2009 saw the 1st XI reach new heights by winning Division Three and therefore promotion to Division Two. Fortunes were different elsewhere with the 2nd XI consolidating their promotion from 2008 and finishing 12, the 3rd XI surviving a relegation battle once again and the 4th XI struggling to adjust to life in Division Twelve. The colts continued to perform well with four teams reaching finals day and the Under 13s securing the cup.
2010
2010 saw the 1st XI consolidate in Division Two. The 2nd XI proving they wish to go places too by finishing 4th and being promoted into Division Six. The 3rd XI did not manage to survive the relegation battle and were relegated to Division Eleven and hope to revive by looking to bounce straight back. The 4th XI struggled once again but had some very good results but were inconsistant and losing players to injury or helping out other teams but hopefully the club has turned a corner and can with the help of the colts to push on once more. The colts once again performed well during the season in their respective leagues, with the under 10s winning the county title and the under 12s reaching the semi final stages plus the under 13s were quarter finalists.
2011
The year of our 150th anniversary was celebrated with our 1st match against the MCC and also a game against Cross arrows at Lords in which we lost by 2 wickets in a very close game. A special dinner was held at Porters Park Golf Club to celebrate our special anniversary, with guest speaker Christopher Martin Jenkins and renowned sports photographer Patrick Eager in attendance. On the pitch we had a season of consolidation with all 4 teams finishing in respectable mid table positions. The 1st XI were indebted to our overseas player Dion Ebrahim who in the League scored 1022 runs at an average of 92.91 and took 42 wickets at 13.29. Warren Seeley had an excellent season with the bat for the 4th XI scoring 338 runs at an average of 48.29 and narrowly missing out on the Division 13 batting award.
2012
A season of transition as again all sides remained in their respective decisions. The 2nd XI were unlucky, heading into the last game of the season top of division 6 but losing badly and ending up in 6th position in what was a very tight division. The 1st XI without Dion Ebrahim's contributions relied on young players which meant a tough season but was a good sign for the future. 14 year old Charlie Thurston was the stand out performer scoring 348 runs at an average of 49.71 and in the process finishing 3rd in the League Division 2 batting awards. Geoff Evans with 26 wickets at 12.04 finished 5th in the Division 6 bowling awards, Andy Lewis with 284 runs at an average of 31.56 finished 4th in the Division 11 batting awards and John Smith with 20 wickets at 12.85 finished 8th in the Division 11 bowling awards.
2013
Shenley's 152 year wait for their first trophy ended when the 1st XI won the Readers Herts County Trophy by beating Old Elizabethans in the final by 8 wickets with Charlie Thurston winning the man of the match award for his 81 not out. And a good year got even better when the 1st XI learnt that their 6th place finish was good enough to earn promotion to Division One following a restructuring of the league into Divisions of 10 teams from the traditional 20 teams. The stand out performers for the 1st XI were Jonny Lash with 58 wickets at 12.57 and Lloyd Willingham who scored 427 runs at 30.50. The other teams again had mid table finishes but notable performers for the 2nd XI were Geoff Evans with 48 wickets at 13.90 and Jiten Savani with 40 wickets at 15.73. For the 3rd XI Kev Wood had an outstanding season taking 52 wickets at 11.21. Off the pitch ambitious plans were conceived to replace the worn out nets with new high quality replacements.
