On winning the toss Finch skipper Chris Britz elected to bat first in the 64 to 56 overs match. They opened with Greg Smith and James Isbell in cloudy conditions. The pair started very well to see the score to 90 in 20 overs. Then Greg was rather unluckily run out for 44. Five overs later and at 108 James also fell being caught behind for 42. Soon after there was a rain stoppage which resulted in 4 overs lost – 2 for each side, after taking an early luncheon.

Steady batting led by Chris Britz saw the 200 up with two more wickets down. At 221 Eddie Campion became the second Finch run out to see a scoreline of 221 – 5 in 53 overs. Then with Lewis Sharp joining Chris the pair batted well to see the score advance. By the start of the last 62nd over Chris was on 99 then he duly scored his third century for the season. At the 62 overs close it was 282 – 5 with Chris Britz 100 not out ably supported by Lewis Sharp 35 not out.

Given 54 overs High Wycombe proceeded to 79 without loss in the 20 overs to the tea interval. They then lost their first wicket at 108 then the second at 116 in the 30th over. Andy Woodland was magnificently caught on the mid-wicket boundary by James Isbell off Eddie Campion so 116 - 2. At 152 and in 38 overs Dan Lincoln was bowled by Samm Daniel so High Wycombe then needed 131 in 16 overs.

Then opener Billy Dodds was the third run out of the match having scored 58 so the scoreline 160 – 4. Then more drama at 181 with Harrison Ward caught at long off by Ben Salter. So 63 needed and just 4 more overs. Spirited strokes by Josh Lincoln saw the visitors to 238 but in the last over he fell also caught at long on by Eddie Campion. High Wycombe closed for the draw at 238 – 6.

A creditable 13 points to 11 points leaving Finches now 31 points adrift of the leaders. We remain in second place just two points ahead of Oxford Downs.

Finch 2nd XI

Finch 2s visited Cove looking to get back to winning ways although were rocked by a late withdrawal of Paul Stephens who was ill. Finch opted to bat first and after a slow start found themselves 88-3 after 27 overs. Tommie Predgen was still at the crease however and went through the gears, finally out for an excellent 89. Late hitting from Pete Emes (40 from 29) meant captain Stuart Parson elected for an aggressive declaration at the 49 over mark 230-7.

Cove openers were aggressive from the start and lost a couple of wickets inside the first seven overs with the score on 34. The next 7 overs however completely changed the game with Anthony Parson on fire. Five wickets fell with the score on 40 including a hattrick (and first tankard) his first season back at the club. Brief resistance followed however the final three wickets were a formality and Cove were bowled out for 81. AP finishing with figures of 5-25 from 8 overs. Sam Smith took 2 wickets in his first game of the season. An emphatic win bouncing back from last weeks game against Sonning much like the first round of fixtures.

Finch 3rd XI

Finch 3’s hosted last seasons champions Emmbrook & Bearwood who were not allowed to get promoted due to ground regulations. Emmbrook batted first and at 78-3 Finch were in a good position however more dropped catches proved costly with ex-finch player capatalising on countless lives making a quick fire 91and guiding them to 261-7 off 52 overs. Wickets were spread around with all 5 bowlers used taking a wicket or two.

Early wickets meant Finch were always behind the run rate and when opener Christian Taylor was dismissed for 64 (back-to-back half centuries) the best possible result was to salvage the draw which Finch managed losing their 9th wicket on the final ball of the innings for 188. 11pts gained with availability certainly playing its part currently in the 3’s. Best wishes also go out to Emmbrook batter Jack Turner who snapped his achilles whilst batting thus causing a lengthy delay.

Finch 4th XI

Finch 4’s travelled to Pangbourne College to play Bracknell 3’s who were the last team to beat them in the first round of fixtures. Finch lost the toss and were sent in to bat with youngsters Freddie Bishop and Yaseen Ahmed putting on 68 for the first wicket. A few wickets fell however leaving Ed Oliver and Rui Wright to share an excellent 100 run 4th wicket partnership running the hosts ragged in the field. Ed was out for 73 and Rui a trademark aggressive 57 ensuring Finch reached 244-7 in 45 overs.

Finch took a couple of wickets early however the league’s top run scorer opening batter passed 50 as Bracknell reached 125-2 at just under a run a ball. Chris May struck the ball before drinks however (his first of 4 wickets) and Finch started chipping away at the middle order. As seems to be way each week the rate remained around a run a ball with U15’s Ishaan Moitra and Ben Amor tasked with the death overs. Ben took 3 wickets in his final 2 overs finishing with 4-46 but with his final delivery going for six, Bracknell needed 8 to win off the final over with just 1 wicket in hand. From the 3rd ball however, the batters attempted a risky second run and Max Hall’s throw from long-on was a direct hit giving Finch the win by just 4 runs. An 8th win in a row and yet another nervous watch for the regular crowd of parents!

Finch 5th XI

Finch 5’s travelled to Aldershot with rain making a brief appearance during Aldershot’s first innings. It soon dispersed and the Finch kept the run rate at bay however the injured ex-first team wicketkeeper came in to smash 88 from only 46 balls to ensure the hosts posted a sizeable 250-7 from 40 overs. Dave Marles 3-40 and Shub Rathod 2-43 the pick of the bowlers.

Not to be deterred Finch set about grasping back the momentum with Tom Anderson opening the batting in his first game of the season playing aggressively. He was finally out for 88 from 77 balls ensuring Finch were always up with the rate and with wickets in hand. Isaac Neville played sensibly for 33 and Ansh Tanguturi batting at no. 4 played well beyond his years to guide Finch home with a fine finishers knock of 49* from just 33 balls. A brilliant 6 wicket win for Finch with nearly 200 of the runs coming from our youngsters as ever emphasizing the importance of the 5th team and the general club ethos. Our strength in depth will certainly be tested with the holiday season in full swing.

Upcoming fixtures

Thursday – Finch T20 side host Eversley in their final game needing victory to win the league (6pm start)

General Club News

As many of you who were at the club watching the first team may have heard unfortunately Saturday was Chris Britz final game of the season as he has been recalled by cricket South Africa and departed home on Sunday. He is required to be present for an awards ceremony where he is nominated for T20 MVP of the season and will also be playing pre-season fixtures against a touring Mumbai Indians team.

He was presented with the ‘Player of the Month’ award for July on Saturday night after fittingly ending his season with us with yet another 100 against, who most regard as the best bowling attack in the league. He finishes with an incredible 573 runs @ 72 and 21 wickets @ 12.5.

The league’s best performer, the perfect captain for our young side each of them with the upmost respect for him and the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch. He has coached many of the younger age groups each week and a handful of the senior side’s top performers have credited the huge improvement in their game to Britzy after asking for 1-1 coaching sessions from him. A class player and even better person, all at Finch wish him well for the season ahead in South Africa.