2023 MJCA Finals Match Reports and Winning Team photos

This page contains photos and match reports for the MJCA finals for the year 2023.

Under 10 (Gubby Allen)

Under 10 Gubby Allen Final 2023 Ealing CC v Sunbury CC

Played Sunday 20th August 2023 @ Ealing CC

 

Under 11 County Cup

Under 11 County Cup Final 2023 Old Merchant Taylors CC v Sunbury CC

Winners – Sunbury CC

It was a picture-perfect Sunday morning, and the atmosphere was electric as the Under 11 County Cup Final unfolded between Sunbury and Old Merchant Taylors. With everyone arriving an hour early, both players and parents were brimming with excitement, making this day feel like an unforgettable event. For these young cricketers, it was their first-ever final, and the anticipation was palpable. The presence of two league umpires, resplendent in their official attire, added to the sense of occasion, with the match elevated to the status of a World Cup final in the eyes of the players and their families.

What was most impressive was the way the young cricketers managed to control their emotions on this momentous occasion.

Sunbury won the toss and opted to field, setting the stage for an exciting encounter. Krrish Patel, in particular, set the tone for Sunbury by dismissing the opening batsman in his very first over. Harris Ramzan also played his part, taking out the second and third Old Merchant Taylors’ batsmen in quick succession. The entire Sunbury team contributed with some exceptional bowling, restricting their opponents to a total of 86/8 from their allotted 20 overs.

Sunbury’s fielding, especially their execution of three runouts in a high-pressure game, was a standout feature. Special mentions must also go to Sunbury’s spin twins, Lucas Cholewa and Raqeebuddin Mohammed, who bowled exceptionally well in the middle overs, applying immense pressure on the opposition.

Chasing a relatively low target in a final can still be nerve-wracking, but Sunbury’s openers, Eisa Hadi and Rhythm Gala, displayed confidence in their stroke play and aggressive running. Sunbury achieved their target of 87 runs in just 12.5 overs, losing only three wickets in the process. The maturity shown by the openers and the middle order, as each took responsibility to contribute to the team’s success, deserves commendation.

Notably, the players, parents, and coaching teams from both Sunbury and Old Merchant Taylors deserve congratulations for fostering a friendly and loving atmosphere throughout the game. Such sportsmanship truly reflects the spirit of cricket.

Finally, a heartfelt applause is due to the league for organising the match and providing official umpires, which elevated this game to a level of importance and excitement that will be cherished by these young cricketers for a long time to come. This Under 11 County Cup Final was not just a match; it was a memorable event that showcased the essence of youth cricket at its finest.

Under 11 County League Knock Out

Under 11 County League Knock Out Final 2023 Harrow St Marys CC v Old Merchant Taylors CC

Winners – Old Merchant Taylors CC

?? won the toss and chose to ?? the league and cup. A first for Harrow St Mary’s history at Under 11!

Under 12 County League Knock Out

Under 12 County League Knock Out Final 2023 Ealing CC v Richmond CC

Winners – Richmond CC

?? won the toss and chose to ??

Under 13 County Cup

Under 13 County Cup Final 2023 Winchmore Hill CC v Ealing CC

Winners – Ealing CC

?? won the toss and chose to ??

Under 13 County League Knockout

Under 13 County League Knockout Final 2023 Teddington v Ealing CC

Winners – Ealing CC

?? won the toss and chose to ?? 

Under 14 County League Knockout

Under 14 County League Knockout Final 2023 Acton CC v Ealing CC

Winners – Ealing CC

Acton won the toss and elected to bat. Ealing bowlers bowled accurately, the spinners bowled tight lines and the pace bowlers put pressure on the opposition from the very start.  The opposition struggled to build up partnerships and lost 5 early wickets for only 18 runs.  Throughout the fielding, Ealing displayed a high level of energy and commitment, taking some great catches and restricted Acton to a total of 77 runs for 7 wickets. Chasing a target of 78, Ealing started well, scoring runs very quickly and reached the target after only 11 overs, with Veer scoring 47 not out. It was a great team performance for Ealing and a well deserved victory. 

Under 15 County Cup

Under 15 County Cup Final 2023 Ealing CC v Sunbury CC

Winners – Sunbury CC

A very absorbing u15 final took place on June 15th at Kenton Court Meadow , one which ebbed and flowed and could have gone any way which very much featured plenty of quality and both teams abilities to respond and come back despite looking up against it.

