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Free Foresters emerge victorious
The Free Foresters chased down a total of 335 to win by 4 wicket with 4 balls to spare in the only May week fixture this season.
That the game was played during this period was clear for all spectators to see; for the first time in living memory The Free Foresters arrived earlier than the University and had to accommodate some late arrivals by bowling first.
The visitors did remarkably well considering the score once read 170-2 after 20 overs, the introduction of spin applying the much needed brake to the scoring rate. Anand Ashok batted brilliantly for his century and was ably supported by Scott MacLennan and Rupert Wingate-Saul.
In reply, the chase was founded around a superb innings of 150* by the Free Forester opening bat, with contrbutions from Matthew Friedlander, Nick Lee and Paul MacMahon.
James (18 June 2009)
Quidnuncs defeat Harlequins at Arundel
A glorious day at Arundel on Sunday saw the Quidnuncs win the toss and decide to bat. With 10 lively Quidnuncs and one guest (the skipper of last year's Oxford MCCU and the combined MCCU side) the Quidnuncs felt confident. They felt less confident at the end of the Harlequins' new ball spell with Jones G & R, Danson and Hodgson back in the shed. Young (guest) and James steadied the ship but with Young and Heywood's departure either side of lunch, the 'Nuncs were rocking on 106-6. James and Newman then batted beautifully to add 100 and to allow the Quidnuncs to declare on 206-6 after 53 overs leaving the Harlequins approximately 45 overs back. Vice President Melluish showed both sides of his character by questioning the Quidnunc captain why 1. the teams were lunching on separate tables and then 2. why the Quidnuncs had made such a generous declaration (last year the 'quins had chased down 280 in a similar time!)
The Harlequins came out in aggressive style but the Quidnuncs are used to batsmen trying to play their shots from the word go. Alberts and Kemp used the new ball beautifully, pitching the ball up to drive and every time the Harlequins looked to be getting ahead of the rate another wicket fell. The last ball before tea saw Alberts bowling to a 9-0 offside field in an effort to get another nick to another outswinger. After tea, the dark blues needed 150 off approximately 30 overs with 7 wickets remaining. At that point the decisive bowling changes were made. A combination of slow turning off breaks from Newman, aggressive medium pace from Young and bouncy left arm non turners from Abington stymied the Harlequin charge and left the 'Nuncs comfortable winners by 50 runs and with 10 overs remaining.
The interesting fact of the day was that in the Quidnunc innings a Tonbridge schoolmaster dismissed another Tonbridge schoolmaster and in the Harlequin innings a Monkton Coombe pair repeated the feat, so bragging rights at those schools were shared. Overall though, bragging rights returned to the Quidnuncs, until battle resumes next year. Many thanks to 2 quidnunc vice Presidents, who post the conclusionof Ken Green's many years of kind sponsorship, helped top up the player's match fees to pay the requisite fee to Arundel. Next year,
we may move the fixture to Fenner's or the Parks to save cost, but somehow, despite our affiliation to those wonderful grounds, the
spiritual home of this game feels like it should remain Arundel!
Michael (05 May 2009)
UCCE draws with Yorkshire
The UCCE's first county match of the season petered out into a tame draw on Monday, as the captains shook hands with more than an hour's play remaining.
With Saturday washed out, Yorkshire batted first on Sunday, the UCCE doing well to restrict the professionals to 346 for 9 in the day. Rob Woolley - on first-class debut - impressed, taking 3-71 and three catches, while a brace was claimed by both Jivan Lotay's off-spin and Hughes Hall's Marc Rosenberg.
Having declared overnight, Yorkshire's attack provided an expectedly stern test for the UCCE's top order on Monday. From the reasonable position of 39 for 1 with half an hour until lunch, English test players Hoggard and McGrath conspired to reduce the UCCE to a very precarious 48 for 5. Indeed, only a superb 72 from Nick Lee (six fours, two sixes) allowed CUCCE to pass into three figures, finally dismissed for 155.
Thereafter, there was little prospect of a result and so Yorkshire opted for a net in the middle. And, when Ruel Brathwaite (Queens') cleaned up Jacques Rudolph with the score on 64, time was called.
The full scorecard will be added soon, and Sussex visit Fenner's on Wednesday (15th).
