2025 Season Review

Season Summary

We are on the home straight with jusat two games to go. We have six glorious victories under our belt, nine games where we finished second, and a tie.

Saturday 6^th September - Cavaliers, TBC

Next up. 

Wednesday 20^th August - Deportivo, Riverside Park

Match report to follow. Another second place finish.

Saturday 16^th August - Eastleigh Baptist, Riverside Park

In the depths of summer, we send our emissaries far and wide around the world to spread the BPCC core messages (appreciation of snacks with a dash of fair to middling cricket).

Some squad members even take on ridiculous challenges such as cycling the length of the country to avoid selection (although seriously well done Finley! ?).

Amongst the many reports from the few places hotter and drier than the UK this summer, a nagging lack of available players for this fixture became apparent.

With only four signed up, drastic action was required, and what better time to break the emergency glass and realise the investment in the academy programme than this situation.

So alongside Pete, Robin, James V and Dunc, we were joined by Ethan (James VI), George and two debutants: Isaac (James VII) and Josh (friend of Ethan and George).  Nick (George’s Dad) and a welcome late addition of Other Phil completed the 10 to get the game on and match Eastleigh’s same number of players turned out.

As often with these games, Dunc, Steve and Richard had an extended conference to get to grips with which side they were playing for.  James also helped Phil come to terms with not being part of the ‘youth’ section in this particular game.

The weather forecast had been clear and hot, but, as Steve later informed us, we were on ‘the other side’ so instead it was cloudy and muggy, with a rather fresh breeze which whipped up the remains of the Riverside pitch into a regular duststorm.

BP batted first and the youth was sprinkled alternately with the not-so-youth in the order.  Dunc and Robin opened and, despite a bright start, it was not to be our day.  Eastleigh had a number of strong bowlers in their team and this, together with the pitch and the inexperience in our team made it difficult.

Robin was bowled by Sunil which brought George to the crease.  George did really well against strong bowling, picking up his first run for BPCC.  Duncan took on a very hittable ball from John and unfortunately found a fielder.

This brought James V to the crease, who tried to bring some of his recent form with him while attempting to anchor the innings.  George continued to battle gamely but Sunil was winding up into top form and bowled him, dispatching Ethan immediately after.  Phil denied him his hat trick, but the pitch was virtually unplayable at times – mixing balls which pitched and rolled with those that bounced up to head height.

Phil was bowled by Aman so debutant Josh joined James at the crease.  Josh did really well and was kindly coached by players around him, playing some decent shots while holding up his end for James to continue to progress.  The run rate was not too bad in fact, between 4 and 5 an over, but we were running out of wickets fast.  Josh was out caught and bowled, which brought Pete H to the crease.

Richard came on to bowl and this frustrated scoring attempts and ultimately did for James V when trying to force the pace.  He gave an edge and Steve caught it excellently behind the stumps after a brief juggle.

Isaac made his debut with the bat and supported Pete well for a while, connecting with the ball several times.  Pete scored some welcome runs but ultimately ran out of partners as Isaac and then Nick succumbed.

We finished on 55, not enough, but a useful 15 overs with an eye on the future of the team and a chance to play cricket which, after all, is what we like to do.

Liam and Simon opened the batting for Eastleigh and made good progress straight away against Phil and James opening the bowling.  In James’s second over there was a strong shout for caught and bowled although this was eventually denied in favour of the batsman; this was proved moot a few balls later as James undeniably hit the stumps to bowl Liam.

Sadly this was the only wicket of the innings, but Robin and Ethan came on to bowl before Eastleigh reached their target and Ethan made a very good debut with the ball, with all bowlers generating chances to make further inroads into the Eastleigh batting.

An early end to the game, so both teams agreed to play some more cricket in a friendly mix up.  Some key highlights from the second 10-overs each included Liam unfortunately sustaining a suspected broken toe, Richard getting James out again (Milo counselling services have been sought) and Isaac picking up his first wicket on his senior bowling debut.

With youngsters to return home, the pub trip was somewhat reduced but Dunc and Simon held up the important tradition (snack report to follow).

Tuesday 5^th August - Shirley CC, Sports Centre

Match report to follow.

We came second. 

Saturday 2^nd August - Christ Church, Riverside Park

Christ Church are always one of our toughest opponents as we faced them for the third time at Riverside Park on another close and humid day. We were boosted by the convincing win over OMCC mid week but the pitch looked heavily worn so when returning skipper Pete won the toss,it wasn’t an easy decision. After a team discussion, we decided to field and Gav gave us a great start by bowling Steve in the first over. 

