On winning the toss Finch skipper Chris Britz elected to bat first in the very hot indeed conditions. They opened with Greg Smith and James Isbell. Proceeding to 55 by the eleventh over they then lost Greg caught behind. Then by the 26th over the score had advanced to 135 when the good innings of James ended caught and bowled for 71.

The innings continued to advance through Chris Britz and Dan Marles. When Dan was caught for 38 the score was 208 in 42 overs. Chris continued to progress with Ben Salter. Then at 271 and 52 overs played Ben was caught in the deep for 39. Then at 291 Chris Britz was caught for a magnificent 105. Clearly then Finches were determined to declare their innings as soon as practical. They lost three more wickets before the declaration at 310 – 8 in 58 overs.

The visitors were given 62 overs to bat. They started well mainly due to Raykar hitting 36 of the first 42 runs scored in 12 overs. Then the introduction of spinner Samm Daniel led to him being caught so 42 – 1. One more run on the board and fellow opener Tom Toor also fell to Samm caught at slip.

Then at 63 Great Brickhill lost three quick wickets to leave them in a real struggle. Off spinner James Woodford on joining the attack took two wickets in two balls both catches then Samm secured the other Raman falling to a caught and bowled. Three wickets in five balls and still 40 more overs available. By the 38th over James had secured his third wicket with a long on catch then a Samm clean bowled gave him his fourth wicket.

No respite at all now for the visitors as paceman Lewis Sharp took over from James and mopped up the tail. He bowled two and gained an lbw as Great Brickhill crumbled to 101 all out. For the bowlers the outstanding figures were Samm Daniel 4 – 44, Lewis Sharp 3 – 7 and James Woodford 3 – 10.

An emphatic 207 run win consolidates the second slot but still 35 points behind leaders High Wycombe who also won their match by a large margin.

Finch 2’s

Finch travelled to Sonning who had beaten them in game 1 of the season. Winning the toss Finch decided to bowl favoring to chase in the time format however they struggled to keep the run rate in check throughout the home side’s innings. A 166 run third wicket partnership between Zahid and Ayub (who has played a test for Pakistan and got 7,000 first class runs) saw Sonning reach 301-5 in 52 overs; 2 wickets a piece for Louis Crerar and Paul Stephens.

Having fielded in the heat for 3.5 hours the reply got off to a terrible start losing the first 3 wickets for 22. Matt Eldridge offered some resistance but when he fell for 35 Finch lost constant wickets and were bowled out for 115. A very disappointing day against bogey side Sonning it seems. Hopefully it inspires the side like it did after week 1 when they then went on a long winning run!

Finch 3’s

Finch lost the toss and third place Fleet chose to bat over on the leas in batting friendly conditions as ever. Without a recognized spinner Finch plugged away well reducing Fleet to 170-6 at the second drinks break. The lower order batted nicely however and Fleet closed on 279-9 off their 52 overs. Kyle Storkey the pick of the bowlers (3-48) his first game back after visiting family back in SA for 6 weeks.

As ever with the 3’s batting line up on the leas they weren’t deterred by a chase of close to 6 an over. With Joe Simmons once again passing 50 and Steve Brogan making 82 Finch were in the hunt at 175-5. The middle order however fell quickly in the pursuit of quick runs and Finch were forced to settle for the draw blocking out the final couple of overs and finishing on 258-8. Finch remain second just 3pts above Fleet with two promotion spots up for grabs.

Finch 4’s
Finch travelled to close neighbours Farley Hill on a bizarrely green given the weather and were asked to bat first. Taking 23 off the second over the run rate was high from the start however top order wickets fell to leave Finch 100-4. Ed Oliver (32) and Ian Rose (60) put Finch in a good position however and Yash Mahadik finished the innings in style with a destructive 50 from only 35 balls. A small ground however a finishing score 274-9 seemed competitive.

Farley hill lost a wicket in the first over however a 90-run partnership at a run a ball put Finch on the back foot. Asim Hussain struck three times however with his leg spin and Charlie Gilbey (2-40) bowled excellently in the heat to reduce Farley Hill to 204-8. Comfortable victories however doesn’t seem to be the Finch 4’s way however and with 5 overs remaining Farley Hill required 27 with 2 wickets still remaining. Ben Amor returned to take a crucial wicket and the game was wrapped up next over. A 25-run win for Finch, making it 6 in a row with top of the league Silchester the visitors this Saturday.

Finch 5’s

Finch made the short trip to Sandhurst and chose to bat first. Scoring was reasonably tough early on and Finch were reduced to 75-3 with in-form Gary Woodford out for 31. Captain Mark Wright and Mike Smith scored freely however and when Wrighty fell for 47, Mike carried the attack and finished on 81* to guide Finch to 223-4 off their 40 overs.

Tight bowling from all the bowlers couple with regular wickets throughout the innings meant Sandhurst were never in the chase. An excellent 84-run victory for Finch outplaying their opponents in all three departments of the game. Pick of the bowlers were Dave Marles 3-20 and Mike Smith 3-6.

Upcoming fixtures

Thursday – Finch midweek T20 side home to Cookham Dean (6pm)

Club News

The very observant folk amongst you whilst watching the thrilling Eng/India Lords test unfold may have spotted a familiar face throughout the 5-days. Eddie Campion missed Saturday’s first team game with Captain Britz encouragement as he had the chance to be one of the 12th men for the duration of the test. Memories forever and no doubt has a few stories to tell.