It has been a ground breaking few months for Dorking Cricket Club, and now the season is over we finally have a chance to reflect on the achievements of the club over the past year.
The VCL 1’s side looking to better their position from previous years of second place in 2015 and 2014. The side was kept very consistent with strong colts filling most of the side. The first league game was an away trip to local rivals Capel cricket club. This is where we saw a first glimpse of Dorking’s fine overseas. What I noticed from this game is each player wouldn’t go down without a fight as Wilbur played fantastic supporting role to Parth’s brilliant knock. The attitude in the field was superb and Charlie Edwards took crucial wickets to win a tight game. Unfortunately, the next game was conceded by Cranleigh CC. Vice skipper then had the honour of skippering the side which was a very comfortable win at Pixham vs the struggling Slinfold CC. With the Dorking side very confident they saw tough opponent’s Ashtead at the Lane. This was much closer than the scorebook suggested as the Stags found themselves 111-4 chasing 195 but credit to Freddie he left them with no hope as he picks up his career best figures of 6-9 off 5 overs. After 4 wins and enjoyment oozing through the side, Dorking faced one of their toughest games of the season away to Loxwood CC. We Won by 3 wickets in a nerve racking chase! The week after was a fixture that always brings large volumes of availability, Away to Hambledon known to others as the smallest boundary on the planet. Dorking had a habit of comfortable wins against Hambledon and this was another to add to the list. Young George Edwards and Josh Shrives together took responsibility with the ball as the home side made 68. We then had a rained off and 2 conceded which saw a frustrating period in the season. With the side developing nicely and everyone stepping up when needed. Dorking were top of the league at the half way point and still unbeaten. Momentum went Dorking’s way as local rivals Abinger slipped up in a couple of matches. The first encounter was upon us at Abinger where Dorking gave it everything and more to try and bowl the opposition out who had no chance of winning the game.

We were left 2 wickets short but totally out played them when they needed to win if they were going to catch us. With 4 games left a sense of being champions was among the dressing room and everyone took each week as it came and applied themselves. Season ended with the side unbeaten and Champions! They celebrated each other’s success with a BBQ down Pixham. The improvement in each individual has been misprizing! Also, the season included building better relationships with other clubs in the league this was very successful as voiced by league Chairman.

Abinger CC Skipper’s Email
Furthermore, I would like to pass on my congratulations to Dorking for winning Division 1 this year, we had a hard-fought game at our place, which was very close in the end played in very good spirits. It’s easy to see how you had been so successful this year, with a great selection of very promising youth players coming through the ranks, with Cricketing heads on them beyond their years. It’s a great shame that we won’t be playing down at your place, as it would have been a great end to the season with the top two teams in the league for the last couple of years having another good game.
Again, many congratulations and I look forward to seeing you all at the AGM after the season has closed.
Kind regards,
Hugh Jolly.

League Chairman’s Email
Hi Guys,

I have to report how pleasant a game it was. There were many bridges built between the two teams as the pleasantries continued for a long time in the bar.

There were some very open and friendly conversations. Dorking were very keen to em-phasise the efforts that they had made to take a "sunday" cricket approach to the games this season. I was able to tell them that the feedback from clubs had been very good in this respect. Their biggest concern was that sides might not want to play them.

I gave them the feedback that the biggest perceived problem this season is the strength of their side. They do not always have the flexibility to put out a weaker side. This will be an on-going challenge for them and the rest of the teams. We talked a little about how we might get around this for instance:

I think that a similar open and friendly conversation would be very valuable at the end of season meeting. Framing the rules and ethos of the league to encourage close enjoya-ble games is of course key to the future success of the league.
I described our expansion plans for the league which were received with enthusiasm from the Dorking players.

All the best,
Chris

A season to remember for Chris Ward and his talented youngsters!