Season Recap 2004 was another good season on the pitch for the Vue, we won every competitive game except the big one - the league decider and cup semi final double-header game against the Globe. But considering the team thay had out that day it was hardly surprising. Anyway 2nd place will be good enough to be promoted kettle of fish. After being champions of divisision 3 in 2003 we ended up playing most of the same teams again as the league was restructured into just 2 larger divisions. Awards for 2004 were: Players' Player of the Year - TBA Best Batting - Gerhard van Schalkwyk (average 47.5) Best Bowling - Mark Barton (14 wickets) Most Memorable Moment - Gerhard's incredible century at Ridgeons. Best catch - not awarded.

Back row (left to right): Graeme Newton, Bob Newton, Jamie Gawthrop, Mark Barton, Buster Harradine. Middle row: Gerhard, Alex Gray Front row: Jez Major, Bruce Hutchison, Martin Charlesworth, Cherie Aronson

Cambridge Business House League 2 - Final League Table

Batting Averages

(Min 3 innings)

	Name	Inns (not outs)	Runs	High Score	Average
1	Gerhard van Schalkwyk	5 (1)	190	109*	47.5
2	Jez Major	8 (2)	210	60	35.0
3	Bob Newton	9 (3)	137	35*	22.8
4	Graeme Newton	7 (1)	132	34	22.0
5	Bruce Hitchison	9 (2)	133	25*	19.0
6	Nick Gray	6 (2)	67	50	16.8
7	Alex Gray	3	45	39	15.0
8	Martin Charlesworth	6 (2)	49	13	12.3

Bowling Averages

(Min 8 overs)

	Name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
1	Gerhard van Schalkwyk	18	1	96	8	12.0
2	Mark Barton	30	0	183	14	13.1
3	Bob Newton	27.2	2	148	10	14.8
4	Gert Roets	9	1	42	2	21.0
5	Buster Harradine	25	3	167	6	27.8
6	Nicky Caporaso	13	0	104	3	34.6

Match Reports

CBXI (League), Monday 2nd August at Fitzwilliam

RVCC won by 8 wickets

This turned out to be another easy win, but at one stage it looked as though CBXI might set a challenging total before they slumped to 107/6 in their 15. Their number 3, Craigan, was looking well set to lead them to a big score before Martin held on to a skier at mid off from Mark's bowling to dismiss him for 41. From a healthy position of 71/2 from 8 overs they only added another 36 runs, with Mark (3/24) and Buster (2/36) doing most of the damage while Bob (1/14 from 4 overs) kept the run rate right down. In reply Graeme anchored the innings with a solid 34, Gerhard hit a quickfire 24 and Bruce (25 not out) and new recruit Paul Pilsworth (4 not out) reached the target in just 9.3 overs.

Robert Sayle (League), Thurs 29th July at Fitzwilliam

Railway Vue won by 8 wickets

This was a very comfortable win for the Vue after Robert Sayle's could only manage 62/6 in their 15 overs. Gert's express pace was too hot for Sayle's batsmen as he bowled their opener Upchurch in the first over. Once Phil Orvis had been run out thanks to a sharp throw from Mark, Sayles were happy to just bat out their 15 overs. Gergard had the best figures of 2 for one run! Jamie and Alex could not cash in on being promoted up the order as they went for 3 and 6 respectively, but Dave Clark (18 not out) and Jez (30 not out) brought us home safely with 5 overs to spare.

The Globe (Cup semi-final and league match), Monday 19th July at Fitzwilliam

The Globe won by 8 wickets

With the cup final only a week away and a league match already scheduled the captains agreed that this would be a double-header match, with the winner taking the league points and also a place in the cup final. The Vue had a strong line-up for the game but there was more than a hint of ringers being brought in by the Globe as several of their regular players watched the game from the sidelines.

