2020 Fixtures & Results

1st XI Season report

As has been said, there was little optimism any cricket could be played in 2020 last April but, by the time Effingham 1^st XI lined up at the Calburn Cricket Field on 25^th July to play in the six match group format of the Surrey Challenge Cup Group 13, there was a great deal of optimism inside ECC that the newly promoted Fullers Division 1 side could go on to produce a series of strong performances.  Many thanks must be extended the Fullers League, Surrey Championship and Surrey Cricket Foundation for organising such a competitive and enjoyable two months of cricket.

Effingham opened their competitive season by hosting Worplesdon & Burpham and set about the year as they would continue by dominating with the bat.  20 year old Joel Stroud continued his strong breakthrough season form from 2019 alongside his former age group opening partner Cameron Walters as the pair amassed 92 runs from the first 15 overs.  Walters fell for 46 under the inevitably darkening skies before the players were eventually forced off with the score on 207-6, not before Stroud had completed a blistering maiden 1^st XI hundred.  It was the beginning of what would be tough year for Worplesdon & Burpham as the only side from Fullers Division 3 in the group; they would go on to lose their remaining five matches.  Hopefully 2021 will see their return to form in Division 3.

Effingham, frustrated by being denied the opportunity to complete victory the week before, arrived at the Calburn Cricket Field determined to test their abilities against strong Fullers Premier Godalming.   Batting first again, Walters (89) and Stroud (32) picked up where they left off building a strong opening partnership of 85.  This laid the platform for wicketkeeper Benji Thomas to arrive at the crease with the score on 119-3 and by the time he was dismissed for 73 from 47 balls the game was firmly in Effingham’s grasp.  Having posted 268-6 from their 40 overs, Effingham set about defending the total professionally and effectively.  Led by club stalwart Chris Fewson with figures of 8-1-27-5, Godalming were restricted to 166-7 from their 40 overs.  Godalming would go onto enjoy a mixed season winning three and losing two.

Effingham followed up that performance with yet another dominant victory at Division 1 Ripley.  Batting first again Effingham posted a total of 257-8, led yet again by Stroud (83) and supported ably by Thomas (45) and Fewson (54 not out).  A strong Ripley side began their response with great promise reaching 72 runs from the first ten overs without the loss of a wicket, however the resistance soon began to subside as Effingham’s bowlers began to take control.  Eventually Ripley were all out for 189, the attack again led by Fewson with his second “five-for” in as many games as he finished with figures of 6-1-22-5.  It was a rare blip for Ripley who finished third in the group with three wins.

Next up for Effingham were Fullers Premier Merrow in what was surely to be the decider for top spot in group 13.  Merrow won the toss and asked their visitors to field first for the first time in 2020, not that it made much difference to the eventual outcome.  Merrow started promisingly reaching positions such as 37 for the first wicket and 90-2 from 25 overs but eventually the innings stagnated to 162-8 under the constant pressure from the controlled bowling and excellent fielding.  Highlights from the bowlers included Anthony Brown’s unchanged opening spell of 8-4-9-1 and Will Farnsworth who closed the Merrow innings with a spell of 6-0-20-3.  Once again by the time both Effingham’s openers were dismissed there were 134 runs on the board (including an exceptionally mature 58 from Walters) and the game was over as a contest.  This strong Merrow side would finish second in the group with four wins.

After heavy overnight rain Effingham arrived at Whiteley Village the next week to find a very wet pitch and after winning the toss invited their hosts to bat first in what transpired to be a risky move.  Whiteley Village batted intelligently in achieving a total of 129-8 from their 40 overs and, when Effingham found themselves 18-3 from 10 overs and then 56-4 from 23, they appeared to be in big trouble.  This was an opportune time for number six Fewson to produce a blistering 67 from 40 balls and guide the side home with six overs and five wickets in hand.  Despite this strong performance Whiteley Village only won once in the season and finished sixth.

Effingham would complete their truncated season at home to West End who had struggled winning only twice.  Another impressive all round performance in the field saw West End dismissed for just 129 in 29 overs with the wickets shared evenly around the Effingham attack.  This total provided the ideal opportunity for Stroud to showcase his talents once more as he dispatched the West End attack to all parts on his way to 52, ably supported by Harry Mead who would finish 46 not out as Effingham knocked off the paltry total in under 23 overs.

At this point the reader may be forgiven for thinking that Effingham’s success was down to the form of their opening batsmen alone (519 runs between them) but that would be to overlook the efforts of the bowlers; no side managed to score more than 162 batting first or get within 68 runs batting second against this impressive all round outfit.  It is worth noting the returns of Ollie Tebbitts (the side’s most economical bowler going at less than 3.4 runs per over in his 30 overs all season) and Alex Cooper (who took 11 wickets at an average of 11.3).  Both of whom complemented the efforts of seasoned campaigner Fewson; 14 scalps at 6.4 runs apiece, to go with his 149 runs at 149, were his rewards in a stellar year.  James Clarke of Godalming completed the most fielding dismissals.

Overall it was a dominant summer for Effingham who also won the Surrey Slam T20 competition in September.  The challenge now is to back this up with a stronger showing in Fullers Division 1 in 2021.