle with orders to accelerate and express himself. Alec did just that, setting about the bowling with whippy wrists. Colonel Saunders fell on his sword for a solidly Lordish 30, allowing Will Issac to join Alec in an adrenalin-fuelled partnership, where both stood up to be counted and had the scorer sitting down to do the counting as they battered to all parts and ran between the wickets like thoroughbreds. The Score was up to 120 when Alec mistimed a shot to be caught for a thrilling 26. The game was still on.

Arthur was next to the crease, with more orders to 'just go and have a good time'. Now a series of turning ones into twos with the hyperactive Will Issac is not exactly Arthur's idea of a good time but needs must where knees can't, and along with some straight hitting and a few more agricultural blows to leg Will and Arthur pressed the score on to within 35 of the target with a little more than four overs to go before Smart attempted to drive a ball that should have been cut and was caught by the Bucket again at short cover for a rapid 26. This along with the dismissal of an in the zone Issac for an excellent 35, brought Steve Donelan and Dave 'Taz' Miller to the wicket.

Before I describe the last rites of this game, it is worth noting that Sir Clive Woodward changed the face of English Rugby by endeavouring to do one hundred things one percent better, and however many times we watch Wilkinson's drop goal with kebab in hand at 4am, the contribution of the organised and rigorous administrators to those glorious seconds can never be diminished.

Here was another momentous victory for the ring binder, our razor sharp captain carefully unsheathed the rules and ran onto the pitch to share with the umpire and startled captain the news that if the scores were tied then the side losing fewest wickets would be victor. Now there was a message, a statement of intent, a moment of leadership. As Steve and Taz stood contemplating how they would score the 23 needed from the last two overs with every Raven hovering on the boundary, Skinner was informing the opposition that they would lose if the scores were tied, the Ravens, already rocked by the audacious tenacity of Fields accelerated run chase had now to deal with the beamingly confident Skinner's bravado. It was a mind game of Fergusonesque proportion.

But mind games don't win games, games are won by acts of bravery, by character, by never admitting defeat because you know its not an option. What happened in the last two overs of this game is etched on the memory of every player involved, Steve Donelan and Dave Miller did not go quietly into the night, did not vanish without a fight, they buried half volleys for four through cover, scampered deflections for two, harried the fielders into over throws and gave everything they had till two balls remained. Twelve to win.

Bowling left arm around the wicket the Ravens had reserved their opener to bowl the last over, every fielder prowled the white line of the boundary, their captain made adjustments, their coach laughed heartily as he underestimated the diminutive man from across the Tasman Sea, 'nobody is going to hit dis bowler for two sixes man'.

The second best shot of the day hit its first leaf about three quarters of the way up the straightest of the Plane trees, the bowler watching as it cracked branches and disturbed oblivious crows. The bowler returned to his mark, the captain checked the scoreboard, the captain remembered the rule. The bowler turned at the top of his run. What do you bowl to a batsman with nothing to lose? What could he bowl that would prove too much to put over the fence, a slower ball? A yorker? Would these be too full, would they be cracked back over his head again, a length ball then at good pace? But would he advance down the pitch and cart the ball over midwicket? So many thoughts, too many options, the batsman stood clear headed. The game reduced to its simplest form, watch the ball, hit the ball, win the game.

Not a breath was taken from the moment the bowler began his run, even paced, careful steps, a high arm, a leap to the crease, the release of the ball, it pitches, it is short, Taz is in position. A flash of sunlight from his bat, he spins and falls, the fielder at deep square leg positions himself, but it's in vain. The ball sails beyond and it is done.

Too often sporting feats are over blown, too often the words 'world class', 'epic' and 'historic' are lavished upon feats that in a broader context can rationally only ever be 'quite good'. But on the beautiful sun streaked London Fields on the evening of the 9th of May a feat worthy of new superlatives was forever carved into the annals of cricketing folklore…. It was FanTAZtical.

Scorecard lost in Dolphin circa 4am.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Thu May 14, 2009, Updated Thu May 14, 2009

HORSES TAME TIGERS

London Tigers – 161 all out (35.3 Overs)
Murad 52
Jamil 48
Rocky 36
Mo 3-20
Ian R 2-20

Coach and Horses – 164-4 (33.3 Overs)
Adam A 40*
Mohit 36
James M 26*

Coach & Horses win by 6 Wickets.

Coach and Horses Jon Schnadhorst writes...

Saturday morning brought sunshine to Springfield Park, but unfortunately only 9 London Tigers. Winning the toss, the tigers decided to bat first, on a green, but once again honest looking Springfield pitch. Gone are the days when I would spend the first 20 minutes at Springfield transferring mud from under the bushes by the bench, to fill the holes that the grounds man decided would liven up the game.

