At a Glance:
13 Matches
8 Wins
4 Losses
1 Tie
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Monday 23rd June
The U10s beat Richmond by 60 runs having compiled a net score of 338, with Dhamanveer Singh and Raff Tindall both scoring 24. Samardeep Singh and Jacob Watson bowled well, taking two wickets each.

A Lenny Connors batting masterclass took the U12s to a tight 7-run win over Sheen Park. Striking a superb 73, Lenny also picked up a wicket, while Shlok Trivedi took 2-12 from his 3 overs.

An outstanding performance from the U15 Girls against East Molesey saw them thrash our local rivals by 115 runs. Openers Lilian Cattley and Emma Gillespie both retired not out after making 50 and 53, respectively, and Emma also had a brilliant game with the ball, taking 5 wickets for a mere 8 runs in her 20 balls.

Tuesday 24th June
A great team performance saw the U11s claim a 4-wicket win against Teddington. Will Dixon and Mahad Hashmi took 2 wickets apiece and Ranveer Singh played well with the bat for his 29.

In an extraordinary game, the U15Bs ended up tying their match with Egham: captain Leo Pearson retiring not out on 50 and Nishkarsh Jain scoring 37. Emma Gillespie bowled a tidy spell of 1-9 off 2, while Marlee Sharp took the crucial wicket off the last ball of the game to prevent Egham taking the win.

Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for the U17Bs, as they lost by 18 runs to Ashford, despite a composed 50 (rtno) from Tom Goldney and a quickfire 24 off 15 from Zach Barnes.

Wednesday 25th June
Unfortunately, the U13s didn’t leave Indian Gymkhana with the result they wanted, however Ridhaan Gala picked up 2 wickets in his 4 overs with an economy of 4, while Maximus Williams and Aryan Mitter both batted well – scoring 29 and 31, respectively.

It was a comfortable 86-run victory for the U14Bs against Woking & Horsell. Arjan Thandi and Bobby Nash both retired not out on 42, with Nick Byrne and Grace Mansfield both taking 2 wickets with economies of less than 3.5. As well as his great batting, Bobby Nash also took two sharp catches at slip to complete an excellent performance.

Thursday 26th June
Away at Teddington, the U12s sadly suffered a 41-run defeat but Ranveer Singh had an outstanding day out, returning figures of 3-8 from his 4 overs with the ball and also top scoring with 42 runs.

The U14s were jubilant after a run of a few losses was ended with a superb win against Teddington. Ridhaan Gala anchored the innings with a classy 65 and there were good contributions from Jack Marland (36) and Adhayan Singh (24). Maximus Williams was exceptional with the ball – picking up 3 wickets for 16 runs in 4 overs, including a maiden.

Easing past Wycombe House by 66 runs were the U15s, as Dan Ahmed provided the backbone of the Sunbury inning, scoring 51 not out on a tricky batting pitch. Charlie Maunders and Albert Connors bowled brilliantly, taking 3-16 off 4 and 2-8 off 4, respectively.

Friday 27th June
Unfortunately, the U15Bs were defeated by Ashford, despite an outstanding opening partnership of 146 between Liam O’Connor (43) and Nishkarsh Jain (53*). Four Sunbury bowlers picked up wickets, with Arjan Thandi claiming 2-22.

** SPECIAL REPORT **

Sunbury Crowned U15 County Champions After Thrilling Win Over Ealing

By Hicksy

Sunbury Cricket Club was buzzing as captain Charlie Maunders inspired his team to an emphatic 48-run victory over old rivals Ealing in the U15 County Cup Final.

A gloriously sunny but blustery Friday evening was the setting as the U15s took on an incredibly strong Ealing side on the top square in a must-win game. The large crowd that turned out to watch some of Sunbury’s most talented young cricketers were thoroughly entertained, as the side put on a magnificent display of high-skill and high-octane cricket.

After Sunbury won the toss and elected to bat first, Ealing immediately knew they were in a contest. In the very first ball of the match, Charlie Maunders marched down the wicket at their best seamer, a signal of intent that this Sunbury side were not going to take a backwards step. A play and miss the next ball drew the anticipated cacophony of yelling and clapping from the Ealing fielders. Then, off the final delivery of the opening over, with Sunbury still yet to register a run, Charlie executed a perfect ramp shot that sailed over the keeper’s head and the boundary rope for six. It was a piece of batsmanship equal in both its audacity and skill. The Ealing noise dimmed somewhat.

Sunbury’s opening pair of Maunders and Harry Kerridge soon began to find their rhythm: Charlie taking ten runs off Yash Dhasmana’s second over, including another ramp – this time for a one-bounce four. By the time Kerridge departed, edging behind off Abhishek Amratala for 14, Sunbury were well placed with 40 runs on the board at the end of the powerplay.

However, there was a ripple of nervousness among the Sunbury faithful as Rishaan Mehmi top edged a slog sweep for 10, before Alfie Granger picked out deep square leg on 1 and Ayush Obhrai overbalanced to be stumped first ball. Three wickets fell for two runs in the same Shivank Iyer over, as the scoreboard suddenly made for less pretty reading at 55-4 off 9 overs.

Never a man to be ruffled, Maunders was evidently undeterred by the situation as he went about his batting with the same positive intent, his composed accumulation of runs befitting of a batsman ten years his senior. Although Dan Ahmed, who entered the fray after Obhrai’s dismissal, played a strong supporting role to the captain, his ability to give Maunders the majority of the strike and keep the score ticking over was crucial in preventing a build-up of pressure and a possible batting collapse.

