Harefield Stun League By Rising Straight To The Top of the Home Counties Premier League
CREDIT: Home Counties Premier League & ETDC Digital Media
Premier Division 1
High Wycombe, Banbury and Harefield become early leaders in Division One after both teams win the opening fixtures of the 2025 season. Meanwhile, Aston Rowant find themselves at the bottom of the table, having only claimed 9 points across two games.
In a low-scoring affair at Aston Rowant, on a pitch that offered an unpredictable challenge throughout the day, with variable bounce. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Max Mannering would have hoped to put a large score on the board, watching the pitch break up throughout the day.
But youngster Archie Dodds found the wicket favourable, as he skittled Rowant to 33-7 inside the first 20 overs. Only Hayden Rossouw was able to get into double figures from the top 7 batters, but even he fell to the nipping deliveries of skipper Cameron Parsons.
Matthews contributed 24 from 93 balls in a cautious innings, yet was unable to change the momentum of the game as the pressure continued to mount. His time at the crease may have steadied the innings briefly, but it was Captain Mannering who looked more likely to shift the tone, striking his first ball crisply through the covers on the way to a fluent 30 from 51. His departure, however, signalled the beginning of the end, as Rowant were dismissed for just 85.
On the return, Wycombe’s approach was aggressive, with Cameron Hemp swiftly reaching 20. At 47-2, the game appeared virtually over, yet a series of rapid wickets intensified the pressure as Wycombe faltered to 60-4. However, the damage had been inflicted, and Casterton’s 24* from 22 concluded the match, having successfully hit Catherwood-Smith to the boundary.
Harefield made light work of their chase against Great Brickhill, securing a comprehensive 10-wicket victory in just 25 overs as openers Severin and Ali saw them home with confidence and control.
It had been a tough outing for Brickhill from the outset, slipping to 0-2 without a run on the board as Jordan McLeod tore through the top order, claiming three early wickets in quick succession. At 27 for 5, Brickhill were staring at another short Saturday, just a week after their opening league fixture was abandoned after 12 overs due to an unplayable pitch.
Skipper, Cater, however, led a spirited fightback with a determined 43 from 74 deliveries. He was well supported by Navin Kavikara, whose 52 from 68 provided much-needed stability. The pair added some substance to the innings, rebuilding after the early collapse and giving their side something to bowl at. Despite their efforts, Brickhill were eventually bowled out for 166 in the 49th over.
Harefield will be more than pleased with their winter signing of Gareth Severin, who is currently averaging over 92 in seven innings from his 2025 season. The wicket-keeper batter has been a key player for the Harefield lineup, being fundamental in their surprising victory over last year’s champions Henley.
With a rapid-paced innings, Brickhill had minimal opportunity to decelerate the momentum and exert pressure. Zain Ali assumed the anchor role, while Severin scored 13 fours and two sixes. Both players secured the victory for their team in 25 overs, propelling Harefield to the top position in the league table.
Banbury secured the victory over Stoke Green by 23 runs following some jitters during lunchtime from a below-par score.
Only former Oxford skipper George Tait demonstrated notable batting strength for Banbury, scoring a deliberate 45 from 79 deliveries. His composed innings, which departed from a flamboyant approach and embraced patience and determination, proved instrumental in setting a defendable total for Banbury. Despite the loss of several players, including Oliver Wright, who managed to contribute 17, Tait’s 45 ensured that Banbury had a solid position in the match.
With just 127 on the board at the change of innings, Banbury would have needed some collective heads to build positive affirmations if they wanted a chance to secure the win.
In contrast, Stoke Green would have experienced immense excitement as they faced their first possible victory of the league season. Gagan Singh demonstrated exceptional performance with the ball, carrying on his impressive form from the pre-season and T20 day. His 4-9 from just five overs was the highlight of Stoke Green’s bowling innings, and there is no doubt that he possesses the potential to compete in Division One with an average of nine and an economy of just over three.
At 24-3, Banbury regained control of the match, with Matt Jones, Bradley Taylor, and Lloyd Sabin successfully dismissing the top three batters within the first three overs. Joe Thomas (4-10) swiftly dismissed the middle order of Stoke Green, leading to a sudden shift in the scoreboard. Stoke Green found themselves at 100-7, while Chetan Sharma and Karanpreet Singh were the only players to surpass 20 runs.
Lloyd Sabin (3-14) further bolstered Banbury’s bowling attack, picking up the final two wickets. The relentless bowling of Banbury’s bowlers compelled Stoke Green into a defensive position, ultimately resulting in their defeat.
Finchampstead managed to put their first official victory on the leaderboard, as they trumped Oxford Downs by 82 runs.
It was a good toss to win as Finch piled on the runs, amassing over 300 in their 50 over allottment.
A 75 run opening stand from Isbell and Predgen, set a strong and aggressive foundation for the innings. Predgen (38 from 27), the more aggressive of the two, fell first, but not before he struck 7 fours and a six.
Star of last years season Chris Britz, whose absence arguably saw Finch lose their hefty lead of the pack, continued his domination of Division One.
His 130-run innings from just 123 balls was patient and determined, allowing others to bat around hiim as he carefully struck bad balls to the boundary, and accelerated his innings appropriately.
