Chigwell CC.

Report vs Chigwell CC

Match Report
Date 14/06/26 
Oppo Chigwell CC (a)
Type Timed Game
Report by PJ

Chigwell—the home of Essex drug barons, TOWIE stars, and overpriced Mediterranean restaurants—welcomed the O’s to a rare game of timed cricket.

The O’s arrived in good spirits, buoyed by the debut of Australian East London cricket mercenary Owen Sutherland. Skipper Ritzy won the toss and elected 
to bowl.

Jack Baker-Merry and PJ Clapton opened the bowling, getting the O’s off to a respectable start, with JBM picking up the early wicket of Rob Allum for 5. 
Chigwell began to accelerate, with opener Visakan Balakumar scoring a cracking 100* off 79 balls. Man of the hour Ansar, arriving late, provided some 
excellent Spider-Man-like fielding to stem the flow of runs.

The skipper had seen enough and brought himself on, picking up three quick wickets, including a first catch for Clapton, who juggled a good take at short 
backward square leg—overtaking Oliver Buck in all-time catches in the process.

Some big hitting led to Big Alan Syratt coming on to bowl, picking up a wicket thanks to lightning-fast reflexes from Jackie Dan behind the stumps.

After a heated debate among the Chigwell scorers over Frank Hannant’s score, Chigwell finally declared on 297/5—perhaps too large a total, having used up 
valuable time in the game?

Sutherland and Prats opened the batting, getting the O’s off to a lightning-quick start with some beautiful shots. Prats was unlucky to be caught behind, 
and Sutherland was bowled by a ball that was “the only one that facking spun all day, mate.”

JBM and Meaden were at the crease before Merry decided to send young Freddie on his merry way via a run-out (maybe more to come?). The skipper and 
Baker-Merry were building a lovely partnership that looked set to guide the O’s to a spirited draw before, once again, a run-out occurred—with Ritzy in 
another postcode.

A couple of wickets fell soon after, and it looked like the O’s were heading for a heavy defeat, with the cheap dismissals of Clapton and Hayes they were 
off to the clubhouse to swap World Cup stickers.

However, up stepped Ansar and Baker-Merry. With a batting performance that Geoffrey Boycott would have been proud of, they effectively blocked out the 
game. An extraordinary 29 off 116 balls by Jack—atoning for his earlier run-out sins—saw him spend 2 hours and 10 minutes at the crease to secure the O’s 
a draw. With the last ball approaching, Jack thought, “why not make it three?” and sent Ansar for a run, running him out in the process.

Incredibly, the O’s secured a brilliant draw, with players describing it as a moral victory.

156/8 off 47 (47!) overs. A well-earned couple of jugs of Cruzcampo followed, as did a grovelling apology to young Freddie.

Onwards and upwards - Bring on Hatfield Peverel next week

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© Dave Revell