After strong start with 2 wins in first 3, season ultimately petered out, to finish 7th, however in doing so ensuring our place at the highest tier we could be next season. 7 wins; 9 losses; 1 rained off; one abandoned… Guildford! The less said about that one, the better!

High Points of the season were Game 1 v Ripley-Chasing 146 two down with 15 overs to spare-Richard Callcut & Matt Ross rolling back the years!
Putney away was another high-defending 187 despite them needing 30 off 5 with 5 wickets in hand-Scotty Dunkerly with a cracking spell of death bowling.

The season did also have some low points…
Guildford abandoned game…
Conceding over 300 v Wallington and being Bowled out for 90 chasing 136 v Croydon are all days we would rather forget!

Overall, same old same old for the ones if we are being honest, not enough runs consistently being scored through the season, making hard for the bowlers to get us enough wins.
However, some real positives to take into the new league structure, including Matt Ross returning to the team after 18 years away; Kian Bradley coming in mid season as an all action keeper batsman; and a good number of Newdigate born and bread Younger lads getting game time in the team, and stepping up to the required level.
A particular thank you goes to Coops for running team half the season.

Awards-
Batting:
Ryan-93 v Mitcham; 3 other 50s; 452 runs at 32.29… but can’t win!
Dick-282 runs-high of 60* game 1
217 MR; 200 Dunks inc 66 v Mitcham
Winner-AK, averaging 21.29, 149 runs… that’s why we came 7th!!

Bowling:
Coops as ever-23 wickets at 17.26
AK; Danny; Jags;Joe 3 fers, MR chipping in
Standout this year, 26 wickets at 14.08-Dunks

Saturday 2s review by Ruky Wickremasinghe

Let me start off by saying thank you to everyone who assisted with the Pavilion and ground prep during the season. Also, a massive thanks to everyone who did the teas which we all can say that was the best teas going around the circuit! No chicken wings were ever wasted…To Richard who helped with contacting the players when needed for selection as well. Without all these efforts the season wouldn’t have been possible.

We completed 14 matches and won 6 out of them which allowed us to finish 6th in the league, and we were just 6 points off finishing third which shows how tight the league was. In total we had 29 players who represented us in during the season.

On to the season itself, the early signs were that it could have been a successful year. With the new Surrey Cricket League merger, it was imperative to finish in the top 6 in the league to be well placed for a better draw in 2025. However, the actual season followed a similar pattern to the previous ones where the availability was always a question mark as we had at least 2-3 different plyers in each game so there was no continuity and consistency. We also lost a couple of lads to the 1s at various points during the season as well. Saying that everyone who did turn up performed admirably and fully supported the team.

The 2s started the league season with a bye week and our elected captain Richard was called up to the 1s to fill in a gap that week. Sadly, we did not see him for the rest of the season, so it was massive loss to the 2s but a gain for the 1s I hope. Rich approached me and asked me to take over skippering the side and I agreed to do so given that the 3 others he approached before me probably said NO.

A big gap to fill in more than one way but I soon settled into the role with the support of senior members who all rallied together for the better of the team. The likes of Ben Crook / Dave Wrightson and Paul Bettesworth were always on hand to provide added support where necessary.

I am not going to go into full details of all the fixtures as there were match reports each week to update you all, but the season opener was away to Kenly, and we had them reeling at 66/8. An early victory was in our sights, and I thought the captaincy thing was going to be easy. Sadly, I was proven wrong as their numbers 9 &10 put on a 50+ partnership which ultimately proved to be a winning one given that we could only muster a mere 69 runs in our reply. 69 unlucky for some I guess!! Sadly, the last game of the season too had a similar ending where their 9th wicket pair put on 125 to take the game away from us as well which hampered our chances of a top 3 finish.

The trend of batting failures followed us for most of the season as we lost to a few teams that we really should have beaten so when we look back at these missed opportunities, we can only wonder what might have been. Saying that we did have some very formidable batting displays. A second innings 263 whilst chasing 334 against a strong Ottershaw team and gave them a bit of a scare before they won, 252 and 230 against Weybridge and 263 against Warlingham to name a few. We also had some very close matches where the results could have gone either way but the one that we all will remember is the win against Wandgas at home when Ben Crook and Aiden Jones put on 52 for the 10th wicket to drive us home.

Our bowling unit was led by Ben Crook and Sean Roast who were very well assisted by the likes of Paul / Westwood / AJ / Santosh and others. Everyone did an excellent job to set up a winning position by bowling out the oppo for not too many or making the oppo work hard when they were chasing our set target. Aiden Jones and James Westwood carried on their progression and development to be key players within the side and with more exposure I am pretty sure these lads along with some of the other promising juniors will be valuable assets to the senior teams in the years to come.

Talking of bowlers, a note about Benny Crook! We all know he’s a quality bowler. We all remember him terrorising the 1st team batters in his hay days whilst steaming down the Brocus hill. In the last few years as he aged a bit & gained a few more pounds (just a few) and he has reinvented himself as a potent 2nd team bowler. His skills and knowledge about working out batters weaknesses makes him a master of his trade. I always had the option of going to him when I needed a breakthrough and often, he obliged with a couple wickets and one famous occasion with 8 of them. That record breaking bowling spell at Wandgas where he took 8/15 in just 9 overs was truly an outstanding achievement Ben. Well done, Crooky!

