Category: Match Report

Women Cricket in the Capital: A look back at the season šŸ

Women Cricket in the Capital: A look back at the season šŸ

The conclusion of this season was marked by the Women’s Day, a special event held unusually at the end of September. It saw the enthusiastic participation of more than 25 women from across Belgium, spanning a range of skill levels. The day commenced with a brief initiation session, enabling newcomers to grasp the basics of the game, from wielding a bat to mastering the art of bowling. Subsequently, we engaged in some exhilarating matches, only pausing to indulge in a fantastic barbecue generously provided by dedicated volunteers who contributed to the day’s resounding success.

Throughout this season, the RBCC women’s team actively competed in the Belgian League alongside five other teams hailing from Belgium and France. Our matches took us to various locations, including Antwerp, Wemmel, and Kortrijk, where we managed to secure victories in all formats of the game.

Notably, several of our team members had the honour of representing both the France and Belgium National teams at various tournaments in 2022 and 2023, thus significantly enhancing the visibility of cricket in associate countries. Also, members of the Royal Brussels CC took part in trainings for the Belgian National Women’s Team.

With great anticipation, we look forward to the upcoming 2023-2024 season, aiming to defend our title at the upcoming soft box cricket tournament scheduled for this November.

U17s win away at Antwerp

All smiles at Antwerp – U17s win doubleheader at ACC

Our U17s took on our friends at Antwerp CC in a T20 doubleheader.

First match: Having lost the toss we were put in to bat; the sodden pitch couldnā€™t slow our batters as both opener Ben and captain Afzal retired on 51. Atharva added 27 as we scored an impressive 174 for the loss of only 2 wickets.

ACC started slowly but accelerated in the middle overs and required only 9 to win from the last over, bowled by Dominic. He held his nerve and took wickets in successive balls (both stumped by Afzal) to lessen the pressure; a hat-trick went begging as a catch was dropped but it was a highly impressive example of death bowling. ACC finished short on 170/7.

Antwerp in October!

Second match: In line with our development philosophy Atharva took over as captain and we rejigged the batting line-up. ACC bowled well but Ben made another unbeaten 50 and Max B scored 21 as we posted 147/6. Again it looked as though ACC would run us close but Max R clean bowled their best batter and that took the steam out of their chase. A tight closing spell from Atharva (3 wickets in total) saw ACC subside to 133/8.

Special thanks go to Hossein for his work as the 12th man, to Antwerp CC for making us so welcome and especially to Manoj and Mike for umpiring.

All smiles at Antwerp

This was another good day out for our U17s, leaving us 3rd in the division, although we still need to work on our game management and our fielding. This squad has played some excellent cricket this year but a combination of factors, some within our control, others not, mean that we just missed out on the play-offs. Nonetheless, it has been a good season with the development of a number of new players and an excellent team spirit. Congratulations to Ben for finishing top of the league batting averages with Atharva and Dom not far behind.

Well played U17s!

The players would like to thank their parents for their support and to Alan for managing the team. See you next season!

1st XI finish with a flourish

1st XI finish with a flourish

A good crowd gathered at RBCC for the final match of the season. This was a crucial game against ICCB, had results not gone our way then we could have been facing relegation.

There was a fair amount of tension in the air as the match started; this was only exacerbated when our captain, Muneeb, fell to the first ball of the second over and Sudhanshu went with the score on 15. Mishi and Jawad steadied the ship, putting on 150 for the third wicket before Jawad was given out LBW on 48. Mishi went on to score 126 off only 124 deliveries, a fantastic effort made all the more special because he was using Sairabā€™s bat, the one given to him by our late coach Farrukh. The big man must have sent us his blessing!

The other innings of note was a brisk 31 scored by young Afzal. Agonisingly he was the last man out with only 2 deliveries remaining; this meant that we had missed the opportunity to score valuable batting bonus points and meant that our score, 274 off 49.4 overs, might not be enough to keep us up. The pressure was now on our bowling attackā€¦

Our lads went hard at the opposition and wickets fell regularly. Muneeb rotated his bowlers and was rewarded as 7 different players took wickets, the skipper leading the way by taking 2 for 13 off his 6 overs.

ICCB realised that they were unlikely to match Royalā€™s score but knew that a batting bonus point would keep them above us in the table; however, if we could bowl them out within 40 overs then the situation would be reversed. In a tense finish, Afzal took a catch off Sudhanshu that saw us dismiss ICCB for 162 with only 3 balls of the 40th over to come. This was a fantastic victory and the joy on the playersā€™ faces was great to see. This was a hard-fought victory and needs to be the template for all our teams next season. As Muneeb said afterwards ā€˜A perfect example of our team spirit is that last inning when we all fielded together. We played as one team and for each other. That is how I want us to play going forward!ā€™

A special mention for Afzal who, following the disappointment of getting out in the last over, took 3 smart catches and pulled off a stunning piece of fielding that will live long in the memory. He caught a certain 6 in mid-air and before his feet touched the floor threw the ball back in to play so that Mishi could take the catch. Well played!

