Tag Archives: Ralphie

Sunday Round Up – President’s XI win big. Sunday XI lose but have fun at Oxted

Sunday 7th July 2019
With a number of players who wouldn’t normally commit to a Sunday supporting the President’s Day match, to avoid disappointing others who wouldn’t have otherwise got a game, again we raised two sides with another XI going to Oxted & Limpsfield. Contrasting fortunes for the teams but many positives. Read more

Ten Man Over 40s beaten by Walton

Tuesday 2nd July 2019
Friendly
Stoke D’Abernon Over 40s 138 for 8 (20 overs)
Walton-on-Thames Over 40s 142 for 5 (16.2 overs)
Walton-on-Thames Over 40s won by 5 wickets

The Over 40s resumed their season after a rain-off and an opposition forfeiture and played well in patches but fell to a five wicket defeat. Read more

Sunday Cricket : Two Wins. One run feast, one feast of insanity

Sunday 30th June 2019
Famine to feast again on the availability front and we had numbers to play two Sunday fixtures this weekend, thus avoiding the difficult decision of having to tell a handful of people that they had no game. Plans were hastily changed when the original opposition called an hour after the second fixture was booked to say they couldn’t raise a side; but we found a replacement opposition well known to us selected the sides accordingly. Read more

2nd XI draw with Purley

Saturday 29th June 2019
AJ Fordham Surrey Championship – 2nd XI competition
Purley 2nd XI 280 for 9 (50 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon 2nd XI 177 for 7 (50 overs)
Match Drawn – ‘Winning Draw’ to Purley 2nd XI

Stalemate at The Rec for the second week running as Stoke’s 2nd XI, missing a few players due to unavailability and 1st XI call ups, secured a draw after a lengthy stint in the field. Read more

Stoke Smash I – the Thoughts of Chairman Drew

What an event!

From Monday to Thursday, the rain was pouring down and the ‘Stoke Smash’ organising committee was contemplating a myriad of actions, including postponement, using the astro pitch for the match and renting a dozen gazebos to keep people dry.

As it turned out, Friday benefitted from the combination of a drying wind, a bit of sun and the legendary rapid-draining characteristics of the Stoke wicket and outfield. By evening we had perfect conditions for what turned out to be a splendid evening of entertainment and fund-raising.

The evening commenced with colts training that finished early at 7pm. At 7.15pm two very courageous Under-11 managers led their teams onto the outfield for the official photo shoot.

Hats off to James Cheeseman and Geoff Vinall for agreeing to do this in front of their children!

Two teams of eight each played an entertaining 48 ball innings and the result could not have been much tighter. Having posted a score of 97 runs, Vinall’s Vampires restricted Cheeseman’s Cheetahs to 91 in a last ball thriller. An account of the game from scorers’ table where Richie and Ralphie just about managed to keep up with things can be viewed here : http://www.stokecc.co.uk/2019/06/16/stoke-smash-match-report/

Throughout the match, the father and son combination of Chris and Toby Tarrant provided a humorous commentary, ensuring that every player was rinsed and praised in equal measure.

Batsmen were compulsorily retired on reaching 20 runs and the crowd witnessed some massive hits from Will Gudgeon, Tom Frost, Oli Slipper and Shawn Dyson, plus excellent fielding displays from Justin Jones and Vinall.

Before, during and after the match, sales were very brisk at the bar, the BBQ, the sweet table and the gin stall. An outstanding effort, with the BBQ and gin sales coming in with good revenue figures.

The real fun and games began at 9pm when the auction kicked off. I never cease to be amazed by the incredible generosity and commitment of Stoke parents whenever we hold a fund-raiser.

There were some excellent prizes, topped by Toby Tarrant’s offer of a tour of Global Radio, (his own Radio X, Capital, Heart, etc), including spending some time with Toby during his morning show. Three parents went head to head for this prize and the bids were effectively trebled when he offered each parent a separate tour for the same bid. Another stunner was the winning bid for the 2019-20 Chelsea shirt, signed by the entire squad. The auction was swiftly followed by the raffle where more money was banked.

The party went on till the early hours of Saturday morning, although our DJ, Fia Tarrant, very sensibly switched off her music at 11pm.

It took our treasurer, Rod Thomson, a couple of days to figure out what we had made. After deducting the cost of bar stocks, and burgers etc, the final number that came in made a healthy dent in the outstanding balance of the loan we are still paying off! This will make a huge difference to the club.

If you want to make further donations, or you were unable to attend and would have donated if you could have click here : https://www.justgiving.com/sdacc/donate/

In addition, or alternatively, you can purchase and personalise kit items via our on-line shop : https://teamwear.nxt-sports.com/shop/stokecc

Why buy clothing and kit off the peg in local sport shops when you can personalise your own? All sales generate a small commission for the Club, too.

