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2013 was an extremely enjoyable and successful season on the pitch for Superstars. For a start
we only had one game (v Hounslow Leisure in May) and one tournament (6DAs) rained off and a further two cancelled. And secondly the record
of Won 15 Lost 12 Tied 2 was a very commendable one especially alongside a 1st and 2nd at Sports Day and eight game unbeaten spell at the
end of the season. Thirdly we saw history as Will Walker scored two centuries within five weeks, a wonderful achievement - although walking
off 100no twice has made him a good candidate for average protection. |
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Off the pitch the major concern was the rocketing costs of pitches at Chiswick. Although many
saw this coming when CSSC short-sightedly and foolishly sold the ground it was still a surprise how much the costs increased by. Even with
a discount for regular fixtures pitches now cost 132 quid a match. It seems likely that after over 15 years as our regular ground Superstars
will need to move away from Chiswick, which is a shame. |
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Anyway back to the pitch (kind of) and the season began with a tour of Hampshire. This year
we were greeted with far better weather (including sunshine!) and actually got to play some cricket (mixed opinions on if this was good news).
We managed one win from our 5 matches against some pretty good teams in beautiful grounds. Vijay's fantastic 50 (and a record stand with
Mike who I think managed 2 of them) ensured we avoided a thrashing at Hambledon although it's no disgrace to get beaten by a team who have
beaten England 29 times. Nearer the disgraceful end of things was the sambucca consumed as we gatecrashed Tony's 65th birthday in the hotel
- no surprise to hear this was Jim's only night on tour. I think "Rod Stewart" will never recover. Jim is currently working on a tour of
his homeland - I think I prefer the name "Constable Country" to "North Essex" - presumably sponsored by a sambucca firm. |
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The early "regular" season games were enjoyable and frustrating in equal measure with some
close games often going against us. There was a tie against new opponents TfL Pirates at Parliament Hill (a nice tree-lined ground) and a
close loss against DEFRA, the only thing I remember about that game is the strong winds blowing over the sightscreen. A visit to glorious
SE London finally bought a win as Speno, Vijay and Alok got us enough runs to comfortably beat Tilberg. |
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Our next game was against friendly rivals Dodgers. Although the first game against them was
unfortunately not overly friendly - with time wasting in the dark and unnecessary questioning of umpires from both sides. In the end captain
for the evening Gaught, with 62no, got us a tie after a controversial relay run with Richard Smith to get three off the final ball. Thankfully
normal cordial relations returned for the second match on a hot day in July. Will made his first ton of the year when a scampered single off the
final ball from a wide got him on strike and then an on drive just got him there in time. Unfortunately with the rest of us not contributing
overly well history was made as Will become the first club centurion to end up on the losing side with Taylor and McBarron breaking the back
of the total. So we needed a win to retain the Ashes, sorry Ken Block Trophy, and with Gaught returned to temporary captaincy we did so with
ease with Walker (again) making runs and a wonderful bowling and fielding performance, with Alok and Roy really starring with the ball. Another
series that showed how equal the sides are and showed the folly of not granting the series TV coverage. |
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After that we beat LSE Kings (a merged side from Kings College and LSE) in a game where Jason
apologised for a poor decision he made against a young, enthusiastic team and we got literally nothing in return which is probably fair enough
if not exactly within the spirit we expect at this level. Luckily this seemed to be the end of umpiring controversies for the season; it's not
something I hope will return. We won pretty easily. |
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June was a poor month, with DCMS cancelling due to a lack of players (they've suffered pretty big
cuts and may well have to disband) and Paul Gaught stupidly getting the dates of the Bank of England Tournament wrong. There were also three losses
against a much improved Treasury side, a Hounslow side where we struggled for players and in another close one against Commons Old Boys -
despite four wickets from the much improving bowling of new signing Guy Boulby. The only win was over Ad Hoc Exiles, who would get their revenge in July. |
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July bought mixed results with convincing wins against Green Sox (with newly elected Chairman Mountain taking 5 wickets -
the best Superstars figures in a 2020 game) and Richmond Anchors, a real thrashing at the hands of KAI Dragons and a close win against Epsom Taxes where Meyler hit
the winning runs in the last over - Rhys Meyler that is. This was our first game at the Wandgas Sports Ground and was a blow to "Barry Rail Enquiries" when he
got off the train at the wrong station. |
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Sports Day was a great success for the club with Souperstars and Superstars making the final, Soups beating Dodgers.
Soups won with Kenny Barry, Barry Gigg and Paul Gaught excellent with the bat and Merv, Harish and James Allen-Perry excellent with the ball. Unfortunately the 6DAs
was a complete wash out so we couldn't take on the pride of the civil service. |
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On Wednesday 24th July we began a winning streak of eight games that took us to the end of the season. The first win
was against Kensington Wanderers, a side we'd never beaten before, in a strong team effort. After a solid victory over Dartford Harriers (Jason again batting well
against us) we beat Legal Services Commission (who looked rather similar to the Dodgers team we'd played 2 days earlier) with Rhys Meyler taking his first wicket
for the club proving his all round prowess after Matt C did the same by batting well and wicket keeping well enough no one spotted hes not very good at it. The
visit of New Barbarian Weasels was the game of Wills second century. This was in my humble opinion the better innings - a fluent knock getting to 100 well inside
the 35 overs. With Paul, Vijay and Alok contributing we scored well and early wickets from Raj meant we won well. It was good to see Mike "The Phantom" Kamellard
turn out a couple of times towards the end of the season - let's hope this is a sign of more regular appearances in 2014.Three end of season victories over new
opponents National Archives, regular friends LT Dinos (where Chairman Mountain wore a wig) and an excellent game at Walthamstow over Treasury Solicitors meant
we ended with a "winning season". |
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As I said earlier it was a good season for the club. I think it's been noticeable in our best wins how no one has
starred but we've all "chipped in" - wins over Ken Wan and T Sol spring to mind. I'd like to thank all who have contributed to the season - Adam for the Stats,
Matt C for his help with tour (and Jim in advance), Penny and Mary for the hard work with Dartford teas, Barry for all the organising, Jason for various things
that loosely fit under the secretary tag and anyone who did any of the boring behind the scenes stuff. |
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Winter well and we'll see you in March for nets. |
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Paul Gaught, Captain of Vice |
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