It’s that time of year again, our trip to most people’s favourite ground of the season. The beautiful surroundings, the peaceful countryside… Well, it would have been peaceful if Ross knew how to lock his new car (the colour and model wasn’t chosen by his better half at all in the slightest!), with the alarm[…]
After last week’s last minute cancellation due to the magnificent British weather, we are back at the glorious Wok this week to take on Bexleyheath 6ths who are an enthusiastic mix of lads and dads from just down the A2. We win the toss and elect to bat on what for once actually looks like[…]
This week saw us entertain Chelsfield 3rds at the Oakfield Wok. This is a game that will live long in the memory for those that were there – not necessarily for the quality of bowling/strokeplay on show, but more for the general disregard of rules/regulations/laws of the game. Before we crack on, despite the unjust[…]
Following last week’s storming victory against Foxbury, it was time to back up that performance with an away game. Unfortunately Borden couldn’t raise a side this week, so Beef worked his magic to secure us a fixture against Kent Village League Division 8 side Sissinghurst CC 2nd XI. Admittedly it was borderline tour distance travelling[…]
Following last week’s not-so-tremendous batting performance, we trooped down to Tonbridge to take on our old friends. Last season, we played there but sadly it was against Dartford CC 6th XI when we couldn’t host and unfortunately Tonbridge couldn’t field a side. After collecting Benty from the pre-arranged pick up point outside the Hilton in[…]
Following last week’s abandonment due the wonderful weather we have been experiencing lately. We welcomed our landlords to the wok for an eagerly awaited local derby! Dartford 5ths kindly produced a tea that was greatly received at the interval. Following the toss/pre-agreement, we were asked to bowl. Early results suggested this youthful looking Dartford side[…]
After a week of rain and doubts as to whether this fixture will go ahead, the sun finally peeked through on Saturday morning, and just before midday the go-ahead was received and everyone trooped to Ide Hill’s idyllic, postage-stamp sized ground. Parking the car was a challenge on the soft grass and I just prayed[…]
TOUR! As always, hotly anticipated, mainly for the piss-up, but also for some red-hot cricket action against those strange out-of-townie types. Journeys to Oxford were completed on Friday evening and immediately to the pub/club/late night shit food establishments. Saturday begins with a slap-up breakfast in what was an extremely religious setting. On three hours sleep and nursing[…]
Deep into September now and it is fucking ROASTING. What the bally hell is happening? It should be 17 degrees and drizzle, we got 33 and belting sun all day. Beef was busy all week attempting fill another hole in the calendar and finally found some oppo in Cudham Wyse. Some consternation in the ranks[…]
It’s already September and we can see the finish line of the 2023 season looming on the horizon, along with the gleaming table of assorted trophies and prizes on offer at the end of year awards (hint – better get that sorted out, chaps). With poor old Tonbridge Foresters barely raising a team all year,[…]
A long-term unfilled gap in the calendar gave Beef the opportunity to schedule in another fixture against a team beginning with the letter ‘B’. Step forward Belvedere 2nd XI, and a ground which Deadly Dicky knew well. The majority of the rest of us hadn’t frequented their place, and with its hefty slope, pitch two[…]
After another spot of fixture drama – Borden barely had a team by Wednesday night – the game was confirmed after a brief morning pitch inspection by the landlords following an overnight deluge. On further inspection by our own wannabe curators, it was described as “urgh”, “a swamp”, “can we play somewhere else” and other[…]
The much anticipated ‘Stone Derby’ vs. Stone-in-Oxney went belly-up early doors this week, adding to the pile of re-arranged fixtures in the 2023 season. Nevertheless, fixture king Beef managed to line us up a much shorter trip down to New Beckenham CC, an oppo which quite frankly none of us knew existed. We rocked up[…]
After a very damp club day shindig last week, we trekked down to Bredgar for a high summer showdown against a team that tends to get the better of us, indeed by 8 wickets a month previously. Clearly the quicker bowlers of the club had remembered this fact and all of them bar Slates did[…]
And so, we moved on to our favourite fixture of the year – Teston away. A pretty strong Stone line-up made the trip with the weather decidedly stuffy. I am assuming Skip lost the toss because I don’t remember him winning one this year and Teston strode out to bat first [fortunately, this was recorded[…]
Writing a match report a month after a game is never a good idea. I’m sure this job was delegated elsewhere but I’ve forgotten who it was as well. Details will be therefore sketchy; hopefully the editor will come up with some stuff to fill the blanks. I do remember it being cloudy, and I’m[…]
