There is always an underlying feeling of pride in belonging to a long established organisation with a proud and successful history. It is with this very much in mind, that we warmly commend this Fixture Card to all past and present members and friends of Mill Hill Village Cricket Club, which has now been in existence for 148 years. It is a club with tradition and one which has played no small part in the social life and community of Mill Hill Village, a fact that should give quiet satisfaction to all who have ever been connected with it.

MILL HILL VILLAGE SPORTS CLUB

Burtonhole Lane, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, NW7 1AS

CLUB OFFICERS

President: Peter Jaffe 44 Brook Avenue, Edgware, London, HA8 9XF 07866061392 Chairman: Edward Kelly 27 Gun Lane, Knebworth, Hertfordshire, SG3 6BJ 01438 817650 07802 410485 Vice Chairman: Chalky Cara 49 Clifton Road, Finchley, London N3 2AS 020 8371 0626 07973 669778 Company Secretary: Lawrence Bird 1 St Andrews Close, Flitwick, Beds, MK45 1BG 07763 661611 Club Company Directors Edward Kelly Melvin Cara Richard Downes Peter Jaffe Julian Peel Phil Smith Hon. Treasurer: Daniel Potter White Cottage, Burtonhole Lane, Mill Hill, NW7 2PD 07711 883828 Hon. Social Secretary: Dave Flavell 07852 122473

Routes to the Ground

The ground is situated at the end of Burtonhole Lane just past Finchley Nurseries Garden Centre. Burtonhole Lane is a turn opposite

“The Adam and Eve” pub along The Ridgeway. From Golders Green, Edgware or Mill Hill East Underground Stations, take a

240 bus and alight at the National Institute for Medical Research then walk down the lane and follow the signs.

MILL HILL VILLAGE CRICKET COMMITTEE

Director of Cricket: Phil Smith 3 Garratts Road, Bushey, Herts WD23 4LA (m) 07976 297721 e-mail: phil.smith@ericsson.com

Cricket Secretary & Fixtures: Phil Smith As Above

Clubmark & Membership Secretary: Lawrence Bird 1 St Andrews Close, Flitwick, Beds, MK45 1BG (m) 07763 661611

e-mail: loz1783@gmail.com

Director of Colts Cricket: Richard Downes 16 Aylesham Close, Mill Hill, London NW7 2SF e-mail: richardcdownes@hotmail.co.uk (m) 07736052012

CLUB UMPIRES PANEL Vince Holohan Ian Sutherland* Donald Macleod* Richard Downes * Peter Jaffe* Philip Smith*

* Full Member ECB ACO

CLUB WELFARE OFFICER Edward Kelly

TEAM OFFICIALS

Club Captain: David Overton 07951 369227 E-mail: davidoverton@hotmail.co.uk

2nd X1 Captain: Dave Flavell 07852 122473

E-mail: dflavell@fastmail.co.uk

3rd XI Captain: James Thompson 07786 146444

E-mail: jt1016881@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday 1st X1 League Captain: Marcus Cara 07807 654973 E-mail: marcuscara@hotmail.co.uk

Development XI Captain: Richard Downes 07736 052012

E-mail: richardcdownes@hotmail.co.uk

Use the following web address for the

Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket League. Fixtures, Results, Registration, League news

and Match rules can all be found here.

Details of all opposition club grounds addresses and directions can also be found.

http://www.hertsleague.co.uk/

A brief history of Mill Hill Village Cricket Club

Although Mill Hill Village cricket began officially in 1868, records of the existence of a cricket club in the area are contained in the accounts kept by the incumbent of St Paul’s Church in 1852. There is also reference to a team representing the village against a Mill Hill School XI three years later. The first report of a game in the locality in the Hendon Times was in 1876, when the working men of Mill Hill playing the Hendon Institute of Working Men. In those early years Mill Hill Village were always on the move. Their first home ground was a field opposite the Adam and Eve Public House. By 1887, the Jubilee Year, the fixture between the President’s XI and the club was played at Arran Dene the private ground of the then president, Mr J A Johnson. Further moves followed to the “Donkey Field” near Wills Grove, then Hammers Lane, where St Paul’s Vicarage now stands: on to the foot of Holcombe Hill – at the rear of Bentley’s House, opposite The Forge. During 1908 and 1910 a rift in the club caused a parting of the ways and the formation of two Mill Hill clubs. The Village remained at Holcombe Hill until 1914, whilst Mill Hill CC made their headquarters at Bunns Lane where they remained, until falling out of existence in the early part of this century. Officially renamed Mill Hill Village Cricket Club in 1922, a new ground was found for the club at picturesque Nan Clarke Lane. Here began an era of fine cricket from a great side until the ground was commandeered for military purposes in 1940. During the war years, the Village became a wandering side again before a final move to what has become our permanent home, Burtonhole Lane. There was also another change of name, to Mill Hill Village Cricket and Athletic Club to incorporate the winter activities, football and hockey. In 1968, under the new banner Mill Hill Village Sports Club, came the Centenary celebrations. The Village is a club that has grown up in an area that still retains the rustic beauty of yesteryear. Within it is a family tradition that has seen successive generations of fathers, sons, cousins and nephews all playing, and wives and sweethearts helping with teas, etc. Perhaps the never changing environment of nature has helped to produce this tranquillity and peace.

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND MATCH FEES

Full Member: Annual subscriptions £120.00 Match Fees: £10.00

5 games or less £20.00 (No annual subs)

Colts: Annual Subscriptions £120.00

Non match playing Colts: £60.00 Colts Match Fees: (in adult games) £5.00

Social Membership: Annual Subs £25.00

All subscriptions are to be paid by the 31st May.

If you wish to split the payment of your annual subs in two parts, please speak to a member of the cricket committee

