Obtain your copy from Nitin or Tabrez . Those of you who are unable to get it now, here is the pdf version.

KCC booklet 2024

Our 50th Annual Dinner and Dance was held on Saturday 18 November 2023 at our favourite venue, St. James’ Court hotel. This black-tie event speckled with club blazers was attended by some 90 members and guests. It was good to see so many regular supporters. An all-inclusive ticket provided pre-dinner drinks, an excellent Indian plated meal and dancing to a disco rhythm. 

As we sat down for dinner Nitin welcomed the guests, our patrons and sponsors. Sunil, in an amusing speech, recounted how KCC began. Chris made a moving tribute to Vivek Ratan, a member who had tragically passed away earlier in the year. Rohan presented a repeat of the video he made in 2012 which captured the joys of playing for KCC. After the superb meal San conducted the presentations of the silverware to the season’s prize-winners. In addition, Virendra Nath (in absentia), Amit Shanker and Saikat Barua were awarded the Maroon Jacket for their lifetime dedication to the Club. Ethan Youel of Diageo also presented them with an inscribed bottle of Blue Label.

The raffle proved to be a tremendous success. The top prizes were two nights for two at Le Méridien Etoile in Paris donated by Best at Travel, and a day at the Henley Regatta from Regatta Financial Solutions. Our thanks also go to Cobra Beer, Johnnie Walker, Gem Hotels, St. James’ Court Hotel, and various members for offering other generous prizes. 

Finally, we thank all those who attended for their unstinting support and for making the event such a warm and memorable occasion. We look forward to celebrating our Diamond Jubilee in ten years’ time.

Final Positions for 2023 season

MOST RUNS

826   Nitin Chaturvedi
355   Tim Keleher
239   Andy Stokes
205   Wajid Tahir
198   Harekrishna Ashar
151   Tabrez Khan
146   Rohan Ghosh
146   Chris Ledger
118   Amit Shanker
99     Joffe Bradley

MOST WICKETS

23   Saikat Barua
19   Wajid Tahir
18   Nitin Chaturvedi
16   Eddy Barreto
12   Bernard van Vuuren
10   Alex Tharakan
8     David Price
7     Sumaer Amar
7     Saurav Sen
7     Adam Sumner

SANPOINTS – See system

268   Nitin Chaturvedi
132   Saikat Barua
127   Tim Keleher
120   Wajid Tahir
115   Bernard van Vuuren
88     Eddy Barreto
83     David Price
74     Andy Stokes
65     Harekrishna Ashar
56     Tabrez Khan

50-Year Anniversary of Kensington Cricket Club

The Rt Hon Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea CBE

As the first ever patron of this incredible cricket club, it is with great pride and it is truly the greatest honour to congratulate you all on 50 golden years of sheer dedication, sporting achievement, teamwork and camaraderie at its finest. It has been a real pleasure to have watched the club flourish and grow over the last two decades into a truly treasured asset of the Kensington community and surrounding areas, providing a source of inspiration for all age groups. Read more …

The Rt Hon the Baroness Prashar of Runnymede CBE

Congratulations to Kensington Cricket Club and to all its members for scoring half a century with such grace and dedication.

Kensington CC, which was a small acorn, has grown into an oak tree. Oak tree symbolises leadership, courage, wisdom, endurance, steadfastness, generosity, dignity, caring, durability and life itself. The members of this Club encapsulate all these qualities. Their leadership, their vision and their steadfastness deserve our respect, admiration and gratitude. They have made incalculable contribution to lives of individuals, families and the community, and indeed life itself. Read more …

Our 49th Annual Dinner and Dance was held on Saturday 19 November 2022 at our favourite venue, St. James’ Court hotel, after an absence of three years due to Covid restrictions. This black-tie event speckled with club blazers was attended by some 60 members and guests, albeit down from previous years, but we were glad to be back. 

An all-inclusive ticket provided pre-dinner drinks, an excellent Indian plated meal and dancing to a disco rhythm. It was good to see so many regular supporters many of whom we had not seen for some time, and it made for such a warm and pleasant evening.

As we sat down for dinner Sunil welcomed the guests, including Ethan Youel from Diageo our sponsors. After the superb meal San conducted the traditional presentations of the silverware to the season’s prize-winners. Amidst warm applause Ravi Kannan and Chetan Singh were each awarded the Maroon Jacket for their lifetime dedication to the Club and received the Adelaide Cup donated by the Eighties batch of Aussies, and now sponsored by Johnnie Walker. Ethan also rewarded each Achiever with an inscribed bottle of Blue Label whisky.

The raffle proved to be a tremendous success.  The whole event was captured on camera (see a selection of photos under KCC Dinner – 2022 in the GALLERY). 

Finally, we thank all those who attended for their unstinting support and for making the event such a memorable occasion. So on to our 50th year celebrations in 2023.

Down Memory Lane – Three notable articles from yesteryear

 – Red Lights Mean Go !

 – Stone Walls do not a prison make…

 – Staying Close

The Perfect Storm

By San Gore

Kensington CC plays friendly social cricket at a decent level. There are many talented cricketers, young and old, in the club. We play to win but always mindful to provide opportunities for every player, and to enjoy the camaraderie.

Covid-19, though, continued to wreak havoc on our daily lives throughout 2021. Having had Christmas cancelled in the previous year and a winter lockdown imposed, we looked forward in April to the promise of a full season of cricket with plenty of runs and wickets, mixed with fun and laughter. Just like the old days.

But buffeted by the winds of Covid uncertainties, flooded by a spate of injuries, and lashed by rain through the season we were caught in the middle of the perfect storm...Read more..

