The president in reflective mood

The results were no disgrace. Aside from the Brewers Cup defeat, we lost three games where we fielded weakened sides, as well as going down to our heaviest defeat in more than 50 years at the hands of a strong School side. There were eight wins and five draws in our other matches, and were it not for four cancellations, it would have been our most active domestic season ever.

No one person dominated the batting, although Damien Hill topped the averages with 298 runs at 59.60. He enjoyed a purple patch in the cricket week with consecutive scores of 78, 47, 81 and 64* and backed this up with some outstanding fielding. The Copleston brothers both topped 250 runs and averaged around 40. Simon scored one of two hundreds for the club in the season, the other being from the evergreen David Westcott at Headley. Remarkable though it might seem, Westcott, at 48, became the oldest man to score a century for the club, almost certainly the first by a school governor, and some three decades after leaving Cranleigh he still fits into the same whites he wore in the sixth form. Eds Copleston almost made a hundred against Grasshoppers before a moment of madness resulted in him being bowled for 97.

Although Michael Chetwode again took the most wickets, that his aggregate was only 13 showed that the old warhorse played less than he once did and also that the workload was being spread more evenly. Although Alex Craven topped the averages, the surprise package just behind him was Eds Copleston. Until two years ago he hadn’t bowled for the club, but he took 10 wickets at 14.40, including a match-winning 6 for 66 at Georgians, our only five-for all summer. Ed Henderson took the new-ball duties and his figures did not reflect his performances or increasing contribution for the club, while Alex Craven and Andy Houston regularly chipped in with both bat and ball.

Of the youngsters, Rob and Tom Merry both impressed, with Rob making 174 runs at 24.86, as well as tidy wicketkeeping, including three stumpings at Georgians, and some useful seam bowling which brought him 4 for 9 against Charterhouse. Tim Payne enlivened proceedings whenever he played and contributed well with both bat and ball, and set new standards for on-field chirruping, in one match even managing to sledge his own side. Howard Hardy-King, Johnny Gates and Lewis Clark also made useful contributions.

The Brewers Cup was something of an anti climax, with our first-round opponents scratching and then our quarter-final against Old Edmundians being done and dusted by three o’clock as we won by nine wickets. In the competition as a whole, more games were called off than were played, but we did have a close, if feisty, semi-final against Denstone which we won by four wickets with four balls to spare. Sadly, our visitors’ pre and post-match conduct left much to be desired.

The final was played in glorious sunshine but Kings Bruton outplayed us in every department. Our bowling, which had been so choking in previous matches, let us down, and although Stuart Meaker took three wickets in five balls, it was too late to prevent Bruton amassing a daunting 278 for 6. We were never in the hunt after losing early wickets, and at 97 for 9 a heavy defeat appeared likely before Chetwode thumped an idiosyncratic 45 off 20 balls to restore some pride.

The cricket week was blessed with beautiful weather from start to finish, and some entertaining cricket. The highlight was the game against Grasshoppers where a fighting eighth-wicket stand took our opponents to the brink of victory. The final over started with them needing four to win with two wickets in hand. In desperation, Henry Watkinson tossed the ball to Eds Copleston. Their No. 9 was stumped off his second ball, and then our old adversary Richard Thomas aimed to swat the first ball he faced over the Astroturf, skied it high, and a relieved Watkinson held the steepler to give us a two-run win.

We also entertained the Primary Club of Australia on their UK tour, and rather as happened later in the summer, gave a side rather older than us a sound beating, and took on an increasingly impressive old-boys fixture list which included Tonbridge, Charterhouse, Rugby, Radley, Eton and St George’s.

As ever, the off-field contributions kept the club afloat. Henry Watkinson led with distinction and good humour and batted like a rabbit; Eds Copleston ran the Brewers Cup campaign with military efficiency, and his brother did much the same with the fixtures; John McDermott took root under the marquee next to the pavilion from where he was able to abuse players and spectators without leaving his collapsible chair; Bryony Everett provided food and a touch of glamour (possibly also accounting for Mac’s proximity to the pavilion); the school again provided superb facilities and were undoubtedly relieved that for the first time in almost 50 years we did not stay at nights; Heather Dean and Polly Rhodes who scored with unerring accuracy and good humour; and finally, the increasing number of spectators who came down to watch were welcomed by us all.

This November we undertake out tenth overseas tour – to the Hong Kong Sixes – and next season is a vital one for the club as the old guard who have done so much over the last decade and a half move aside for the new generation. Judging by what we have seen this summer, the OCCC is going to be in good hands.