FIXTURES 2016

Home Fixtures in bold type

Day Date Team Opposition Time

Saturday 23 Apr Friendly North Two 1.30pm

Saturday 30 Apr 1st XI Tewin I 2.00pm

2nd/3rd XI Tewin II 2.00pm

Saturday 07 May 1st XI Shenley Village II 1.00pm

2nd XI Kings Langley III 1.00pm

3rd XI Boxmoor III 1.00pm

Sunday 08 May Dvlpmt Battersea Bandits 1.30pm

Saturday 14 May 1st XI Hertingfordbury 1.00pm

2nd XI Leverstock Green III 1.00pm

3rd XI Southgate Adelaide III 1.00pm

Sunday 15 May Dvlpmt Fives 1.30pm

Saturday 21 May 1st XI Welwyn Gdn City III 1.00pm

2nd XI Redbourn III 1.00pm

3rd XI Berkhamsted III 1.00pm

Sunday 22 May Dvlpmt Belmont & Edgware 1.30pm

Saturday 28 May 1st XI Hoddesdon II 1.00pm

2nd XI North Mymms III 1.00pm

3rd XI Frogmore II 1.00pm

Sunday 29 May Dvlpmt Monken Hadley 1.30pm

Saturday 04 Jun 1st XI Flamstead 1.00pm

2nd XI Cockfosters III 1.00pm

3rd XI Harpenden V 1.00pm

Sunday 05 Jun CVL Boxmoor 1.00pm

Saturday 11 Jun 1st XI Luton Town & Indians III 1.00pm

2nd XI Abbots Langley III 1.00pm

3rd XI Parkfield & Headstone II 1.00pm

Sunday 12 Jun CVL Old Haberdashers 1.00pm

Saturday 18 Jun 1st XI Clifton 1.00pm

2nd XI London Colney II 1.00pm

3rd XI St Albans IV 1.00pm

Sunday 19 Jun Dvlpmt Edgware CC 2.00pm

Saturday 25 Jun 1st XI Ickleford II 1.00pm

2nd XI Northchurch II 1.00pm

3rd XI Bushey III 1.00pm

Sunday 26 Jun CVL Chesham II 1.00pm

Saturday 02 Jul 1st XI Chipperfield Clarendn II 1.00pm

2nd XI Old Minchendenians 1.00pm

3rd XI Northwood Town III 1.00pm

Sunday 03 Jul No Fixture

Friday 08 Jul Club Paddington – T20 5.30pm

Saturday 09 Jul 1st XI Shenley Village II 1.00pm

2nd XI Kings Langley III 1.00pm

3rd XI Boxmoor III 1.00pm

Sunday 10 Jul CVL Ley Hill 1.00pm

Saturday 16 Jul 1st XI Hertingfordbury 1.00pm

2nd XI Leverstock Green III 1.00pm

3rd XI Southgate Adelaide III 1.00pm

Sunday 17 Jul No Fixture

Saturday 23 Jul 1st XI Welwyn Garden City III 1.00pm

2nd XI Redbourn III 1.00pm

3rd XI Berkhamsted III 1.00pm

Sunday 24 Jul CVL Brentham 1.00pm

Monday 25 Jul Tour TBC 2.00pm

Tuesday 26 Jul Tour TBC 2.00pm

Weds 27 Jul Tour TBC 2.00pm

Saturday 30 Jul 1st XI Hoddesdon II 1.00pm

2nd XI North Mymms III 1.00pm

3rd XI Frogmore II 1.00pm

Sunday 31 Jul CVL Cockfosters 1.00pm

Saturday 06 Aug 1st XI Flamstead 1.00pm

2nd XI Cockfosters III 1.00pm

3rd XI Harpenden V 1.00pm

Sunday 07 Aug CVL Redbourn 1.00pm

Saturday 13 Aug 1st XI Luton Town Indians III 1.00pm

2nd XI Abbots Langley III 1.00pm

3rd XI Parkfield & Headstone II 1.00pm

Sunday 14 Aug CVL Harrow St Marys II 1.00pm

Saturday 20 Aug 1st XI Clifton 1.00pm

2nd XI London Colney II 1.00pm

3rd XI St Albans IV 1.00pm

Sunday 21 Aug CVL Finchley II 1.00pm

Saturday 27 Aug 1st XI Ickleford II 1.00pm

2nd XI Northchurch II 1.00pm

3rd XI Bushey III 1.00pm

Sunday 28 Aug Club Presidents Day XI 11:00am

Saturday 03 Sep 1st XI Chipperfield Clarendn II 12:30pm

2nd XI Old Minchendenians 12:30pm

3rd XI Northwood Town III 12.30pm

Sunday 04 Sep Dvlpmt Saints CC 13:30pm

Saturday 10 Sep Club MHV 6 – a – side 11:00am

MHV 1st ELEVEN 2015 SEASON REPORT Mill Hill Village 1st XI secured a 5th successive Promotion and a 4th Divisional title win since joining the Herts League in 2011, to continue the most successful period in the Club’s history in terms of trophies. The league record for the season reads 13 wins, 2 defeats and 3 no results, which was a tally good enough to win the division by a comfortable 48 points. The season started in what is becoming a habitual manner, losing the first match, to a side who ends up getting relegated. The only other defeat came in the last match of the season with promotion and the title already secured. 2015 saw some tinkering with the structure and competition rules. Divisions changed from 20 teams each played once (19 games), to just 10 teams, each played twice, home and away (18 games). Instead of 4 sides getting promoted and 4 sides getting relegated, it is now 2 up and 2 down, with the sides finishing top and bottom moving 2 divisions and the sides finishing runners up or second bottom, moving just 1 division. Apart from the loss of 1 league game from the fixture calendar, this was a positive innovation in most people’s eyes. This change was accompanied by the introduction of a new split format of matches by the Herts League. The first five fixtures are now 50 over a side win/lose matches with no draw possible. The ‘middle’ 9 matches are the traditional 53/47 over games with the draw result still possible. The final 4 games return to the 50 over each variety, such that each opposition team is now played once in each format. Despite a competitive pre-season friendly fixture, the Village seemed completely unprepared for the new season when the first league game rolled around. Wayward bowling and an array of dropped catches, allowed St Margaretsbury to compile an unlikely 237. Naz Asif aside, the batting line up failed to apply themselves against a moderate bowling line up. With a typically attacking and entertaining approach, Naz carried his bat for the entire innings, ending up 135 not out. But he received very little support for his endeavours. The rest of the team could not manage 90 between them, with the 21 extras, being the next highest score. The Village were bowled out 18 runs short of the target. The season got back on track with a comfortable victory against Totteridge Millhillians III. Marcus Cara scored a punchy 99 before chipping one back to the bowler with the milestone in his mind. Better bowling this week meant the 235 total was never in danger. Saahil Mehra (4-28) and Andy Potter (4-21) saw off the opposition, who only managed to get to 128 all out. The next match against Hexton was a non-event. The opposition struggled with availability all season. They turned up with just 9 men, who were promptly bowled out for 62, a target that was chased down within 11 overs. The following game against North Enfield, on the last Saturday of May, was almost as one sided. Having asked the Village to bat, the home side were soon regretting the decision, as most of the batsmen made hay in the sunshine, amassing an imposing 347-7 in their 50 overs. Dan Potter (94), Felix Charles (50), Phil Smith (48) and Naz Asif (40) were among those to profit. The North Enfield openers put on a decent show but once they were dismissed, the innings collapsed fairly rapidly to 165 all out in the 38th over. Another 30 point secured and the Village were climbing up the table. The 1st team hit the top of the table following their 4th successive win, this time against Old Haberdashers, one of the better teams in the Division. It was a game lacking any standout performances. No batsmen managed to score more than 30 runs and no bowler took more than 3 wickets on either side, in the match. Wides top scored for the visitors and this coupled with more dropped catches undermined what was otherwise a decent bowling and fielding display. The visitors were dismissed for 164 in the 43rd over. In reply the Village were wobbling at 87 for 5 before the middle order steadied the ship. It was a nervous watch and a less than convincing batting display but in the end a comfortable victory was secured with 16 overs to spare. Rain over the next two consecutive weekends cost the Village their top spot. The match at Boxmoor was abandoned before the Village even got on the road. This was a real disappointment considering the fine weather on the day and the fact that most other matches were played. The following Saturday, chasing 196 to beat Abbotts Langley II, the Village were 58-0 before the weather intervened. Andy Potter’s (5-30) and Majid Asif’s (4-54) had set up a victory that was denied us.

