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Royal Brussels Cricket Club Marks 2025 Season with Awards Night

Royal Brussels Cricket Club Marks 2025 Season with Awards Night

Royal Brussels Cricket Club celebrated their 2025 season with an Awards Dinner at the Taste of Raaj restaurant in Ixelles.

More than 50 members, players, friends and officials were joined by special guests, including Belgium’s national coach Jake Needham.

The party enjoyed an array of delicious Nepali dishes and re-lived the season as seen through the eyes of 1st XI Captain Muneeb, 2nd XI Captain Channi, Membership Secretary, Arun and Colts Secretary, Dave.

In 2025, RBCC reached the semi-finals of the Division One playoffs, welcomed touring sides from across Europe, saw several players represent Belgium at senior and age group level, went on tour to both the UK and France and welcomed back RBCC alumni from across the world for a ‘sixes’ tournament held as a memorial to former player Chris Stone.

Awards on the night were presented as follows:

Club Member of the Year – Ian Rogers

Social Hero – Tipu Sethi

1st XI Batter – Afzal Safi

1st XI Bowler – Sairab Zahid

Breakthrough player of the year – Oliver Herrington

2nd XI Batter – Taha Choudhry

2nd XI Bowler – Atharva Sahasrabudhe

Colts player of the year – Akshat Tripathi

Champagne moment medal- Matthew Feehan-Grant


The evening was a fitting celebration of a memorable year for Royal Brussels Cricket Club, recognising the contributions of players, members, volunteers and supporters who made the 2025 season so special. As RBCC looks ahead to the new season, the club does so with pride in what has been achieved and excitement for what is still to come.

UK Tour: 2025 Edition

A Clouded Start

It would be wrong to say that the 2025 RBCC UK tour started under a cloud but the absence of Tipu, Sudhanshu and Danish, the three of them having been forced to withdraw before coming under starter’s orders, was certainly not the start we wanted. We missed you lads!

The remaining hopefuls met at Zaventem, all present and correct. A quick ‘Ollie Check’ (are you sure you all have your passports?) and we were ready to board the fun bus…except that we couldn’t because Max R and Adam had waited until we were all sorted before going off for a pit stop, thus incurring the first fines of the tour.

The Journey & First Stop

Once underway the usual topics of conversation cropped up; is the Hndrd the death or the future of cricket, is Bazball a real thing…and of course one of Ben’s historical monologues, this time a treatise on nazi death camp transportation systems. Anyway, we rolled up to Coquelles in good time, excitement mounting as the FlexiPlus sign came into view.

Even in the absence of Ben the Big Eater our lads put in a decent performance at the buffet, massacring a tray of chocolate eclairs in memory of glories past and absent friends.

Fully loaded up we were looking forward to a spot of train cricket but the effort of remembering their travel documents meant the youth had forgotten to bring a tennis ball…something to remember for next year.

Donnington Manor Adventures

Arriving in the UK we saluted the Chalk Horse in our best American accents and headed for the eccentric charms of the Donnington Manor Hotel and the tender, though lengthy, welcome of Karen on the check-in desk.

Donnington Manor is a fascinating hotel with statues of elephants, assorted deities and palm trees making the gardens an unconventional corner of the Kent countryside. Some of the interior design was interesting as well but, most importantly, we all managed to get twin rooms except for Dom and Chris who had to manage with a double. That fact will become important later in our story…

Match 1: The Vine

Having settled in we gathered our kit, put our game faces on and headed up to The Vine. As we all know by now, the Vine is one of the oldest cricket venues in the world; its earliest known use was for a match between Kent and Sussex on Friday 6 September 1734. It is also notable for being the first place in England where cricket was played with three stumps rather than two.

While us old timers love that historical feel, the youth have a different approach to the game. Amidst much eye rolling from the former it was agreed by the latter that we would play a version of the Hndrd on this fine old ground.

Our hosts batted first but struggled against our new ball attack with Max B and Max R both taking a couple of wickets; our fielding was sharp with Adam setting the tone behind the stumps. Sevenoaks finished on 121 which felt a little short.

We opened with Dom and Ben, the pair of them in fine form until Ben fell to a good catch on 15 and Dom retired on 25. Arun then gave us one of his masterclasses, playing some delightful drives, while Max B simply hit the hide off the ball before they both retired on 25. There was still time for the annual battle of the Comptons, played out before doting parents and rather less doting children, with Nick C hitting a four off his brother’s bowling before being comprehensively bowled next ball; presumably it was this shocking dismissal that led one old member to mutter ‘…and that’s why he is the worst Compton in the club’. Chris W and skipper Rob then saw us home for a comfortable enough victory as the skies darkened.

