The player of the month is for someone deemed to have excelled over the last month in league cricket and is awarded by the Management Committee. The August recipient is Umang Patel.

Umang played for the 2nd XI on four occasions in August and was a key part of a couple of fine victories.

First up against Wandgas, Umang bowled a brilliant spell of 2/23 from 8 overs to help limit the opposition to 170/7. He followed this up with his highest score for the club, as a superb 83 not out helped the 2nd XI to a resounding win.

The team fared less well next week against Wimbledon, but Umang picked up 2/45 (from an opposition total of 270!) and then top scored with 43 out a WWCC total of just 122. Not the result we wanted, but a really good individual performance.

The third fixture against Worcester Park included a sensational 3/18 from 7 overs, and with the bat Umang graciously allowed others to have a chance by only scoring 4.

The fourth match vs Blue Wings saw 12 runs before an untimely run out, before taking 1/48 with the ball, a catch and a run out. The game ended in a narrow 1 wicket defeat, but Umang played a huge part in it being so close.

4 matches, 142 runs @ 47, 8 wickets @ 17 with an economy of 4.3. A very good month's work by almost anyone's standards!

In addition to the honour of the award, Umang wins a free MOT service with thanks to our friends at Currie Motors.