Welcome to the final edition of Wizzy News for the 2025 season which includes some pics from the Seniors End of Season awards , a selection of pics from various senior games during the season and the results of the Club 200 draw . If you missed any of our Wizzy News editions during the year please click here

Club 200 draw

The Club 200 Draw was held at the awards evening – congratulations to all the winners – your prizes will be with you shortly

• 1st Prize : £250 – Suzanna Dinnage
• 2nd Prize : £150 – Barry Overington
• 3rd Prize : £100 – Paul Strange
• 4th Prize : £75 – Dan Hughes
• 5th Prize : £50 – Howard True

The next Club200 draw will take place at the AGM at the end of January.

If you would like more information on how Club 200 works please click on the following link : http://www.wisboroughgreencc.co.uk/century-club/

Live Streaming of Senior matches – 2026 season

An increasing number of clubs are livestreaming senior matches and we are considering acquiring the technology to live-stream our home games. We would be most grateful if you could complete a short survey so we can gauge the appetite to live-stream matches

Please click here to access the survey

End of Season awards

The seniors celebrated the season at the end of season awards evening in style at the Sir Roger Titchbourne pub in Alfold on Friday 3rd October .

Congratulations to all the winners of the awards

MVP leaderboard

The Playcricket website collates batting bowling, fielding and captaincy stats for all players every week and produce an MVP (most valuable player) table based on the total points scored by each player.

Congratulations to Josh Dixon for also finishing top of the Playcricket’s MVP leaderboard for the club again this year

First X1

The 2025 season has been full of challenge, character, and moments to build on. While the campaign didn’t always go our way, the performances, improvements, and dispatching Barns Green at the end of the season to avoid relegation make it a season to reflect on positively.

The season didnt start the way we would have liked, with Colbran and Vickery banned, a weakened side somehow managed to snatch defeat from the hands of victory following Klein hitting 141 and Joey getting 77 to post over 311 all out – with more than 5 overs still to bat. That defeat was followed by a further 6 defeats to make it 7 defeats and a wash out (vs Worthing) to start the season. This put us really up against it as we were languishing in the relegation zone with only Barns Green below us.  The story of the 6 defeats certainly wasnt all bad – we probably took West Chilt the closest they had come to defeat all year, poor catching against Aldwick likely cost us that one and Worthing cancellation was almost certainly 20 points lost. 

So we arrive at BG away with Mattock declaring, for what wouldnt be the last time, that it was “Must Win”. No one could argue with that statement as avoiding relegation would mean we need to overcome at least a 50 point swing in the second half of the season. We duly deliver 30 points away at BG, largely thanks to a nice 55* from the returning Hoppo! Could this be the turning point and kick start the Wisborough fight back? 

The highlights from the season run in go something like this: 

• Chichester away – Wisborough win by 3 wickets with a strong partnership between Vickery and Colbran setting things up for Jr and Baby Hugo to finish it off in the last over
• Defeat at home by Trinity – we didnt really show up for that one
• West Witt away – The Green chase down 202 nine wickets down, winning on the last ball of the game thanks to a fabulous 58* by Oscar Warmington. Davey G helping Oscar bring home the victory in a tight finish. This victory fin
• Defeat by West Chilt at home – Pizza gate / Redemption for Baby Hugo
• Worthing away – “A must win” is duly selivered with Jr and Wolfie doing the damage with the ball (and Wolfie damaging his balls) and Tommy and Willbo delivering an all but match winning partnership
• Bognor dismantled – Davey G getting 4 wickets to send them packing with a 9 wicket victory. Steve CS, Kleino and Tommy delivering the runs. 
• Aldwick away – wides cost Wisborough victory
• Arundel away – opposition let off the hook as Klein’s 56 in 18 balls has them terrified, 15 more overs for a match and victory would have been ours.
• Barns Green at home last game of the season – 3 points above the drop zone and only a win guarantees we avoid relegation. Not only did we secure the 30 points but the way we went about it showed what a strong group of players we have. Hugo and Wolfie doing the damage with the ball followed by a 120 run opening stand to all but secure victory. Klein with another century (this time an unbeaten one), bookending his season with centuries – incredible performance.

To come out fighting second half of the season like we did, fighting back to survive relegation – we rightly celebrated as if we had won the league.  My biggest take away from the season was our strength of character and team spirit. Despite 7 losses on the bounce we never once let our heads get down, if anything we came closer together and built a real camaraderie that served us for the second half of the season. Every single member of the team contributed throughout the season and we ensured that first and foremost we always had fun and played the game in the true Wisborough way. 

