Following on from a title win in 2024, the 5th XI have entered a league team in the Surrey Championship for the 4th Consecutive season and will play in Division 11 West Central of the new Surrey Championship structure.
The intention of our 5th XI is to blend a healthy mix of ‘seasoned veterans’ with an abundance of youth making their first steps in to adult cricket. All 5th XI home matches will be played at Imber Court.
The team will once again be captained by Gareth Narinesingh (garethnarinesingh@hotmail.com, 07804 639 138)
5th XI – Season Report – 2023 (Gareth Narinesingh)
The 2024 season was a tale of glory for the men and lads of Esher 5th XI!
As ever the 5s squad is a crafted mix of experienced grey hairs and the best of Esher CC youth rising through junior cricket into Saturday lower league cricket. Special mention must be given to the men from the club’s Back To Cricket section who supported with availability, particularly in the first half of the season before the juniors were released from school cricket.
This year, 5s recruited heavily from u13s who stood up to their first taste of senior cricket with consistent performances from Fraser Bache, Joe Inch and Marley Gould.
U14 developing talent also shone through with significant contributions from Ben Frendo, Sam Temperley, Arjun Tahiliani, Adhritdev Baghel.
We also saw classy and powerful displays from Odran Williams, Joe Goodsman, Aghav Singh Dutt and Aaryan Desai evidencing the strength of talent rising through the ranks at Esher CC.
Powered by the depth and strength of our youth cricket, 5s bowled out opposition teams up and down our league. Bowling options were everywhere and tended to rotate around Fraser Bache (12 wkts, 8.5 average) and Sam Temperley who between them contributed 60 overs to the campaign, often bowling in tandem.
The relaid pitches at Imber Court proved to be transformative for our batting form. The highlight of the season was the setting of a new Esher CC club record when we amassed a mighty 387 from 40 overs. Spare a thought for our poor oppo on that searing day!
Overall runs flowed whether we batted first or chased down, with 5 players averaging over 35. Special mention must be given to Ben Frendo with 111* on league debut.
Weather was a miserable factor for the last 3 matches with 2 cancelled and an abandoned game which could not be salvaged despite the disbursement of 2 bags of saw dust across the entire square!
Nevertheless, enough work had been done over the course of the campaign to secure a Division 6 West league trophy for the club’s glass cabinet. With the taste of glory now on our lips this team is hungry for more success in 2025!
5th XI player of the season
Several players stood out this season but the skipper’s player of the season goes to Ben Frendo (u14) who scored a century on league debut. His 111* was technically very good, amassing most of his runs in front of square even on a slow surface, playing himself in patiently and growing in confidence and stature to accelerate in the latter half of his innings. Ben also kept very well for the matches he played in. He is definitely one to watch for the future.