Nets
The Washington CC has pre-season nets in the fantastic indoor facilities at Lord's Cricket Ground - a 20 minute walk from the pub. We've been training at Lords for years during the pre-season. This is a great way to shrug off that extra layer of winter warmer that may have been added over the Christmas and New Year period, and allows us all to test ourselves and prepare mentally for the season ahead. Newcomers are always welcome!
Lord's Net times for Winter/Spring 2025 are:
The cost will be £10 per person per session, and there are 12 places up for grabs each session. Keep an eye out for emails from the Nets Manager Matthew Cragoe to book your slot. Ideally, there are no more than 5 / 6 players per net so that everyone gets plenty of practice and each batsman will face a good variety of bowling.
All players should wear appropriate sporting clothes or regular cricket whites and of course Spikes are NOT allowed.
Address:
Lords Cricket Club
St John's Wood Rd
St John's Wood
London, NW8 8QN
Paddington Recreation Ground
We also have occasional sessions (weather permitting) in the excellent open air facilities at the Paddington recreation Ground. These will be advised over the Wash Banter and Bull WhatsApp chat group.
Lord's Net times for Winter/Spring 2025 are:
- 2 February 2025: 2 nets, 6-7 pm.
- 9 February 2025: 2 nets, 6-7 pm
- 23 February 2025: 2 nets, 10-11 am
- 2 March 2025: 2 nets, 6-7 pm
- 9 March 2025: 2 nets, 6-7 pm
- 16 March 2025: 2 nets, 6-7 pm
- 23 March 2025: 2 nets, 7-8 pm
- 6 April 2025: 2 nets, 6-7 pm.
The cost will be £10 per person per session, and there are 12 places up for grabs each session. Keep an eye out for emails from the Nets Manager Matthew Cragoe to book your slot. Ideally, there are no more than 5 / 6 players per net so that everyone gets plenty of practice and each batsman will face a good variety of bowling.
All players should wear appropriate sporting clothes or regular cricket whites and of course Spikes are NOT allowed.
Address:
Lords Cricket Club
St John's Wood Rd
St John's Wood
London, NW8 8QN
Paddington Recreation Ground
We also have occasional sessions (weather permitting) in the excellent open air facilities at the Paddington recreation Ground. These will be advised over the Wash Banter and Bull WhatsApp chat group.
Washington CC on tour
The Washington has a proud tradition of successful overseas touring - success being understood in terms of everyone having a good time and getting home safely rather than in purely cricketing terms! In the 1990s, the club mounted ambitious 'long haul' tours to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies, playing at some prestigious grounds including the famous Bradman Oval in Bowral, NSW. In this we were greatly assisted by Washington old boys who had returned to their native countries and helped set up the games - an indication of the club's international character. Since the Millennium, with the exception of a trip to Thailand, tours have tended to be shorter and closer to home. In recent years we've had fantastic trips to Malta, Corfu, Cyprus, Slovenia and Croatia, Holland, the South of France, Portugal, and most recently, Ibiza. Below are some accounts and pictures of our recent tours which give a flavour of our life on the road!
September 2024: Ibiza
The Wash broke with tradition this year and took their annual tour earlier than normal. The destination: Ibiza!
Organised by Tour Secretary Mike Egan, it was a brilliant success with very nice oppo and lots of memories. On the field we lost both our games – one by a little, one by a lot. Here’s what happened …
On the Saturday, our hosts, Ibiza CC, arranged for us to play another English touring side, Rowledge Casuals from Farnham in Surrey. They turned out to be a very good bunch and we were quite evenly matched. Future fixture potential there!
Molly consigned the Wash to an afternoon in the field by calling wrong and so our first taste of cricket in Ibiza was with the ball. The artificial wicket had a strange bounce, but the Casuals weren’t especially inconvenienced and slammed it about at a good rate. We’d arranged that batsmen would retire at 50, and opener Rohan Wills and middle order batter Sam Foskett both reached that landmark. There was a wicket apiece for Megs, Nick, Danger and Tom.