2014
2014 started with Ray McLennan handing over the Chairman's reins to Geoff Evans after many years of service during which the club has grown from strength to strength. During handover Ray saw through the installation of a high quality 4 lane net facility which was financed with the help of a local company and opened by ex England player Angus Fraser and ECB Head Pitch Inspector Chris Wood. This has transformed our training facilities and was installed at the same time as the club took the decision to move all its teams to Shenley with the 1st and 2nd XIs playing on the Main Ground and the 3rd and 4th XIs playing on the Nursery Ground. The new training and playing arrangements provided the launch pad for our most successful season with all 4 teams gaining promotion and the 1st XI retaining the Herts Readers Trophy. In the process we were named Herts Club of the Year. The Ist XI went up as champions earning promotion to the Premier League Championship division for the 1st time in our history. This was a season of stellar performances on the pitch. The 1st XI were bolstered by the arrival of Kris Nissen and Tom Bruce and the regular availability of Charlie Thurston. Charlie topped the Division One batting awards scoring 639 runs at 71.00 and Tom finished 2nd with 765 runs at 63.75. Kris Nissen also had a strong season with the bat scoring 565 runs at 37.67 but his key contribution was with the ball where he took 53 wickets at 13.45, finishing 2nd in the Division One averages. The 2nd team finished 3rd to gain promotion with Rich Evans (433 runs at 54.13) and Vajinder Paul (495 runs at 35.36) starring with the bat. Jiten Savani was the top bowler (50 wickets at 10.56), ably supported by Geoff Evans (46 wickets at 13.65). The 3rd XI went up in 4th place with Jaymin Borkhatria (344 runs at 38.22) leading the batting effort and Kev Wood (21 wickets at 17.43) producing the best bowling figures. The 4th XI promotion was earned on the back of Warren Burr's batting (243 runs at 40.50) and the bowling of Craig Roseman (19 wickets at 19.11) and Harry Munting (16 wickets at 19.50). Our juniors had a successful campaign with under 10 side crowned County champions, and the season ended on a high note as the Ist XI helped by a ton from Tom Bruce beat Botany Bay in the final to retain the Readers Herts County Trophy
2015
The main highlight of 2015 was our hosting of the SCG touring party from Australia. Perfect weather made for a wonderful day at the Shenley Cricket Centre as 2 games were held including an over 50s game on the Main Ground. 2015 also saw the introduction of an under 19 side (Shenley Sharks) playing in coloured clothing as part of a new ECB initiative. The senior sides had a mixed season on the pitch with the 1st XI finding life tough in the Championship and getting relegated, although this was not confirmed until the last day of the season. Tom Bruce had another strong season with the bat scoring 657 runs at 41.06 with Charlie Thurston scored 589 runs at 36.81. The 3rd XI finished 3rd but were promoted after a league reshuffle. Jaymin Borkhatria scored 526 runs at 40.46 and the bowling was led by Harry Munting (30 wickets at 13.80) and Kev Wood (26 wickets at 14.38). The 2nd and 4th XIs both had good seasons finishing 3rd and 5th respectively. Rich Evans had an outstanding season scoring 512 runs at an average of 73.14, winning the Division 5B batting award in the process. Vajinder Paul (404 runs at 42.00) finished 5th in the Division averages and Dan Bowles (310 runs at 38.75) finished 7th. Jiten Savani was the top bowler taking 36 wickets at an average of 13.19. George White (354 runs at 35.40) starred with the bat for the 4th XI and Sammy Saleh (26 wickets at 13.19) and Mitesh Damji (16 wickets at 14.75) were the outstanding bowlers. The Ist XI were unable to make it 3 Readers Herts Trophies in succession as they were narrowly defeated by Leverstock Green in the semi finals.
2016
The 4th XI were the success story of 2016 winning their division and being promoted as champions. The season ended on a very high note as on the same day the 1st XI recaptured the Herts Trophy by beating Abbots Langley in a thrilling finish and the under 12s won their junior summer league. The 1st XI finished 5th in Division One after tailing off in the 2nd half of the season. Charlie Thurston, who made his first class debut at the start of the season, finished 3rd in the Division batting awards scoring 524 runs at an average of 40.31. Lloyd Willingham was consistent at the top of the order scoring 389 runs at 25.93. The bowling was led by leg spinner Nikhil Borkhatria (34 wickets at 18.09) and Kris Nissen, Who was affected by injury, picked up 24 wickets at 20.42. The 2nd XI unluckily missed out on promotion when rain curtailed their last game of the season meaning they missed out by 2 points. Rich Evans (511 runs at 73.00) maintained his consistency and retained the Division 5 batting award and Vajinder Paul scored 580 runs at 34.12. The bowling was led by veterans Jiten Savani (22 wickets at 13.95) and John Smith (27 wickets at 18.96). James Williams was outstanding for the 3rd XI scoring 600 runs at an average of 50 and picking up the Division 9A batting award. Andy Elliott also had a strong season scoring 391 runs at 43.44. James Williams was also the key contributor with the ball picking up 22 wickets at 22.64. The 4th XI promotion was earned on the back of fine batting performances from Warren Burr (338 runs at 37.56) and George White (278 runs at 23.17). Top bowlers were Sammy Saleh (24 wickets at 11.33) and Craig Roseman (21 wickets at 11.67).
