Finch 1s first match of the HCPL Division One season saw Finch visit Henley in the 50 overs format using white balls for the first time. In the good-looking playing conditions, on winning the toss Henley asked Finch to bat first. Openers Tommie Predgen and James Isbell soon took advantage of the conditions bringing up 50 inside 9 overs. Then at 73 and in the 12th over Tommie fell for 28. Then the start of a fine 123 partnership started with Greg Smith joining James at the crease. The pair saw 150 up in 23 overs. In the 27th over James fell at 196 being caught behind for his stroke filled 79.

The runs continued to flow as Sam Seecharan on debut continued the stroke play with Greg. The 250 came up in 33 overs, then at 264 Greg was dismissed for his outstandingly made 100. With the 300 up in only 40 overs a formidable score looked assured. At 304 Sam was caught for a hard hit 62. Then at 323 Ethan Ramsay fell but this clearly spurred on Ben Salter who hammered the bowing with fine strokes accompanied by skipper Dan Marles. The 400 came up the first ball of the 48th over then Ben was immediately out caught in the deep for 60. At the 425 score Dan fell for 49 then the 50 overs close saw 430 – 7 posted.
Henley then had to set about their reply to the remarkable score. After putting on 50 in 7 overs they were soon 2 down for 59. When opener Matt Dalrymple was bowled it was then 70 – 3. Then immediately a run out clearly due to the intense pressure left Henley completely out of the match at 70 – 4. A 37 run partial rally by the hosts saw the score to 107 when the fifth wicket fell.

Two more fell leaving the score at 120 – 7. At 138 off spinner James Woodford was introduced to the attack. He secured a caught behind first ball then a stumping the third ball. The following over it was all over as Henley were dismissed in under 25 overs for 145.
The 430 total is an HCPL record by 57 runs. And the margin of victory - an astonishing 285 runs also a record. A quite remarkable day with the exceptional performance by both bat and ball by Finch.

Finch 2s hosted Reading in their first game in the newly created TVL 1B captained by Michale O’Donohue. Winning the toss Finch chose to bat however runs were hard to come by in the powerplay overs and beyond. At 100-3 off 30 overs Finch needed momentum, however 3 further quick wickets left us in trouble at 120-6. Connor Rees from New Zealand batting at 3, was still in however and had brought up an assured 50. He went through the gears and some sublime hitting in the final overs meant he finished 122* on his league debut to guide Finch to 244-8. Another recipient of a ‘Doody tankard’ later in the year!
Finch started excellently with Paul Stephens accurate as ever taking 1-17 in 7 overs. Regular wickets fell throughout the chase with Anthony Parson 2-13 reducing Reading to 81-5. Brief fightback gave Reading small hope however Albie Sharp took 4-34 to bowl the visitors out for 172. A good start to the new campaign for the 2’s.

Finch 3’s hosted Binfield 2’s a strong side having reinforced their first team significantly over the winter months. Newly appointed captain, James Eaglesham won the toss and chose to bat first. Debutant U15 Rohit Kanagavel made a quickfire 38 with Steve Brogan continuing his good form from last season with a run a ball 41. Sam Hawkes made 39 on his debut innings after signing from Hurst however no others made double figures and Finch slumped to 180-9. Tom Allen and Kyle Storkey however put on 47 in the final 7 overs to push Finch up to 228-9 off 45 overs. Tom finishing on his highest score of 36*.
Binfield passed 50 without loss however 3 quick wickets brough Finch back in the game. Another 60-run partnership followed however Kiwi leg-spinner Aidan Muir struck 3 times and took a handed Collingwood-esque catch at point to leave Binfield 167-7. Captain Eaglesham finished the job with the ball taking 3-33 to give Finch a 22-run win highlighting just how important our 10th wicket partnership was.

Finch 4’s travelled to dreaded Newbury, winning the toss Finch chose to bat. A good opening stand of 50 was the highlight with Gary Woodford out for 29 and Steve Raubenheimer 33. Not much resistance followed apart from an excellent 30 from Alex Bewick however meaning Finch just scrapped over the 200 mark.
On a fast outfield Finch knew they needed to be at their best however bowling was inconsistent with far too many extras. Newbury were always in control and despite some late wickets passed Finch’s score with 5 wickets in hand and 8 overs remaining. Charlie Gilbey was the pick off the bowlers with a good spell off 7 overs, 1-29.

Finch 5’s hosted Shinfield at Windlesham on an uncharacteristic pitch which proved to have uneven bounce. Shinfield batted first and looked well positioned with a 68-run opening stand. The experienced and youthful combination of Dave Marles and Zac Baldwin however, combined superbly in the middle overs taking 7 wickets between them. Dave taking (4-28) and Zac 3-34 to put Finch well on top. Shinfield were bowled out 169 which was likely not to be straight forward however based on the pitch.
Finch had the worst possible start losing their first 3 wickets with just 5 on the board. In at 5 captain Mark Wright set about bringing normality to proceedings. At 88-5, he was joined by Zac Baldwin who capped a brilliant all-round display with an aggressive 34. He was out with just 20 more needed and when Mark Wright was also out for a fine half-century Finch were all but home. The final few runs followed giving Finch an excellent 3-wicket win.

Four wins from five - a brilliant start for the club in the opening week of the season with well over 20 players missing early season as ever.

Upcoming fixtures
Thursday – Finch T20 side home to Reading 6pm start
Saturday
1’s – Great Brickhill (H)
2’s – Hayes (A)
3’s - Boyne Hill (A)
4’s – Checkendon (H)
5’s – Warfield (A)

Social Media and General Updates
Verity Johnson continues to do an excellent job ensuring Finchampstead CC's Instagram is full of updates, team sheets every Friday and many matchday action shots courtesy of Josh Spencer's professional camera skills.

The Finchampstead cricket podcast (The Budgie Smugglers) on Spotify has returned for its second season. Recorded every Tuesday evening and released on Friday/Saturday, it features a special guest Q&A each week at the end of each episode. Link below:

The Budgie Smugglers | Podcast on Spotify