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Strongroom’s most memorable matches
Featured below are a selection of the most incredible, memorable, absurd, ridiculous, compelling, and intense cricketing experiences from over five decades of Strongroom cricketing action.
Bum-squeakers with happy endings:
▶ Strongroom beat LBS by 2 runs: Highgate Wood, 2006
The irrepressible Rich Woolhouse stars with bat (95) and ball (5-45), culminating in his gloriously topsy-turvy final over (3 wickets, 2 wides), with London Business School (LBS) requiring just five runs to win.
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▶ Strongroom beat Erratics by 2 runs: Harberton, Devon, 2022
Wonderful innings’ earlier in the day from Ankit Chandna (63) and Henry Davey (53) nicely set up what turned into an epic thriller that ebbed and flowed its way to the final delivery, which Henry delivered with effective precision.
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▶ Strongroom beat Rwanda A by D/L method: Kigali, Rwanda, 2020
Strongroom expected the worst after posting a paltry 96 against a national XI, but the opposition just couldn’t compute the bowling of Joe Rahman, who ran through them like a knife through butter, taking all eight wickets and leaving them teetering at 52-8 when ominous storm clouds finally burst. The algorithm of Duckworth & Lewis was applied, and we were duly awarded the match.
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▶ Strongroom beat Village by 1 wicket: Highgate Wood, 2017
David Proctor digs deeper than anyone has ever dug, and canny Riaz Ashraf is his perfect and final partner, as this redoubtable pair steer Strongroom to a highly improbable win, in what was an angry and feisty affair.
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▶ Strongroom beat Jesmond Jaguars by 2 wickets: Highgate Wood, 2020
Chasing a target of 203, theatrical troubadour Paul Lichtenstern (69) leads our run chase, but a flurry of wickets soon follow his dismissal, and it’s left to stand-in skipper Vinay to crack a four off the penultimate ball to win an epic thriller.
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▶ Strongroom beat Village by 3 wickets,: Highgate Wood, 2015
Please, just take a look at this scorecard. Our run-chase is reflected in the absurdly top-heavy scorecard, where Mitch Nicholson’s 119* stands alone - apart from another lower-order classic contribution from who else but Riaz (22*), which helps guide us to an unlikely victory.
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Bum-squeakers with unhappy endings:
▶ Symbiosis Centre beat Strongrom by 1 wicket: Delhi, India, 2013
Cricket doesn't get much more intense than this. Following an epic partnership of 167 between Jon Gower and David Proctor, a shattered Strongroom XI are defeated at the final hurdle of their first overseas tour, among wild and delirious scenes under floodlights at the Gyan Bharati School, Delhi. This momentous match is superbly documented in a wonderful match report by Will Davies.
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▶ Jesmond Jaguars beat Strongroom by 1 wicket: Highgate Wood, 2005
Our first outing against Jesmond Jaguars ends in a penultimate-ball thriller, with the visitors pulling off an outrageous win as their final pair of Eccles and Mounsey put on a 75-run stand to bring about a most improbable victory.
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▶ Oli’s Outlaws beat Strongroom by 2 runs: Highgate Wood, London, 1995
Strongroom fell agonisingly short in their pursuit of 111, losing Madness frontman Suggs to a duck first-up, and despite contributions from Adrian Horne (20 runs, 5-26), Andy Melluish and Phil James, it was not quite enough to get us over the line.
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▶ Gardeners beat Strongroom by 9 runs: Toddington Manor, 2007
An unlikely lower-order Jon Gower six-hitting frenzy takes us deep into an improbable run-chase at Toddington Manor.
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▶ West XI beat Strongroom by 1 wicket: Highgate Wood, London, 1999
Strongroom made 145-9 batting first, with Mark Mellor, Omar Dobouny, Pete Cannon and Simon Ray all making contributions with the bat. West XI lose wickets consistently, but Wright (39*) at no.7 holds it together, and despite wickets from Mellor, Dobouny and Rich Woolhouse, the visitors find their way to the target with just two balls remaining.
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▶ Gaieties beat Strongroom by 2 wickets: Regents Park, London, 2010
What appeared to be a regulation and trouble-free run chase for Gaieties was dramatically derailed by a hostile Marty Newkirk and a resurgent Rich Woolhouse, and which so nearly resulted in a shock turnaround.
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Ties!:
▶ Strongroom tie with Gaieties: Highgate Wood, London, 2017
408 runs, 15 wickets, 480 deliveries, and this seesawing match is tied off the very last ball. This epic encounter featured runs from Mitch, J.Gower, Thurston, and Gwyn, and wickets for D.Gower. Incredible scenes!
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▶ Strongroom tie with Jesmond Jaguars: Highgate Wood, London, 2025
20 years on from our first epic encounter, and Jaguars enter the final over requiring just three runs to win, with four wickets in-hand. What happens next? Legendary returnee Marty Newkirk removes four batters. Simple.