The season ended on a high with a thrilling victory over Abbots Langley in the Readers Herts Trophy final. The victory was attained by losing less wickets in a tied match. Batting first we scored 177 for 8 off our allotted 50 overs. It was hard graft on a tricky wicket and we were indebted to Kris Nissen for an excellent 71. The game ebbed and flowed in Abbots' reply and could have gone either way right to the death. In the end a dramatic run out in the final over gave us victory by the narrowest of margins. Wickets were shared around but Nikhil Borkhatria was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 20 from his 10 overs. A great way to end the season!
2017
On the pitch 2017 will go down as an historic season for our club as our Under 13 team won the T20 National Club Championships. To put this in perspective in the 42 year history of the competition no other Hertfordshire club had even reached the Finals Day let alone win the competition. A truly amazing achievement for our club which was the result of many years of hard work from the players, Managers, coaches and parents. Many of the boys had their first taste of senior cricket which bodes well for our club's future. Our other junior sides all performed well with the Under 12 team finishing runners up in their competition.
Overall for the senior teams it was a season of consolidation for our 1st XI, 2nd XI and 3rd XI who all finished in mid table. Our 4th XI were unfortunately relegated on the last day of the season. The 1st XI finished 5th in Division One with Charlie Thurston (553 at an average of 46.08) and Kris Nissen (423 runs at 28.20) heading the batting averages. Fahim Akbar (26 wickets at 15.31) and Nikhil Borkhatria (24 wickets at 17.33) were the leading bowlers. The 2nd XI also finished 5th in Division 5B with Richard Evans (509 runs at 46.07) and Will Thomson (198 runs at 33.00) leading the way with the bat. The leading wicket takers for the 2s were Jiten Savani (30 wickets at 15.40), John Smith (24 wickets at 19.29) and Laurie Willingham (21 wickets at 14.52). The 3rd XI finished 6th in Division 9A with Andy Elliott (518 at 64.75) and James Williams (342 at 26.31) the leading run scorers. james Williams was also the stand out bowler taking 27 wickets at 14.19. The 4th XI narrowly avoided relegation finishing 8th in Regional Division A West. warren Barrie dominated the batting scoring 557 runs at 61.89 and George White scored 226 runs at 17.38. The wickets were shared around with Oli White heading the averages with 12 wickets at 8.42.
Charlie
Thurston made his 1st first class hundred for Loughborough MCCU vs
Northants. Former player Tom Bruce made his international T20 debut vs Bangladesh.
2018
The 1st XIs return to the Premier league (Championship Division) after a 3 year absence was a big step for the club. This achievement was even more impressive following the loss of 2 key players at the end of the 2017 season. Under Lloyd’s leadership the team has visibly grown with consistent performances by the whole squad throughout the season. Add to this the development of a number of our current under 14s and the future looks bright. Our overseas player Kiel Van Vollenhoven proved a great addition to the squad as he headed both the batting averages (457 runs at 35.15) and bowling averages (27 wickets at 17.26). Kris Nissen scored 454 runs and averaged 34.92 with the bat and Lloyd, Fahim Akbar and Paresh Kerai all scored over 300 runs. Best individual performances were from Rumesh Perera (119 vs Stevenage in June) and Lloyd (102 vs Stevenage in September). On the bowling front Sam Dowsett took 21 wickets at 20.14, Fahim 25 wickets at 23.52 and Kris 27 wickets at 23.89.
The 2nd XI finished in mid table and will be looking to push for promotion next year. Vajinder Paul returned from injury having missed the entire 2017 season and finished as top run scorer (541 runs at 36.07) and leading wicket taker (34 wickets at 14.85). Rich Evans had another consistent season scoring 476 runs at 52.89 and Anooj Vadgama scored 392 runs at 35.64. The most encouraging aspect for the 2nd XI was the development of 14 year olds Graydon Orchard and Oli White who became key players in the side and significantly raised the fielding standards.
