Page 175 - The Bugle 2018

The Rifles cricket
Countless times this season has a Rifleman breadth of talent available to the Club. 5 RIFLES
5 RIFLES winning team
reclined outside the pavilion at St Cross, stiff from a long spell of bowling, rehydrating on IPA in the evening sunshine and remarked to his brother riflemen - “This is why I joined the regiment”. We do not know how lucky we are when it comes to cricket. Having our own cricketing home at St Cross with a quality wicket and ever-improving facilities is something unique amongst all the regiments and corps.
The 2018 pre-season saw the new Secretary, Capt Theo Bossom, trying to drag the Club into the cyber-era of data protection and the SWIFT website. This was partially successful in that most of the players “follow” the “group”; however, this has not seen a reduction in the c.15,000 Whatsapp messages needed to organise some cricket.
There was a buzz around the Club by the time we eventually played our first game in June. We started at St Cross with a new fixture against wandering side the Fantasians. Jamie Edwards assembled an XI who clearly had not read previous Bugle articles and so did not follow the traditional pattern of a promising start followed by calamitous collapse. The RIFLES won by 8 wickets including 6 for 52 for Sjt Kev McDelling and a blistering 117 runs off 101 balls for Cpl Ed Alexander.
Then followed two fixtures which showcased the THE RIFLES
managed to provide all 11 players for the mid-week match against the RAC but understandably struggled against a full-strength Corps side. 22 players assembled from across the pillars of the regiment to play a Past v Present fixture. In the end, the Present team morphed into a Serving Regular Officers XI which faced off against a Retired/ORs/ Jonny Webber XI. The former triumphed partially thanks to a 100 n.o from the Chairman supported ably by Maj Jono Mills with 46 n.o.
As per SOP, the RIFLES then lost away to Winchester College despite playing a team of 15-16 year olds and predictably succumbed without embarrassment to the well-drilled Canford 1st XI.
What would be your favourite RIFLES CC away fixture? A simple question you may think. Not, though, when the list includes Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey for the uninitiated), the Royal Hospital Chelsea, RMA Sandhurst, the City of London and Windsor Castle. Not even the MCC can boast of such fixtures. The Club enjoyed victories on the road against the Guards and the Honourable Artillery Company but lost agonisingly to the Earl of Carnarvon’s XI at Highclere and RMAS.
At St Cross, the cricket, hosting and catering was always of a high standard. A sweet victory against I Zingari made up for an excruciating draw in a
“THIS IS WHY I JOINED THE REGIMENT”. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW LUCKY WE ARE WHEN IT COMES TO CRICKET
RIFLES SPORTS 181