After 23.2 overs, however, with the Casuals on 167-4 (+2 retired), there was an absolute cloud burst. Marshy’s weather app was flashing like a beacon and warning of a ‘threat to life’, so we wisely went inside, had lunch and spent a couple of hours drinking tinnies from the Ibiza Club’s well-stocked freezer (Wash’s final tally on Saturday was a David Boon-like 84).
When the rain relented, Clinton and Specky went out to begin the Washington pursuit of 168 in 23.2 overs. Both raced to 50 in decent time against some decent bowling and then retired, but then things went downhill. Tom Harper did a hamstring and had to retire, and the run rate began to rise. Brian W scored a really good (and career-best) 13 to keep things moving, but others found unique ways to get themselves out as they tried to push the pace – Molly and Ike both demolishing their stumps - and Wash lost a flurry of wickets before ending on 151-5 (+2 retired).
Still – a great game, and after a few drinks with the Oppo, (including some skilful poaching by Molly who made up for losing the toss by persuading Ro Wills to come and play in place of the injured Tom H the following day!), we returned to San Antonio. Dinner was taken and then half the team drove down to Hi Ibiza – voted ‘The best club in the world’ for the last three years, though by whom isn’t exactly clear.
Everyone got back safely and Sunday saw Molly’s red-eyed army pitch up again for their second game – this time against Ibiza CC themselves. This felt an altogether different match – perhaps because the No 3 batsman had played – or even captained - Holland U-19s at some point in the past. He made an unsmiling 143 not out - no retiring at 50 for him!
Wash stuck to their task and enjoyed some periods of success. Clinton bowled very fast and was unlucky not to get a few, while Marshie was simply amazing for someone who hadn’t actually slept since 9 am on Saturday. It turned out to be our carefully chosen ringer who did the damage - Ro Wills recording a highly-fineable 3-36 on debut for the Wash!
The weather was set fair this time – noticeably hot and humid – so Wash had the full 30 overs at their disposal to chase the target of 215. The home team’s bowlers, however, knew their pitch well and bowled very good lines. Wash were restricted to 163-7, Clinton top-scoring with 45 and Ro adding to an already enormous ‘cricketing arrogance’ fine by scoring 44.
Not so many beers with the oppo afterwards but a few tins were cracked open as we watched the first half of Man City v Arsenal. Then it was back to the hotel. The tour dinner was the evening’s entertainment, marked by a fine chairman’s speech from Nick Kripps and an excellent fines session led by the skipper which yielded100 euros towards the cost of the meal.
Some hardy souls went on looking for more club action; Marshie went to bed …
And that was the tour. Huge thanks to Mike Egan for pulling it together in all its details – from getting the fixtures right through to sourcing the lovely red tour shorts that met with universal approval.
Only one question lingered on everyone’s lips as their respective planes took off from Ibiza airport on Monday: “where next?”. Watch this space …
Organised by Tour Secretary Mike Egan, it was a brilliant success with very nice oppo and lots of memories. On the field we lost both our games – one by a little, one by a lot. Here’s what happened …
On the Saturday, our hosts, Ibiza CC, arranged for us to play another English touring side, Rowledge Casuals from Farnham in Surrey. They turned out to be a very good bunch and we were quite evenly matched. Future fixture potential there!
Molly consigned the Wash to an afternoon in the field by calling wrong and so our first taste of cricket in Ibiza was with the ball. The artificial wicket had a strange bounce, but the Casuals weren’t especially inconvenienced and slammed it about at a good rate. We’d arranged that batsmen would retire at 50, and opener Rohan Wills and middle order batter Sam Foskett both reached that landmark. There was a wicket apiece for Megs, Nick, Danger and Tom.
After 23.2 overs, however, with the Casuals on 167-4 (+2 retired), there was an absolute cloud burst. Marshy’s weather app was flashing like a beacon and warning of a ‘threat to life’, so we wisely went inside, had lunch and spent a couple of hours drinking tinnies from the Ibiza Club’s well-stocked freezer (Wash’s final tally on Saturday was a David Boon-like 84).