There followed a run of 9 consecutive wins, punctuated only by another cancellation due to weather, by Hexton, who at this point of the season were making a habit of calling off games at the sight of any dark clouds! It was a run of results that made the title win increasingly more likely and eventually saw it secured with two games still to play. However, it was not without its tight games and close calls along the way The game away at Eversholt at the end of June was a thriller. Excellent bowling from the whole Village attack but particularly Majid Asif (6-29 in 12 overs), reduced the hosts to 156 all out. It was a target that should have been well within range, on a very decent track. The Village reply stuttered along, with wickets falling at regular intervals. 39 for 3 became 76-5 and then 95-7. No one other than Felix Charles (64) was able to hang around and most batsmen were giving away catching chances rather than falling to unplayable deliveries. The momentum was definitely with the Home team until Felix was joined by Saahil Mehra. The pair brought the score within 15 runs of victory before Saahil was bowled for 22. Richard Downes at No.10 followed swiftly, adjudged LBW and the Village were 9 down with only 1 wicket left. During many nail biting overs, Steve Pullen held up his end while Felix painstakingly accumulated the runs needed for victory. The first half of the season was completed with an impressive triumph over Holtwhites Trinibis II. Set 241 to win, the Village top order made easy work of the chase. By the end, 241 looked a meagre total, as it was overhauled with 5 overs to spare and in 11 less overs than it took to compile. Dan Potter (83*) and Naz Asif (62) were the mainstays. The match was notable for an all bowled hatrick by skipper David Overton. 3 consecutive straight yorkers were ideal deliveries to new batsmen whose feet were reluctant to get moving. Next up, a ruthless revenge was exacted for the opening day defeat by St Margaretsbury. Only two bowlers were needed to dismiss the visitors. David Overton finished with 6-38 in 9.5 overs. Saahil Mehra took 4-39 in 9 overs. It then took just 9.2 overs to knock off the 77 runs required, with Naz Asif rattling up 49 in customary quick time. Tea wasn’t even ready and the match was in the bag. Totteridge Millhillians were ‘seen off’ the following Saturday, in an equally unforgiving fashion, with the match also all over before tea. Following miserly opening spells by David Overton (4-28) and Andy Potter (2-28), Naz Asif, got a rare bowl in the absence of both Saahil Mehra and his brother. Figures of 4 for 8 in 5 overs speak of the devastation that he caused with his full and accurate wicket to wicket bowling. The lower order were blown away in rapid time, with the final wicket falling to a stunning catch in the slips by Kudzi Makopa and the opposition were dismissed for just 92. Naz Asif capped an excellent match with 38 rapid runs as the Village lost just 2 wickets in overhauling the meagre total. The Hexton ‘mystery’ rain off then slowed the Village juggernaut temporarily but it was back to business against North Enfield at home, on Saturday 1st August. It took the visitors 45 overs to amass their finishing total of 125. Wickets were shared around on this occasion, with Naz Asif (3-6) and Richard Downes (2-6) probably the pick of the bowlers. It took just 20 overs to chase down the inadequate total but a disappointing 4 wickets were lost along the way. Naz Asif with a typically rapid 33 and Marcus Cara with a thumping 40 not out were the batsmen who carried most of the load. The pitch did not play well and it deteriorated throughout the day. 18 byes in the 2nd innings were testament to this, which made the performance of our own ever reliable wicket keeper even more impressive. Steve Pullen’s faultless display was the 5th occasion during the season on which he managed to remain free from any Byes in the innings. A remarkable feat. The next victory against Old Haberdashers was a second 1 wicket win for the season and was snatched from the jaws of defeat. It was a contest between 1st and 2nd in the league and the final one of the split overs matches for this season. A loss here would have made the final table a lot closer than it ended up being. Despite the pitch being as bouncy as anything the Village has played on in recent years, the 163 target amassed by the hosts, really didn't look to be sufficient. However the Village innings got off to a very shaky start and at 44-4 the game was in the balance. When Marcus Cara (38) and Majid Asif (46) steadied the ship with a 65 run stand, taking the total to 111 for 4, it looked like the Village were back in cruise control but they both fell in relatively quick succession to injudicious shots. This brought about a period of very turgid cricket. Old Habs had slow bowlers on from both ends and very well set fields. The Village lower middle order had trouble rotating the strike and every time someone took on a big shot it seemed to fly in the air to a waiting fielder. 20 runs were scored in 14 overs and three further wickets were lost. At 143-8 the home side were definite favourites. The nervous watching 1st team could not see where the next runs were

going to come from. Cometh the hour, cometh the horse. Saahil Mehra was in at number 9 with a point to prove and he immediately changed the momentum of the game. Two boundaries, one a huge pulled six over the scorebox, brought the Village tantalisingly close to victory. At which point the young home umpire got involved with a 2nd controversial LBW decision of the innings. So the Village were 9 down, still needing 7 runs to win and with No's 10 & 11 at the crease both on nought. Richard Downes brought some calmness to the situation blocking the veteran Habs slow bowler at one end. He was dropped by the keeper having nicked one behind but edges when standing up are never easy. Three consecutive maidens were seen out by the pair and the tension was almost unbearable. Steve Pullen also looked reasonably assured, coping well with the returning opening bowler, mostly in defensive mode but eventually hooking one short ball to within a foot of the boundary for a one bounce four. Two were needed and nails were being chewed. Another pull shot to a short ball was attempted by Steve but this time it ballooned up to mid-on. Racing in to end the match, the catch was spilled low down by the disappointed fielder. Still two to win. The tail enders were firmly stuck at their respective ends but eventually, the chance for a quick single arrived as Steve Pullen pushed a ball into the mid-wicket area. As he was a little slow to set off there was a chance of a run out at the bowlers end but the throw was slightly off target. Steve made his ground but over balanced and fell over as he arrived. In the meantime, the bowler missed the ball and the back-up fielder also failed to gather it cleanly. Seeing the chance of another run to draw level, Rico called for a second. Steve got back to his feet and headed back to the keeper's end. He never looked like making it and in fact he didn't. Swerving to avoid a player on the way and over striding to make his ground, he once again lost his balance and started going down in instalments. By the time he hit the ground, diving full length to reach the crease, the ball was in the wicket keeper's gloves. However Steve had hit the deck too early and was short of his ground by about a metre. Having gathered the incoming throw a couple of feet from the stumps, the Old Habs keeper almost certainly had time to stride over and remove the bails. In the panic of the situation, he inexplicably decided to throw the ball the short distance instead and missed the stumps entirely. Steve, who by now was going through his full repertoire of swimming strokes in an effort to make his ground, managed to scramble up and over the crease to bring the scores level. After the commotion had died down, it was left to the wily old former 1st team skipper Richard Downes to bring up the winning runs with his first scoring shot, a well-timed sweep for 4. It was an exciting and hilarious finish to a relatively low scoring match. The relief following this match carried over to the following Saturday when the Village visited Abbots Langley looking for a win to secure promotion and the Division 6B title with 2 games to spare. Despite a reasonable bowling and fielding display, Abbots amassed a challenging 231-8 in their 50 overs. The first delivery of the Village innings saw the ball smashed high and handsome over long-on, clearing an enormous boundary with ease. Naz was off and running in style once again. No one in the Village line up managed a decisive score but useful contributions came from several sources, notably Naz Asif (30), Phil Smith (45), Marcus Cara (36) and Hassan Shaffique (25). With the match in the balance at 210-7 and the recent tight chases fresh in the memory, Dave Overton strode to the wicket confidently predicting he would be hitting the winning runs to secure the title. Majid Asif (42*) was still at the crease and looked solid and secure. The pair brought home the title in fine fashion without any further alarms. The captain, true to his word, hit the boundary that brought home another title for the Village to celebrate. Which of course they did in some style! Eversholt were blown away in the penultimate game. A poor home pitch was tamed by Dan Potter (63), who was patient and consistent as always and he put on 56 for the second wicket with Jay Nandha (34), who looked more fluent than any other batsman on the day. 181 all out in 44 overs proved more than enough. Eversholt lost their last 9 wickets for just 9 runs, inside 9 overs. The Village opening pair, made full use of the tough batting conditions and less than perfect pitch, both picking up 5 wickets a piece in a devastating display of bowling. Dave Overton's 5-22 in 8.2 overs included an incredible 2nd hatrick of the season. Two caught and bowled wickets in the same spell was also unusual. Once he got the blinkers on and got into his stride Saahil Mehra's return was equally impressive. 5-33 in 9 overs was an excellent return. 4 of the victims were bowled as Saahil managed to get balls cutting back sharply down the hill and clattering into off stump with regularity. With little to play for, Eversholt put up limited resistance as they were dismissed for just 46. On the final day, Holtwhites Trinibis had to win to survive and hope that other results went their way, which in the end they did. Batting first, the Village cobbled together 205 all out from 48.4 overs. Phil Smith top scoring with 45. When the home side were reduced to 127-6, the Village looked well set to end the season with another win.

