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Welcome to the Streatham & Marlborough Sweep (SMS), a regular update of club news. Another Wrighty takeover for your reading pleasure...
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The Big Interview
KAREN KLOMP
The Chair with the Thousand Yard Stare
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You are our club chair, new this year, and what a sh*t debut year it is! Do you have a vision for what you think the club will be like next year?
Yes, this was a nice and gentle way of starting my chairwomanship, just as I had pictured it. So I don’t think I want to change a single thing for next year, apart from having started on the new pavilion – which we’re still working very hard on in the background.
But yeah, if we won’t have a third or fourth wave and/or there’s a vaccine (Ms Glass Half-Full, me!), next year should conform a bit more to tradition with the season starting when it should. First priority is to get the new pavilion, which will be a massive weight off a lot of people’s shoulders. Not least my esteemed predecessor Chairman Greenwood who has worked tirelessly on this project for about 10 years.
Once we have the new pavilion and the future of the club has been secured for the next 50-odd years, then we will have the bandwidth to take on other necessary projects, such as new nets facilities, a second ground, etc. Meanwhile, organisationally we are working on the pathways to get the kids playing in our junior section into the senior teams, at all levels, both the men and women’s team. And while doing this ensuring that our senior members still have the opportunity to play regular games as well – which is why the second ground I mentioned is necessary.
Having a healthy senior men’s section, a successful women’s section, and a thriving junior section, my personal goal is to see if we can set up disability cricket (shout out to Jake, got any contacts, mate?) at the club in the next few years. We’ve been approached by Surrey a few times over the years, but needless to say that our current pavilion is not quite fit for purpose to take this on. The club’s stated aim is to provide cricket for all who want to play, and this is in my view the last piece of the puzzle.
Your team smashed it last year, winning both the league and the cup, did you play much because of your elbow injury? Did you miss playing? What's the plan for the women's team in 2021?
No, I was hit by a car whilst cycling mid-April and the resulting broken elbow meant I didn’t play at all during that very successful season. I do like to have it on record that correlation is not causation…!
We picked up quite a few new players last season and over winter, and we have a very healthy squad at the moment. It’s a real shame that we won’t be able to test ourselves in the new, higher league we got promoted to, but at least we can defend our Slam title.
The longer term goal is to grow the squad even further so that we can have two full teams and enter two leagues. Luckily there are a few junior girls who could well make that jump to senior cricket in the next year or so, and no doubt we will continue to recruit – can I just casually mentioned that your lovely lady Fran is (finally!) make her debut as well this season…? (I am umpiring her too. My practice of giving her out in front of the mirror has not gone down well).
How long have you been at S&M CC, and what attracted you to the club? Did you play cricket in the Netherlands? If not, what interested you in taking it up?
I joined SMCC back in 2010, when the women’s team first got started – Dag, Leia and I are the ones still left standing from that very first day.
Prosaically it was Google that attracted me to the club: it was the nearest club with a women’s section. I had just moved to Souf London after living a couple of years in north and west London when I first arrived late 2007, and I wanted to take up a team sport. And as a Dutch person, cricket was the obvious choice.
I had never played cricket before and I wasn’t even aware that there was a Dutch national cricket team until I moved here - hello Stuart Broad overthrows in the opening match of the 2008 T20 world cup!
But once I joined SMCC and learned more about the game, I was hooked - and after 10 years I’m just about still as bad a player as I was in 2010 (although ironically breaking my elbow has made my bowling slightly less erratic), but I couldn’t imagine a life without cricket.
You are doing a "40 before you are 40" challenge. What's the strangest one you have done so far? Have any been a disaster?
Like so many other and far more important things, my 40 before I’m 40 challenge has suffered greatly from Covid19 as about two-thirds of it I have not been able to do. So I’ve decided to stay 39 for another year. Easy.
One thing I have been able to tick off was taking part in a roller derby, or at least the training for it, which was gruelling but great fun.
Klompy, I don't think you are allowed to throw your bike at people to win roller derby.
What's your pre game ritual to get you ready for a match? I'm hoping it's going to involve some Viking Death Metal, and lots of shadow batting in front of the mirror. Please don't disappoint me!
I fear I have to disappoint you, as I don’t really have a pre-match ritual – maybe that’s the reason for my embarrassing average and trophy case filled with duck cups… I’m open to suggestions! (I am not saying ANYTHING!)
What's your personal favourite cricketing performance? Doesn't have to be glamorous - some of my favourite innings are pure filth.
My best innings by quite some distance was in a friendly match at Richmond, probably around 2013 or so, when I nudged, nurdled, and edged my way to 35 and retired as per the agreed rules on the day. I think that was the first ever match for our opposition both as a team and for the majority of their players, and as we’ve never since played such an inexperienced team that’s my highest ever score.
My most public cricket-related performance is being published on the Guardian’s Over by Over live blog during the 2017 Oval test against South Africa – see screenshot. A close friend told me that’s the most apt description of me, make of that what you will…
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Results from the last week
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Rain pretty much curtailed every game half way through on Saturday but that did not stop Mihir Date (106*) who bludgeoned the first league ton of the season for the 3's against Alleyn CC in their morning T20. A fine effort which secured victory by some margin as Alleyn finished 42 runs short. Mihir was not the only centurian as Baqa Haider posted 101 (retired) against Chipstead as the 4s racked up 254-2 in 36 overs before weather intervened. We had more luck on Sunday with three completed games. The 1s batting clicked as Buttler (81*), Bartolo (64*) and Paul (51) made significant contributions against the Doctors XI before the Taper's (Taz and Sunil) starred with the ball taking a combined 10-0-38-7 - quite the happy household, i'm told.
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The Women's 1s produced an excellent performance to beat Sutton having narrowly lost to them a few weeks ago. After a strong opening partnership from Izzy M-C (22) and Tanya Wanless (34*), wickets fell regularly with Kerins (29*) ensuring a competitive total. Sutton struggled from the start with a tight opening spell bringing wickets which fell throughout, a real team effort with six bowlers picking up wickets. The Sunday 2's came up 90 odd short against a strong Mostyn side. The Men's Surrey Slam team beat reigning champs Spencer last Wednesday but came unstuck last night against SinjunGrammarians, falling 30 runs short as the batting failed to click into gear. The juniors have had some close games against a couple of the bigger clubs in the area but acquitted themselves well.
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