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FIRST XI

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2007....AN AMAZING YEAR FOR OSTERLEY CRICKET CLUB

Wow, what a year, what a season, for Osterley Cricket Club! Champions of the Middlesex League Division One, for the third year in a row. Winners of the Middlesex Knockout Cup (formerly known as Ibex cup), after beating top Premier County League side and last two years winners Finchley in the final.
In winning this tournament Osterley became the first ever team from Middlesex League to lift this cup, not only once but twice in the last four years. (Incredibly the organisers ‘forgot’ to add the winners name on the shield when Osterley last won the competition in 2004, but managed to remember the 2005 and 2006 winners). The other higher league scalps Osterley claimed this year were, in no particular order: Hampstead CC, Brondesbury CC, Enfield CC, Sunbury CC, Ickenham CC and Potters Bar CC.

The 2nd XI also joined the party by winning the League Division One of the Traifinders Middlesex Cricket Championship.

Not bad for a club that was struggling in the third division after been abandon by its so-called established members in the year 2000. With no funds, no sponsorships and no home ground, the future looked bleak for Osterley Cricket Club. But one of its proud member, Shaheen Rizvi, refused to accept defeat, encouraged by his friend and fellow club member Karim Khan, he took over as the Chairman and asked his younger brother Asad Rizvi, an amazingly talented cricketer, to join him in his quest to salvage his beloved club. Asad’s contribution in transforming this club was also second to none, doing 300 miles round trip every week from Cardiff with his young family, he didn’t let Shaheen down, in fact his presence alone attracted some amazingly talented cricketers to the club.

The club moved to Richings Park in Iver, won the 2nd Division Championship and the League Cup in 2002. That’s when Shaheen decided to hand over the Club Captaincy to Asad Rizvi to concentrate on his role as the club chairman. All the hard work started to pay dividend now as Osterley won the Ibex Cup in 2004 and went even better in 2005 by winning the League. To his disappointment the club was refused promotion because of some ‘red tape’ conditions. Next year the club won the League once again. Champions twice in a row, surely the club will be promoted, but alas no! apparently we were outside the Middlesex ‘area’ and had no colt side, the runners-up were promoted to the county league but not the champions.

By now the club was gaining respect and was becoming well known within the cricketing circles. The West Indian cricket legend and world cup winner Alvin Kallicharn was now the club’s President and Shaheen was joined by a former Osterley Cricket Club Captain Amar Rathore. The dream and the aim was to bring the club back to it’s rightful place, Tentelow Lane, the ground that was home to Osterley for decades.

Shaheen and Amar managed to achieve their dream somehow, Osterley Cricket Club was back home again. The only problem was…………… the ground looked like a jungle and the club house was nothing more than a derelict house. With cricket season just a few months away and hardly any funds, the challenge now was to bring the home ground up to the accepted standards. The next couple of months showed why this club has become such a success, the support, the passion and the enthusiasm from the members was just amazing, they worked day and night, some travelled all the way from Cardiff and Leicester every weekend, some actually stayed at the club house 24/7, but the real hero was Amar, who neglected all parts of his life and worked around the clock to transform the ground and club house to its present state.

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