Winning the toss Finches elected to bat first in the 64 to 56 overs ”timed” match. They soon lost Greg Smith bowled in the second over by Sam Solia. Then after steady build up in 13 overs both Matt Gilkes and Jed Crerar fell to seamer Ollie Smithson, so a tricky scoreline of 39 – 3. When Steve Naylor joined the Datchet attack he bowled Stuart Parsons leaving Finches at 72 – 4 in 26 overs.

Opener Ben Moffat reached his fifty on the stroke of lunch, but fell lbw for a fine 71 leaving Finches 112 – 5 in 38 overs. Then useful contributions from batsmen six to ten saw the score to 200 with the last wicket falling in the 64th over leaving Finches 216 all out. The batting in these last 26 overs was led by Doug McMurray 29 and Guy Ashby 23. The workmanlike total gave Datchet 56 overs of batting.

Datchet opened with Joe Barratt and Chris Dickenson but lost Dickenson caught at mid on off Liam Bulteel with 24 on the board in 4 overs. A collapse soon followed leaving Datchet at 39 – 4 in just 8 overs. It included the free scoring Barratt who was caught at mid wicket off Lewis Sharp. Both he and Liam took these further wickets so two apiece.

Despite Billy Meads holding firm for Datchet they simply could not lever clear of the poor start to their chase. By the 16th over they were 75 – 6 and facing a heavy defeat. After Lewis bowled Steve Naylor, Matt Gilkes then joined Lewis in the all seam attack on the day. The end came swiftly as the pair removed the last five wickets for 40 runs in 9 overs to see Datchet dismissed for 115 in only 22 overs of batting. Only Billy Meads with 40 not out showed any resistance for the visitors.

Lewis Sharp continued his fine form with 5 – 50 in 11 overs with Matt Gilkes 3 – 29 and Liam Bulteel 2 – 26. The exceptional 101 run victory leads Finches to second place in the table at the one third stage, with four wins and two losses.

All four TVCL sides saw action. In Division 2B the Seconds visited nearby Hurst Firsts. Batting first Finches totalled 229 – 7 with skipper Matt Eldridge hitting a fine 98. Hurst progressed well to 202 – 8 then lost their last two wickets on that score leaving Finches 27 run winners. Adam Kite with 4 – 62 led the bowlers. So a solid fourth slot in the table.

The Thirds in Division 4A hosted Peppard Stoke Row on the Leas. The Finch total of 173 was led by Wes Roberts 77 and Gary Loveday 41. But the score was inadequate in the fine batting conditions as the visitors cruised home to win at 175 – 2.

The Fourths visited Binfield Seconds in 4B. Finches closed on 226 – 7 with an outstanding 98 not out by Kwame Appiah and 31 from Andy Webb. The hosts were dismissed for 173 with Ganesh Bun 3 – 35 and Chris May 3 – 65. The 53 run win was valuable for Finches.

The Fifths in 9A still await a win but are improving with each match. They scored 141 against Bagshot Thirds with Sam Rounce 41. Bagshot won the match at 143 – 6.

REPORT BY NEIL DOODY