26-06-2011 - Home - BYCL - Finch vs Thatcham Town

Eagles show fighting spirit but fall short

A beautiful summer’s day at Finch and an opportunity for the Eagles to start erasing the memories of the heavy loss against West Ilsey.  The visitors, Thatcham, won the toss and chose to bat first on a dry, quick wicket.  A strong and confident opening pair, who both retired, set the foundations for a challenging but not impossible target of 106 to win.  Wickets were taken by Thomas Tinsley, Francois Putzeys and Luke Andrews (4 overs, 13 runs, 1 wicket), while a run-out was claimed from the bowling of Sam Lawton-Davies (4 overs for 14 runs).
 
With the day becoming increasingly hotter, it would be important for the Eagles to remain alert and focused while chasing the win.  Thatcham immediately put the Eagles under pressure and claimed two wickets from two balls in their second over, leaving the Eagles struggling at 5 for 2.  With Thatcham having an impressive bowling attack, putting their faith in only five bowlers, progress continued to be slow for the Eagles.  The Finch boys showed great resilience and dogged determination, but could not push the run-rate to the required level.  Alex Clayton, Mac Thomalla (20 runs, 24 balls) and Luke Andrews all remained at the crease for long periods but were pinned back by consistently quality bowling.  The pressure to increase the run rate was constant and caused all three to be run-out, and after 16 overs the score was 54 for 6 – the situation looked bleak for the Eagles.  But the next 24 balls saw a complete change of circumstances.  Thomas Tinsley and Sam Lawton-Davies began attacking the Thatcham bowlers and putting the visitors on the back foot.  A total of 38 runs were added off the last four overs, with Thomas reaching 15 NO (from 16 balls, including one 4) and Sam hitting 20 NO from 10 balls (including two 4s and one six).  But it was not to be, as the Eagles fell short by just 14 runs.  While this was another loss, the Eagles showed great determination and professionalism to produce a performance that nearly won the day.

Statistics

Thatcham Town won the toss and elected to bat
Result	Lost
Umpires	Stuart Lawton-Davies
Scorers	Nic Tinsley
Score
Finchampstead CC Scored 92 for 6 in 20
Thatcham Town Scored 105 for 4 in 20