The season is finally upon us! The pre-season formalities have now all been dispensed with, we’re moving into the real business of 18 league games. Great stuff.

Firsts welcome Teddington
The ones couldn’t have been set a tougher task first up; they welcome current MCCL champions Teddington to Twickenham Green.

The side that Teddington come up against will be considerably different from the side they faced twice last season. Carlos Nunes gives league debuts to two players whilst Preet Patel (newly arrived from Brentham) makes his first league appearance in Twickenham colours. Nunes’s side are certainly underdogs, but his newly shuffled pack will quietly be looking to make good on a solid couple of warm up games.

The 1st XI is Carlos Nunes, Blake Cullen, Patrick Dixon, Ben Leale-Green, Mayank Malhotra, Don Manuwelge, Angus McKenzie, Akash Multani, Preet Patel, Gurjit Sandhu and Nev Talbot.

Twos off to Highgate
Nakul Vishvanath is once again at the helm for the 2nd XI and he’ll be looking to go one better than last year’s narrow miss in terms of promotion.

The 2s start their campaign over in the Shepherd’s Cot where they play Highgate. Highgate’s second string have spent a number of years in the top flight and it’s likely they’ll be looking to bounce back from last season’s relegation at the first attempt.

Cam Fraser and John Fisher both make league debuts, whilst it’s good to see Mathu Selvarasa back in action. Adam Mather also makes his 2s debut; he’ll definitely be one to keep an eye on on Saturday.

The full 2nd XI is Nakul Vishvanath, Mo Ahmad, John Fisher, Cameron Fraser, Dave Jones, Tapan Kumar, Adam Mather, Simon Rivers, Sanjit Sandhu, Mathusan Selvarasa and Dev Tomlinson.

Thirds host Finchley
The thirds are plying their trade in Division Two of the third tier this season. Robbie Bosier is the new man on the captaincy block and it’s clear what he wants to do. Get the threes back up into Division One.

Finchley won’t be easy first opponents. They came fourth in this division in 2022 and there’s a fair chance that they’ll be looking to get in on the promotion act themselves.

Bosier has certainly wheeled out the great and the good for the first outing of the campaign. The force of nature that is former 1st XI player Kev Cavilla is in, as are a number of wily old souls; step forward Jonty Hunt, Mark Smith and indeed the redoubtable Nihal Tomar.

The Prince of Broom Road, Oli George, is back in his natural habitat, whilst Hamish Johnston and Praween Siriwardena will be hoping to contribute with both bat and ball. All good.

The 3rd XI is Robbie Bosier, Kevin Cavilla, Olli George, Martin Hedley, Hamish Johnston, Jonty Hunt, Max Hunt, Monish Malhotra, Praween Siriwardena, Mark Smith and Nihal Tomar.

Fours travel to Brentham 3s
The 4s have a very familiar face in charge. Club legend Hinay Dassani is back in the saddle and he, too, will be looking to do what he knows best; win cricket games. Oh, and of course pick up stray cricketers at bus stops, in shopping aisles and whilst they are minding their own business in restaurants. There is, I assure you, no one better in Middlesex at doing all of the above.

Brentham 3s were promoted from Division 4B in 2022 so this will be their first game at the level above. It’ll be interesting to see how they go.

Dassani has, as is his way, a team that mixes experience and youth. Alfie Gales and Jarryd Knott are both promising juniors whilst the likes of Shah Bozdar, Hiran Dissanayake and Colin Blundon have been round the houses more times than they’d care to remember. Former 5th XI skipper Harmeet Singh is also in the side and VP Singh offers plenty with both the ball and when a bit of long-handle is required with the bat.

The 4th XI is Hinay Dassani, Colin Blundon, Shah Bozdar, Hiran Dissanayake, Alfie Gales, Mo Khizzer, Jarryd Knott, Imran Niazai, Karandeep Singh, Harmeet Singh and VP Singh.

Fives host Teddington Fours
The fives start with a mouth-watering local derby against Teddington 4s. Over the years these games have proven to be entertaining encounters and there’s no reason to expect that the 2023 rendez-vouses will be any different.

Chris Wylde is back in the captaincy saddle and he’ll no doubt be looking to hit the ground running. Jonny Bosier, the best all-rounder in the club, is (somehow) still not in Carlos Nunes’s plans, so he plays for the 5s. Thomas Stanton offers a bit of youthful zest, as do the likes of Oliver Prescott-Brann and Harry Tebb.

The words ‘youthful’ and ‘zest’ are only very rarely used in the context of discussing Liam Tebb, Landen Prescott-Brann or 2022 player of the year Zafar Ali. That. however, doesn’t prevent them all from being quietly effective. The 5s enter the new season in quietly confident mood.

The 5th XI is Chris Wylde, Zafar Ali, Jonny Bosier, Saul Croxford, Nilesh Gajjar, Thomas Hopkins, Ryan Oakes, Landen Prescott-Brann, Oliver Prescott-Brann, Harry Tebb and Liam Tebb.