Our thumping nine-wicket win against local rivals Old Camdenians CC 4th XI on Saturday at our adopted home ground of Old Haberdashers Cricket Club, Borehamwood, leaves us with an unassailable lead with two rounds of fixtures left to play.

President’s Day returns for a festival of cricket and live music

Youth and experience combined to see us over the line against Old Cams. Fourteen-year-old pace bowler Saif Suleman (pictured below left) did the damage with the ball, taking 4-14 off eight devastating overs to help restrict the opposition to 123 for 9 off their 40 overs. Then it was experience's turn: Club President Piers Jenkins (below right) — who made his first appearance for the Village back in 1988 — steered us home by the 24th over with an unbeaten 63, well supported by Meer Shah (25) and Sami Knowles (23 not out).

The 5s now sit in first place on 398 points, 67 points ahead of second-placed Tewin CC’s 3rd XI.

millhillvillagecricketclub.co.uk spoke to 5s captain Matt Barrett after his side’s win against Old Cams.

Your 5s are a new team, having only been formed at the beginning of the year. How does it feel to have secured promotion at the first time of asking?
I cannot express how proud, grateful and ecstatic I am of the team. We all played our hearts out every game and to get the title and the promotion is awesome. This could not have been done without the people we have every week and it’s the best club I've been apart of. It feels phenomenal to finish first and secure promotion with two games to spare. For a new team to win the title and get promoted is a huge achievement. Throughout the season, we played every game with 100 percent effort, and this amazing result shows it. I'm excited to take on Division 13 next season!

What do you think has been the key to the 5th XI’s success this season?
There have been a lot of keys to our success. We’ve shown fight, not giving up no matter what. We’ve got our young guns, the juniors regularly playing in the team who showed their skills with bat and ball and in the field. We’ve nurtured a supportive environment - everyone helped each other on and off the field, including in training. When someone was having a rough day, there was no negativity. It’s been all positive. Everyone's thoughts were heard, and ideas tried. We’ve had a dominant bowling attack - it was said by other teams we had the best bowling attack in the division; it showed in every game. And finally learning and adapting - each game, win or lose, we took away things to work on. During games, we adapted to our opposition and tried to counter what they were doing.

What has pleased you most this season?
The growth in the juniors, from the start of the season to now. I wanted this team to be a way to develop them into flourishing cricketers and people. It was a success.

What has been the biggest challenge you have had to overcome this season as 5s captain?
The biggest challenge was trying to have the same set of players each week. Some were called up to the 4s while some were unavailable, which made some games feel tougher than most. Regardless, the confidence and belief I had in whoever I picked helped massively to overcome this.

In what areas do you feel the team needs to improve?
Firstly, fielding, specifically stopping balls and catching, although the fielding improved throughout the season. Secondly, batting with more patience - although we got better at this towards the back end of the season. Waiting for the right ball to hit is an area that could be improved.

What are your remaining goals for this 2026 season with two weeks left?
Simple: Dominate, like we have all season.

Our Saturday 1s, 2s and 3s are also well placed to win their respective titles this season. Tell us about the feeling around the club at the moment.
Going back to Burtonhole Lane after Saturday’s game, as well as seeing the messages on the WhatsApp groups, was a joyous feeling; it was full of positivity. To quote one message, "What a club!"

Going into the last two games, everything is incredibly jovial as we could have four Saturday adult league teams promoted out of five.