A fine opening spell from Mohit (0-7 off 6 overs) and Ian (2-20) brought no wickets, but also few runs, and the runs there were came from lusty edges. They were replaced by Mo (3-25) and a returning Kirk (0-15). Kirk bowled well after a break from cricket and was unlucky not to pick up some wickets, Mo though continued his fine form in picking up 3 wickets.

The runs though were beginning to come more regularly and with some lusty blows the Tigers posted a competitive 161 all out. All in all, with obviously a few of their main batters missing, this was probably 40 runs light of what they would have wanted. Overall we bowled and fielded well, though perhaps we let it drift in the last 10 overs or so.

After last weeks painful run chase, 162 was not a given, even though the Tigers were short. A solid opening stand of 44 of 9 overs by Mohit (36) and Jon S(18) settled some nerves, though 2 wickets in 2 balls added a few nerves, with Dave “The Wicker Man” Willock collecting yet another Jaffa first up, that’s 2 in 2 weeks, though his enthusiasm seems undiminished. Dave started last season with 4 fifties in a row…er….lets not contemplate it!

Phil though showed that he has his nuts firmly attached to the turf with another solid innings, and after being out last week run out, it took a magnificent forward diving catch to dismiss him this week. A season of runs beckons. James (26*) and Adam found themselves together in the 21st over with the score at 90-4, and they then put together an unbroken 74 partnership to calmly see us over the line, some lusty hitting at the end from Adam (40*) put some gloss on a sedate and well timed chase.

All in all, you expect to win games against 9 men, but full credit to the Tigers, they made a good game of it, and made us work for the win, and with 11 men on the pitch they will do well. Once again though we bowled well (without the ridiculous wide count of last week), fielded mostly well, and batted very responsibly, without some of the slogging that saw us buckle at the end of last week.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Mon May 11, 2009, Updated Mon May 11, 2009

VILLAGE PARKED

Hackney Village fell 17 runs short in their run chase against Victoria Park Juniors...

Victoria Park 159 (24.2 Overs)
Sami 28
S Doody 18
J Panton 15

Taro 4-13
Duncan 4-22

Hackney Village 142 (35.3 Overs)
J Panton 2-13
Sami 2-18
Hassan 2-22

Raymond 48
Osgood 39

VICTORIA PARK JUNIORS WON BY 17 RUNS

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Mon May 11, 2009

RAVENS LEAVE ISLAND ALL AT SEA

Tower Ravens 211-9 beat Island 170 all out by 41 runs

Tower Ravens' Michael Biggs writes...

After losing the toss and being put into bat the Ravens openers Nick and Ian gave the team a solid platform reaching 71-1 after 15 overs in spite of some good bowling from the Island new ball attack. However, the middle order could not capitalise and wickets fell cheaply as Ken and Ajmal attempted unsuccessfully to shell the adjacent Lido with their big hits, leaving the Ravens struggling at 115-5. The recovery was achieved thanks to some excellent batting by the elder statesman of the team Elroy who rolled back the years with some vintage cuts and pulls ably assisted by Daryl. It was then left to Michael and James to push the score above 200 with some lusty blows. All in all the Ravens were well pleased with a competitive 211.

Island never really looked likely to threaten this target as the Ravens opening bowlers Ajmal and Michael bowled their 12 overs on the bounce for around 3 an over. With Ken and Nick also bowling well Island were faced with scoring over 10 an over off the last 12 overs with 7 wickets in hand. In the end this proved a bridge too far and Paul ended with a career best 5 wickets as Island threw the bat in a late bid to win the game.

A good game played in good spirits and a good win for the Ravens against one of the defending league champions. Next up for the Ravens, the other defending league champions London Fields who beat as twice last year in two tightly contested games.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Tue May 5, 2009

JUNIORS CRASH COACH

In what seems to have been a very close game, Victoria Park Juniors were narrow victors over Coach and Horses.

Victoria Park 150 (35.1 Overs)
C Challinor 28
J Panton 17
S Doody 17

Khahil 3-26
Mohammed 2-12
Montondo 2-33

Coach & Horses 143 (33.2 Overs)
Jon S 57
Mo 23

C Challinor 2-21
Jubayed 1-17
J Panton 1-17

Victoria Park Juniors win by 5 runs

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Mon May 4, 2009, Updated Mon May 4, 2009

RAVENS TOWER OVER JUNIORS

Tower Ravens kicked off their season with a 25 run victory over Victoria Park Juniors at millfields...

Tower Ravens 209-9 (36 Overs)
Irfan 38
Ajmal 36
Ian 35
Scott 2-29
Jubanyed 2-29

Victoria Park 184-8 (36 Overs)
James 75 not out
Charlie 26
Scott 20
Mike 2-5
Freddie 1-17

Tower Ravens won by 25 runs

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Mon Apr 27, 2009

HORSES PLOUGH THROUGH VILLAGE

League veterans Coach and Horses kicked off the new season with a fine 7 wicket victory over newcomers Hackney Village.

