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Sam Smith scoops treble as Village toast a landmark season
1st XI allrounder walks away with three honours at our end-of-year awards night, as the club celebrated a historic campaign.
Mill Hill Village Cricket Club brought the curtain down on their hugely successful 2026 campaign with a packed awards night at our Burtonhole Lane clubhouse — and it was 1st XI allrounder Sam Smith who once again led the honours.
Smith, who has been at the heart of the 1s’ title-winning season, came away with a triple haul at the awards presentation, which took place after our final league games of the season. Voted Player of the Season by his teammates, he also claimed the Top Run Scorer award after topping our 1st XI’s run-scoring charts (455 runs; 15 innings; average 32.50) as well as Top Wicket Taker (37 wickets; average 11.86).
2026 awards night photo gallery
Sam told millhillvillagecricketclub.co.uk: “It’s lovely to be able to contribute but the thing that wins us games is our spirit. This team doesn’t know when it’s beat and we have pulled off some miraculous wins where everyone in the squad pulled it out of the bag when it mattered.”
Sam went one better than last year's awards night, when he took home player of the season and highest run scorer.
Sam was the second-highest wicket taker overall in Division 4A, with Tommy Smith in fifth place. Both had 3 five-wicket hauls in the season. Opening bowler Tommy was awarded Most Improved Player. Sam is pictured above with Tommy and 1s captain Devraj Ray. In winning Division 4A, our 1st XI made it back-to-back titles. The 1s dominated their division, winning 14 of their 17 fixtures.
Bakhtiar Sahil was voted 2s player of the season by his teammates. The 2nd XI's impressively relentless bowling attack featured three of the top wicket-takers in Division 6B: second-placed Alam Khan (24 wickets), third-placed Neeraj Negi (22 wickets) and captain Jan Temori (also 22 wickets). Khalid Khan Musazai’s haul of 20 wickets was the seventh-most in the division.
Two 2s batters were in the division’s top 10 runscorers: Mushtaq Ahmed, who has also performed with distinction for the Herts Over-50s this summer, and wicket-keeper opener Dinesh Johnson. The latter claimed the most victims in the division, with 24 catches. The 2s won 11 out of 16 matches to finish top of Division 6B.
Below is the full list of winners.
While awards night celebrated individual brilliance across every senior side, recognising the players who made the difference in a landmark year for the club as four of our five Saturday adult league sides won promotion from their respective divisions in the Herts Cricket Premier League, it wasn't just about the season’s standout performers. Director of Cricket Phil Smith and captains Devraj Ray, Jan Temori, Ken Shakoor, Pryank Patel and Matt Barrett were also quick to point to the strength in depth of each squad, with players across every XI stepping up to cover teammates, sharing the workload and backing each other through a long and ultimately highly successful season.
Award winners in full:
1st XI
* Player of the Season: Sam Smith
* Highest run scorer: Sam Smith 455 runs; 15 innings; average 32.50
* Leading wicket-taker: Sam Smith 37 wickets; average 11.86
* Most improved player: Tommy Smith 31 wickets; average 15.81
2nd XI
* Player of the Season: Bakhtiar Sahil 204 runs; 12 innings; 20.40 average; 12 wickets, average 13.33
* Highest run scorer: Sardar Mushtaq Ahmed 327 runs; 11 innings; average 36.33
* Leading wicket-taker: Alam Khan 24 wickets; average 12.25
Special mention: Dinesh Johnson, 299 runs in 14 innings; average 21.36; 24 total wicketkeeping victims
3rd XI
* Player of the Season: Speen Ahmadzai 242 runs; 14 innings; average 24.20; 33 wickets at 13.94
* Highest run scorer: Amir Sultan 428 runs; 9 innings; average 71.33
* Leading wicket-taker: Speen Ahmadzai
Special mention: Asfandyar Durrani (413 runs; 10 innings; average 51.65; 21 wickets at 13.19
4th XI
* Player of the Season: Shash Seem 146 runs; 10 innings average 18.25; 22 wickets at 12.55
* Highest run scorer: Rithik Mepani 349 runs; 11 innings; average 38.78
* Leading wicket-taker: Shash Seem
5th XI
* Player of the Season: David Hickey 327 runs; 11 innings; average 36.33; 14 wicketkeeping dimissals
* Highest run scorer: David Hickey
* Leading wicket-taker: Sahil Sharma 18 wickets; average 14.89
Saturday Herts Premier Cricket League only. Run/wickets by award winners for other MHVCC Saturday teams not included.
Sunday 1st XI
* Player of the Season: Obee Ur Rehman 257 runs; 7 innings; average 36.71; 5 wickets; average 37.20
* Best batsman: Mohammed Ayoubi 309 runs, 13 innings; average 28.09
* Leading wicket-taker: Khurram Shahzad 18 wickets; average 24.28
Sunday Middlesex Premier Cricket League only. Run/wickets by award winners for MHVCC Saturday teams not included.
A huge congratulations to this year's award winners, and thank you to our captains and every player, volunteer, supporter and friend of Mill Hill Village Cricket Club who contributed to our unprecedented success this season.
