Due to the nature of planning fixtures for our summer friendlies schedule, these games and dates are subject to change.
We will keep this page up to date, and you can follow us on social media for the latest news @EltonParkCricket
Fixtures
Results
Match Reports
13-June-2025
Wansford
After a slightly delayed start, the toss was eventually held out in the middle just before 6pm and having been won by Wansford they elected to bat first.
A particularly muggy evening provided the backdrop for some aggressive opening bowling down the hill from Harish, keeping the Wansford batsmen back in their crease with some good pace and darting accuracy on the off stump. Matt Humphrey provided further pinpoint accuracy up the hill and the EPCC opening bowlers kept the Wansford batters to some slow scoring and removed both openers cheaply with good catches in the field, Percy Robb took a very good catch at square leg in preparation for his bowling spell. Percy and Jack Mills provided some raw pace at first change and despite some valiant efforts in the field, including a full length dive by Charlie Gould to stop a certain 4, the Wansford numbers 3 and 4 dug in and started to build a respectable partnership.
All the while, the crowd gathered on the sidelines and Robbie Mills sparked up the BBQ, the smell of cheeseburgers rallied the EPCC bowlers as Dileep came on with a fiery spell to remove the opposition captain who looked like he was in the mood to swing.
EPCC battled hard in the final overs and both Tom Mills and Dileep kept it tight, Jack Mills nearly took a screamer on the boundary off his brothers bowling, but sadly it didn’t quite stick. A quick over from Trae Morgan at the end and Wansford were restricted to 148, which was under the 150 target that EPCC had given themselves as a target at the start, so confidence was high going in the EPCC chase.
The two Toms opened up for EPCC with some fluent shots before both were bowled by ones that kept a little low. A the heat of the day dried the pitch and the clouds rolled over to offer up some movement for the Wansford bowlers batting back tricker. But Charlie Gould came in and hit a couple of nice shots to the boundary before being another batsmen bowled. Despite some fast scoring from the top three it came down to Stuart Elderkin and the stand in skipper, Bert Troughton to steady the ship and try and bat out some of the overs. Stuart worked the fielders well nicking singles here and there whilst Bertie provided some quicker scoring from the other end only to be given out, caught behind, on 25, nearing retirement. Wansford were convinced they had heard a noise, but the noise of Bertie’s bat crashing against the changing room wall suggested he thought he may have been unlucky to be given out….Friday the 13th had struck!!!
There were some valiant efforts further down the line. Percy tried to hit one out of the village…..but missed it, Trae gloved one behind after scoring a couple of nice singles, and it became the Job of Matt and the lower order to try and get EPCC over the line. The White Ball was called for as the light faded further and this helped Matt to hit some great blows, including a mighty hit to the boundary which looked like it had gone for six for all money, before he was caught in the deep going for another big hit. Likewise Jack Mills hit two stylish fours before being caught as well. Harish reverse swept his first ball out to the boundary for one to show some skill but he and Dileep couldn’t quite get EPCC over the line, falling 22 runs short of our 149 target.
A great evening of cricket was had by all, delicious burgers cooked by Rob Mills who had cut short his day at Lords to come and man the BBQ which was hugely appreciated, and plenty of drinks flowing from Jim’s bar kept the evening going until the sun had gone down. No victory this time for the in form EPCC, but further signs of encouragement all over the pitch!
06-June-2025
Howitzers (away)
Elton Park batted first in what turned out to be a pretty comprehensive display of village T20 action in all departments.
Under a moody but dry sky Arunn and Will opened the batting. Despite Will’s golden duck, his son Harry and Arunn laid a productive and careful opening stand before Arunn was caught forcing the pace. Joined by Stuart, Harry then moved up a gear with some lovely classical cricket shot’s eventually falling for a useful 26. Enter the first of EPCC’s three biffers in Neil Welsh. With both Stuart and Neil pushing on, a decent but unspectacular first half of the innings had us 60 for 3 off 10 overs.
