Newcomers win in debut season!
December might not be the month you usually associate with cricket here in Gloucestershire, but maybe it’s time to think again. The Cheltenham Indoor Knock Out Cup and Plate competitions came to a heated conclusion.
In the Display Refrigeration KO Cup, it was the Cheltenham Civil Service Cricket Club who kept their cool to triumph over Cheltenham CC. While in the KO Plate, Asian Sports CC were victorious over Birdlip CC.
What is Indoor Cricket?
Indoor Cricket is a fast-paced version of the sport that is played during the winter months in England. Teams consist of 6 players, and matches are 12 overs a side. Games are played in a sports hall with a yellow ball that is slightly softer than a traditional cricket ball.
Scoring differs from matches outside. Runs are scored for the ball hitting the wall, and runs between the wickets are doubled. Fours are scored for hitting the back wall, and sixes if the ball hits the back wall along the floor.
In Gloucestershire, we have three main leagues. Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Bristol, with the winners of these leagues, will then compete to represent the county at the regional or national level.
For more information about Indoor Cricket in Gloucestershire, check out the Indoor Cricket page on our website.
2025 Knock Out Cup
Cheltenham Civil Service CC won the Display Refrigeration Knock Out cup in a low-scoring game against Cheltenham CC. Both sides came through tight contests in the semi-finals.
In the final, Ben Pegler (34) top-scored for Cheltenham, who batted first. It was the standout score in a total of 48 all out. Callum Wilson and Rich Robinson shared 5 wickets between them as Cheltenham Civil Service restricted their opposition.
Wilson took centre stage in the chase by making 24 as they made fairly easy work of chasing down their target of 49.
Semi-finals:
Cheltenham 117/ 3 – Andy Hawkins (25*), Stefan Hunt (26), Max Shepherd (26*)
University Glos 103/3 – Toby Rice (26), Richard Wilson (40*)
Hatherley & Reddings 100/ao – Joel Price (24), George Driver-Dickerson (30), Sathya Prakash (24)
Chelt Civil Service 101/4 – Brad Attwood (30), Alasdair Maxwell (26
Final.
Cheltenham 48/ao – Ben Pegler (34)
Callum Wilson – 2 wickets for 10 runs in 3 overs
Rich Robinson – 3 wickets for 21 & two catches.
Craig Baker – 2 overs for 4 runs.
Cheltenham Civil Service 49/1 – Callum Wilson (24)
– Brad Attwood (19)
Congratulations to Cheltenham Civil Service CC – K.O. Cup winners 2025.
2025 Knock Out Plate
In the Plate, Jim Hyland reports on a closely contested affair.
Birdlip Cricket Club are one of the longest-standing teams in the Cheltenham indoor cricket competition, and they came up against new boys Asian Sports in their debut season. This combination produced a wonderful, competitive final played in great spirit.
Batting first, Birdlip initially found runs hard to find in the face of some accurate bowling from Milesh Sukhabhai & Amit Patel, backed up by enthusiastic fielding – Milesh then struck twice in his 2nd over to remove Trevor Holder and Arvind Singh. Kevin Blackburn (10) joined mainstay Nitin Shetty (44*), they patiently rebuilt 38/3 became 75/4, and all of a sudden, a decent total was likely.
Llewelyn Hancox (9) & Muhammad Sharjeel Mushtaq rallied in support towards the end of the innings, setting Asian Sports 109 runs to win the plate.
Milesh Sukhabhai was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets for 15 runs from his three overs.
In reply, Asian sports lost an early wicket, Milesh (5), bowled by Arvind Singh. Amit Patel (43*) and Rahul Sharma (41) built a 45-run partnership to establish control.
As is often the case with indoor cricket, just as things looked to be heading the way of Asian Sports, there was a twist in the tail!
Three quick run outs – Mahesh Chaudhari (8), Kishan Patel (70) & Jayesh Patel all fell in quick succession, with the sharp fielding coming from Llewelyn Hancox, Arvind Singh and the evergreen Trevor Holder.
The result of this left 3 runs required from the final over with just one wicket remaining – Man of the match Amit Patel maintained his composure to hit the wall 3 times and safely see his team home.
Congratulations to Asian Sports CC.
Well done to all the sides who competed in the Knock Out competitions in 2025. The league season is in full swing, so keep an eye on our social media channels for results.