Second Eleven
Captain: Shayne Cossey
2011 Season Report – Surrey Championship Div 3
After a strong finish to the 2010 season, TDCC 2ndXI started the 2011 campaign with high hopes of keeping the ball rolling and climbing further up the table this year. However it turned out to be a second season of fighting a relegation battle all the way to the last match! During the season injuries and poor availabilities often left the side less competitive and never let us field a settled team from week to week, however it did provide younger players the opportunity to step up and gain experience that will help them to improve their cricketing skills and in turn will benefit the club in the long run as they look to feature more regularly in senior cricket. Losing the toss more often than not also proved to be a huge disadvantage through the season and shows just how important the toss is to achieving results in both the formats of the game we currently play in the Surrey Championship.
The season started with a narrow defeat away to Chessington followed by three more losses on the trot before two good wins, firstly against Egham and then a dominant victory over Cobham Avorians providing much needed impetus as we approached the midpoint in the season. However we struggled with consistency as the season progressed which lead to two heavy defeats that defined how the season had unravelled for us, firstly by conceding 426 runs away to Valley End and a week later by being bowled out for less than 100 at the hands of Cobham Avorians, whom we had so comprehensively outplayed earlier on in the season. Our run of poor form left us deep in the relegation zone, but ultimately we managed to win the last two matches of the season to ensure we stayed up and once again the team showed that we can dig deep and put in the performances when required. The highlights of the season being hundreds by Edhouse (138* away at Egham) and Heptonstall (110 away at Cobham Avorians) and crucial fifties from Morgan (77* away at Streatham & Marlborough) and Cossey (68* away at Horsley & Send). The spirit in which we played our cricket and the determination in testing times showed that we can compete in this division and sets us up for a strong 2012 campaign.
As for the stats… In the batting department only 3 players made 200 or more league runs, Devesh Patel led the way with 353 @ 22.06, closely followed by Bruce Edhouse, who joined the club this season scoring a very valuable 321 @ 35.67 and finally Shayne Cossey with 215 @ 17.92. Bowling wise the leading wicket takers were Shayne Cossey 26 @ 23.88, Andy Salter 20 @ 17.35 and Chris Dixon 12 @ 28.42. There were many other important contributions from the experienced players St John Farley, Stuart Broom and Dave Morgan to the up and coming players Tamil Senthilkumar, Jamie Pemberton, Jamie Absalom and Josh Green to name but a few.
Lastly, special thanks to our umpire Richard Nicholson, who stood in the middle for us through most of the season until eventually, having to step down due to poor health and also to our tea lady Nikki Kane who made great teas that we all looked forward to while out in the middle.
Shayne Cossey
