Do you have some time to spare from 10am Saturday 18th October?

The committee would like your help packing up for the club for the winter. With all hands on deck things should take no longer than a few hours.

Merstham Cricket Club finished their 150th anniversary season with a trip to Lord’s to play the home of cricket’s groundstaff, the Cross Arrows, in a special match.

Merstham’s Sunday side finished their season with an entertaining defeat to our friends – and in many cases former team-mates - from Mogador.

On a bright September afternoon, Merstham won the toss and elected to bowl first. Good opening spells from Bobby Sharp and Mike Hanlon initially kept Mogador in check, with Lithon Tarofder also weighing in with a fine three wickets. Mogador, however, were indebted to former Merstham skipper Alex Hewitt, who hit some massive blows to reach a superb 97 not out, taking Mogs total to 230.

Thomas Kenny, one of our under-12s coaches whose accent suggests he is not from these parts, has written the following submission for the 150th anniversary Book of Memories.
We are grateful to him for letting us reproduce it here. Should anybody else wish to contribute to the Book, now the season is very nearly complete and they might have time to pen some words, please email Ian Lamont at ilamontnews@hotmail.com 

If anybody had said an American raised on baseball, basketball and American Football would be in love with a game called cricket, you wouldn’t believe them.

For those going to Merstham Cricket Club's 150th anniversary match at Lord's Nursery Ground to face Cross Arrows on Tuesday September 30, details are as follows:

The team is posted here. Sorry if you didn't make the team, but the combination of players old(er) and young would welcome your support nonetheless for the 50 overs a side match.

A combined Sunday first and second team lost narrowly at home to Wallington in one of the final games of the season, with Mogador Wanderers the final hurdle this Sunday. After Bill Ash won another rare toss, Merstham chose to bat on a good wicket.   Wallington's bowlers served up a miserly line with a complete variety of pace making it difficult to score fluidly.  Both Nav Saeed and Sunny Patel got going, reaching the 40s, but then fell as they tried to increase the run-rate.   A blistering 59 nout out from Rory Crouch before tea saw Merstham almost reach 200 before the 40 overs were up, resting on 193 all out after 39 overs. Bobby Sharp and Suliman Younas kept the opposition batsmen at bay with eight tidy overs each, but three wickets was all that they could muster could muster as Wallington knocked off the runs in 36 overs; Patel taking a fine slip catch off Younas and captain Ash swallowed a skier at long off for Sharp.  Time to regroup for one last effort against Mogs to finish the season.

Merstham are to play against the Cross Arrows, a team made up of Lords ground staff, on the Nursery pitch at, the home of cricket, Lord's cricket ground on Tuesday 30th September.

Any club member who has not yet registered their interest in either playing or going on the coach from Quality Street the club is looking to arrange should contact us by tomorrow, 22nd September. Contact Richard Feist if you are interested in playing, or Chris Clayson to come along to support via the coach. Please indicate if you would be interested in a tour of Lord's, as this is an option. 

MCC 210-8, 42 overs; NCC 208-7, 43 overs; match drawn.   Yet another highly tense and exciting game of cricket involving a mainly seconds XI.  Bill Ash, winning only his second toss of the season, did not hesitate to bat offering a timed game which was welcomed by the opposition.   Two patient and hard grafted 50s from Kashif Noon and Olly Mayes with solid support from Bobby Sharp (25) and Bharat Sahani (31) saw the home side to over 200 in just over two and a half hours.   Early Newdigate wickets began to fall after tea with Sumair Qasim and Sharp making early inroads.  Newdigate skipper Roky Wickeramasinge managed to stabilise his team with an enduring 78 before falling to Sharp in his second spell.  Late flurries by the lower middle order worried the home side during the last of the 20 overs, Ash taking it upon himself to take the last six balls and prevent the nine runs required for victory.   A match highly appreciated by all who participated with cricket clearly being the winner.

Noman Javed, pictured right, was named first team player of the year at Merstham Cricket Club's awards night on Saturday.

There were mixed fortunes for Merstham on the final weekend of league action - with two 'Khan's enjoying an end-of-season flourish with the bat.