Club Life: Cricketer Cup final, Halifax history, and a record run-scorer

The Cricketer dives into a selection of the best stories from around the club cricket scene

Old Millfieldians win Cricketer Cup Final

Old Millfieldians defeated Oundle Rovers by five wickets to capture their maiden Cricketer Cup title at Arundel Castle on August 8.

Playing a rain-reduced 40-over match, Oundle won the toss and batted. Opener Ben Graves showed attractive strokeplay but was first out for 30, leaving the score 45 for 1 in the 14th over. George Johnson was stumped by Jamie Baird, but skipper Greg Smith and Amartya Kaul put on an 87-run third-wicket stand to drag Oundle to 135 for 3, Kaul scoring a patient 50 off 90 balls.

With eight overs remaining and plenty of wickets in hand, Smith and Charlie Fernandes batted freely, the former making 63 off 57 balls and the latter 37 off just 21 to help their side pass the 200 mark. Oundle finished on 202 for 7.

With the ball, Scotland T20 left-arm seamer, Brad Currie, impressed with 2 for 38 while off-spinner Ali Easton collected 3 for 39. David Scott finished with 1 for 16 from his eight overs.

Chasing 203, Millfield floundered to 23 for 3 and later 66 for 4 against Oundle’s spin attack, using up nearly half of their overs in the process. But Nick Pang, who came in at number six, played a match-winning innings in the company of Scott, scoring 6 sixes and 5 fours on his way to 84 not out off 53 balls. Scott supported him well in a partnership of 135 before being runout for 79 with only two runs required.

^{Old Millfieldians batsman Nick Pang}

With the clock well past 7.30pm, Millfield captain, Nick Brothers, came in at the end to secure the victory with five overs to spare. Will Street was the pick of Oundle’s bowlers, finishing with 2 for 42.

Cricketer Cup president, and former Hampshire captain, Nick Pocock presented the cup to Old Millfieldians.

Illingworth St Mary’s explore club’s heritage

Illingworth St Mary’s CC in Halifax have embarked on a history and heritage project, with assistant secretary Luke Brooksby uploading the club’s scorecards from 1884 to present onto Play-Cricket.com.

Covering the club’s 127-year history, the research has yielded two historical books authored by Brooksby. The first – Illingworth St Mary’s CC: The Airedale & Wharfedale League Years 1960-2016 – includes 400 pages of individual and team records in addition to biographies of the club’s 24 overseas players. Former junior players Gary Fellows and Alex Lees, and Australia’s Stuart Law, who played for the club in 1990, also feature. The second book – Celebrating Champions: A Century Apart – compares the club’s two Halifax Cricket League Premier Division titles in 1919 and 2019.

Through recording individual first XI debuts, the club has also created a comprehensive list of over 600 first XI representatives and honoured each player with a heritage number and club cap. Law (472), Fellows (484), and Lees (553) were among those to receive caps while one cap, belonging to Danny Gibbs (592), has made it as far away as New Zealand.

🧢 1st XI heritage honours caps were presented to some of our former first class players recently pic.twitter.com/uY2mBejQMB

— Illingworth St Mary’s CC (@IllingworthCC) August 4, 2021

Cricket conquers Cheltenham Racecourse

More than 700 boys and girls took part in Gloucestershire Cricket Board’s inaugural Big Cricket Celebration at Cheltenham Racecourse on August 10.

The youngsters, aged 5-11, flocked from across the county for a day of coaching on the famous turf in front of Cheltenham’s Grandstand.

The event, which is aimed at clubs and community groups across Gloucestershire, could become an annual event following this year’s success.

"The day has surpassed all out expectations," said GCB chief executive, Steve Silk. "We had the idea of bringing as many girls and boys together as possible after what has been a pretty tough time for everyone, and really celebrating being able to play cricket again especially with The Hundred inspiring them at the moment.

"To be able to also do that at such an iconic venue has been fantastic, I'm sure everyone who came along will remember today for a very long time.

"Our aim was to put a bat and a ball in the hand of every child, and I think all these smiling faces say it all."

^{The youngsters race across the home straight at Cheltenham Racecourse}

9,626 and counting

Congratulations to Andy Bennett from Bretton CC whose half-century against Huntingdon & District earlier in the summer saw him become the club’s all-time leading run-scorer.

The number four batsman scored 58 not out in the fixture to finish the match on 9,626 career runs, nine clear of the previous record holder, Richard Baxter.

Bennett, who started playing for the club in 1990 aged 13, became Bretton's youngest centurion when he scored 110 not out against St Neots at the age of 16. He left the club in 1994 to play at a higher level before returning in 2007.

His 9,626 run-haul came from 310 innings and includes 56 not outs, 54 half-centuries, and 15 centuries, the latter of which is also a club record.

^{Bretton CC's all-time leading run-scorer Andy Bennett (L)}

Local business steps in to help Tanworth’s youngsters

West Midlands recruitment specialist Pertemps have donated £2500 to Tanworth and Camp Hill Cricket Club, near Solihull, to help the club cope with its influx of young members.

More than 70 five to eight-year-olds currently attend the club’s Friday night All Star sessions. In addition, around 40 children aged 8-11 attend the club’s Dynamos sessions, with a further 50 involved in other junior sessions.

The money will be used to redevelopment the clubhouse at Alderhanger Lane to accommodate the youngsters and boost the appeal of grassroots cricket in the area.

"Because of the high number of young cricketers we have now, we have simply outgrown the existing clubhouse space," explained assistant junior head coach, Sam Jones. "The money is going towards a new patio area and renovating the bar and kitchen area of the clubhouse. We are really grateful for Pertemps for the money to help out club move forwards."