We had a few new faces come into the side and they brough in a much-needed quality and mobility that was lacking.

Santosh came in with his Slow off spinners and the cricket brain that always knew what he wanted to do when he was batting, bowling or fielding before we lost him to the 1s. He also added another person I can rely on doing umpiring duties when required which was a bonus. Although after his last innings, Cheesy might not totally agree with this. It's time to let it go Cheesy! Santhosh was the ultimate team player and quickly settled in to be a favourite to all his teammates. He was always adaptable to whatever role I asked him to do which was always helpful!

Tom Gross joined us this season and filled the regular wicketkeepers position. He did extremely well taking over 10 catches and scored 160 @ an ave of 40 whilst making back to back fifties in his first 2 matches for us. He also added some much-needed muscle to the middle order. His enthusiasm on and off the field rubbed on his teammates so welcome to the club TG.

After almost 15 yrs in the wilderness Darren Drew decided to take up cricket again. He walked into Sports direct asking for the cheapest possible cricket gear before his first match back. The only thing whiter than his cricket kit that afternoon was his beard and shiny Hair! After an early set back Drew showed his value as he gave 100% towards the success of the team. Good to have you back Drew and next over up the hill please.

On to some individual performances now –
For the bowlers Ben Crook leading the way by a country mile with 41 wickets @ ave of 10 (3 Fifers). He also topped the League bowling chart for the 3rd time in 4 seasons. Ben was well assisted by Santosh with 13. Paul Bettesworth and Roasty and AJ all taking 9 each too. Even Laurance Down managed to get more wickets this year than the number of children he has had in the last few years plus only bowled 99 wides in opposed to his usual 150 (his words not mine) so well done on that too.

In the batting front Ruky managed to score 597 @ Ave of 45 (1 Century + 4 Fifties) which allowed him to join Ben and win the batting award for the league. Tom Clark & Tom Gross scored over 160 and average over 40. Matt Clarke / Darren Drew and Dave Callcut all chipped in with valuable innings during the season as well.

Just a side note about Tom Clarke who missed out on a well-deserved first league hundred when he got out for 97 of the sixth ball before taking 26 off the previous five. I have no doubt that the illusive league ton will be just around the corner for him.

All in all, I think we all enjoyed playing the sport we love throughout the season even during the tough moments. The team’s cooperation helped me to skipper the side as best as I could and if I was able to influence / convince the guys to come back and play another week alongside their mates then my role as a skipper was a success. So, to everyone who turned out and represented for the 2s this year Thank you!
The Saturday 2s award winers are -
Bowling Award – Ben Crook
Batting Award – Ruky Wickremasinghe
Most Improved Player – Darren Drew
Players Player – Ben Crook
Captains Player – Sean Roast

Sunday sides review by Monjur Elahi

Cricket season 2024 continued from the success from the previous season as we kept on fielding a second Sunday teams on regular occasions; and when not, I had more than 11 players keen to get into the 1st XI, a sweet problem to have!

The liaison between myself and Richard Callcut worked well, to sort out the weekend teams, ensuring players distributions between Sunday and Saturday teams.

Weather-wise, we were not very lucky as 10 matches out of the total scheduled 31 matches got cancelled due to bad weather!
Sunday 1st XI played a mix of Friendlies and Village Cricket League (Eastern Zone) competition. In the league, the team came 3rd in position, with 3 wins and 3 losses, 2 cancellations. For the Friendlies, 5 matches were won, lost 6, drawn 1 and 8 matches got cancelled.
Sunday 2nd XI played 3 matches and used them for gaining experience and not to win. Aiden Jones and David Callcut stepped in as captains and did well for the 2s.

Top batsman: David Callcut – 529, average 42, a couple of wickets, 2nd position Monjur Elahi 226 and Mohammad Ali 205 runs.
Best bowling: Aiden Jones 13 wickets with average of 12, Monjur Elahi 17 wickets and Ian Kehl 13 wickets.
Rising stars – Ball Twins, Harry with batting and sharp keeping, Toby with accurate bowling, Harry Grimley – Bowls well and picking up.
Best fielding moment – Chris John diving to left grabbing a catch at short cover which proved to be the turning point vs Epsom Methodists CC when the opposition was motoring towards the winning target.

Healthy contributions from a good number of players, positivity and enthusiasm were noted from them throughout the seasons. Families – Carringtons, Balls, Harpers, Jones’, Glens, Ahmeds – all made important contributions, and I look forward to their continued support in the coming seasons.

Special thanks to Andrew Major for the pitch preparations, John Callcut and James Penfold who covered Andrew. The grasshoppers kept the field brilliantly cut and we appreciate the effort.

Also heartfelt thanks to the wonderful tea ladies, Tricia Kehl, my wife Moon, Annabelle De Vrij, Kirsty Hawkins – they are an integral part of the Sunday teams and their name and fame are spreading far across, all teams want to play at Newdigate.
Thanks to the players who keeps on demonstrating the best of the gentlemanship, on and off the field, upholding the spirit of the great game, Cricket it is!

Plan for next season, still do a mix of VCL and Friendlies. Try and make two Sunday Teams in as many occasions as I could; above-all, keep supporting the Saturday teams by supplying players, creating a succession path for the club. Urging Saturday, Midweekers and Colts to come forward.