Bank Holiday Monday - May 29th - saw the return of our Colts Festival: The slightly dodgy weather (which is almost traditional for the event) didn't keep colts and their families away from this all day flurry of cricket. It was a close fought contest with remarkable performances in practically every game. Lots of boundaries scored (helped by dividing the Green into three pitches) and wickets taken (or in some cases thrown away!). All those who attended played at least 4 games and each was played in great spirit with colts aged 6 to 16 playing alongside each other in mixed age teams.

The final was played between the Humphrey Knight Riders and the Sandham Challengers. Humphrey KR posted a score of 47 for 5. The Sandham Challengers started their chase at a cracking pace scoring 22 off the first over. Their scoring then slowed and it took a further 3.4 overs to overtake the Humphrey KR total without losing a wicket. Captain Bilal Mohammad retired on 30 runs (all bar 2 scored as boundaries). At the top of the newsletter you can see a picture of the Sandham Challengers with the tournament cup and their certificates. The winning team were: Bilal Mohammad (capt); Sahat Shah; Kireesham Jithanakumar; Abishek Nair; Ishmail Hussain; Hammad Abdul and Arman Kaleem.

These events are not possible without the help of our parent volunteers. Special thanks go to Nora, Shellina and Naela who masterminded the refreshments. Aijaz and Rajiv who also made culinary contributions, and manned the registration desk and umpired matches respectively as well. Our coaches David and Adrian were in the thick of it all day and we also need to thank Jay for his firm but fair umpiring and our groundsman Andy for marking the pitches. Thanks to everyone else who helped with the matches, setting up and clearing away including Hassan and Leah. We really couldn't have done it without you!

Best Bowler
Winner of the Tournament Green Cap: Muhammad Umer received our inaugural Green Cap for his bowling performance at the Festival 3-6 (yes in a single over). There were plenty of other contenders. Mitesh Rupal took 4 wickets including 2 in a single over; Sahat Shah and Maywon Niazi both took 3 wickets - and both managed 2 in a single over. Players who took 2 wickets included: Leah Finniegan, Szymon Dar, Ishmail Hussain and Sami Abdul. Other wicket takers included Abishek and Aditya Nair and among the youngest Arnav and Ansh Erinjery and Ayaan Abaid.

Best Batsman
Winner of the Tournament Maroon Cap: Bilal Mohammad received the Maroon Cap for his batting at the Festival. A powerful and attractive stroke-maker Bilal was twice retired on a score of 30 and scored a number of other 20+ innings. He was exciting to watch in all games...except one where he was out for a golden duck..much to the glee of Maywon Niazi. Bilal was also a great captain of the Sandham Challengers, encouraging each member of his team from the youngest to the most experienced. Other contenders for the Maroon Cap were: Azeem Muhammad (captain of the other finalists Humphrey KR) who was retired on 25+ scores at least 4 times; Sami Abdul retired on 30 in one game and had a few other 20+ scores in others. Dhruv Rupal, Hammad Abdul, Rohit Murali, Shamali Khan, Faraz Kaleem and Sudarson all regularly contributed to their team's performance with the bat.