As usual The Vine laid on an excellent barbecue and our boys did us proud at the bar, yet again managing to drink all the Timothy Taylor’s. Such was their enthusiasm for this task that some of the older hands ventured that perhaps a modicum of self-preservation might be in order, sadly to no avail; these words of wisdom fell on deaf ears and glassy eyes.

The value of hard-won experience was confirmed in the wee small hours when it turned out that Dom had done that in the bed he was sharing with his brother. Still, what goes on tour etc…

Reviewing events in his role as responsible adult, skipper Rob had no hesitation in declaring Max B as Man of the Match for his 2 wickets, 1 catch and 25 unbeaten runs. Dom won the Dick of the Day award for his inexcusable behaviour that was clearly down to a dodgy prawn and not the gallon of Landlord someone had forced him to drink.

Match 2: Otford

Saturday dawned fair as the lads compared the merits of the breakfasts they had sampled in various hotels over the years. Chris A submitted this beauty as his Breakfast of Champions. Sadly it’s this thinking with his belly rather than his brain that caused the Cancillator to initially turn up at entirely the wrong cricket ground, although to be fair he did get the right county.

Otford is a wonderful ground, with facilities we can only dream about at RBCC. Just as the buzzing of insects in the hedgerows is redolent of the ripeness of late summer in England, so will the sound of the high-speed trainline whizzing past the Otford ground always remind us of the breakfast adventures of our lost antipodean, Mr William Quek.

We batted first with Dom and Ben making an excellent start, putting on a big opening stand without any trouble. They both retired having scored 50, a feat repeated by Max B. Nick C and guest batter Satvick saw us through to what felt like a reasonable score of 232-3 from our 35 overs.

In reply Sevenoaks really started slowly as Chris W and Max R opened the attack with some excellent bowling (1 for 24 and 2 for 20 respectively) which saw our hosts struggling to stay in the game. It was all looking good for RBCC until Ben, dozing in the outfield (having just dropped a sitter) was hit in the face by a wayward throw from one of his own players. He had to leave the pitch for a concussion check and we were grateful for the ministrations of one of the Sevenoaks players who helped to make sure that Ben was OK.

By the halfway stage we looked to have the game wrapped up but whether it was the injury to Ben, fatigue from the night before or just the clouds rolling in, the balance of the match started to change. Our experienced bowlers, Chris A and Arun, tried to put the brakes on but by now Sevenoaks were purring. Sykes and Nix both hit unbeaten 50s and any doubt that the tide had turned was removed by a shocking decision by an unpleasant man masquerading as an umpire, the charlatan in question turning down a clear run out.

We took it deeper than our last match at Otford but the hard truth is that we had this match in the bag but gave it away by bowling too many wides and dropping three expensive sitters in the outfield. Sevenoaks finished the job in the penultimate over.

The MOTM debate was a Weinel only affair; Chris bowled superbly but in the end Dom won through, despite having skulled one of his own team, on the basis of his excellent batting and bowling.

Afterwards we went back to Sevenoaks for beer and pizza. The lads were a little subdued but it didn’t take long for their normal high spirits to kick in and we were soon decamping to the delightful Rose and Crown for a post-match debrief, where President Vorzanger was toasted by all for putting €100 in the tour kitty. Those of us that know the legal limit for drinking alcohol in the UK is 18, and not 16 as in Belgium, loved the bit when Max B went back to the hotel to finish his maths homework before returning for a couple of pints at the bar and telling the barman how tough his schoolteachers were…

Poor Max B also managed to get himself voted DOTD when it turned out that he had ordered the hotel staff to deliver a toothbrush to his room and then even instructed the poor girl charged with serving the young master to unwrap it for him on the grounds that he didn’t want to chip a nail. Oh Max!

In true tour tradition things then started to get messy. Some of the senior tourists went on a bender and ended up in a secret bar at 02:00 hours, with one of them reportedly coming out with the immortal line ‘Is it OK if I have a quick p*ss in your garden?’ to the lady in charge.

Fortunately the young lads were aware that there was a crucial game the following morning and that they needed to prepare accordingly, which is why this photo shows them back at the hotel having protein shakes not beer and kebabs.

Match 3: Folkestone

Somehow everyone survived, no one was arrested, and Sunday morning saw us back in the fun bus and heading down to the coast to meet our old pals from Folkestone CC.

We had lost Chris A to another appointment but our old RBCC colleague, Hemang, joined us for the last game of the tour. Nick C seized control of the team while Rob was looking the other way, his mission statement being that he wanted to give the younger players a go, just before announcing that he would be opening the batting.