Some of the key stats

• In 2025, the 1st XI played 18 league matches, winning 6, losing 10, and there were 2 no-results. wisboroughgreen.play-cricket.com
• Top season performers:
    • Top run scorer: Nick Klein with 454 runs at an average of 65 and a strike rate of over 200 
    • Highest individual score: Nick Klein with 141 (thanks Hugo for protecting my 147* high score)
    • Top wicket taker: James Rainford with 22 wickets, 
    • Players / Captains player of the season Dave Griffiths with 17 wickets
    • Best bowling figures: Hugo March with 5 for 15
    • Best economy rate: James Rainford with 4.49

Some thank you’s

• The incredible Peter Mattock – Our absolute rock of an umpire, such an important part of our cricketing family at WG – it genuinely wouldnt be the same without you. Thank you Peter – for all your support, encouragement, mathematics and commitment. 
• Rob Knight – a big part of our team, his northern whit keeping us on our toes. Thank you Bobby!
• Suzana and Lesley – always ready to stand in come rain or shine! Statana trying to keep my spirits high with key stats whilst im a nervous wreck as we try and get victory over the line…..Thank you both
• The committee – in particular Tarni and Jenny for their support and advice throughout the season. 
• Pete Klein – mainly for producing such a gun batsman that has finally delivered………just kidding – your tireless effort for the club is greatly appreciated, both for everything you do for the juniors but also the tireless effort you put in behind the scenes from league rep to producing Wizzy News!  
• Micko and Lee – for there hard work keeping Tim off the centre strips! 
• The squad – couldnt wish for a better group of lads to play with week in week out, what a bunch of boys!
• My wife – for putting up with me not being around much throughout the summer, and now having to put up with me being grumpy that the season is over

Rest well, we go hard again next season!

Dan Vickery – First X1 captain and Club Captain

Second X1

Played 18, won 8, lost 8, abandoned 1, cancelled 1. A fair to middling report card to the second XI for 2025 season and one to improve on in 2026 as we continue to seek promotion to div 9 and reduce the amount gf ploughed fields that we have to play on every weekend. My thanks to all the players, families, supporters, umpire, scorers for their help throughout the season.

So many great days out with the bat, ball and in the field – so many that you’ll have to come to the dinner and hear all about them. But needless to say we have welcomed contributions from established members, those coming back to cricket after a while in the wilderness and juniors coming through the ranks.

What is clear is that the village is lucky to have a a thriving, successful and happy cricket club. I would like to think that the second XI contributes to that in many ways on a regular basis. We’re not perfect, and as I said last year, we don’t seek perfection. We seek an environment where cricket can be played, memories can be made, laughter can be enjoyed and Josh Dixon can make lesser players look stupid every weekend.

Some of me is delighted to be writing this for the last time for a while. Some of me is already looking forward to picking up the pen in May. I would hope that the many men of the WGCC Second XI will look back on the season with fondness, pride and forward to next season with excitement where we can do it all again.

Have a good rest gents. St Oscar Romero school in May anyone…?

Tim Palmer – Second X1 captain

Women’s Team

2025 was a landmark year for the women’s team as we added hardball cricket to our fixture list and continued to grow in strength and confidence. Winter nets were well attended, and we were delighted to welcome several newcomers who arrived with both skill and enthusiasm. Who knew, when we first padded up and bowled those early hard balls indoors, where the season would take us!

We entered the Sussex Softball League for our third year, making a promising start with a memorable win over Chiddingfold, a side boasting a squad four times our size. The season brought mixed results, with us winning half our matches, but our consistency paid off as we finished second in the league. Benefitting also from a growing squad and better availability for each match, this is a clear improvement on previous years. Our progress was capped with an emphatic final victory against Fernhurst, showcasing the skill, confidence, and teamwork developed throughout the season.

Well done to our softball players: Fiona Green, Brooke Meurer, Hannah Vickery, Natalie Ayling, Jilly Corbey, Sarah Meurer, Tessa Finger, Maggie Swalwell, Bex Samuelson, Jen Cambell, Ann Wells, Suzana Braddock, and newcomers Ffion Lewis-Dale and Georgie Wilmott.

This year also marked our exciting first venture into hardball cricket as we entered the Sussex Slam. Initially unsure of the uptake, we considered joining forces with another village, but in true Wisborough spirit, we took the leap and the Wisborough Warriors were born!
Training attendance was strong, and enthusiasm high. Huge thanks to Tim Van Noort for his insightful and positive coaching, building our belief and skills as we took on the challenge.

We made a nervous start to the season with a convincing loss against Slinfold, with many of us still adjusting to the longer 22-yard pitch compared to the 19 yards in softball. However, recognising it was mindset, not ability, which needed changing, the return leg saw a more confident side securing us a huge 78-run victory. From there, we never looked back, winning all our remaining matches, finishing top of our league, and earning a place at the Sussex Slam Finals Day.

