I wrote at the end of the 2021 season about how much it reminded me of 2018, but at that time little did I know how far the parellels would continue to extend.
The 2019 season was a year in which we were able to finish 2nd in the league and achieve promotion out of Division 14, but after having to concede 3 out of our first 7 games there was almost no chance we were going to be able to achieve the same thing in 2022.
In the four games we had played by mid-June we'd managed to notch up 4 wins. Dylan Coles (52) and 15 year old Jack Mayes (3-30) had starred at home to Pucklechurch to give us our first win of the season.
Dave Yates then hit 57* vs Brislington chasing 95 with his opening partner Nathan Williams scoring 77 a week later vs Midsomer Norton as we chased 182, before Mayes again took 4-13 against Timsbury to skittle them for 109.
But after losing away at Golden Hill in the final weekend of June it felt as though we were destined for another mid-table finish having shown we were capable of competing with most teams in the division but being unable to put a team out on a consistent basis.
But oh how wrong I was, as we went on a run of winning all of our next 8 matches!
A rain-affected victory over Bradley Stoke was followed by probably our two best performances of the season, and probably of my entire decade as Captain.
With only 10 players we faced Coalpit Heath at home and found ourselves needing to chase 268 to win. Dylan anchored the innings from number 3, hitting an unbeaten 78 while James Corbin (55) and latterly Greg Walters (36*) demonstrated some of the finest ball striking ever seen in Divison 13 as we got there with 2 overs to go.
A trip to Pucklechurch was next and despite my wife letting the ball run between her legs for 4 off my bowling we still managed to bowl the home side out for 79 on the same wicket one of their 1st team batters had hit a double ton the week before - a total we were able to easily chase down.
In his final season with the Club before his move to Kent, opening batter Nathan Williams was finally able to record his first century (151*) for the Club at home versus Thornbury, a game which also saw new recruit Basi smash 81 off 31 balls towards the end of the innings.
He would follow that up the following week away at Barrow Gurney with 138*, Karthick Babu also hitting a milestone in that game with his first half century (63 off 51 balls).
We went into the rematch with Golden Hill in 2nd place in the league, knowing that a victory would see the title race go down to the final weekend of the season but that defeat would see our visitors crowned champions.
We battled hard, restricting them to 172-9 off their 40 overs, but sadly it wasn't to be for us as at the end of the game we congratulated Golden Hill on winning Division 13 having only been able to muster 109 all out.
The final day saw us travel to Bradley Stoke knowing that 5 points was all we needed to secure second place and a promotion spot. The hosts scored 242-9 leaving us needing to score at least 100 to guarantee our place in Divison 12 in 2023.
Thankfully we went considerably better than that, chasing down our host's score with more than 3 overs to go thanks to Dylan Coles 76 and some excellent contributions from Nathan (42), Karthick (30*) and Steve Popham (33).
To have only been beaten by Golden Hill since early July 2021 is quite a bizarre feeling - when we put a team on the field we're a very difficult side to beat.
We also played so much of this season with a smile on our faces - making sure we were all having fun and that our teammates were all enjoying themselves too. This is so important at this level of cricket, and I was definitely guilty of forgetting this in my earlier years as Captain.
After 10 years in charge of the team I have decided to stand down ahead of the 2023 campaign. I was a terrible Captain when I first started in 2013 and I'm not that much better (if at all) now!
But it has been an incredibly fun and fulfilling decade and I'm incredibly grateful to the Club for letting me run this team for so long and also to each and every player who has turned out for me over the years.
My final thanks go to the various Captains and other Committee Members I have had the pleasure of working with. This is a great Club to be a part of and so much of that is thanks to our brilliant volunteers!
I will be continuing to play as regularly as I can but I look forward to grazing in the outfield a little more often that I have been able to in the last 10 years!
Signing off for the final time.
Cheers
Craig Strachan
(former) 4th XI Captain
