Mill Hill Village Sports Club produced some remarkable performances in 2024 across both the cricket and football sections. Here we look at some of the most surprising numbers.

2
The club has secured two promotions this year - so far: First, Mill Hill Village Football Club 1st XI, the sister club of Mill Hill Village Cricket Club, secured promotion and are now playing in Senior North 1 of the Amateur Football Combination in 2024/25 after their ninth promotion in 11 seasons.

Mill Hill Village Cricket Club 1st XI, captained by Devraj Ray, won promotion by finishing second in Division 5 A.

The club also won the T20 cup for teams in the lower/regional divisions.

It is also hoped that the club will soon be able to confirm a third promotion, with Mill Hill Village Cricket Club 4th XI, captained by Pryank Patel, having finished second in Division 11 East. Ordinarily, this would secure promotion - subject to any restructuring by the Saracens Herts League. Watch this space.

114
In 2023 no Village player made the honours board for scoring a ton. Happily, that changed in 2024: the highest score by a Village player this season was by Sumit Kumar, who scored 114 for the 4th XI against Botany Bay 3rd XI. Phil Smith was the only other Village centurion in 2024, carrying his bat to score 101 not out for the 3s against Shenley Village 4th XI. Temperament.

372
Our highest run scorer in the league in 2024 according to Play-Cricket was Dinesh Johnson, who scored 372 runs in 13 innings with a highest score of 61 at an average of 31.00. Consistent.

Top run-scorers:
Dinesh Johnson (2nd XI & 1st XI) - 372 runs
Phil Smith (3rd XI, 2nd XI and 4th XI) - 360 runs
Sam Smith (1st XI) - 294 runs

Both Johnson and Phil Smith scored three league fifties in 2024. Marcus Cara (1st XI) and Sardar Mushtaq Ahmed (2nd XI) scored two fifties in the league this season.

36
Our highest wicket taker by some distance was the 1st XI’s Sam Smith with 36 at an average of 9.28 and economy rate of 3.64. Game-changer.

Top wicket-takers:
Sam Smith (1st XI) - 36 wickets
Marcus Cara (1st XI) - 25 wickets
Momin Sadozai (2nd XI and 1st XI) - 20 wickets
Shiban Sayed (2nd XI & 1st XI) - 20 wickets
Inthikhab Mazeez (2nd XI) - 20 wickets

150
Three Village batters in 2024 had a strike rate at better than a run a ball, with the highest strike rate belonging to lower-order 3rd XI batsman Rohail Mughal at 150.00. Explosive.

Best batting strike rates:
Rohail Mughal - 150.00
Sumit Kumar - 103.47
Prasham Garg - 103.03

75
The number of ducks registered by our batters this season. Yes, that’s right - 75. Two players were responsible for eight of these ducks between them (four apiece). Ouch.

1
There was one hat-trick this season, bowled by Abhi Atri for the 3rd XI against Old Albanians 3rd XI. Atri took 3-6 off eight overs including five maidens to help bowl the Village to victory by 69 runs. Spin king.

1.84
Of the Village bowlers that threw down at least 20 overs in 2024, Neeraj Negi was the most economical. His 25 overs variously for the 2s, 3s and 4s cost an average of 1.84. He took six wickets including 4 for 7 for the 4th XI against Botany Bay 3rd XI. Miserly.

Best bowling economy:
Neerag Neji (2nd XI, 3rd XI and 4th XI) - 1.84
Pryank Patel (4th XI) - 2.43
Andrew Godfrey (3rd XI) - 2.71

6/21
Best bowling figures in a league match in 2024 belong to Momin Sadozai for the 2nd XI against Radlett CC 3rd XI. On the money.

Best bowling figures in a league match:
6/21 Momin Sadozai (2nd XI vs Radlett CC 3rd XI)
6/38 Sam Smith (1st XI vs Luton Town & Indians 2nd XI)
5/7 Sam Smith (1st XI vs Boxmoor CC 1st XI

There were seven five-wicket hauls by our bowlers this season, including two by Sam Smith.

115
The number of dropped catches by Village fielders this season. Fielding, and especially catching, has remained a weakness at the Village for sometime. Must improve.

23
1st XI keeper James Thompson took the most catches in 2024 - 23. He also took two stumpings. Tidy.

Of the outfield players, Sam Smith and Momin Sadozai topped the charts with 10 catches each. Safe hands.

3
Run outs executed each by Ibrahim Javed and Momin Sadozai. Sharp.

129
This season there were six 100-run partnerships. The highest partnership between two Village batsmen was between Phil Smith and Bakhtiar Sahil. The two put on 129 for the 3rd XI against Shenley Village 4th XI. Teamwork.

Stats compiled by James Thompson and Play-Cricket - Saturday league cricket fixtures only. See the complete honours board attached. In the coming weeks, millhillvillagecricketclub.co.uk will publish stats on the best batters and best bowlers of 2024.