A triumph of leadership

Blondin Park, 10/3/2026

Strongroom won by 2 wickets
London Capital: 237-8
Strongroom: 241-8

View the Scorecard

Match report in the style of David Brent, former Regional Manager, Wernham Hogg, Slough Branch. Currently involved in various leadership, motivational and sporting initiatives.

A word from David
Hello. David Brent here. Some of you may know me from my work in management. Others from my music. And a few, possibly, from television. Not important.

I've been asked to write this cricket report because, apparently, I have a way with words. Which is nice. I've always believed that sport and business are essentially the same thing. Both involve teamwork, leadership, communication and, occasionally, someone getting caught out when they shouldn't have been.

Anyway. Cricket.

Strongroom Cricket Club travelled from North London to Blondin Park, Boston Manor. Artificial wicket, hard outfield, slightly rough around the edges. Bit like some of the lads. Only joking. Banter. Important in any high-performing organisation.

Dave Proctor was captaining against Arif's London Capitals, mostly from East London. Different backgrounds, different cultures, one shared objective. Well, two objectives, technically, because both teams wanted to win. But that's diversity. Something I've always championed. Long before it became fashionable.

Strongroom lost the toss. London Capitals batted. No problem. You can't control the toss. You can only control your response to the toss. That's leadership.

Danish Khan (36) and Guli (49) started strongly, although both played and missed repeatedly against debutant Ali Jutt, a friend of Farooq's, who generated genuine pace, bounce and lovely away swing. Very unlucky not to take a wicket, particularly when Danish survived an LBW appeal that was absolutely plumb. Sometimes talent goes unrecognised. I've experienced that myself. Not bitter. Just saying.

Rashid (28) looked ominous until Jazzman Singh produced an absolute peach, jagging back to demolish the top of middle and off. Bails everywhere. Beautiful. Rashid looked devastated. One minute you're regional sales director, next minute security's walking you out with your belongings in a cardboard box. We've all been there. Well, not all of us.

Jazz took two wickets, Farooq one, while fellow debutant Prabh bowled a lovely, controlled spell. London Capitals were suddenly in difficulty. A few middle-order redundancies. Difficult decisions, but sometimes you've got to streamline.

Then Zubair arrived. Big unit. Fifty-four not out. Absolutely enormous sixes. Proper alpha male stuff. Not toxic masculinity. Just masculinity. There's a difference.

Anup Patel (11*) provided excellent support, as he'd done with Rashid a few weeks earlier. Quietly effective. Knows his place in the partnership. Not in a hierarchical sense. Obviously.

London Capitals finished on 237–7. The Strongroom assessment had been that 225 was par. So, broadly speaking, the assessment was correct. Twelve runs out. That's about five per cent. You'd take that in most industries.

Tea: 8/10. Excellent South Asian nibbles and outstanding masala chai from Arif's team. Multiculturalism in action. I don't see colour. I see people. And occasionally samosas. Could've been nine, but you've got to leave room for improvement. Otherwise people get complacent.

Strongroom's innings began badly. Nick Soedjanto and Prabh both fell to Arif, who was bowling beautifully, swinging the ball away from a full length. Two down early. Some people started looking worried. I wasn't. I was focused. Calm. Like a swan. All the activity happening underneath.

Then Jon Gower (57) and Vinay (42) put on a hundred for the third wicket. Proper partnership. Trust. Mutual respect. Two individuals operating as one integrated delivery unit.

At halfway, Strongroom were around 110–2. Excellent platform.

Then Jon and Vinay both ran themselves out.

Now, the opposition weren't exactly blessed with electric fielding. No disrespect. Good lads. Experienced. Some of them had probably been fielding since decimalisation. But neither batsman needed to attempt a second run.

And yet they did.

Both of them.

Which shows ambition. Perhaps too much ambition. But I'd rather have someone who occasionally overreaches than someone who sits there doing nothing. That's my philosophy. You won't find that in a textbook.

Actually, you might. I've not checked.

Subhan then played beautifully for 29 before being dismissed by the first ball of Danish's eighth over. Slight problem: the maximum permitted spell was seven.

There followed five minutes of heated discussion. Scorebook confusion. Regulatory uncertainty. People talking over each other. Frankly, it reminded me of a particularly difficult quarterly review.
Now, I'm not a stickler for rules. I'm a people person. But seven means seven. Unless, after consultation with key stakeholders, it means eight. Which it apparently did.

Subhan remained out. The game moved on. No grudges. Although I think it's important that the incident is documented. For transparency.

Strongroom needed around 70 from eight overs. Difficult, but achievable. You have to believe. If you don't believe in yourself, who will? Apart from your mum, obviously.

Jazzman (19), Snoop (10) and Dave Proctor (15) all contributed. Not headline figures, but good, solid performances. The sort of people who don't necessarily win Employee of the Month but keep the whole operation functioning.

Suddenly, eight needed from the final over.

Farooq on strike.

Now, this is where leadership gets interesting. You can spend all afternoon talking about strategy, but eventually someone has to deliver. And Farooq delivered. Second ball. Fourth ball. Eight runs. Match won.

Four balls into the final over.

No fuss. No PowerPoint presentation. Just results.

Farooq finished 14 not out, supported by Mario (1*), making a rare appearance with the bat. And let's not overlook Mario. One run might not sound much, but he was there at the end. Sometimes the most important thing you can do for your team is simply not get involved unnecessarily.

I've always said that.

A magnificent game. Wonderful weather. Great opposition. Excellent spirit. Some superb bowling, powerful hitting, questionable running and a minor constitutional crisis.

And what did we learn?

Well, Ali Jutt and Prabh showed promise. Jazz delivered a breakthrough. Zubair demonstrated the importance of raw power. Farooq closed the deal. And Jon and Vinay put together a hundred-run partnership before both being dismissed through what I'd describe as excessive entrepreneurial enthusiasm.

Not mistakes. Learning opportunities.

Because cricket isn't really about winning.

It's about the journey.

Although Strongroom did win.

Which makes the journey better.

Strongroom Cricket Club. Delivering excellence through people.

David Brent, Former Regional Manager. Motivational Speaker. Cricket Enthusiast. Available for corporate events, after-dinner speaking and selected sporting engagements. Fees negotiable.

In the scene below we see the magnificent scenes under a blue, autumnal sky at Blondin Park





Written By: J.Gower