News

11.5.25

Dundonald RG

Canary Wharf won toss

Sunny, 25C

 

Canary Wharf 163 all out (34.5) (M. Doulatzi 58, Salim 32, Shourov 20, Gulati 3-13, Inkollu 3-30)

Gents 164-4 (24) (A. Ahmed 44, Kots 38*, Nagpal 33*, M. Doulatzi 3-28)

 

Won by 6 wickets

 

With summer back the Gents faced new oppo Canary Wharf at the infamous Dundonald RG, writes Hemin Patel. With skipper R. Patel in Zurich, Kota officially skippered the team for the first time. With Arikatla unable to play due to family issues (he has confirmed that all is good and thanks the team for the well wishes), Gents’ super sub CK was added to the playing 11.

 

With Canary Wharf winning the toss the Gents were asked to field first, Ashwath Kumar Kota was asked by his dad to field until our full eleven had arrived. He was in the action first ball. Dubey generously wanted to get him into the game and bowled a full toss that was nudged to fine leg. Ashwath ran across the boundary, slid across the boundary on his knees and stopped the four. The Gents are in discussions with his family to hire him in a consulting capacity to help improve our fielding.

 

Inkollu, back to full fitness, struck early getting Sadekin caught by Kota for 1. After some wayward bowling the very experienced S. Patel came into the attack and had big-swinging Shourov lbw first ball, a decision the batsmen did not approve of. After this the Gents got into a groove but with extras regularly adding to the score and the odd boundary were getting frustrated. H. Patel came into the attack with little joy, although he did not go for runs chances went begging and lack of calling from seniors Gulati and Kota cost him wickets.

 

After the drinks break the Gents turned into the team we know we can be. Under strong captaincy and with a wicket-keeper who took off his sunglasses and could finally see the ball the batsmen were unable score. Gulati bowled M. Doulatzai for 58 and the ever calm and evergreen H. Patel got rid of Robin quickly. Gulati and Kulasingam bowled superbly, not giving runs away and bowling unplayable deliveries. Gulati took a further two wickets, one of which was taken by Ahmed with a superb diving catch with Kulasingam taking one in a miserly spell. Inkollu wrapped up the innings and the Gents had clawed the game back, restricting Canary Wharf to 163.

 

The Gents were confident that this could be chased down and boy were they right. Ahmed and Joshi opened the batting, a pair that complemented each other. Ahmed was aggressive, regularly hitting boundaries with Joshi being cautious but punishing the bad balls. Ahmed got to 44 before skying one to mid-wicket and Joshi was bowled soon after which was described an unplayable inswinger (the umpire soon dismissed that description). Kota and Gulati were in and the Gents were in high spirits. Gulati clipped his first ball for four but was soon bowled by a Jimmy Anderson-type outswinger (again this description was later dismissed by the umpire) and Puli fell lbw first ball.

 

S. Patel took control of the batting order, overruling the captain’s line up and sending in Nagpal. What a decision that was. After seeing off the hat trick ball both Nagpal and Kota played sensibly, putting away the bad balls and taking advantage of some poor fielding. By the 24th over they had knocked off the target with Kota ending on 38 and Nagpal on 33.

 

A win that should give us the confidence to continue this, there is still room for improvement but this was the kick start we needed. Big thanks to CK for stepping in and Ashwath for fielding.

 

4.5.25

Dundonald RG

Putney won toss

Cloudy, 13C

 

Gents 173-8 (35) (Pingili 45*, Potieni 44, H. Patel 22, R. Patel 22*, Beddon 3-40)

Putney 174-7 (33.2) (Ransom 63, Bentley 47*, Harris 33)

 

Lost by 3 wickets

 

In contrast to the previous week’s weather the Gents had their fourth game of the season in very chilly conditions, writes Hemin Patel. Our opponents, friends and personal favourites were Putney CC, arriving well before the start time and prepped and ready to go, something the GOWLCC need to understand. With Dubey working tirelessly hard up until Saturday night to ensure we had 11, Gents welcomed back Pingili who also bought along Rohit Potieni for his debut game.