This proved a bit of a false dawn as Luke then joined Dinc and they scored rapidly to reach 55 off 10 overs. Will and Carl then came on and the scoring slowed- both bowled beautifully with Will only conceding 12 runs off his 6 overs. The score though continued to climb and when Luke retired on 50 - it was approaching 100. Pete then turned to Rob who bowled seam up and dismissed Dinc for 37 before having the next batsman well caught at short mid wicket by a frankly surprised Phil Moulin. Gav also claimed an another wicket near the end courtesy of a smart slip catch from Will. BP worked hard in the field and Howard  was heroic behind the stumps but with the bone dry outfield, the CC score finished at a very competitive 164. 

BP clearly faced a tough chase and it got considerably tougher when Noah swung one into Rob and Neil received the kind of birthday present you don’t want -a good length ball which bounced at toe nail height. Gav was batting beautifully and after Luke bowled Robin, he was joined by James V and the score started to mount. A turning point came when James smashed 4,6,4 off successive deliveries. It was game on. 

There was then a uniquely BP moment when Gav got a massive round of applause and called in - until someone noticed he was actually on 49. He duly went back out and hit the extra run -Jono then joined James V with 65 needed off 12. Will did the maths and told us we needed 7.89 runs an over. 

The run rate was still tight but James and Jono ran hard and picked up boundaries when they could. We passed 150 with 3 overs to go and James retired with a great 50 to his name. Could we do it? CC bought back their opening bowlers but after 28 overs the score was up to 157. It got tougher on 161 when Jono was bowled for 19 and Pete run out first ball. 

4 needed - 4 balls to go. What the situation called for was a bit hitter. Phil M was that man- Noah pitched  the ball up and Phil treated it as if someone had served him a slightly warm Romanian Chardonnay. 

The game was won and it was off to the piazza where Will had very kindly made a 50th birthday cake for Neil. 

A Great day with great team mates ended with beer, cake and spicy onion rings in no particular order. 
No one could ask for more.

Wednesday 30^th July - OMCC, Sports Centre

Full match report to follow but the short report is that we scored over 120 and restricted OMCC to under three figures (a rarity against them), and so secured another victory. Notible contributions with the bat from Robin (17), Finley (17), Other Will (25 no), Phil Moulin (a rapid 14), and Murray (16).  On the bowling front Carl was very economical, only conceeding 16 of 4 overs. Gav also kept things tight and picked up two wickets. Wickets as well for Original Will (Will for short), Other Will, and two for Phil Moulin. was also ) 

Saturday 12^th July - Christ Church, Riverside Park

Scorchio. It's another hot one but BP are happy to be out in the sun and up for the game. We are batting and soon in a spot of bother. Otherwise known as 12 for four. Those yet to bat start to pad up. Ohers check what time The Hop Inn opens. It's looking like it could be an early finish. 

Howard and Gav check the forecast but rain is not going to save us. Luckily we have the world's most in-form batsman in the shape of Phil Moulin and Matt Shroff, back from a stint overseas. They more than steady the ship. Matt bats beautifully for forty-two whilst Phil knocks off a fifty before retiring.

We are already on a decent total but with the outfield faster than a cheetah on roller-skates we could do with a few more. Enter Dan and Original Mike (other Mike's are available), who score thirty-five and eighteen respectively. We finish on 182 for six from thirty overs.  A good score on a hot day but by no means out of reach.

Christ Church loose an early wicket with Carlos enticing a nick that H takes behind the stumps. The catch caps a good spell of keeping by H, who is later replaced by Lewis. Just before drinks Mike gets just reward for a lovely spell with a wicket (bowled). 

Phil picks up the wicket of Duncan (lbw), a decision Duncan is less than 100% sure about. He opts for a bit of football practice, using his bat as the ball. Halfway and it's 73 for three. BP in the driving seat but we are not home yet. 

BP keep it really tight. Will plays his part with some tight bowling backed up by excellent field placings around the boundary. Many a well struck ball results in just a single. It's a real team effort on such a hot day but there are notible contribtions from Robin, Dan, Gav and Mike.

Matt gets a wicket (bowled) and they are 79 for 4. And another. This time thanks to a well judged catch by Rob. The run rate is climbing. We keep the pressure on. 94 for five with nine overs to go.

