Sandy Cricket Club

31/05/2026

🏏 💥 A WIN FOR SANDY! 💥 🏏

Aspley Guise vs Sandy CC
Captain’s Match Report by Paul Hudson

This Saturday we travelled to Aspley Guise, the same venue where we secured victory in the final game of last season.
The pitch looked very similar to the one we encountered then, so after winning the toss we elected to bowl first.

Max (0/28) and the superb Gunjan (4/7 from 8 overs) opened the bowling. Max found the right-left hand combination a little challenging at times, but whenever he hit the right areas he caused plenty of problems. Gunjan, meanwhile, bowled like a magician, using brilliant variations to generate turn, bounce and extra pace with his quicker deliveries. Behind the stumps, Daniel was outstanding, taking catches at head height with confidence.
Gunjan claimed the first four wickets, reducing Aspley to 38/4 after 12 overs. It was a fantastic start, but there was still plenty to do. I felt it was going to be a low-scoring game, so every run was going to be vital.
Cameron (0/61) replaced Max and created several chances that on another day might have brought him a wicket or two. At drinks, Aspley were 65/4, with their fifth-wicket partnership beginning to build after a cautious start. Lee (0/29) came into the attack but had little luck as the two batters settled in and began to play some excellent shots. They rode their luck at times, but this wasn't a wicket where batters could simply shut up shop.

The second drinks break came at a good time for us. Aspley were 163/4 and threatening to take the game away from us.
In the first over after the break, Shaun (2/5) made the breakthrough we desperately needed, bowling the left-hander to end a 128-run partnership.
Shortly afterwards, the other set batter walked across his stumps looking to flick Marcus (3/28) to fine leg but missed, and suddenly we were right back in the contest. There was still work to do, but Marcus added two more wickets and Shaun picked up another. Gunjan also held two catches to finish with three for the innings. Tom claimed his first senior wicket, getting the ball to lift and take the batter on the gloves before Daniel completed the catch behind the stumps.
From 165/4, Aspley collapsed to 184 all out.

At the break we needed 185 to win, a target that looked challenging on a difficult pitch. We knew it would require both individual performances and a collective effort to get close.

Shaun and Gunjan opened the batting. Shaun smashed the first ball of the innings to the midwicket boundary and both batters looked positive. However, the pitch was still misbehaving and, after a decent start, one delivery stopped on Shaun and the young wicketkeeper took a fine diving catch. Sandy were 18/1.
Max came in at number three, but after striking a boundary he and Gunjan were soon back in the pavilion. Daniel and Paul followed without troubling the scorers, leaving us struggling at 44/5 after 10 overs.
Surely the game was up?

Not according to Warren (16) and Lee (77)!
The pair counter-attacked brilliantly. Warren struck the ball as well as I've seen him do for some time, playing some excellent cricket shots. At the other end, Lee looked completely absorbed in the battle, determined not to let the game slip away without a fight.
Warren was eventually dismissed with the score on 80/6 at the drinks break after 15 overs.
Cameron (24) joined Lee and immediately looked positive, rotating the strike and finding the boundary. After 20 overs, Sandy had battled their way to 128/6. The chase was still difficult, but the fightback was well underway.
Lee and Cameron continued to build a superb partnership. By the 25-over mark, Sandy were 155/6 and suddenly within 30 runs of victory. From nowhere, we had become favourites.

Cameron was then dismissed for a superb 24, ending a brilliant and potentially match-winning partnership worth 83 runs. Sandy were now 170/7, needing 15 more.
Alan (12) came in at number nine and made an immediate impact, smashing his first ball for four. Nerves were beginning to show everywhere – on the field, in the away dressing room and among the supporters watching from the sidelines.
Then came the big moment. Lee was controversially given out bowled after consultation, ending a magnificent innings of 77. Sandy were 175/8 and still needed 10 runs to win.
Marcus (3*) came to the crease at number ten. Alan struck another excellent boundary before being dismissed, leaving Sandy 183/9 and needing just 2 runs with one wicket remaining.
Tom, batting at number eleven in his first senior innings, showed tremendous courage. He survived a maiden over, taking a blow to the thigh but digging in brilliantly for the team.
With Marcus on strike against their captain, he safely negotiated the first three deliveries of the next over. Then, off the fourth ball, he drove firmly through the covers. The ball stopped short of the boundary, but the boys ran hard and completed the two runs required for victory.