This is a tremendous achievement for a small village side in its debut hardball season. The most rewarding change has been our shift in mindset, from “Can we win?” to “How do we win?”. Sadly, the Finals Day was postponed due to the ever-unpredictable British weather, but we’ll start next season ready to compete.

Congratulations to our hardball players: Hannah Williams, Ann Wells, Jen Cambell, Maggie Swalwell, Tessa Finger, Sarah Meurer, Natalie Ayling, Hannah Vickery, Brooke Meurer, Bex Samuelson, and our talented juniors who stepped up brilliantly – Fizz Gadd, Jo Nicholls, Lucy Ross-Hurst and Alice Graham-Cloete.
A big thank you also to Peter, for umpiring and offering his support throughout the summer.

A report on this season wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the inaugural Wisborough Green CC Tour, which saw the men’s and women’s teams head off to Dorset. What went on tour will, of course, stay on tour, but it’s safe to say it was a huge success and a weekend full of laughter and outstanding company. We held our own on the (beach) cricket pitch and celebrated late into the night. Last man standing? More like last woman standing!

2025 has truly been a fantastic season, and every member of the squad should be proud. This team thrives on camaraderie, effort, and fun, qualities recognised by our opponents. A player from Slinfold kindly remarked that, whatever the result (and more often than not we were winners), we are their favourite team to play because of the spirit and sportsmanship we bring. A lovely highlight came towards the end of the season at Fernhurst, when they insisted we stay for tea, and what a spread it was, with homemade treats from their families. It was a lovely gesture, echoing the hospitality we offer at every home game. If we’ve started a trend of great cricket, good food, and even better company, we’re all for it.

Well played Wisborough Women, here’s to another exciting season ahead!

Bex Samuelson – Captain Women’s Team

Sunday Supplements

Sunday Supplements Season Report 2025

The Sunday Supplements had a handful of matches played across the summer. Getting a Sunday side out is understandably tricky. People who play league cricket on a Saturday are unlikely to want a further game the next day. Family commitments rightly come first, and even Peter Klein would have to agree – there’s more to life than cricket. Those that do want to play are usually the juniors , who gleefully lap up more cricket (often squeezing in a game on Sunday morning too). At the start of the weekend I am staring at a team sheet with five names on. By Saturday evening this can have swelled to 14. It usually settles on 11 by 1pm on the Sunday.

So a mixture of juniors , dads and part timers are boosted by “special guests” from the 1^st and 2^nd XIs. First team legend James Rainford joined us for the first game of the season. Tim Palmer was a welcome signing later in the season. Jonnny Farmer thoroughly enjoyed his Sunday game. Junior scored a hundred and Jonny nearly did. Tim entertained us with his fielding. Sunday cricket is a great opportunity for the Saturday league players to play themselves into form and I hope more do so.

Phil Magg was a stalwart. Always the first to sign up, the first to offer help recruiting, the first at the ground on the day to help set up. He even baked scones for tea (which thankfully became a common theme from the Maggs family). Wolfie Finger the same (minus the scones). He never minded a second game on a weekend, and his cheerful demeanour was as valuable as his runs and wickets. Nick Reed is a top quality wicket keeper and batman, and we were lucky to have him early in the season. The only think that superseded his talent was his extraordinary mid-season new blonde haircut. If you can look like a pint of Guinness, why not! Tarni Dixon was obviously the rock on which all things were built. While Joshy Dixon was the heart of the team. His smile beaming across the Green, and his confidence that he’ll take 5 wickers every game are what makes my Sundays.  Oscar Warmington, his dad Rupert and brother Ollie, were always keen when available. Oscar had spent much of last season unable to bowl. About 20 overs into our first game in the field this year, he almost apologetically reminded me that he was in fact a bowler and perhaps I might light to give him a go. He took two wickets in his first over and my memory was jogged.

Playing with my Dad growing up, are some of my most treasured recollections. Seeing dads playing God’s game with their sons on a Sunday afternoon, is surely heaven on earth. Harry Maggs opening the batting with his father Phil is something he’ll look back on with great fondness. The same for Buddy Edwardes and his dad Tim, and Josh Braddock and his dad James. His mother Suzana was ever present with her digital scorebook – for which we are so grateful. Sunday cricket is a full family affair. The Dixons, the Dawsons, and a number of other father / son combinations have all enjoyed this gift that Sunday cricket gives. The result of the game won’t stick, but the memory of playing with your dad will be lifelong.

