Position: Club President, occasional scorer and stoic opening batsman
Connection with hotel: Director
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: Despite being 75 now, Ernie isn't one for letting the kids have all the fun, and scored the Cavaliers' first-ever run. Meticulous in preparation, solid in defence and with a keen eye for the quick single, Ernie has been an inspiration to the Cavaliers since they were just a twinkle in his eye.
Name: Rich Blagden
Position: Club Captain and opening batsman
Connection with hotel: General Manager
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium-fast
Biog: Club captain, fixture secretary, website designer, match reporter, statistician, umpire, kit launderer and treasurer, Rich makes up for a lack of actual ability with boundless enthusiasm. It's a good job, really; his scores of 10 and 2 with the bat have hardly been dashing, and his only wicket to date stems from a local rule that prohibited sixes into the hedge.
Name: Charles Ryder
Position: Vice-captain and bowling all-rounder
Connection with hotel: Assistant Manager
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: One of the instigators of the Cavaliers, Chip's dedication and devotion to ever more kit endears him to his team-mates, who are often in need of a bat, but not to his wife, who is often in need of soft furnishings. He's still finding his role in the team, but has the potential to be an excellent middle order batsman and first-change bowler.
Name: Elaine Garland
Position: Treasurer
Connection with hotel: Rich's fiancée
Biog: The Cavaliers' first cricket widow and now responsible for the club's finances. Elaine's commitment to the cause is underlined by the fact that when she gets married, her initials will be ECB. Rich finds this highly amusing.
Members
Name: Alan Barrow
Position: Medium pace bowler
Connection with hotel: Former director and Rich's Dad
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right arm medium
Biog: What can we say about Alan? His first appearance in a Cavaliers shirt was batting at number 10, making a par-for-the-course 2 against DOE, and followed this up with an accurate spell of bowling that nonetheless got clobbered all over the park. Bowled the ball that condemned the Cavaliers to a one-run defeat against the Dartmoor Pony Training Centre, and is thus the only member to have ever tasted victory.
Name: Malcolm Bradley
Position: Wicketkeeper
Connection with hotel: Family friend
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: N/A
Biog: Malc's sharp eye and reflexes made him a perfect choice for wicketkeeper or close catcher, and he doubles in both roles alongside Karl Wilcock. One of the original Secret Green barbecue crew, great things are anticipated from Malc in the middle order.
Name: Simon Cahill
Position: Top-order batsman and first-change bowler
Connection with hotel: Family friend
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Biog: A genuine all-rounder who can bowl accurately and hit hard, Si is an essential component in the Cavaliers' machine. He top-scored with a swashbuckling 25 in our first match and hit the most boundaries, including our only six, and only just missed out on the Man of the Match award. This was rectified with 3-16 in the following match, where he stood head and shoulders above the other bowlers.
Name: Kevin 'Kev' Johns
Position: Bowler and slogger
Connection with hotel: Night porter
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: Kev's reputation as a slogger was based on the only shot we'd seen him play in a match, a huge heave to leg that mashed his middle stump. This was rectified by a watchful one against DOE. He's nothing if not a trier, though, and his bowling is an extremely useful first-change option. Kev is also groundsman at the Secret Green, though if we told you where it was we'd have to kill you.
Name: Matt Lissenden
Position: Middle-order batsman and suicidal fielder
Connection with hotel: Former night porter
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: The truly heroic Matt is perhaps the only player to have ever told his captain at the end of a match that he was disappointed to have not had the chance to field at silly point. Blessed with the true Cavalier spirit, Matt is proving to be a gutsy middle-order batsman, although a duck against DOE puts him in line for membership of the Primary Club.
Name: Andy Ryder
Position: Opening bowler and occasional umpire
Connection with hotel: Director
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: Despite his advancing years, Andy retains much of the pace of his youth, combining this with an accurate line and consistent length to terrify batsmen half his age. He was the Cavaliers' first-ever wicket taker, mystifying a young Shaldon Optimists batsman with a ball that crept in to hit the top of off-stump.
