Cockfosters CC v CCC Legends 2024

Cockfosters CC v Legends of Cockfosters is rapidly becoming the must watch fixture of Cricket Week. With the Legends having defeated the club in 2023, the club seemed determined not to allow a side featuring at least two former players who had stopped playing cricket 20 years ago from beating them again by presenting a team with 7 current first teamers, most in a rich vein of form and chasing promotion.
In a highly unusual and somewhat controversial turn of events, the club negotiated the toss and batted first, Adam Pigden letting Legend’s founder captain, Scott Alexander, know just how strong the club were and being conscious that the non-paying public wanted a game that lasted at least until tea.
Following their customary lengthy warm up drill, mainly comprising of Joe Clune throwing yours truly 4 balls, with me saying, “that’ll do”, the Legends followed Messrs Levy and Williams onto the field for what was destined to be a session of chasing leather. Sam Barker and Joe Atkinson opened for the club and soon took a liking to the opening bowling of Richard Well and the ever-youthful John Worley. Both bowled tidily, but anything slightly offline was clinically punished with the first 4 overs costing 35 runs. Critically the Legends skipper didn’t panic, confident that his bowlers would find their rhythm. He was right and the run rate started to slow.
The first wicket fell to Wells who had Joe caught behind for 23. Neil Hale quickly followed Joe, caught by Robbie White making good ground with a stunning one-handed catch to his left in the gully also off of Wells’ bowling. Sadly for the Legends this brought Will Edwards to the crease. Looking composed, he set about building a partnership firstly with Sam who eventually holed out to Robbie White at mid-off for a very accomplished and well made 62 to give Scott a wicket and then with his brother Nathan. The brothers proceeded to bat 13 overs together combining some powerful strokes with good running between the wickets.
Lunch intervened midway through the partnership, despite Shag’s best efforts to prevent the players leaving the pitch due to mild panic in the kitchen with a somewhat temperamental oven! Lunch was as ever excellent. Chicken Schnitzels with new potatoes being particularly well received by your truly and as ever my appreciation for Susie’s efforts in the kitchen were reinforced by Scott and Adam’s speeches, both of which were amusing and mercifully short!
Continuing after the lunch break, the 72 run partnership was broken with Nathan being stumped looking to smash Simon Westbury somewhere between Compton and Potters Bar for a very well made 35.
At this point the club were 192 for 5 off 42 overs, the Legends quite rightly feeling that they were keeping the score to a respectable and, dare I say, chasable level.
Joe Clune then toyed with Gary Corken, first inducing an inside edge that yours truly had no chance of catching, but then pinning Gary straight in front with a quick straight one to send him back to the hutch. Gary was unhappy with the decision and we look forward to
returning next season once the VAR cameras and snicko assisting the 3rd umpire are installed.
With the club 6 down, the Legends were on top. However the club had strength in depth in the guise of current first team captain, Chris Holmes. Chris batted with a confidence and technique that those of us who played in teams with him 10 years earlier knew he possessed. Chris did not rush and played himself in while Will was still steadily going about his business at the other end, comfortably accumulating runs, even when the odd ball decided to do something slightly unexpected off the pitch, like spin for Cluney!
Cricket week is for the purist. All day declaration games are by and large consigned to the history books, but this week is different. So the Legends had one eye on the scorebox thinking Adam would be targeting the 50 over mark, assuming that the club wouldn’t need to bat longer that they would get in a league game against teams that play regularly. Chris Holmes was clearly of the same mind as he decided to put his foot down in the 49th over by launching Joe for three 6’s in four balls, unhelpfully rearranging what had up to that point been excellent bowling figures.
The returning John Worley had Chris well caught for a 19 ball 35 and assuming the declaration was coming, many of the Legends were walking off, mentally preparing for the second innings. However, mind games were to ensue as Adam, working off the Richie Benaud philosophy of doing to others what you’d least like done to yourself, sent in Nik Patel, refusing to declare until he batted the Legends out of contention. The club eventually finished on 267 for 7 declared off 51 overs, with Will Edwards making an excellent 86 not out.
In hot, humid conditions, the Legends bowled and fielded with an exuberance that belied their years. The 5 bowlers stuck manfully to their task, each picking up scalps and in all honesty keeping the club to a score that really should have been more. Special mentions have to go to the returning Tony Pigden and Kevin Thorn, two genuine Legends of the club, who both looked like they still played regular cricket and who were both more alert than Declan! Dave Pigden has managed to avoid a mention up to this point, but without him racing around the field, the score would have been a great deal higher.
After 51 overs in the field, Declan O’Leary and Kevin Thorn were soon at the crease facing the new ball pairing of Nik Patel and Stan Thomas. Sadly for Kevin on his return, he was showered before tea after skying a ball from Stan to Gary Corken in the gully and unable to show us for the first time in years just what a good player he was, and trust me, he was a very fine player! This allowed Dave Pigden to join Declan and admire from 22 yards what can only be described as an incredible one man show. Declan, still sore from getting out cheaply in the same fixture last year and on President’s day two days earlier, set about the bowling like a man possessed. Cutting, pulling and driving off both front and back foot, the ball was smashed to and over the boundary with alarming regularity. Some significant repairs to the clubhouse roof will be required after Declan twice took out several slates, as well as clearing Chalk Lane with a flick through midwicket that any first-class cricketer would have been proud of. Dave meanwhile
provided excellent support at the other end, steadily accumulating runs in a partnership that produced 136 runs in just 18 overs.