When the rain relented, Clinton and Specky went out to begin the Washington pursuit of 168 in 23.2 overs. Both raced to 50 in decent time against some decent bowling and then retired, but then things went downhill. Tom Harper did a hamstring and had to retire, and the run rate began to rise. Brian W scored a really good (and career-best) 13 to keep things moving, but others found unique ways to get themselves out as they tried to push the pace – Molly and Ike both demolishing their stumps - and Wash lost a flurry of wickets before ending on 151-5 (+2 retired).
Still – a great game, and after a few drinks with the Oppo, (including some skilful poaching by Molly who made up for losing the toss by persuading Ro Wills to come and play in place of the injured Tom H the following day!), we returned to San Antonio. Dinner was taken and then half the team drove down to Hi Ibiza – voted ‘The best club in the world’ for the last three years, though by whom isn’t exactly clear.
Everyone got back safely and Sunday saw Molly’s red-eyed army pitch up again for their second game – this time against Ibiza CC themselves. This felt an altogether different match – perhaps because the No 3 batsman had played – or even captained - Holland U-19s at some point in the past. He made an unsmiling 143 not out - no retiring at 50 for him!
Wash stuck to their task and enjoyed some periods of success. Clinton bowled very fast and was unlucky not to get a few, while Marshie was simply amazing for someone who hadn’t actually slept since 9 am on Saturday. It turned out to be our carefully chosen ringer who did the damage - Ro Wills recording a highly-fineable 3-36 on debut for the Wash!
The weather was set fair this time – noticeably hot and humid – so Wash had the full 30 overs at their disposal to chase the target of 215. The home team’s bowlers, however, knew their pitch well and bowled very good lines. Wash were restricted to 163-7, Clinton top-scoring with 45 and Ro adding to an already enormous ‘cricketing arrogance’ fine by scoring 44.
Not so many beers with the oppo afterwards but a few tins were cracked open as we watched the first half of Man City v Arsenal. Then it was back to the hotel. The tour dinner was the evening’s entertainment, marked by a fine chairman’s speech from Nick Kripps and an excellent fines session led by the skipper which yielded100 euros towards the cost of the meal.
Some hardy souls went on looking for more club action; Marshie went to bed …
And that was the tour. Huge thanks to Mike Egan for pulling it together in all its details – from getting the fixtures right through to sourcing the lovely red tour shorts that met with universal approval.
Only one question lingered on everyone’s lips as their respective planes took off from Ibiza airport on Monday: “where next?”. Watch this space …
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October 2022: Malta: the Comeback Tour!
In October 2022 Washington CC tourists set off to Malta. This was our first End of Season tour since 2019... as that little thing called The Global Pandemic stymied our overseas efforts...
In October 2022, Washington CC tourists set off to Malta. This was our first End of Season tour since 2019 ... as that little thing called The Global Pandemic stymied our overseas efforts ...
We called it The Comeback Tour 2022. We came back from that Covid induced tour hiatus and we strode valiantly to that magnificent and ancient isle to take on the might of the local Maltese teams. Cricket in Malta has really expanded in the years since we were last there. There is another ground being built on the island and there are many teams playing a big hitting series of 20:20 games throughout the year. Read further down for more on that tour...
There were no tours in 2023. We had planned a February 2024 long-haul tour to Thailand to celebrate 50 years of Wash awesomeness. But sadly - the other major events we put on last year, and I think the high costs put too many punters off and so the tour was cancelled... we will try again in few years I hope.
In October 2022, Washington CC tourists set off to Malta. This was our first End of Season tour since 2019 ... as that little thing called The Global Pandemic stymied our overseas efforts ...