At the end of the thirteenth over, Maunders brought up his half-century and thus had to retire not out. Fittingly, his magnificent knock of 53 from 40 balls ended with a boundary – this time a sweep for four off off-spinner Sanug Dissanayake. That brought Josh Cholewa to the crease and he and Dan continued the steady flow of runs with some excellent running between the wickets. The pair began to accelerate after the fifteen over mark: the next three overs going for thirty runs, courtesy of some great ball striking and more outstanding running.

Cholewa holed out to long on from the final ball of the penultimate over for a very well made 26 from 23, ending a vital 47-run stand with Dan Ahmed. Some more clever running in the final over, that also saw Ibby Hussain run out without facing a ball, produced ten runs and took Sunbury to the total of 144-6, Dan finishing unbeaten on 29.

The powerplay was always going to be crucial in determining the success of Ealing’s chase; it was imperative that the visitors didn’t get off to a flyer. With this in mind, Sunbury’s opening bowlers did an exceptional job of keeping Veer Patel and Zayan Khan bogged down. The two Alfie’s – Granger and Bloomfield – bowled an immaculate length and with good pace. After four overs, just 21 runs had been conceded, with the only boundary coming from a streaky thick edge off the bowling of Bloomfield.

Then, on the fifth ball of the fifth over, Jack Marland produced a spectacular moment of individual brilliance. Granger sent down a heavy ball to Khan who tried to muscle it straight. While the batsman didn’t get all of it, for all the money it looked as though the ball was clearing the infield and heading to the boundary for four. Marland, however, had other ideas.

Sprinting to his left, eyes locked on the pink ball like an eagle on its prey, he hurled himself vertically in the air. At the peak of his leap, left arm at full stretch above his head, Marland grasped the ball. With the prize of the dangerous Khan’s wicket in his left hand, he tumbled back down to earth. A brief moment of silence followed – the game almost on pause for a split second as everyone tried to work out what had happened. When it became clear that Marland had successfully pulled off a miraculous piece of fielding, the quiet suspense erupted into joyous pandemonium. The Sunbury players tore over to their teammate from all directions, the crowd cheered and clapped in marvel, and the Ealing batsman trudged off downbeat.

Jack Marland’s catch proved to be a pivotal point in the game, a momentum shifter that elevated the home side and deflated the visitors.

Indeed, it didn’t take long for the other Alfie to get in on the act, as the very next over Bloomfield removed Akein Rajapakse, Albert Connors taking a sharp catch at backward point.

With the powerplay done, Sunbury’s spinners – so often a source of control and wickets – were introduced. Left arm spinner Ibby Hussain bowled tidily but it was Connors who struck: a smart caught and bowled in the leggy’s second over dismissed Oscar Hickman for 8.

Veer Patel and Ranvir Puri consolidated for Ealing, taking the score to 73-3 at the end of the 12th over, but they were never able to cut loose.

The 13th over provided a beautifully comedic sequence of events. The first delivery of Maunders’ second over saw Patel cloth the ball after an ugly swipe, and it looped gently off the splice of his bat straight to the awaiting Dan Ahmed at extra cover. Such was the simplicity of the catch and the quality of the fielder, most Sunbury players were already on their way to celebrate. And yet, inexplicably, rather than the ball nestling in Dan’s hands, it found itself on the floor. Quite how it happened nobody knows, but it left the mortified Dan furiously thumping the ground in frustration and disbelief, while Charlie angrily picked up the ball and hurled it into the floor. Dan was just finishing up his fight with the turf as the ball travelled to long off and the Ealing batsmen trotted through for a bizarre single.

Next ball, Puri attempted a massive slog sweep that he could only top edge. As if deliberately taunting the bowler, the ball landed behind the wicket keeper and in the middle of two converging fielders.

It’s safe to say that Maunders was not overly amused, but his mood quickly changed as the third delivery of the over saw Puri attempt to take on the throw of Ayush Obhrai at long off in trying to complete a second run. It was a fatal miscalculation as the scrambling batsman was well short of his ground when Charlie took the bails off. To add insult to the Ealing injury - and complete a hectic four balls - Patel then edged behind to Rishaan Mehmi, who took a very good catch to leave the batting side struggling at 76-5.

Connors bowled both Harry Tallboy and Abhishek Amratalal for one and nought respectively in the following over, before Ved Dangar found Marland at deep midwicket off the bowling of Maunders. A Hussain over preceded Charlie’s final over, and what turned out to be the last of the match. Yash Dhasmana was unluckily run out backing up at the non-striker’s end, after the ball clipped the bowler’s hand on the way to crashing into the stumps, and Shivank Iyer was the last man to fall, caught and bowled by Maunders for 17 off the next ball.

His dismissal completed a clinical and comprehensive win for Sunbury, who were the dominant side throughout. For Ealing, as Ernest Hemingway said of bankruptcy, their defeat happened gradually, then suddenly. They collapsed from 76-3 to 96 all out, but the visitors were also unable to capitalise on having Sunbury 55-4 after 9 overs in the first innings.

Ultimately, Sunbury were the better side in all three facets of the game; their calmness under pressure with the bat, control with the ball and, one dropped dolly aside, their excellence in the field all proved too much for Ealing.

As the celebratory chanting of You Are My Sunbury echoed from the changing room, the many supporters reflected on what had been an incredibly entertaining game of cricket, won by an incredibly talented group of cricketers.

Sunbury U15s are County Champions, but greater challenges and bigger prizes lie ahead, and this team will be determined their National Cup journey doesn’t end soon.