It was a positive week of cricket for Rayleigh CC, with four wins from six league fixtures and a first Veterans victory of the season to celebrate. The timing couldn’t be better, with President’s & Cricket Week now under a week away.
Leading the charge on Saturday were the 1st and 2nd XIs, who both toppled Totham in their respective fixtures. The 1st team were put in to bat on a green wicket and posted a solid 319-7, anchored by a sublime innings from Sam Keene (79 from 100), well supported by James Ellis (50 from 47) and Sam Harmsworth (43 from 47). A brilliant late assault from Sam Verrinder (48 from 24) and Siva Ranjan (25 from 9) – putting on 64 together – along with Jason Ox (35 from 22) pushed Rayleigh well beyond par. With the ball, Rayleigh took full advantage of the green deck, Danny Frost (3-19), Sam Verrinder (2-34) and Mihir Patel (2-35) doing the damage to seal the win. View the full scorecard here.
The 2nd XI made similarly short work of Great Totham at home. Despite a strong start from the visitors, Rayleigh bowled Totham out for 152 thanks to excellent spells from Sangeet Prasad (2-31), Nick Green (3-48) and Sam Skillett (3-21), with some late bunny hunting from Tom Peppiatt (2-14) wrapping up the tail. Andy Barker (64), ably supported by Skipper Richard Nolde (37), then chased down the total inside 24 overs. View the full scorecard here, or watch highlights from the game below.
The 4th XI put on a show at Southchurch Park. Batting first, Rayleigh posted a commanding 297-6 from their 40 overs, headlined by Terry Martin’s maiden career century (129) and some big hitting from Shane McDonagh (41* from 24). Although Terry starred with the bat, Chloe Martin stole the show with the ball – taking four wickets in just 18 balls. Shane McDonagh (3-18) and Cam Mantle (2-28) chipped in with economical spells of their own, bundling the opposition out for 87 to seal a massive 210 run victory.
The final league win came courtesy of a gutsy performance from the 5th XI. Rayleigh bowled Eastwood out for 157, with Tobias Allen (3-17) and David Archer (3-27) leading the attack. In response, Rayleigh started shakily and found themselves 32-5. Enter Brad Walker (57) and Mark Bailey (54), who batted with composure and drew on all their years of experience to navigate a tricky pitch with variable bounce, guiding the 5ths home with four overs to spare. View the full scorecard here.
Presidents Week
We’re gearing up for one of the highlights of the Rayleigh CC calendar. The 2026 President’s Week runs from Monday 27th July to Sunday 2nd August and there’s something on every day – midweek fixtures, Veterans cricket, a Colts Day, Women’s XI action, a full Saturday of league games, and the annual Six-a-Side tournament to wrap it all up.
Thanks to significant interest in the Monday and Tuesday friendly games, we’ve been able to put out two varied teams across both days. Richard Nolde skippers the Monday game against Basildon, which will be live streamed and scored, while Tom Peppiatt leads the side against Wickford on Tuesday. The bar will be open throughout the day for both fixtures, so if you fancy watching Milchard and Pep’s attempt to keep wicket, come down!
Beyond the opening two days, there’s plenty more to look forward to across the week. Wednesday brings a real showcase for the youth game, with Rawreth Lane hosting the Essex CCC Girls U13s and U16s in representative fixtures – the U16s taking on Kent and Surrey, and the U13s facing Kent. Thursday sees the Veterans back in action against Billericay, while an Invitational XI heads down to Bromley for a fixture against Old Wilsonians CC 1st XI. Friday means an afternoon Colts Day followed by the Women’s XI hosting Maldon. The week then builds to its traditional finale, a full Saturday of league cricket on 1st August, and the ever-popular Six-a-Side Tournament on Sunday to close things out. Whether you’re playing, watching, umpiring, scoring or just propping up the bar, we’d love to see as many members, families and friends down at the club as possible across the week.
This Week at the club
We’ve got another busy week at Rayleigh CC, with the Evening League XI in action against Westcliff-on-Sea on Wednesday, followed by the U17s taking on Basildon & Pitsea on Thursday (which will be live streamed and scored). Although not mentioned below, the real highlight of the week is the club’s first ever all girls colt game against Hadleigh which is taking place on Friday evening on the Old Ground. Come down and support our next generation of women cricketers in a milestone for the club.
Player of the Week (WK12)
A true captains innings! Well done to Terry Martin, who hit a sublime maiden career century on Saturday for the 4th XI – scoring 129 from 108 balls, including 22 boundaries.