Jez opened the batting and took on the Globe's pacey opener who turned out to be a Granta first team player, consistently pulling anything short for 4. A few ugly words were exchanged after Bob turned down an appeal for Gerhard to be caught behind before he had scored. They became more aggravated as Gerhard began hitting out in usual style. But it was the Globe's classy spinner who would be the scourge of the Vue's batsmen as he dismissed 6 for 6 runs including Jez for 34, Gerhard for 23 and Bruce for 17 after smashing the quick bowler for 2 massive sixes. The innings finished on 103/8 which we probably knew was not enough given the look of the Globe's batting line up.

It proved to be the case with the Globe's two chunky openers immeditely getting stuck in to the bowlers. Jon Sanders suffered the most as his 3 overs went for 46. We eventually got a couple of wickets - Mark bowled P. Dean for 47 with a full toss which he tried to argue was a no-ball despite his having advanced well down the track. Mark and Gerhard again combined for a run out but that was as good as it got for us as the Globe cruised home with 5 overs and 8 wickets to spare.

Beehive (Cup 2nd round) Thursday 15th July at St Catherine's

Railway Vue won by 14 runs

Against a strong Beehive side the Vue pulled off one off one of their best ever victories despite making a fairly low total batting first. Graeme and Bob opened and Bob edged 2 balls for 4 before being dismissed for 8. Graeme struggled at first but was the bedrock of the innings and went on to make 34.

Gerhard started off where he left off the previous day crashing 5 boundaries including 4 in 4 balls as he reached 33 but was then undone by a change in the bowling as he was stumped by Steve Attmore. Bruce hooked a huge six but was soon out and then the Vue subsided from 102/5 to 113 all out as 4 of the last five batsmen got ducks and Martin was stranded on 11 not out.

However an excellent team performance with the slower bowlers performing particularly well and good tight fielding helped the Vue clinch a nervous but exciting win. Mark again got a run out, this time dismissing one of the openers for a duck. The Beehive were in a good position at 62/2 after 8 overs but then Bob bowled a wicket maiden and Mark took a wicket in the next over and suddenly things were looking different. With their best batsmen now gone, Mark and Jack Nayar stifled the rest of the order superbly and picked up 3 wickets apiece as they finished on 99/9 and we went through to the semi-final.

Ridgeons (League), Wednesday 14th July at Girton Rec

Railway Vue won by 72 runs

A superb knock of 109 not out by Gerhard completely dominated this match and gave the Vue a comfortable win. After coming to the wicket half way through the third over after Martin and Bob were both out for 9 Gerhard immediately started pummelling the Ridgeons bowlers, hitting boundaries all round the ground. At the other end the support came from Jez (19) and Nick (10 not out) but all eyes were on Gerhard to see whether he would make his ton, which he duely did in the 14th over to a standing ovation from the watchers on the boundary.

Set 168 to win Ridgeons never looked likely to get it as Graeme, Nicky, Mark and Baggers picked up 2 wickets each. Mark finished the innings in style with a brilliant run out with a direct hit from deep mid off to give the Vue a massive 72 run win.

Red Lion (Friendly), Monday 5th July 2004 at Fitzwilliam

Red Lion won by 2 runs

The Vue's unbeaten start came to an end in this un-friendly friendly match against village rivals the Red Lion. The Lion won the toss and made 124/7 after deciding to bat. Bob was the top wicket taker with 3/29.

The Vue's innings started badly as openers Jez and Nick fell for 6 and 0 respectively. As the evening got darker the Lion's pace bowlers continued to bowl bouncers as there were some heated exchanges before the slower bowlers came on. Unfortunately the Vue were only 69/6 after 9 overs and despite a late flourish from Alex (39) we came up 2 runs short. The other batsmen to reach double figures were Bruce (25), Bob (10 not out) and Buster (14 not out).

All Saints (League), Monday 28th June at Fitzwilliam

Railway Vue won by 9 wickets

After electing to bat All Saints had a bad start as Buster bowled their opener in the first over. After that they made slow progress but without losing many wickets, although Nick made an excellent catch at deep midwicket of Bob's bowling. They eventually reached 97/4 with a run out off the last ball.

