Sunday XI 2024

"I won't practice too much", says one of the shining wits of the Sunday XI, "It stifles natural talent". And so indoor nets are underway for the 2024 season: the team with the longest fixture list is always the Sunday friendlies team. April 21^st will be the traditional curtain raiser against the Ancient Mariners but we won't hold our breath because, traditionally, it gets rained off.

Fernhurst's Sunday XI has always been a very important part of the club (the team photo is from the Ventnor match during our 'overseas tour' to the Isle of Wight last year). The younger members of that team all now play for the Saturday league sides - but they got their first taste of senior cricket on a Sunday, where the atmosphere is more relaxed. We like to win but the amusing repartee and the actual tea are bigger deals. The new pavilion bar was much enjoyed last season for a post-match chat with the visitors.

A lot of hard recruitment work over the past 15 years means we now have a squad of more than 40 players which is great because people can pick and choose which weekends they want to play. We are also very lazy and won't travel too far - in fact the furthest we go on a Sunday is to the Arundel Castle villages festival in May, which is definitely worth the trip. We are lucky that so many wandering teams want to spend an afternoon in Fernhurst: the Mariners are the longest-standing 'nomad' fixture, followed by Sir Tim Rice's Heartaches. We also have local derbies with villages like Ebernoe and Lynchmere.

So if you fancy dusting off your pads, please come on down or get in touch via the website. And if you want to watch the newest Fernhurst youngsters starting out in senior cricket then do pop by the Rec on a Sunday afternoon. Probably not April 21^st though ...

Simon Vigar

Captain, Sunday XI