However, a sixth wicket stand of 61 in less than 10 overs swung the match firmly back into Holtwhites hands, who deserved the victory and were quite rightly delighted to stay up. Once again there were some excellent performances throughout the campaign. It was a golden season for Naz Asif, who was the only centurion in 2016 (135) and the leading run scorer with 524 runs at a phenomenal strike rate and an average of 37.4. He also took 15 wickets in just 41 overs bowled (at an average of 11.2) and ended up with most catches (9) by an outfield player. Not a bad year. Dan Potter was the most consistent batter, scoring 458 runs in five innings less than Naz. His average of 57.3 was good enough to win him the Division 6B batting award from the Herts League. Marcus Cara was the only other batsman to top 300 runs. In the bowling department, skipper David Overton led the way again with 36 wickets, followed by Saahil Mehra with 27 and Majid Asif with 22, at an economy of 3.3 runs per over. Andy Potter’s average of 20 with the bat and 16 with the ball (21 wickets taken), highlight his useful contributions throughout the season. Steve Pullen’s wicket keeping showed remarkable consistency all year long. His glove work continues to be too quick for the odd square leg umpire but 22 catches and 1 stumping is a decent haul and earned him player of the season. Phil ‘Smudger’ Smith picked up the duck award this year, have secured 4 consecutive ducks (3 in the league), just avoiding the dreaded Olympic rings! Defeat in the final game of the season failed to knock the gloss off another impressive and hugely enjoyable campaign for the Village 1st team who will be competing in Division 5B in 2016.

PHIL SMITH

Division 6B - Saracens Herts League 2015

Pl W D L NR Bat Bwl Pen Total

Mill Hill Village 18 13 0 2 3 15 12 - 447

Old Haberdashers 18 10 1 6 1 37 52 - 399

Boxmoor 18 9 0 6 3 22 39 - 361

Totteridge Millhillns III 18 8 3 6 1 43 67 - 360

Eversholt II 18 8 1 8 1 29 61 - 340

North Enfield II 18 7 1 10 0 42 53 - 305

Abbots Langley II 18 5 2 10 1 43 71 - 274

Holtwhites Trinibis II 18 6 1 10 1 31 38 (5) 254

St Margaretsbury II 18 4 2 12 0 37 73 - 230

Hexton 18 7 1 6 3 11 41 (65) 227

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MHV FIRST XI LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGES - 2015 SEASON

Qualification = 4 Innings

Name

Inns

Not outs

Runs

High Score

100s

50s

Average

Daniel Potter 11 3 458 94 0 4 57.3 Naz Asif 16 2 524 135 1 1 37.4 Marcus Cara 13 4 335 99 0 1 37.2 Felix Charles 8 1 201 69 0 1 28.7 Phil Smith 15 3 254 48 0 0 21.2 David Overton 8 3 103 31 0 0 20.6 Andrew Potter 9 3 123 41 0 0 20.5 Majid Asif 11 2 163 46 0 1 18.1 Saahil Mehra 9 1 94 22 0 0 11.8 Richard Downes 4 2 14 9 0 0 7.0 Steve Pullen 6 3 13 6 0 0 4.3

MHV FIRST XI LEAGUE BOWLING & FIELDING AVERAGES - 2015 SEASON

Qualification = 4 wickets / 4 catches

Name

Overs

Runs

Wkts

Econ

Best

SR

Avge

Naz Asif 41.0 168 15 4.1 4 for 8 16.4 11.2 David Overton 158.1 570 36 3.6 6 for 38 26.6 15.8 Andrew Potter 89.5 344 21 3.8 5 for 30 25.9 16.4 Saahil Mehra 120.3 446 27 3.7 5 for 33 26.8 16.5 Richard Downes 45.1 163 9 3.6 2 for 6 30.1 18.1 Majid Asif 122.0 407 22 3.3 6 for 29 33.3 18.5 Marcus Cara 41.1 192 9 4.7 4 for 14 27.4 21.3

Name

Catches

Run Outs

Stumpings

Steve Pullen 22 0 1 Naz Asif 9 0 0 David Overton 7 1 0 Daniel Potter 7 1 0 Phil Smith 7 0 0 Majid Asif 6 0 0 Felix Charles 5 1 0

MHV 2nd ELEVEN 2015 SEASON REPORT

The 2nd team once again enjoyed a good season, welcoming several new players and a few old faces into the team. We were perhaps fortunate to finish second in Division 10A and gain promotion to Division 9B, thanks to a slip up on the penultimate weekend by the 2nd placed team Hitchin IIIs, but we generally performed well throughout the season and ended with 13 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. The new format of 10 teams per division with home and away games against each team and a mixture of 50 over and timed game, combined with bowling restrictions, helped us, with our strong bowling line-up usually providing numerous bowling options. The season started with five 50 over games, the first being against Rickmansworth 3's at home. Rickmansworth were bowled out for 126 in 43 overs, thanks to pressure exerted by all 6 bowlers, with third change bowlers Lee Cara (4-18) and Dave Flavell (3-24) taking the spoils. In reply Lee Crocker (52) and Shash Seem (16) bashed 57 for the first wicket from only 7 overs before a middle order collapse made the game interesting until Zaf Basit (23*) saw us home six wickets down for a winning start. The second game against Chorleywood 3's away also provided some drama, with the Village being bowled out for 132 by an accurate bowling attack on a green wicket with the help of a few 'optimistic' LBW decisions. The bowlers once again showed their worth, with openers Ali Javed and Darshan Raval reducing the home side to 10 for 5 and 37 for 8 before some late resistance took the score to 84 all out. Two wins from two games and we were up and running, but Hitchin 3's brought us down to earth with a bang. In a rain shortened game, Hitchin scored 132 for 8 from 32 overs and we only managed 49 all out against an accurate bowling attack to crash to a resounding defeat. A routine 85 run win against Hatfield and Crusaders IIIs followed before our second big loss of the season, to West Herts III, the eventual league winners. Thanks to limited availability, a weakened batting line up was bowled out for 68, including 3 golden ducks, though our bowlers gained some respectability by taking 5 wickets before our meagre total was overhauled. The mid part of the season was 9 timed games in the traditional 53/47 over format, the first of which was at home vs Holtwhite Trinibis IIIs. Holtwhites won the toss and chose to bowl, but solid batting from Naz Asif, Pete Jaffe and Shahme Farook got us to a decent total of 224 from 50 overs. Early inroads were made but the experienced Holtwhites batsmen proved stubborn and some interesting umpiring decisions lead to a tight game with the final wicket falling in the 48th over. The following week's game away against Flamstead IIs would prove to be very important. On a very wet day, with only one other result in the Division, the eagerness of the opposition skipper to play lead to an unlikely victory. Flamstead were bowled out for 102 from 42 overs with Ajay Bhatia grabbing his first 5 wicket haul and Lee Crocker and Piers Jenkins saw us home in 22 overs for the loss of 3 wickets to somehow put us top of the table after 7 games. Ickleford IIIs ground their way to 164 from 53 overs and what should have been a routine win was again complicated by a middle order slump before Dave Flavell dragged us over the line. A similar game followed against Boxmoor IIs, who also posted a defendable total of 166, no thanks to former Village player Richard 'Egg' Crowther, who was dismissed for 2 by Ajay, who picked up his second five 'Michelle' of the season. Lawrence Bird got us off to a good start as always and Kudzi Makopa smashed a quick-fire 52 before yet another middle order lapse brought Boxmoor back into the game. Shash Seem then rescued us with a belligerent 32, with a run out on level scores just to add the icing on the collapsing cake. At the halfway mark in the season, we were top, but with Hitchin and West Herts breathing down our necks. Rickmansworth away brought Jay Nandha back into the Village fold after a few years away at University and he immediately impressed, opening with Loz in reply to Ricky's 144, followed by Darshan and Pete Jaffe seeing us to a comfortable 7 wicket victory. Chorleywood were also dispatched for a comfortable win the following week to bring us to the crux of the season, with us playing second placed Hitchin, Hitchin playing 3rd placed West Herts, and us playing West Herts over three consecutive weeks. Unusually, our return match against Hitchin saw us missing several key bowlers, leading to Hitchin being put in to bat and posting 252-6 from 50 overs on a road of a pitch, with several dropped catches and a ball hitting the stumps without knocking the bails off proving costly. Loz and Jay got us off to a good start, posting 64 for the first wicket before Loz fell LBW for 11. Jay continued with support from Piers, but started to get cramp and slowed down. Pete Jaffe (33) took over the chase and Jay was finally out for 78 to leave us on 172 for 4, with 81 required from 12 overs. Zaf Basit and Ayush Shah then battened down the hatches to prevent defeat and the innings finished on 206 for 7 but only 6 points gained,

