The statistics may not reveal the whole story
With a number of the Knockers faithful pursuing their careers post graduation, the inevitable moving away came to hit the club. Understandably, moving to London sees players less willing to travel every week to play but the timing of many of the regulars over the preceeding years saw the clubs teamsheets with a few new faces.
The club has always thrived on new members and it is this that keeps the club fresh but losing strong players will undoubtedly cause problems. 38 players represented the club this year compared with 30 the previous year representing a considerable increase in players. It is with regular teams that a good understanding can develop and players perform well. The overall statisitcs of only winning 5 games out of 21 and losing 7 shows that something was not quite working.
All this paints a gloomy picture of the season. But this would be wrong for many inspiring and encouraging performances were seen and perhaps even those that resulted in loss showed us something. 2002 saw only one regular match being lost, with the team being able to finish off matches to win. In 2003 this edge was not as prevalent but individual performances were still strong. Games such as Ightam saw large totals being posted by Knockers only to be chased successfully in unluck circumstances. 8 totals over 200 represents a strong batting line up.
Stuart Seldon hit early form with the bat making one century but failed to capitalise on this good start, faltering towards the end of the season. Paul Styles remained reliable as ever amassing his 447 runs. Paul Seldon and Guthrie Miller also scored good aggregates with some very important innings whilst Charlie Irwin and Corin Spencer-Allen both reached big totals in the 90's. Lynden Spencer-Allen regained some form in the later stages of the season to top the batting averages
It was with the ball that Paul Seldon really shone. Taking 30 wickets was a great feat with some devastating spells, not least in the first game of tour where swing was too much for the opposition. Andy Darry once again took a number of wickets and 2003 saw his son Edward come forth at Hurst Green to impress with his spinning abilities. His spin partner for the game being WIll Goulstone showing his bright prospects for the future with his extravagant turn.
Ed Irwin impressed with the ball early on in the season taking 13 wickets which is impressive considering the limited number of games he played. Lynden Spencer-Allen picked up wickets at the end of the season to improve his all round game. The unlikely strike bowling of Andrew Marshall also proved useful in a number of circumstances, even threatening to bag him top spot in the averages. And last but not least Steven Trounce edged his wasy closer to the next big wickets total of 200.
Some losing matches were unthought of and unlikely but this year saw those thoughts quashed. Losing to Ide Hill was not expected but it is this type of complacency that was problematic in some matches. Big performances like beating the Vine for the second year running are possible for the Knockers and vital to the teams continuing success.
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