Finch 1’s
First day of August as Finches meet long time opponents Aston Rowant at their picturesque Oxfordshire ground. Still very dry conditions after several weeks without rain. On winning the toss Finch skipper Dan Marles asked the hosts to bat first. Opening with seamers Liam Dudding and Lewis Sharp it soon looked a difficult surface for batting. Rowant had lost two wickets by the third over. With the score 9 – 2 there was a wicket apiece. In the sixth over Lewis secured a clean bowled so 23 - 3

By the 17th over it was 55 – 5. Liam secured both with a LBW and a mid on catch. The tricky conditions meant the batters could not really shape. By the 20th over Lewis had taken two more wickets so the 80 – 7 scoreline. Although Rowant brought up the 100 the 8th wicket had already fallen to Lewis.

The end came swiftly with Rowant all out for 112 in 33 overs. Lewis returned 6 - 46 and Liam 4 – 40 bowling 27 overs between them. The Rowant highest score was just 16 so the challenging conditions were very apparent.

Finches found the conditions equally difficult. James Isbell was LBW in the third over then Greg Smith caught behind in the fifth so 9 – 2. When Sam Seecharan was caught at slip it was 16 – 3. Dan Marles was caught at slip in the 14th over with the score at 31 – 4.
No let up as Ben Salter after a sound 24 was caught in the slips then Eddie Campion was caught and bowled leaving Finches tottering at 48 – 6 in 23 overs. At this point the Rowant Australian pace bowler Callum Bladen had bowled superbly taking 5 – 9 in 12 overs. Bringing on spinner Max Mannering for Rowant saw him take two wickets with Bladen taking the other two leaving Finches all out for the disappointing 78 to lose by 34 runs.

Callum Bladen bowled superbly for the hosts taking an outstanding 7 for 13 in 15 overs and 3 balls. The top batting score for Rowant was 16 and for Finches 24 in this very low scoring match. Finches are in third place after this first defeat with four sides at the table top close together.

Finch 2’s
Were at home to bottom of the league Marlow who won the toss and batted first. Paul Stephens started well for Finch removing both openers early however a 77-run partnership put Marlow well placed for the final 25 overs. Finch however struck 4 times in the next 8 overs leaving Marlow 128-6. Some small partnerships meant they recovered however the run rate remained below4’s and they finished on 191-9 off 52. Paul Stephens 4-34 from 15 overs and Aryan Gavankar 3-13 from 7 overs – top effort from both.

Marlow fought well with the ball defying their low league position and quickly had Finch in trouble. Three wickets fell for just 33 including league top scorer Connor Rees out for 0. Captain Michael O’Donoghue and Aryan Gavankar rebuilt with a circumspect partnership of 60 losing Aryan for 30. MOD took on the responsibility of chasing the total with the run rate getting close to 6-an over. He was finally out for 73 but Lewis Smith with 22* off 24 balls ensured Finch won by 4 wickets with just 5 balls remaining. Finch are third, 22pts behind the promotion spots.

Finch 3’s
Hosted high-flying Harpsden with 90pts separating the two sides. The visitors won the toss and batted first on the leas on a flat track that did offer some spin however. Finch put in an inspired bowling effort against an aggressive line-up taking regular wickets throughout. Ethan Chapman 2-43 from 12 setting the tone before the leg-spin duo of Aidan Muir and Kailan Patel whirled away. Aidan finished with 4-44 and Kailan 2-46 bowling out Harpsden for 200 with 9 overs not used.

Despite having 57 overs to chase the runs Finch took an aggressive approach led by captain James Eaglesham promoting himself to open the innings. This soon paid off with boundaries flowing and the opening partnership with Louis Crerar wasn’t broken till the score passed 100 in just 18 overs. Louis was out for 57 and Eagles 60 however Freddie Bishop and Ed Oliver ensured the momentum continued. They were both super aggressive and their 85-run partnership meant Finch cruised to an 8-wicket win chasing 200 in just 33 overs. Freddie 52* and Ed 30*. One of the performances of the season and a great platform to build on as the 3’s currently in 7th look to survive in 3A where three teams go down.

Finch 4’s
Travelled to picturesque Oratory school to play Woodcote 1’s. Woodcote 1’s won the toss and elected to bat but found runs hard to come by in the first 30 overs of the innings - Max Hall bowling his 9 overs 1-17. Woodcote upped the tempo for the final 15 with wickets in hand and despite wickets falling continued to score at over a run a ball and finished their 45 overs on 213-8. Two wickets each for Charlie Gilbey and Tom Allen.

Finch innings mirrored Woodcote’s with a lack of intent meaning the run rate soon was well above a run a ball however at 90-2 a platform was set. Unfortunately both set batters Joe Simmons (33) and Sam Hawkes (34) were dismissed in successive overs. Finch offered no resistance and quickly slumped to 130-9. Charlie Gilbey 47* made the total respectable with some exceptional ball striking putting on an unbroken last wicket stand of 57. Finch finished 28 runs short – a poor display on a good wicket against a side below them in the league.

Finch 5’s
Were at home to top of the league Cove 3’s with Dave Marles stand in captain. Cove won the toss and to Finch’s surprise asked Finch to bat. Young opening pair Isaac Neville and Tom Anderson both made 40’s to put pay to Cove’s thoughts of a quick early win. Finch were not fully able to cash-in on the excellent platform set with the run rate never really increasing. Finch dismissed for 202 in the 39th over.

Shub Rathod opening the bowling incredibly dismissed both openers for golden ducks in successive overs to once again give Cove a scare. Two more wickets fell before the 100 was up and at 127-5 the game was in the balance. Cove showed their experience however and despite losing a couple of late wickets passed Finch’s score with 3 wickets remaining. Shub finishing with 3 wickets and Aaron Gatha 2-44 his first spell of bowling in the 5’s. A great effort from the side continuing on from their win last week.

Finch U21’s
Faced Walton on Thames at home and chose to bat first. An exhibition of pink ball batting followed by Aryan Gavankar & Louis Crerar continuing on good form from the previous day. The pair smashed over 80 in the powerplay then batted cleverly throughout the middle-overs against accurate spin bowling. A 210 partnership was ended when Aryan was dismissed for 87 from 84 balls, so close once again to an inevitable first hundred for Finch. Louis quickly fell for 89 and Finch ended their innings on 258-5 from 40 overs.
Max Hall struck twice in the first few overs but partnerships formed throughout with the game looking like it was in the hands of Walton’s first team opening batter. He was dismissed for a run-a ball 83 and fine Finch bowling/fielding successfully closed the game out. A top effort with Finch winning by 28 runs against a side with far more experienced players in their ranks. Max 4-42 and Tom Alllen 3-31 the best bowlers on the day.

Upcoming Fixtures
1’s – Harefield (H)
2’s – Beaconsfield (A)
3’s – Reading (A)
4’s - Bradfield (H)
5’s – Emmbrook & Bearwood (A)

Sunday:
U21’s – Guildford (A)
Finch Women – Ballinger Waggoners (A)

Social
Finch golf day is once again taking place at the excellent Windlesham golf club after the success of last years event at the same venue. The event is taking place on Friday September 11th with bookings going fast. To book your team please contact Paul Clayton as detailed below.