Shoulders opened and the fireworks began. Neil’s busy 12 and Stuart’s 31 retired brought the skipper and Connor to the crease. The last 7 overs went for over 10 an over with Connor smashing 17 off the 19th at what must have been a strike rate of over 200. With both batters retiring on 30 EPCC had set an imposing total of 153 for 4.
Harish and Dileep then opened the bowling keeping the oppo under pressure with Kevin’s usual tidy keeping in gloomy light to a moving ball. Stuart continued his historic strong catching track record at Conington snaffling a sharp slash from Harish’s second over. And by the time Connor had removed the Howitzer’s smooth looking skipper and Harry had skittled Howitzer’s patron, both in their opening overs, the oppo were under heavy run rate and wicket pressure. Trae Morgan weaved away keeping it tight with the skipper’s dibbly dobblers from the other end. But Will K’s opening over turned out to just be the loosener he suggested as his crafty off spin produced 2 good wickets across a devastating 4 over spell. Trae’s final over took his second wicket in EPCC history and sealed the Howitzer’s fate.
Using 9 bowlers EPCC won by 42 runs. As usual the game was played in great spirit with the Howitzers’s ground looking nearly as smart as Elton Park all topped off by fine pizza and beer.
30-May-2025
Cambs. Fire and Rescue
As one of the club’s favourite annual fixtures, last night’s game once again provided a special and memorable evening. The Fire Service won the toss and despite some concern and careful negotiation decided to bat. Elton Park were fielding a particularly strong side with no weak links. Matthew Borley, a recent recruit opened on debut down the hill from the park end, demonstrating immediately a bright future potential to come for EPCC. Dileep, bowling a similar tight line, kept the Fire Service pinned down with the stifled run rate inevitably bringing a swing, miss and removed middle stump, followed by a sharp run out. Pev made a break through as first change bowler in his second over. Both Matt Humphrey and Tom Mills again kept tight lines before Rory, promoted to 5th change bowler, opened with a double wicket maiden, weaving a devastating spell of 4 wickets for 4 runs off 2 overs. He was supported by faultless EPCC fielding with Dave Rutherford taking an exceptional instinctive catch from behind the stumps. Three final memorable moments completed the Fire Service’s down fall, even as they played their trump card of distracting the supporters with their Big Red fire engine. Firstly Trae Morgan, seemingly having reconstructed his bowling action over the winter, took his maiden EPCC wicket, exploiting some uneven bounce in dislodging middle stump. But two champagne “Matthew” moments summed up an exceptional EPCC afternoon in the field; Matthew Borley took a sensational leaping one handed catch in the deep while Matt Humphrey threw the stumps down with a stunning direct hit run out. Despite the skipper playing his second delivery down the Piccadilly line while the ball swung off the Victoria line clipping off stump, thumping, elegant and effective batting from Connor, Tom and Pev saw EPCC romp home to the modest 68 run target in just 10 overs. The Fire Service set a second target of 75 runs of 10 overs with 6 wickets which EPCC’s lower order and not so tail like tail, knocked off with a few overs to spare.
The reassuring norms were all on display; Jim’s flowing bar, Tom’s delicious burger BBQ, strong support and a beautiful sunset over the brow of Elton Park’s horizon. Thanks as always to the Fire Service for turning out their players, fire engine and to whenever the dangers of an emergency require it.
24-May-2025
Khalsa
Elton Park CC took on Khalsa Development XI, on a windy Saturday afternoon at Elton Park. After a powerful start with the bat, Elton lost their openers Tom Mills and Arun Natarajan to a stunning direct hit run out and a good catch. Bertie Troughton and Rory Aitken then laid some foundations for a decent team score, with 20 and 39 apiece, but the Khalsa bowling was consistently straight, and hard to score from, leading to some rash shots in an attempt for boundaries, and an Elton middle order collapse, with only Neil Welsh causing damage with his powerful 18.
Special mention to Rosie Rutherford who came in at 11 in her first cricket match ever, in the final over, and hit it straight back past the bowler for her first run. A total of 126 was still creditable in tough batting conditions.
