When Ardleigh Green were relegated into
division three at the end of the 2001 season few at the club could have
anticipated the rollercoaster ride we were about to embark upon. Under the
leadership of returning “old boy” Royston Smith, three promotions in four
seasons catapulted us into the Premier Division for 2006 where we not only
comfortably survived but captured the League Cup for the first time. For the
2007 season we welcomed some new faces to the club with everybody wondering
if we had reached our peak or whether there was more to come? The additions
were Farid “Freddy” Butt, a well known and popular figure on the circuit,
Shaun McMurray who had led Chingford into the Premier Division in 2006 plus
Kulbir “Ricky” Gill who offered variety to the bowling attack. With Jon
Powell returning from his trip down under, Green looked well placed to
consolidate their place in the top division and expectations were high. Our
overseas player from 2006, Chris “Chopper” Hopper however could not return
and a late replacement was found in the Sri Lankan Chamikara “Chammy”
Mudalige.
An unusually dry and warm start in April
allowed some useful warm up games before the defence of the League Cup began
with victory over Saffron Walden for the second successive season. This
proved to be a good omen as Colchester & East Essex, Buckhurst Hill, and
Wickford were beaten to set up a semi-final against Hainault & Clayhall.
Sparkling centuries from Ian Russell & Royston Smith saw a huge total posted
which proved well beyond our visitors, enabling us to go on and retain the
trophy in style against Chingford at Brentwood the following day. There was
an encouraging start to the league campaign too as after holding Brentwood
in a close rain affected opening game, victories over Ilford and Colchester
& East Essex saw us amongst the early pacesetters. However, with only one
victory in the next eight games hopes became dampened as did most of the
grounds in the inclement conditions. As the weather improved so did the form
of the players as five of the last seven games were won to see to the title
secured on the final Saturday by the slenderest of margins, a mere two
points amid chaotic scenes at Central Park! There was a good variety of
batting and bowling talent within the squad with all of the players making
significant contributions. This enabled Green to adapt to a variety of
surfaces which was a major factor in recording five of our eight victories
away from home. Pride of place must go to Chammy Mudalige who took 50 league
wickets at 17.60 apiece but there was excellent back up from Mick Clarke (27
at 20.15), Ricky Gill (20 at 20.60) and Ananda Krishnan (17 at 22.12). The
batting was once again built around Royston Smith with 531 runs at 37.93
followed closely by Ian Russell (462 at 30.80), but it was a genuine team
effort with seven players scoring more then 250. Royston Smith, Shaun
McMurray and Ian Russell all scored centuries but one of the more vital
batting contributions came when Ian Russell and Mick Clarke held firm for
more than 35 tense overs to deny eventual runners up Wanstead in the
penultimate game. This incredible effort ultimately proved decisive in
pipping them to the title, ensuring that we retained control of our own
destiny going into the final weekend. After winning an important toss we
posted an imposing 288-6, declared early (57 overs) and bowled out Hainault
& Clayhall with time to spare to complete the first ‘double’ since the
inception of the Premier League in 1999.
There were some good performances in the
other cup competitions although we haven’t quite mastered the demands of
20/20, going out in the first round once again. In both the Cockspur
(National) Cup where we made the last 64 and the Evening Standard Challenge
Trophy (last 32) there were notable scalps before we bowed out to fellow
Shepherd Neame sides Brentwood and Wanstead respectively. Despite the
distractions of these splendid cup runs we were able to retain our Essex
Sunday League Premier Division status under the captaincy of Chris Cook.
The 2nd XI similarly made a good
start, being undefeated after eight matches. However a run of four defeats
in the next seven games saw them slip into a relegation battle for the
second year running. The standard of the mid-table teams was so close that a
couple of late victories saw them finish in a respectable 4th
place. The mainstay of the batting was 15 year old Alex Cason who built on
the promise of the previous season to score 530 league runs at an average
just over 48. In all Alex scored 1722 runs at an average of 61.50, becoming
the youngest Ardleigh Green player to pass 1,000 runs in a season in senior
cricket. As ever, Gavin Castle (449 runs) produced a major contribution and
there were supporting performances from Chris Cook, Chris Gibbon and Martin
Cason all of whom passed 240. Bowling was more of a problem this year with
Trevor Oakley’s work commitments restricting him to just eight games. Even
so, he was the second leading wicket taker behind Chris Gibbon who took just
15 wickets with Ahmad Kiani and Gavin Castle chipping in. Aaron Hills is
capable of producing excellent spells and it is hoped that he will add
consistency to his game to fulfil his obvious potential.
There is not much encouragement however to be
had by looking to the 3rd XI for replacements as the only bowlers
who took more than 10 wickets were those old stagers John Coxall (23) and
Keith Mitchell (20). Unfortunately, the figures in parentheses refer to the
number of wickets rather than the age of the bowlers. With such experience,
the 3rd XI fared quite well in finishing in 4th place
without ever really threatening the top two sides who finished well clear.