The 3rd XI had a very successful season finishing in 2nd place in Division 9A and achieving promotion. The batting was dominated by Andy Elliott and James Williams. Andy hit an amazing 966 runs at an average of 69.00 and James weighed in with 771 runs at 55.07. Both scored 3 centuries each. Warren Barrie also impressed with 350 runs at 31.82. The bowlers also played a key role in the 3rds promotion. They were well led by Ciaran Woodcock who took 24 wickets at 15.63 and Kev Wood with 28 wickets at 16.39.
The 4th XI surpassed expectations in a competitive division to gain promotion by winning 12 of their last 14 games, only narrowly missing out on the top spot. A big factor was Jaymin Borkhatria who scored 390 runs at an average of 97.50 including 161 not out against Ware 2nd XI. He was ably supported by Chetan Borkhatria who scored 446 runs at 55.75 and George White who scored 312 runs at 28.36. Sammy Saleh led the bowling attack with 26 wickets at 13.73.
On the pitch our under 14As continued their amazing efforts of 2017 when they were crowned National champions. This year they were unbeaten throughout the whole season, retaining their status as county champions in the process. Many of the Under 14 squad played regular senior cricket on Saturdays and were also integral to our cup success. Toby Elliott and Oli both played in the Final against Abbots Langley, taking 3 wickets each, and Ben Werter and Graydon played in previous rounds and made key contributions.
Our Under 9s and under 10s also had successful seasons. The under 9s were unbeaten in their group and reached Finals day, losing narrowly to Watford Town in the semis. The Under 10s, which comprised a number of under 9s, won 6 of their 8 games and finished 2nd in their Group. They were beaten by Knebworth Park in the Quarter Final knockout stages. This group of players show a lot of promise and it will be interesting to see them develop in the years ahead. The Under 11s played some good competitive cricket finishing 4th in a very strong group and the Under 12s won 6 games to finish 3rd in their group. The Under 13s won 4 of their 6 games played to finish 3rd in their group.
The season ended on a high note as, in a repeat of the 2016 final, we beat Abbots Langley by 62 runs to win the Readers Herts County Trophy Final played at Shenley. We scored 235 for 9 off the allotted 50 overs thanks to half centuries from Kiel Van Vollenhoven and Matt Evans. Abbots were bowled out for 173 in reply with Kiel, Oli White and Tobi Elliott all taking 3 wickets each.
2019
We have had some excellent years in recent memory including numerous promotions, 2 Herts club of the year awards and many successes at junior level including the under 13s becoming national club champions in 2017. I think however 2019 has a very strong case for being our best season. Our 1st XI consolidating their Premier League place, our 2nd and 3rd XIs both winning their respective divisions, Under 10s and Under 15s both being crowned Herts county champions and the icing on the cake - our under 15s becoming under 15 national club champions, a truly amazing achievement.
Our 1st XI can look back on what was ultimately a successful season. Having achieved promotion to the Premier League in 2018 we knew it was going to be a tough challenge. Our last venture into the ECB Premier League (Championship Division) in 2015 lasted only one season but this time we had a stronger team and the aim was to consolidate in the Championship Division. In fact for most of the season we were in promotion contention before tailing off in the last few games and finishing a creditable 5th. ue to very good availability we were able to field a strong 1st XI for nearly all the games and this had the added knock-on benefit of helping the lower XIs.
In terms of performances mentions must go to Kris Nissen who was top run scorer (477 runs at 43.36) and top wicket taker (37 wickets at 17.27). Kiel Van Vollenhoven scored 276 runs at 39.43 and Charlie Thurston scored 468 runs at 31.20. On the bowling front Fahim Akbar took 30 wickets at 13.93 including the astonishing feat of taking 3 hat tricks. Marwan Mohammed took 26 wickets at 14.92 and Richard Turpie 27 wickets at 20.15.
