Finch 1’s
Ongoing hot and dry conditions as Finches host Harefield in the last of the HCPL 120 overs matches. With points needed to maintain the title challenge Finches skipper Dan Marles decided to field first then chase the score on winning the toss.

The opening bowling was by seamers Lewis Sharp and Liam Dudding. Lewis was immediately on the mark as Harefield were three wickets down for 27 in 10 overs. The first was bowled then the next two caught all bowled by Lewis. After a partial recovery Lewis secured his fourth wicket at 68 – 4 in the 22nd over.

It was a five wicket haul for Lewis as Harefield then slumped to 73 – 5 after a second caught behind. After 36 overs seamer Ollie Thilo had replaced Lewis after his 14 overs and he secured the sixth wicket with a catch so 110 – 6.

Then Liam returned for his second spell taking wickets at 118 and 136 with 46 overs bowled. The end came swiftly with Liam taking the final two wickets and for him a four wicket haul.
Harefield were all out for 151 in 53 overs. Lewis Sharp returned 5 – 62 and Liam Dudding 4 – 40. For Harefield only Harjit Rajasansir 37 and Lee Tyroll 35 troubled the bowlers.
Finches lost no time in attacking Harefield. James Isbell and Greg Smith saw 30 on the board before Greg fell caught. Then regular boundary strokes by James and Ben Salter saw 104 on the board in only 11 overs when Ben departed caught at long on for 31. At 133 and 15 overs James fell for his hard struck 82 but only two overs later it was all over. Finches at 153 – 3 won in only 17 overs. There were two interesting Finches aspects in the match. James Isbell hit his first 62 runs all in boundaries before taking a single and wicket keeper Jed Crerar has now taken 26 catches which equals the HCPL record held by Simon Bell in 2018 (no assistance needed from 1st slip with clicking fingers it must be noted). ?

All four top sides won so Finch remain in third slot, however only 18 points separate the top four with Finch to play all three rivals in the last four 50-over win/lose matches.

Finch 2’s
Travelled to top of the league Beaconsfield knowing only 5 wins in the remaining games would likely be enough to challenge for a second promotion spot. Finch won the toss and skipper Joe Sheldon chose to bat. The top three were all out relatively cheaply including Tommie Predgen having to retire hurt with a nasty elbow injury from a rising ball. Aryan Gavankar and Henry Crowhurst put up strong resistance but when they were both dismissed in the 40’s Finch lost all momentum8 at 155-5. Three run-outs were costly in the final ten overs and Finch managed 217-8 in their 52 overs.

Anthony Parson and Aryan struck early with the ball to leave the hosts on 38-2 however their opener stood firm almost throughout the whole innings. Two more wickets fell just before the 100-mark leaving the game in the balance but a 112-run 5th wicket partnership put the result in no doubt as Beaconsfield showed their class. They ran out winners by 5 wickets with 9 overs to spare. AP the best bowler on show 3-45 from 10 overs.
Thanks to Mike Sheldon for donning the whites as sub-fielder while Tommie visited A&E to check out his elbow. Looking like good news on that front with no bone damage.

Finch 3’s
Travelled to Reading looking to build on their fine win last week. Stand-in captain Gareth Fearon won the toss and elected to bowl producing immediate results. Liam Amy struck in the first over setting the tone and wickets continued to fall at pace with Reading reduced to 47-6. Small partnerships followed to resemble a mini fightback however Finch dismissed Reading for 134 in nearly all the overs used with none of the 5 bowlers used going at more than 3.3 runs per over. Liam Amy (2-27), Tom Allen (3-31), Lewis O’Donoghue (2-14) and Max Hall (2-20) the main contributors.

Louis Crerar once again like last week took the aggressive approach making a run a ball 30 but once out with the score on 44 regular wickets fell and scoring being harder and harder. 99-3 Finch looked in control however 3 quick wickets kept the home side interested. Two further wickets fell with ten runs required but Liam Amy and Tom Allen stood firm to give Finch a vital win by 2 wickets moving them up to 5th and further extending the buffer from the third relegation spot.

Finch 4’s
Hosted Bradfield 1’s on the leas who on paper were missing some of their stalwart key players. Finch won the toss and elected to bat as ever but lost a wicket first over. Steve Raubenheimer made 31 when he was dismissed with the score on 58 leaving the old guard of Kwame Appiah and Ian Rose with contrasting approaches/techniques to put on a fine 3rd wicket partnership of 120 runs. Kwame’s classy innings as ever ended when he chopped on for 76 to deny him the chance of back-to-back tons and Ian was also dismissed for 76 from just 65 balls, (his innings interrupted in the late 30’s with a self-inflicted injury from a regularly used ramp shot that went through the grill making a mess of his nose). Yash Mahadik late striking finished the innings well with 53 from 50 balls guiding Finch to 280-5 from their 45 overs.

Bradfield with the help of some early extras started the innings at a good rate but when the second wicket fell with the score on 41 it soon became apparent this was an extremely one-sided event. Alex Bewick bowled his full 9 overs upfront returning impressive figures of 2-15 and Charlie Gilbey first change was excellent taking 4-15 from 6 overs. Matt Harper polished off the innings with 3-7 helping to dismiss Bradfield for just 90 giving the 4’s a massive win by 186 runs. A good comeback after last week with tougher tests to come in the run-in as they consolidated 4th spot.

Finch 5’s
Travelled to Emmbrook & Bearwood with Dave Marles once again in charge with Mark Wright still in Croatia. Finch won the toss and elected to bowl first and despite an early wicket struggled to contain the scoring on the astro turf pitch and lightning outfield. A couple of wickets tumbled at around the 190 run mark but with wickets in hand the hosts were able to accelerate to post 289-5 from their 40 overs. Nine bowlers used to try and find a wicket taking & run saving combination.

The in-form opening partnership of Tom Anderson and Isaac Neville once again started well giving a good platform for Finch to build on. Tom dismissed for a run-a ball 43 which like last week signalled trouble for Finch. The middle order all came and went cheaply with nobody offering much support to Isaac who carried on his merry way. Finch finished their 40 overs on 223-7 losing by 66 runs but Isaac Neville made a superb unbeaten 103*, his first adult hundred and will now look forward to his tankard presented at the end of season awards by Neil Doody.

Upcoming Fixtures – 1-3’s now switch back to win/lose format for the remaining 4 games
1’s – Oxford Downs (A) - They live stream on their YouTube channel with commentary
2’s – Sonning (H)
3’s - Hurst Rangers (A)
4’s – Crowthorne & Crownwood (H)
5’s – Aldershot (H)

Friday 14th Midweek T20 Cup Final
17:45 - Wokingham (H)

Sunday 16th T20 Area Finals Day – St Cross CC (Winchester)
10:00 – St Cross (Southern Prem) v Wimbourne (Dorset)
13:00 - Finch v Three Bridges (Sussex)
16:00 - Final
Finch Women’s – Slough (A)

Other News
Toby Albert recorded an incredible feat on Sunday when he became only the 11th player to hit six consecutive sixes in a professional match. He was playing for Hampshire against Sussex in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. Report and highlights in the link below:

Six Balls, Six Sixes: Toby Albert Powers Hampshire To Record Season Total With Whirlwind Knock