Result Summary:

Hackney Village – 113 All out (24.3 overs)
Staziker 51
Matondo 2-9
Mo 2-17
Sultan 2-13

Coach and Horses – 114-3 (16.5 overs)
Ramu 59
Adam A 35.

Coach and Horses win by 7 wickets

Coach and Horses' ‘Gunther’ Tomic writes...

The first game of the season ended in a clinical victory for the Coach, with new boys Matondo and Khalil hinting that the bowling attack may be further reinvigorated this season. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one to have been surprised to see Jon handing the ball to Matondo for the second over of the game, but it proved an inspired choice as the batsmen were pinned back from ball one. Matondo broke through to take the first wicket and set the team rolling in the season's opener. The new man ended the day with the cracking figures of 2 wickets for 9 runs.

Bowling-wise we had the edge. Sultan was so accurate the batsmen could hardly take a chance against him. He took a couple of wickets when we really needed them, allowing us to slow the run-rate and maintain our stranglehold (3-13). Adam and Jon were all also on the button, and kept things tight. English Ian was deeply unlucky on a couple of occasions when the batsmen were not so much fishing, as doing full-scale impressions of north sea trawlers. Khalil, too, impressed with his SLA bowling.

Then there was Mo. I know that we are all very pleased that Mohammed is back with us, and he produced several highlights of a cracking day, including a jaffa which took the edge and shot between 'keeper and slip for four (a stunning, lifting delivery off a pretty lifeless track) and also on the two occasions when he bowled the batsmen behind their legs (2-17). Ramu took the last wicket, despite - as he said himself - not bowling anything like as well as he can (and will.)

In the field we were keen and efficient, with several members of the team producing at least one excellent example each of outright commitment (the fielding czar can take heart.) The only bats to trouble us were their opener who top-scored and was last out (51) - a very good knock in the circumstances - and the big guy who came in (bemusingly) at number 11. If he'd batted at 4 or 5 he might have had a chance to put some pressure on us and rack up the run-rate.

With both of our regular 'keepers out of action, Andrew deputised and proved himself no mean gloves man, consistently taking the through-ball and snaffling a corking one-handed catch off a thin edge. The lack of a regular keeper could have been our weak spot in this game, but Andrew played an absolute blinder throughout.

The manner of our reply should be a template for the season. The target wasn't massive, but C&H made it in good time thanks to a stylish debut 50 from Ramu, and later, Adam, who added impetus to the chase and ensured that the Coach made a successful start to 2009.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Sun Apr 26, 2009, Updated Fri May 1, 2009

NEW SIDE LONDON TIGERS COMPLETE LINE UP FOR 2009

Fixtures for the NELCL 2009 have been finalised, with London Tigers joining previously confirmed newcomers Hackney Village in the league. We welcome both and wish them the best of luck this summer.

The season starts on 25th April and will see each of the 7 sides playing 12 games.

A full line up of fixtures can be found here

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Wed Feb 18, 2009, Updated Wed Feb 18, 2009

AGM: HIGHLIGHTS

The NELCL AGM was held on Monday 17th, here are some of the highlights...

- Hackney Village have joined the league, replacing Village CC. A big welcome to them!

- Mark Laurie of VPJ becomes league secretary. Paul Turley of London Fields is re-elected treasurer.

- All sides have pledged to submit scores sooner (thanks!).

- There will be no method to separate teams tied on equal points.

- All sides need to pay fees before season 2009 begins.

If you would like a full break down, just get in touch.

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Sat Nov 22, 2008

LEAGUE AGM - 17TH NOVEMBER

The NELCL AGM will be held on 17th November at Pub on The Park in Hackney.

If you are interested in attending or would like more info, please contact us

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Tue Nov 11, 2008

WANT TO PLAY CRICKET?

The North East London Cricket League, is looking for teams to join for the 2009 season.

A view of London Fields, one of four grounds used in 2008

Matches take place on Saturday afternoons and are played in a competitive but friendly spirit. Teams are of a varying ability and squad sizes. You would need to commit to 8-12 games.

If you would like to enter a team or need more information, contact us via the contact section here

Posted by Chris Skinner, Created Mon Oct 13, 2008, Updated Mon Oct 13, 2008

FINAL STANDINGS

All results are now in, you can see the final NELCL 2008 table here

Or, you can look here:

Team	FP	W	T	L	D	TP	RF	RA
London Fields	10	8	0	2	0	16	1979	1300
Island CC	10	8	0	2	0	16	1654	1444
Tower Ravens	10	7	0	3	0	14	1483	1177
Coach And Horses	10	3	1	6	0	7	1127	1412
The Village	10	2	0	8	0	4	1165	1739
Victoria Park Juniors	10	1	1	7	1	3	731	1067