Stoke Green Climb Out of Relegation in Division One of the Home Counties Premier League
CREDIT: Home Counties Premier League & ETDC Digital Media & Sports Shots
Premier Division 1
The race for second continues as Oxford Downs are within two points of Finchampstead, who have lost captain Britz, who returns to South Africa.
Aston Rowant 197/10, Finchampstead 197-5 – Finchampstead win by five wickets
Samm Daniel and Ben Salter delivered the damage with ball and bat, respectively, as the second-placed team chased down Aston Rowant’s total just five wickets down.
Daniel picked up four wickets for his efforts, securing four maidens and conceding only 77 runs in 19 overs. This achievement marks his second four-wicket haul, following his impressive performance against Great Brickhill earlier in July.
While Josh Mctaggart remained not out on 49, Daniel managed to dismiss opening batsman Chris Watling, who had scored 45 runs of his own.
Rowant’s batters put up a valiant fight, with contributions from Smith (23), Purushothaman (17), and Hayes (17) helping to raise the total to 197.
However, the total was not defendable, especially against the formidable Finchampstead batting attack.
In the absence of Britz, another player stepped up to claim recognition. Ben Salter, who has been in prolific form throughout the year, continued to shine with the bat. His 74* anchored the innings beautifully, providing a platform for Campion (53) and Crerar (34*) to bat around him.
In 45 overs, Finch cruised to victory, having chased 197 down whilst losing just 5 wickets.
Banbury 255/7, Great Brickhill 227/10 – Banbury win by 28 runs
Banbury piled on the runs against Great Brickhill, cementing their opponents’ woes and putting them into the relegation zone.
It was all down to Arjun Ramkumar, whose 175 balls faced resulted in 114 runs. With 9 fours and 5 sixes, he played cautiously – ensuring that he was there the entirety of the innings. George Tait added 41 in a slightly more aggressive manner, before Kavikara removed both.
It’s Ramkumar’s first year for Banbury, and no one has been left disappointed by his performances. In 12 innings, he scored 480 runs with this week’s century, championing his season. At an average of over 40, he’s collected four half-centuries and now a century, being a crucial member of Banbury’s squad.
Both Rhys Nicholas and Jonathan Cater added half-centuries to their collection of statistics, as they tried to counter Banbury’s impressive score.
Averaging almost 70 this year, Cater has added 5 half-centuries to his name in nine innings, including three not-outs. Whilst his highest score is only 79, he is the anchor in Great Brickhill’s side, but is desperate for someone to bat alongside him so that they can claim the victory over others.
Yet, Lloyd Sabin put an end to Great Brickhill’s lower order, with five wickets coming at the expense of just 33 runs. Primarily known for his batting, Sabin has been strong with the ball this year, taking 25% of his side’s wickets.
High Wycombe 323/4, Harefield 167/10 – High Wycombe win by 156 runs
Double tons dismantle Harefield as Hemp and Woodland fire, before Haddow cleans up with seven.
Centuries from both Hemp (106) and Woodland (101) set an unrelenting tone at the top, putting Harefield on the back foot from the outset.
The pair’s commanding knocks proved too much for Harefield, and with Conner Haddow delivering a ruthless bowling masterclass to claim 7 wickets at the other end, High Wycombe cruised to a dominant win.
Harefield’s innings never found momentum, crumbling to just 167 all out. The lone resistance came from Dan Ogden, who produced a gutsy century while wickets tumbled around him. His 100 proved in vain, with little support from the rest of the batting order.
Oxford Downs 202/10, Wargrave 185/10 – Oxford Downs win by 17 runs.
Oxford Downs appeared to press the wax seal on Wargrave’s relegation letter, delivering a damaging blow that now leaves their opponents firmly entrenched in the drop zone.
Whilst mcuh was left to be desired with the bat, the ball was a show of strength for the third-in-the-league side.
Oliver Armstrong found his momentum late in the season, as he picked up his first five-wicket-haul of the club season. With 12 overs bowled, he picked up five wickets for just 28 runs, restricting Wargrave’s ability to score freely and ultimately taking advantage of their frustration.
Wargrave find themeslves in a spot of bother, with results going away from them this weekend, the’ve dropped down to bottom. Just 1 point separates them from Brickhill in 9th, and both teams are 8 points from 8th place Stoke Green who seem to have found some form in their last two outings.
Henley 103/10, Stoke Green 107/7 – Stoke Green win by 3 wickets
At one point this year, it seemed certain that Stoke Green would be relegated, yet two wins from two bring them out of the relegation zone.
