Chaldon

2019

Sun 9 June Chaldon Won by 11 runs

We: 202/7 in 35 overs (Nitin Chaturvedi 94, Saikat Barua 33, Amit Shanker 27, Joe Prior 3/45)

They: 191/7 in 35 overs (Giles Owen 54, Joe Prior 38*, Josh Russell 26, Pradip Lotlecar 2/18, Eddy Barreto 2/22)

On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, we headed to Six Brothers Field to play our annual game against Chaldon CC. Skipper Nitin lost the toss and we were asked to bat first on an uncovered wicket. Amit Shanker and Oscar Jefferson opened for us putting on 29 before Oscar holed out to deep cover. Nitin joined Amit and moved the total briskly to 66 when Amit unfortunately played on for 27. Sid Chhibbar replaced Amit and a 78 run partnership ensued in which Nitin was the main contributor. As classy as ever, Nitin took full toll of anything short and wide, and was looking good for his maiden ton for the club but unfortunately missed a straighter one from the left-arm spinner Joe Prior and was trapped LBW for 94. There was a little cameo at the end from Saikat (33 in 17 balls) that helped us to finish on 202 in the allocated 35 overs; a very good total given the wicket and Chaldon’s previous history. Joe Prior was the pick of Chaldon bowlers with 3 wickets.

After the tea break Eddie struck removing both openers, one of which had his off stump shattered. Giles Owen and youngster Nathan Fitzpatrick entered the scene. These two were playing our somewhat loose bowling well. Nitin brought on Saikat in the hope of getting a wicket, but our sloppy fielding did not allow it. Both batsmen were dropped when their innings were starting to blossom and they capitalised on their early reprieves until Nathan was run out from point with a direct hit by Saikat. Joe Prior replaced Nathan and began to take the game away from us. However, Pradip struck big when he got the wicket of Giles and followed by another one of Fraser Owen. The game was still in balance as Joe Prior was hitting regular boundaries and the required run rate was never out of reach. Another run out later and Josh Russell came to the middle and almost won the game for Chaldon when he hit a blistering 26 including 16 runs from Amit Shanker’s solitary over. Chaldon needed 21 runs in the last 2 overs then Nitin claimed dangerous Russell in penultimate over in the deep. The new batsman and the set Joe Prior (38*) could not finish the job, largely thanks to an excellent final over from Pradip and Chaldon finished 11 shy of our total.

In the post-match presentation, Joe Prior was JW Gold Label winner for his all-round display and Nitin won the Cobra for his magnificent 94. A great close game of cricket played in a good spirit.

Sid Chhibbar forces a drive

Nitin steers past the keeper

Nitin sweeps on his way to 94

A six for Nitin

Eddy proudly displays the broken stump

Nitin collects the Cobra Award

2018

Sun 10 June Chaldon Won by 40 runs

We: 201/8 in 40 overs (Rohan Ghosh 51, Sid Chhibbar 30, Neeraj Nayar 26*, Extras 44, Giles Owen 3/30, Nathan Fitzpatrick 2/46)

They: 161/8 in 40 overs (Giles Owen 54, Nathan Fitzpatrick 37, Sam Owen 12, Stefanos Nayar 3/29, Amit Shanker 2/19)

So, a nice little KCC win today. We won the toss and scored 201/8 in 40 overs, despite a big wobble in the top order – 3/12. Sid and Bilal then got us to 54 when Bilal got the faintest of edges and walked (must be in line for the Fair Play award). We were in dire straits at 99/7 in 21 overs when Neeraj joined latecomer Rohan who was yet to score. Together they started circumspectly on a slow wicket with uneven bounce, then gathered momentum as they raced to a 100-run stand, Rohan being elegantly brutal with a six and 7 fours in his 51.

After an excellent tea Chaldon openers faced an off-colour Saikat and an accurate Seethal. Rohan soon replaced Saikat and was rewarded with a wicket in his first over. Tight bowling ensured the run rate was kept in check but wickets were hard to come by. Preetinder managed to trap no.3 LBW but at the other end Giles Owen got to a well-deserved fifty. It was then that Neeraj finally brought himself on and immediately had Giles smartly caught by keeper Harsha Gandadi who was to end up with five behind the stumps. The gate was well and truly open as Amit Shanker and Stefanos Nayar made inroads into the tail, despite a hard-hitting cameo from Nathan Fitzpatrick (37). The match subsided as the overs ran out for Chaldon who finished well short of our total.

Six Brothers Field, Chaldon

Watching the game

Sid drives

Bilal gets aggressive

Preetinder in action

Rohan square cuts on his way to 51

Saikat bowls

Stef bowls

The Presentations

2017

Sun 11 June Chaldon Won by 134 runs

We: 204/5 in 36 overs (Rohan Ghosh 54, Stefanos Nayar 31, San Gore 30 rtd hurt, Chris Ledger 24*, Amit Shanker 20, Giles Owen 2/25)

They: 70/10 in 28.3 overs (Andy Axelsen 18, Kyon Vyas 10*, Extras 19, Seethal Tharakan 2/7, Ryan Konson 2/8, Anuvrat Shanker 2/11, Neeraj Nayar 2/11, Wes Johnson 2/20)

This was a new fixture obtained via the CCC after North Holmwood pulled out as they were unable to raise a side. The setting amidst the hills of the Surrey North Downs was wonderfully bucolic and our hosts were very hospitable, but unfortunately Chaldon had a much weaker team than us and the game was extremely one-sided.

After winning the toss KCC batted first and quickly took advantage of some easy, wayward bowling, piling on 204 runs in 36 overs before making an early declaration, since it was very clear that this score was almost certainly going to be more than enough.

And so it proved, with Chaldon rapidly dismissed for just 70 runs, despite an attempt by us to go easy with the bowling. This was a very uncompetitive cricket match, but happily our friendly hosts made it an enjoyable day out in the countryside.