• Round 1 - beat CCC by two wickets. Match Report
• Round 2 - Bye
• Round 3 - lost to Centaurs by nine wickets. Match Report
• Round 4 - lost to Police by 2 runs. Match Report
• Round 5 - beat Tartars by three wickets. Match Report
• Round 6 - lost to Nomads by 18 runs. Match Report
• Round 7 - lost to Lamma by 89 runs. Match Report
• Round 8 - beat DBS by six wickets. Match Report
• Round 9 - lost to Islanders by eight wickets. Match Report
• Round 10 - lost to Merchants by 106 runs. Match Report
• Round 11 - lost to St George's by six wickets. Match Report
• Round 12 - lost to KGV by 47 runs. Match Report
• Round 13 - lost to Kai Tak by 93 runs. Match Report
• Round 14 - lost to Saracens by six wickets. Match Report
• Round 15 - lost to Witherers by 49 runs. Match Report
• Round 16 - lost to  Gap Ramblers by 7 wickets. Match Report
• Round 17 - v. HKU washed out.

• Qualifying Round - lost to KGV by 19 runs. Match Report

Check Out : 

• 1997-98 Points Tables
• 1997-98 Statistics (HKCA)

1997-98: Finished second from bottom in Saturday League. Knocked out of qualifying round for Saturday Cup/Plate.

The bald facts of Crusaders' 1997/98 campaign don't make for pretty reading. League: played 16, won 3, lost 12, 1 no result. Cup: knocked out in the preliminary round by the only team who came below us in the League, the schoolboys of KGV, who thus completed the double over us.

Depressing statistics indeed. Even more worrying was the number of times the team played without its full complement of 11 players. Four times altogether: twice with 10 men, twice with 9. It is instructive that although a total of 23 people turned out in a Crusaders' blue shirt this season, only once did the captain need to select a team - and that was for the first game of the season. There's very little a captain can do when four players pull out in the 24 hours preceding the game, as happened against Kai Tak. Even on occasions when we finished a game with 11 men, we didn't always start it that way: giving a team like Merchants a three man advantage in the field was a luxury we couldn't afford.

The season started brightly with a last-over, 2 wicket win over CCC. After that, however, we were to achieve only two more wins, against DBS and Tartars. We didn't win a game of any kind after Christmas. One interesting fact about each of our wins was that key players Nick Waters, Andy Steward and Jim Middleton played together in all these games. A quick glance at the season's averages will confirm the importance of these three players.

Nick had an excellent season for us, averaging 45 with the bat (with a top score of 105* in the derby against Saracens) and taking 14 wickets at 24.8. Owing to work commitments Nick missed 6 games, or roughly a third of our fixtures. Andy Steward was our most economical bowler (taking 16 wickets at an average of 20.3 and a runs per over rate of 4.4), this in spite of a back condition that limited his early season opportunities. Andy had a disappointing season with the bat, though, mustering just 219 runs from 13 innings. However, he kept something special in reserve for the derby against Tartars, taking six wickets and hitting 50 runs.

Jim was our top wicket-taker with 22 scalps at an average of 28.7. The only surprise was his economy rate, which at 5.8 was a full half point higher than his captain's. Jim would doubtless point in his defence to scenarios such as that at the start of the Kai Tak match. Malcolm Marshall himself would have trouble containing batsmen bowling to a split 2/2 field! Certainly Crusaders lacked sufficient bite in their bowling, even allowing for the perennial problem of misfields and dropped catches which of course always make unflattering figures look even worse.

The tendency of the batting to falter when under pressure resulted in us losing four games when chasing low scores. Too many heads were lost as we went down by just a few runs against Police, Witherers (the eventual champions) and KGV (twice). None of the top and middle order batsmen who played regularly could manage an average of 25. Adrian Baker, Travis Pittman, Andy Steward and Mike Trayford all chipped in with useful runs, but their performances lacked the sort of consistency that brings confidence and as a result more runs. A special mention in despatches, though, to two veterans who made significant contributions in their limited appearances. Glyn Davies scored 175 runs at an average of nearly 30 in six knocks and Mark Eames topped the table with 371 runs at 74 (with top scores of  99 and 98 - obviously didn't want to buy a jug!). Mark's runs came in just seven appearances.

So, as we reflect on what must have been the worst season in Crusaders' history - on the pitch, that is; off the pitch we still managed to put together three enjoyable social evenings - tough choices face the players and indeed the whole section. Can we expect to bounce back with no injection of new players and precious little net practice, or has the time come to consider sending out only two teams on a Saturday? With the Tartars also managing just three wins in the League and facing possibly even more serious selection problems than Crusaders, such an option is something that should not be dismissed without much thought.

Finally, a word of thanks to all those whose work behind the scenes does so much to make playing for or captaining a KCC side such a pleasure: Marion, Ah Kwong, Paul, Mak Wing, the ground staff, as well as the F&B Staff. Not forgetting Jenny and Louise Lethbridge, who despite numerous other commitments scored for us so often. It is sad indeed that their beautifully crafted, technicolour work has to share the scorebook with the players' amateurish scribblings. Thanks too to Travis Pittman for chronicling our deeds (in text and rather less than flattering image!) in Members' End.

So, it only leaves me to wish my successor the very best of luck in the new season. He may need it.

Hugh Tyrwhitt-Drake