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Astonishing U-turns:
▶ Strongroom beat Hobgoblin Nomads by 85 runs: Sidcup, 2013
Batting first, and at 87-8, Strongroom were clearly underperforming, and heading for a weak sub-100 total. However, the pairing of David Proctor (80*) and Grant Dixon (58*) proved magical, as this pair got Strongroom to a formidable 206, and in doing so established a (still unbeaten) record 119* partnership for the 9th wicket. James Schneider picked up the baton with the ball, and took a hat-trick in his 5-17.
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▶ Strongroom beat Bohemians by 4 wickets: Crouch End, London, 2010
At 118-6, opening bat Jimmy Hall was running out of viable batting partners, and Strongroom were struggling in their bid to hunt down 215. However, the 7th wicket witnessed a remarkable and match-winning record partnership (99*) between Jimmy Hall (94*) and Simon Ray (43*), and getting us over line with two overs to spare.
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▶ Harberton beat Strongroom by 16 runs: Harberton, Devon, 2020
From all angles, this was a most absurd defeat. Chasing 120 to win, Strongroom are well placed at 101-4, but then lose six wickets for three runs. How do such things happen?
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Thumping wins over strong opposition:
▶ Strongroom beat Gaieties by 100 runs: Highgate Wood, London, 2025
After 15 years of pain (albeit with the exception of a singular T20 win, which never satisfied the purists), we finally got one over the hitherto impregnable Gaieties. Chasing a paltry 132 to win, Gaieties were scuttled for a meagre 31. Scenes!
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▶ Strongroom beat Jesmond Jaguars by 145 runs: Dulwich, London, 2010
A huge, stonking defeat of a strong Jaguars XI. Highlights included 50s for Rich Woolhouse, David Gower, and Mark Mellor (including a vast six over an oak tree), and Ujjal Roy’s first 5-fer.
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▶ Strongroom beat Pacific by 149 runs: Wray Crescent, London, 2009
A dominant team performance, featuring a pugnacious 92 from Queenslander Ken Park, sets the platform for a thumping win against a strong Pacific XI, and provides a fitting finale to our best-ever season.
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Total meltdowns:
▶ Dar Legends beat Strongroom by 37 runs: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2022
A ragged and end-of-tour-shattered Strongroom drop a remarkable 13 catches in our final tour match in Dar es Salaam, in what degenerated into a collective meltdown, compounded by blistering hot weather and an abrasive outfield.
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▶ Budleigh Salterton beat Strongroom by 206 runs: Budleigh Salterton, 2022
A depleted, knackered, aged and incomplete (9) Strongroom touring team takes on a youthful, talented and highly energetic league team, on a searingly hot day on the South Devon coast. The result was never in doubt.
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▶ Brumby’s beat Strongroom by 202 runs: Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2016
Tim Moore’s first delivery of the game (and tour) gets smashed for a straight 4, while Ian Hutchroft’s is hoisted onto the stadium roof and onto the adjacent highway. The opposition go on to amass 361 in 40 overs, their first-class batter (obviously) notches a ton, while we desperately cling onto life in the sanity-sapping 36 degrees of downtown Colombo. Meanwhile, 150 miles to the south, messrs Proctor, Wilson and Kelly are living it up in the beachside bars and clubs of Mirissa. Welcome to Sri Lanka.
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▶ Jesmond Jaguars beat Strongroom by 54 runs: Highgate Wood, London, 2018
Chasing a mere 131 to win, a strong Strongroom batting lineup are ruthlessly dismantled by Eccles and Mounsey at our home ground. Total rout. 76 all out.
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Curiously memorable:
▶ Strongroom beat Exiles by 5 wickets: Highgate Wood, London, 2001
This was our final grudge-clash with Exiles, and a whingeing yet highly entertaining match report (by Exiles) suitably brings closure to this infamous era of feisty encounters.
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▶ Strongroom beat Valkyries by 9 wickets: Somewhere in Surrey, 2003
A big win over a weak opposition in scorching temperatures at a tiny ground in the depths of the Surrey countryside, in a bizarre day-out featuring a Chris Woolhouse 6-fer, a comical and asymmetric partnership between a diligent David Gower (11*) and belligerent David Proctor (79*), and, lastly, we watch Morris Dancers doing their crazy medieval shit outside the local pub. What’s not to like?
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▶ Pacific beat Strongroom by 7 wickets: Wray Crescent, London, 2024
Strongroom arrived for our end-of-season fixture at Wray Crescent with supreme confidence in our uber-strong batting line-up, and the 300+ artificial surface . Upon winning the toss we wasted no time in deciding to bat first, yet after half an hour found ourselves at 23-6, courtesy of two mind-bending swing bowlers. In the face of this onslaught, opening batter Jon Gower channels his inner Boycott/Tavare, resulting in a bloody-minded 22* off 111 deliveries. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t fun. What was it exactly?
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