Congratulations also to Dom, making his first team debut, big thanks to Channi as 12th man and also to Chris & Max for scoring.

And the crowd went wildā€¦

It has been an eventful season; we have won trophies, suffered relegation and organised a successful tour. Through it all the players and supporters have stuck together in true RBCC fashion. See you all at the Club Dinner in a couple of weeks!

Match Scorecard

FWBC T10 Champions šŸ† | Royals Romp to T10 Tournament Triumph!

Royals Romp to T10 Tournament Triumph!

Over the weekend of the 22nd/23rd of September RBCC hosted the FWBC (Federation of Wallonia and Brussels Cricket) T10 Cup, determined to go one better than in the last edition where we lost in the final.

We didnā€™t get off to an auspicious start, losing a wicket to the first ball of the competition. Our opponents, ICCB, bowled well but Waqas and Mustafa responded with some excellent batting as we set a target of 88 for losing 7 wickets.

RBCC ā€“ Ready to go

As ICCB looked to respond Sairab set the tone by taking 2 wickets in his first over. Mishi also bowled well with figures of 2 for 10 off 2 overs. Our fielding was excellent, with Siftay running an opponent out with a direct hit. In a tense finish, ICCB needed 10 off Sairabā€™s last over but fell short as RBCC won by 1 run.

In our second match, the result was never in doubt as we raced to a commanding 130 for 1, with Muneeb and Mishi scoring 52 and 45 respectively. In comparison, Brussels Strikers could manage only 85 with Taha taking 2 for 8. Our final league game was cancelled because we had already qualified for the semi-final against PCCB.

RBCC family

The semi-final was highly competitive. PCCB made a respectable 89/3 with one of their batters really going after Mishiā€™s last over. In reply, Muneeb went for their bowling from the start but a tense finish was in prospect until a couple of huge blows from Mustafa and Ollie saw us home with 2 balls to spare.

On to the final, a rematch as we squared up to Liege. Restricted light meant that each team was limited to only seven overs but incredibly Muneeb still managed to make 51 before being run out off the last ball, while Mishi made 31 off 15 deliveries. Liege CC were always behind the run rate with Waqas and Ollie taking crucial wickets as the visitors made 63.

RBCC family

At the presentation ceremony, Nick thanked all the teams that had participated, the spectators for their support, and the two umpires without whom the tournament could not have occurred. In addition to steering RBCC to the trophy, Captain Muneeb won two richly deserved individual awards; best batter and most valuable player.

Muneeb: Our captain!

A great weekend of cricket and a fantastic performance by RBCC. Well done!

Arcadians Sixes Competition

Arcadians Sixes Competition

Ollie Herrington captained a developmental RBCC side at the Arcadians Sixes competition.

This tournament follows a six-a-side format with each innings consisting of five overs. Each of the five members of the team other than the wicketkeeper has to bowl one over. RBCC made a conscious decision to enter a young team, ranging in age from 16 to 21, the idea being that our youngsters would get an idea of what it means to be up against top-quality senior players, including a number of national team players, in a pressurised environment.

While we were a little overawed in our first match we made a real go of it in the second, posting a competitive total before narrowly losing out and thus failing to progress to the knockout stages. It was a good learning experience for our boys and one they are keen to replicate.

Our thanks go to Ollie for stepping up to captain the team and to Rakesh at Ghent for organising the tournament.

Match Report: RBCC vs Braine CC | Div 4

The Taverners beat Braine CC by 3 wickets. Registering the first win of the season!

Congratulations to RBCC on a fine win against Braine CC. Having won the toss RBCC opted to bowl first and made early inroads with wickets falling regularly. Captain Matt picked up a painful injury while making a diving stop but happily, Jawad was on hand to take over as keeper. Some late-order resistance by Braine was brought to an end by an excellent boundary catch from Taha. Ricky led the attack with his usual aplomb, finishing with 3 wickets.

Taverners are all smiles!

Set a target of 167 to win, RBCC got off to a good start with openers Dom and Sudh rotating the strike. Jawad top scored with 49 as RBCC closed the match out with 3 wickets to spare.

Congratulations to Chris W, who made his league debut at the age of 14. He took 2 wickets and bowled very well. Many thanks also to 12th man William for doing an excellent job as a scorer. Well done lads!