2020 Round Up of the Year
What a strange season we’ve had! Indoor nets last February were going really well with lots of new players looking to impress the new 1st XI captain (Simon Carter), new Chairman, Russ Carter (Simon’s brother), and new Club Captain, Dan Udall (ex-1st XI captain). Then COVID struck and we had to cancel nets after a few sessions. Lockdown started on 22 March and all we could do was wait for news from the ECB while watching recycled SandersteadCCTV videos on YouTube!
We also spent the time wisely, with Russ spearheading a working party taking socially distanced turns to repair, repaint, and renovate our pavilions at the Old Saw Mill and our second ground on “The Rec” next door. It all looked fantastic and we were ready for the season to start. Then we waited. In June, the ECB would let us use outdoor nets, then we could train in groups of 6, and eventually by mid-July we were allowed to play matches - albeit with no changing rooms, no teas and lots of sanitisation breaks.
With a few new players, and a truncated 40 over-a-side league season of 7 games played in regional divisions, we were excited to get cracking. We had a couple of practice matches and then our first league game on 25th July against the mighty, and multi-named, Chipstead, Coulsdon & Walcountians CC (we know them as “Chipshop”). Guess what - after watching a beautiful summer for 3 months, it rained! We won the toss and batted for 25 overs (out of 30) before having to call it a day whilst well-set at 141-7 with Jacko and Longcock just getting going... Fortunately the rest of the season stayed mainly dry (we lost only one more match to rain) and ended up having a really enjoyable season on and off the field with 5 XIs every Saturday, an extended Sunday season, and junior and development XI friendlies for most age groups.
Following 2019’s injury-led relegation, 2020 saw an influx of some quality players but the COVID lockdown meant that league cricket was to be played without promotion/relegation, so we treated the season as a warm up and a chance for the newer players to get into the swing of life at Sanderstead CC under the captaincy of “grandad” himself, Simon Carter. Here’s a summary of how the season went, and who did what.
1st XI
No fewer than 7 new players represented the 1st XI in 2020 - mostly local lads, or players who have recently moved into the area. With only 5 league games going the distance it was all over in a flash, but the way the team gelled together and made the most of the short season was particularly impressive - and despite social distancing, we had some great evenings outdoors - complete with lots of Pilgrim beers! Here are the stats:
The batting was shared around with 6 players totalling over a 100 runs - ideal for a “warm-up” season. Leading the way were George Jackson, Tyler Ward and Jake Scarisbrick with his collection of at least 9 different variations of the dab behind square on the off-side. There was little between the batsmen statistically, however the contrasting styles are perfectly suited to Surrey Championship cricket with Tyler, Jake and Jon Coles building useful foundations for the more aggressive players of Jackson, Stacey, Baumann and Lock to build on. Keep an eye out for Chris Baumann and Jon Coles in 2021 - both are classy players who we didn’t see enough of in the short season. Baumann, in particular, has excellent pedigree as an ex-Aussie Grade 1 cricketer and stints with ECB Premiership clubs Waterlooville and Spencer. He moved house to Sanderstead last winter and lives closer to the ground than anyone else! Bar sales held up nicely….
It was the year of the “jellicopter” as Jonny Longcock developed his trademark batting follow-through and continued to show what a fine all-round cricketer he is turning into. Jonny made useful runs in the lower order with an aggressive approach, and 3 not-outs upping his average. A fine partnership of 90 with George “Jacko” Jackson being the highlight. Jacko himself was unable to bowl much after a side strain in the first league match. This meant he could focus his impressive talents fully to batting and fielding, which he did superbly, and consistently, to be the leading run-scorer with 136 runs - most of them hit with immense power!
Newbie Josh Stacey manages a jazz-club and was available to play mainly due to the lockdown’s closure of the entertainment sector. Jazz’s loss was Sanderstead’s gain as Josh had an amazing debut season with both bat and ball. He dominated the bowling with 14 wickets from his accurate off-spin, whilst also scoring useful middle-order runs when the heat was on and the pace had to be dialled up a bit.
Simon Carter took more of a back-seat than usual in his new role as skipper so he could focus on building a team for 2021. That said, he bowled with his usual economy and picked up 7 wickets. He will no doubt play a bigger role when the serious stuff of league cricket returns in 2021 and the 1st XI look to build on 2020’s new start and look to challenge for promotion to Div 2. Whatever happens, it will be entertaining to watch on Saturday nights, and again on Sunday mornings!
2nd XI
Champions! The 2nd XI finally won something after threatening for a few years. The squad of usual suspects, with newbie Ryan Brotherton, were once again led by Richard “Swings it both ways, and the ball” Key. Here are the stats:
The stand-out performance was from Yohann “Yogi” Branch who amassed 253 runs from just 6 knocks including 2 centuries. Ex-1st XI skipper, Dan “Boomer” Udall, keeps on going and looked to be back at his best in 2020 scoring 177 runs at nearly 30. Newbie Ryan Brotherton was always in the game, whether batting, keeping wicket and occasionally bowling - the 2s will do well to keep him from promotion in 2021!
3 bowlers dominated the 2nd XI stats, and the opposition, with fitness nut Greg “Let’s Gooo” McLean and Matt “Village Vettori” Harris taking 12 wickets apiece with their contrasting styles, and skipper Key as ever chipping in with bat and ball. Matt had a great year, not only did he take some stellar catches, including a diving one-hander that secured the championship, but he was also spotted on the YouTube channel by an England disabilities coach who invited him to train with the squad when lockdown allows. Congratulations Matt!
Check out the last two games, vs Oxted and Sutton, on YouTube as they show the spirit that exists in this team and led to a well-earned championship. Assuming the more, ahem, senior players can keep going in 2021 then promotion surely beckons for Richard Key and his team.
3rd, 4th & Sunday XIs
There were solid campaigns from the 3s and 4s with stand-out performances from Michael Hodsdon (141 runs averaging 70), Simon Clare (121 at 40) and in the 4s, Ian Lemon (141 at 35) and Johnny Knight (114 at 38). Our Sunday XI played friendlies and had an enjoyable season, as ever, with captain Tom Palfrey still the master of manufacturing close games, although the game at Outwood eluded even his match-management skills somewhat as we were beaten by 228 runs after having to chase 301! Notwithstanding this hiccup, runs flowed all season and no fewer than 6 centuries were scored by our Sunday team, with Dev Madapuri bagging 2, and Simon Clare, Simon Porter, Jonny Lock and Tom Palfrey getting one each. As usual, the Pilgrim flowed and many a sunset was observed from the verandah at the Old Saw Mill on Sunday evenings. The cricket side of the club is in rude health and looking forward to a, hopefully COVID free, full season in 2021...
