Finch 1’s
Match number nine and the halfway point in the HCPL Division One campaign. Finches at the top hosted Banbury placed second by just five points.

On winning the toss in fine sunny conditions Banbury asked Finches to bat first in the 120 overs match. But a very tricky start indeed as Finches were reduced to 40 – 3 in 11 overs. Both Greg Smith and James Isbell fell caught then skipper Dan Marles was bowled by Hayden Rossuow.

The next pair Sam Seecharan and Ben Salter then set about the rescue operation required. They saw the 100 up in the next 20 overs. The fine batting saw the score progress to 193 in the 47th over. Then Sam was out caught for his 63 – his third consecutive half century. So 193 – 4 and 17 more overs available. 7 overs later saw Ben reach a magnificent 99. Then he sadly holed out at mid-off thus denying his century but such an outstanding team contribution. The scoreline 216 – 5 but at 224 two more wickets had fallen.

With 9 overs available we then saw fine strokes by Eddie Campion as he saw the 250 score up. He was dismissed with one over remaining for his stroke-filled 59. One more fell at the end but Finches posted a workmanlike 274 – 9 in 64 overs.
Given 56 overs, visiting Banbury started with Lloyd Sabin and Sam Fanning. But Fanning soon fell bowled offering no stroke to Liam Dudding so 44 – 1 in the 10th over. Banbury then prospered with Hayden Rossouw joining Sabin. They saw the 100 up in just 20 overs. But at 107 Rossouw was caught off Ollie Thilo. The third wicket fell with Kieran Coyne run out so the scoreline was 131 – 3.

Lloyd Sabin then continued his fine form for Banbury eventually placing them in a good position to win the match. Two wickets had fallen at 236 including Ben Miller for 40 so six down. It was a surprise when at 245 Sabin fell caught off Lewis Sharp after his fine 124. With the scoreline then 245 – 7 Banbury still needed 30 and had lost this crucial wicket. Two more then fell at 247 so with nine down Banbury had to hold on for two final overs. This they did to draw the match at 251 – 9.

Lewis Sharp led the bowlers returning 4 – 56 and two for spinner Eddie Campion. A fine match by the table toppers. The winning draw 16 points sees Finches still top at the halfway stage with 157 points. Very close indeed Oxford Downs have 154 points, Banbury 153 and High Wycombe 152. A real HCPL contest beckons!

Finch 2’s
Travelled to High Wycombe who won the toss and sent Finch in to bat. Finch lost both openers, Matt Eldridge and Tommie Predgen early however Connor Rees and Joe Sheldon rebuilt expertly with a brisk 107 partnership. Once the fourth wicket fell at 155, Connor was past his 50 and was joined by Aryan Gavankar with an early declaration on their minds. The pair put together an unbroken partnership of 144 in close to 20 overs to rocket Finch to 299-4 declared off 47 overs. This was an extremely tough decision for captain Michael O’Donoghue to put the team’s chances of winning first as Aryan finished the innings unbeaten on 95 from just 65 balls. Connor fully cashed in after the horror umpiring call last week finishing on 133* his third century this season.

High Wycombe lacked intent from the start and despite putting on 60 for the first wicket it took them 18 overs meaning chasing down 299 was highly unlikely and probably never the intention. Finch did make regular in-roads to the middle-late order, reducing High Wycombe to 137-8. The final 4 overs however, were successfully blocked by the home side to give Finch a frustrating winning-draw having dominated the whole game. Praise goes to James Woodford 4-38 from 15 overs and Aryan capped off a fine all-rounder performance with 2-39.

Finch 3’s travelled to Fleet pursuing a confidence boosting win. We lost the toss and were asked to bowl in batting friendly conditions. Lewis O’Donoghue claimed the prize of both openers one of which being Bruce Friderichs known for playing most of his cricket in the HCPL. The Fleet middle-order however consolidated with some notable solid partnerships ensuring a platform was set for some late order hitting. Fleet made their way to 261-7 and aggressively declared after 50 overs giving Finch the same in reply.

In reply Joe Simmons was dismissed in the first over which brought Henry Crowhurst to the crease (back available now private school has finished). What transpired was an innings to remember with Finch historians no-doubt trawling through the record books. Louis Crerar and Freddie bishop supported him in some valuable partnerships which left Finch 95-3 off 13 overs. Christian Taylor joined Henry and had the best seat in the house as all bowlers were met with powerful strokes for multiple 4s & 6s every over. The pair put on an unbroken partnership of 170 from just 21 overs. Christian Taylor finishing on 50* put the star of the show Henry Crowhurst made 161* of just 105 balls, 23 x 4s & 7 x 6s believed to be in the top 5 scores of all time for Finch in Saturday league cricket. A day to remember and a great achievement not forgetting he is just 16 years old. A valuable confidence boost and 26pts for Finch.

Finch 4’s
Hosted Stratfield & Turgis who were on the back of being bowled out for just 14 the previous week having been 12/1 initially! Stratfield weren’t deterred however and elected to bat first. Ben Amor was exceptional with the new ball taking 2-13 from his 6 overs. Stratfield consolidated well and at drinks were well placed at 100-4. Finch lifted the intensity straight after and when both set batters were dismissed the lower order offered little resistance and were bowled out for just 126. Matthew Arnold, Finn Borkowski and Yash Mahadik all taking two wickets each.
With the result in very little doubt on the flat wicket and fast outfield Stratfield did strike twice before the score was on 21. Tom Walker however, carried his bat for a well put together 46* and despite being dismissed late on Rui Wright’s quick-fire 55 ensured Finch breezed to a 7-wicket victory with over half the overs remaining.

Finch 5’s travelled to third place Royal Ascot and were put into bat (all 5 Finch teams losing the toss on Saturday). Isaac Neville made an excellent 50 to give Finch a platform at 116-3 however despite a run a ball 37 from Nick Hutchings Finch struggled to capitalize and were bowled out for 177 off the final ball of the innings.
Finch struck early with a wicket a piece for Stuart Mcewan and Shub Rathod. All bowlers used got into the wicket tally and with Royal Ascot reduced to 129-6 albeit well above the required rate Finch had a small opening. The 7th wicket partnership put on 45 without taking many risks and was only broken with just 5 required. Finch losing by 3 wickets but a good haul of 10 pts against one of the top sides in the league.

That brings us to the half-way stage for all five Saturday sides and a great effort from all captains/players/volunteers so far, given the expected tough season with all TVL sides playing in a higher league than in 2025. The current league standings and upcoming fixtures:
1’s – First…….Henley (H)
2’s – Third…..Reading (A)
3’s – Fifth……Binfield (A)
4’s – Fourth…..Newbury (H)
5’s – Eighth……Shinfield (A)
Sunday Finch Women are away to Wargrave
Sun-Tues: Berkshire first team play Oxfordshire at Falkland in the first of their three-day NCCA fixtures. Note worthy as Berkshire have named 5 Finch players in the side (James Isbell, Eddie Campion, Ben Salter, Lewis Sharp and Abdullah Iqbal). Great recognition for these lads whose performances have resulted in being top of the HCPL.