Elton bowled well, and never let the Khalsa batters get away, but equally didn’t manage to take enough wickets, aside from an early brilliant direct hit run out from Dileep from the boundary, and a late flurry of wickets.
The match came down to the final over, with 4 needed from the final 4 balls. A fine boundary finished it off and Khalsa were victorious. With just a few more runs on the board it could have been a different story.
Some notable moments were:
• Three superb catches in the swirling wind: two by Neil Welsh, and one by Harish.
• An excellent caught behind taken by Dave Rutherford off Dileep’s bowling.
• The Elton captain doing a circus impression juggling and then dropping a catch after 6 comical attempts to hold on.
• 18-year old Charlotte Aylmore’s excellent off spin spell which pinned back the Khalsa batters.
16-May-2025
Short Legs
For their opening match of the 2025 season, Elton Park CC took on regular opposition The Short Legs. In 3 seasons Elton had never got the better of the local farmers, with their fast bowling and aggressive batting, so the stakes were high for the home team to deliver this time.
The sun shone, the spectators arrived in great numbers, the bar thrived, and the barbecue sold out of burgers, so it couldn’t have gone better off the pitch.
On the pitch, The Short Legs set off with some good batting, but despite a bit of rust in the Elton players’ techniques coming out of the winter season, the quality shone through, and wickets started to fall, so they never got away. Connor McNaughton bowled out two of the opposition batters in two balls, and narrowly missed out on a hat trick with the third. Bertie Troughton took a notable caught and bowled, and all the bowlers chipped in with a wicket or two, helped on occasion by the occasional uneven bounce on the first wicket of the season. The Short Legs were bowled out for 98, a respectable score with some gremlins in the pitch leading to nervous batting, so nothing could be taken for granted, especially with Elton having been prone to a batting collapse in their previous season.
Elton started well, and made light of the variable bounce, with debutant Tom Naylor Leyland, skipper Rory Aitken, and Tom Mills fluently contributing good knocks; the captain nearly carried his bat, but fell while trying a big swing near the end. Tom Mills hit it so hard he gave himself a nose bleed and had to leave the field, but returned to the middle, after a cameo from his father, to finish it off with Connor McNaughton. In the penultimate over, with 5 wickets down, and the sun close to setting, Connor brought it home with a powerful boundary, and a long-awaited victory for the home side was complete.
Special thanks to all the Elton Park CC volunteers who have patiently prepared the ground through the winter, and set up for our third season in style, with a thriving social scene around the boundary, providing a fun evening for all both on a off the pitch.
A great start to the season, long may it continue…
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28-June
Strokers
Yet another classic match against The Strokers!
Elton had possibly its strongest batting line up of the season, with 3 of the top 5 batters – C.McNaughton, S.Elderkin and C.Paton – hitting the T20 retirement score of 30, including some spectacular sixes; and the others admirably keeping up a competitive run rate which left The Strokers with 133 to chase.
Despite some good Elton bowling, The Strokers found enough balls to hit to keep the runs ticking over, until that made Connor McNaughton sufficiently fired up to find the extra mph on his deliveries which the batters couldn’t handle, and he sent all of their top 3 back to the pavilion with stumps clattered. Then some ill-advised Strokers running to Jack Mills in the field led to an easy run out. Still, the Strokers stayed in the game, and the Elton captain’s hopes they would be bowled out in under 16 overs didn’t pan out, leading to the captain and vice captain needing to bowl two overs each to finish off.
The VC R.Mills kept it tight and took another wicket, but the captain’s part-time straight spin wasn’t the dream death bowling, and an ominous Strokers’ six landing halfway to the Hall had Elton nerves jangling in the final over. Fortunately a slow straight ball punished the penultimate batter’s huge swing, leaving the Strokers with one wicket remaining, and the oppo captain coming to the crease needing all boundaries, which proved just too much, and Elton won with 7 runs to spare.
Another wonderful evening of cricket played in the best of spirits by both teams, with thanks to the excellent group of supporters from the village who cheered and jeered when needed, and availed themselves of the superb burgers and bar provided by the wonderful EPCC volunteers
Rory
21-June
Cuckoos
Match report for last night’s game vs Cuckoo’s played under glorious summer solstice skies at Elton Park.