Michael (14 April 2009)
Saturday washed out
Persistent drizzle put paid to the UCCE's chances of starting its first-class match against Yorkshire today. Tomorrow's forecast is a bit better, so we look forward to seeing Test cricketers Matthew Hoggard, Anthony McGrath, and Jacques Rudolph in action at Fenner's.
Michael (11 April 2009)
Blues versus Camden: OFF
Saturday's scheduled match between CUCC and Camden CC has been cancelled: the local club has failed to raise an XI.
Michael (10 April 2009)
UCCE warm-up matches summary
The UCCE’s first-class season begins tomorrow against Yorkshire (11:00 start), but the squad already has four matches under its belt, following fine weather throughout the week.
On Monday, Essex’s 2nd XI came to Fenner’s and left victorious by 33 runs. In the field, ARU’s Rob Woolley impressed, taking 3 for 45, including the wicket of Test batsman Grant Flower, and the UCCE bowlers did well to restrict Essex to 275, given that the visitors lost only five wickets. In a somewhat bizarre reply, though, the fall of early wickets seemed to preclude any serious pursuit of that total, and only Eddie Ballard’s fine, near-run-a-ball century gave the appearance of a close-run thing.
On Tuesday, the UCCE recorded its only win of the week, defeating a Suffolk XI by 60 runs in a timed match at Pembroke. On a green but decent pitch, Nick Lee’s excellent 108 was the rock upon which a total of 239 was built, with useful contributions coming from Fergus Baker (30) and Jivan Lotay (26). Suffolk, at 146 for 3 and needing fewer than six an over, were well in with a shout of chasing that down, but Cambridge spinners Baker and Michael Taylor bowled well in tandem to take seven wickets for 33 runs, securing victory with five overs to spare.
Northants 2nd XI were the visitors to Fenner’s on Wednesday, and – in all honesty – the UCCE received a sound thrashing. Batting first, Northants racked up 317 for 5, with as many as 110 coming in the last eight overs. On the plus side, CUCC’s depth in spin bowling was again apparent, this time Akbar Ansari (2-22) and Frankie Brown (eight overs for 38) escaping the carnage. Reduced to 110 for 8, with only Ananya Sen (35) really getting in, the chase was never on. At least a ninth-wicket partnership of 107 – albeit in benign and relaxed conditions – between Stephen Gray and Nick Lee added some kind of respectability to the scorecard.
Report on Thursday's match against Cambridgeshire to follow.
Michael (10 April 2009)
Fixture lists updated
New fixtures have been added for the coming season: the MCCU now plays two more pre-season friendlies against Suffolk and Cambridgeshire; the Blues play Camden CC and are likely to entertain Irish Universities in June, while the Crusaders now have a match against the Free Foresters pencilled in for late June.
Michael (05 April 2009)
CUCC fixtures for 2009
Full fixture schedules for Cambridge MCCU, the Blues, and the Crusaders, may now be found under the 'Fixtures' heading of the website.
Michael (10 March 2009)
Senior Treasurer's Report for 2009
We are delighted to publish CUCC Senior Treasurer Ken Siddle's annual report, the text of which follows:
'This year's Annual General Meeting will mark the end of an era. Professor David Buckingham has indicated that he does not wish to stand for re-election as President of the Club, an office he has held with great enthusiasm and commitment for 19 years. He is also of course a very distinguished academic, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1975, and awarded the CBE for services to science in 1997. David's connection with CUCC began in 1955 when, as a postgraduate student at Corpus, he played for the University (having previously represented the University of Sydney in his native Australia). In a squad captained by Dennis Silk and including Michael Melluish, Bob Barber, Colin Stansfield-Smith and Gammy Goonesena (who topped both the batting and bowling averages) David did not win a Blue, but he played four first class matches and totaled 155 runs with a highest score of 52*. The Cricinfo player archive records that David's first class career in fact ran from 1955-1960, and that in 10 matches he scored 349 runs at an average of 18.4, and bowled 9 overs (off-breaks, we think) without taking any wickets. However, not all those games were for CUCC. After just one season at Fenner's he moved to Oxford, where he became a Fellow of Christ Church, and he was Senior Treasurer of OUCC from 1958-1964. He played occasional first class matches for the Free Foresters, delighting especially in returning to Fenner's in 1957 to play against his old university in a Foresters side captained by F.G. Mann. On that occasion David enjoyed a century opening partnership with Ian Craig, former captain of Australia, and made his highest first class score of 61, no mean feat considering the Cambridge attack included his former team-mates Colin Stansfield-Smith and Gammy Goonesena, now supplemented by Ossie Wheatley and Ted Dexter! Foresters went on to win an exciting game by 15 runs. Overall however 1957 was a good year for Cambridge cricket. Two weeks after losing to the Foresters the Blues beat Lancashire by an innings at Liverpool, a famous match in which G.W. Cook and C.S. Smith enjoyed a University record 9th wicket stand of 200. Later on their tour the Blues had another innings win over Gloucestershire, and at Lord's they beat Oxford by an innings and 186 runs, Goonesena setting another University record with a score of 211. Great days!!
