Norwood Exiles Cricket Club

As another Sunday arrived it was the return of an English classic recently thought lost to the fixture list. No, not the War of the Roses, something far more important. It was the return of the battle of Norwood.  The toss was won by NECC, and captain on the day, Charlie, elected to field. With our bowlers having been dominant for the majority of the season, it seemed like a good tactic. Openers Aidan and Josh got us off to a good start keeping the runs down and applying the pressure. There was also a good start in the field –in particular Luke, who on his return kept excellently on a typically testing pitch– and the rest chipping in with some excellent takes and the sharp reading of a fair few impossible bounces that The Lakes has up its idiosyncratic sleeves.  With the openers giving us a good start, it was time for a change in the bowling and in an interesting spell from Charlie that included a few full tosses, a few short balls and a couple of beauties one of the Norwood...

Approaching the end of the season, a gorgeous Sunday afternoon welcomed us at our home ground for the first match of September vs. Viswa CC. A finely cut pitch baking under the late summer sun promised good batting conditions. The visiting captain was given the preference to bat first as we wanted to put our best foot forward and bowl first. We had two debutants in Ewan and Gabriel and our chairman, Mark Arthur, was in the eleven for a record third time this season.  Charlie took the new ball with Aidan hoping to continue his good form, but the openers were watchful and severe on anything loose. Charlie’s second over cost 15 runs and he was replaced by Aaron. Aidan had kept things tight at the other end and ended a probing spell to give way to Jack. The two new bowlers bowled well together to build pressure on the batsman. Aaron was rewarded with the wicket of Ajit, given LBW, with the score on 69.  Aaron should have had Arpit caught at cover when he hit a full toss straight t...

Sunday 22nd August saw us back at South Norwood Lakes for another afternoon of cricket for a match with ACME CC. A brief but heavy shower threatened the game, but the sky cleared up in time for the match to start. The outfield was heavy, and the pitch was dry with some grass on it. Another occasion of not having enough players meant that our XI included George, a ‘colts' leg spinner, and, making his second appearance of the season on the team sheet, El Presidente, Mark Arthur. ACME won the toss and elected to field in bowling friendly conditions.  Kathes and Vathsan shared the new ball as Kalp and Shah opened the batting for NECC. Both the opening bowlers showed good control and used the seam movement on offer to great effect. Vathsan challenged both edges of the bat and soon skittled the captain, Kalp, for three in his second over as the batter tried an injudicious on-drive. Sam joined Shah and they steadied the ship. Shah was keen to put the bad balls away and took two fours an...

Trinity Oxley hosted us for the return fixture on a rare hot and sunny Sunday at their beautiful ground at The Change Foundation Cricket Centre. When we met them at the Lakes in June, they had a thumping win by 137 runs as we were bowled out for 87 chasing 225. We were fortunate this time to get an XI without having to borrow some of the names from Trinity Oxley like we did last week.  Having lost the toss, we were asked to field on the brownest of all the pitches on the square. A long 'Whatsapp' conversation on the Friday night between the captain and vice-captain resulted in a slightly left-field bowling strategy for this game. Charlie, who has kept wickets with some regularity this season, was to take the new ball with Kalp taking over the gloves. We decided to have spin from one end and seam from the other. An astute observation from ECB Level 2 coach, Iain, helped us bowl spin from the end which carried the longer boundary on the leg side. Don't you just love it wh...

Another week arrived with a game this time at our home ground. This week was the turn of SW United to come down to the lakes to experience the unique cricket ground we have to offer. As the morning of the game arrived there were big concerns about whether we would get a game due to the downpours from Thursday to Saturday night. Thankfully Chief Exile Groundsman, Mark Arthur, performed a pitch inspection and confirmed that the ground was good to play on. That was one issue sorted! The remaining challenge was the fact that due to illness we had 2 players pull out on the morning of the game leaving us in a bit of bother. Thankfully, once again Mark came through and after texting everyone and their dog, we managed to get 2 players from our friendly (mostly) rivals Trinity Oxley CC meaning that we at least had a team. Now to the game, it was agreed that it would be 35 overs each and SW United won the Toss and chose to field first, putting the Exiles into Bat. Luke and Jack went out to the m...

A few weeks of wet weather and unavailable players meant that this was our first game in almost a month. In fact, we almost had to cancel this one due to four players having to pull out 24 hours before the match. Fortunately, the Paddington Rabbits were able to kindly loan some players to make up the numbers.  Notable mentions in the team this week included a very welcome Exiles debut for Ed and a rare and beautiful appearance by our Chairman. This was the first time in recent memory (or ever?) that the Norwood Exiles have travelled North of the river and we were excited to play at this Westminster ground. On arrival, we were immediately made to feel at home as the mud, puddles and long grass were absolutely on a par with The Lakes.  The match started without a toss as the hosts mysteriously expressed a wish to bowl first. On a concrete wicket.  Aidan joined skipper, Kalp, to open the batting and they got off to a steady start. Kalp was fortunate to be dropped on the...

