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Second cup win caps season
Click here for full reports and scorecards from the 2004 season
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Eds Copleston celebrates again
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| The 2004 season was probably the most successful in the club's 115-year history. The only one to come close to it was 1984 when we won 12 out of 15 games, losing just the once. This time we won 14 out of 18 and lost only twice - and both those defeats came on either Saturday of the cricket week when league commitments mean that we always field weakened sides. Undoubtedly, the highlight of the year came in September when we beat odds-on favourites Old Hurstjohnians to record our second Brewers Cup triumph in three seasons. Equally pleasing was the number of recent school leavers who turned out for us this year.
For the second season running Simon Copleston topped the runs aggregate (372 at 46.50) and he showed that he is a better batsman now that he has turned 30. The only blemishes on his season were that he twice threw away sure-fire hundreds with rash shots in the nineties, and that he failed to produce in the Brewers Cup. The two centuries that were recorded could not have been more contrasting. Graeme Brown, after more than a decade of unfulfilled potential with the bat, finally found his form, and against Frogs hammered the fourth-fastest hundred in the club's history (71 minutes) on his way to an unbeaten 147. Then Rob Jones, the school captain in 2004, caressed 107 against Cryptics to become almost certainly the youngest person to score a hundred for the club. Eds Copleston saved his best for the cup - his 95 not out against Johnians was a superb captain's innings - and his verbal jousts with opposing fast bowlers kept umpires on their toes. Abeed Janmohamed finally began to look like someone who had played in the Under-19 World Cup, and produced one of the finest innings against Johnians when he smacked 84 not out, including 30 off one over from the opposition's self-important opening fast bowler. Johnny Gates deserves a special mention. Woefully out of form, he played more matches than anyone, plugged away with good humour and was an asset to the club as long as a catch didn't come his way. The always perky Gareth Starling missed much of the season thorugh injury and, so he claims, exam work and the club was poorer - although considerably quieter - as a result.
The leading wicket-taker was, yet again, Michael Chetwode. His 24 wickets came at 14.13 and he even unveiled the full-length run on a couple of occasions. The fielding might be a little less panther-like, but he remains as parsimonious as ever and despite advancing years and an expanding bald patch, remains as invaluable as ever. Henry Watkinson took 22 wickets at 18.09, and after a few seasons where he looked to be over the hill, his fast bowling was back to its best, even if his batting slipped slightly. His captaincy was mature and tolerant, and it is largely thanks to his excellent management that this season was so enjoyable both on and off the field. Only one other bowler took more than 10 wickets - the impressive Alex Craven with 15 - and he was very unfortunate to have to miss the cup final through injury. We still lacked a first-class spinner, but the emergence of Dom Lewis and Lewis Clark showed that the quick-bowling future is bright, and even Pete Hobbs occasionally got his mind and body together to send down a few briskish overs.
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Abeed Janmohamed: an excellent season but still no hundred
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| A report of the Brewers Cup final can be found elsewhere, but we had no easy route to the final, having to beat the holders (Old Herefordians) and the side who had thrashed us last year (Old Johnians). The defeat of the Johnians, whose ability was only exceeded by their arrogance, in the first round was the most pleasing success, apart from the final. Set 244 to win, we were struggling on 59 for 3 when Eds Copleston and Janmohamed came together. They put on an unbeaten 185 for the third wicket - a club record - and the penultimate over of the match, when Janmohamed smacked three sixes, will live in the memory for many years.
The week, the highlight of the summer, was only blighted by the late cancellation of Eton Ramblers and the no-show of Old Georgians, the latter all the more frustrating as it was on the one really warm day of a gloomy spell. As already mentioned, we lost the two Saturday games and had a disappointing draw on the Monday when Grasshoppers batted far too long and killed the match. That day had started so promisingly when we found out that we had 17 players, including a plethora of youngsters, and some old salts celebrated being rested by ambling round the boundary playing silly drinking games. We beat Old Tonbridgians by two wickets on the Wednesday, and then recorded a dramatic one-wicket win at Charterhouse on the Thursday. After bowling them out for 117, we collapsed within sight of the finish and were seemingly down and out on 101 for 9 when Chetwode, angry at having to bat, stormed to the crease. He slammed two sixes and a four off the next five balls to tie the match, and then scrambled a single after Clark had somehow kept out six balls at the other end. We beat Celeriacs on the Friday, taking their last wicket with three balls to spare.
Of the other games, the season started with wins over Esher and the School by 22 runs and a draw with Frogs, but not before a superb 91 from Janmohamed had kept us in the hunt. We then cruised past Buccaneers, and despite our ranks being decimated by Rick Johnson's stag weekend, recorded only our second win in 14 meetings with Old Wellingtonians thanks to Bob Hume's 84 and Dane Groeneveld's 64. Six days later Groeneveld was on course for a remarkable hundred, hammering 76 of the first 89 runs in 12 overs, before being run out in the win over Cryptics. At Blackheath, Eds Copleston's rarely-seen legspin (4 for 77) saw us home by 36 runs.
The Golden Oldies made two outings. At Headley, they notched their third win in succession, with Steve Isaac rolling back the years on his 100th appearance to blast out the top order, Graham Webb bamboozling the rest, and then with David Westcott dealing in boundaries the game was done and dusted by 5pm. The second game ended in defeat by Surrey Cryptics, although Peter Rollings' batting cameo was worth the admission money alone, and John Wells grabbed three wickets to go with his duck.
The pitches on Jubilee made for excellent cricket, and the batsman-friendly surfaces of 2003, where only one side was bowled out all week, gave way to ones where there was something for everyone, a credit to Denis Bloomfield and his staff. As ever, John McDermott, the president, provided limitless support behind the scenes and umpiring more idiosyncratic than Billy Bowden when called upon. The usual suspects made sure that things went smoothly most of the time, and with youngsters, some already mentioned and others, including Harry Jupp, Tim Payne, Alan Cope, Sam Langmead, a brace of Merrys and Mark Shapland, making appearances, the future is good for the OCCC.
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