Runs, the bar and village community spirit all flowed freely as a warm but competitive game unfolded. EPCC put on a good total of 119 anchored by Tom Mills’s 30 (retired). Contributions then followed from most EPPC batsmen. The innings was paced nicely with everyone having time at the crease and batting with urgency without recklessness.
The Cuckoo’s were straight in their lines and strong in the field. An excellent quick pulled pork bun, courtesy of Trae’s over night smoker and it was the Cuckoo’s turn.
EPPC had good depth in the bowling though we were missing our regular wicket keeper Kevin Durham who had stepped up for the Cuckoo’s. Tight lines from Angus Hammond Chambers and the ever reliable Matt Humphrey restricted the batsmen from a flying start. Connor and Bertie then started making in roads and with wickets beginning to tumble we looked pretty comfortable.
The Cuckoo’s responded with some strong middle order biffing leaving a tense 25 required from 3 overs. A crucial wicket and retirement meant the stand in skipper had to see out the last over without too much stress. With 10 required of the last two balls EPPC sneaked home and won with a few runs to spare.
The real winner was cricket with everyone taking part and the spirit of the game summed up by the Cuckoo’s confirming a freak bounce off one of their fielders boots on the boundary was a six rather than four. The season and the weather are hotting – everyone’s encouraged and welcomed to get involved in the next game coming up this Friday.
Robbie
14-June
Barrowden
It didn’t look like it was going to happen. An hour before the game at Elton Park was due to start against a very capable Barrowden side, there was the typically English scene of a group of forlorn cricketers sheltering from the rain trying to convince each other that there was lighter sky on the horizon. Unusually, they were right, as shortly afterwards the cricketing gods suddenly presented a bright warm evening felicitous for cricket.
Stand in captain Stuart Elderkin won the toss and put the visitors in to bat. Tight bowling kept the Barrowden run rate low and Elton took two early wickets reducing the visitors to 11 for 2 after 4 overs. The Barrowden middle order rallied, and kept the scoreboard moving despite an unusually lively pitch, which produced several deliveries which lifted sharply to the surprise of batsmen and close fielders alike. As a result of the tight bowling Elton limited Barrowden to 102 for 6 after 20 overs. Stand out performances for Elton were from the Mills brothers who bowled the opening overs, with Tom taking 4 wickets for 23 runs and Jack bowling 4 overs and conceding just 8 runs. For Barrowden , E B Athley scored a competent 21, and A Hall a skillful 31 not out.
In reply, Elton produced a solid batting performance, which kept pace with the required run rate with contributions from all batsmen, but most notably from Bertie Troughton and Connor McNaughton who jointly secured the win by accelerating the scoring rate in the last few overs, steering Elton to a total of 105 for 4 with just over an over to spare. Bertie finished on a very competent 21 not out, and Connor with a typically pugnacious 32 not out, hitting a boundary to end the game.
In addition to the match report above, I would like to add that the bar and barbeque provided for players and spectators during and after the game was very well received and much appreciated by all. Massive thanks to Jim McKillop (bar) and also to Wendy Brooks and Mark Cross (barbeque) for all the hard work involved in setting up and serving during and after the game. And thanks to those fine people and also to Jack and Emma Mills and Helena McKillop for all the the tidying up afterwards!
Kevin
07-June
Short Legs
Having lost the toss and fielded first the steady stream of bowled EPCC batsmen returning to the pavilion, meant a very enjoyable game against old arch rivals the Short Legs ended in modest defeat. Despite this, our third fixture delivered many highlights continuing the theme of “firsts”.
The two standout moments came from EPCC on the field. Kevin Durham, first choice wicket keeper, is widely established as the safest gloveman over the last three years. What we saw last night was the first evidence of Kevin’s flare and brilliance instinctively diving to his right, the ball lodging in an outstretched glove from a rapid edge off Connor’s pacy bowling. Outstanding.