 

An already worked up skipper (courtesy of the author of this report) R. Patel lost the toss and we were asked to bat first on what we already knew would be a very difficult wicket. With a makeshift order, due to a vada pav run, Nagpal and Joshi opened the batting. Bedson and Bentley bowled with skill and pace and neither batsman was able to get runs. Nagpal went early after being cleaned bowled and Joshi soon fell after an expertly executed square cut for 4! Kota and H. Patel came to the crease and began to frustrate the bowlers.

 

With good precision leaves and nurdles for singles they began to build a steady partnership. Kota started to find the boundary whilst H. Patel was still swishing and swiping without any joy. After seeing out the opening bowlers Dulrez had Kota caught at gully, a catch that reminded the author of Ben Stokes’ one-hander off Stuart Broad. Potieni came to the crease and at first found it tricky to find any timing. Patel started to connect and after a steady partnership fell to Puntan. Potieni proceeded to a stout 44. Puli and J. Patel failed to trouble the scorers and Dubey fell soon after. R. Patel and Pingili came in at 102-8 and they went on the attack and got the Gents to a respectable total of 173, a score that was very defendable.

 

After tea the skipper gave a rousing speech asking his bowlers not to concede easy boundaries and not to give any extras, unfortunately Dubey ignored this with his first delivery going for for four while R. Patel bowled a few no balls. They then sorted themselves out and the skipper had Sorger caught and bowled. Ransom and Harris then began to frustrate us and with some beautiful drives and awful fielding from the Gents they soon started making inroads in to the target.

 

Old timer S. Patel finally got the breakthrough having Harris caught by Nagpal and the in-form spin superstar bowled Garner quickly. The Gents could smell blood and went for the win. But further poor fielding and catching allowed easy runs. Pingili bowled Plimmer and H. Patel had Stewart lbw soon after. Puli got Ransom for 66 and the game was on. With the run rate increasing the Gents tried to up the pressure but our lack of focus and once again poor fielding allowed Bentley to score freely and Putney wrapped up the game in the 34th over.

 

The author’s observation is that we batted really well and got a target we didn’t think we could achieve. We actually bowled quite well but our fielding let us down. We know the outfield and the pitch are not the best and more focus needs to be applied.

The author also wants to address a few issues. As a team I feel we take the work the committee do for granted. It takes a lot of effort and time to arrange fixtures and get a team together. What is not helpful is last minute pull outs (which does happen, things happen in life which you can’t control) but there are certain excuses which are (enter your own expletive here). N. Dubey had to spend his Saturday night finding players which he should not have to do. So, when you give your availability, please do your best to honour it, if you are in any doubt that you can’t play, tell the match secretary in good time early enough.

 

My last rant will be about timekeeping. YOU have committed to playing, YOU have not dropped out so it is YOUR responsibility to get to the ground at the time we are told to. YOU are not children and YOU all know how to manage your time and plan. YOU are responsible for this and my view is that if YOU can’t do this then YOU are being VERY DISRESPECTFUL to the entire club. This has to stop, how can a captain plan for the game when the team is not present at the ground? Please think about this and think about how YOU are affecting this team.

 

27.4.25

Dundonald RG

Merton Hawks won toss

Sunny, 21C

 

Merton Hawks 210-8 (40) (Yekhande 52, Muntakim 46, Deshmukh 35, Kiswani 35, Dubey 3-35)

Gents 187 all out (38.2) (Puli 56, Kota 25, S. Patel 28, A. Ahmed 25, Pasala 5-40, D. Jain 3-24)

 

Lost by 23 runs

 

With the sun out in all its glory the Gents were hoping to carry on the momentum of last week’s excellent victory, writes Hemin Patel. After losing the toss and being asked to bowl Gents managed to get 10 players onto the ground, an improvement on previous weeks, maybe next week everyone will be on time. Substitute fielder Gaurang Dubey deputised for Puli, and his dad Nilesh and the ever-improving Inkollu opened the bowling.

 

Merton lost both openers early with Raja playing onto his stumps from a snorter of a delivery from Dubey and Inkollu taking Scott with a smart caught and bowled. With Dave falling quickly to another unplayable delivery from Dubey, Gents were in the game with the oppo 41-3. Deshmukh soon fell to latecomer Puli with a good caught a bowled but the heat soon got to the hosts. A few fumbles and dropped catches (Yekhande being dropped twice) the skipper decided to turn to his spin superstar H. Patel. Bowling impeccable lines and lengths Patel took the wicket of Jain and then went on to frustrate the two league batsmen.

