OWCC Match Reports 12th July 2025

cricket newsletter  •  Posted 18th July 2025

Old Wilsonians 1st Xl 245 for 5. B;ackheath 2nd Xl 249 for 9

In a nail biting finish, Blackheath defeated Old Wilsonians by one wicket with just two balls remaining, but with their score on 215 for 8, and with only 18 balls remaining, his seemed highly unlikely
Batting first Old Wilsonians were soon in trouble despite a hard hitting 37 from opener Andrew Pomering as they slumped to 57 for 4. However a potentially match winning partnership of 166 between Mahith Perera (122 n,o) and Shehan Sivaranjan (50) put a totally different complexion on things as they finished on a defendable 245 for 5 and it looked as if they would do so until those final three overs
The Blackheath reply relied on consistency rather than two big innings, with Shivang Katuwal (45), Joel Ewan (54) and Razul Karim (44) all scoring well, with the latter being out with only one run required for victory

Old Wilsonians 2nd Xl 226 for 5, Lessa Christ Church 1st Xl 171

Some steady and consistent batting by the Old Wilsonian top order - Steve Blunt (33), Josh Merchant (47), Dan Seston (42) and Ali Hasan Butt (42) - enabled them to finish on 226 for 5 in this game against Lessa Christ Church
In contrast the visitors started badly as the top order crumbled and they found themselves struggling at 61 for 6 and had to rely on their lower order - Anuraj Nandal (29), Sahil Surl (21, Nirnay Mhatre (35) and Sunil Mour (28) - to retrieve the situation
However, this proved to be too much for them and they were bowled out in 33.4 overs, James Sellar, 4 for 32, doing most of the damage with Stan Sherlock, Siva Ranjan and Doug Forbes pickling up two wickets each

Holmesdale 3rd Xl 199, Old Wilsonians 3rd Xl 149

An impressive opening stand between Mark Epps (91) and Shabd Lutha (45) set Holmesdale on course for a big total but their nine team mates managed just 49 runs between them and they were bowled out for 199, Oscar Rushton taking 5 for 49 and Nathan Carpenter 3 for 29 for the Old Wilsonians
However, and although the OWs did spread their runs out more evenly - Kevin Carruthers (26), Shankar Balakrishnan (38) and Nathan Carpenter (25) being particularly impressive - they fell well short of their needed total, James Palmer, Zarak Khan, Dillan Patel and Pete Grove all taking two wickets for Holmesdale

Old Wilsonians 4th Xl 150 for 8, Old Roan 3rd Xl 151 for 7

This was a game in which both sides found themselves in a lot of trouble - Old Wilsonians 97 for 7 and Old Roan 76 for 6 - and both found saviours, but it was Shyam Komini Babu (51 n,o) and Qasum Abid (13 n.o) for the latter who finished on the winning side
For Old Wilsonians only Derek Birmingham (22) and Ben Rodda (29) caused the Roan bowlers any problems until Roger Nichols (36) and Lawrence Wilson (17 n.o) managed to push the score to 150 with an eighth wicket stand of 53, Ary Nelson, 3 for 23 and Ahmed Khan, 3 for 30 causing most of the damage
And it was a similar story when Roan batted until an unbeaten eighth wicket stand of 47 saw them home safely, Paul Jenkins, 3 for 16 and Lawrence Wilson, 3 for 50, shining with the ball for the OWs

Old Wilsonians Sunday Development Xl 195 for 8, ODCUACO 196 for 1

A first wicket stand of 193 between Laurence Sanders (97 n.o) and Rohan Bridges (70) meant ODCUACO only required three runs when they were parted, which they duly acquired, to record a substantial nine wicket victory in this Sunday Development game against Old Wilsonians
Batting first the OWs threatened to post a large total as openers Josh Merchant (44) and Dan Nichols (21) stormed to 63 in ten overs, but when the latter was dismissed they had to rely on skipper Shehan Sivaranjan (68) to steer them to 195 from their 35 overs, with Will East finishing with 3 for 38, Isaac Loader 2 for 27 and Bilal Ansar, 2 for 52 for the visitors
By contrast the OW bowling figures are available in a plain brown envelope