OA SPORT
OA BULLETIN DECEMBER 2012
Cricket
Weather beaten n David Rourke looks back on a soggy season in which the 1st XI achieved the unwanted record of playing the fewest matches since 1931
Three facts regarding Saturday 8th September 2012, when Old Albanian Cricket Club played its final matches of the Hertfordshire League season. Firstly, the 1st XI game against Southgate Adelaide at Woollams (a high-scoring victory for the visitors, longstanding opponents who first played OAs in 1950) was the 3,000th 1st XI game in the club’s history; secondly, it was apparent by this stage that the 1st XI would play the least games in a season (eventually 24) since 1931, courtesy of a rain-soaked summer which claimed 15 scheduled fixtures; and thirdly, it was the first time since 2001 that none of the club’s senior XIs entered the final day of the league season with nothing at stake. One is cautiously optimistic that a decade of relegation dogfights, with occasional promotion challenges and too-frequent dressing-room upheaval, has now been consigned to OACC history. However, the constant vicissitudes of sports clubs and the twenty-first century challenges that face such institutions dictate that such optimism must not lead to complacency. The excessively damp summer of 2012 saw a small OAs squad arguably over-perform across all three XIs. For the 1st XI, a lack of
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OA BULLETIN DECEMBER 2012
strength in depth and concomitant inability to prevail in a number of close matches saw its promotion challenge falter during August. A collection of high-class players formed the core of the league side – skipper Jimmy Hayat, player of the year Ahsan Ali (who took 48 league wickets with his left-arm spin), Chris Dobson, Alf Rehman, Zahid Karim and Zahid Ali Khan. On Sundays, a programme of late-season friendlies produced some encouraging performances, including a notable victory at Stanmore by a very young side featuring numerous recent School players. In 2013, re-entry to the Chess Valley Sunday League should help with the development of a younger squad. In the 2nd and 3rd XIs, skippers Julian Baines and Simon Wakeling demonstrated the tenacity and leadership necessary to get the most out of scarce resources and inconsistent circumstances. Rarely did they have more than 22 players available for their sides, yet both XIs did enough to finish in mid-table of their respective divisions. An earlyseason 5-wicket victory at Radlett, comfortably chasing 250, was the highlight of the 2nd XI year; while a 15-run victory at Langleybury was epochal for the 3rd XI’s season. An obvious challenge for 2013 and beyond is to have a larger squad of players at the captains’ disposal, yet considering the large number of players who left OACC during the turmoil between 2007 and 2011, it is in many ways a triumph that three
The Sussex touring squad: Back row (left to right) – Perry Hall, Simon Wakeling, David Hughes, Julian Baines, Matthew Newby, Harley Stairmand, Chris Dobson, Andrew McCree, Richard Morgan. Front row (left to right) – Andrew Dewhurst, Victor Stairmand, Tom Preest, Alf Rehman, Simon Bates, Alex Belton, David Rourke sides prevail. Lack of numbers was not a problem in the club’s increasingly successful Junior section in 2012, as only Knebworth Park among Hertfordshire clubs had a better overall record than OAs across all age groups. The U10s lost their county final, the U9s, U11s and U12s all reached the semi-finals, and Sunday mornings in the summer saw Woollams packed with Junior players. Alison Curran, the Director of Junior Cricket, was a deserved winner of the Ellis Cup for her achievements in organising 300+ Junior players and a platoon of
helpers, resources which are vital for the club’s future. Alison aside, the usual suspects of Richard Morgan (Chairman), Tony Dalwood (President), Denis King (Treasurer, 1st XI Scorer and Website Factotum), Nigel Cartwright (Commercial), Alison Finley (Secretary) and Simon Bates (Social Events) kept the show on the road. Ian Smith’s team produced good pitches all season, which became batting paradises as the sun finally shone in August and September, while relationships between the club and Woollams benefitted from a fresh approach.
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