Special thanks go to the army of helpers who made this happen. There was a large organising committee, the match-planning being a joint effort between Tim Handel, Geoff Vinall, Ian Hopton, Shawn Dyson and James Cheeseman.

The evening saw Colts parents out in force, working on the BBQ, behind the bar, selling sweets, tidying up etc. There are too many names to mention, but THANK YOU ALL – you made it very special for everyone.

Finally, massive thanks are due to all of our members for making the inaugural ‘Stoke Smash’ a night to remember.

Roll on the next one!

Drew





Great Effort by the Sunday XI

Sunday 23rd June 2019
Friendly
Chiswick 229 for 7 (40 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon 213 for 7 (40 overs)
Chiswick won by 16 runs

After Saturday’s League games attention turned to the friendly side of the programme and after a nice chat Chiswick were chosen from those who answered our advert looking for a weaker opposition; we pitched at that level after a couple of defeats last week and a few senior heads away this.

When the first few members of the opposition arrived, all seemed to be set up nicely, then things took a curious turn when the remainder – and majority – were from their Trust League team that contained Middlesex county players and one who had played for Surrey 2nd XI last year. Apparently the Trust game was called off and a chunk of the side originally selected was stood down.

So another ‘League’ game took place and Stoke managed their bowling resources accordingly. Geoff Vinall and Mashood Naeem bowled tidily until opener Sykes took sixteen from one over. Imran joined in the fun and at 57-0 Ben Townsend was given the call. His first was driven nicely for four by Ahmed but the next saw the off-stump bent back. With No.3 Redfern uncomfortable with Townsend’s pace, Stoke went back into friendly mode having made their point. Rory Harris got more overs into him and for the second day running should be pleased with his contribution.

Paddy Wilson was on the field for the first time this season and settled into a nice rhythm. Sykes had reached 65 but couldn’t resist charging at him and was duly stumped by by Rod Thomson who did a great job behind the timbers at short notice.

Redfern departed soon after when he was given caught at the wicket off Andy Butler by his teammate, but the bowlers and fielders stuck to their task and kept the run-rate in check despite Eyre relieving sone of his boredom with some boundaries. The result was a second wicket for Wilson, (8-0-41-2), and a first of two in a comeback spell for Naeem who castled Gandhi.

The total reached 200 when Naeem, (8-1-40-2), picked up the wicket of Eyre, (67 with 14 fours), to a well judged catch by Townsend; Wilson’s extended spell meaning debutant Rob Butler, (brother of), only got the chance to bowl at the death; but he did well having had no cricket since last year and snicked off the visiting captain – and probably their best player if a nice straight six was anything to go by – off the last ball of the innings.

To restrict the opposition to 229 for 7 on a good pitch was a great a effort.

With no volunteers to open with Malcolm Dickson, Ralph Coleman suited up and the chase commenced after Jo delivered tasty supplies. Dickson cashed in on anything loose; and with Coleman nudging the ball around a tidy opening stand of 55 at close on 5 per over formed a nice platform; ended when Coleman was unable to miss the man at mid-wicket.

Stoke fell a little behind the rate after that and lost three more wickets before drinks. Dickson’s knock of 44 with nine fours ended when he was caught by, effectively, a substitute fielder, (we were happy for the opposition to use all twelve players they brought…but ‘sub’ didn’t get a chance to bat or bowl – thanks for coming); Saud Ahmed was given leg before and Thomson was bowled.

Townsend and Rob Butler rebuilt things with a nice stand of 41, and this was enough for the opposition to press the panic button a little early and continue to keep League bowlers on. Townsend had constructed a nice 28 before being caught trying to go over the top; this then left Vinall with the uncomfortable prospect of facing the aforementioned Surrey 2s bowler who took exception to being hit for back to back fours and reverted to his traditional run up that more or less started from the sight screen.

All the Stoke players dealt with this far better than the keeper did, and having failed to bowl little if anything on the stumps his afternoon ended after just three overs; although his replacement – another Middlesex academy bowler – was more than decent for a social Sunday game.

Rob Butler played very nicely for his 29 before holing out looking for a sixth boundary. Vinall followed for 11 soon after when one kept a little low and went through his ‘defences’ and the the game was in danger of petering out as more Trust League standard bowling was deployed.

With Stoke more or less needing snookers, finally the match broke out into something more like what was agreed midweek; Andy Butler, (36 not out with a six and five fours), and Wilson, (18 not out with three fours and a five courtesy of overthrows from the Surrey 2s guy), put together an entertaining unbroken partnership of 60 to close the innings on 213 for 7; sixteen short but in many respects it felt like a win and the collective sense of pride in how we played the hand we were dealt could not be understated.