We called it The Comeback Tour 2022. We came back from that Covid induced tour hiatus and we strode valiantly to that magnificent and ancient isle to take on the might of the local Maltese teams. Cricket in Malta has really expanded in the years since we were last there. There is another ground being built on the island and there are many teams playing a big hitting series of 20:20 games throughout the year. Read further down for more on that tour...
There were no tours in 2023. We had planned a February 2024 long-haul tour to Thailand to celebrate 50 years of Wash awesomeness. But sadly - the other major events we put on last year, and I think the high costs put too many punters off and so the tour was cancelled... we will try again in few years I hope.
The Washington CC Comeback Tour of Malta - October 2022
In October 2022, Washington CC tourists set off to Malta. This was our first End of Season tour since 2019 ... as that little thing called The Global Pandemic stymied our overseas efforts ...
We called it The Comeback Tour 2022. We came back from that Covid induced tour hiatus and we strode valiantly to that magnificent and ancient isle to take on the might of the local Maltese teams. Cricket in Malta has really expanded in the years since we were last there. There is another ground being built on the island and there are many teams playing a big hitting series of 20:20 games throughout the year.
But back to the Wash. Who can forget the last time we toured Malta in 2013: it had everything. Our first ladies playing in Wash colours, massive hitting over the long boundary by Navid Mir to secure a dramatic last gasp victory and heroic batting stands by Mr Mike Turner on several occasions. Then there were the cold beers and cocktails by the pool after the game, amazing swimming and beach days, fantastic meals and a few random shenanigans that had nothing to do with cricket, but kept us all entertained.
This time around, our '23 edition tour manager Mike Egan - who didn't actually attend the tour and was fined heavily for that btw - found us a lovely hotel in the heart of St Julian's, and right on the bay too, so there was plenty of bar crawling and food options within close quarters. And being Malta, nothing is very far away. A trip to Valletta or the northern beaches is easy and relatively cheap and a tour bus to the ground takes less than 15 minutes, which I can attest is actually too long when you're carrying a ridiculously heinous hangover.
Anyway... on to the games, and it is fair to say they were hard fought. Well, maybe not for the locals, but they were for us. In the first game we bowled out the oppo inside their allotted overs, which is a magnificent feat for a touring Wash side playing in sweltering heat. Unfortunately our chase got off to a very slow start and we soon drifted behind the required run rate... leaving the middle order and tail too big of a wag to make up the deficit. In the end, we lost by about 30 runs, which on this particular tour was deemed as good as a draw, especially given our heroics with the ball. A great start to the tour and much swimming and cold lager was enjoyed... along with a trip to the Casino which seems to becoming a Wash Tour habit. A few of us won big, a few us lost big, but one of our number just actually lost his money... like, directly out of his pocket. At least that's the story he's telling.
With Richie being nominated as Full Kit Wanker for Day 2, we were off for the second game which was a 20 over affair, and this time despite our late night festivities from the night before, the Wash posted a score, which at about 130 seemed like a defendable target, but the strength and depth in their batting was just too much. Although we took a few great wickets, they had us at 6's and 7's around the boundary, and eventually in a sporting gesture their captain started retiring their players for having the temerity to hit boundaries. The Wash went down again but the beautiful pool and ice cold Cisk's followed by the traditional end of tour dinner and a heavy fines session led by VC Molly brought the action to a fitting close.
Malta is a fantastic destination and I'm sure we'll be back there in a few years!
In October 2022, Washington CC tourists set off to Malta. This was our first End of Season tour since 2019 ... as that little thing called The Global Pandemic stymied our overseas efforts ...
We called it The Comeback Tour 2022. We came back from that Covid induced tour hiatus and we strode valiantly to that magnificent and ancient isle to take on the might of the local Maltese teams. Cricket in Malta has really expanded in the years since we were last there. There is another ground being built on the island and there are many teams playing a big hitting series of 20:20 games throughout the year.
But back to the Wash. Who can forget the last time we toured Malta in 2013: it had everything. Our first ladies playing in Wash colours, massive hitting over the long boundary by Navid Mir to secure a dramatic last gasp victory and heroic batting stands by Mr Mike Turner on several occasions. Then there were the cold beers and cocktails by the pool after the game, amazing swimming and beach days, fantastic meals and a few random shenanigans that had nothing to do with cricket, but kept us all entertained.