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Following our fantastic away win last week, Stone returned to the Oakfield Wok to play Gravesend CC 6th XI in suitably sizzling heat. A much-changed team due to romantic getaways and European Conference League hangovers saw Ben make his Stone debut and Muttley captain the team for the first time in his first appearance of[…]
For many, the arrival of June and the return of Test cricket to this green and pleasant land marks the true start of summer. Evenings stretch into a glorious golden haze, as unprotected cheeks turn a delicate shade of red, and bowlers do press-ups on the pitch as part of an unconventional, but undoubtedly intimidating[…]
As May draws to a close, the weather conditions have improved considerably and the Wok strip has finally dried out. This week’s opponents are old rivals Foxbury Exiles, while Ross has volunteered to provide the first home tea of the season. The Skipper has had to withdraw at the last minute, but this enables Tom[…]
This is our first away game of the season and we head to Tonbridge, although not to play Tonbridge Foresters as planned (as they only had six players), but to play instead a hastily cobbled-together Dartford 6ths. The game was to be played at Tonbridge as neither of us were able to host. Not entirely sure[…]
The “will it won’t it” rain saga continued this week, with the drizzle holding off long enough to allow us to get on the Oakfield Wok to face new oppo in the form of Linton Park. The weatherman actually promised us sunshine and 20’c, which turned out to be bollocks as it stayed overcast and chilly all[…]
Blimey, that went quick didn’t it? The winter is already a distant memory and we’re back out there at Oakfield Park (or as it was re-christened this week, the Wok). An injured Stumpy turns up with the keys to the pavilion and a terrible tale involving a DeWalt toolbox, his shins and a lot of weeping yellow pus.[…]
Many pints, a half decent kip and a hearty breakfast later, and Game Two was appearing over the horizon. As a reward for his efforts for the oppo yesterday, Dicky was awarded the hospital pass of skippering the Sunday fixture against Denton CC – he was the only change from yesterday’s victorious XI as the[…]
And so we arrive at the most hotly anticipated weekend of the year – the Stone ’22 tour! This year’s destination was to be a trip down to the south coast to Brighton. The author of this match report was unfortunately pre-booked for the Friday of the Test match at the Oval which, down to the[…]
The start of September saw us welcome a new opposition to Oakfield Park, with King’s Hill CC sending their 4th XI to replace Tonbridge Foresters CC (who seem to have been facing some problems with player availability, an issue that bedevilled us too earlier in the season). We also welcomed Mrs Sash to her first[…]
This week saw us take the trip to Brasted for our final regular away game of the season. There was no traffic and no team selection drama this week, as a return for Sashi’s chum Karthik took us to the requisite XI by Tuesday morning. Their skipper suggested a timed game, and I was not about[…]
Finally, the relentless furnace that has been the Summer of ’22 cooled off this week, as we headed into the ghetto of SE London to face Old Colfe’s 4th XI. Careful research of their results revealed a startling statistic – one defeat all season. The original plan was a couple of T20s and a jolly[…]
Another week, another scorching hot day as we ventured out to Borden. A full XI of fine Stone men were available this week, with no sign of the usual last minute drop-outs or begging to randoms to play that has blighted us in recent times. Lil’ Will was back after swotting up for exams all[…]
More fixture shenanigans this week saw the original oppo Offham melt it and pull out, to be replaced by our old foes from Ash for a second time this season (all praise to Beef for organising from the comfort of his sunbed). Another bleedin’ scorcher in this long hot summer greeted us at a rather[…]
This week’s fixture saw us visit Chislehurst to play Foxbury Exiles in what is usually a keenly-contested game. This also presents the opportunity to reverse the result of the previous encounter, earlier this season, when we managed to bugger up a run chase of under 100 at home. Skipper Billy is away this week at[…]
Another hot day beckoned as old foes Bredgar made the trip to the home of village cricket. Walkie cunningly avoided being awarded Shitbag (just) by deviously contracting Covid on Friday evening, but after a begging Saturday morning text the Candyman heroically answered the call and wins my vote for Player of the Year. With Oakfield happily surviving the[…]
A journey down to Reigate on a hot summer afternoon promised much, but immediately began with a locked gate followed by an immediate trip to the nearby pub. Suitably refreshed once the gates opened, and with the advice of Stone captains past ringing in my ears (“don’t fuck it up”, “crush them”, etc), a negotiated[…]