Predictably the worst Compton fell cheaply but at least we had one fluent lefty; step forward Chris W! Finally given a chance to bat up the order he was flying and looked nailed on for a half century when he was sawn off for 47 by an LBW decision from Max R that was best described by those present as ‘brave’. Ben made an unbeaten 50 and Dom played well yet again. As we only had 10 men one of our players was allowed to return for a second go; Captain Compton stepped forward bravely and somehow managed to do slightly worse than in his first innings. We had subsided to 237 all out; criminally we had done so using only 28 of our 35 overs.

Folkestone started well despite excellent bowling from Chris W and Ben, the latter turning his arm over for the first time in a while. Morgan (60) and Taylor (73) took Folkestone to within sight of victory but our lads never gave up. Wickets started to fall, one to a splendid diving catch by Max B, and suddenly we were back in the game.

The last pair came together with 6 runs needed and with the scores tied we had a marvellous run out opportunity that we couldn’t quite nail. Fine margins and all that as Folkestone won an excellent game of cricket. A tough game, played in excellent spirit.

With that it was time to race to the fun bus and head for the Tunnel. By this time some of our elite athletes were starting to feel the strain; even the ever eager President Ball needed some downtime…apparently still recovering from Rob’s instruction to ‘…bounce out pensioners!’.

It had been a great tour. Great fun for all, we got on well with both Sevenoaks and Folkestone, both of whom promised to visit us next season as well as inviting us over again. RBCC played some really good cricket; well done lads.

There were still a couple of formalities to go through of course. Chris W was a clear MOTM both for his batting and his bowling. Nick C won DOTD, partly for his coup d’etat, partly because he wasn’t there when we voted. The final formality? One last raid on FlexiPlus!

Scorecard & Player Ratings

Chris A: Big marks for making it, eventually, to Otford, loses marks for going drinking with Compo – 7
Ben: Excellent batting throughout, bowled well at Folkestone – 9
Rob: Led by example, made solid runs and bowled up hill and into the wind at Folkestone; played a blinder by booking the tour bus – 7
Dom: Batted well and bowled 7 good overs at Otford; added to his tour reputation…on and off the pitch – 9
Adam: Great keeping in difficult conditions, kept the team going with positive vibes; unlucky with his batting – 8
Max B: Another great tourist, bowled fast, hit hard and took great catches. Loses a point for toothbrushgate – 9
Arun: A class act on and off the pitch, beautiful cover drives – 7
Max R: Bowled some great spells and fielded well; struggled a bit at Folkestone but battled through it – 8
Nick C: His on-field game looked a bit rusty; off-field was imperious – 7
Chris W: Terrific bowling and batted superbly. Great tourist – 9
Hemang: An RBCC legend, great to have him on the tour – 7

They also served:

  • Mark W: Played a blinder as tour manager and all-round voice of reason – 9
  • Sudhanshu: Cruelly ruled out of the tour having put in a huge cat-herding effort – 9
  • Bus driver: Didn’t crash – 2

1st XI edge a five-run classic to storm into the BCF Division 1 semi-finals

Quarter Final | BCF League 2025 Division 1 | RBCC vs Hasselt Cricket Club
🔗 Match Scorecard

On a tense quarter final day in the Cricket Belgium Division 1, RBCC 1st XI rode on determined lower-order grit and icy nerves in the field to claim an epic five-run win over Hasselt Cricket Club. With a semi-final berth on the line, Brussels supporters turned up in numbers to witness one of the games of the season in the BCF League 2025.

Royal Brussels Cricket Club: 208 all out (45.3 overs)

After winning the toss, RBCC-1’s innings was a see-saw of setbacks and comebacks. Hasselt’s bowlers—led by Ainuddin Zakhel (3/33)—exploited early nerves as openers Muneeb Muhammad and Afzal Safi fell within the first eight overs. A composed knock from Mustafa Mamond (28 off 36, 2 fours, 1 six) supplied brief calm, but when he was forced to retire out, the innings tottered again at 57/4.

Middle-order rally and the tale of two partnerships
The middle overs belonged to Taha Choudhry (33 off 52, 7 fours), who doggedly rebuilt, and then to a vital partnership between Nayhan Khalil (49 off 66, 7 fours) and Sairab Zahid (37 off 52, 3 fours). Coming together at 130/7, this pair lifted RBCC to a competitive 183 before Khalil was bowled agonisingly close to a half-century.

