Surrey Over 60s crowned an incredible season by clinching the National Knockout Cup against Hertfordshire, comfortably defeating them by eight wickets at Ealing CC.
Having restricted their opponents to 227/8 after being asked to field first, impressive half-centuries from Chris Evans (78 not out off 83 balls), Wayne Jones (60 not out off 80 balls), and Sanjay Beri (65 off 47 balls) ensured that The Three Feathers laid their hands on the trophy with over 12 overs to spare.
Surrey’s form throughout the knockout phase remained impeccable as they defeated Northamptonshire in the pre-quarterfinal by 28 runs and Suffolk in the quarter-final by 130 runs, before overcoming Essex with ease in the semi-finals.
SEASON SUMMARY
A wet April and the lack of match practice meant the season started off slowly for Surrey Over 60s. A washout against Kent was followed by the first win of the season against Berkshire. However, their next victory, which was away at Hampshire, was sandwiched between two successive losses and a third loss of the season, which came versus Sussex at home in a high-scoring game.
“Despite the inconsistency of results, the team was beginning to gel together and grow in confidence both with bat and ball,” says captain Mark Shepherd.
The team’s bonding and progress off the field was soon reflected in the results as The Three Feathers embarked on an eight-match unbeaten run, eventually qualifying for the knockout phase as runners-up of the National 60+ League Division 1 South.
“An excellent work rate from the team, with batters, bowlers and fielders alike putting in some stand-out performances, slowly gave rise to the belief that we were capable of much better things,” says the skipper. “With confidence sky high, the team breezed through the playoffs and culminated in us winning the National Cup Final versus Hertfordshire.”
Amongst the batters, much of the heavy lifting was done by openers Beri (692 runs) and Evans (538 runs) as well as Peter Horton chipping in with 586 runs. A consistently strong batting display all season ensured Surrey posted in excess of 300 twice and over 290 on three occasions.
A dependable bowling unit of five seamers and a spinner complimented the batters by taking regular wickets at a miserly rate. Like in the batting charts, Beri was the Club’s leading wicket-taker with 23 scalps. Ed Smith and Nigel Martyn took 15 apiece with Greg Struthers and Steve Crossley taking 11 and 10 respectively. The 20 victims for wicketkeeper Phil Trayner further emphasised the dominance of the bowling and fielding unit.
“It was a privilege to captain a side who had a brilliant rapport both on and off the field, who were fully supportive of each other, enthusiastically celebrated their wins and took on board the lessons that needed to be learned when things didn’t go our way,” says Shepherd.
While the captain is enjoying his team’s triumph, he’s also keeping an eye on the next season: “The winter will be spent reflecting on what was a very satisfying campaign and working on the tweaks and improvements necessary for staying ahead of the pack next season when we will be looking to go one better by winning the double.”