something the Hitchin fielders were happy to remind us of as the innings came to a close. West Herts beat Hitchin the week after while we had our only 10 wicket victory of the season vs Hatfield and Crusaders with Loz and Jay filling their boots. The final game of the top of the table playoff was at home against West Herts, with Jay and Loz getting us off to a decent start but both falling in the same over and only Pete Jaffe putting up any resistance to see us all out for 99. Once again our bowlers made inroads but West Herts reached our total for the loss of 6 wickets. With 4 games to go we were in 3rd place, but all three top teams seemingly had relatively easy ends to the season. Holtwhites Trinibis were our next opponents, and we struggled against their tight bowling, with only Shahme, Murtuza and Darshan looking comfortable. We reached 145 from 46 overs and once again our opening bowlers rose to the occasion, Darshan and Shash reducing Holtwhites to 10 for 4, to bring in Holtwhites best player, who we had to get out twice for the second time in two games, but not before he had scored a match winning 78 to dash what little hope of promotion remained. Strugglers Flamstead conceded the following week and we cruised past Ickleford in the penultimate game of the season courtesy of a Pete Jaffe half century, to find that Hitchin has lost by 8 wickets to Boxmoor , only gaining 4 points, putting us in second place by 2 points. A young Boxmoor side were comfortably beaten by 96 runs in the final game of the season, with Jay scoring another 50 and Ajay and Murtuza picking up five and four wickets respectively. It was another enjoyable and productive season for the 2nd team, gaining the third promotion in five years. Lawrence Bird consistently scored runs opening the innings and was the team's top run scorer with 291, closely followed by Jay Nandha (273 at an average of 54.6), his opening partner for the second half of the season. The middle order batting was less consistent, but Pete Jaffe, Lee Crocker, Zaf Basit, Kudzi Makopa, Darshan Raval and Shahme Farook all made significant contributions when required. Whenever Shash Seem hit the ball it went a long way, but he topped the duck board with 4 ducks. We also welcomed Ayush Shah to the team, who looked good with both bat and ball and in the field. The bowling was consistently excellent throughout the season, with Ajay Bhatia taking 33 wickets, often cleaning up after pressure induced by the excellent work by the opening pair of Ali Javed (21 wickets) and Darshan Raval (19 wickets). The regular trio of seam bowlers were backed up by Dave Flavell, Shash Seem and the spin of Murtuza Amin. The bowlers kept the fielders behind the stumps alert, Zaf Basit taking 13 catches and Pete Jaffe snaffling some excellent slip catches whilst Dave Flavell and Lee Crocker held everything that came their way. Next season we will miss the excellent opening batting of Lawrence Bird and Jay Nandha, but welcome back the eccentric contributions of Sanket Shah....

DAVE FLAVELL

Division 10A - Saracens Herts League 2015

Pl W D L NR Bat Bwl Pen Total

West Herts III 18 15 0 2 1 1 18 - 479

Mill Hill Village II 18 13 1 4 0 8 27 - 425

Hitchin III 18 12 1 4 1 22 30 - 422

Ickleford III 18 8 3 7 0 30 66 - 336

Boxmoor II 18 7 3 7 1 44 66 - 330

Chorleywood III 18 9 2 6 1 14 35 - 329

Hatfield & Crusaders III 18 5 3 9 1 40 72 (5) 267

Rickmansworth III 18 5 0 12 1 33 64 - 257

Holtwhites Trinibis III 18 5 0 11 1 33 67 (10) 250

Flamstead II 18 0 1 14 1 31 75 (20) 96

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MHV SECOND XI LEAGUE

BATTING AVERAGES - 2015 SEASON Qualification = 3 Innings

Name

Inns

Not outs

Runs

High Score

100s

50s

Average

Jay Nandha 6 1 273 78 0 3 54.6 Shahme Farook 3 1 83 47 0 0 41.5 Kudzi Makopa 6 1 123 54 0 1 24.6 Lawrence Bird 13 1 291 50 0 1 24.3 Pete Jaffe 11 1 199 55 0 1 19.9 Lee Crocker 12 1 195 52 0 1 17.7 Zafar Basit 14 4 167 41 0 0 16.7 Darshan Raval 10 1 141 39 0 0 15.7 Dave Flavell 12 3 117 50 0 1 13.0 Shash Seem 8 2 64 32 0 0 10.7 Murtuza Amin 11 1 82 29 0 0 8.2 Ali Javed 6 0 35 12 0 0 5.8 Ajay Bhatia 6 2 23 13 0 0 5.8 Andrew Godfrey 4 4 12 7 0 0 0.0

MHV SECOND XI LEAGUE BOWLING & FIELDING AVERAGES - 2015 SEASON

Qualification = 4 wickets / 4 catches

Name

Overs

Runs

Wkts

Econ

Best

SR

Avge

Lee Cara 12.1 33 6 2.7 4 for 18 12.2 5.5 Shash Seem 22.0 40 6 1.8 3 for 13 22.0 6.7 Darshan Raval 94 214 19 2.3 3 for 8 29.7 11.3 Ali Javed 119.2 260 21 2.2 3 for 10 34.1 12.4 Ajay Bhatia 128.1 420 33 3.2 5 for 11 23.7 12.7 S.Subramanian 33 72 5 2.2 3 for 30 39.6 14.4 David Flavell 80.7 271 17 3.3 4 for 68 28.6 15.9 Murtuza Amin 98 314 16 3.2 4 for 19 36.8 19.6 A.Godfrey 20.3 98 5 4.8 2 for 10 24.6 19.6

Name

Catches

Run Outs

Stumpings

Zafar Basit 13 0 1 Dave Flavell 10 0 0 Peter Jaffe 8 0 0 Lee Crocker 5 0 0 Shash Seem 5 0 0 Lawrence Bird 4 1 1 Ajay Bhatia 4 0 0

MHV 3rd ELEVEN 2015 SEASON REPORT Stevenage V - Away - 9th May 1st game of the season was a trip to Stevenage V who batted first and amassed 200-8 after being in trouble at 63-5. George Leggett (3-38) and Chalky Cara (3-27) were the pick of the bowlers for the Village who let the opposition off the hook after a good start. In reply the Village started slowly and were never in touch with the rate and were eventually all out for 134 with no one even reaching 20 runs. Southgate Adelaide III - Home - 16th May 2nd game of the season ended in a fine victory as the Village 3's batted first and amassed 278-9 with Matt Hawkes (92) and Farzan Dulker Nain (77) the stars of the show with some big hitting and combining for a 100+ partnership. The Village bowling attack started well with Chalky Cara (3-45) picking up the first 3 wickets of the innings. Wickets kept falling at regular occurrences with both Dan Penny (2-17) and Afshin Yazdi (2-28) picking up a couple each and the innings ended at 237-9, a comfortable victory for the Village. Hoddesdon III - Away - 23rd May 3rd game of the season saw the Village put into bat on a slow sticky wicket due to the rainy conditions. Rangan Krishnaswamy (26) and Joe Sheridan (24) had got the Village to 80-2 but a middle order collapse saw them all out for 146 with only Lawrence Bird (37*) showing any real resistance. Hoddesdon were always in control and even though a few wickets went down with Rangan (2-49) and Dan Penny (0-12) impressing from his 9 overs the damage had been done with the bat. St Margaretsbury III - Away - 30th May 4th game of the season saw the Village win the toss and bat first. Wickets fell regularly with a few getting starts but not going on. Only Dan Penny (48*) and Raja Duraisamy (30) really got going and the Village got to 171-9 off their 45 overs. St Margaretsbury started well with their top 2 both making 30's. Dan Penny (3-18) and Rangan Krishnaswamy (2-33) started to make inroads but the opposition managed to get to the total with 3 overs remaining, Potton Town II - Away - 6th June 5th game of the season was an away trip to Potton and the Village were asked to bat first. Piers Jenkins ( 34) had brought up a 50 partnership with opener George Downes before Joe Sheridan (58) and Farzan Dulker Nain (44) had put on a 60 run partnership. Graham Leggett (32*) came in at the end to steer the Village to a decent total of 216-5. The Potton reply started with two quick wickets leaving them 3-2 but they steadied the ship until Joe Sheridan (2-22) had them 157-6. Unfortunately no further wickets came and the total was surpassed in the penultimate over. Tewin II - Home - 13th June 6th game of the season was a home tie. The Village were asked to bat and with both openers gone Phil Smith (78) and Marcus Cara (105) built a partnership to put the home team in a strong position. Matt Hawkes (51) also contributed to the Village finishing their innings on 301-6. The Tewin response never got started mainly thanks to Dan Penny (7-16) and James Thompson (2-30) who ran through the visitors to get them all out for 86. Old Elizabethans III - Away - 20th June 7th game was unfortunately conceded due to lack of players. Cheshunt II - Home 27th June 8th game of the season was a terrible affair. The Village decided to bat on a warm day but the Cheshunt attack was potent and had the ball swinging to bowl out the Village for 44. The reply was swift and the low target was reached for the loss of no wickets in just 5.4 overs. A bad day at the office for the Village. Ware II - Away - 4th July 9th game of the season was at Ware who decided to bowl. Joe Sheridan (28) had started well with Dan Penny (24) also chipping in with some runs. Graham Leggett (20) and then later in the innings Ashish Kanswal (44*) managed to get the Village to 176-8. In reply Ware kept losing wickets in a regular fashion, with George Leggett (3-21) and Chalky Cara (2-29) doing the damage up front, but it was Dan Penny (5-28) who finished with the best figures as the opposition were bowled out for nelson, 111.