End Scramble
Wickets tumbled at the end—Waqas Raja (2/29) and Gurwinder Singh Parhar (2/49) capitalised to bowl out RBCC with 4.3 overs unused. However, 27 wides from Hasselt were a boon for Royal Brussels on a day where every run would count.

Hasselt Cricket Club: 203 all out (38.3 overs)

Set 209 for victory in a knockout match, Hasselt’s reply was full of intent, with early aggression from the top order. However, regular wickets, sharp catching and composed bowling pegged back the innings at crucial intervals.

With the chase poised at 130/7 mirroring RBCC’s earlier troubles, the Hasselt lower order mounted a spirited resistance. Partnerships threatened to take the game away as tension mounted with every run scored and wicket lost. When the 9th wicket fell at 202, the match was on a knife edge.

Turning Points — Two Key Moments for Royal Brussels

  • Brilliant Run Out: With Hasselt building momentum, a crucial run out from AbdulWahid and Afzal Safi saw Waqas Raja caught short of his ground—an electric team effort that shifted the pressure back on Hasselt.
  • Diving Catch for the Ages: Earlier, Nayhan Khalil pulled off a spectacular diving catch to dismiss none other than Cricket Belgium national captain Sheryar Butt off Oliver Herrington’s shrewd bowling, a moment befitting the game’s high stakes and swinging the momentum towards RBCC.

The Final Dramatic Twist
Just six required, one wicket in hand. Ricky and wicket keeper Safi Afzal held their nerve, and fittingly, the final wicket sparked scenes of jubilation for Royal Brussels as the club supporters erupted—a five-run victory and a ticket to the Division 1 semis.

RBCC 1st XI progress to the Cricket Belgium Division 1 semi-finals, delivering one of the most memorable wins in club history—a testament to the fighting spirit and fielding brilliance at the heart of this side. Stay tuned to Royal Brussels Cricket Club and Cricket Belgium for more league and knockout action.

🔗 Match Scorecard

Match Report: RBCC vs Braine CC | Div 4

Match Date: 17th July 2025

Under the blazing Belgian sun (yes, really!), the second team were asked to field first. The opposition showed why they were top of the table with a 100%-win record as the openers made steady progress, though it wasn’t long before captain Channi enticed one of the batsmen into nicking off to first slip. A few lusty blows and a couple more wickets followed before the visitors again settled down and added 75 for the 5th wicket stand, shared between one opener, who ended up on a run-a-ball 73, and the number 6 batsman, who made a 50 more agricultural than a combine harvester rolling along the fields of Oakhampton. Thereinafter, it was one-way traffic as we took two wickets in two balls and the last 5 wickets for just 14 runs as Braine moved from 175-5 to 189 all out in just 30 overs. The young bowling attack of Atharva, Akshat and Issa did themselves and the team incredibly proud, taking 6 wickets between them and never relenting on the pressure built up by excellent work from everyone in the field. The standout performance was, however, the captain, leading from the front and finishing with figures of 4-33 from his 7 overs.

Having bowled Braine out quickly, we were asked to negotiate a tricky period of 15 overs immediately after their innings before taking tea. Rob and Matt strode out to the middle and got to work trying to keep out the pacey and (in some cases, internationally) experienced bowling attack, knowing that if they could take the shine off the ball, put some overs in the bowlers’ legs and keep the fielders under the sun for as long as possible, it would make life much easier for the rest of the order coming in. Agonisingly, the first wicket fell just 4 balls short of the tea break, but a solid platform had been laid and Braine heads were visibly starting to drop. The top 5 batsmen all got starts but were undone by a mix of high-class bowling and some umpiring at quite the opposite end of the spectrum. That same umpiring also did for the middle order, with two consecutive golden ducks, both LBW, one very audibly nicked and one almost certainly making its way wide of leg stump. Atharva and Chris Ancil put up some good resistance, sharing a stand of 29 and taking us very close before Atharva holed out to long off, and the wickets fell like dominoes from there, leaving us 171 all out – a tantalising 19 runs short of what would have been a phenomenal (and well-deserved) win!

Despite the result, there were many positives to take from the game – we were excellent in the field, taking all our catches, saving lots of runs and keeping the pressure on the batsmen. Our young bowling attack never let up, each picking up where the last left off and keeping standards high throughout the innings. We also batted properly and as a unit, setting a platform, kicking on from it and batting into the 48th over. If we continue to perform like that, the results will undoubtedly go our way before too long. Chin up lads and onto next weekend!

Stoney’s Big Bash Sixers

Stoney’s Big Bash Sixers

On Saturday 21st June, Royal Brussels Cricket Club held a 6-a-side tournament in memory of their old team mate Chris Stone, The event was called Stoney’s Big Bash and involved 6 teams playing a round robin of 5 over matches before entering the knock out stages. It was a beautiful day – a scorching 30 degrees, and ran from 10am to around 7pm.

