Tag Archives: Primary Club

Metro Claim Record Breaking 18th Primary Club Cup Triumph!

September 5, 2022Article, NewsBCEW, Blind and Partially Sighted cricket, Blind Cricket, Cricket, Cup final 2022, Heindrich Swanepoel, metro cricket team, partially sighted Cricket, Primary Club, vi cricketSaul Wynne

BCEW Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Cup final 2022!

Match Commentary on Youtube | Download: Scorecard

Happy Birthday to You; Two Catches and an LBW

Metro vs Sussex Sharks – Sun 4 Sept

When you are in your twenties, what better way is there to celebrate your birthday, especially when the effort is in a winning cause for your team. Congratulations to Metro’s birthday boy and total man of the match – Amit, as well as partial man of the match Nick who scored 90, including the only six of the day.

Other individual performances of note were Mo’s 4 for 11 and a fantastic 42 from just over 60 balls from the Sussex youngster Callum who was looking set to score a cup final 50 before the spoiler of the day as he was dismissed by a Mankad – without even the courtesy of a warning.

Hosting the cup for the third time and the second year in a row was Northamptonshire County Cricket Club – both sides travelled from London to Northants on the same train and, despite some travel delay, were both ready to start play just before the official one o’clock start time.

Dan Field had won the toss, and Metro were batting; without regular opener Matt, who had a broken hand. Damion, who had scored 90 last year finally stepped into the gap but sadly mirrored Matt’s dismissal of 2021. After scoring a boundary through wide mid-off from his fourth ball, he went for a single off the last ball of the over to be run out by sharp fielding from Marcus.

First blood to Sussex as Andy Law joined Nick in the middle. Marcus followed up his run out with a tight over that yielded just two to Andy through third man. Andy faced the whole of the next over and added another two with a great stop by Dan Field at square leg, denying him a boundary.

Phil and Marcus kept the pressure through all their opening six overs, restricting Metro to just 27. Dave Daniels came on first change and continued to keep it tight, conceding just two while clean bowling Andy – this brought Prem out to join Nick with 28 0n the board.

Perhaps the match momentum started to swing away from Sussex a little in the next over as Metro scored 11 with Nick picking up his second boundary. Sussex bowled all nine of their totally blind bowlers’ overs in a block up to the drinks break, at which point Nick and Prem had added 72 with Nick approaching his 50. T

The pendulum swung back towards Sussex after drinks as just 20 were added to the score in the next five overs, but Metro then started to accelerate the scoring with Nick plundering 15 of the 18 runs scored in the twenty-second over.

He was finally out for 90 to a sharp catch from Tiny to end a 135 partnership, to be replaced by Mo. Mo was keen to score quickly from the start and added 23, being given a life when bowled off a no ball, as wickets tumbled around him – Prem was caught by Dave Daniels and bowled Phil Daniels, a father and son combination, and then both Sam Hoskin and Rory run out. Metro had 203- the seventh 200 plus cup final score.

The start of the Sharks innings was in stark contrast to Metros, and they faced two total bowlers in Amit and Sam for the first two overs, with Si Ledwith piling into Sam, especially with four boundaries in the second over. Perhaps this resulted in the change as Rory replaced Amit and had Dave caught second ball, with Damion taking a good catch at point.

Metro then bowled Gareth and Mo before Gareth got the first two over spell and struck the second ball with Amit catching Dan and setting off on a huge celebratory run. Sussex kept the run rate healthy as Callum opened his account with a three, and Simon ended the sixth over with another boundary.

Metro did then put the brakes on with a maiden from Mo and then Alan Turnbull, at silly point, somehow clinging on to a fearsomely hit shot from Simon to leave Sussex on 46 for three.

When Amit took his second catch, along with a bloody nose, to dismiss Phil Daniels, most of the Sharks hopes rested on Callum. He did not disappoint, doggedly ensuring the scoring rate stayed around six an over as first Mark Oliphant was bowled by Chris Blake in his first over, and the Chris Bailey was trapped LBW by Mo. At that point, Sussex were 100 for six from 18.2 overs.

Marcus joined Callum, and at 21 overs, the Sharks total was just three shy of Metro’s at the same stage and Metro still had to bowl two overs from their totals. Three tight overs from Chris and Rory followed, and the gap opened up to twenty-one.

