Finch 1’s - Finches Spun Out by Henley for Their First Defeat

Match number nine and the halfway point in the HCPL Division One campaign. Local long time opponents Henley were visitors to Finchampstead on Saturday. On winning the toss Finch skipper Chris Britz asked Henley to bat first.

Opening with Johnny Connell and Matt Dalrymple Henley made very good progress this despite a rain stoppage which led to two overs being deducted in the match. The pair brought up the 100 in 22 overs and at the lunch interval it was 139 without loss. Then at 143 Connell was caught behind off Lewis Sharp for 57. 8 runs later saw Charlie Dunnett fall to a second caught behind off Lewis. At 183 and 46 overs bowled Matt Dalrymple was caught in the deep off spinner Eddie Campion for his fine 80 so three wickets down.

21 runs later and 204 on the board Liam Bulteel had taken three of the next four wickets so 7 down. The end came after some late strokes with Henley seeing Lewis to secure the last three wickets. Henley 255 all out in the final 63rd over. Lewis took 6 – 51 and Liam Bulteel 3 – 41.
Given 55 overs to bat Finches started strongly with Greg Smith and Chris Britz opening their batting. The pair reached 59 in 9 overs but as the spinners entered the attack for Henley the first wicket fell. Greg was caught at mid-on soon followed by Dan Marles lbw both wickets to Adam Searle. Then Eddie Campion also fell caught at mid-on off Conor Lamsdale to see Finches reduced to 69 – 3 in 14 overs.

Then 15 runs later Ben Salter was lbw immediately followed by Chris Britz caught at short third man for 40 both wickets to Lamsdale. At 84 – 5 Finches were in a position with little recovery hope. This proved to be the case with the remaining five wickets falling for 42 runs four of these to Lamsdale. Finches were all out for 127 in 38 overs to lose the match by 128 runs.
For Henley young spinner Connor Lamsdale took 7 – 32 in 15 overs and skipper Adam Searle 3 – 39 in 13 overs. A a comprehensive defeat for Finches but they remain in second place half way through the season.

Finch 2’s

Away at Wokingham in the top of the table clash Finch opted to bowl to bowl first. Two early wickets for Anthony Parson put Finch on top however W’ham batted sensibly to find themselves 150-3 with ten overs remaining. They closed their innings on 214-8 with AP picking up his first 5-wicket haul since returning to the club this season. Also notable mentions go to James Woodford 2-36 off 15 and Ethan Chapman bowling a 15 over spell of seam up at under 3rpo.

Finch’s reply started terribly when in-form player Matt Eldridge was struck on the thumb 5th ball of the innings forcing him to retire and highlighting just how difficult the chase would be. Opener Stuart Parsons made 64 however when he was out with the score on 125 along with Finch losing their 4th and 5th wicket the hope of a win was out of reach. Finch batted resolutely to secure a draw finishing on 152-5. Minimal change at the top of the league and who knows just how important the return fixture will be on the last Saturday of the season!

Finch 3’s

Winning the toss Finch elected to bowl first against Newbury on the leas a formula that has served them well this season so far. Wes Robert and Alex Sharp took 3 wickets each reducing Newbury to 82-6 on a standard flat wicket. A 120-run partnership followed however to put pay to any thoughts of an early finish and Newbury rallied to 262-8.

Momentum you would have thought may have shifted however as ever Joe Simmons led the charge with a run a ball 50 leaving Finch well ahead of the required rate well placed at 100-3. The SA pair of Wes Roberts and Javier Frost carried on the aggressive approach against Newbury’s well known spin duo of Anstey and Mills with over 1,500 career club wickets. Wes was out for a rapid 54 in a 100-run partnership and once again Finch made a seemingly tough chase at half time look comfortable winning with 8 overs and 6 wickets to spare! Javier finished on 77* from just 66 balls and Adil Mohammed made an excellent 35* at similar speed. Safe to say not many bowlers are queuing up to take on the 3s batters right now especially on the leas!

Finch 4’s

Over at Newbury Finch won the toss against the norm chose to bowl with the fear of early rain arriving. The pitch showed signs of variable bounce and huge turn from the outset with Finch being able to take regular wickets. Max Hall and Charlie Gilbey were both economical and took 2 wickets each. James Eaglesham produced an excellent spell after drinks taking 3-14 to bowl Newbury out for 170. A total within reach however should have been far less given the 55 extras Finch gave away with untidy cricket at times.

As ever at Newbury chasing wasn’t easy with runs hard to come by. Finch were well placed at 100-3 but when Ian Rose (32) and Rui Wright (35) both fell followed by the middle-lower order Finch still required 36 to win with only two wickets left. Ishaan Moitra and Tom Allen knew run rate was well within their reach and chose to be extra watchful making a conscious decision to see of the final two overs of both Newbury’s opening seamers. Both survived and then went on the attack to quickly reach the target without many scares in a brilliant well-thought out and executed partnership. Five in a row and another nail-biting win for the 4’s to close the gap to just 2 points to 2nd placed Newbury.

Finch 5’s

Finch also chose to field first away at struggling Mortimer & West End. Finch bowled economically throughout and never let the home side score freely or build any big partnerships. Mortimer finished on 177-6 from their 40 overs the two young spinners of Shubh Rathod 2-21 and Finn Borkowski 2-26 the pick of the bowlers.

Finch lost a very early wicket however Gary Woodford in form from last week and Yaseen Ahmed playing his first game after returning from university went on the attack. None of the 9 home sides bowlers used were able to contain the pair and after only 25 overs they brought up a dominant 9-wicket win; Gary 73* (back to back fifties) and Yaseen 75*. A deserves win for the 5’s after a run of some hard to take very close loses.

Last Saturday’s fixtures mark the half-way point in the league season. Our 5 teams currently sit 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd and 5th in their respective leagues, which is probably the best overall position the club has been in at this stage given historically early season availability is often a struggle. Fingers crossed the great weather and high-level of performances continues!

General Club News

Matt Eldridge was named 'player of the month' for June. He scored 243 in 4 innings for the 2's whilst only being dismissed once and also took 3 catches. Pictured below being presented with his certificate by Dave Marles, and also received a trophy and £50 bar tab.