This time around, our '23 edition tour manager Mike Egan - who didn't actually attend the tour and was fined heavily for that btw - found us a lovely hotel in the heart of St Julian's, and right on the bay too, so there was plenty of bar crawling and food options within close quarters. And being Malta, nothing is very far away. A trip to Valletta or the northern beaches is easy and relatively cheap and a tour bus to the ground takes less than 15 minutes, which I can attest is actually too long when you're carrying a ridiculously heinous hangover.
Anyway... on to the games, and it is fair to say they were hard fought. Well, maybe not for the locals, but they were for us. In the first game we bowled out the oppo inside their allotted overs, which is a magnificent feat for a touring Wash side playing in sweltering heat. Unfortunately our chase got off to a very slow start and we soon drifted behind the required run rate... leaving the middle order and tail too big of a wag to make up the deficit. In the end, we lost by about 30 runs, which on this particular tour was deemed as good as a draw, especially given our heroics with the ball. A great start to the tour and much swimming and cold lager was enjoyed... along with a trip to the Casino which seems to becoming a Wash Tour habit. A few of us won big, a few us lost big, but one of our number just actually lost his money... like, directly out of his pocket. At least that's the story he's telling.
With Richie being nominated as Full Kit Wanker for Day 2, we were off for the second game which was a 20 over affair, and this time despite our late night festivities from the night before, the Wash posted a score, which at about 130 seemed like a defendable target, but the strength and depth in their batting was just too much. Although we took a few great wickets, they had us at 6's and 7's around the boundary, and eventually in a sporting gesture their captain started retiring their players for having the temerity to hit boundaries. The Wash went down again but the beautiful pool and ice cold Cisk's followed by the traditional end of tour dinner and a heavy fines session led by VC Molly brought the action to a fitting close.
Malta is a fantastic destination and I'm sure we'll be back there in a few years!
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In October 2019, The Washington CC returned to Portugal for the end of season tour...
7 years after our first visit in 2012, this time as the Desperadoes. And what a motley collection of fictional and non-fictional bandits, criminals, cheats and vagabonds we made.
The tour was based in Figueria da Foz on the west coast known for its wide sandy beaches with decent waves, and with its small town teaming with bars and restaurants, made an excellent impression. With 24 tourists flying out this was the largest touring party to date and made for a great Wash end of season get together.
Two games against the Amigos CC were played on the last weekend in October, one on the Saturday and one on Sunday. A Warmer welcome on tour is probably harder to find with welcoming blackboards, warm handshakes and friendly opponents, and this made for two great days of cricket. Add to this the wonderful facilities at the Woodlands ground at Pousaflores in Ansaio, and the amazing teas, and a rare on tour win, and it’s easy to see why this was a fantastic tour.
Overall we had an amazing tour, and we salute Russ Pendry for organising an amazing event. Massive thanks!
7 years after our first visit in 2012, this time as the Desperadoes. And what a motley collection of fictional and non-fictional bandits, criminals, cheats and vagabonds we made.
The tour was based in Figueria da Foz on the west coast known for its wide sandy beaches with decent waves, and with its small town teaming with bars and restaurants, made an excellent impression. With 24 tourists flying out this was the largest touring party to date and made for a great Wash end of season get together.
Two games against the Amigos CC were played on the last weekend in October, one on the Saturday and one on Sunday. A Warmer welcome on tour is probably harder to find with welcoming blackboards, warm handshakes and friendly opponents, and this made for two great days of cricket. Add to this the wonderful facilities at the Woodlands ground at Pousaflores in Ansaio, and the amazing teas, and a rare on tour win, and it’s easy to see why this was a fantastic tour.
Overall we had an amazing tour, and we salute Russ Pendry for organising an amazing event. Massive thanks!
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