Stevenage V - Home 11th July 10th game of the season saw Stevenage bat first and the Village put in another good bowling display. Andrew Godfrey (4-31), Chalky Cara (2-18) and Dan Penny (3-32) doing the damage helped with some good fielding to dismiss the opposition for 96. In reply the Village lost their first wicket in the very first over but George Downes (25*) and Joe Sheridan (65*) built a 100 partnership to ease the Village to victory. Southgate Adelaide III - Away - 18th July 11th game of the season saw the Village put in the opposition as they had previously drawn games after batting 2nd. The plan looked like it had gone wrong as the Village bowlers toiled in the heat and the home side got to 230-2 with only Tommy Smith (2-45) getting in the wickets column. The Village reply started with an early wicket but Piers Jenkins (81) and Shash Seem (40) got the Village innings going. James Thompson (51) had joined Piers at the crease and together brought up a 100 partnership to bring the Village towards the victory total. With the Village needing 7 of the last over James was caught and the innings ended on 229-5, a creditable draw but a chance that had got away for an excellent victory. Hoddesdon III - Home - 25th July 12th game of the season was one where the toss was a crucial one. Thankfully the Village skipper called correctly and asked the opposition to bat. All the Village attack bowled nicely but Majid Asif (5-28) was the star as the opposition were bowled out for 93. James Thompson (29) and Phil Smith (25*) were the batsman to get the Village to the total within 22 overs. St Margaretsbury III - Home - 1st August 13th game of the season and the Village asked the opposition to bat. Lee Cara (2-38), Chalky Cara (3-34) and George Leggett (2-32) were the pick of the bowlers with St Margaretsbury reaching 172-8 off their overs. In truth the Village reply never really got going with only George Downes (20) and Graham Leggett (45) proving any real resistance. If someone could have stayed with Graham it could have been a different outcome but we were eventually skittled out for 124. Potton Town II - Home - 8th August 14th game of the season was a home tie against Potton. Potton won the toss and batted reaching 221 all out with one of their batsmen getting 101*. George Leggett (3-19) and Dan Penny (3-69) were the pick of the bowlers. In reply Piers Jenkins (20) and Matt Hawkes (36) got the Village off to a decent start with a 50 partnership but when they departed wickets started to tumble. Graham Leggett (45) showed his class with James Samarasinghe (25) also playing a decent innings. The Village surpassed 170 for maximum batting points but were all out with a couple of overs to go. Tewin II - Away - 15th August 15th game of the season was away at the lovely surroundings of Tewin. Tewin won the toss and batted first and although they lost an early wicket they managed to get to 100 -1. Then Chalky Cara (6-37) ripped through the Tewin batsmen ably helped by Tommy Smith (2-13) and Tewin were all out for 142. In reply, James Thompson (60*) had started the innings steadily before being able to pick up boundaries regularly. He was joined at the crease by Farzan Dulker Nain (56*) who played nicely growing into some confidence and hitting the big shots. It was left to the skipper to hit the winning runs with consecutive boundaries in the 30th over. Old Elizabethans III - Away - 22nd August 16th game of the season saw the Village up against the champions elect. OE’s won the toss and batted and built partnerships to leave the Village toiling in the field. They reached 203-5 with only George Downes (2-38) troubling the batsman. The reply never really got going with wickets being taken regularly with only Piers Jenkins (45) getting amongst the runs as the Village were bowled out for 161. Cheshunt II - Away 29th August 17th game of the season saw another terrible performance against Cheshunt. The Village were all out for 59 with Farzan Dulker Nain (20) the only one to trouble the scoring. The reply was easy with Dave Knight (2-1) picking up a few in his only over but the target was reached in the 16th over. Let’s hope we don’t have Cheshunt this season! Ware II - Home - 5th September Last game of the season saw Ware visit the Village. The Village lost the toss and were asked to bat. Piers Jenkins (22) and James Samarasinghe (21) had the Village going nicely but when both went and Graham had retired due to injury, the innings lost

impetus. There was a late burst of power hitting from Chalky Cara (22), but the Village were all out for 117. In reply, Ware were comfortable with only Dave Knight (2-11) picking up any wickets as they strode to victory in 21 overs. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable season, with contributions from the majority of the team. Player of the Season went to Dan Penny after his bowling performances and early season efforts with the bat. The skippers pick for player of the season went to Tommy Smith who picked up 7 wickets in his handful of impressive appearances. Top run scorer was Piers Jenkins with a total of 264 runs for the season with Dan Penny picking up the award for most wickets with 25. I should also mention George Downes who did not drop a catch all season whilst on his way to taking 7 catches.

JAMES THOMPSON

Regional Division A East - Saracens Herts League 2015

Pl W D L NR Bat Bwl Pen Total

Old Elizabethans III 17 13 3 1 1 32 25 - 427

Cheshunt II 18 10 2 5 2 32 42 (5) 389

Potton Town II 17 11 1 3 2 20 18 (10) 378

Hoddesdon III 17 9 0 7 2 20 40 - 320

St Margaretsbury III 18 6 1 10 1 66 60 - 316

Southgate Adelaide III 17 6 4 8 0 72 66 - 288

Mill Hill Village III 17 6 1 10 0 51 50 (20) 261

Stevenage V 18 6 0 10 3 24 54 - 258

Ware II 17 6 0 9 2 23 42 (10) 255

Tewin II 18 4 2 11 1 50 60 - 240

MHV THIRD XI LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGES 2015 SEASON

Qualification = 4 Innings

Name

Inns

Not outs

Runs

High Score

100s

50s

Average

Joe Sheridan 5 1 175 65 0 1 43.8 Graham Leggett 7 2 185 45 0 0 37.0 Matt Hawkes 6 0 208 92 0 2 34.7 Piers Jenkins 11 0 264 81 0 1 24.0 F Dulker-Nain 12 1 239 77 0 2 21.7 Dan Penny 12 4 157 48 0 0 19.6 James Thompson 14 1 230 60 0 2 19.0 R.Krishnaswamy 5 0 64 26 0 0 12.8 J.Samarasinghe 4 0 49 25 0 0 12.3 Andrew Teague 4 0 40 17 0 0 10.0 George Downes 13 1 119 25 0 0 9.9 George Leggett 11 6 42 11 0 0 8.4 Chalky Cara 8 2 49 22 0 0 8.2