Christ Church try to push on but the run rate keeps climbing. Last over and they need 35. Carl makes sure by taking a wicket. A final check of the scroebook reveals Christ Church finish on 158 for 6. This includes five penalty runs due to BP hitting the mallet behind the stumps. Pretty sure a first for a BP game. Gav and H will be furious they were not umpiring at this point. 

We retire to the Hop. It was great to be joined by a couple of the Christ Church players, including Duncan, who technically is a Cavalier, but has also played for BP. Basically, if you are short give him a call. He does like cricket. Over beers Matt Shroff advises the BP selection panel will be available again in August. Unfortunately it's August 2026. We have already pencilled him in. Save travels Matt.     

Wednesday 2 July (v Deportivo) and Saturday 5 July Season (v Eastleigh Baptist)

Saturday 21^st June - Cavaliers

A day of happy endings began ironically with the first shower of rain for what seemed like weeks. Undeterred, the 10 players of BPCC arrived at Riverside hopeful of putting the narrow defeat on Thursday behind them.

First, and very importantly, there was a lot of congratulations for Milo on achieving a first in his finals. As it turned out he had another severe test ahead before the afternoon was over.

On another stifling day, we  fielded first and were very happy to give a debut to Other Phil Webb who turned out to be a complete star with bat and ball.

Cavs openers were Duncan and Arvind  who raced to 30 odd for 0 off 6 overs. Scoring was made a bit unbalanced by the fact that one boundary was 80 yards and the other was 80 feet. Shot selection was therefore crucial. Next came an inspiring story of a young man who had gone off the rails,  but grabbed this opportunity to turn his life around. Phil “ over the wicket my arse” Moulin came on first change and bowled beautifully - getting Duncan caught behind,  before bowling their number 3 with a ball that spun in sharply.

Will kept attacking fields and Samson and other Phil bowled with pace and bounce. Neil bowled 3 tight overs to enhance his all rounder status before Will took a wicket when Robin held on to a skier. Other Phil them bowled his old tutor Adrian ( apparently his essay was always better than the B minus it was given) and we had a classic Cavs “yes, no, let’s meet in the middle “ run out.

Arvind though was still there and the runs continued to mount - passing 100 after 22 overs. Then Gav came on to bowl had their batsmen expertly caught by Will at leg slip before bowling Arvind with a great ball.

Daz was leading the way with the fielding, stopping several boundaries in the covers.

Samson then got some reward for his accuracy with 2 late wickets ( one to another great catch by Will)  to leave Cavs all out on 141 - definitely a handy score.

BP opened with Gav and Other Phil who paced their innings with great skill. After 10 overs we were 46-0 and then they both accelerated and we were soon 80 off 15 overs before Richard The Bunny master eventually bowled Phil for a classy 39. Robin then joined Gav and scored an excellent 26 off 13 balls including a 6 before being bowled by the BM.

So enter Milo to face his nemesis. The Bunny Master’s tail was up, and Milo knew it. With studious defence he blocked the dangerous balls while he and Gav hit the others for runs. Soon we were past 100 and although James and Murray got bounce from the wicket, the game turned in BP’s favour.

Gav was batting so well that there was now a chance of a 50 in addition to his wickets. He duly achieved this by hitting the winning runs.

The awards were Export Strength Guinness courtesy of Duncan- and we then went off to the piazza where we accidentally joined a private function who were very nice to us. All in all, a top day

Thursday 19^th  June - St Cross House, Sports Centre

Excellent batting by BP with not outs from Rob, James, Milo, Mike asnd Carl resulting in a score of 122. Pretty good for a midweek match. Annoyingly St Cross then went and got 123 so we finished second.  

Tuesday 10^th June - Shirley CC

Shirly batted first and started strongly with their opeing bat getting 25 and retiring. There were wickets for Will, Simon, Gav and Phil meaning we held them to 105 off 16 overs. Game on. In reply James (25no) and Gav (stumped on 24) continued their fine form for the season but we ended up falling tantilisingly short on 104.

Many letters of appology were circulated online afterwards as everyone desperately tried to take the blame but in reality its likely they were just a bit better than us on the day.    

Saturday 31^st May - Christ Church - Crawley Village

BP’s day out in the country.

After a win and a tie in our last 2 games, we travelled to a truly beautiful ground at Crawley for our game against Christ Church. Like starry eyed inner city kids on a school trip, we were surprised by the lack of teenagers on electric scooters on the outfield and the proper changing rooms. It was just like winning the Omaze house. But we had one nagging worry - it all seemed perfect,but what if  the local pub didn’t have prawn cocktail flavoured snacks?
 

