Cricketing umpires and scorers were left scratching their heads in bemusement when they noted that Patel had been caught by Patel off the bowling of Patel.

For the whole 22 players in the two teams battling it out in the Bradford Mutual Sunday School League match were called Patel - which left the team sheets of both sides looking somewhat similar.

The two teams - Yorkshire LPS and Amarmilan - have come close to the clean sweep when playing each other before but never actually managed the feat until the game at Woodhall Park, home of LPS.

Yorkshire LPS secretary Ishy Patel said: "There are a lot of friends and cousins. In fact, most of us in both sides are related.

"The Patels come from the state of Gujrat in India and we have settled in Bradford, Leeds and Keighley.

"It is the first time it has happened that everyone in our two teams was called Patel. The last time we played Amarmilan there were 20 Patels.

"This time there were 22, but that was by accident not design. One regular member of our team, Yash Dave, who is a good batsman and wicketkeeper couldn't play so we played all Patels.

"He has moved to London and still plans to play with the team, but not as often as he used to do.

"We are all on first-name terms with everyone at Amarmilan. It is friendly rivalry, but when there is a wedding we are all there.

"We nearly all have different first names. We have a Dilip Patel and they have a Dilip Patel, but their Dilip Patel couldn't play in that match. There was also a Mukesh Patel on each side."

At least controlling the game was not a problem: "At one point there was a bit of banter and I said: 'Will Patel please be quiet', and everyone shut up!" said umpire Roy Higgins, in charge of the match along with Graham Bishop.

He added: "As we were walking out I said Patel's mobile phone was ringing and they all started checking.

"It was just a bit of banter, everyone had a laugh."

The game could have been a monumental headache for the scorer, had he not been Ishy's 15-year-old son Amit.

He said: "I was a bit shocked when I first saw the team sheets but there weren't any major problems and I know most of them so recognising them wasn't a problem.

"Some of the players had the same first four initials so everyone's names had to be written out in full!"

Amarmilan secretary Chandu Patel said: "A lot of us are related and come from the same community in around the city of Surat in Gujrat and we have settled in Bradford.

"I came to Bradford from Malawi in Central Africa 30 years ago, but my parents are from Surat.

"We play at Horsfall Playing Fields and used to be called Tumblers, but one of our players, Manish Patel, decided to sponsor us for this season and wanted to us to be named after his two children Amar and Milan."