By 1969, after a short spell at Bristol University, David was back in Cambridge, this time to stay, as Professor of Chemistry and Fellow of Pembroke College. Jack Davies was quick to get him onto the CUCC committee, and he succeeded Jack as Senior Treasurer in 1977, becoming (we believe) the only person to hold that office for both CUCC and OUCC. In 1990, he succeeded John Butterfield as President of CUCC. His term of office has seen major changes in Cambridge cricket, largely in response to external pressures and certainly beyond the Club's control, reflecting both the development of the professional game and the declining profile of all university sport. However, David has guided the Club through these rough waters with wisdom and good humour, and has overseen many developments that have helped maintain Cambridge's place at the forefront of University cricket as it is played today. We have a thriving University Centre of Cricketing Excellence, a superb indoor school, we still play first class cricket at Fenner's, and our annual encounters with Oxford remain the highlights of our season. Indeed we now have three such encounters, the one-day Varsity Match at Lord's and both 4-day and 20/20 matches at Fenner's or The Parks.
In keeping with Club tradition, David has nominated his own successor, but breaking with tradition he has looked to the ranks of old Blues rather than academic colleagues in making that nomination. We are delighted that Roger Knight has accepted David's invitation to stand as his successor, and expect that he will be formally elected at the AGM.
Roger has been a good friend to CUCC for many years. In 1998 he captained the MCC against the University in a game celebrating the 150th anniversary of the very first match Fenner's, and in 2004 he officially opened our indoor cricket school. Roger won four Blues while a student at St Catharine's (1967-1970) and subsequently played first class cricket with Surrey, Gloucestershire, Sussex and then Surrey again (where he was captain for seven years). His movements around the county circuit had nothing to do with the transfer markets of today's game, but reflected his parallel career as a schoolmaster. He retired from first class cricket in 1989, having played 367 first class and 310 one-day games. A left-hand bat and right-arm medium bowler, in all cricket he scored 26,473 runs (including 35 centuries), took 666 wickets and held 379 catches. In 1983 he featured in a particularly memorable match of fluctuating fortunes when, as captain of Surrey, he saw his side bowled out for just 14 by Essex at Chelmsford, then scored a hundred in the second innings to help Surrey save the game. When he retired from first class cricket in 1989 he became headmaster of Worksop College. However, cricket was still in his blood, and in 1994 he gave up teaching to become Secretary (and later Chief Executive) of MCC, holding that key post until 2006. During 13 years at Lord's he is credited with transforming facilities, launching MCC's Spirit of Cricket initiative and overseeing the admission of women members (and of course inaugurating the women's Varsity Match on the practice ground!). We trust that Roger will be confirmed as the next President of CUCC at our AGM, and it is intended that David Buckingham will formally hand over the reins of office at the Varsity Match at Lord's on 4th July – an important date for your diaries.
Other dates for those diaries are June 10th, when the excitement and razmataz of 20/20 cricket comes to Fenner's as we take on Oxford in the most frenetic form of the game. We are grateful to Charles Russell for their sponsorship of this match and its trophy (which Cambridge currently hold following a narrow victory in last year's inaugural match). Oxford will be back at Fenner's for what is likely to be a more sedate but no less keenly contested 4 day Varsity Match (still a first class fixture) from July 7th -10th. Other first class cricket at Fenner's in 2009 will see visits from Northants (April 11th-13th), Yorkshire (April 15-17) and Essex (June 11-13) to play the Cambridge MCC UCCE.
