Over one hundred matches were played on the Brocus this past season as the members of Newdigate Cricket Club enjoyed an excellent summer despite some inclement weather.

The Saturday 1st XI were runners up in the first division of the Surrey Downs League and if Westcott had drawn or lost their final game then we would have been champions. Ruky Wickremasinghe and Richard Callcut both scored over a 1000 runs in the season so congratulations to them and Ben Crook took over 70 wickets.

Saturday 1st XI

M.Homewood. C.Major, B.Crook, A.Cooper, R.Wickremasinghe, D.Harris

D.Jones, S.MacDonald, R.Callcut (Capt), P.Bettesworth, M.Clarke

 It was always going to be a tough season for the young 2nd XI in division two as all the other sides were first elevens and they have duly been relegated.

Capel apply pressure upon the 2nd XI

The Sunday 1st and 2nd XIs had a full fixture list and enjoyed many good matches and it was good to see a number of our junior players being introduced to adult cricket. Unfortunately I have not received any pictures of these sides. We entered the Surrey Trust Development League which pitched us against some of the top clubs in the county. The coloured clothing was kindly sponsored by Kuoni Travel and six players had to be under 18 with four under 16. The side did very well and ended up fourth in their league.

The Surrey Trust Development League

The midweek side had a full set of fixtures and despite much rain on Wednesdays had a good season. We also reached the semi-finals of the 20/20 Aarvold Cup losing to Dorking CC.

We had 95 junior registrations and entered sides in the East Surrey Colts League at under 9,10,11,13,14 and 15 levels. The under 11s came very close to winning their league and the under 14s were joint champions playing some very impressive cricket.

Newdigate Under 14s and Newdigate Infants School

We have close ties with the county and seven players represented Surrey Central District and one played for Surrey under 10s. This September thirteen young cricketers have been assessed by Surrey and eight players attended the Surrey Cricket Centre last spring for individual coaching under the Russell Haigh Bursary. Richard Hall, the Surrey Development Coach also assisted with our training on two occasions. We have close ties with Newdigate Infants School, the Weald Junior School and St. John's Community School and have conducted introduction to cricket courses during the summer term. We hosted the Surrey v Warwickshire under 11 county match at the Brocus and were very pleased to welcome many guests to the club. Our juniors were Guard of Honour for the Surrey v Leicestershire NatPro40 match at Whitgift School.

Guard of Honour at the Surrey v Leicestershire NatPro40 match at Whitgift School

 

We entered and won the Scrumpy Jack Master Class Competition and Alec Stewart and the nPower Girls came along to our National Village Competition match against Wraysbury when the lads surpassed themselves and played brilliantly.

Scrumpy Jack Master Class at the nPower Village Knockout Match against Wraysbury CC

Another highlight was when the Centurion Cricket Academy from Mumbai played our juniors during their tour of England. We bowled and fielded very well but were completely bamboozled by their talented spinners - but it was a great experience for all our young players.

Centurion Cricket Academy from Mumbai

The annual 6-a-Side competition in memory of Peter Clark had a record number of entries and raised £1500 for Diabetes UK. We played on two pitches and were pleased to welcome Newdigate Cricket Club from Warwickshire. It was also very good to see so many old Newdigate players joining in the Jenny Chamberlain memorial match.

Old Newdigate at the Jenny Chamberlain Memorial Match

Altogether we have had a thoroughly enjoyable season and witnessed some excellent team and individual performances. Here are three abiding images. The fancy dress party on the 4th July, Mr Brown's birthday and ..........rain