Sunbury cc won the toss and elected to bat and got off to a very good start with Gillespie (32) and Syed (51 retired) putting on 87 for the first wicket in good time, however when they left the crease the rest of the Sunbury batters struggled to score and Ealing bowled very well to restrict Sunbury to 137/6 off their 20 overs , stand out bowlers were RP Muktieh 2-16 off 4 overs and Noah Lovell with 4 overs of tight disciplined  off spin.

Ealing started their reply very well with Bridge (29) and Kottler scoring freely, in particular Kottler who scored 35 off just 20 deliveries putting the hosts on the back foot at 54-0 off the first 6 overs, Ealing were well on top here and had dominated the last 15 overs of the match.

Time was running out for Sunbury as they turned to Kajus Syed to bowl from the Frank Sharman pavilion end and his introduction into the attack reaped immediate reward as he got the key wicket of Kottler followed by the Ealing skipper both bowled from good deliveries,  from then Sunbury put the squeeze on Ealing with some tight bowling and excellent fielding, leadership and character as Ealing re built finding boundaries and scoring tough.

The game looked well poised with Ealing needing 40 more runs at just over a run a ball with 6 wickets in hand.  Ealing battled hard but essentially found the accuracy of Zaid Ahmed , Kajus Syed and Zach Barnes too much and fell short by just 4 runs.  A very tight match with some great skills on show from both sides and played in a tremendous spirit with both teams showing good battling qualities.  As expected this wasn’t the only time these two teams would meet as they clashed again in the league cup final later in the season where Ealing would gain revenge on Sunbury and 1-1 proved a fair reflection between what would seem the two best teams at u15 level in the 2023 season.

Under 15 County League Knockout

Under 15 County League KO Final 2023 Sunbury CC v Ealing CC

Winners –  Ealing CC

​This was the second time that Ealing U15s had met Sunbury in a Middlesex final this season having lost narrowly to them in a high quality encounter back in June. Ealing won the toss and elected to bat first in front of another packed crowd at Sunbury. The first blow was landed 3rd ball as Kajus Syed continued where he had left off in the previous final by taking the wicket of Jake Bridge. Tom Kottler (42) and Aadvik Navad (28) steadied the ship before both falling, just after the half way mark, when the score was on 79. Sunbury took advantage of new batters coming in and slowed the scoring rate with off-spinner Tom Goldney picking up 3 wickets in the process, before a late flurry of boundaries from Noah Lovell (46) took the score to a 142-6 at the close when it had looked more likely that Ealing would be around the 125 mark.

 

In reply Kajus (20) and Matthew Gillespie (30) got Sunbury off to a solid start before both openers fell to the off-spin of Rutik Kantilal. Some excellent tight bowling in the middle overs from Ealing, in particular leg-spinner Amaad Bilal, saw the required rate rise and whilst Vishnu Datla (28) and Tom Goldney (18*) were batting well at the backend of the innings they were left with a little too much to do and could not break the stranglehold that Ealing had on the match. Sunbury ended the match 31 runs short on 111-5. Ealing had shown great discipline and skill in the field this time around with a single leg bye being the only extra in the Sunbury innings.

Under 17 County Cup

Under 17 County Cup Final 2023 Richmond CC v North Middlesex CC

Winners – North Middlesex CC

After having the first attempt at the final washed out under monsoon like conditions the match was rescheduled for the 1st September at North Midd.

The weather threatened to cause another postponement but the groundsman worked all day to provide a playable surface.

North Midd won the toss and chose to field, a decision that Richmond would have also made. Injuries had left Richmond short of two key players but despite this they put out a strong side for the long journey from South West London. An early wicket seemed to jolt Richmond but their batters kept going hard at some mixed North Midd bowling. Their key opener was caught on the boundary going for one big hit too many. Wickets fell at steady intervals and Richmond set a tricky 126 to win which, on that wicket, seemed competitive.

North Midd faltered early on and looked in trouble at 15 for 3. As in the League Cup final the North Midd skipper progressed from a steady start to hitting a seven boundary total of 69 putting on 111 for the fourth wicket and North Midd won with 17 balls to spare.

The game was played in an excellent spirit with both sides having a large number of parents and supporters present.

Thanks for all the work those in the MJCA put in behind the scenes and to the umpires.

