Page 52 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017

50 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Royal Lancers Cricket
Readers must understand that Royal Lancers cricket has had an exceptionally busy year. So much so that a separate ‘Wisden’ esque Almanac (of no less than 863 pages) will be published dedicated solely to the exploits of Royal Lancer cricket and its dominance in the north of England.
The author of this article will therefore focus on two key events of 2018. These two events were, of course, the Babington Shield cricket tournament and the Officers’ vs Seniors’ Mess annual ‘cricket’ match. Both events were held at Richmondshire Cricket Club on Wednesday 30th August 2017. It was a feast of cricket, ensuring high-oc- tane drama and unprecedented skill from dawn until dusk.
The day started with the Babington Shield competition. It was clear from the off that this was going to be a two horse race. The other Squadrons put in good efforts, but D and Headquarters Squadron were the clear cricketing power- houses. As expected, D and Headquarters Squadron made the final. With only six overs to play with, D Squadron opened the batting. Losing minimal wickets, they were perhaps too cautious and could have played with freer bat. Headquarter Squadron’s depth soon became apparent and they batted very well under extreme pressure to clinch the 2017 Babington Shield Cricket trophy.
Headquarter Squadron barely had time to savour the sweet victory when they were (to a man) back on the pitch against the Officers! With 20 overs being the agreed for- mat, the Seniors Mess went into bat first. They somehow put on a sporting score against the blistering ‘body-line’ pace-men of the Officers’ Mess. It was now down to the Officers’ Mess to knock off the runs and rejoice in everlast- ing glory...
There was, annoyingly, a slight hiccough with the afore- mentioned plan. The Officers’ Mess were cut down just short by the potent and accurate Seniors’ Mess bowling attack. This was (as far as the author is aware, perhaps) the first victory to the Seniors Mess for the first time in 133 years in the history of both antecedent regiments; and it was with sunken heads – carrying the shame of all that historical weight – that the Officers retired to the Pavilion.
An excellent day of Cricket was had by all who took part. C Squadron look forward to keeping Royal Lancer cricket
alive in 2018 while the Regiment is in Cyprus.
JJ
To the Seniors' Mess the spoils
The Royal Lancers Orienteering team
Orienteering and Cross-country Running
The past year has seen another year of growth and improve- ment for The Royal Lancers Orienteering and Cross-coun- try team. With a season that runs from September to June they have had some strong team results. Under the leadership of the Training Wing Warrant Officer, the team has expanded and be- come more competitive again this year. Sending soldiers to take part in the basic orienteering skills course in Aldershot, running an overseas trip to an Italian multi-day event and fielding a team at the major unit championships has all improved the core com- petency of the team, introduced new members of the Regiment to the wonderful world of thumb compasses and, importantly, made us fit. The Lancers have managed to field a team at every Military League North (MLN) event this year and, as a result, the team were second in the MLN for 2017. During the summer, the Regiment sent a team down to the major unit championships at Longmoor Training Area. The competition consisted of an individual course on the first day followed by a team relay on the second. The team managed to secure fourth place – an excellent result against every major unit in the Army. The 2018 season has just begun and the team are already posting some strong results; hopefully they can build on the results from last year and maybe even top the northern league.
RG
Lance Corporal Williams-Tanton looking for something orange "next to a green bush"