Regular readers of the Club's Notes for Members will be aware that club finances are an ongoing preoccupation. This year it might be best to draw a veil over the deficit of approx £16,000 for the 2008 season. Unfortunately although we have kept expenditure under control, income has fallen away very badly over the last couple of years. We again failed to secure a major club sponsor last year, and the fixture against the Lashings all-star international XI was not the money-spinner it had been in 2007 (although Cambridge did record a memorable victory). Without a substantial and reliable source of additional income the club faces real difficulty very soon. Needless to say the committee is urgently addressing this critical financial situation, with strong support from Quidnuncs, and there is optimism that new sponsorship will be forthcoming in 2009.
But I should end on a happier note. With a hint of spring in the air as I am writing these notes, it is easy enough for thoughts to turn to the coming season. Captain of CUCC in 2009 will be Akbar Ansari, who had an outstanding summer with the bat in 2008. As one of only three Blues still in residence, Akbar will be looking to a strong intake of freshers to take up the challenge, and will be heartened to have West Indian fast bowler Ruel Braithwaite to spearhead the opening attack. We wish the team all the very best, and hope to see many members at Fenner's to support them.'
Prof Ken Siddle,
CUCC Senior Treasurer
Michael (09 March 2009)
Charles Russell Twenty20 Day confirmed
The CUCC committee has confirmed that Wednesday 10 June will see Fenner's host a Twenty20 Day, kindly sponsored by the Charles Russell law firm.
The event will consist of two Twenty20 matches, the first being the final of the inter-collegiate Cuppers competition, the second the Blues' Varsity Twenty20 Match against Oxford University.
This will be the first time in living memory that any cricketing Varsity match has been played in Cambridge during term time, and will provide a fantastic opportunity for the wider university to watch a very high standard of Blues cricket.
Tickets, which will be very reasonably priced, will soon be available to buy from all members of CUCC, and at the gates on the day.
Michael (23 February 2009)
2009 first-class fixtures announced
The ECB has released the first-class fixture schedule for the forthcoming season, with Cambridge MCCU down to play Yorkshire, Sussex, and Essex at Fenner's, as follows:
April 11-13, Yorkshire
April 15-17, Sussex
June 11-13, Essex
MCCU captain for the 2009 season is Trinity Hall's Akbar Ansari.
Michael (27 December 2008)
Ex-Blues on the county circuit
The past week has seen one former Blue leave the professional arena, only to be swiftly replaced by another...
Former Kent and Middlesex captain Ed Smith announced his retirement from the first-class game on 25th November, having sustained a serious ankle injury during the 2008 season.
Smith, who was capped for England on three occasions during the 2003 series against South Africa, scored almost 13,000 first class runs at an average of 41.8.
Offered a contract with Lancashire this week, however, was Adrian Shankar, Blues captain in 2003 and 2004. CUCC sends its warmest congratulations to Adrian, who scored 252 runs throughout his Varsity career, at an average of 22.9.
Michael (26 November 2008)
Blues Squad announced for 2008-09
The following have been selected for the Blues' winter training squad:
Akbar Ansari (capt)
Scott MacLennan (vc)
Fergus Baker
Frankie Brown
Ed Pearson
Phil Ashton
Michael Taylor
Richard Hollamby
George Reynolds
Chris Grammer
Mark Rosenberg
Ruel Brathwaite
Anand Ashok
Rupert Wingate-Saul
Tom Marsh
Matt Cook
Ananya Sen
Thomas Probert
Tom Scrase
James Greenwood
There will be a further 'development' squad of around a dozen cricketers who will train separately over the winter, but who will likely be involved with the Crusaders come the summer: they have been contacted separately.
If you have not been contacted with reference to either the Blues or the Development squad, but you would still like to be involved in university cricket this season, please contact Michael Taylor (mht25). A system for keeping track of potential squad members' performances in college matches will be established in advance of the 2009 season.
Thanks are offered to all those who trialled this year.
Michael (11 November 2008)