As the weather hots up this week so does the cricket season. The Badgers have inflicted a white-(with black stripes)-wash on their auld enemy two seasons running. Do the King's Road Cricket and Social Club have what it takes to raise their game and upset the form book this weekend?
In the classic 40 over format the head-to-head results tally is currently 5 to 3 in the Badgers' favour. In fact, the King's Road haven't won a one-day contest against the Badgers since 2008. Just to recap: that's four years ago. Michael Vaughan was still captaining England, Australia held the Ashes and George W Bush was still US President. It was a long time ago. However, there are signs of a resurgence in the KRCSC ranks. Under a new captain James Couldrey their players have been receiving coaching from the ECB accredited Graham Clinton, the club has a commercial sponsor, It's Just Cricket, and they have started playing competitive league cricket in the London Premier League. Clearly "The Road" have started taking things more seriously.
In typically bullish style the Badgers' opponents announced their XI for Saturday's game on Twitter. The biggest surprise is the inclusion of batsman, Dean Aldridge. "The Don", as his team mates like to refer to him, famously averages over 100 with the bat for his club but hasn't featured against the Badgers since 2008 when he was run out in the 90s. Can he carry the weight of expectation that comes with such a reputation? If he does get stuck in the Badgers could have a real fight on their hands, but if they can get him early it will pile pressure on the rest of the KRCSC line-up.
Another factor to ponder for the Badger skipper, Jan Marchant, is that his team has never started well with the bat against the Kings Road in this format. Their highest ever first wicket partnership is a meagre 8 runs and the best they have mustered for the second wicket isn't much better at 26. Their success in the longer format has been built around solid starts so if the top order can perform the Badgers will feel confident of posting or chasing a decent total. The Badger XI looks strong too with many members of the team having already been in the runs this season, it contains last week's Badger of the Match, Hirst, the current leading wicket taker (and serial bragger), Shone, and last year's Badger of the season, Mackrell. Only a few days to wait to find out if they can inflict more misery on their old adversaries.
The teams on Saturday line up as follows (stats refer to performances in all 40 over head-to-head games).
Kings Road Cricket and Social Club XI
| Player | Runs | Inns | Bat Ave | Wickets | Overs | Bowl Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldridge | 140 | 2 | 140.00 | 4 | 7 | 6.25 |
| Cocken | 76 | 5 | 15.20 | 2 | 13 | 30.50 |
| Couldrey | 5 | 3 | 5.00 | 5 | 24 | 24.00 |
| De Silva | 17 | 2 | 8.5 | 4 | 13 | 16.50 |
| Glover | - | - | - | 2 | 8 | 22.00 |
| Joshi | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Keating | 29 | 5 | 7.25 | 1 | 8 | 38.00 |
| MacNicol | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mazumder | 2 | 5 | 0.50 | 2 | 11 | 32.00 |
| Smith | - | - | - | 0 | 7 | - |
| Watson | 93 | 7 | 13.29 | 8 | 28.4 | 12.88 |
Battersea Badgers XI
| Player | Runs | Inns | Bat Ave | Wickets | Overs | Bowl Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barker | 74 | 3 | 37.00 | 0 | 10 | - |
| Cloke | 110 | 6 | 22.00 | 5 | 14.6 | 16.00 |
| Hirst | 5 | 3 | 1.67 | - | - | - |
| Jinks | 86 | 4 | 28.67 | 6 | 24 | 15.67 |
| Lee | 55 | 2 | 27.50 | - | - | - |
| Mackrell | 87 | 5 | 29.00 | 6 | 33 | 11.50 |
| Marchant | 147 | 7 | 29.40 | 5 | 29.1 | 27.00 |
| Morse | 48 | 2 | 24.00 | 3 | 12 | 10.67 |
| Shone | 13 | 2 | 6.50 | - | - | - |
| Thorpe | 63 | 6 | 12.60 | 16 | 49.5 | 12.56 |
| Warman | 47 | 7 | 7.83 | 4 | 12 | 10.00 |