 

Yekhande retired on 50 which the Gents were happy with and Patel went back on the hunt. He soon had Pasala who was caught with what could only be described as a world-class catch from Dubey. Muntakim came into make a quick 46 due to some loose bowling and dodgy fielding and got Merton Hawks up to a competitive total.

 

The Gents opened with R. Patel and Dubey with Dubey hitting a trade mark powerful four down the ground. With his confidence up he then went for another trademark drive but this one didn’t hit the mark but only the hands of the bowler. Kota came to the crease and played with his usual style and charisma. The skipper wanted to replicate the VC’s style but was unable to do so and was cleaned up by a straight one. With Kota falling on 25 the Gents were 58-3. Puli and Ahmed strung together a good partnership, playing sensibly and attacking at the right time.

 

With the pitch getting worse the bounce was unpredictable and wickets soon started to tumble. Ahmed was got by youngster Jain, Ratnakar went in to up the run rate in his own unique style. After a quick 15 he was dismissed, soon followed by J. Patel. S. Patel and H. Patel batted well and tried to keep up with the run rate but after some bad batting advice from S. Patel, H. Patel was cleaned up. Arikatla fell quickly and the game got away from us. S. Patel put up a good fight but was eventually bowled.

 

A great game, shame the pitch was not as well prepared as it has been and we hope that improves. Some better fielding and bowling in the middle to late overs and the Gents could have potentially won this game. Bring on next week.

 

Note – Puli’s 56 came off 82 balls with seven fours and a six.

 

20.4.25

Byfleet

Gents won toss

Cloudy, 15C

 

Byfleet 185-8 (35) (Coutts 37, Hansom 36, San Jose 32, Chatharaju 3-19, H. Patel 3-29)

Gents 189-6 (34.1) (Kota 47, Chatharaju 32, Sudireddy 30, Pingili 26)

 

Won by 4 wickets

 

The weather had turned and made the Gents’ second match of the season a chilly one full of theatre, writes Raj Patel. Gents won the toss and elected to field first on an uneven wicket with skewed boundaries. A slight miscommunication meant that there were 12 players, one acting as sub which was handy later in the day. 

 

Dubey opened from the M25 end and after going for 11 in the first over managed to find some rhythm in his bowling. From the other end, Chatharaju, as always, was excellent going for just 19 in his seven overs with two maidens and three wickets. Byfleet’s opening pair Clarke and Hansom started well but after Chatharaju clipped the top of his off stump Gents had their tails up. Hansom had found a groove by this point and a partnership started to form. 

 

Gents’ bowling became leaky. S. Patel bore the brunt of this, however the scalp of the dangerous Hansom was his. Inkollu looked to be edging back to his previous best delivering some serious zippers. His two overs were pure entertainment. The next change was a family affair. H. Patel and R. Patel managed to stem the flow of runs, keeping Croall and San Jose quiet with brilliant economies. 

 

The frustration may have got to Croall who charged down the wicket to straight drive a loopy off-spinner off H. Patel. What followed was not good viewing. The bowler geared up to take a straightforward caught and bowled, but his reactions were too slow, the ball brushed through his hands onto his face. A short delay and he was back on his feet to bowl the rest of his seven overs, taking three wickets in the process. One of these was great cricket all round. San Jose charging down to a flatter delivery, missing completely followed by a Dhoniesque stumping from keeper Sudireddy. Textbook. 

 

Croall fell to a seaming delivery from R. Patel, caught by long off Kota and now the destructive batsman had departed. Or so the Gents thought. The next three batsmen scored 26 between them but in came overseas player Riley Coutts. He bore the responsibility of getting a respectable total by scoring 37 off just 15, 30 coming from one over off poor Kota who spent a lot of time searching for the ball. Even the previously brilliant fielding of Nagpal and Joshi could not stop this man. Eventually, Chatharaju struck with the help of S. Patel’s catching on the boundary. Byfleet ended on 185 from their 35: a steep chase for the Gents. 

 

Opening pair Puli and R. Patel had to get their eye in on an unevenly bouncing wicket. Opening bowler Akram emulated Chatharaju’s inswingers, striking Patel on the inner thigh with a beauty. Both batsmen looked to be finding a groove but after a top edge from Patel, Puli seemed too eager for a second run. Patel running to the danger end could see his fate from halfway up the pitch and trudged off after being run out. 