They ensured that Henley were left limited in the runs department, with only Bradbury getting a significant total of 33.
Wickets were spread between Ahmed and Tanzil – both picking up three, the latter slightly more economical having only gone for 15 runs from his 7 overs.
And whilst last week, it was professional Saif Zaib who cruised them through to victory, this week it was his brother Aashir Ziab who struck a quick-fire 42 from 38 deliveries.
When you’re only chasing 103, these short high-impact injection of runs seem to deal all the necessary damage, and Stoke Green crossed the line within 25 overs.
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Premier Division 2
Green Energy Powers Horspath to Big Win
The leaders returned from Chesham with their ninth victory after recording a four-wicket win.
After winning the toss and electing to field, Slough restricted their hosts to 153 all out as Mujtaba Ghayyas removed four of the top five batters to finish as the chief destroyer (4-66). Kamran Khan top scored for Chesham with an unbeaten 30.
The chase saw opener Humza Ishaq (38) give Slough a positive start, before Mohammed Avas (34) and Vishnu Solanki (34 not out) both chipped in to see their side home.
Derval Green’s display helped Horspath (25) inflict a 144-run defeat over a Wokingham (3) side who, having been unbeaten in their opening eleven games, have now lost back-to-back fixtures.
After Sravan Konidena made 47 opening up, the Jamaican international recorded a brilliant undefeated 141, which came from just 91 balls, and surpassed the club’s previous highest score in the league. His flambouyant knock included 13 sixes and 8 fours as he hammered the visiting bowling to all parts of the ground. At the other end, the experience of Robbie Eason saw the ‘path legend feed his team mate the strike as he amassed a solid 69. Another record was equalled as the pair added 169 for the fifth wicket and in doing so, gave Wokingham a mountain to climb.
After Horspath had posted 283 for 6 from their 58 overs, their visitors soon fell to 13 for 3 at tea. Konidena (3/24) claimed his third victim as Wokingham were 35 for 5, which became 78 for 8 after Green had got the leather in his hand. Despite some late afternoon resistance, Wokingham were eventually dismissed for 139 all out. Green adding three for 15 to his amazing knock for a game that will go down in Horspath’s history. The victory sees Amin Rafiq’s side extend their unbeaten run to nine games, a stretch which sees them positioned fourth in the table.
The division’s leading wicket taker, Dinny Malan, claimed another six victims in Thame Town’s (25) six wicket win against Datchet (7).
Malan took his season’s tally to 41 wickets when he took six for 43, as he spearheaded Thame’s attack. The visitors posted 231 all out in 56.3 overs with Nick Kimber (66) and Murad Khan (34) finding form with the willow.
A 120-run third wicket stand aided Thame’s run chase as the contrasting styles of Ubaid Kiani and Alex Browne delivered. Browne’s whirlwind 46-ball, 86 runs, included 10 fours and 5 sixes, while opener Kiani anchored the chase with gritty determination, finishing undefeated at the end on 82 not out from 128 balls (13x4s). Kiani also shared a 75-run stand with fellow opener Alex Tervet (37).
Bicester & North Oxford (25) recorded their first win of the campaign as defeated Falkland (7) in a relegation scrap at Akeman Street.
Josh Towell and Marcus Jeacock combined to set up the home side for a much-needed maximum as they reached their target five wickets down. Towell opened with a vital 60 (50 runs in 79 balls, 101 minutes (9×4)) while Jeacock held firm to close 44 not out with a patient, but necessary knock.
After electing to bat, Falkland’s innings never got started as only Ben Piper (30) and late order gusto from Mark Otley (44 from 40 balls) made contributions. Bicester & North Oxford will be pleased how their bowlers all worked hard in a pressure fixture, with Daniel Savin’s three for 25 the pick.
Gerrards Cross (25) closed the gap on the second promotion place to just eight points as they enjoyed a six-wicket success against Oxford (5) at Jordan Hill.
The Dukes Lane outfit have shown excellent form of late, which sets them up with a real chance of playing at the top level next season.
Harry Spear (4-34) and James Dalby (4-36) got into the home side’s batting line up as four players got starts before being dismissed. The dependable Julian Laird (38) and Brendon Smith (35) top scored before Oxford were bowled out for 146 in 43.2 overs.
Ben Spencer (31 not out) and Hugo Hammond (45 not out) steadied the nerves as they shared an undefeated 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket to help complete a successful chase. Matthew Pannett (36) helped set up the victory from an opening berth.
CREDIT: Home Counties Premier League & ETDC Digital Media & Sports Shots