Chris Stone played 1st team cricket for the club in the 1990s and early 2000s, a fast bowling all-rounder from Tasmania with a competitive spirit and big sense of humour. He sadly passed away in 2023 after suffering a brain tumour leaving his wife, Sofie Wilmes ex-Prime Minister of Belgium and 4 children. The Club decided to preserve his memory by by playing a tournament and hope to make it an annual event. This time invitations were sent to ex-players around the world and we were amazed how many came – from as far as Boston, Cape Town, Perth and Manila, as well as around Europe.

Sophie Wilmes came with family and friends to watch and present. The Minister for Sport, Madame Jacqueline Galant also came to find out about cricket since it is a new sport in Wallonia and FWBC members came to welcome her. The Local Commune Sports representative Madame Virginie Poncelet also came to support the club.

Many had not played for a long time but were eager to to dust off the cobwebs and take to the field. The teams were mixed with old and young with National team players made to bat left handed. There followed some great cricket with sixes flying into the driving range, a couple of special catches and some fine bowling.

In the end it was the Nick’s Warrane Warriors and Brighton’s Boorloo Bolts who made it to the final after 2 nail-biting semi-finals. The Bolts went into bat and Brighton started smashing, it looked like it was all over, but a gap in the middle order left meant they finished on 79 after 5, just a faint whiff of a chance for the Warriors. Brighton then opened up the bowling but Ollie and Afzal were sending the ball into the deep rough – the faster it came, the faster it went. It came down to the last ball with the Warriors needing 2 to win, they did it and the celebrations continued.

Sophie made a great speech, reminding her grown up children of the times they spent at the club watching Chris play as young children. Fingers Noonan read out a letter from Chris’ Mum who was unable to make it. After the medals were presented we all sat down to a magnificent curry from the Malik family. By then, some were feeling tired but a few found their reserves and it was midnight before we closed the club.

A big thanks to all those who came, you made it a really special day to be remembered a long time. Until we meet again!

Royal Brussels Split Crucial Double-Header Against Kortrijk Warriors CC

Kortrijk, April 27 — Royal Brussels Cricket Club (RBCC) took a step closer to a semi-final spot with a hard-fought win followed by a disappointing collapse in their double-header clash against Kortrijk Warriors CC (KWCC) in the BCF T20 Cup.

Match 1: Bowlers Lead the Way in Nervy Chase
Score Card

RBCC clinched the morning game by 4 wickets, thanks largely to a stellar bowling effort that restricted KWCC to 102 all out. Sairab Zahid starred with the ball, claiming 3 for 7 in a tight, disciplined spell, while Abir Kumar (2/22) and Muneeb Muhammad (1/25) provided vital breakthroughs.

Kortrijk’s batters struggled for momentum, with none crossing 25, as RBCC bowlers hunted in a pack.

In reply, RBCC’s chase stumbled early. After losing three quick wickets inside the Powerplay, Mustafa Mamond anchored the innings with a calm 25 off 23 balls, ensuring that RBCC stayed afloat. Abdulwahed Tajik’s brisk 26 off 20 balls and late composure from Fida Hussain Shinwari (11 off 14 balls*) steered RBCC home in the 19th over.

Asif Hussain’s 3/19 briefly threatened to derail the chase, but RBCC’s depth saw them collect their sixth win of the season.

Match 2: Batting Meltdown as KWCC Hit Back
Score Card

The afternoon game told a different story. Chasing 143 after a spirited effort by KWCC led by Zeshan Diwan Ali’s fluent 53 off 33 balls, RBCC crumbled to 78 all out to suffer a 65-run defeat.

Despite another tidy opening spell from Muneeb Muhammad (1/14) and wickets for Nayhan Khalil (2/34) and Channi Gyani (1/17), lapses in the field and some big hitting in the death overs allowed KWCC to post a challenging total.

RBCC’s chase never got going. Muneeb Muhammad battled alone at the top with 23 off 26 balls, but once he fell, wickets tumbled regularly. Only Channi Gyani (17 off 21 balls) showed any resistance in the middle order.

Asif Hussain again proved to be a thorn in RBCC’s side, ripping through the middle order with 3/12.

The Road Ahead

With 6 wins out of 8 games, Royal Brussels now face a must-win double-header against Ostend CC to secure a semi-final spot. Their bowling remains a major strength, but sharper batting will be essential if they are to make a deep run in the tournament.