With the jet stream of doom finally moving back to a cricket-friendly position, the Battersea Badgers levelled the south-London Ashes with a comprehensive victory against the King’s Road. After a nail-biting loss in the 40-over format of the game, the Badgers knew that nothing less than a victory would do in order to keep the series alive. Yet there were to be no tears this time, as the Road’s total of 82 was too low to trouble the black and white badgering machine.

The orange caps began their innings high on confidence but this quickly drained away when it became apparent that the Tooting jungle outfield would make boundaries extremely difficult to come by. Tight bowling from the Badger attack kept the Road as helpless as a trussed-up dungeon gimp and, when the shackles were briefly removed, Mackrell appeared to tighten the straps once again. A devastating three wickets in four balls ripped the heart out of the middle order and left them prostrate and submissive with just 82/7 from 20 overs.

In previous seasons, a small chase of 83 could have set nerves jangling, but Marchant strode to the crease determined to complete the job in ruthless fashion. Not only did he take with him ‘The Goose’ as his bat of choice, but also ‘The Cloke’ as his opening partner extraordinaire. The two men faced none of the problems of the King’s Road batsmen and, by taking aerial route, were able to avoid the long grass that had slowed the ball earlier in the day. Late wickets forced a few more Badgers to put their pads on and some dodgy scoring forced Shone to hit the winnings runs twice but there were no twists in this straightforward victory.

Thursday 19th July 2012 Badgers Battersea Badgers vs KRCSC Kings Road Cricket and Social Club

Kings Road Cricket and Social Club 82 for 7 (20 overs)

  • Isham 21 (28)
  • Mackrell 4/9 (3)
  • Thorpe 2/11 (4)

Battersea Badgers 83 for 3 (15 overs)

  • Cloke 36 (51)
  • Marchant 25 (20)
  • Alipour-Mehraban 2/0 (1)
Full scorecard
  1. Rex Tremendae*

    Ploughmans match report 21st Aug 2023 — by Chris Shone
  2. A Tale of Two Dickies

    Cincinnati match report 17th Aug 2023 — by Martin Fitzgerald
  3. Badger on a hot tin roof

    Southbank match report 12th Jun 2023 — by Martin Fitzgerald
  4. 3 Ducks & 22 Men, A Badger Versus Ducksmen Classic

    Flying Ducksmen match report 27th May 2023 — by Karl Larsson
  5. A Bloodless Coup

    19th May 2023 — by Martin Fitzgerald
  6. A Hard Day's Plight

    JMC match report 15th May 2023 — by Karl Larsson
  7. Badgers out for the count

    V&A match report 1st May 2023 — by Karl Larsson
  8. Yes Minister, the Badgers can boogie

    His Majesty's Treasury and Cabinet Office match report 24th May 2022 — by Tom Rex
  9. Jump-start Justin steers Badgers to victory

    Southbank match report 24th May 2022 — by Tom Rex
  10. Any colour you like, as long as it’s Kew

    Kew match report 27th Apr 2022 — by Tom Rex
  11. Suds, Spoons & Blake Break

    Addiscombe match report 27th Apr 2022 — by Nick Foord
  12. Soggy bottom costs Badgers the win

    Cincinnati match report 1st Sep 2020 — by Tom Rex
  13. Badgers sizzle in Beddington scorcher

    Beddington match report 1st Sep 2020 — by Tom Rex
  14. Look East

    Interlopers match report 1st Sep 2020 — by Josh Lee
  15. A Winning End to Lock-Downe

    Downe match report 12th Aug 2020 — by Tom Rex
  16. Badgers Goosed by Soaring Ducksmen

    Flying Ducksmen match report 3rd Aug 2020 — by Tom Rex
  17. All Hail Breaks Loose

    Addiscombe match report 26th May 2019 — by Josh Lee
  18. It’s grim up North London

    Arkley match report 4th Sep 2018 — by Peter Cade
  19. Badgers Win by 32 Runs

    Thespian Thunderers match report 1st Sep 2018 — by Stuart Barker
  20. Two For One

    Eagles and Eagles match reports 12th Aug 2018 — by Peter Cade
Older Articles