In the next over, the Mankad dismissal of Calum rather knocked the sails out of the Shark’s effort. Mo returned in the next over and dismissed Marcus, caught and bowled, and Matt bowled just three balls later before being given the half-out LBW that Amit was able to exploit to end the innings in the next over with Sussex on 150.

The photo above, thanks to @DamionCorrigan Metro team photo with Trophy at the BCEW Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Cup final 2022

This ends Metro’s season, and the Devils have also finished for 2022 – with an agreed draw at Gloucestershire, to take second place in the Regional League.

Match report by Paul Toplis

Metro Devils – The Development Team

Would you like to play cricket? We are always happy to welcome enthusiastic new players, so if you are interested in playing this season or taking part in training sessions, please contact lucy.simper@metroblindsport.org 07966 260089

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If you want to try volunteering, please contact Lucy at lucy.simper@metroblindsport.org at 07966 260089

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Metro Cricket: Caught and Bowled Two!

September 2, 2019ArticleBrightside Ground, Bristol, Cricket, Cricket Cup final, final, Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup, Primary ClubSaul Wynne

Caught and Bowled Two

– 31st August 2019

Metro won the BBS Cup, for the first time it was renamed after Heindrich, in a match that at the end was much less stressful for supporters at the County Ground in Bristol than their semi-final win at Highgate had been.

Amazingly once again the win was secured by a caught and bowled as Rory look a great low catch to dismiss the other skipper for 65 in the thirteenth over. It was a great comeback after that over had started with twelve runs conceded off four balls, but then ended with two wickets in two balls as the incoming batsman was caught by Mo at mid-wicket to leave Rory on a hat trick; one that was not to be when he returned to bowl 14 overs later.

Photo of the County Ground in Bristol with metro team warming upAfter an excellent tea provided by Gloucestershire of lasagne and salad Metro’s opening bowlers Gareth and Mo had got the defence of Metro’s score off to the expected quality start as, backed up by quality fielding, they limited the reply to just 10 from the first four overs. Mo picking up the first of his two wickets as Matt took a good catch at cover to dismiss Rory H. As Somerset kept their scoring worm ahead however it was that catch, and the wicket next ball that swung the game in favour of Metro.

Metro Cricket team skipper Rory chat at half time

Eight of those were part of Steve Cook’s 34, a shot that resulted in Prem coming on to cover for Mark Bond who cramped up after chasing the ball all the way to the fine leg boundary. Mo and Justin put together back to back maidens at overs nineteen and twenty; a feat followed by Rory and Andy Law in overs twenty-eight and twenty-nine. Andy ended his two overs with two wickets for just three runs, in addition to that maiden. His second wicket was a stunning catch from Mark Russell who ran from slip to silly point to grab the ball.

Mark had been at the crease as Metro’s innings ended on the fourth highest ever cup final score of 233, twenty-seven short of the record, relieving the pain of the low score in last year’s final. There had been concern that this may not have been possible as light rain and grey skies delayed the start by almost an hour, but all agreed that the match should remain at thirty overs and Metro were put into bat so it was over to Matt and Nick. The start was electric as Matt hit two fours, including one from a no ball, before the bowlers struck back supported by effective fielding to limit both Nick and then Andy to low scores so that when the second wicket fell in the ninth over, with Andy’s runner not getting back for a second the score was only 43.

As the sky started to turn blue and the sun shone Metro started to build on this platform with Justin joining Matt at the crease. Shortly after Matt reached 50 Justin hit the only 6 of the day, over square leg, to bring up 100 in the nineteenth over. The pair put on 125 for the third wicket before Matt was bowled by Mikey for 73, there has only been one higher partnership in a BBS cup final. Justin was finally out, caught and bowled by Ed having scored 89 from 63 balls – exactly the same number as faced by Matt – having hit 13 fours as well as that six.

Metro Cricket Team and Charlie all Smiling with their medal and the cup

Congratulations to Metro’s winning cup team; the XI on the day – Rory Field, Hassan Khan, Amit Amin, Andy Law, Mark Russell, Matt Dean, Mo Ghalib, Justin Hollingsworth, Nick Ebbeck, Mark Bond and Gareth Jones; the three who were there in support: Rob McKenzie as well as Mujahaid Zabit and Prem Sellathurai, who along with Ryan Jones and Matt Pounder had played in earlier rounds.