The pavilion erupted, the supporters cheered, and Sandy had completed a remarkable one-wicket win.
It was a marvellous effort from the lower order to get us over the line.

After the match, the team headed to the local pub to celebrate a thrilling game of cricket that could easily have gone either way. The team showed tremendous spirit, resilience and a never-say-die attitude throughout.

Thanks to Alan for scoring and to everyone who supported us from the sidelines.

29/05/2026

TARGET REACHED!!

We raised £550

Jane would like to thank everyone who sponsored her, Dawn and Zac on their sponsored walk to fund a new practice net for Sandy CC.

24/05/2026

🏏 CAPTAIN’S REPORT 🏏
by Paul Hudson

This Saturday saw us host Elstow on an absolute scorcher of an afternoon.

As was pointed out, the opposition captain lost the toss rather than me winning it (I still can’t win!), and I decided we would have a bat first. We had three debutants in the side, which was great to see and another positive sign for the club.

We lost a wicket in the first over, but Gunjan (20) and Max (23) put together a solid second-wicket partnership of 41 before both fell in quick succession, leaving us 53/3 in the 12th over. Simon (53), fresh from his hundred last week, was joined by Paddy (36), and the pair put on an excellent 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket which really rebuilt the innings. Both found the boundary regularly against good bowling and some excellent fielding from a youthful Elstow side.

At the second drinks break we were 132/3 from 30 overs and in a decent position to push on towards the 200-run mark. Elstow turned back to their opening bowlers and kept things tight, not allowing us to fully accelerate. Simon and Paddy both fell trying to push the scoring on, and a quickfire 11 from 5 balls from Lee gave us a boost, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get close to 200, finishing on 178/7 — probably 30-40 runs short of a really competitive total.

At tea there were rolls, cake and drinks provided for both teams thanks to Jane, Carol and Anne. Jane was up at the club from midday setting up the table full of food and drinks, which was hugely appreciated by both teams on an extremely hot afternoon.

Jane then headed off to Blunham where she was joined by Dawn and Zac to walk from Blunham CC to Sandy CC to raise money for the new net we have recently purchased. Well done to them all — we managed to raise enough money to cover the purchase, which is unbelievable.

Back to the game, we knew we needed early inroads to stand any chance of winning. Max (0/19 from 5 overs) and Gunjan (0/11 from 8 overs) both bowled tightly, creating chances and feeling unlucky not to pick up wickets.

In the 13th over we finally got the breakthrough, with Tom taking a good catch to complete an Eplett “father and son” wicket , Lee (1/28). It took until the 18th over for the next wicket to fall, this time through Marcus with Simon taking the catch behind the stumps. It was certainly a key wicket as their batter had ridden his luck with a couple of chances but was striking the ball cleanly at 75/2.

Tom (0/35) and Wilfie (0/26) both bowled impressively on debut against well-set batters, but unfortunately we couldn’t find any more wickets and Elstow reached the target in the 32nd over.

The team headed to the pub afterwards for some well-earned refreshments.


Thanks to Alan for scoring and for all the support throughout the day. A massive thank you as well to Jane and everyone else for all the hard work that went into yesterday.

17/05/2026

🏏 💥 A WIN FOR SANDY! 💥 🏏

Captain’s report by PAUL HUDSON

This week saw us travel to Upper Caldecote to take on Ickwell.

We arrived to find the groundsman unaware there was a game on, so to say the pitch was green and unprepared would be an understatement. The ground is well-known for its low bounce and low scores, so we knew runs would be at a premium.

Ickwell won the toss and, unsurprisingly, put us in to bat. I felt 150 would be a competitive target. Shaun (45) and Warren (15) got us off to an absolute flyer, putting on 50 in the first 8 overs — exactly the start we needed!
Two quick wickets brought in Max (31) and Simon (100*) at 3 and 4. Both were watchful early, showing respect to the unpredictable pitch but picking up runs steadily to build on the strong start.

At drinks, we were in a good position at 117/2 after 20 overs, with Max and Simon’s partnership worth 44. On this kind of surface, it was vital that set batters made it count — and Simon did exactly that! He began to accelerate, and with another 60 runs in 7 overs, we reached 177/2 as the pair passed their 100-run partnership. Max then fell LBW for an impressive 31 after two quick boundaries, ending a superb stand of 112 that set up a strong finish.

