When in years to come we look back on the summer of 2024, it will probably be remembered mostly as the wettest cricket season for a long time (though, perhaps inevitably, since the final match we have enjoyed a late spell of fine September sunshine). It was not, on the whole, a vintage year for Blackheath teams, though all had their successes and there was much that boded well for the future.
Men’s cricket
After winning the Div.1 title last year, it was a rather disappointing league season for the men’s 1st XI. Too many results in the first half of the summer went the wrong way, as what on paper looked like a strong batting line up showed unexpected frailty. In consequence, any realistic prospect of retaining the title had disappeared by mid-July and skipper Will Melhuish sensibly used the last few matches of the season to give first-team experience to some of our talented youngsters who had become available on Saturdays after the end of schools’ cricket. The team’s final position of sixth in I’Anson Div.1 should be seen in that context.
As always there were some fine individual performances. Amongst the batsmen, Tom Flavell achieved a consistency which eluded others, often holding the innings together and finishing with an average only just shy of 50 (the second-best in Div.1). Meanwhile, Ronny Harrison reinvented himself as a highly effective off-spinner, picking up 24 wickets including 5-fers against Frensham and Grayshott and a 6-fer against Tilford. But many others had their moments, notably Will Melhuish whose 151 against Frensham was the highest league score by any Blackheath batsman for several years.
It was a different story for the 2nd XI, who exceeded all expectations (including their own) by securing promotion to I’Anson Div.2 with a remarkable victory over Tilford on the last Saturday of the season: see report. With one or two of the elder statesmen calling it a day this year, several younger players stepped into the breach. The most obvious difference this made in the field – shots which in some recent previous seasons would been waved to the boundary were met with diving stops or determinedly chased down. But in every aspect of the game, the team had a rejuvenated look about it.
The 2nd XI following their promotion-clinching victory over Tilford
Amongst the batsmen there were a number who made regular useful contributions, including Harry Giles, Ranald Schultz, Ben Lawrence, Charlie Rooken-Smith and Ben Bushell. But top of the averages and leading run-scorer once again was Paul Nash, who held things together on several occasions, notably with a memorable 86 not out against Pirbright to see us to a much-celebrated victory. The bowling was also very much a team effort, though once again skipper Simon Mansell finished the season as the team’s leading wicket taker. A special mention too to youngster Oscar Gilliam, whose accurate and pacey bowling made a huge difference in the second half of the summer; Oscar finished the season with a remarkable economy rate for the 2nd XI of just 1.91 runs per over.
For the 3rd XI, newly promoted to I’Anson Div.5 this year, the objective was consolidation. That objective was comfortably achieved under new skipper Stephen Greenway – indeed for some weeks of the season the team flirted with the unlikely possibility of promotion, and ultimately finished in a creditable fourth place.
The team’s leading run-scorer and top of the averages by some margin was the ever-reliable Keith Hemshall, who rarely failed to make a significant contribution and finished the season by carrying his bat in the final match against the division winners, Frimley Phoenix. Though no-one else could match Keith’s consistency, there were highlights from several others, including a sparkling 81 not out from Freddie Alexander against Liphook & Ripsey. Amongst the bowlers, it was great to see Will Nash finish the season as the team’s leading wicket-taker for the first time, just ahead of Anthony “Brindle” Coombes and Toby Webb, whilst in his few appearances U15 Sam Behn showed huge promise.
Away from league cricket, availability issues resulted in an early and somewhat humiliating exit from the National Village Cup at the hands of Chobham. However, we fared better in the other cup competitions. Having swept all before us to make it through to the latter stages of the Surrey Slam we eventually lost to a Grayshott team who in truth we should comfortably have beaten – the Oval will have to wait until next year. And in a closely fought Stevens Cup final against Puttenham in tricky conditions at Peper Harow (after the first scheduled date at Woodbridge Road was washed out), we came up just 4 runs short.
As for Sunday cricket, thanks in large part to our very strong contingent of youngsters, the Heathens went unbeaten all season, and in fact won nearly every match. Amongst the batsmen, Freddie Alexander, Ben Bushell and Rob Greenway all scored heavily, whilst the bowling of Oscar Gilliam and Sam Behn was too good for several opposition teams. Whilst these things inevitably go in phases, we currently have a strength in depth on Sundays which few other clubs can match and it may be that for next season we will need to consider bringing in one or two stronger opponents.
Finally, in a season when washouts were all too common, remarkably we managed to complete all five games in Cricket Week and, even more remarkably, for the first time anyone can remember won all five of them. The match against new opponents Blackheath Kent on the Monday was a particular highlight, with U15s Kai Barker and Sam Behn steering us to an unlikely victory with a terrific late order partnership against some good bowling, but as usual, all the games were well contested and played in a great spirit. As ever, it was also good to see some old faces in the course of the week, and the lamb roast and barn dance which followed the Friday match against Old Cranleighans was a huge success. Thanks in particular to Ranuld Schultz for the roast, and to Alex Jones for (yet again) organising the catering throughout the week.
Club President James Herbert, together with Vice-Presidents Tim Bryers and Billie Hockley, at the Kongonis fixture in cricket week
Women’s cricket
The women’s section was delighted to welcome Sharon Eyers back into the Blackheath fold this summer as coach and team manager. Sharon worked wonders on the team’s confidence and has grand plans for the future. The squad also welcomed many new players, including several new recruits from St Catherine’s and from Guildford Hockey Club, and was given a further boost by the enthusiasm (not to mention considerable cricket skills) of new committee members Lucy Horitz and Anne-Marie Wakefield.