Next week normal Sunday service should be resumed when Old Ashfordians come to The Rec. If numbers are good, (possible with schools breaking), we will source an additional fixture.

Scorecard : https://sdacc.play-cricket.com/website/results/4061812





Stoke Smash I – Match Report

Friday 14th June 2019
Stoke Smash I
Vinall’s Vampires v Cheeseman’s Cheetahs
Umpires : Drew Patrick and Tim Handel

A separate report on Friday as a whole will appear but here in due course, but here is an account of how the match played out from the scorers’ table courtesy of the Big Bird and Ralphie.

Vinall’s Vampires Batted first…

Over 1
Not a great start as Geoff Vinall departs before the Barmy Army could break into their rendition of “…and Number One is Geoffrey V…” but Tom Frost hit the first maximum of the evening with Justin Jones knocking it around at the other end.

10-1 (1/8)

Over 2
Frost plants two more maximums into the crowd, and with a couple of singles also nudged becomes the first enforced retirement of the evening at 20 not out. Next man Shawn Dyson ends the over with a four and a two.

29-1 (2/8)

Over 3
Klimcke concedes ‘only’ 15 as Jones and Dyson trade boundaries.

44-1 (3/8)

Over 4
Dyson plants Will Frost into the crowd, and then into the car park in successive deliveries. A single then means an enforced retirement.

58-1 (4/8)

Over 5
The first of two, (by rule), from captain Cheeseman starts with a wicket as Harry Nawaz cuts to Oli Slipper. Jones retires after a couple of boundaries meaning two new bats in the form of Fraser Slater and Club Captain James Trower.

71-2 (5/8)

Over 6
Ian Hopton bowls the only over of the match not to contain a boundary as the batsmen garner six from six.

77-2 (6/8)

Over 7
The only runs off the bat to Trower as Slipper concedes just four; Slater unlucky to face one of the better bowlers on the night.

81-2 (7/8)

Over 8
Cheeseman again. A mixed bag, including the wicket of Slater, but not as successful as his previous set as Trower moves to 20, (retired, but leans on his bat at the other end to keep the game moving), leaving Kevin Morgan the last few deliveries – caught off a no-ball off one of them, bowled off the free hit, thus helping to register a nice red-inker.

97-3 (8/8)

INNINGS CLOSED Read more





2nd XI Beat Ripley

Saturday 8th June 2019
AJ Fordham Surrey Championship – 2nd XI competition
Stoke D’Abernon 2nd XI 181 for 9 (55 overs)
Ripley 2nd XI 160 all out (42.1 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon 2nd XI won by 21 runs

A sensational win for the 2nd XI who had the worst of the conditions and were behind in the game for long periods. Read more

Friday 14th June 2019 – Clear Your Calendars for the Inaugural Stoke Smash!

An important message from Chairman Drew:

Dear Members, Supporters and Cricket Lovers!

Click Here then read on : Stoke Smash 2019 Poster

You may need to click on this image to enlarge it depending on what device you are reading this on

Timmy Handel, Kevin Morgan, Geoff Vinall, Shawn Dyson and Ian Hopton have come up with an exciting plan for a fun family evening on Friday 14th June 2019.

The centrepiece will be a 16 over match, commencing at 7.15pm. Geoff Vinall and James Cheeseman, (both U11 Managers), will lead two teams of 8, comprising of a mixture of coaches, managers and senior players.

Each team will only have 8 overs to post a decent score, so the pace will be frenetic and the action will be exciting.

Ralphie will provide off-field assistance as required, possibly scoring but probably directing you to the bar, the auction prizes and the various Stoke media outlets; and the two umpires will be Timmy and myself.

To add to the excitement, live commentary will be provided by the famous father and son combination of Chris and Toby Tarrant.

The purpose of the evening will be threefold…

First, it’s an opportunity for senior players and colts to mingle and for the colts to watch a few of our 1s players going through their paces.

Second, it’s an opportunity for the club to generate some much-needed income that will be used to cover the ongoing costs of running our Club.

Third, it’s a great opportunity to have some fun on a Friday night.

The BBQ will be running and our volunteers will be offering the standard fare of burgers and sausages.

The bar will be staffed and a special range of gins will be available, plus the usual selections of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks. Sweets will be available for the youngsters, (and older people with sweet teeth), along with various baked items. Teas and coffees will also be on sale.

There will be a raffle, featuring several attractive prizes, including bat signed by England and South African greats, and for those more keen on football there will be a 2019 signed Chelsea shirt signed by all the players up for grabs.

Finally, please note that colts training will finish early at 7pm, so that the match can get underway at 7.15pm.

If you are not planning to attend, please ensure that you arrive in time to collect your child, having first signed them out on Timmy’s register.

I look forward to seeing you on the night.