Paul (23) joined Simon, turning the strike over as Simon found the boundary regularly with some superb stroke play. Their partnership of 66 ended in the 39th over with Paul’s dismissal and Simon on 99. Daniel (8*) came in, happily turned down a single, and gave Simon the strike for the final over — where he brought up a magnificent century. We finished on 261/4, an excellent total given the conditions.

Kandy (0/17) and the returning Nathan (0/14) opened the bowling superbly, keeping Ickwell to 22/0 after 10 overs and creating countless plays and misses. They may not have taken wickets, but their discipline laid the foundation for victory.

David (2/23) and Cameron (1/22) then continued the pressure, claiming three wickets to leave Ickwell 54/3 at drinks. Marcus (2/20), in his first bowl of the season, built on that with steady control and good flight to pick up two more.

That set the stage for Max (5/12), who ripped through the Ickwell batting lineup. His spell started with a wicket first ball — clean-bowling the opener for 50 — followed by a sharp caught-and-bowled and a beauty that clipped the off stump. With two slips and a gully in place, he found the edge for his fifth wicket, sealing an emphatic 147-run victory for Sandy.

Two brilliant individual milestones — Simon’s century and Max’s five-for — stood out, but what pleased me most was the all-round team performance. Everyone contributed with bat and ball, and the partnerships throughout showed real team spirit.

After the win, the whole team and fan club headed to the bar to celebrate. A special thanks to Alan for scoring, and to the supporters — great to see Lee and Darren down in the afternoon where Darren even got congratulated for a good batting performance not bad for someone who hasn’t played yet this season.

Next week, we’re back home to face Elstow, aiming to build on this excellent performance.

Finally, Jane, Dawn, and Zac are walking from Blunham CC to Sandy CC next Saturday to raise money for our new cricket nets. A massive thanks to them — please share or donate via the link below:

Iʼm raising money to Get Sandy Cricket Club a new practice net. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

10/05/2026

🏏 CAPTAIN’S REPORT 🏏
by Paul Hudson

The first home game of the season saw us welcome Ickwell Cricket Club to Sandy on a glorious sunny afternoon

After losing the toss, Ickwell unsurprisingly chose to bat first on what looked an excellent batting surface.

Max (1/59) and Josh (0/59) opened the bowling and both hit good areas early on, although Ickwell made a strong start. The breakthrough finally came in the seventh over when Max picked up the first wicket of the day, well caught by Paul at mid-on. Kev (1/86), making his return after more than 40 years with the club, came on first change and struck with just his second ball to leave Ickwell 67/2. Josh bowled his eight overs straight through with good pace and accuracy throughout.

Lee (1/56) entered the attack and, like Kev, struck in his first over with a nicely flighted delivery that bowled the batter. Soon after, David (1/42) joined the attack and remarkably also took a wicket in his opening over, with Daniel taking an excellent diving catch to dismiss the classy opener for 92. Daniel continued where he left off behind the stumps from last week, conceding no byes during the innings.

At drinks, Ickwell were 165/4 from 20 overs and we felt a couple of quick wickets could put us firmly back in the game. Unfortunately, that proved not to be the case as a superb 163-run fifth wicket partnership carried Ickwell to an imposing 326/4 from their 40 overs.

Kev and Warren opened the reply positively, both striking the ball cleanly. Kev found a couple of boundaries, while Warren was unfortunate to pick out fielders. Max, batting at three, played a lovely boundary through the leg side, but we soon found ourselves under pressure at 30/3 after eight overs.

Josh, batting at four, looked in good touch with three well-struck boundaries, driving particularly well before we slipped further to 48/4.

Daniel then joined Paul at the crease, with both batters initially watchful as they looked to rebuild and guide us towards a respectable total. Gradually the boundaries began to flow and the partnership developed nicely. At drinks we were 77/4 and well behind the run rate, so attention turned towards securing valuable batting bonus points.

By the 30-over mark we had progressed to 135/4, with the partnership continuing to flourish. Paul (66) soon brought up a hard fought half-century, shortly followed by Daniel (55), whose fifty was completed with a superb straight drive down the ground.

The excellent 141-run partnership was finally broken in the 38th over with the score on 190. Joe then faced a very good delivery, while Kayne and Lee remained unbeaten to help us finish on 200 and secure another bonus point.