Harry Maggs, Buddy Edwardes and Josh Braddock are rarely far from the Green. Either in the nets or playing a junior game, the years hanging around senior games paid off. Sunday cricket is where promising young players at the club get to experience that first leap into men’s cricket. For the juniors to play alongside grown men, it can only develop their confidence. Seeing the emerging young adults like Will Dixon, Harry Hunter and Oscar hitting 50’s and removing grown men’s stumps from the ground, gives them inspiration for where they could be in a few years. The reality is – these three young boys are vital members of the team and often outshine the senior pros.

Sunday cricket gives opportunities for people to bat higher up the order than they would in a league game, and have a bowl if they fancy it. Even Dave McCullagh! The wicketkeeper role can rotate if the need arises. I try to make sure every player goes home that night having had a chance to contribute. That isn’t always possible in a league game, but if someone volunteers to give the club their time on a Sunday afternoon, I want them to enjoy it. That sometimes means the result is less important than it is on a Saturday, and I’m ok with that. We play against some good players, and the games are always competitive. But I don’t lose any sleep that night if we come second. We played The Ancient Mariners, Crawley Eagles, Believers CC, Twickenham CC, Kenyan Kongonis, Sussex Disability XI, as well as the traditional Presidents Day and Speirs / Vickery Memorial game. I have no idea if we won or lost any of those games, and I see that as a positive. The cricket and the enjoyment of playing on beautiful Wisborough Green were far more important than that.

Chris Marshall – Captain

Under 14

The U14 team won the division III title, losing only one of their twelve fixtures. Their highest score in 20 overs was 175 (v Barns Green) and in one match they bowled a team out for 35 (v Steyning). Some of the players have already represented the club at senior level both in the league and on a Sunday. Next summer there will be several more available and many of them are looking forward to training with the seniors.

Congratulations to all the award winners

Phil Maggs – Coach

An Appeal from the Junior Section

With a record 210 registered junior players this summer, there is a need for us to recruit more junior coaches. Many senior players also have children in the junior set-up, if you are reading this and would like to help coach next summer, please do get in touch with either myself, Tarni or Peter. Please note – mums make great coaches too…… The club will put you through a level 1 coaching course organised by Sussex cricket. There are few more rewarding experiences than watching a junior team come together and improve over a season, I hope some of you will want to get involved next year and be part of this. We really do need your help.

Pics from the season

How the season started – lots of preparation behind the scenes

Skipper Dan Vickery getting into shape by getting that tongue out ..

Club stalwarts – First team umpire Peter Mattock (left) and umpire/scorer Rob Knight

Young guns playing for the Seniors – Harry Maggs (left) and Josh Braddock

Not short of a competitive spirit and banter – Jonny Farmer and Dan Vickery

Hannah Williams and Hannah Vickery in action at the Memorial game

Great to see some club legends at Presidents Day – former club President John Pleasants left and former Club President Tim McMath

Chairman’s end of season wrap

Well what a summer of cricket we have enjoyed this season.

Another record number of matches played across both the senior and junior sections.

The women’s team started hardball cricket for the first time this season, entered the league and won it in their first year – what an achievement! Their championship finals will be held at the beginning of next season at Horsham Cricket Club where I hope there will be a large group of supporters from the Club in attendance.

The 1st XI had a difficult start to the season and did amazingly well at the end to stay in Division 5 for next season. The 2nd XI were in place for promotion and then lost a couple of matches which should have been won to finish mid table – promotion is definitely in the plan for next season. The Sunday Supplements won more games than they lost and had so much fun along the way.

So much cricket has been played by so many of the Juniors this season – probably more than ever in the Club’s history. It is a joy to watch so many girls and boys enjoying the experience of playing cricket on the green from all ages on a Friday evening and then again in matches on a weekend morning and weekday evenings. Special mention should be given to the U14 team who won their league this season and also did tremendously well in the Sussex Junior Cricket Festival in August.

All of the above does not happen without a huge amount of voluntary input from so many people and I would like to thank everyone who has got involved to support the Club this season. Many thanks to the Club Committee (Jenny, Bex, Sarah, Peter, Phil, Dan, Tim, Chris, Mick & Lesley), The Senior Team Captains (Bex, Dan, Tim and Chris ), Phil Maggs and his team of Junior coaches (Alen, Dan, Peter, Adam, Mark, Sarah & Dave) and administrators (Suzana, Emily, Ashley & Chloe), the umpires (Peter & Peter), the scorers (Suzana, Rob & Leslie), the groundsmen (Mick & Lee), the BBQuers on a Friday evening (Mark and his team) and so many more who have helped over the course of this season. We are always looking for more volunteers so if you would like to get involved then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Wishing you all the best over the winter and we look forward to seeing you next season.

Tarni Dixon (Chair, WGCC)

That’s it for the 2025 season – thanks to all those who contributed to Wizzy News during the season – most notably Chris Marshall for the great pics. Enjoy the break and Winter well – see you next season

Cheers

Wizzy