Best wishes,

Drew Patrick
Chairman
SDCC





Sunday XI Win by 99

Sunday 2nd June 2019
Friendly
Stoke D’Abernon 252 all out (38.5 overs)
Allstars of Chichester 153 all out (28.4 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon won by 99 runs

A new poster boy for a Sunday XI match report as Saud Ahmed hit 87 on home debut, (after a second ball duck the previous day on Club debut), to help Stoke post a formidable total that, one player aside, the opposition looked unlikely to chase.

A paucity of oppositions looking for away games this week almost led to us going for an away game, but Chichester, (as we will call them), blinked first, cancelled their pitch hire and announced they were coming to us. Not sure what their reaction would have been had we agreed another game with an alternative opposition(!) but in the end we didn’t have a game without each other and it was a nice spirited match.

Chichester’s opposing captain earned more points by asking to field first making the toss nothing more than a mandatory one to constitute a game, (read the laws!), and what turned out to be a 10-a-side match started just after 2pm.

Moumer Khara and Hamza Hafeez feasted on anything errant and added 47 in just over eight overs before they departed in successive overs for 24 and 19 respectively.

The Stoke total was then given substance by Ben Townsend and Ahmed; the former given a chance to show his growth as a batsman, which he took in full; the latter, (pessimistically – and how wrong we were), to get more of a game after limited opportunity the previous day.

Townsend struck the ball cleanly and with authority and ran well, smashing his previous personal best score for the Club. Ahmed started with a Chinese cut for four, could have been bowled a number of times but connected with anything heading for the stumps to utter bemusement of the opposition – and his team-mates who saw his display the previous day – and seemed to hit the ball anywhere a fielder wasn’t.

A partnership of 84 was ended when Townsend was bowled for 43 from 45 balls faced when deciding which part of Surrey to hit a horrible pie that then rolled. The bowler, Somesh, then picked up Carel Ferreira’s wicket, but not before Stoke’s keeper for the day took out his frustration at South Africa’s performance against Bangladesh on the same bowler, hitting him for a big six and two fours in a quickfire 20 before holing out.

With the field spread, new arrival Alistair McMillan pushed the gaps in a nicely constructed 24. Having the day of his life Ahmed continued with his method and hit a third six to add to his eleven fours before he was stumped 38th over. He faced 80 balls for his runs.

Sameer Khara clubbed a couple of fours of his own, but the innings was over eight balls after Ahmed’s dismissal, J.Holder, (no, not that one), taking three wickets with the first four balls of his 7th over, the 39th of the innings.

Jo restored normality back to Sunday tea preparation and Stoke were fuelled up and ready to defend their total.

Openers Newman and Richardson played nicely against Mashood Naeem and Khara Jnr until Naeem took exception to being hacked off the stumps across the line by the latter and sent him packing with a nasty bouncer next ball that could only be fended off to Ferreira who kept well. (No byes.)

No.3 Bruce joined his captain and advanced the score to 48 by the end of the 10th over; prompting the first bowling changes. The first one was Ralph Coleman bringing on himself and he made a great start as he tailed one through Newman’s defences with his fourth delivery, then next ball he found one to lift from a generally benign but good surface that next man Pike could only glove to Ferreira.

At the other end debutant Malik Rehan bowled a couple of nice overs before a previous shoulder injury returned leaving Stoke a small issue of 4th/5th/6th bowler combinations. Ahmed tried a couple of overs before drinks; but Stoke still had work to do with the board showing 99 for 3 and two batsmen having got themselves in.

The double-change afterwards had the desired effect. Townsend pressured Wallace to punch to Naeem in the covers; Alistair McMillan tempted Medhurst down the track and he was duly stumped; then Townsend, (4-0-21-2), took his 50th career wicket for the Club when he castled Somesh.

Although Stoke had scoreboard control these were important wickets as Bruce was going well at the other end and the asking rate was little more than a run-a-ball.

Clearly worried that he was running out of partners Bruce then played more shots and having finally worked McMillan out, he was then unable to get another sight of him as Khara Jnr was reintroduced in to the attack and he ended the second innings in near identical fashion to the first.

First ball, J.Holder skied to Townsend at point, last man but one Lander played and missed at his first but was bowled by his second; and last man N.Holder was leg-before next ball. Game over more than eleven overs early, Bruce left stranded on 77 not out.

Khara Jnr finished with career best figures of 3 for 25; but five of the seven bowlers used took wickets when called upon to complete a good session the field, made more impressive by the fact that it was a ten man fielding effort.

Sadly the opposition – who in fairness had come a long way – saw the opportunity of an early train combination meaning they shot off before the bar shutters were lifted; but we thank them for providing an opposition for the Sunday side to continue their winning run. Next week our friends the Epsom Methodists come to The Rec.

Scorecard : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/website/results/4055670