Again it was the experience of Ian Gibbs, who scored 540 runs including an
excellent century against Woodford Wells, and fellow veteran Andy Symes
(290) to the fore. There was also a typically belligerent maiden century
from Paul Hurworth which secured a fine victory at Fives & Heronians to
savour. Grant Apicella played a handful of games amassing 426 runs including
2 superb centuries, to show how much he could have contributed at a higher
level if other commitments had allowed him to play on a more regular basis.
The 4th XI struggled with sporadic
availability but were led well from the front by Alan Surrey who took 24
wickets. Evergreen John Doughty took 17 wickets whilst under 15 Matthew
Simmons continued his impressive development to take 21 as well as scoring
two half centuries to show all-round potential. His final total of 67
wickets for the season was only bettered by Chammy Mudalige with 77. The
batting was a struggle with veterans Geoff Robinson and Ken Moore the only
players to pass 200 runs followed by Matthew Simmons (188) and Steve Gosnell
(159). Thirteen year old Thomas Oakley made an impressive 87 against
eventual champions Chelmsford and looked at home in senior cricket including
other notable performances in the 2nd and 3rd XI’s.
The 5th XI eventually found a
comfortable mid-table position in Division one of the fourth XI section
following their promotion in 2006, but only managed to pass 200 on one
occasion. This lack of batting points left them in a precarious position
until quite late on in the season. The wily skipper Vic Simmons enlisted the
talents of some talented fathers to supplement his promising youngsters.
Kuldeep Minocha scored 296 runs with Neil Cook and the skipper himself both
passing 200 (cow corner must have taken a battering from the latter two).
Malcolm Waters (194) and Garry Green (162) also contributed in what became
very much a team effort. Vic was also the leading wicket-taker with 22 but
mention must also go to fourteen year old leg break bowler Ross Frost who
showed enormous promise with 14 wickets. Another two fathers Kevin Hewitt
and Simon Weston also gave some good all-round performances as the season
progressed with Kevin adding a good deal of control to the bowling attack
and Simon’s “safe hands” boosting the out cricket no end.
There were plenty of youngsters making their
way in the senior sides with some asked challenging questions by at times
being thrust into higher sides earlier than was desirable. James Haylett (36
senior wickets over the season) and Jack Taylor (465 runs) both performed
with credit in the 3rd XI with the latter showing a tremendous
improvement in his batting during the year including a maiden half century
in senior cricket. The Duhig brothers, Robert and James, Tiraj Patel, Thomas
Farquharson and Chris Haylett also performed with talent and enthusiasm that
will undoubtedly see them enjoy plenty of success in years to come.
Unfortunately, friendly cricket seems to be
in terminal decline and there were a number of mismatches although we still
continue to field two sides on a Sunday plus a mid-week XI with comparative
ease. The Sunday 2nd XI led by Ian Gibbs did well to accommodate
players of all abilities and allowed a lot of young talent to develop
alongside some of the more seasoned regulars. Graham “Pipey” Harris
eventually passed the 1,000 wicket mark for the club after an injury ravaged
season and it may come as a surprise to some that not all of them wore black
trainers. Gavin Castle scored a hatful of runs in such games, finishing the
season with over 1,600 to his name.
We are proud of the achievements of Joanne
Cook whose performances in ladies cricket have been outstanding. As well as
being captain of England under 19’s and Essex Ladies she has retained her
place in 2008 for a second year in the Essex Academy. We also saw Arjun
Minocha, Chris Haylett and Thomas Oakley continue to represent the County
with distinction. After his superb form during the year Alex Cason finally
forced his way into the under 15 side mid season and was part of the
victorious team that took the National County Cup in late August. Our junior
sides in general had a disappointing season with a young under 11 team never
giving anything but 100% in adversity. We were able to field two teams at
under 13 level and the “A” side following several fine performances with
Thomas Oakley, Chris Haylett and Harry Lennon to the fore made it into the
semi-finals of the Peter Coe Cup. However after looking in control for much
of the match they ultimately capitulated in the face of a spirited
Chelmsford fight back. Our under 15 & 16 sides saw their fixture lists
decimated by the weather and had to wait until the final group match before
recording their solitary victory in the Essex Matchplay Competition.
As ever, we are indebted to the support of
the AGWAGS who provide many a lively Saturday evening at the club as well as
tremendous support with the catering plus whatever else needs to be done.
Our thanks also go to “retiring” Social Committee Chairperson Stacey Nichols
after two years of “hard labour” whose constant flow of events have been
enjoyed by all. Many old players still turn up on a Saturday afternoon to
watch, providing an important link with the history of the club, long may
this continue. Our Vice-President Terry Jackson deserves special mention for
the unstinting support he has given to the club for the last decade with his
Vice-President’s day proving ever popular (especially if you are lucky
enough to miss the speech). Roy Nichols too has served Ardleigh Green
stoically for more years than he would care to remember as Chairman and we
are equally indebted for his continued efforts.