We welcomed Dan to the team together with our old buddies Arvind and Duncan. Will won the toss and we elected to field despite Robin being absent having apparently just driven to West Sussex in pursuit of the other Crawley. We opened with all pace in the form of Original Mike and Dan who both bowled beautifully. After 6 overs, CC were a sold 20-0. 

Will then brought on Samson and Jono. Samson maintained the pace theme whereas Jono didn’t, although his tactic of inviting the batsmen to play several shots to every ball, meant that somehow he did pick up the first 2 wickets. Will them grabbed an important wicket and Gav struck with his first delivery to leave CC on 44-4 after15 overs. BP were probably just ahead on points. 

After drinks, CC with Luke and Noah (a very talented 12 years old) at the wicket, started to hit out. The  fast outfield meant runs were hard to stop. BP stuck to their task well with great outfielding from everyone. Daz,who was in the covers,took one smashed drive heroically on the chest , but like all real men, only cried when he got back to his car. Respect Daz. Despite our efforts, The score mounted steadily until Will bowled Noah,  and then Samson returned to take 3 excellent wickets including a great caught behind by a diving Duncan who also nailed a smart run out. In the end, CC closed on 131

We knew that this was a competitive score and an unfortunate run out meant that we lost Arvind early. Gav and Neil then steadied the ship, but with runs proving hard to find against an accurate attack. Both departed to good balls, so it was up to Duncan and Jono to get through to drinks at 57-3. Things felt in the balance. 

CC now bought on their quick bowler Luke, but Duncan and Jono rotated the strike to maintain a steady 4 runs an over. The score passed 70, then Duncan hit a classy boundary and we were on 90 with 8 overs to go. We batted on to reach 100 with 6 overs left. Had we left it too late? The bowling was so tight and Duncan was bowled for a brilliant 38. Jono then hit a boundary and a 2 in one over before being caught for 35 and it was game on. 

Daz fell swinging the bat, but great running from Robin and Samson meant we soon needed 12 off the last 2 overs, then 5 off the last one. Samson drove  the first ball for 2 and with a wide and a single following, the scores were level. Robin pulled the next ball for one and we’d got there. 

CC are a great team and were very generous in defeat. A great afternoon ended, as all should, in a country pub in the sunshine.

Wednesday 28^th May - OMCC - Sports Centre

AI is working on a match report. If you can't wait this one ended in a tie. 

Saturday 24^th May - The Cavaliers

First test against the Cavs at a blustery but dry Riverside.
Minor scares with the weather—and some very posh travellers who turned up in mobile homes. Neil wasn’t sure it wasn’t his mum and dad for a moment.

The skipper was still hamstrung, sadly, so I grabbed the coin before the ECB-qualified umpires turned up. Lost the toss. Cavs elected to bat.

We welcomed back Finley, who many of the Cavs thought was Milo (understandable confusion), and his mate Will. Rob T joined us pre-wedding and it would be fair to say he did a rather good job.

Some honourable mentions in the field:
Howard had a tough but good game behind the stumps, the ball pinging through at all heights. Fast hands. Did well.
Other Will—Jarman—Finley’s mate, league player from Brighton, had a bowl and was pretty rapid even at half speed.
We had a good spell from James V, and Gav took a wicket and was absolutely denied an “obvious and clear LBW—honestly, guv’nor, it couldn’t have been straighter.” When turned down, Gav took the bad news like a man.
And hardly mentioned it again.
Hardly.

Rob T bowled well, took a wicket. Phil Moulin bowled at a nagging length and gave a nasty and prolonged verbal onslaught… to himself… mid-delivery. Something about being rubbish and broken. He even apologised to the team before the ball hit the bat. That’s a skill in my book.

Finley finally broke the dangerous openers with a solid caught-and-bowled, Gav took another, and someone else took three wickets (ed - Mr W Whale). But that’s not important.

Handy fielding all round—including a new shout of “someone else!” whenever the ball flew toward Phil. I like that hunger. On behalf of others.

Cavs finished on 118.
The pitch was lively and unpredictable, so we needed to be careful.

The catering department turned up with school cake that was brilliant as ever. Honestly, they probably deserve a badge.

The ECB-qualified umpires arrived—fully merchandised with shirts, gillets, caps, socks, keyrings—and took the field. One umpire told the other to tuck in his ECB-affiliated shirt. He was met with a stream of Yorkshire invective:
"Thou doesn’t know what thou’s talking about!" or words to that effect.