The cricket season end in Woverhampton on 21st September when Metro play in the David Townley T20 cup finals day, along with Sussex, Northants and Yorkshire.

Report by Paul Toplis

“What a win for the Metro cricket team today in the national cup final. Congratulations to all of the players. Well done to both teams! ” – Martin Symcox

“They did it! Well done to Metro cricket team for winning by 89 runs today to lift the trophy! A brilliant performance from Somerset also which provided a great cricket final” – Charlie Raven

Metro Cricket Team Win The Cup!

August 31, 2019NewsBrightside Ground, Bristol, Cricket, Cricket Cup final, final, Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup, Primary ClubSaul Wynne

BBS & Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cricket Cup final

Caught and Bowled Two – 31st August 2019

Photo of the County Ground in Bristol with metro team warming up

After an excellent tea provided by Gloucestershire of lasagne and salad Metro’s opening bowlers Gareth and Mo had got the defence of Metro’s score off to the expected quality start as, backed up by quality fielding, they limited the reply to just 10 from the first four overs. Mo picking up the first of his two wickets as Matt took a good catch at cover to dismiss Rory H. As Somerset kept their scoring worm ahead however it was that catch, and the wicket next ball that swung the game in favour of Metro.

At half way Somerset were on 99 still 15 ahead of where Metro had been but crucially they had lost three wickets. They managed to score less than half that in the remaining overs reaching just a gross for the loss of 7 wickets at the end of their innings. Eight of those were part of Steve Cook’s 34, a shot that resulted in Prem coming on to cover for Mark Bond who cramped up after chasing the ball all the way to the fine leg boundary. Mo and Justin put together back to back maidens at overs nineteen and twenty; a feat followed by Rory and Andy Law in overs twenty-eight and twenty-nine. Andy ended his two overs with two wickets for just three runs, in addition to that maiden. His second wicket was a stunning catch from Mark Russell who ran from slip to silly point to grab the ball.

Metro Cricket Team Smiling with thier medal and the cup

The cricket season end in Woverhampton on 21st September when Metro play in the David Townley T20 cup finals day, along with Sussex, Northants and Yorkshire.

Report by Paul Toplis

“What a win for the Metro cricket team today in the national cup final. Congratulations to all of the players. Well done to both teams! ” – Martin Symcox

“They did it! Well done to Metro cricket team for winning by 89 runs today to lift the trophy! A brilliant performance from Somerset also which provided a great cricket final” – Charlie Raven

Brightside Ground Hosts BBS Cup!

April 5, 2019Article, News2019, Blind Cricket, British Blind Sport, Cricket, Heindrich Swanepoel, Memorial Cup, Primary ClubSaul Wynne

The Brightside Ground set to host the 2019 British Blind Sport Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup

original post by BBS

The Brightside Ground will host the final of the 2019 BBS (British Blind Sport) Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup on Saturday 31^st August. It is the second time that Gloucestershire County Cricket Club’s home ground will stage the match after a successful event in 2011.

During 2019 the ground will host a One Day International between England & Pakistan, 3 ICC Men’s World Cup matches, Afghanistan v Australia, Bangladesh v Sri Lanka & Pakistan v Sri Lanka as well as World Cup warm up matches, Afghanistan v Pakistan, South Africa v West Indies & West Indies v New Zealand.

Sussex Sharks are the two time defending BBS Cup holders & will start their defence away to Gloucestershire Growlers before potentially facing 16 time former winners London Metro in the semi finals, if the Londoners can see off Yorkshire Vikings first. The other half of the draw is wide open with Northants Steelbacks hosting Cheshire Cobras in the quarter finals with the winner to face Somerset VICC or Lancashire Lions in the other semi final.

The BBS Primary Club Cup is the longest running annual disability cricket competition in the world, first held in 1979 this season will see the 41^stedition of the competition.

British Blind Sport Vice Chairman & Cricket Competitions Secretary Dave Gavrilovic commented on the announcement,

“We are delighted that our final is returning to Bristol, the 2011 final was a terrific event & I’m sure that 2019 will more than equal it. It is a massive privilege for our teams to have the chance to play at such an excellent venue especially in such a busy year of cricket when Bristol is hosting so many international matches. I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the team at Gloucestershire CCC for agreeing to host the final & I look forward to working with them to deliver a fantastic experience for the two teams who reach this year’s final.”.