Despite posting a mammoth 267 runs in the first innings, Adam was rapidly on the back foot in the field, ball chasing for all he was worth, and was forced to change the bowling early. Neither Nathan nor Cheesy, who unluckily was exposed to Declan in full attack mode, were able to slow Declan down and only the introduction of Sam Barker was able to bring the game back under some semblance of control for the club.
By this time Declan had reached his hundred off just 57 balls. A truly magnificent innings and I can say with that it ranks amongst the finest innings I have ever seen in club cricket, and I’ve had the privilege of playing with and against some very good players in that time.
Sadly, all good things must end and Sam finally bowled Declan for 109, bringing your truly to the crease. Having kept to Sam for many years, I was able to differentiate the leg break from the googly, if not always before committing to the shot!
Dave was bowled shortly after from an excellent 43 runs, which were hugely important in the scheme of a run chase, leaving us with exactly 100 runs needed to win.
Matters worsened for the Legends as Robbie White was unluckily run out backing up after I finally middled one straight back at Sam and he got a faint touch of the ball which he deflected onto the stumps, but Tosh came out to steady the ship as he has done so many times before in his trademark number 6 slot. Tosh makes no allowance for age, he still plays as competitively today as he did when I first played with him 25 years ago and probably when he first played the game well over 50 years ago. His philosophy is simple, you sell your wicket dear and you play to win!
We pushed on and started to make further headway into the chase, leaving us 50 to win before I did what I do and skied one to Sam at mid-on off Chris Holmes’ bowling for 28 and Sam bowled Tony for 13. Scott was bowled by Gary Corken for 7, which left Clune and Wells, the only two regular cricketers in the Legend’s line up, together at the crease. Seeing Simon Westbury padded up clearly spurred them on and they made short work of picking up the 35 runs needed of the following 7 overs to win the game for the Legends by 3 wickets with 2 overs remaining in the day.
Joe and Richard left the field to well-deserved applause, but in cricket terms, Legend’s day was Declan’s day. Well batted Dec!
It was wonderful to see the quality of the side the club produced on the day and just how many of those playing were under 25 and came through the Juniors section. On this showing the future of the club is bright, in good hands and all of the Legends wish you luck in your push for promotion this year.
Post match celebrations were well deserved by all. There were plenty of tired bodies on both sides for different reasons. We are mainly just old, but for some of the club players, the game was their fourth or fifth in as many days. Medders set about abusing the players during a customary fines session that I mainly missed due to having an interesting chat with Rollo and Ravi and if someone lets me know how much I owe, I shall make sure I settle up next time I am around.
It was also wonderful to see so many familiar faces during the day. Too many to remember them all and apologies to those I missed, but it was great to see of those not playing our President and Adele, Gerry, Pumps, Kevin Brady, Shag and Susie, Mark, Tracy and Charlotte Sayers, Jane Fisher, Tracey Levy, Dave Morgan, Dee, Sam Penny, Adrian, Tom Hutton, Naomi and Catherine and so many others.
Final cricketing mentions must go to Jess Levy, who managed to keep Anthony on his toes and ensured that the score was always correct – Jess you even had Geoff Williams convinced I was on 4 at one point!, and of course to Anthony and Geoff who umpired all day mostly in heat and occasionally in near darkness and drizzle, both of whom steadfastly (and quite rightly) refused to gives wides unless the ball passed the wicket closer to either point or square leg than the stumps!
Despite the long day, the Legends had enough energy for a couple of lighthearted songs, something along the lines of “Can we play you every week?” good naturedly sung was one of the lines I think I heard, but I can’t be sure. What I can be sure of is that this
fixture is set to remain firmly stuck in the middle of cricket week for many years to come and I have no doubt that the club will be very keen not to let us win three on the trot next year, especially if they are in Div 2 by then.
Thanks to all that took part, whether playing, helping with the umpiring and scoring, ground, the food, the drink or just watching and supporting. The non-playing crowd definitely got their game of cricket.
What a magnificent day.

Editors Note - I think you will find the first match in 2023 was a draw, well at least that's what your Match report said Danny 😀 https://www.cockfosterscc.co.uk/past-v-present-match-report/