For the first time this season, all ten Home Counties Premier League division one teams have managed to start and finish their matches; a result being made in each.
With the sun gently heating up the wicket and flattening out some decks, the cricket season is finally in full force.
Banbury secured their first win of the season against Datchet, who have lost both opening games.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Datchet were left in a similar position to the week prior, as they feel to 24-3 – dangerman Joe Barret out for just 13.
Whilst the Datchet batting line-up on paper looks strong, the statistics suggest that Saturday was indeed a difficult day for scoring runs. Out of the nine batsmen who managed innings, only Dickinson struck at a run-a-ball, but he failed to make it into double figures.
The saving grace for the Datchet XI was Botha who accumulated 81 runs and carried his bat to the end of the innings. His total consisted of 5 fours and 3 sixes giving Datchet a defendable total of 191. His addition to the scorecard was aided by Billy Mead (37) who rocketed 7 of his deliveries to the ropes for four.
Some tight bowling from Charles Hill (0-21) off his full spell kept the Datchet total under par, whilst Wright (2-43), Coyne (2-33) and Thomas (2-38) chipped away at vital points in the innings – never allowing Datchet to take control.
The Banbury innings got off to a flier with skipper Lloyd Sabin (73) leading from the front including 9 fours in his total. Both Sabin and Simpson (38) put on a hundred partnership before Coyne (17) and Hussain (30) upped the strike rate.
When Coyne was finally dismissed, Clarke joined the fun attributing 19 off just 12 balls including three boundaries.
Banbury chased down the total in just 39 overs and lost 3 wickets.
The next game takes us over to the Breakspeare Ground where Henley took on Aston Rowant – last years champions.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Aston Rowant were in a strong position at 84-2, Ebsworth-Burland contributing with 50 before he was sent back by Nugent. Another half-century from Joshua Smith and crucial chipping in from Mannering (27), Le Bas (25) and Rossouw (28). These partnerships helped Aston Rowant arrive at a respectable 244 all out.
The key bowler for Rowant was Searle who picked up 4 wickets in his 10-over spell, the crucial wickets of Rossouw, Smith and Mannering.
He was largely assisted by Sheikh (2-59) and Nugent (2-39) – the latter breaking open the bank and ending Ebsworth-Burland’s hopes of a century.
But Henley came out in a fashionable style, the opening partnership Carter (64) and Connell (121) totalling 177 had finished the game before the first wicket had even been taken.
Half of Connell’s runs (56) had been added in boundaries along the floor, but his patience at the crease enabled Henley to cruise towards victory.
When Mannering had finally picked up Rowant’s first and desperately needed wicket of Carter, Dalrymple added to the pressure as he totalled 41 from just 25 balls and including 5 sixes.
These partnerships empowered Henley to make light work of Rowant for the start of their league campaign, trotting over the total in 42 overs and losing just 2 wickets.
Next was High Wycombe clashing against old rivals Finchampstead at London Road in a game that was full of tantalising drama and questionable predictions.
Having won the toss and chosen to bat first, Finch had collapsed to 55-5, a mixed bag of wickets from Chapman, Woodland, Parsons and Hampton. But the depth of the finch line-up was shown to be true with Albert (60) and O’Donahue (34) quieting down the Wycombe supporters. This was supported by a late blitzing by Ashby (30) who helped his team climb to 174 – something considered way under-par.
Wycombe would have been extremely happy with their bowling performance, particularly Hampton (4-26) who has shown some tremendous form thus far and Chapman (3-30).
Chris Britz could not have started his bowling spell any better, removing Woodland and Callis early on and sinking the Wycombe batting team to 55-3. Some strong middle-order batting from Hardy (40) and Casterton (60*) consolidated a need for restructuring and allowed Wycombe to climb up to 128-4.
But a clattering of wickets collapsed the Wycombe lower order leaving them 161-7, Sharp and Bitz the main culprits. But with Casterton’s slow determination and Haddow’s composure, Wycombe crossed the line in 40 overs.
Across the Home Counties, Wokingham were victorious vs Slough at Slough Cricket Club in a low-scoring game.
Having won the toss and elected to field first, Wokingham had the start that they wanted in sinking Slough to 35-4 thanks to the equally dismissive Creighton (4-52) and Clark (3-42). But Akhtar remained strong and trotted along to 23 from 25 deliveries – which considering the circumstances was as good as a half-century.
But the pick of the batting was Edwards (44) before golden boy Clark removed his bails. Edwards had batted cautiously but calmy having faced 75 deliveries sending 6 boundaries to the ropes: 3 of which for 6.
Some late additions from Bukhari (15) and Akhtar (18) slowed the momentum of the Wokingham dominance, but this was short-lived as Slough finished up on 142 all out in the 37th over.
With that being said, Wokingham must have thought victory was around the corner. This over-confidence coupled with Slough’s dominating bowling performance slumped Wokingham to 7-3, 19-4 and then 20-5.
Nadeem Syed having the spell of the season picking up his 3 wickets inside the first 10 overs. This momentum swayed the game in Slough’s favour who looked – at this stage – unbelievable. But as is always said, cricket is a strange game and anything can happen.
A late flurry of runs from Kang (13), Barson (67*), Clark (14) and Uttley (10) managed to add 104 to the existing 20 on the board.
With only 142 to defend, Slough simply had not scored enough runs despite their scintillating start. As a result, Wokingham just about crawled over the finish line in the 41st over and won by 3 wickets.
The final game saw bottom-of-the-table Wargrave take on new arrivals to the HCPL Division 1 League Harefield. But the table’s standings aren’t representative of Wargrave’s performance who have won 2/3 games – the only one not to have won was cancelled due to weather conditions.
The undefeated team showed why they were so strong, even after losing the toss and being put into bat. They had a strong start in climbing their way to 72-2 with Greatwood (37) and Woods (78) adding to the majority of the partnerships.
Woods run-a-ball innings consisted of 8 fours and 2 sixes before he was removed by Tom Marshall. Whilst the wickets seemed to come in parts, Lincoln (41) played nicely to aid Woods having faced just 31 balls.
Others in the Wargrave XI contributed with double figures to help them rise to a respectable 250 off 50 overs – something defendable, but not what they had hoped for considering the strength and depth of their batting line-up.
Harefield had a similar strong start to Wargrave adding 62 runs to the scoreboard for only the loss of two wickets. Harsham (28) and McLeod (44) continued their form from last week – the latter striking 5 boundaries for his trouble.
But some tight bowling from Child (4-30) forced Harefield to make errors in their chasing efforts, picking up consistent wickets and refusing to let Harefield rest for any given time.
Apart from Ogden (24) and Marshall (20*) no-one really got started and those that did failed to push off and score the match-winning innings.
Subsequently, Harefield were bowled out for 186 in the final over.
