North Midd 1st XI vs Shepherds Bush (Away)
North Midd 304/9 from 50 overs
Shepherd's Bush 137.2 from 25 overs
She Bu won by D/L
A huge game on Saturday with the chance to win the league, not done for 26 years. The pitch was flat and the outfield was rapid, however both teams wanted to bowl with a D/L chase likely. We lost an important toss and were inserted. We cashed in brilliantly on the batting wicket scoring an incredible 180 runs for the first wicket. Holmes (52) and Vanderspar (122) batting superbly against quick, aggressive opening bowling. Vanderspar was back to his best batting a dream, a pleasure to watch. Flowers (41) added some quick runs and with a few other smaller contributions, we ended up on 304-9 off our 50. Given the platform we probably should have scored 30 more runs. Clouds looming and D/L sheet in the pocket we took to the field. Joel and Birdy opened up, and for once, we didn’t make a breakthrough. Their openers batted very well and were clinically picking off anything lose. They put on 69 before Nurse struck, stumped Holmes. A welcome wicket aligned the D/L scores slightly however we were still slightly behind. Nurse took a second and now the D/L total almost the same as Shepherd’s Bush. At this stage we had passed the 20 overs and the game was deemed a game, full points available. Unfortunately their number 3, who survived some very dubious LBW shouts continued to bat well ending up on 44* and seeing SB to 3 runs above the D/L total before the heavens opened. Such a shame as we were robbed of a good game. Nurse the pick of our bowlers, ending up with 2/45 off 8. SB 137-2 off 25 overs. If the rain had not come, I would be surprised if 304 could not be defended on a continually deteriorating wicket. D/L favours the chasing team in my opinion and I think we were slightly unlucky. Credit to SB who batted very well for 25 overs. Teddington won again to the seal the league regardless and are deserved champions. It has been a momentous season for us with some incredible wins and performances along the way. We have a league 2nd place and Middlesex T20 trophy, by far our best season in recent years. If we had been more ruthless and found our feet earlier in the season, the league would have been ours. Something to get right next year, when again we will be challenging for the top. A few thank yous: Steve Nurse – Manager who has spent countless hours managing, organising and inspiring not only our team but also the club Dave Robson – Coach who has only recently come in but has had an immediate effect on us. His energy and input helped kick start the 9 game run Claire Kennedy & Dick Hersey – Scorers, sweet providers and supporters. Legends and part of the team

North Midd 2nd XI vs Ealing (Home)

Ealing 106 all out
North Midd 107/1
North Midd won by 9 wickets and are crowned champions
In the 141st season for this extraordinary cricket club, the 2XI were crowned league winners of the premier league for the first time in our history. With the 3rd XI winning the title in 2015, the 1XI finishing agonisingly 2nd and the club winning the Middlesex 2020 cup for the 2nd time in three years we really are in a golden era. Glancing at the fixture list at the start of the season this game stood out. Following our 3rd place finish in 2015 I thought this could potentially be a title decider. 170 games later and incredibly there were only 6 points separating the top three teams but amazingly Ealing weren't one of them. However as Richmond and Teddington had easy games against teams already relegated, we knew that ours would be anything but. Winners of numerous premier league titles, Ealing are certainty no pushover. Having arrived 2 hours early with not a hangover in sight we embarked on an extraordinary warm up - we were ready. Mills lost his 15th toss out of 18 and Ealing elected to bat. On this occasion losing the toss with a blessing in disguise with rain forecast at 5pm. We got off to the perfect start, Ealing 9/3 off 7 unplayable overs from England bowler Bamber (2/18) and the evergreen Brand (2/26). In the outstanding fielding performance of the season, we took every chance that came our way - excellent catches from Hewton, Chambers and Cracknell and for the second time in 2 weeks a direct hit from the captain to remove their dangerous opener. The introduction of Carroll (3/22) brought further success - Ealing 80/8. Hoble and Rajasansir tried to repair the damage but the introduction of Hollman (1/0) finished the innings and we needed 106 for victory. With the crowds rolling in and tea postponed we were keen to finish this quickly. Unlike Australia (1993 & 1997), England (1994) and Zimbabwe (2000) the chase could not have been more stress free. Et scored an elegant 41 in partnership with Chambo, who batted without a care in the would smashing an unbeaten 53 of 32 balls including a huge six to win the match. We had beaten Ealing at home in front a jubilant set of supporters to win the title - unbelievable scenes. The celebrations that followed lived up to expectations, apparently 15 bottles of jaegermaeser were consumed with several players not going to bed at all. This championship really was a team effort but some of our individual performances deserve to be mentioned. Two local lads who have been at the club 15+ years working their way up through the colts and the senior teams both had outstanding seasons. Crackers scored over 500 runs in the season with match winning innings against Enfield (103 & 66), Stanmore (50), Teddington (68) and Finchley (70) - an exceptional effort and a key player behind our success. Secondly Benny took 35 wickets including match winning spells against Acton (5/25), Stanmore (5/38) and Hampstead (6/39) - an extraordinary effort. Further mention to Rich Carroll who has now taken 75 league wickets in 2 years since joining the club at an average of 13, once again proving to be very effective against tail enders. It has been a pleasure to captain such a talented side and there is no reason why we can't dominate the league for the next 10 years. Special thanks to Kate our scorer, Pete our umpire, Dave Robson, Oz and everyone who has been part of the success. We have broken the duck, our next target is to defend this title but for now the celebrations will continue.....

