BPCC 2021 Tour Summary

After missing out on British Police Cricket Tour 2020 due to COVID-19, we finally managed to get back on the pitch in 2021 with the easing of restrictions. Just like the Women’s tour, a lot of planning and preparation went into this tour - not only to get us on the field playing but also a restructure of our squad, with nine debutants. The tour didn’t get off to the best start with two members of the squad having to pull out; one through injury and one through leave being cancelled at the last minute. On top of that our fixture on the Sunday against Kibworth was cancelled. We were hoping to use this fixture to give all the debutants a game so we could have a good look at them, luckily Beefy contacted a local indoor cricket school and managed to book us in for two hours, so the day wasn’t wasted.

We used this time to do all introductions and from my perspective have a look at all the skills the new players had to offer.

Monday 21 v Lincolnshire CCC at Grantham CC

Having had a good look at the squad on Sunday and decided to hand all debutants their caps. This fixture is always a good way to start the week playing against some young talent. I lost the toss and Lincolnshire decided to have a bat. We started well with Dom Manthorpe picking up his first wicket in his first over and Mike Harling picking his first BP wicket in his second over. We continued to pick up wickets early on which gave me full control of the game and after their opening spell we had them 59 for 5 off 14 overs, with Manthorpe picking up 2 wickets and Harling picking up 3. I was then able to have a look at another two debutants in Harry Powell and Ben Ellis. Both hit good areas early in their spells and the game was firmly in our control. Powell pulled up with an injury which allowed me to bowl spin from both ends. Ellis was into his spell at this stage and started picking up wickets claiming his first victim for BP in his 5th over and they were 91 for 5. Ellis continued to pick up wickets bowling well in partnership with Mitchell Harris with the pair picking up the last 5 wickets for 31, Ben Ellis on debut picking up 4 for 31 off 7.5 overs. Three strong performances by the debutants picking up 9 for 88 between them. Lincolnshire setting us 127 runs for victory.

With overcast conditions we set off at a steady pace with Lincolnshire bowling tight up top, Stuart Drakeley and Matt Sisson got us to 20 before we lost Sisson and a few overs later we lost Gary Knight leaving us 35 for 2. Drakeley and Tom Knight then steadied the ship taking us up to 55 before Drakeley fell for 32. Ben Ellis walked in then fresh from his 4 wickets in the first innings and guided us up to 96 before he was bowled for 28. We lost Lewis Staniforth for 6 leaving us 119 for 5 when I walked in just as it started to rain. We finished the game in drizzle and got over the line with over ten overs to spare, Tom Knight finishing on 35 not out. A great start to the week and some real talent on display from the debutants.

Tuesday 22 v Army CC at Oakham CC

With the late dropouts on the eve of the tour we managed to get a couple of late replacements to strengthen our squad, Josh Gillies setting up for us on the Tuesday and being handed his first cap. The pitch was very green and looked like it was very bowler friendly conditions. I was lucky enough to win the toss and decided to let the Army have a bat first. Mike Harling and Dom Manthorpe started where they left off the day before and Harling picked up two wickets in his first over putting the Army on the back foot. Both used the conditions to our advantage and the game moved on at a fast pace with the Army being 29 for 6 off ten overs. Josh Gillies then replaced Harling bowling with great control and started his BP career with 6 overs 1 for 11. After 32 overs we had the Army 97 for 9, their number 11 then chanced his arm and hit a few lusty blows, managing to get the Army up to 151 before Craig Grimley took the final wicket, with conditions getting easier for batting. Again, Harling and Manthorpe set the tone at the top of the innings and it was a good bowling and fielding performance.

Will Evans and Stuart Drakeley opened and started well before Drakeley fell on 12 leaving us 21 for 1 off 5 overs. Vice-Captain Shaun Smith walked in at number 3 and made steady progress with Evans getting us up to 58 before Evans fell LBW for 27. After a good start to the week with 35 not out the day before, Tom Knight made his way to the wicket and continued where he left off. Smith began to find his flow and started finding the boundaries with regular ease and made his way to 50. The pair then proceeded to put on 95 not out together to see us home in the 30th over with Knight not out again for 30 and Smith playing a very responsible and eye-catching innings of 69 not out. The high standard and tone for the match was set by the bowling unit and the batting unit finished the game off with a dominant 8 wicket victory over the Army.

Wednesday 23 v Club Cricket Conference at Uppingham CC

We turned up to Uppingham CC with the weather set sunny all day. Eddie Walmsley stepped in for his debut, with conditions good for batting I won the toss and decided to have a knock. Will Evans and Matt Sisson opened and got us off to a blistering start. Sisson must have had his Weetabix as he just hit the ball to all areas, clearing the boundary with ease. The pair put on 118 in 14 overs before Sisson fell for 78 off just 49 balls, putting us way ahead of the game. Smith then came to crease and played some lovely shots before falling for 15 with us 157 for 2 off 21. We quickly became 157 for 3 when Evans fell for 48 and the innings needed a little rebuild. Walmsley and I were in the middle but Walmsley fell for just 2 and after a destructive start, the Club Cricket Conference started to fight back. Drakeley then made his way to the middle with me and we put on a steady 44 before Drakeley was caught and bowled for 20. Lewis Staniforth came in and went out for a breezy 11 and we were 225 for 6 with ten overs to go and the pitch starting to spin. Craig Grimley then came in. Unfortunately, I fell two overs later for 29 leaving us 234 for 7, Mitch Harris and Grimley played positively and got us up to 279 off the 50 overs with Harris 22 not out and Grimley 27 not out. With the pitch starting to spin I was pleased with our total, but after such a positive start thought we maybe left 30 to 40 more runs on the field.