Name: James Ryder
Position: Opening bowler
Connection with hotel: Director
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Biog: The Mighty Jimster is full of pace, sharing opening bowling duties with his father Andy, but was also the first Cavalier to be dismissed for a duck. Figures of 4-0-14-2 were an impressive start on his début, and there is surely more to come. Daughter Alisha is the club mascot, and apple of Dad's eye.
Yet to play...
These guys have paid their subs, but haven't turned out for us yet...
Ed Barrow
Occasionals
Name: Bryan Alway
Position: Tail-end batsman
Connection with hotel: General Manager's fiancee's stepfather
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: N/A
Biog: Called up when we thought we might be a few players short, Bryan is a perfect illustration of the Cavalier spirit. Cricket was the only sport Bryan enjoyed at school, and was delighted to have the chance to turn out for us. In the event, his six runs in our first game were instrumental in getting us to three figures.
Name: Graeme Bond
Position: Not sure yet...
Connection with hotel: Family friend
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: Turned up for a barbecue and being immediately pressed into service was hardly the ideal preparation, and Graeme responded in true style with a careful duck batting at 11. Living three hours' drive away, G's appearances for the Cavaliers are likely to be limited - but on the plus side, he can only get better.
Name: Ian Chalk
Position: Middle-order batsman
Connection with hotel: Family friend
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: N/A
Biog: One of the few people we know who could actually play cricket at school, Ian is a late and useful addition to the Cavaliers side. His seven on long grass against DOE was a statement of intent, and we'll surely see him batting higher up the order in future.
Name: Ryan Hopwood
Position: Middle-order batsman
Connection with hotel: Brother of Head Receptionist
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: Drafted into the side after several beers at a party, Ryan quickly made a name for himself as the not out batsman against the Optimists, shepherding his side to three figures with a mixture of luck and, er, luck. Even so, great things are expected of Ryan, and his competitive streak is second to none.
Name: Michael Spisiak
Position: Middle-order batsman
Connection with hotel: Waiter
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: N/A
Biog: Slovakian Michael heroically made his début in the rain on a Wednesday afternoon, reading up on the Laws on the internet before the match. We think it's brilliant that he's started to turn out for us, and look forward to playing an Eastern European XI in the near future.
Name: Michael Tout
Position: Lower-order batsman
Connection with hotel: Head Barman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: N/A
Biog: Mike turned up expecting to drink beer in the sun all afternoon and ended up becoming a Cavalier in the rain. His magnificent, fearless 2 endeared him to the Cavaliers immediately, and if he keeps outscoring the rest of us like this he'll soon become a fixture.
Name: Karl Wilcock
Position: Wicketkeeper
Connection with hotel: Family friend
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: N/A
Biog: Karl proved his worth with bat and gloves in our first game, securing the Man of the Match award for his efforts and playing with an excited, boyish grin on his face throughout. He followed up by top-scoring against the DOE Cavaliers, and hit our only boundary. Now, if we could just have our twenty quid..?
Gambian Section
Name: Karamo 'Karl Marx' Njie
Position: Deadly bowler
Connection with hotel: Sold juice to manager on Gambian beach
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium fast
Biog: Terrifying bowler with slightly suspect action; fast and effective. Normally aims for the groin. Visit Karl's Juice Bar to find out more!
Name: Sulay 'Solomon' Kolley
Position: Slightly wild all-rounder
Connection with hotel: Sold juice to manager on Gambian beach
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
Biog: Solomon's inconsistency is his strength. When he's bowling, the batsman is lulled into a false sense of security before missing the one fast, straight one; when batting he's all over the place until suddenly he clouts the ball into the sea. Some say lucky; we say genius.
Name: Sanney 'Bob the Builder' Bakary
Position: Sledger-in-chief
Connection with hotel: Top man in The Gambia
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium fast
Biog: Cool but competitive and with boundless enthusiasm, Bob likes nothing more than smashing over middle stump before running round the beach in some kind of tribal war dance. Don't rely on him in the field, though; he's happier texting his friends and admiring the ladies than chasing the ball. But then, aren't we all?