This Saturday had been provisionally reserved for the much-delayed club day, which had been kiboshed by the dread Covid restrictions in the previous two seasons. Rather than risk further disappointment with extensive/elaborate plans, the club decided to keep it fairly straightforward: a regular home fixture followed by a BBQ, at which friends and family were[…]
The availability issues that have bedevilled us in the first half of the month are nowhere in evidence when it comes to the away game against Teston, one of the nicest grounds that we visit each year. This week’s fixture also sees the welcome return of Mr Cameron Miller, who travels down to join us[…]
After two weeks when we could not get sufficient numbers to put out a side, Stone CC is back in business with an away fixture against Bredgar. Putting together our XI did, admittedly, involve asking the barman from our local hostelry to turn out for us, but it all worked out in the end. Slates[…]
The visit of Borden to Oakfield stirred up both good and bad memories for some members of the club. I’m sure I heard that story of their famous first win in three years against us and the ensuing photography session that followed told about six times on the day. Nevertheless, with their skip announcing they[…]
A visit to our second favourite Foresters (after the pub obvs) for game number five of 2022 at Tonbridge, who bizarrely requested a 34-overs per innings shindig. Much consternation in the away changing room over this, but at least there was a tea on offer from the hosts today. Victorious in the toss again, we[…]
Next into the smokin’ cauldron of red-hot cricket came Foxbury Exiles on a glorious day down at Oakfield. A bit of selection faff with half the team still swottin’ like boffins for exams and various others on duty elsewhere meant the injured Real Skipper came back into the team for what will probably be his[…]
Gravesend VI’s cacked their pants at hearing of our unbeaten start to the 2022 season and pulled out of this week’s fixture early doors, leaving Beef to hunt down an unassuming oppo to take on the mighty Stone CC at short notice. In stepped old foes Ash, historically of the ‘All Star’ fixture that most[…]
Up to Ide Hill’s postage stamp sized ground for game two of the year. A spot of Friday night shenanigans with the line up after Chungy caught the lurgies saw a welcome return for Tom Rogers and his lovely hair into the team on a sunny-ish day, on which I won the toss and elected[…]
A slightly overcast sky and an annoying crosswind greeted us at Oakfield for Game One of the new season. SO many questions ahead of the start of Stone’s 2022 campaign. Will we get a full and proper season in this year post-Covid? Will Rossington depart to fill Joe Root’s shoes after relinquishing the club captaincy?[…]
A very late addition to the fixture list and definitely the last one of the 2021 season saw a second trip of ’21 down to Bredgar, scene of a ridiculous knock of 150 from their captain way back in the summer. A glorious sunny day greeted us, as did a very short square boundary on[…]
The penultimate fixture of 2021 saw Stone venturing down to Bromley Common for a bash at their 4th XI, at their second ground which we would give many limbs to have as our own. In decent weather for a change, and on probably the best track we’ve had all season, Rossington defied convention and flung[…]
Suddenly we’re into September, and a late summer fixture against old foes Tonbridge Foresters at an Oakfield Park that looked more like the Western Front during World War One in some parts, due to some bunch of goons armed with metal detectors digging a ton of dinner-plate-sized holes (albeit small dinner plates, according to some)[…]
Another overcast afternoon greeted us as we welcomed Gravesend V’s down to Oakfield Park for this week’s battle, albeit half an hour behind schedule. Well, ten of us did, as Sashi couldn’t navigate the Sashbus through the poxy Dartford traffic in time for the first half hour of play. With our leaders back in town and lining up with a[…]
With the leadership deciding to spend their Saturday’s on the razz elsewhere, it fell to Scrappy to lead the team down to Eltham to take on Old Colfeians on a murky and drizzly August afternoon. A 35-over affair was agreed in light of the weather and, toss lost, we were asked to bat first on[…]
Teston kindly stepped into the breach this week after scheduled opponents Borden pulled out due to a player shortage, which happily meant I wouldn’t have to face their terrifying 12-year-old girl spinner. Our own lack of numbers meant a gallant ten-man Stone team headed down to Teston’s lovely ground in some decent sunshine AT LAST.[…]
Rossington’s absence left the leadership reins in Vice’s hands this week, with an ominous sky hanging overhead as we made our way up to Brasted. An actual tea was on offer this week from the hosts, who won the toss and stuck us into bat. Dino and I opened here to good effect last year[…]