OHA Magazine 2002 - 03

ThenextweekagainstPottenTownthe old Boysbowed secondand,wh€nwe I on top,decldedthistirnenot to takethe newba . I\lorepoorbowing ensuedwith the sarneresuit-thh time a lossby a singlewrcket. lhe teanrthen bouncedbarkwith two excellentwinsagainsta strongCliftonsideandWestH€rts,the former againstall the oddsdue to a virtuosobatting performance frorn AbidNasiL thelattermademoreenjoyable bythewelcome presence of RickHarrisin the opposing side.

It rneantthat we were Mck in the promotion places. lt also meantanotherbananaskin peformanceat Sawbddgeworth.

Whenwiih manyreturning the nightbeforefrom ihe DevonTour,the astthing anyonewantedto do was to field filst on a stifling hot day. lJnfortunately, having won the toss, the skipper's b13inscrambled.

Themottofrom now on mustbe SeeSawbridgeworth andbat".Weendedup scrapinga drawbut it wasfor five pointr ratherthan the 30 needed.

Any lingerlnghopesof recovefing the situationwerequicky rernov€dby a rampantReedsidethat won the divisionat a canter the old Boyssuffereda heaw 150run defeatand hadclearlyrun outofsteam after an arduousbut excitingseason.

However, to flnish ninth in the divisionwhenthe sidehad beengoodenoughto - with the exceptionof Reed- wasdisappointing rnatchall oppositions and did not rcflectthe team'sov€rall performances duringthe summer.

Therewerernanyindividualpefformances overthe yearbut a lackof consistency.

In 2001,RickHarfis(average 57-501 and HaroonAhmad(35.69)hadscoredmorethan 1,250runsbetweenthern.Thisyearno-oneaveraged morethan 27.lhe bowing wasthe same- too muchinconsistercy and,wher up againstit, too manyeasy'four balls'beinggivenaway.An honou|able exceptionwasSimoncelber,who took twiceas manywr(Ktb as aryone else.Themajordisappointment wasAshSy€d,not fully fit duringthe season, \ahobowledquicklybut eratically. yearshe hasscaredbatsmanthisyearh€ scaredthe fielders!

In previous TheSerondEleven Forthe 2ndXl ii wasa toughyear,mademoredilflcult by the promotionof the captain.to the lst Xl. As with the senlorside,both the batting{with the exceptionof StephenCronbach) and the bowlingsuffercdfrom inconsiliency, but there\aeregoodperforrnances.

Forexampe,the bruntof the bowlingwastakenoverby Uzair Ali andMarkCoups.In 2001thesetwo managed18 wickrtsbetwe€nthernat an average of over30.Thisyearit was59 wicketsat an average of und€r20. placesfor mostofthe s€ason, Althoughfirmlyin the r€Jegation in the endit camedownto the resultsin the fina weekend for and, a change, the old Boyscameup trumpsandthe2ndXl stayed up byjusttwo points.

DevonTour TheDevonTourcontinuesto thriveboth on and off the piich.Playernumb€6w€regoodandthe Ciubput out two sideson th€ Wedresday, Thu6dayandFriday.

Results weregoodtoo,with victoriesagainstSeaton.

Whimple, Yarcombe, 0ttery St.IVaryandthe greatprize,a 51 run victoryagainstSidmouth.

BritishofficersClub Sunday cricketis growingin popular;ty againanda highllght of the season wasa matchagainst the British Officers' Club.

Philadelphia, whoweretouringin England ard based themselves at HintonI\4agna, nearLyminqtor.

8.0.C.is the clubthat SimonFriendplayedfor, whilein th€ U.S.andhe madethe introduction.

Theweatherwas poor,the groundsmallbutdelightful,the foodexcellent andthe touristsv€rywelcoming.lhey woneasilybecause theyhit far moresixes thanwe did,but a highlight for the 0.H.was99 fromAlanPhipps.

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