Peter Hall, Ground Operations Manager at Gloucestershire County Cricket Club added:

“We are pleased that the Final will be taking place here at The Brightside Ground in August. It was an opportunity that we really wanted to be a part of again. We are looking forward to meeting the finalists and wish all the teams taking part the best of luck throughout the tournament.”

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

September 3, 2018Article, News40th BBS cup final, BCEW National league cup, Cricket, Kent County ground at Beckenham, metro cricket team, Primary Club, Sussex SharksSaul Wynne

The photo above is of the Good, The Metro team with Rory holding the BCEW National League Cup!

To start with the good news – on Saturday the Metro team collected their medals and Rory the BCEW National league cup – won before the final league game had been completed as Metro had an unassailable lead over second-placed Somerset. The Metro Devils will also be collecting BCEW South & West league winners’ medals and that trophy whatever the result in their final match of the season against Gloucestershire next Sunday.

Then to the bad news; Sussex Sharks held their nerve to win a low scoring game that was, at times tense, but in which neither team used their full allocation of 30 overs. The game was played at the Kent County ground at Beckenham; as noted by Mike Brace a very appropriate venue for the 40^th BBS cup final as it was the place where both visually impaired cricket has strong roots and where the Primary Club was started. The Club received their BCEW “Hall of Fame” induction at the lunch break before their representatives helped in presenting the awards at the end of the day.

Metro Cricket team warm up for the 40th BBS Cup Final

The pitch was a great surface to play on, the weather kind – if anything perhaps a little too warm, camera crews were on hand filming a Metro promotional video when Rory lost the toss and Metro had to bat first. The start was not what was wanted as Nick was caught off the last ball of the first over, and Andy Law also fell cheaply but the runs were flowing from Matt’s bat with a series of drives through the off side and down the ground while tucking anything wide on the leg side to the fine leg boundary as he and Simon put on 54 for the third wicket.

Disaster then struck in the eighth over bowled by Dave Daniels as Matt in hitting the ball hard and fine past the keeper hit wicket, having scored 51 from just 29 balls with 10 fours. This sparked a collapse of true English proportion as in the next over from Dan Field both Ryan and Simon were caught leaving Dan on a hat-trick. Mark Russell saw off a maiden from Alex Towers, who was to bowl Rory in his next wicket maiden for an amazing two over spell. Meanwhile, although Dan did not complete a hat-trick he did dismiss Alex caught and bowled; so that four wickets had fallen as the score moved from 83 to 84.

Metro Cricket and Sussex Sharks at the 40th BBS Cup Final — Photo from the boundary rope with a blind cricket ball in the foreground and the Metro Cricket and Sussex Sharks teams playing at the 40th BBS Cup Final

Sussex now faltered a little as Mark Russell and Hassan put on 38 before a mix up saw Hassan run out before Alex was given the ball again to take another wicket, Rob the only LBW dismissal of the match before Dan Field picked up Amit to take 4 wickets for 13 and get himself on the cup final honours board. Although 180 had been defended against Warwickshire in the cup quarter final 126 seemed too few to defend on the beautiful, true playing surface, which you know was true.

Sussex knowing the required run rate was very low were able to bat carefully against Metro’s two main strike bowlers Rory and Rob, the latter bowled out his 6 overs for just 16 with only eight of those off the bat while Rory bowled five overs for 19 although 18 were off the bat. There was a spark of hope for Metro for when these two combined with Rob catching Dave Daniels at fine leg with 14 scored.

Thirty more had been added before another wicket fell as the other opener, Joe Harrison, edged Amit to the keeper. Andy Dalby-Welsh came out to join the Sussex skipper and this pair carefully batted through taking just the runs on offer until they accelerated at the end with a boundary to bring up the 100 and three more as they reached exactly the 127 needed with Andy 29 not out and Dan on 45 which took him to the man of the match award, with Dave Daniel’s crucial wicket getting him the total man of the match award.

So finally, the ugly cricket correspondent confirms this is the last match report for 2018 as Metro are not at T20 finals day. Enjoy the winter including the England VI tour of India and Sri Lanka and start looking forward to the 2019 season.

Report by Paul Toplis