Thank you! With today being the last day of the NECC 2021 Colts Summer Programme, we must take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has made it such a great success. Notable mentions must go to our Colts' parents and guardians; our coaches, Matt and Iain; our Chairman and Safeguarding Officer, Mark and our assistant coaches, Nico and Josh. However, most importantly, the biggest thanks must go to the Colts themselves who have been the heart and soul of the endeavour. We have hosted a total of 38 Colts through the 9 weeks with an average of 25 turning up to every session; it has been a great and fun summer of Cricket. We hope everyone has enjoyed themselves and we look forward to seeing you again next year when we will hopefully have a full calendar of both soft and hardball sessions. But that does not mean there are not some fantastic opportunities to continue to play cricket through August and beyond! We will leave you with a selection below along with our best w...

So along came Sunday again and this week was another home game at the Lakes, t his time against Trinity Oxley.  The home team --or at least those of it who arrived on time-- set up the pitch. Somehow, Aidan managed to set the stumps up the most aligned they've ever been.  Trinity haven’t played us at our home for some years and I am sure they missed the delights of the Lakes. This being sarcasm as I have seen fields that were not as green as the wicket we had for Sunday. There were some shocked looks when I told them this was our best wicket of the season so far.  With Captain Kalp out this week, it was the turn of Vice-Captain Charlie to lead the team. Winning the toss, he elected to bowl first. The innings started promisingly with runs hard to come by and some great work in the field. Louis and Aaron started well putting pressure on the openers with the latter then taking both of their wickets.  T he middle order however started taking the game to the next bow...

After a month’s worth of rain in three days, the call was made to play the Plastics XI at our home ground after a quick pitch inspection in the morning determined that the ground was safe. A late illness in the starting XI brought Sam into the squad and there was a welcome return by seamer, Ollie, playing his first game for the Exiles in three years.  There was also excitement in the air we would finally see the first teas served at the Lakes by Mary and Mark for over 20 months. Teas are such an important part of the cricket tradition. Rain was still threatening to ruin the afternoon but while it stayed away, we came out to play. Wet weather meant that other than the central square, the rest of the ground looked like a lush and verdant grassland and on a wet wicket and slow outfield, Plastics XI won the toss and chose to bowl. Jez opened with Paul who was playing in only his second game of the season. Saril, with his Grandhomme-esque mane, opened the bowling using the new ball and ...

Around came Sunday again and we were faced with a trip to Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian in the kind of weather conditions that made it feel like an away test series in the West Indies. With Captain Kalp out due to illness and Vice-Captain Charlie rested and in the bar drinking Cider all afternoon, Jez was the man to captain the side with Aidan as his Vice. Jez won the toss and chose to get our bowlers out there. With No Luke, Charlie or Kalp in the team Bilal Stepped up to keep wickets.   We started the bowling attack with Aaron and Louie and they started the innings well, no wickets but keeping the runs down well and combined with good work in the field and getting away with a few full tosses, we restricted them to rushed singles.  Along came Drinks and there was a change of Keeper with Aaron making his debut behind the sticks and Bilal coming on to bowl. Again with some brilliant bowling Shah kept the runs down bowling 8 overs for 19 runs and 1 wicket, a fine effort in the heat. B...

On Sunday, one of the highlights of the year arrived when all members of the club came together for a day of cricket in the Colts and Club Match Day! Not only was the weather kind to us, grill-master, Sean, had single-handedly prepared and fired up the traditional, legendary barbecue and a s the first burgers were coming off the grill, the colts game started: a 22-over match between The Norwood Ducks and the wonderfully presumptuously-named  The Winners .  The Ducks won the toss and chose to bat in front a welcoming crowd of friends and families and w hat followed was a delight with some wonderful fielding, batting and bowling on display from everyone on the field. The nominal home team,  The Norwood Ducks , set a target of 42 for the 'visitors' and a particular highlight of their innings was the spectacle of our Data Secretary hammering his son for 2 fours over the leg boundary in 4 balls on his way to 15 in a masterclass of plastic batting and domestic politics. ...

There's only one way to describe the weather this weekend:  Overcompensation!  The wind, rain and single-digit temperatures of last week were a distant memory as the mercury hit 22 degrees and bright, blue skies welcomed us to our away game against Earlswood Strollers CC.  The contrast in weather from one Sunday to the next does make you think about how vulnerable cricket is to climate change.   Here’s   what Joe Root has to say about it and what some players are trying to do to   make cricket more sustainable .   With the captain running late, vice-captain Charlie stepped in for the toss which Earlswood won and they chose to bat on a green wicket under the baking hot sun. A very short boundary down the hill provided a marked contrast to  the other, which required an Uber. Our openers, Jack and Josh were eagerly anticipating the action as Earlswood's batsmen made their way to the crease until it was realised that one for these was Quentin Ferreira...

Following the positive news from the UK Government confirming England has progressed to Step 3 on the 17th  May, the club is tremendously excited to announce the return of the annual NECC Club Match! This year, at The Lakes ground, we will be hosting two open-invitation matches on Sunday 6th June:  12:30pm to 1pm - Player registration 1pm - Colts and parents/guardians fixed-over match 3pm - NECC vs NECC where h ard ball colts, current & former players and anyone else connected to the club and want to play can take part in a fun, inter-club T20 Thanks to the easing of restrictions, spectators are now very welcome as long as individual groups number no more than 30 people, and we will be providing outdoor hospitality in the form of a BBQ with  non-vegetarian and vegetarian options . Match fees, payable on the day, are: Under-18s £4 / Over-18s £6 and include one burger from the BBQ. Non-players are welcome to purchase food from the BBQ but please note this will be cash-o...