Our 2nd XI under Rich Evans’ captaincy had an amazing season winning 16 of the 17 games played. Despite this, the Division 5B title was only secured on the last day of the season as our nearest rivals also only lost one game. We led the Division from the front for the whole season with a strong Tewin side breathing down our necks. Going into the last 5 games we knew that any slip up could prove costly so with mounting pressure it was satisfying to win all the games and win the Division by just 15 points. Nikhil Borkhatria scored the most runs (472 at 42.91) and took the most wickets (41 at 7.76). Generally, however, the runs and wickets were shared around as the 2nd XI strength in depth proved vital. With the bat Will Thomson scored 242 runs at 60.50 to top the batting averages, Graydon Orchard had a consistent season scoring 331 runs at 30.09 and Vajinder Paul scored 344 runs at 26.46. There were also good contributions from Rich Evans, Oli White and Anooj Vadgama who hit the season’s best score of 116. On the bowling front John Smith took 15 wickets at 11.60 and Anooj 14 wickets at 15.64, both bowling with great control. The attack was led admirably by Sailesh Vekaria (17 wickets at 15.64), Vajinder (24 wickets at 15.75) and Oli Andrews (13 wickets at 19.0).
The 3rd XI under Andy Elliott also had a terrific season mirroring the 2nd XIs results by winning 16 of their 17 games played. At the start of the season the intention was to build the team around a number of the promising Under 15 players and having achieved promotion only the previous year a season of consolidation was anticipated. As it transpired the 3rd XI was very dominant in their division, sealing the title with a week to spare and finishing 49 points ahead of their nearest rivals. The batting was led by Andy Elliott (957 runs at 68.36) and Warren Barrie (725 runs at 60.42), although 15 year old Will Poynton also had a terrific season scoring 325 runs at 32.50 including a knock of 150 not out against Stevenage. The pick of the 3rd XI bowlers was Ciaran Woodcock (27 wickets at 14.70) who finished as both top wicket taker and had the best average. The evergreen Kev Wood also took 20 wickets at 18.40 and it was good to see a number of the younger players making key contributions including a century for Suraj Shankar against Leverstock Green.
It should be mentioned that the 2nd XI and 3rd XI both gained more than 500 points over the season. Out of the 25 divisions in the Herts League only one other side managed that feat.
The 4th XI under Victor Child’s leadership had a very respectable season finishing 6th in Regional Division A West and consolidating their position following promotion in 2018. Vic deserves a special mention because he regularly suffered from losing players at short notice following late player withdrawals from higher XIs. Despite this we managed to field a competitive side each weekend winning 9 of the 18 games played. Paras Borkhatria led the batting averages with 37.50 and scored the most runs (300). Jack Davis scored 190 runs at 38.00 and Chetan Borkhatria scored 177 runs at 17.70. Peter Oakley was very impressive with the ball taking 27 wickets at 10.70 and was ably assisted by Mitesh Damji (22 wickets at 16.05), Jayaram Raghuveer (14 wickets at 16.93) and Sammy Saleh (14 wickets at 21.64).
This year for a number of our junior sides the emphasis was on enjoyment and participation rather than being results focused. The Herts League now run A Leagues and B leagues at most age groups to try and ensure a fairer sense of competition and encourage greater participation rather than a few players dominating the game which can sometimes happen. Because most of our sides entered B Leagues there were a limited number of trophies that we could win so all the more remarkable that both the under 10s and under 15As became Hertfordshire champions. Congratulations to Robert Joseph, Andy Elliott and all their players for a fine season.
The Under 15s main objective this season was to win the under 15 National T20 club competition. The same group of players triumphed in the U13 National title 2 years ago so it seemed a realistic target. That said 1451 clubs entered the competition this year and no club in Hertfordshire had previously reached the Finals Day let alone win the tournament. At the latter stages of the competition the standard was very high so to reach the Finals day at Rugby School was itself a massive achievement. On a day that will not be forgotten by those present the boys triumphed by beating Warwickshire side Walmley in the semi-final before overcoming Somerset side Taunton Deane in the Final. Shenley became only the second ever club in the tournament’s 44 year history to win the event at both U13 and U15 level with the same group of players. This is an exceptional achievement for a fine group of young cricketers, most of who have been playing together since the age of 9. The club is very proud of this group and they will form the backbone of our senior teams in the coming seasons and hopefully enjoy further successes in a Shenley shirt.