North Midd 3rd XI vs Ealing (Home)
Ealing 185 from 44 overs
North Midd 161/6 from 25.2 overs
Mighty Middies win courtesy of the superior run rate regulation (SRRR)
Oh gentlemen, please excuse the Sinatrisms. But the end is near; and so we face the final curtain. As the great Roman stoic Lucius Annaeus Seneca once affirmed, whatever begins also ends. The NM3 Victory destined for the jetty of disarmed unsullied mediocrity, for the marina of mid-table aridity – the bubble of champions bursting like a hedgehog bidding to mate with a balloon animal. If last weekend’s dalliance at Finchley’s Potters Bar home was the dessert in this season of tasty encounters, this visit of Ealing would be the cheese board – complete with biscuits and grapes, very much the culmination of this pilgrimage towards title retention. Alas, the odyssey has ended in glorious failure, two defeats at the hands of those most wondrous specimens at Hampstead and utter annihilation on pastures Richmond rather hindering this title crusade. Moreover, disappointment was suffered at Ealing – an untimely moment to forget how to bat, as the middies were rolled by a child. And so it was that we should welcome our esteemed visitors – sitting an unassailable eleven points above Crouch End’s premier cricket club, to the citadel of success for one final afternoon of well-bred jousting. With an almighty apocalypse scheduled to curtail final-day dead rubbers all around the county, the households of Doris Duckworth and Lennie Lewis could be seen leaping about with unbridled glee, holding their own little street party to celebrate the occasion. Thus, with the glass-bodied Parker in charge of the day’s captaincy committee consisting of Lake, Sheppard and Edwards QC the ever-impeccable, the middies won the toss and – as all good hosts should, allowed the guests to go first in the wielding of willow. All this meant that Philip Victor, fresh from the barbaric murder of Dolly the sheep, could continue to wave his most magic of wands, making batsmen disappear at will. With Nantie Hayward, Johan van der Wath and Monde Zondeki all chipping in to rent a high-rise flat on the Park Road just to catch a glimpse of the great man, the forefather of left-arm seam bowling got to work. Five overs in, and with young mystical firebrand Harris callously toying with the fairly confused top order, there had been seventeen false strokes, one run off the bat and a few wides – though not 49 of them. Harris claimed the first victim, enticing a waft into a Sheppard-shaped bucket before J. Sabori became the latest lucky man to be able to tell his grandchildren about edging Victor behind. The other opener finally followed in similar style, though only after driving more wildly than a coked-up George Michael going round the Silverstone track for about an hour and a half. This highly inevitable episode brought the Ealing’s skipper – their answer to Robert The Bruce, to the crease. He too, clearly enthused by the efforts of his predecessor, decided that playing down the Bakerloo Line was the best form of defence. And so he did – probably in the knowledge, given the way we fielded, that he’d be safe if he did edge one aerially. Indeed, perspiring like a bunch of gingers on a walking tour through the Gobi, the middies began to sweat as standards dipped like crudité being thrust into a vessel of buttery hummus. At times, the fielding was so pedestrian that, much like Shane Warne’s face, nobody could believe it was real. The middies continued to create chances though, their captain effortlessly barbecuing his partner mid-pitch with real panache after a near mix-up in the previous over. What followed was a really boring spell of cricket where nothing actually happened for a very long time. That all changed with the introduction of the hustle-bustle brilliance of Harrow School for Boys graduate Lloyd-Williams. He ended the relative dullness with Lake, “one of the best fielders in the history of the Midd” (E. Lake 3/9/16), proving that his bucket hands had not deserted him – even if his long barrier had done. With Howeld spinning a web upon which Charlotte would happily reside, the introduction of Dr. Wickets would have to wait. When it did finally come, what a