Trae Morgan delivered three memorable firsts. Having smoked for 9 hours 2 shoulders of pork the BBQ fare was for the first time truly at a U.S.A. standard. This was followed up by his first wicket, a gun barrel straight ball removing middle stump. And these achievements along with Trae’s first attempt at opening the batting were in no way diminished by his first golden duck.
Other contributions to note include Tom Klimes’ brilliant BBQ operation, Bertie’s probing spin bowling, Connor’s biffing rear guard action at number 9 and some inexplicable dodgy leadership from the stand-in captain, who had no one to blame except himself, having lent the Short-legs his youngest son Tom Mills to make up their numbers, was then bowled by the same.
The philosophical Neil Welsh, summed up the game pointing out that if his former student opening for the Short Legs had not scored 30 of 10 balls we would have squeaked home.
Must mention how well Mike Robinson’s pitch is playing, exceptional the ground is looking, and what a super atmosphere there was with so many spectators from the village enjoying Jim’s brilliant Bar and Trae’s succulent pulled Pork served by BBQ king Tom K.
Robbie
31-May
Cambs Fire & Rescue
Great match last night, well played Elton, a commanding win over Cambs Fire & Rescue CC. Some strong performances with bat and ball, and two hat trick balls from Tom Mills and Neil Welsh.
Despite the lack of warmth, also a great turnout of supporters, and even a fire engine. Special mention to the Treasurer Robbie Mills who gave up his place in the team to flip burgers, and sold 80 of them (!) alongside barman extraordinaire Jim McKillop.
Look out for photos on our social media in the next few days. Meanwhile the EPCC stumpcam captured some wickets, including Tom Mills’s twizzling bail, and Neil Welsh’s twizzling ball…
Rory
18-May
Khalsa
An excellent opening to the Elton Park CC season. Having sadly had to cancel last year’s game with new opponents local team Khalsa, it was great to make this a fixture of notable firsts.
There were excellent debuts for Elton Par CC from Trae Morgan, Bertie Troughton, Al Church and young Jack Humphrey. Bertie’s beguiling spin took several wickets followed by proper biffing with the bat later. Khalsa batted first and were kept quiet from tight opening bowlers JJ and Matt. But with only one wicket down, albeit a super bowled by Matt, their middle order began to settle in. The stand-in Captain and Jon H took some punishment but Trae kept EPCC in the hunt with his first catch, an outstanding one on the boundary, to a carefully laid trap. Coming back at the end of the innings, Matt H took a superb return catch off his own bowling and JJ finally got a deserved wicket knocking out middle stump. Still 169 after two hours off 31 overs, even with 8 wickets down looked a reasonably tough target.
The one hope was a wicket prepared by Mike R that was playing very true with decent and even bounce. Other firsts from JJ opening and Kevin in at 3 helped see off the opening bowlers. All of this was beautifully recorded also for the first time by David Stowbridge, EPCC’s new official scorer. It had become clear from his careful and meticulous scorecard that Khalsa’s team of Singh’s were indeed all from one family. So even though they were playing 10 (huge thanks to Dave Rutherford for making them up to 11) the family bonds and organisation began to tell on the pitch. EPCC wickets started to tumble and the careful start, particularly anchored by James Grigson’s opening knock, began to stutter. Slightly rusty and self inflicted mistakes from our middle order, including the stand in captain playing all around a vicious in swinger from 15 year old Singh caused a collapse.
As the sun came out, after a lavish tea prepared by and with huge thanks to Wendy Durham and Emma Mills, the remaining EPCC batsmen seemed rather too eager to sample the new Elton Park bar, also making its debut. Jim McKillop ran a class offering – if only the batting had matched the bar’s high standards. Huge thanks to Jim. EPCC ended the day both short on runs and out of batsmen around the 26th over.
Despite the convincing loss it was a very memorable game with a friendly opponent who despite the mixture of ages were canny and well drilled.
The standout cricketing highlight, heavily cheered, was actually a second. The legend that is James Anderson scoring his second highest run in his distinguished batting career!
Robbie