Rectory Park, Rectory Rd, The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield B75 7RS
Here’s a summary of the weekend’s memorable tournament;
Sutton Coldfield CC is a lovely set up , similar to Broxbourne with 2 adjacent pitches surrounded by trees , with a big welcoming clubhouse.
5 teams participated; Warwickshire (the Unicorns) Northants (Barton Seagrave) Worcestershire, Gloucestershire plus Middlesex – us! – a round robin format with everyone playing each other – the top team wins.
Thankfully we weren’t first on so had a later start – arriving in glorious sunshine and had a chance to take it all in
We were 9 – Stu , Noddy , Skippy , Em , Leo , Mahender , Manish , John and Jonners.
Cliff , Anthony and Pat provided support with Cliff getting more scoring experience under his belt.
First up the Barton Seagrave team , sadly without Matt – we batted first (as we did every game!) totalling 101 off our ten overs Noddy top scoring with 35 – we restricted them to 95 – a really close game but we were off to a winning start!
An air ambulance helicopter then made a dramatic appearance holding up play as it landed to collect a medical team from the nearby hospital.
Next up were Worcestershire – we scored 118 (for one wicket) – Mahender (50) and Stuart (44) making hay off an under strength bowling attack – we restricted them to 68 – another win! – John took an important catch (his first of many for Graces!)
On approaching the scorers box during the day we were surprised to find 2 DJs in residence pumping out the sounds for the afternoon!
Third up were the strong looking unbeaten Gloucestershire who made us work for our total of 86 – Mahender top scoring with 32. In reply an outstanding bowling and fielding performance saw them fall short with 78 runs – a third win!
Top international umpire Sue Redfern officiated this match
Our last game was Warwickshire represented by our great friends the Unicorns skippered by Lachlan. Only a few overs were bowled when the rain arrived – so the game was abandoned.
With 3 wins we couldn’t be caught and before the torrential thunderstorm arrived we were presented with our first trophy of the summer!
So a season highlight at a great venue playing really friendly opposition – hopefully it’ll be repeated next summer – if you couldn’t make it along then make sure you do in 2024!
Jonners