treat was in store. Standing pensive at his mark, it would take a big tractor to plow the fertile fields of his mind. With Friend positioned in some sort of unexplainable sacrificial lamb position at silly point, the greatest doctor since Zhivago began to toil away. He was soon in the wickets, the batsman overestimating the practicality of kicking a straight one off middle. At the other end, Sheppard gobbled up another one to remove the skipper for a well-made 68 and ergo, with Ealing short on runs, Parker tried to tempt the visitors into a declaration with some chinamen. The move had the desired effect, leaking runs quicker than a dodgy madras, three different gardens now have new cricket balls and Friend’s economy rate now has another few zeros on its end. Special mention to the Friend hat throw – almost certainly a future Olympic sport. Indeed, the writer of this report would like to apologise both for the over and the fairly petulant Paolo di Canio-esque tantrum that meant that the game was held up while the bowler collected his cap from fine leg. Andre finished proceedings with his 48th wicket of another exceptional season and Parker snuck in to end the innings on 181. Tea was lovely once again; a wonderful combination of onion bhajis and scones with homemade blackcurrant jam. Post-watermelon slice, runs required pursuing. And pursue them we did, Lake knowing that only a triple ton would carry him past Sheppard’s haul for the season. Alas, the District gloved a good one behind cheaply. The Swindon Sehwag twatted his way to 30 – dealing only in boundaries and denting a car in the process. Barrow similarly fancied a beer, whacking 39 and breaking a windscreen wiper, while Edwards Esquire The Ever-Impeccable QC played imperiously with aristocratic splendour until being adjudged leg before. This brought Friend to the crease for a wonderfully enthralling battle with Ealing’s 12 year-old chinaman as the world’s two left-arm leg-spinners battled off like two heavyweight boxers. With a rowdy crowd of drunken second eleven champions egging on the youngster against their hapless teammate, he proceeded to just about survive whilst failing to pick any single delivery bowled by the child. At the other end, Parker – a teacher no less, chose to bully the pre-teen before being caught behind. Sadly, the game went no further. For, it was – by this point, absolutely lashing it down and after playing through the hurricane for more than half an hour, umpire Dwarka removed the players from the field with Friend submerged in his crease – his request for a pair of wellies and a brolly going unanswered. Not so much a cat among pigeons as a T-rex amongst sparrows. For some reason, at this point, we chose to wait for an hour to confirm that Saharan temperatures were not around the corner. A victory courtesy of superior run rate. The sort of sporting drama to which Hollywood directors aspire. And so ends a season of highs, lows, goods, bads, uglies, weirds and wonderfuls. Truth be told, this is a league that with the right availability, we should win. Equally, however, the 135 points that we end with would be enough to win seven of the ten MCCL leagues and that in itself is something of an achievement – especially given some of the circumstances that we’ve faced. In reality, we’ve been below our levels for long periods and have never really put together the sort of performance that was on show so regularly last year. A nice way to end with a good bunch from Ealing. Fair play to them for staying till the end. Massive thanks to Phil for a quality dinner and for being a top addition to the side. Fourteen points away from retaining our title shows that we weren’t far away – a rain-off at home to Finchley makes it even more frustrating. Hey ho. It’s only cricket. 2017 is our year. Congrats to the 2s and to 3s legend Chambo for winning his second title in two years with a homer. We are officially the best club in the county and 25 empty bottles of Jaeger are testament to the togetherness of everyone at the club in celebrating others’ successes. A joy to be a part of and a season that, for one reason or another, we will not forget. Float like a butterfly, win like the threes. There’s a title to regain.