KCC Match Management Musings

By Saurav Sen

“What’s the worst thing about being a match manager with Kensington?”, I am often asked.  I can never think of anything.

Let’s start with Tuesday afternoons, when the team sheet normally gets sent out. It has an air of certainty about it. Everyone of course replies almost immediately. There are no last minute drop-outs. Lifts are never asked for at the eleventh hour. Everyone consults the map and/or enters the right address in their sat-navs. Come hell, high water, traffic on the M4 or extended breakfasts, the entire team arrives at least 30 minutes ahead of the start time. …Read more…

KCC v Covid-19  –  Match Report 2020

19 April – 11 July                           Covid-19                  Lost by 18 wkts fixtures

    They  300/0 in 12 weeks (Corona 143*, Lockdown 131*, N.Vector 0/110)

    We    50/18                   (Nayar 22, T.Keleher 15, B.Johnson 5/15, Hancock 4/28)

2020, hitherto known as the shortest format of the game (not counting KCC collapses), unleashed a sinister alter ego onto unsuspecting cricket lovers at the start of the season. An unexpected fixture was forced upon us. Covid-19, an opponent who no one had heard of until February, was decimating cricket at all levels and was determined to intrude on our bucolic calendar…Read more…

KCC – A great Club with great Opponents

By Chris Ledger

As a wandering cricket club without a home ground or clubhouse, you could say we really depend on just three things, each helping to make KCC the fantastic club that we all love…  Firstly our members, and even if we have to say it ourselves, what a great bunch we are! Secondly the club ethos, hard to define in words, but understood and treasured by all. And last but certainly not least, the clubs we play against, who generously host us each week…Read more…

A Valediction

By San Gore

“The time has come”, I said, unstrapping my pads in the pavilion after a streaky innings on the Devon tour. Jamie stood there, unbelieving. But I knew. Every cricketer knows, although too many continue in the hope it is just a lack of form and that a hundred (or even a fifty) is around the next corner. The love of the game, the banter in the dressing room, the camaraderie on the field, all contribute to delaying the inevitable decision to hang up one’s boots.…Read more…

What Kind of Club is This?

By Saurav Sen

“It’s not that kind of club”, said my friend Unmish quietly when I turned up 30 minutes before the start of my first ever game for KCC and asked what warm-ups we would be doing. With that, I was in. This was going to be my kind of club….Read more...

My Time in London and the Formation of KCC India

By Deepak Ramachandra

The highlight of my thirteen-year stay in London has got to be playing cricket in the English summer. Not just any cricket, but for Kensington Cricket Club, undoubtedly the high point of my life in England… Read more…

Down Memory Lane – The first Tour to Rome – 1987

A reminiscence by Ian McLean

After a long, hard season of English cricket it is only natural that come the last day of September the true Kensingtonian turns his back on the autumnal twilight and seeks yet more cricket in more comfortable climes – such as Rome. This trip was hosted by two now long-term friends, Alphonsus (Alfonso) Jayarajah and Massimo (Max) Da Costa, of the Capannelle Cricket Club. … Read more…

The Kensington “Brand of Cricket”

By Mark Jefferson

Apparently, it is no longer enough to play cricket. Cricket is given to words – innuendo, jargon – which means we must now all play a “brand of cricket”. After the recent World Cup debacle for England, included in the post-mortem management speak was the assertion that England had “let themselves down and been unable to play the brand of cricket they set out to play”. I’m more in the Geoffrey Boycott camp – like their language, their cricket was just “roobbish”. Read more…

Down Memory Lane – Beer, Bavaria and a Brothel – 1991

A reminiscence by Michael Blumberg

Vinoo Nath and I met in Kensington not much past dawn and motored south to Clapham where we met Tony Brennan. Tony had not yet begun his distinguished diplomatic career and at the time drove a brand new large limousine provided by the company for whom he then worked. We were off to Bavaria and Austria to play cricket under the banner of Cricket World XI with several KCC members. We were making good progress on the autobahn when …Read more …

Our very own KCC member, Preetinder Singh, has been included in the India squad for the Over-50s World Cup Tournament being played between March 11-24 this year at Stellenbosch and Cape Town in South Africa. During trials in Mumbai the India selectors were impressed by his all-round abilities and, in particular, his agility in the field. Sadly, the tournament was abandoned midway due to the Covid-19 scare, but not before Preet had won the Spirit of Cricket Award for his efforts in his first match. Congratulations Preet, and we all wish you every success in future campaigns.

Held at the St. James’ Court Hotel on Saturday 16 November 2019. This black(ish) tie and colourful blazers event was attended by almost 100 members and guests.

Lord Bilimoria introduced our newest Patron, Baroness Prashar, in a resounding opening address (see video below). Tim Keleher and Nitin Chaturvedi were the joint winners of the Cricketer of the Year award, and amid warm applause, Navneet Bali and Tabrez Khan were inducted into the KCC Hall of Fame, each being awarded the Maroon Jacket for their dedication to the Club.

It was a truly fun evening enjoyed by all.

New Patron – Baroness Prashar

Tim Keleher and Nitin Chaturvedi – Joint winners of the Cricketer of the Year award

Navneet Bali

Tabrez Khan

Lord Bilimoria addresses

See more photos under GALLERY

By Mark Jefferson

Dear All

Thank you very much to all of you who attended the Annual General Meeting on Thursday night – much appreciated. For all of you who didn’t, shame on you – and, indeed, more fool you. It was an absolute ripper and became highly charged when Blazergate really kicked off …see more