Rob T and James V opened. We went off quickly and stayed that way.
Rob smashed the ball around the ground with consummate ease. James V ran so fast he nearly lapped himself. Rob hit fifty and graciously retired, and Gav came in, continuing in the same vein—but only in singles—and the game was won in record time.

Jono then gave out awards, mostly in the form of cans of strong lager. We may be the only team in the country whose motto is “Please drink irresponsibly.”

Neil, our financial wizard, made his debut with the scorebook. Did very well—although at one stage had to ask everyone to stop talking to him at once. Carry the bye.

A great day finished at The Hop on the Piazza for Rob and Suse’s pre-wedding ball:
Cake. Sausage and chips. (It was a catering issue.)

Just a great day.
The prodigal son returned.
We played in the park of our history and heritage against a team of good people who are just friends.

Great to see Dave Perks and what’s left of Mole since his diet.
A great team performance.
We are 1–0 up in the series.

Saturday 10^th May - Eastleigh Baptist

After starting our season in the traditional way with an exciting but narrow defeat, we met at Riverside to play our first Saturday game. The weather was warm and sunny and we felt as confident as the Saint’s defence.

We noticed that Eastleigh had a few new players,  but didn’t think much of it. We were very happy to welcome Ethan for his third or fourth game with us. Will was captain as Pete was still recovering from a hamstring injury. Will won the toss and decided to bat with Simon and Gav walking out to open.

Eastleigh started with a couple of new bowlers and against all previous practice, kept putting the ball on a good length at rapid pace. Several of our players checked with Howard whether this was within the spirit of the game - he said that he’d heard of such things and it was a grey area.

Despite this questionable practice, Simon was batting well and he and Gav soon reached 30 for no loss. Simon then got one that turned sharply and was bowled so Neil joined Gav an the score continued to build. Every run was hard earned at the drinks we were an excellent 62-1. Gav was finding the boundary now and made a strong 35 before he was out. Neil too played excellently and we reached 100 for 3 off 25 overs. Jon and Samson then got the score up to its final total of 132, and thanks to the Sumpterettes, it was lemon drizzle brine.

We felt the score was decent and this was confirmed when after 6 overs of their innings Eastleigh were 12-1, Samson having taken a great catch close in off Carl’s bowling. Will and Simon continued to keep the run rate down with Simon also picking up a wicket following a nice catch by Neil.

At this point their new wicket keeper came into bat and the scoring rate started to climb. He was particularly fond of Jono’s bowling who is now considering a switch to crown green.

At drinks, he was still in and the scores were identical.

Samson was bowling fast and Gav soon found his length, and Gav took a good wicket while James and Robin saved crucial runs in the field. However their main batsman retired on 50 with 25 or so needed off 6 overs. The BP bowlers toiled hard and there was a further catch off his own bowling by Carl. There was also a neat stumping by Howard who kept bravely throughout on a bouncy wicket. The target became 12 off 2 overs and then 5 off the last. In the end, Eastleigh’s new look batting was just too strong and they won off the final ball thanks to a bit of kamikaze running.

Will got us all together and, although disappointed, we went to the Hop feeling that we’d earned our post match beer and tapas on the piazza.

Wednesday 30^th April - Brookfield 

Team - Will, Jon, Pete H, Robin, Phil Moulin, Gav, Howard, James V, Simon S, Neil, Carl

In a break with tradition we start the 2025 season with an evening game in late April, as opposed to our usual kickoff on the first Saturday in May. We also actually get a game in. Most years our first fixture is rained off but not today with Riverside Park bathed in sunshine. A perfect day for cricket.

Today we are playing Brookfield who are new opponents for BP. They look younger and more athletic than we had hoped but we are confident our pre-season training would count in our favour. (spoiler alert) It didnt. 
 

BP bat first. Will hits an excellent 20 with several well run 2s. Everyone else gets a start but is not able to push on in the face of some good bowling. Pick of the bunch was probably Grundy with two wickets in 2 overs for only five runs. 
 

James V added valuable late runs and with the help of our old friend extras we post 92. Not bad on a Riverside pitch off of 16 overs.In reply Brookfield got off to a decent start. There were wickets for Gav, Jon and Will but Brookfield kept above the run rate. Notable contributions from Webb and Grundy saw them home in the fourteenth over.

The big take-away from the match was what a lovely team Brookfield are. They were brilliant on the field and provided chips and sausages back at The Hop Inn. We have been going to the Hop for thirty years without working out this was an option. Impressive. Another game later in the year is called for.