Ickwell claimed victory by 126 runs, but Sandy battled hard throughout, kept spirits high, and will go again next week away to Ickwell on what promises to be a very different type of wicket.

Thanks as always to everyone supporting on the sidelines, to Alan for scoring, and to Keown for stepping in to field for us, doing a brilliant job and even being prepared to bat if needed.

03/05/2026

💥 CAPTAIN’S MATCH REPORT 💥

By Paul Hudson

The first day of the cricket season saw us travel to Ampthill. The facilities were fantastic, and it was great to see plenty of spectators watching from the hill surrounding the pitch on a mostly sunny afternoon.

We won the toss and chose to bat. The pitch was never going to play easily, so we felt anything over 100 would be competitive. Daniel (10) struck a couple of crisp straight boundaries, but we soon found ourselves in trouble early on. Max (19) showed real maturity to steady the innings, playing the ball on its merits and finding the boundary cleanly on a few occasions , sharing a needed 36-run partnership with Paul (11).

Kayne (8) started positively with a boundary straight away and looked unlucky not to pierce the field with some well-timed cover drives. Alan (4) coming into the team hit his customary boundary. Lee (47) then played an outstanding innings to push us towards a defendable total, striking the ball powerfully with the bowlers offering few answers. His dismissal came via an excellent catch at mid-on—just a few yards either side and it would have gone for six. Cameron (14*) also looked in good touch, timing the ball nicely, but we were eventually bowled out for 145 in 29 overs.

At the interval, 145 felt like a competitive total, but we knew we would need to bowl well to defend it.

Max (3/30) and Kandy (0/23) opened the bowling superbly. Max removed three of the top order—an LBW, a sharp catch behind, well taken by Daniel who was excellent keeping on a very testing pitch, and a beauty that pitched on middle and leg before hitting off stump. Kandy bowled eight straight overs with great control, unlucky not to take a wicket despite numerous plays and misses.

At 51/3 after 13 overs, we were well in the game but needed another breakthrough. David (1/23) and Cameron (1/34) continued the pressure as first and second change, keeping runs to a minimum with disciplined bowling and strong fielding. Warren also put his body on the line, collecting a few bruises to add to his growing collection. The team were very good in the field notable fielding performances in addition to Warren was Kandy, Max , Alan , Marcus and Lee.

The breakthrough came in the 22nd over when Cameron trapped their skipper LBW with the score at 73/4. In the following over, Kandy took a good catch off David’s bowling to make it 74/5. Lee (3/23) then made an immediate impact, taking a wicket in his first over and following up with a maiden. He added two more wickets with excellent deliveries.

However, with rain beginning to fall and the ball becoming difficult to grip, Ampthill managed to reach their target of 146 with just 15 balls remaining.

A very close and competitive game that could have gone either way. Plenty of positives to take into the rest of the season.

Thanks to senior Hudson for scoring and to everyone for the continued support on the sidelines.

We go again next week at home to Ickwell.

25/03/2026

🏏 INDOOR NETS 🏏

The new season is getting closer!
Come and join us for some Indoor training

Location: Cricket Barn, Huntingdon�Time: Ideally 12–2pm (subject to availability)�Cost: £5 per session

Dates:
* Sunday 12th April
* Sunday 19th April
* Sunday 26th April

Please send us a message or email [email protected] at least one week in advance if you’re planning to attend so we can book the right number of nets.

For more info on the venue:

Cambs Cricket Barn offers a dedicated 3 lane batting net facility for off-season cricket practice & coaching in a barn on the Cambridgeshire / Northamptonshire border. Complete with bowling machines, it is ideal for clubs and enthusiasts alike.

25/03/2026

It’s almost time!
Want to get back into cricket or just have a go?

🏏 OUTDOOR TRAINING 2026 🏏

Outdoor training will be at the Sunderland Road ground every Wednesday evening, weather permitting, at 6-8pm from May 6th

Come and join us!

08/03/2026

Congratulations to Sandy A on being crowned Div 2 indoor champions after beating Flitwick in today’s finale!!!!

28/11/2025

Sandy CC Christmas tree at St Swithuns Church this weekend. Tap on the photo to see the ‘star’ on the top!
Thanks to Jane for providing and decorating the tree with a pecial thanks to David Gunns for supplying cricket bats and balls biscuits to hang on the tree.