Josh Gillies and Harry Powell started us off with the ball in the second innings but after two overs, Powell’s injury flared up and unfortunately, he was out for the rest of the tour. Grimley replaced Powell and bowled with good discipline alongside Gillies and we had them 36 for 1 off 8 overs. With 2 overs left in the powerplay and a new batter at the crease, I decided to turn to spin and gave Drakeley the ball. In his first over he picked up the other opener and we started to turn the screw and push their required run rate up. Drakeley picked up 3 wickets in his first 3 overs and we had them 45 for 4 in no time. Grimley then finished his spell in hot conditions bowling 5 overs 0 for 13 and it was time for spin at both ends. Mitch Harris and Drakeley continued to keep the game firmly in our control and Drakeley finished with figures of 4 for 25 off his ten. Harris was then joined by another spinner Eddie Walmsley and together they finished the game off bowling the Club Cricket Conference out for 149 and giving a us a 130 run victory. Harris ended with figures of 3 for 45 off his ten overs and Walmsley 2 for 23 off 6. The Spinner’s in total taking 9 wickets for 93 and giving us our third victory in three days.

Thursday 24 v National Asian Cricket Council at Newtown Linford CC

Day four of the tour saw us playing the National Asian Cricket Council, I lost the toss and we were put in to bat. Matt Sisson and Will Evans opened again after a destructive display the day before and Sisson looked in fine form again getting us to 26 off just 3 overs, unfortunately we lost both openers on 26 and Gary Knight and Shaun Smith were at the crease both on 0. A little bit of a rebuild got us to 50 off 11 overs before Smith was caught and Tom Knight walked to the middle, the two Knights put on 72 getting us to 122 before Tom fell for 31. I then walked to the middle with Gary batting nicely. We made a conscious decision to start running quick singles and put the fielders under pressure to keep the score board ticking over without many risks, this tactic paid off with Gary passing 50 and our partnership started to grow. Gary then went about targeting some of their bowlers hitting one for 20 in an over and we started to dominate. We then put on over 100 together and I managed to pass 50 and I was there when Gary passed his maiden BP hundred. Unfortunately, I fell the over after with the score 240 for 5 and we had put on a partnership of 118. Gary was soon to follow, and the National Asian Cricket Council fought back, and we collapsed to 269 all out with an over to spare. At half time having batted out there, I believed we had a competitive score.

Manthorpe and Harling got us off to another great start and we had them 3 down for 34 inside 9 overs. We remained in control and picked up another wicket bowled Harris caught Martin and they were 68 for 4 off 19. They started to increase the run rate and built a little partnership of 40 and looked in control. It was time for a drink and a rethink, after the break I went with Spin and Ben Ellis to get through a few overs quickly, first ball after the break they hit it to deep backward square leg and decided to run two, upon turning Will Evans swooped in picking the ball up cleanly and fired the ball an inch from the bails giving Gary Knight very little to do; the batter was run out with half a pitch to spare - just what was need after the break. The next batter came in and they continued to play positive cricket, putting on a quick fire 44 giving them around a run a ball off the last 20 overs with two dangerous players in. Once we broke the partnership, we continued to pick up wickets with spin, Mitch Harris being the pick of the bowlers, achieving figures of 3 for 41 off 9.4 overs and we won by 82 runs. Another very confident performance and 4 -0 for the week.

Friday 25 v R.A.F. at Ockbrook and Borrowash CC

The final day of the tour and a chance to do 5-0 for week, again I won the toss and decided to let the R.A.F have a bat. With weather about I thought it would be hard for them to score runs freely and the pitch looked like it would remain the same throughout the day. Manthorpe and Harling took the new ball again but struggled with wet conditions and aching bodies. We were on and off throughout but had them 67 for 2 with Harling picking up both wickets. We went off again for rain and it cleared up enough to get back on and we had them 144 for 3 off 28 overs before the weather got the better of us and the game was ended.

SUMMARY

Overall, a very successful week with a squad of players that would be hard to replace come selection next year. The planning that myself and Beef put into the selection and the recruitment of players for this tour helped us maintain a very high level of cricket throughout the week and they all bought into the ethos set by the management team of playing hard cricket. As captain it has been my most enjoyable week - seeing the standard of cricket being played raised to such a high level was a joy. At some point during the week everyone did something to contribute to and influence games with the bat, ball and fielding allowing me to keep pressure on the opposition and dominate our opposition. The job was made a lot easier having an experienced, flexible, and supportive management team and I would like to thank them all for the work they continue to do.

As always, a special thanks to Beef for organising, fundraising, and finding us some great oppositions, especially when his wife was taken ill halfway through tour. He still managed to communicate clearly and keep our standards high under very stressful circumstances.

One final extra special thank you goes to Peter Mitchell who has been with British Police Cricket since 1989 - serving as an umpire until 1999 before retiring, then re-joining in 2006 as the Club scorer & statistician until this recent tour when he has decided to hang up his pen. He will be missed greatly and always made my time on tours extra special with his stories, his wit and his humour.

All the best in the next chapter my friend and I look forward to seeing you on future tours.