MHV THIRD XI LEAGUE BOWLING AVERAGES - 2015 SEASON

Qualification = 4 wickets / 4 catches

Name

Overs

Runs

Wkts

Econ

Best

SR

Avge

Dan Penny 111.5 371 25 3.3 7 for 16 26.8 14.8 Dave Knight 27.0 101 6 3.7 2 for 0 27.0 16.8 Chalky Cara 92.0 349 20 3.8 6 for 37 27.6 17.5 George Leggett 85.3 319 16 3.7 3 for 19 32.1 19.9 Tommy Smith 43.0 146 7 3.4 2 for 13 36.9 20.9 R.Krishnaswamy 18.0 90 4 5.0 2 for 33 27.0 22.5 Andrew Godfrey 43.5 159 6 3.6 4 for 31 43.8 26.5 James Thompson 63.2 295 4 4.7 2 for 30 95.0 73.8

Name

Catches

Run Outs

Stumpings

Dan Penny 9 0 0 George Downes 7 0 0 James Thompson 6 1 0 F Dulker-Nain 6 0 1

'The Board' – All games played in 2015 Dropped Catches

Ducks 50's 5-Wickets 100's Hat Tricks

Majid Asif 7 George Downes 5 Danny Potter 4 Dan Penny 7-16 Naz Asif 135 David Overton

vs Holtwhites Trinibis II

Marcus Cara 7 Dave Knight 5 Jay Nandha 3 Majid Asif 6-29 Marcus Cara

105 David Overton

vs Eversholt II

Farzan Dulker Nain 7 Chalky Cara 4 Naz Asif 2 Chalky Cara 6-37

Naz Asif 6 Shash Seem 4 Marcus Cara 2 David Overton 6-38

David Overton 6 Murtuza Amin 3 Felix Charles 2 Ajay Bhatia 5-11

Steve Pullen 6 Farzan Dulker Nain 3 Farzan Dulker

Nain 2 Ajay Bhatia 5-12

Chalky Cara 5 Pete Jaffe 3 Matt Hawkes 2 David Overton 5-22

Pete Jaffe 5 James Samarasinghe 3 Joe Sheridan 2 Majid Asif 5-28

Zaf Basit 4 Phil Smith 3 James Thompson

2 Dan Penny 5-28

Saahil Mehra 4 Andrew Godfrey 2 Lawrence Bird 1 Andy Potter 5-30

Andy Potter 4 George Leggett 2 Lee Crocker 1 Ajay Bhatia 5-33

Phil Smith 4 Dan Penny 2 Dave Flavell 1 Saahil Mehra 5-33

Shahme Farook 3 Darshan Raval 2 Pete Jaffe 1

Dave Knight 3 Tommy Smith 2 Piers Jenkins 1

Danny Potter 3 Dave Flavell 2 Kudzi Makopa 1

James Samarasinghe 3 Lee Crocker 2 Joe Sheridan 2

Shash Seem 3 Ajay Bhatia 1

Sanket Shah 3 Lee Cara 1

Murtuza Amin 2 Marcus Cara 1

Lawrence Bird 2 Felix Charles 1

Richard Downes 2 Majid Asif 1

Piers Jenkins 2 Richard Downes 1

Priyan Perera 2 Femi Erhabor 1

James Thompson 2 Naz Asif 1

Ajay Bhatia 1 Matt Hawkes 1

Felix Charles 1 Ben Heels 1

Andrew Godfrey 1 Ali Javed 1

Matt Hawkes 1 Piers Jenkins 1

Rangan Krishnaswamy 1 Steve Pullen 1

George Leggett 1 Joe Sheridan 1

Rory Macleod 1 Shiva Subramanian 1

Kudzi Makopa 1 Luke Sutcliffe 1

Dan Penny 1 James Thompson 1

Hassan Shaffique 1 Afshin Yazdi 1

Joe Sheridan 1

Andrew Teague 1

COLTS SECTION

TEAM OFFICIALS Director of Colts Cricket : Richard Downes

16 Aylesham Close, Mill Hill, London NW7 2SF (M) 07736 052012 e-mail: richardcdownes@hotmail.co.uk

This season we will be running teams at U11, U13 & U15 level.

Coaches Phil Smith Dave Flavell 07976 297721 07852 122473 James Thompson Richard Downes 07786 146444 07736 052012 Additional coaching pool Pete Jaffe Charles Whitworth

Marcus Cara George Downes

Mahesh Nirmal David Overton

COLTS FIXTURES 2016 Under 11s

April

Thursday 28 Cockfosters 6.00pm

May

Tuesday 03 Holtwhite Trinibis 6.00pm

Monday 09 Enfield 6.00pm

Wednesday 18 Winchmore Hill B 6.00pm

Sunday 22 Southgate Compton 10.00am

June

Wednesday 08 Cockfosters 6.00pm

Wednesday 15 Holtwhite Trinibis 6.00pm

Monday 20 Enfield 6.00pm

Thursday 30 Winchmore Hill B 10.00am

July

Wednesday 06 Southgate Compton 6.00pm

Thursday 14 Cockfosters 6.00pm

Under 13s

April

Wednesday 27 Southgate (Cup) 5.30pm

May

Wednesday 04 Botany Bay 6.00pm Wednesday 11 Totteridge Millhillians 6.00pm Monday 16 London Maccabi Vale 6.00pm Wednesday 25 Holtwhites Trinibis 6.00pm June

Monday 06 Old Elizabethans 6.00pm Friday 17 Botany Bay 6.00pm Thursday 23 Totteridge Millhillians 6.00pm Wednesday 29 London Maccabi Vale 6.00pm

July

Thursday 07 Holtwhites Trinibis 6.00pm Monday 11 London Maccabi Vale 6.00pm

Under 15s

May

Thursday 05 London Maccabi Vale 6.00pm Sunday 15 Botany Bay 10.00am Monday 23 Old Elizabethans 6.00pm June

Thursday 09 Southgate Adelaide 6.00pm Thursday 16 London Maccabi Vale 6.00pm Friday 24 Botany Bay 6.00pm

