Following France 24's investigation (see here) into claims that France Cricket has been fabricating the results of women's cricket matches in order to maintain its ICC funding, the Cricket Committee at Standard Athletic Club would like to share with its members the full response in the main article.
(Available as a PDF here)
Match report: SACC vs. Thoiry CC (John Hardy Shield match 3/3) - Format: 35 overs
Both sets of players took the field for this final John Hardy Shield game knowing that the result had already been decided after Standard’s two previous victories. With the pressure off, the home team began proceedings with the bat and ended up on exactly 200 all out. Notable scores included 46 from middle-order specialist Anser, 27 from captain Niseem and 24 from opener Henry. This score offered Thoiry the chance of regaining a bit of pride and things started promisingly as they passed 50 without losing a wicket. From then on, hope faded as wickets began to fall regularly and they were finally bowled out for 138.
The result – a 62-run victory for Standard Athletic CC - thus winning the John Hary Shield for 3 years in a row!
With the 2023 season coming to an end on a hot, sunny day last Sunday it's time to reflect on another successful season for the cricket section at Standard Athletic. The club has played in approximately 30 games of cricket this year, including two trips overseas. Back in February the team jetted off to Spain and hopped over the Channel to take on 3 teams for their annual trip to Kent. In addition to regular weekend games against teams from Ile de France, Kensington CC were welcomed to Meudon at the beginning of May and Valenciennes arrived from close to the Belgium border in September. With a 3-0 victory over Thoiry CC in the John Shield as well as a home-and-away triumphs against rivals Chantilly, there was even time to include a record-breaking attempt at fielding 11 players from each of the 12 ICC-full member nations, a photo of which is included in the main article of all four full final match reports. Special thanks must go out to members of the SACC committee - Rich Parkin, Andrew Jackson, Niseem Burkule, Andrew Macintyre, Chris Mccarthy, Henry Colburn and Shaunak Knot - whose hard work and dedication to the section have resulted in another successful cricketing season at Standard Athletic Club!!
On Saturday the SACC will be attempting a record of fielding one team made up of players from each of the 12 official Test match-playing nations - the Nationals Team.
On Sunday the match will be the third and final John Hardy Shield game against Thoiry. (Though the outcome will not change the fact that the SACC have already won their two games to take the Shield this year.)
Format: 40 overs
Standard welcomed the Kerala Tuskers for their second game of the season. Kerala Tuskers won the toss and chose to bat first, with the top order playing fluently to reach 190 at the 25-over mark for the loss of four wickets. From here on in, SACC fluffed chances in the field with some careless catching and only had themselves to blame as the Tuskers ended proceedings on 333 for 6 wickets.
After the interval, the home team got off to the worst start possible, losing opener Dilip with just 11 runs on the board. With Jon Taylor arriving at the crease, he and Henry put on a partnership of 83 runs before the latter edged to fly-slip for 22. This brought Jack Hardy (son of John), to the crease but with Jon T returning to the pavilion soon after for 48, things were looking ominous. Thodi and Jack (bravely playing with a nasty dislocated shoulder) together put on a fantastic 128-run partnership to near the score. After Jack's departure for 47, Shivang joined Thodi in the middle before taking it to the opposition with some devastating boundary hitting. Unfortunately, despite some real fireworks at the end during which Thodi brought up his century, SACC would eventually fall frustratingly 10 runs short of victory.
The result – a 10-run victory for Kerala Tuskers CC
(Read on for more details...)
This Saturday there's the 3rd leg of the John Hardy Shield against Thoiry (which the SACC has already retained!)
Saturday, 8 July 2023, SACC vs. Chantilly (35 overs)
SACC was looking to repeat June's away win against them at home. Chantilly, having won the toss and electing to bat could only muster 103 runs off 22 overs. In reply, Standard eased home to victory with 7 overs to spare. The result – a 7-over victory for Standard Athletic CC
Sunday, 9 July 2023, SACC vs Embassy CC (35 overs)
Embassy CC won the toss and elected to bat, and managed to score 167 for 8 off their allotted overs. In reply, SACC began the run chase badly being 4 wickets down for just 33 runs before a partnership between Sandy and Alex steadied the ship and took them to victory in the 30th over. The result – a 5-wicket victory for Standard Athletic CC
Sunday, 16 July 2023, SACC vs St. Brice (40 overs)
Batting first, the St. Brice team posted a mammoth 282 runs off their allotted overs. In response, a much-changed SACC batting line-up could only muster 131 runs in return, with Anser top scoring with 30 runs. The result – a 151-run victory for St. Brice
Hopefully, things will fare better for Standard and their players in this Saturday’s fixture against the Kerala Tuskers.
SACC opened the final part of the cricket season with matches against Valenciennes CC on Saturday and Lisses CC on Sunday.
On Saturday Valenciennes were set 235 for their 35 over and unfortunately for the SACC, they made it 2 overs and with 3 wickets to spare. Oh, woe!
On Sunday, SACC made 228 for 8 in their 35 overs, but again, Lisses managed to chase down that score with 2 overs to spare. Woe, again!
Read the main article for fuller details.