 

Kota with his usual style and finesse found the gaps and ran for every available run, notching up 47 before his dismissal. He’d offset his last over at this point. The middle order of Sudireddy, Chatharaju and Pingli brought Gents slowly but surely closer to the 186 they needed. The combination of beautiful stroke-play from Sudireddy and Chatharaju and power hitting from Pingili was amazing to watch. 

 

The Gents needed 53 from 50 and these middle-order batsmen brought that required run rate down. The match went down to the last over with Inkollu top edging Coutts for four to end the game, a truly thrilling end to an enjoyable day. 

 

12.4.25

Marble Hill Park

Gents won toss

Sunny, 23C

 

Gents 141 all out (31) (R. Patel 46, Nagpal 24, A. Skinner 4-17)

Crossbats 145-4 (27.4) (Clare 60, Carter 37)

 

Lost by 6 wickets

 

The season is underway and the Gents were up against familiar foe Crossbats for the opening game, writes Raj Patel. Gents had originally won the toss and skipper had elected to field. However, heavy traffic and train delays meant that he was forced to agree with the oppo skipper a change of decision, so Crossbats started the first innings in the field. 

 

With restricted players in attendance before play began, a makeshift batting order was created with Sudireddy and H. Patel 1. and 2. respectively. Both looked to be starting to settle with Patel playing some lovely shots in the V and Sudireddy playing diligently until he jabbed early at a cover drive, popping the ball up to short cover. In walked Krishna at 3. to weigh anchor. After Patel had a rush of blood to the head and was bowled, new skipper R. Patel walked to the crease. Diligent calling and beautifully timed shots saw him and Krishna put on a brilliant second wicket partnership. After Krishna’s dismissal to Khan, R. Patel went on to score 46 in his first innings as captain. The next six wickets fell for 46 runs with a helpful 24 off the bat off Nagpal and some beautiful shots from Joshi. Gents ended their innings on 141 all out in 31 overs. 

 

The first game of the season always comes with a warm up period for bowlers. Not for Chatharaju who struck in the opening over of the innings, beautifully catching the top of Smith’s off stump, a textbook delivery. Cobwebs were shaken off of Dubey after his hefty first over but he soon found his groove. Unfortunately no wickets as reward, but narrowly missing edges and the stumps multiple times. Ross was next to depart after an absolutely terrific one-handed catch by mid-wicket S. Patel off the Chatharaju insinger. Almost no one could believe it.

 

Opener Clarke and 4. A.Carter then recreated the second wicket partnership of the first innings: and then some. If a wagon wheel were to be drawn on this partnership almost all shots were to the leg side, but by picking the gaps they were able to chip away at the target. Arikatla and Inkollu bowled well, however they were unable to break the partnership. Once Clarke was dismissed on 60 by a loopy off-spinner from H. Patel, Gents were keen to keep the momentum up. Carter had different ideas. His ability to play almost any line delivery to the leg side was both commendable and frustrating for the fielding side. Only the experience of S. Patel was of a high enough calibre to dismiss him by a brilliant delivery knocking into his stumps. By this point the target was well in sight for the home side who completed the chase in under 28 overs.

 

3.3.24

The following 2025 fixtures are confirmed. Hook and Southborough have cancelled as their ground will not be ready on time. We will have four games at Wycombe House.

 

Sat 12.4 Crossbats A

Sun 20.4 Byfleet A

Sun 27.4 Merton Hawks H (Dundonald RG)

Sun 4.5 Putney H (Dundonald RG)

Sun 11.5 Canary Wharf H (Dundonald RG)             

Sun 18.5 Northfields A

Sun 25.5 Fighting Stars H (Dundonald RG)

Sun 1.6  Putney A

Sun 8.6 Teddington Town A

Sun 15.6 Salix A

Sun 22.6 Phoenix H (Dundonald RG)                 

Sun 29.6 Sheen Park A

Sun 6.7 London Itinerants H (Wycombe House)                 

Sun 13.7 St Anne's Allstars H (Dundonald RG)                          

Sun 20.7 Chaddleworth A

Sun 27.7 Whalers A

Sun 3.8 Northfields H (Nursery Road RG)

Sun 10.8 Clapham In H (Dundonald RG)                      

Sun 17.8 TBA H (Wycombe House)                

Sun 24.8 Plastics H (Dundonald RG)                           

Sun 31.8 Millfields H (Wycombe House)

Sun 7.9 John Buckner XI H (Wycombe House) 

Sun 14.9 Salix H (Dundonald RG)       

 

13.12.24

Steve Bignell

 

It is with much regret that Winchmore Hill CC have to report the sad, and unexpected, passing of Stephen Bignell this week at the age of 76.