July

Monday 04 Old Elizabethans 6.00pm Wednesday 13 Southgate Adelaide 6.00pm

MILL HILL VILLAGE COLTS REPORT FOR 2015

2015 proved to be another hugely enjoyable and successful season for Mill Hill Village Colts section, which continues to go from strength to strength in terms of numbers, abilities and on field success. The ever increasing attendance at the winter indoor practice and nets sessions is always nice to see. It is valuable pre-season practice for the boys and a perfect opportunity to hone their skills and develop new strengths in their game. About half a dozen of the older Colts made their first tentative steps into Adult weekend cricket, in both Sunday friendlies and the Saturday leagues. They all possess more than enough skills and ability to compete in these games and many have already produced several noteworthy performances. Within a handful of years, it is entirely conceivable that players who have come up through the Colts section will once again be providing the bulk of talent in our 1st and 2nd XI Club teams. At the age group levels, the teams mirrored the success of the Adult section on the pitch, by winning promotions and performing admirably. The Under 11s won every league game they played, to win their Division with ease. This despite all bar one of the squad being eligible to play in the Under 11s again in 2016. The youngsters were genuinely superb in all departments; bowling, batting and fielding. They will be competing in Division 2 this season. Many of the talented and successful U11 cohort from 2014, stepped up into the U13s age group for the 2015 season, joining some new and some returning players. A good season was rewarded with promotion and a strong cup run to the Semi Finals. It was particularly pleasing to see so many individuals contributing with strong performances, making all match wins a collaborative team effort. It was also great to see the impressive work ethic and very noticeable that most players have added a new found maturity to their game. A high level of concentration in the field is crucial in games at and above U13 level and this can be the difference between winning and losing. Staying in the correct fielding position, ‘walking in’, ‘backing up’ and holding catches are key parts to the game and can often be as vital as good batting or accurate bowling. The players remaining in this age group will learn from their 2015 experiences and be even stronger in the season ahead. The Middlesex Colts Association tried an innovation for the 2015 season, with the introduction of new age groups at U12s and U14s level. It seems that this will be a one season experiment as entries for these age groups were limited. Due to the age profile of the older colts, it suited MHVCC to enter a team in the U14 age group. Unfortunately, only two other teams entered sides and both were strong clubs, which meant multiple fixtures against them and the prospect of a challenging year ahead. The season did indeed provide a serious of difficult games and started with a number of losses but despite this, the side grew in confidence and performed better every week. All the players kept fighting and working hard for each other and eventually managed to get a win against Old Elizabethans, thanks to a great knock of 60* from Ayush Shah. All the boys and girls who represented Mill Hill Village CC, did so with distinction. There are never any behavioural issues to deal with, or any examples of poor sportsmanship. They are a credit to the Parents and to the Club. Well done to all the young players, too many to mention, who scored runs, took wickets, held catches and stopped runs in the field. Congratulations to the 2015 Colts award winners: Under 11 Player of the Year – Matty Whitworth Under 13 Player of the Year – Tommy Smith Under 14 Player of the Year – Teg Kishan Singh Presidents Cup winner – Ben Heels The awards night at the end of the season was a fantastic occasion with so many people contributing by bringing superb food to the table. The amazing cricket cake, delicious samosas, home-made curries and chilli were just some of the memorable dishes on display. Thank you all for your contributions and for the support you provide throughout the season.

My particular appreciation goes to the array of support coaches and parents who help out on Friday evenings and match nights. Saira took over the Section’s membership duties for the first time and did a sterling job. Richard continues to keep things running smoothly in the background. Dave, James. Charles, George, Mahesh and others, thank you very much and please keep up the good work! Quite simply, the Colts could not continue without your valuable assistance. Most of all, it is about the kids enjoying themselves and having fun playing cricket. Do not hesitate to come and speak to me, or any of the coaching team, if you feel there is more than can be done to make this happen. We look forward to another season of fine Colts cricket at the Village.

Phil Smith & Tommy Smith Outdoor colts training sessions runs from 6.30pm to 8.30pm (light permitting) on Friday evenings, commencing on April

15th and concluding on July 15th.

If it is wet the training is likely to be cancelled so please check with the coaches as early as possible. Arrangements should be made for your child to travel to and from training sessions and matches. We would appreciate it if children can arrive promptly and are collected promptly at the end of the session, if they are not making their own way home. If you are going to be late picking up your child, please contact Richard Downes on 07736052012 or Philip Smith on 07976 297721 and let them know. Please complete and hand back the Junior Membership form and read this and your introductory letter carefully, as they spell out our commitment to the development of young cricketers and your role and responsibilities in ensuring that this can happen successfully.

A Cricketer’s Prayer Old Father Time, I pray to you That clouds give it a rest, And that I get a game today, And that I play my best. I pray that my side score quick runs And our opponents falter, And if it comes to pass we lose, I pray the game’s a belter. I pray that once I’ve donned my pads And walked out to the square, That none of my nicks find a palm, And that I score my share. I pray the wicket's well-prepared, And that it doesn't stick, That all my shots find gaps - And that the outfield's fairly quick, I pray the umpire knows his job, And doesn’t lift his finger. But if he does I pledge to you: I’ll not forlornly linger. I pray the Captain sets his field With telepathic skill, That all his plans work well And that the catches do not spill. I pray that if a batsman Loops a ball into my lap, I'll pouch it without too much fuss, And get a well-earned clap. And if I’m asked to bowl I pray The ball leaves my hand true, So whether or not wickets come I’ll know that they’re my due. Above all, Father Time I pray When all is said and done, That we can all look back and say “By 'eck, that game was fun!”

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

April 15th Friday 6.30pm First Outdoor Colts Training Night

April 18th Monday 11.00am

Brewery Charity Fundraising Event

June TBC Sunday 11.00am

MHV Youth Football Presentation & Charity Fundraising Event in aid of Noah’s Ark Hospice

July 8th Friday 5.30pm

Ron Bunning Memorial Trophy vs Paddington

July 25th – 28th Mon - Thurs

Cricket Tour Venue TBC

August 28th Sunday 11.00am Presidents Day Cricket Sept 3rd Saturday 7.00pm End of Season Event night Sept 10th Saturday 11.00am MHV 6 a side competition December Saturday 7.30pm Christmas Supper

PAST PRESIDENTS

G.A. Shankland – 1961-63 H.H. Mallatratt – 1964-66 F.G. Matthews – 1967-69 V.J. Lewis – 1969-72 G.A. Wildman – 1972-75 W. Carden – 1975-78 F.H. Jex – 1978-81 F.O. Matthews 1981-84 J.M. Williams – 1984-87 W.A.V. Odoni – 1987-90 W.J. Emery – 1991-94 A. Brittain – 1994-97 P.W.J. Mayles – 1997-2000 G. Hurd – 2000-03 T. Gallagher - 2003 – 06 R. Cowden – 2006 - 09 E P Kelly - 2009 - 12 V. Holohan – 2012 - 2015 P. Jaffe – 2016 -

VICE PRESIDENTS D. Bunning R. Bunning G. Burton Mrs S Burton J. W. Butler M. Cara A. Coates R. Cross J.D. David D. Dean Mrs L Downes D.S. English MBE J. Eve A.D. Golding R.N. Golding J. Hardie E. Hawes J. Hazell S. Hurd Mrs K Kelly H.D. Leake M Levy D.J. Mead P.V. Mead S. Martindill E. Morcombe J. Muslin G. Nicholls B. Palmer E. Palmer A.E. Pearce J. Peel B .A. Pescod D. Pestell G.J. Pratt Mrs J.A. Ratcliff R. Rumble J.A Rylands B Simpson R.C. Stollery C.J. Tomkins G Topp J.H. Vivian G. Westmore P Watts E.A. Whytock M. Williamson P. Wooldridge K Withers

CAN YOU HELP?

Any parent or players who can assist with coaching our many Colts cricketers on a Friday evening, or who would be happy to help transport the teams to away matches, please contact the appropriate team coach. It would be very much appreciated. There are recognised coaching courses available to suit all levels from helpers through to senior coaches – if you are interested in attending a course please contact Phil or Richard for details.

NOTICE TO PLAYERS

Selection of teams takes place early in the week during the cricket season. It is up to all players to make their availability known to the Team Captains. If you have not heard about your game but wish to play, ring a Captain and ask, don’t wait for the Club to call you. Selected players wishing to drop out of a side, must do so before 9.00pm on Thursday and should contact their Captain as early as possible.

Players should arrive at the ground at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start of play.

It is each player’s responsibility to ascertain whether or not a game is cancelled due to bad weather. Please phone the Team Captain. You must never assume that a match is called off Disciplinary action, in accordance with the Cricket Committee’s Terms of Reference, may be taken in such circumstances.

All players please note that the usual meeting place for away matches will be outside the Adam and Eve Public House unless otherwise advised. Please be at the meet on time for all away matches.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Welcome to the 70th year of cricket at Burtonhole Lane and the 148th year of Mill Hill Village Cricket Club. My thanks to the club officers and volunteers, who give their time, free of charge to provide sporting facilities for the local community. This year, yet again, we will be hosting charity events, raising monies for some very deserving causes, in particular, our own charity, the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice. Some of these events are mid-week, so we will need help from as many people as possible. 'If only common sense were more common'

Ted Kelly

The Village in Winter

We currently have 2 adult teams, playing on Saturdays and 8x Children’s teams playing on Sundays. This winter has been even wetter than last, which has put a strain on the function and expansion of the section. So many thanks to the Captains and coaches for holding things together through this difficult period. If you wish to play, coach or referee! - Please speak to any of the Cricket Officers who will point you in the right direction.