North Midd 4th XI vs Richmond (Home)
Mighty 4s 277/9 from 45 overs
Richmond 98/3 from 15.3 overs
No winners this time on Takeshi's Castle
After his many years at the club, this was finally it, the days of Pistol’s nagging and controlling seam spells were about to come to an end – so the 4s, determined to give him an appropriate send off drove out to Douglas Eyre to take on Richmond CC’s ‘3Bs’. As a man who has seen this 4th XI team climb from the depths of the 1987 league and up into the 3rd XI divisions of the Middlesex leagues, Pistol wanted a victory over the 2nd best 4s team in the county for the second time this season. The 4s were put into bat, and as his farewell tour continued, Pistol was sent out to open with Rich Verity, the politest man at North Midd. Pistol made his intentions very clear early on, swinging hard at his first ball to no avail, and after only taking a single run from his first seven deliveries he clearly decided enough was enough. Bang! 4 Bang! 4 Bang! 6, taking Pistol to 15, when the bowler very rudely bowled one that knocked the stumps back. So with the innings sitting at 17/1 after 3, and with this being a limited overs game, KP was sent in to provide some sort of controlled aggression. Unfortunately, he could only get to 14 from 8 balls, when a quick ball swinging into his toes nailed middle and leg. So at 40/2 from 6, the run rate was healthy, but losing early wickets always builds pressure – so who better to steady the ship than Pat B? Sadly though Pat’s attempt to stop the fall of wickets was prevented after the ball rolled off his back foot and onto his own stumps. Next to come was jazzy, Ralph Lauren goldfish polo wearing Hugh Teesdale, who found his form at the right time – keeping the strike rotating with Rich V and putting away any bad balls. The partnership of 80 helped North Midd to 127/4 when Hugh fell for a well earned 40. The highest elbow at North Midd continued to score runs at the other end, and with well controlled support from George G, he reached 88 and helped North Midd past 200. After Rich fell, consistent runs from George and Joe helped the run rate stay above 6, but after George/Shields/Dykey all fell in quick succession, it was down to Lulu to manufacture a partnership with Joe James. The thirty runs added by these two were crucial at getting our total past 270, and Lulu’s straight hit down the ground for four off the returning opener has to be shot of the day. So with a large total on the board, and Bootsy, Pistol, George, Hugh, Lulu and KP waiting for a go, North Midd hoped to knock the Richmond batsmen over quickly. George removed their opener 2nd ball of the innings and things were looking up, but as the Midd tend to do when we bowl second, we slightly lost our concentration in the field and let the pressure slip. 11 overs in and Richmond were 68/1, but the returning Brett Booth coaxed the other opener down the pitch and he was bowled for 19. Pistol got rid of the no.3 for 37 and at 68/3, 270 was looking a long way off. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas and the cruel mistress that is rain interfered, and after the batsman’s sweep resulted in his bat rather than the ball landing at square leg – play was suspended and the match was called off. It was sad for Pistol’s legacy to finish in such a manner, but for him to end his North Midd career alongside many of the teammates with whom he’d spent so much time was a fitting finale to the years of effort he has dedicated to the club. Still the best 4th XI in the land, onto next season for the impossible promotion charge!

North Midd 5th XI vs Stanmore (Away)
Stanmore 78
Stanmore 79-5
North Midd won by 5 wickets
The 5s finished the season on a high as they beat Stanmore 4s, and the rain, comfortably. Arj won the toss so we fielded first, with Joe Bangerter and Alex Harris opening up. They applied pressure immediately with their contrasting styles. Joe pushed the ball fuller while Alex’s length was slightly shorter but he got more bounce and pace out of the track. Alex was rewarded with an edge to first slip where to everyone’s surprise, including his own, Alex Thomas held onto a good catch. Two balls later, Alex had his second wicket. The delivery just held its line enough and clipped the top of off stump. From 10-2, Stanmore never looked like posting a competitive score. Joe hit the top off middle with another great delivery before their second opener smacked one down Arj’s throat at mid-off. James Gleadow then came into the attack in his first game after a liver operation. After a rusty start, James got into his grove and bowled with great accuracy. This lead to three catches for Alex Croft, Alex Harris and Tim Oon off his bowling. From the other end, their no.5 wanted a quick single of Charles Martland’s bowling. Tim Oon’s misfield gave him that single but he pulled his calf completing the run, depleting 10-man Stanmore to just 9. Joe then produced a brilliant catch from Alex Croft’s bowling. The ball looped over his head but he ran and then leapt to take the catch as the ball came over his shoulder. At 78-8, Stanmore were all out. Alex Harris and James Gleadow were the pick of the bowlers, with both claiming figures of 3-14. With tea not yet ready, we went straight back out. In truth, the chase was a bit sloppy but it hardly mattered in the end. On a bouncy track when most of the deliveries bounced the stumps, Alex Thomas was hit on the thigh and their umpire gave him out. An awful decision really. Louis Hayward edged one to slip while Alban was bowled. Charles beautifully timed a checked drive but he pinged it straight to mid-off. Tim batted well to top score with 28 before one ball stuck in the pitch. This left it to two 5s captains, one past and one present, to see us home. Richard hit the winning runs to go to 20*. An easy win by 5 wickets in the end. Done before four. Unfortunately there weren’t enough of Saturdays like this over the course of the season. Many thanks should go to Arj for his relentless work this year, both on and off the pitch. Let’s bounce back in 2017!