Last match of the season as Finches visit regular rivals Henley on Saturday. On winning the toss after a 30 minute delay Finch skipper Dan Marles asked Henley to bat first. Henley lost opener Jonny Connell caught at slip off Ben salter’s first over. Then in the 11th over Liam Bulteel bowled Matt Dalrymple so 42 – 2.

But a useful stand emerged between Charlie Dunnett and Conor Lamsdale. At the 25 overs halfway it was 113 – 2. Then at 128 Lamsdale was run out for 50. One ball later Dunnett was very well caught by ‘keeper Jed Crerar off Lewis Sharp so 129 – 4 in 29 overs.

Three overs later it was 137 – 5 with Lou Hilditch also out caught behind. With ten overs remaining it was 170 – 5. But Finches had few answers to Ross Richardson and Henley skipper Adam Searle as they put on 127 in 16 overs. Eventually Searle was caught in the deep off Eddie Campion for 56. At 264 he was followed by Richardson caught and bowled Lewis Sharp for his excellent 69. The innings closed at 273 – 8 after another catch in the deep.
Facing the useful indeed total Finches opened with Tommie Predgen and Greg Smith. But after hitting a massive six Tommie was bowled with 22 on the board. At 51 Dan Marles hit a loose first ball bowled by seamer John Denning to be caught at short fine leg so two down. In over number 10 Eddie Campion fell lbw to Charlie Dunnett so 67 – 3.

When Greg Smith fell bowled by Dunnett for 29 Finches were then in real trouble at 74 – 4. With Henley keeping Denning on he then had Ben Salter caught behind. At 97 the sixth wicket had fallen with Finches in a non-recoverable position. The end soon came with Finches bowled out for 130 in only 23 overs. John Denning remarkably returned 6 – 17.
A heavy loss with this the second of the season and both to Henley. Finches after a good season including good results over champions High Wycombe finished in third place in the HCPL.

Since the end of the season Samm Daniel has confirmed that he will be leaving Finch in 2026 to play for Henley. We wish him all the best and thank him for his 5 seasons at the club after taking 111 wickets @ 22 primarily all in the HCPL and winning the bowling award in 2024.

Finch 2s successfully spoiled the Wokingham party on the final game of the season with an emphatic win to prevent Wokingham from winning the league and getting promoted. Good bowling restricted Wokingham to 208-8 from 50 overs. Paul Stephens 3-24 and Anthony Parson 3-40 the best bowlers once again.

Finch put their recent batting woes aside and emphatically chased down the target with 10 overs to spare for the loss of just 1 wicket. Openers Joe Sheldon 79 and Stuart Parsons 80* with a 177-run opening partnership. Finch finished the campaign third in the league in their first year back in Div 2a. Stuart Parsons will no longer be captaining the side or able to commit to playing regularly next season. We thank him for the excellent two years he has captained the side leading by example as top run scorer each season in the 2s. An undefeated promotion a highlight a great effort taking into consideration the 2hr+ round trip for him each game.

Finch 3’s finished the season with a dead rubber game away to Newbury and succumbed to defeat as many a side has at Newbury. Finch batted first and were bowled out for 190, Joe Simmons with another 50 to end a fine season just short of 600 runs. Wes Roberts made a trademark brisk 75.

Finch mixed up the bowling to finish the season but Newbury chased down the target with 5 wickets in hand. Finch finished in 4th place, another good effort primarily playing first & second eleven sides in Div 4. Gareth Fearon will also be standing down as captain after 4 years in the job. A big thanks to him especially the last couple of years with family life and injuries rightly taking up large amounts of his time/focus.

Finch 4’s were able to enjoy the last week of the season with promotion already secured from the previous rain week. They hosted Newbury and posted 244-8 in a much changed youthful batting order. Steve Raubenheimer top scored with 75 taking his season tally to 400.
Newbury took a very care-free approach with the bat knowing they were unable to catch Finch. They were soon 50-3 but continued to attack and a fine century from the number 5 ensured they took the win despite some late wickets. Finch promoted as runners-up with the side being made up of at least 5 colts in every game of the season and 75% of all overs being bowled by U17/15’s.

Finch 5’s completed their season with a home victory against Mortimer & West End. Finch bowled first and restricted them to 172 all out. Shub Rathod a great early spell with 3-15 and Dave Marles 3-30.

Finch struggled early however the reliable Finn Borkowski made 45 and Nick Hutchings 31* capped off a good first season from him at the club. Finch eventually reaching the target for the loss of 6 wickets. The win ensured a top-half finish for the 5’s with the priority still being youth participation and development in the side.

The final positions for the five sides are as follows…….Third, Third, Fourth, Second and Fifth. An excellent year on the pitch, with all five sides finishing in the top half of their respective divisions which has not happened for many years and rare for any club to achieve.

End Of Season Awards Evening
Neil Doody presented engraved tankards as ever to players who achieved a hattrick or maiden club century. A record 8 were presented this season to the following:
Hattricks – Charlie Gilbey, Charlie Lewis and Anthony Parson
Maiden 100’s – Sam Jenkins, Nick Hutchings, Paul Stephens, Eddie Campion and Louis Crerar
Player of the Year - Ben Salter – 446 runs @ 56; season strike rate of over 100, 13 wickets @ 23, 9 catches
Bowler of the Year (Peter Lewington Award) - James Woodford – 28 wickets @ 15, Economy 3.2rpo

Batter of the Year (Micheal Arnold Award) - Ian Rose - 715 runs @ 55, 1 x 100, 1 x 99 & 3 x 50’s. Top scorer in Division 7a. He was also named player of the month for August.
Young Player of the Year - Kailan Patel - 28 wickets @ 19, Economy 4.16rpo.
Most Improved Player of the Year - Ishaan Moitra – First season in the 4’s, 23 wickets @ 22; 5th top wicket taker in the division.

Club Person of the Year – Verity Johnson

After the sudden and incredibly sad loss of John Reed just weeks before the season started, so many responsibilities and duties were needed to be shared out amongst various committee members. Verity was one of these and has put in more time and effort than ever after returning full-time from being in New Zealand for 3 years. Provides huge support to captains uploading team sheets, results and has regularly set-up the streaming on the main ground to allow people to watch unable to get to games. Our club’s presence, content and updates on all social media platforms is stronger than ever and far better than many clubs which is also solely down to Verity and doesn’t go unnoticed when new players in the area look for a club to join. Verity has also been pivotal in the recruitment of players for next season for the women’s side which we are pleased to confirm will be returning in 2026.

Finally, a big thank you to all vice-presidents, parents, supporters and keen followers from further afar. Your sponsorship, donations and matchday support makes a huge impact to the running of this great club and noticeable by all players during both home and away matches.