Under 17 County League Knockout

Under 17 County League Knockout Final 2023 Ealing CC v North Middlesex CC

Winners – North Middlesex CC

The final was played at the beautiful NPL Ground with two very competitive sides in North Midd and Ealing.  Ealing won the toss and elected to bat on a tricky wicket. They raced off to a quick 50 opening partnership with some big hitting on a long boundary. They were unfortunate to lose their first wicket as a straight drive was deflected onto the stumps. The North Midd fielding was excellent throughout the innings backing each other up in every aspect. The loss of two quick wickets demanded a more cautious approach by Ealing but a regular fall of wickets and some tight North Midd bowling restricted Ealing to 111 for 7 off their 20 overs.

In reply North Midd made a quick start and at 57 for 2 looked in control. Two quick wickets when the score was on 82 gave Ealing some hope but the North Midd skipper launched four sixes to various postcodes in Teddington and they reached the winning total with almost three overs to spare.

The all round performance from North Midd made them deserved winners.

Thanks to the umpires, NPL and the MJCA for the day.

Girls Under 11 Softball League

Girls Under 11 Softball League – Highgate CC vs Ealing CC

Winners – Highgate CC

Highgate CC played Ealing CC in the U11 Girls Softball Final on a damp morning at Highgate CC in July. After a great effort to get the ground ready for play, the sun came out as players from both sides took part in an entertaining contest. The standard of cricket was high with many representative players on show.

Highgate won the toss and batted first; the first pair batted well against some accurate and pacy bowling to bring Highgate to 210. Wickets fell regularly throughout the course of the innings however the batters called and ran aggressively to accumulate runs. The final pair accelerated slightly, and Highgate posted a total of 250.

The second innings mirrored the first in many respects, however some outstanding bits of fielding countered the powerful stroke-play of some of the Ealing girls. The game was evenly poised with the last pair requiring an achievable 30 runs to secure victory, however some tight death bowling and calm fielding under pressure ensured that Ealing finished their innings on 225 and Highgate were crowned winners for the 2023 season.

 

Girls Under 11 County Cup

Girls Under 11 County Cup

Winners – Ealing CC

Ealing U11 Girls won Middlesex County Cup by beating local rivals Actonians by 6 wickets. Ealing won the toss and elected to field. A strong bowling attack made it difficult for Actonians to score off the bat & Ealing restricted Actonians to a modest score of 54.

In response Actonians took early Ealing wickets but a good partnership steadied the innings with Ealing making the target with over 10 overs to spare. 

This was a well earned victory and alleviated the disappointment of losing the indoor final tournament at Lords the start of the season to the same opponents.

 

Girls Under 11 hardball County League Knockout

Girls Under 11 Hard ball County League Winners 2023

Winners – Ealing

There was no final but Ealing won the league.

 

 

Girls Under 13 Softball County League Knockout

Girls Under 13 Softball County League Knockout Final 2023 Ealing CC v North Mid CC

Winners – North Mid CC

?? won the toss and chose to ??

Girls Under 13 Hardball League Knockout

Girls Under 13 Hardball County League Knockout 2023 – Ealing CC vs North Middlesex CC 

Winners – Ealing CC

?? won the toss and chose to ??

Girls Under 15 County Cup Final

Girls Under 15 County Cup Final 2023 Richmond CC vs Primrose Hill CC

Winners – Richmond CC

?? won the toss and chose to ??

Girls Under 15 Hardball League Knockout

Girls Under 15 Hardball County League Knockout Final 2023 Ealing CC vs Highgate CC

Winners – Highgate CC

Highgate and Ealing once again faced each other in a final. Over the last few years, Ealing have always come out on top so Highgate were hungry for the win.  Highgate won the toss and elected to field. Unfortunately, Ealing did not put on their usual dominating display, and Highgate’s bowlers bowled with great lengths and accuracy. Anaya’s incredible wicket-taking spin, with Zahra’s unplayable swing is the perfect opening combination. Between the pair they went for very few runs and Anaya picked up two wickets. Hafeeza’s quick and full bowling did some damage and she got three wickets. Our debutant Millie also chipped in with two great wickets. Emily’s sharp hands behind the stumps also played a part in Highgate’s thrilling bowling performance.

Highgate then batted and Dia and Zahra went on the attack and scored nearly 15 an over. This meant that Highgate picked up the score in 11 balls. Highgate were ecstatic as they finally got the win against the, since then, unbeaten Ealing.

Two great sides that will surely face off again in future years!

Thanks to all the coaches and parents, and of course the umpires for officiating.