When you look at the table, it leaves a blunt verdict with little room for explanation.
“[We’re] disappointed to have not stayed up,” Stoke Green admit.
Whilst bitter disappointment was left sitting on the top of the fold, there was a deeper understanding of their season: “It has been a learning experience, knowing what we have to do to step up at this level.”
This was their first exposure to Division One, and they never pretended otherwise. “It was our first instance Division One level for the Home Counties. We knew it would be tough, and if we can survive, we can build on the learnings.”
Survival was the aim, but the season showed just how difficult that would be.
Stoke Green quickly found out that Division One is decided by moments of quality. “Every team has quality match winners, and more often than not, we lost to a great knock or a special spell.”
There were moments when belief felt tangible. “[The] belief we gathered from doing the double over the previous champions could have been the defining moment.”
The standout came away at Henley. “First win away to the [previous] champions, Henley, was our most memorable win. To do it at a great club like Henley with their history, [I] couldn’t be more proud of the boys.”
When any team take victory both home and away to a historic winner like Henley, a lot of momentum can be developed. It laid a marker, not just for the internal belief of the Stoke Green squad and a quiet understanding of belonging within the league, but for the rest of the Division One teams.
But sustaining momentum proved difficult. “We let ourselves down in the limited overs.”
But with plenty of team changes and adaptation, consistency was always going to be tough to find. “We had plenty of changes happening over the season which did not help us from stabilising roles.”
Yet despite these challenges, there were lots of memorable moments for Stoke Geen, “Chetan play[ed] his first season at Stoke Green. [He] grew as a player as the season progressed.”
Passikku Madusanka also emerged as one of the league’s standout performers, finishing fourth overall in the Division One bowling rankings. Across the season, he delivered 34 wickets from 187.4 overs, where his side often defended thin margins. His best figures of 5-101 and an economy rate of 4.36 showed his relentless attitude to shoulder responsibility week after week, despite his squad failing to capitalise.
In a relegated team, those numbers mattered. They are proof that Stoke Green was capable of producing players who could not only “survive” at this level, but also compete.
Support never faded. “This was a historic year for us being at Division One for the first time, and even when we were letting ourselves down, the supporters were there week in week out backing us.” That backing carried weight. “[We’re] so grateful for their support.”
Moving forward, it’s about correcting the lessons they learned throughout the season. In both the short-form and long-form of the game, they know where the standard lies. “The team that impressed [us] the most were the eventual champions, High Wycombe CC. They truly set the standards that we will look at mirroring [that].”
“Implementing what we have learnt this year and putting it into action. On and off field,” is how Stoke Green plan on coming back into Division One for the 2027 season. And their plans are already forming, “One of the key objectives is to build a team able to push back up and be well placed to compete at the highest level.”
“We acknowledge it’s not an overnight thing, but we will work hard to put the process in place to make that happen.”
Whilst Stoke Green will leave the Division after being promoted last year, they have become better informed and more aware of what it takes. It’s much like the story of Harefield, who, upon entering Division One, struggled to maintain consistency, yet proved this year that they belong.