The Vue's innings started slowly as All Saints had 2 very good opening bowlers but Bob and Baggers managed to hang in there and once the bowling changed so did the match: Nick cached in with 5 huge sixes on the leg side against the third bowler who was hit for 41 in 2 overs! Nick's first 50 for the club quickly arrived but unfortunately he was bowled next ball. Bruce came in and hit a few quick boundaries and a nice 4 from Bob were the winning runs as he carried hit bat for the second match in a row, making 25 not out.

BAS (League), Tuesday 22nd June at Girton College

Railway Vue won by 49 runs

A solid if unspectacular batting effort gave the Vue another win as the rain came down at Girton College. After electing to bat the Vue only lost 2 wickets, Jez after a rapid 39 and Graeme run out for 21. Bob carried his bat for a steady 35 not out and Gert made a quick 23 at the end of the innings to bump the score up to 134/2.

After a couple of early wickets from Gerhard and Buster, BAS fell behind the required rate and never looked like making it. The only question was whether we could get through the overs before the rain got too hard, which we just did. Mark was the best bowler taking 3/25, Alex got a good stumping and Gerhard was responsible for a superb run out with a great throw in from the boundary as BAS finished on 85/8.

Comberton (League), Thursday 10 June at Comberton

Railway Vue won by 72 runs

Jez was the star of the Vue's batting effort which saw us get 144-8, our highest total of the season. Despite the dodgy Comberton wicket he hit some great shots in his 60 including a huge straight six which almost cleared the tennis courts behind the pitch. Martin (13) and Graeme (14) also chipped in and Sean Frost added a handy 14 not out late in the innings.

The Vue bowled tightly and fielded really well as Comberton never looked like getting close. This week's guest South African, Gerhard, was the main wicket taker picking up 4 for 12 in 3 overs. Bob (1-12), Nick Gray (2-6) and Bruce (2-2) also took wickets and Coberton were dismissed for 72.

TWI (League), Thursday 3 June at Granta Park

Railway Vue won by 11 runs

An excellent all round team effort saw the Vue to our second win of the season at a soaked ground at Granta Park. As Bob and Dave went out to open the rain started falling and persisted for half an hour, without ever quite getting heavy enough to stop play. The two openers gave us a solid platform as we reached 38/0 off the first seven overs. Bob was then dismissed for 18 and Dave went for the top score of 28, despite not hitting a single boundary, mainly due to the large outfield and the long, wet grass. In fact there were only 11 fours in the match and Bruce (20) hit the best of them off the first ball he faced with a powerful pull stroke as he immediately began to accelerate the run rate. We eventually reached 114/4 as Greame (25 not out) and Martin (12) knocked the ball around for mainly ones and twos in the final overs.

Fortunately the rain had stopped by the time we began fielding, and the bowlers bowled well and restricted TWI's scoring rate. Gert bowled 4 very tight overs for 20 runs and was very unlucky not to pick up several wickets as umpteen deliveries beat the bat. Bob (1/29 off 4 overs) and Mark (1/23, 4 overs) and really good fielding by the whole team (the other 3 wickets were all run outs) kept the pressure firmly on the batsmen, and with 3 overs to go TWI required 36 to win. With scoring boundaries so difficult anyway and the field set deep we were able to close out the inning comfortably as TWI finished on 103/5.

CB11 (Cup 1st Round), Thursday 13 May at Fitzwilliam

Railway Vue won by 6 wickets

The Vue took CBXI's last 9 wickets for just 15 runs as they collapsed to 92 all out. Jez took 4 for 6, Rudolph took 2 for 18 and we got 3 run outs! By the time we batted the light was fading badly and scoring became difficult on a slow wicket, but we finally edged home with 5 balls to spare after the win was set up by Bob with a solid 30 and Bruce with an important quick 20.