 

Steve grew up in Palmers Green and spent many summer afternoons watching cricket at the Paulin Ground as a young lad. However, it was later in life through social cricket (firstly with the West XI and then the Judd St Tigers) that Steve eventually made his journey back home to Winchmore Hill CC.

 

Still an integral part of the rebranded Winchmore Hill Tigers, Steve went on to become the Hill's 2nd XI scorer and a much-valued member of the cricket committee.

 

Steve loved being part of WHCC in recent years, wrote countless match reports, attended many a quiz, made a host of friends and was elected Clubman of the Year in 2023.

 

He will be hugely missed by all those who knew him.

 

Funeral Tuesday 11am 4.2.25 at New Southgate Crematorium, London N11 1JJ

 

23.11.24

There being a quorum, the 2024 AGM went ahead. Congratulations to new captain Raj Patel and new vice-captain Pavan Kota. All other committee positions are unchanged. Thanks are due to Ratnakar Sudireddy after a splendid committee stint comprising treasurer, vice-captain and captain. We wish him and his family all the best. 

 

Minutes may be found under The Gent, reviews and records > AGM Minutes.

 

Batsman of 2024 was Vinitesh Gulati with 591 runs including a century against St Anne’s Allstars and four fifties. He was only the eighth batsman to score 500 in a season after Hubbocks (514 in 1994), Ashton (503 in 1995), Wright (756 in 2000), Husain (586 in 2005 and 680 in 2007), Namilikonda (597 in 2019 and 808 in 2022) and Kota (562 in 2018, 674 in 2019, 581 in 2021, 1,185 in 2022 and 792 in 2023). He also won All-rounder, his runs supplemented by 18 wickets, 8 catches and a run out.

 

Bowler of 2024 was Hemin Patel who took 31 wickets with his flight and guile including 6-23 against Phoenix, his best return for the club, and 5-31 against St Anne’s Allstars. This was a close-run contest with Vamsee Krishna and Sanjay Patel.

 

Chandra Puli won Fielder of 2024. Despite painful injury he put in a tremendous shift and pouched 12 catches.

 

Abhinav Parvathaneni doubled his run tally to 446 and snaffled Most Improved Player of 2024. Voters were mindful not only of his runs but also his impervious catching.

 

16.10.24

Club records updated and stored under 'The Gent, reviews and records'.

 

1.10.24.

Diary dates

 

Friday 4 October 7.30pm

Bulstrode, 55 Lampton Road, Hounslow TW3 1JG – Vamsee’s leaving do

 

Friday 23 November 7.00pm

Déjà Vu, 182-184 Preston Road, Wembley HA9 8PA - AGM

 

16.10.24

Club records updated and stored under 'The Gent, reviews and records'.

 

1.10.24.

Diary dates

 

Friday 4 October 7.30pm

 

Bulstrode, 55 Lampton Road, Hounslow TW3 1JG – Vamsee’s leaving do

 

Friday 23 November 7.00pm

 

Déjà Vu, 182-184 Preston Road, Wembley HA9 8PA - AGM

 

15.9.24.

Aggregates

Runs

Gulati 591

Kota 458

Parvathaneni 446

A. Ahmed 340

Dubey 258

Chatharaju 244

R. Patel 227

S. Patel 113

Puli 109

Sudireddy 103

Nagpal 100

 

Wickets

H. Patel 31

S. Patel 24

Krishna 22

Gulati 18

Chatharaju 17

R. Patel 15

 

Caught/stumped

Puli 12

Sudireddy 11/6

Gulati 8

Parvathaneni 8

S. Patel 8

R. Patel 7

Kota 5/1

Dubey 5