SACC batted first in this 40-over match. Shivang was the standout performer, smashing a quickfire 79 runs off just 53 balls, including 11 fours and 3 sixes. Dilip, in partnership with Shivang, made 71 runs off 71 balls, with 10 fours. Other notable contributions were made by Gurudev (60 runs off 44 deliveries - 7 fours) and Anser (35 runs off 20 balls, 4 fours and 2 sixes). SACC concluded their innings on 313 runs for 6 wickets.
In pursuit, Thoiry CC struggled. Suresh played an outstanding innings at number 8 scoring 104 runs off just 51 balls (8 fours and 9 sixes). Unfortunately for them, the rest of their batters fell regularly to the SACC bowling and fielding. Thoiry CC's innings came to an end for 262 runs, 51 runs short of the target.
SACC celebrated a second consecutive victory and reclaimed the JH Shield for the third year running!
The result – a 51-run victory for Standard Athletic CC
The final match of the series, now a dead rubber, will be played on Saturday 29 July.
(More details in the main article)
Andrew Jackson in full SACC uniform and youngest son (with Army Air Corps doing steward duty for this test) at Lords for the second England vs Australia test - hoping for a better showing from the England side! Click here for a pic.
Last Sunday SAC and Thoiry played the opening 35-over game of the John Hardy Shield, with SAC looking to retain the trophy for the third year in succession.
SAC won the toss and elected to field, and, despite the heat, the SAC bowlers and fielders restricted the Thoiry run-rate by taking wickets at regular intervals, and at the end of the innings Thoiry finished on 182-9.
Despite losing an early wicket, SAC were soon in charge of the game, posting an 89-run partnership for the second wicket, and racing to 94-2 after 12 overs. As the Thoiry bowlers and fielders wilted in the blazing heat, SAC took full advantage, racing to an 8-wicket victory, with Jon Taylor unbeaten on 103 and Alex Cathrop 32 not out.
SAC will be looking to take this form into next week's second match and clinch the John Hardy Shield once again!
(More details in the main article)
This year the SACC headed off to Kent with a bit more confidence than last's year's Coovid impacted adventure.
The matches were against Shepway Stragglers, Band of Brothers, and a new opponent, Chestfield CC.
AAll in all the SACC experienced the full gamut of results - a loss and finally a win!
Read on for full results and photos!
A week on from their back-to-back victories against Kensington CC, Standard Athletic CC were back in action once more for a 40-over game against Lisses CC. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Standard posted an impressive 257 all out, with top scorers including Praneeth, Girish and Nikhil.
In return, Lisses got off to a flyer and were 100 for the loss of 1 wicket in no time before a combination of accurate swing and spin bowling began to pay dividends for Standard. With the Lisses’s batters proving more resolute than expected, however, they began rebuilding and after a couple of useful partnerships, they were left needing less than 100 runs off 10 overs. With victory in sight, captain Henry turned to the left-arm leg breaks of Nikhil whose second spell produced two quick wickets leaving Lisses still requiring 13 runs to win. Praneeth had other ideas, however, and after having a plumb LBW decision turned down, the very next delivery beat the batter’s outside edge and hit the top of the off stump to send the SAC players into raptures!
The result – a 13-run victory for Standard Athletic CC
After a great UK tour, attention turned once again to Île de France fixtures and the away game against Chantilly. Having enjoyed a victory in the same fixture last year, the squad travelled to the match hoping for a similar result. After electing to bat first, Standard posted a very competitive score of 313 for the loss of just two wickets, which set them up superbly for repeating last year’s win. Top scorers included Shaunak with 69 runs, Dilip with 53 runs and Nishant with a quick-fire 58 runs off just 30 deliveries.
In return, Chantilly mustered 185 runs all out from 32 overs, with Praneeth, Shakeel and Nishant all amongst the wickets, leading to a 128-run victory for Standard Athletic CC. The result meant that SAC has recorded back-to-back away victories over Chantilly over the last two seasons.
This weekend's matches: Saturday vs Sarcelles CC, Sunday vs Le Bourget CC
SACC welcomed Kensington CC from London, the first tourist of the 2023 season, for back-to-back games over the weekend of Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th May.
On Saturday 13 May we played a 40-over game and SAC won by 24 runs. On Sunday we played a 30-over game that resulted in a 13-run victory for Standard Athletic CC
Two victories for SAC against a competitive opposition meant that it had been a good weekend for all involved!
See the main article for full reports and photos!
The cricket section prepared for the season ahead with another trip south of the border to enjoy the Andalucian sun and Baltic winds. Hopes were high after the ups and downs of last year, or were we just gluttons for punishment?
In the end, SACC did well beating the BECC twice and having great fun with the Southern Gentlemen (and winning).
The first of 3 videos made during the trip to the Desert Springs resort in Almeria, Spain from 28/2-3/3/23 is now available on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/8fmLxsws0eA.
The Cricket AGM is planned for Sunday 15th January 2023 at 1.30 pm at the club and also remotely.
There will be a second cricket tour to the Desert Springs resort in Almeria, Spain on the 28th February to 4th March, a triangular T20 tournament against the Embassy Paris and Essex seniors.
High/Low lights will be available on Youtube (see https://www.youtube.com/@standardathleticclub-crick3094) and we aim to avoid breaking rental vehicles this year. (See the report of last year's trip here)
A limited number of Melton wool cricket caps made by the supplier to the English men's team are available priced at 25 euros. Read on for photos.