The season started well, with wins for the team in all their friendlies and their first league match, but later in the season we struggled with injuries and availability for league fixtures in the holidays. Sadly conceding a match (costing 10 penalty points) followed by an agonising single run defeat in the final match of the season ultimately led to relegation. However, the team had fun and stayed close knit throughout, and will certainly be back full of determination and enthusiasm next summer.
Boys’ cricket
The Blackheath boys’ section continues to go from strength to strength, with most teams now competing in Tier 1 of the SJCC against the top clubs in the county.
For the first time in a while, we ran an U17s team this year (albeit that nearly all the players were U16 or younger) and they accredited themselves well in the handful of matches they played after GCSEs, finishing mid-table. So also did the U15s, who were strengthened by several new joiners, and faced exceptionally tough opposition in the newly created U15 Tier 1A. Highlights of the season included victories against Thames Ditton, Weybridge, East Molesey and Reigate Priory, the last secured thanks to a brilliant maiden hundred from U14 Idris Iqbal. A number of players made important contributions with both bat and ball, including (amongst others) Charlie Fuller, Tom Harris, Kai Barker and in particular Sam Behn – but it is invidious to single out individuals in a season in which every squad member played his part.
The U14s had a tough season in their Tier 1 division, ultimately winning only one game, though running the opposition close in several others. They were a strong bowling and fielding unit, but were repeatedly undone by their fragile batting, with just one player, Tom Baker, averaging more than 20 – definitely something to work on this winter. Amongst the bowlers, Idris Iqbal and Freddie Park stood out, picking up 25 wickets between them. The U14Bs also had a difficult summer, suffering from serious availability issues, but finished the season on a high note with back to back victories over Chobham.
The U13s did well in what was generally a very competitive and well-matched Tier 2 division, finishing third. Although everyone played their part, particular credit to Tom Newman, Eliot Lewis and Elliott Kitson for their all-round contributions. The U12s meanwhile are shaping up into a formidable team, with several county squad players and a number of others very close to that standard. Unbeaten for most of the season they looked set to clinch their Tier 1 division title until they were undone by late availability issues and lost a couple of critical games. Amongst the batsmen, a special mention for Ollie Dann and Freddie Harris – the latter scored no fewer than 323 runs over the summer, being dismissed only twice to record an astonishing average of 161.5! The leading wicket-taker was Josh Austen-Brown, though hot on his heels were a host of others, including Hugo Collinson, Oscar Davison and Balthazar Pakzad. The U12Bs, who were mostly playing other clubs’ A teams, had more difficult time of it, but still won the odd match and generally enjoyed themselves.
As regards the younger age groups, the U11s were generally competitive in Tier 1, but struggled to turn promising positions into victories, as reflected in their eventual lowly league position. However, there were plenty of strong individual performances (particular mentions here for Henry Thompson and Artie Nichols). The U11Bs fared better in Tier 2, albeit that several of their fixtures were cancelled – they won all the games they actually played. The U10s meanwhile had a tremendous season, winning their Tier 1 division with 7 victories out of 8 games played. Harry Dann starred with both bat and ball, but there were many other strong contributors as well – congratulations to all of them. The U10Bs also did well in their Tier 2 division, winning 4 out of 5 completed games. Clearly great things can be expected of this squad in the future!
The U9s and U8s competitions are all about participation and inclusion rather than winning or losing and there are no points or tables for these age groups. For the U9 hardball squad it was a learning experience as they took on some of the strongest clubs in the county, some of whom had been playing hardball cricket for a while, but it will stand them in good stead. All the softball teams in both age groups thoroughly enjoyed themselves – as was very obvious to anyone visiting Blackheath on a Saturday morning! – and there is clearly a lot of upcoming talent for the future.
Girls’ cricket
Our girls’ section was boosted by two developments this year: the decision to move all girls’ training on Thursday evenings to Blackheath and the return to the club of Sharon Eyers as our new Women and Girls’ Head Coach. Doubtless for both reasons, we saw a significant increase in numbers in both our U15 and U13 girls’ squads, giving a real buzz to Thursday evenings. For next season we will be looking to increase numbers further, especially in the younger age groups where there is ample scope for further expansion.
In competitive cricket our U15 girls had a mixed season but on the whole acquitted themselves well, with 3 wins and 4 losses in their 7 games played. Flo Riddy captained the side with skill and was also one of the outstanding performers on the field, along with Eira Hopkins and Millie Ward (amongst others). The team would certainly have finished higher than their eventual fifth place had they not suffered from serious availability issues with onset of holidays towards the end of the junior season.
Similar issues afflicted the younger girls’ teams and it was disappointing that in the second half of the summer we had to concede a number of matches at several age groups, even with quite large squads. In general, amongst the younger girls there seems to be distinctly more enthusiasm for training sessions than matches – we need to work on those competitive juices for next season!
And finally …
This is not the place for detailed account of all the many activities that went on this summer behind the scenes – for that, please come to the AGM. But it would be remiss to conclude this end of season round-up without thanking the very many people who make it all possible by helping out in a myriad of different ways, whether on the committee, organising fundraising, looking after our grounds, providing the catering, or administering or coaching one or more of our many senior and junior squads. Running a large community club like this one is a colossal collective effort, but I hope all those involved agree that it is a very worthwhile one.
Nick Harrison
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