Another hugely enjoyable and successful season for the Old Bedfordians Cricket Club has come to an end with more than 35 Old Boys representing the club in 2022 across five matches in excellent spirit. A vast collection of ages from 18 through to 50+ turned out, which was great to see and bodes well for the future.
The season began with a trip to Uppingham in the first round of the Cricketer Cup where, unfortunately, we were a couple of players short due to some late dropouts. A spirited fielding and bowling performance led by Peter Rowe (03-08) meant we restricted Uppingham to 249 all out with Shiv Patel (04-15) taking 3/45.
In response, the OBs were on track with 44 from Luke Adams (08-13) and 35 from Ed Wharton (07-12) at the top of the order but a steady stream of wickets meant we were bowled out for 183 and so our tilt at Cricketer Cup glory will have to wait for another year.
Mercifully, availability improved through the season as the university holidays arrived and our ranks were also boosted by some very talented Upper Sixth leavers. A limited overs game was negotiated for the fixture against the MCC which looked like a wise decision after they reached 290/5 from their 50 overs.
George Wood (83-94) rolled back the years with 59 at the top of the order in pursuit of the total but the star of the chase was Jonny Huggins (11-22) who scored a superb 107*. That almost took the OBs to a famous victory as they closed just ten short, on 280/9.
And so, to the traditional Cricket Week where we registered our first win of the season against the Ousels with runs for Sammy Kumar (99-10), Erik Castenskiold (80-85) and James Woodrow (74-84) helping to post 163/5. The Ousels managed 120/8 in response, with the wickets shared around.
The return of the popular two-day game after a pandemic-induced hiatus was welcomed by all the players and the public houses of Bedford. On opening day, the OBs won a crucial toss and scored 256/7 with 96 for Luke Adams and 50 for Will Aitkenhead (04-09). Some entertaining fielding aided the school in reply, as they reached 227/5 declared and the OBs set the school 252 to win in around 40 overs.
It was a tough ask but some crafty field setting, and canny bowling kept it interesting throughout and both sides were in with a chance of winning heading into the final hour. The school eventually closed out on 207/7 and an honourable draw was shared.
A thrilling 25-over game played out on the 2nd XI square as the school chased down 144 in the final over nine wickets down.
Report by Will Aitkenhead
A huge thank you must go to all of those that turned out for the Old Bedfordians this summer and all those who helped get the sides together and organise the matches including Will Aitkenhead, George Wood, Rahul Sheemar (12-19), Huw Turner (15-20), Shiv Patel, Will Barnes (11-19) and Ben Barnes (12-21).
We must also thank our outstanding scorer and newly appointed fielding coach, Peter Rowe (03-08). It is rare for a side to routinely be scrapping around for players but never have to worry about a scorer and we are hugely grateful for his commitment to the club.
With several talented cricketers leaving the Upper Sixth this year, we hope that many will form the core of the Old Bedfordians’ side in years to come and continue the excellent reputation that the club has. If you are interested in joining, please do get in touch with the OB Cricket Club (see link below).
