Over the last couple of seasons, the first team have come up short in terms of competing for the league; with our last trophy success being the T20 Hertfordshire competition in 2023. This year I have taken over the reigns and with a side that has a positive blend of youth and experience, looking to push for the league title in 2025.

Our first team will retain the backbone of last year’s group of players but is strengthened by the inclusion of Hertfordshire’s opening batter, 21 year old Archie Harrison, who was previously contracted to Derbyshire CCC. Archie is also a more than capable seamer and will add energy to the fielding. Welcome to the club Archie!

Radlett have a great history in recruiting high quality overseas players and during the last three seasons have welcomed Hayden Goulstone (Aus), ND Nideesh (who recently played in the Ranji Trophy final in India) and Nathan Smith who has played all three international formats for New Zealand.

This year is no exception in that we have secured Australian leg spinner/batter, Peter Hatzoglou, for the 2025 season. Peter has played all over the world as a professional and most recently won the Big Bash T20 competition in Australia with Hobart Hurricanes. Peter will be an excellent addition to the team and we all look forward to welcoming him to the club!

Unfortunately we have lost a couple of players this season. Chris Arul decided to move on and will play his cricket at Totteridge Millhillians this year. Randeep Sanghera is another key player who will not be available for Radlett that much in 2025 because he has decided to start a new life in Canada. Thank you to both players for your contributions over the years and the club and players wish you both the very best for the future.

As mentioned earlier, the first XI will have a good mix of experienced and youth players. We have focused on developing the most promising young players over the last few seasons, building on the work of our club YP coaches and welcoming them into the team. We have a good crop of young players at the club, who will develop into regular first team players. Koby Cornwall will continue to be one of our frontline bowlers along with all rounder Suhaan Shuvakar who is a batter and off-spin bowler. These two will have important overs to bowl this year and are both exciting prospects. Tom Fielden will take the wicketkeeping gloves from Tom Jenkins who has filled that role for over 15 years. These lads are showing real promise and we are all looking forward to see how they perform this season.

Added to that we have real depth in senior experienced players all of whom have either played professionally or within National Counties (Hertfordshire CCC) Cricket. Kabir Toor, Fraser Crawford, David Burnell, Jayden Broodryk, Anthony Hill and Dom Chatfield will be working hard to continue their contributions for the club in, what we hope, is a title contending season.

Dominic added, “ This is an exciting period for the club both on and off the field. Off field, the club has taken positive steps forward with improvements to the pavilions and, on the field, within all teams our membership is growing. The first team has an exciting blend of talent and I believe we are in a good position to push for the Premier league title, recognizing that we will come up against some very strong sides. We will have to work extremely hard this year as a team, but our performance will be driven by very clear team philosophies and game plans in order for us to be successful this season”

“Within the club there are a number of exciting players emerging through the teams and I am looking forward to seeing how all the teams go this summer. Tom Jenkins will lead our training sessions which will help all players grow and develop. I am looking forward to working with all the captains to make 2025 a success one for Radlett CC”