On Monday 2nd June after 4 balls of our first Essex T20 game against Harold Wood, we found ourselves 0-2. Fast forward 9 months and we were belting out God Save The King at The Cartama Oval in Malaga ahead of the final of the European Cricket League final.

It has been a journey that has taken us past Hutton by the ‘barest of margins’, winning the Essex final when no one wanted us to and beating teams that we had no right beating. We did it with a bunch of mates, players falling apart with injuries and a few players who belong in the 3rd and 4th team. Nevertheless, we did it and we did it in proper Hornchurch style.

Having qualified for Championship Week after winning Group A, we arrived back to warmer weather and a few more bodies in Cockney Corner. We opened up against the reigning champions; Pak I Care Badalona from Spain. Batting first we posted 123/4 off our 10 overs. Hanko led the way with an unbeaten 68 off 29 balls and Bill chipped in with 28 off 20. In reply, Bill took an early wicket and some excellent early bowling saw the much fancied Spaniards fall behind the rate. However, JP’s over went for millions and no one could stem the flow of runs and they reached their target in the 8th over.

After that disappointing start, we knew we had to bounce back against the Belgian side Beveren. Once again, Hanko led the way with a brutal 68 off just 28 balls and JP’s 14 ball unbeaten 38 saw us post a decent 139/2. We started off the defence of that total well and reduced Beveren to 40/5. However, some late order hitting saw the game remain in the balance and we went into the last over with 11 runs to defend. Gav held his nerve to limit them to 10 and the game would be settled by a ‘Golden Ball’. 1 delivery; 2 runs to win it. With nerves jangling all over the place, Gav stepped up and took a wicket meaning we won by the barest of margins! One thing for certain, we never seem to do things the easy way!

After some rest and relaxation, we went into our 2 games on Wednesday knowing we needed to perform better if we wanted to get through to finals day. First up was the challenge of the unbeaten Irish side, CIYMS. Bowling first, we were brilliant with the ball and limited them to just 109/8 off their allotted overs. Harry Hanko took 3 wickets whilst there were braces for The Flying Bus (aka Whitlock) and Adeel. Billy took the catch of his life to dismiss the Irish captain and we were more than happy at the halfway stage. Our reply started slowly, with us failing to make the most of the power play. Hanko made it 3 half centuries in as many matches but when he fell, so did our hopes of chasing the target and we fell short by 10 runs.

The defeat meant we went into our game against Spain’s Sporting Alfas knowing only a win would do and we did just that; even it was a little closer than we would have liked! Hanko (who else) hit his 4th consecutive 50. However, only JP reached double figures as we were bowled out for 108. Luckily Tommy was on hand to massage Hanko’s back having carried the side throughout the week. We had to be at our best with the ball and we did just that. Harry H and Gav were brilliant up top; each taking 3 wickets. Adeel’s 2 overs went for just 7 and even though Hanko went for a few, we did enough to secure a vital win.

Day 4’s early results meant we knew a victory against Jersey’s Farmers would see us through to Finals Day and we produced our best performance of the whole competition thus far to go through. Once again, our bowling up front was excellent with Harry and Gav keeping things tight. Some excellent fielding and catching saw Jersey unable to get away and Mark James bowled excellently to limit The Farmers to 82/6. Muz and Hanko put on 48 for the 1st wicket and even though we had a slight wobble, Sainsy’s 21 off 10 balls saw us cruise to the total with 10 balls to spare.

We went into the last group game against France’s Dreux with the brains of the outfit (it was funny to watch) trying to work out what we had to do to go through in the top 2. Luckily, treasurer Kev was on hand to say we only had a small chance. The small chance was soon blown away as we were smashed, and I do mean smashed, all over Spain. Jameo was the only bowler to see an over go for less than 15 and the bowling figures were as horrid as the food in Cocos. Niaz hit an unbelievable 115 off 35 balls: clearing the ropes 12 times and Nabi hit 7 maximos in some of the most brutal and cleanest hitting you will ever see. Our reply never got going and to compare, we only hit 7 boundaries as we were bundled out for 65 to lose by a lot. Despite the hammering, we had done enough to go into Friday’s finals day and a chance to continue our journey.

First up was a repeat of our opening game against the 2022 champions Pak I Care Badalona. If we had been good against The Farmers the previous day, we were even better as we rolled them for just 78. Harry’s 3-2 off 2 overs was outstanding but Jameo surpassed him with 4-12 as we held onto everything and we made light work of the chase, with Harry hitting 4 maximums as we won with almost a quarter of our innings to spare.

This set up a semi final against CIYMS and we produced another unbelievable performance to win by 7 wickets. Harry removed the dangerous Van Der Merwe early in the piece and some excellent bowling and fielding saw the Irish post 112/5. Hanko fell cheaply in the chase and with Harry and Adeel also gong early, we found ourselves in a little spot of bother at 55/3. However, Muzza and JP came together and both hit unbeaten 40s to see us through to the final. CTM hit 4 sixes in his 43 and JP struck 44 off 16 balls as we won with 2 overs to spare and a place in the final.

So after everything, we had a chance to write our name in the stars. Little old Hornchurch in the European Cricket League final. Under the lights, the world watching, we had to be at our best. We knew we had to take any chances that came our way and 2 dropped catches in the opening stages went begging. Jameo bowled the dangerous Niaz and Gav bowled Nabi but the French batters continued to come in and hit their first ball for 6. We dug in and did mange to limit them to 131/5. Any chance of us chasing it down meant we had to start quickly and, well, we didn’t After 5 balls we were 2/2 and with it all to do. Sadly, we were unable to get up with the rate and, in the face of some excellent bowling, we finished 62 runs short.

Despite the defeat, against a very good side, we collected our medals and had a chance to reflect on our achievements. This is something that no one ever thought would happen and even as we left the Cartama Oval, some still couldn’t believe what we had done. To win 9 games to become National Champions. To win 3 knockout games in the same day to reach Championship Week and to almost do the same on Finals Day was nothing short of a miracle. As we drove off back to the hotel, we left with our heads held high, a lifetime of memories and another night out in Benalmadena.

Hornchurch Cricket Club is a family. Some people get it and some don’t but we are never going to change and this was yet another remarkable chapter in our club’s history. It is a chapter that is barely believable but it happened and it can never be taken away from us.

Hornchurch Cricket Club. The 2nd best team in Europe? You better believe it.