He’s had a tough start to his English campaign, but his innings was the score he needed to pick up from where he left last year.
A return to his home club for Dan Marles, saw his first league game abandoned. Yet, his first home fixture gave him the advantage as he struck his first half-century of the season from 72 balls. After a ball to the head last week, he would have been pleased with an innings that opens up his Finchampstead account.
With 303 put on the board, Finchampstead were set to bowl with a tough score backing them up. When Oxford Downs were 67-4, that pressure would have only accelerated, yet George Sanbach refused to become another scalp of Lewis Sharp.
His 82 from as many balls acted as the backing that Oxford Downs needed, allowing for the other 10 individuals to bat around him in a more attacking style.
But other than Watts (28) and Tom Costley (27), no-one else managed to get above 20 and support Sandbach in his chase of 300.
Once Sharp (3-38) finally dismissed him with 173 on the board, it was all but over, and Oxford Downs only managed to reach 221, a score which against any other team would have been aggressive, yet against Finchampstead’s formidable batting line-up, came up short.
2024 champions Henley saw their second defeat of the season, and with skipper Tom Nugent out of action with injury for the season, their hopes of winning the league have become that much harder.
Henley’s 252 was primarily orchestrated by Archie Carter (80) and Charlie Dunnet (82), who dominated the innings for a significant portion. With four partnerships exceeding the half-century mark, both Carter and Dunnett ensured a steady flow of runs without substantial disruptions.
Dunnet has been in exceptional form this year, averaging over 60 across all teams and formats. In two innings for Henley, he has scored 100 and 82, averaging over 90 in the first two games.
Having amassed 252 runs, Henley would have been reasonably satisfied. However, Wargrave adopted a distinct batting strategy. Instead of relying solely on two batters to reach half-centuries, seven of their batters contributed to the scoreboard, enabling them to surpass the target with two balls remaining.
Rhys Lewis (48) was the top scorer for Wargrave, with 45 runs added from Gudimetla and 39 from Greatwood. Additional contributions from their other batters further propelled Wargrave to the total, allowing them to secure victory with two balls to spare.
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Oxford, Slough & Wokingham Maintain 100% Start
Oxford produced an unlikely victory as they recovered from 78 for 6, chasing 212 for victory against Bicester & North Oxford. Dylan Swanepoel produced a defiant display as he made 79, and found support from his skipper Jack Wilkins (15). His work was added to by Barney Carey, who guided his side home with an unbeaten 44.
Earlier, Farhaan Khan top scored from an opening berth with 71 against his former club, while New Zealand overseas Samuel Payne made 40, as the visitors were dismissed for 211 off the penultimate ball of their innings. Julian Laird was again amongst the wickets for the second week in succession. The Sussex Academy spinner claimed four for 33 for the Romans.
Humza Ishaq produced an outstanding all-round display as Slough delivered a successful chase for the second week, this time at Horspath.
Ishaq’s spin put the breaks on Horspath’s innings after opening pair Sravan Konidena (65) and Vivek Narayan (72) had put on 120 for the first wicket. He finished with five for 39 from his ten-over stint.
Slough’s innings saw Ishaq open with 42 valuable runs, before Mohammed Avas (34) continued in a positive fashion. Mujtaba Ghayyas and Yash Lakhani shared a match-winning unbeaten stand worth 72 runs for the seventh wicket from just 8.1 overs. Ghayyas finished 37 not out, while Lakhani hammered a 21-ball undefeated 40, including 3 sixes.
Wokingham made it back-to-back wins with a 27-run success against Datchet at The Wally Gage Memorial Ground.
Visiting captain Tom Hampton elected to bat after winning the toss and Wokingham proceeded to see Dan Housego hold the first part of their innings together. The former Middlesex batter amassed 75 from the number three position. After Imran Malik made 34, it was wicketkeeper-batter Sukhi Kang who showed experience as he took Wokingham to 276 for 9. Kang closed on 59 not out.
The left-arm seam of Iain Muirden gave Wokingham an early advantage, but Nick Kimber and Steven Naylor held firm, before the latter had to leave the field with Datchet effectively 65 for 4. Kimber eventually fell as the seventh wicket, just five short of a deserved century, with 81 still required from the 9.1 overs remaining. Naylor returned to the crease and added momentum, before departing for a run-a-ball 44. It was to be Muirden and the experience of former Berkshire spinner Ali Akbar Raja who restricted the home side, as both bowlers finished with four wickets each. Datchet were dismissed for 249 with just nine balls remaining; Muirden returned with four for 55, while Raja picked up four for 59 to give Wokingham another maximum.
Falkland collected their first victory since returning to the league as they defeated Chesham by 26 runs at the Enborne Lodge Ground.
The home side’s top order all made contributions as they posted 231 for their visitors to chase. Skipper James Bird (34), wicketkeeper Ben Piper (56), Richard Morris (38) and Seb Chapman (40) amongst the runs before Chesham captain Jonathan Burden wrapped up the innings with four for 43.
In reply, Henry Moore (30), Mark Eteen (46) and Ranvir Sinha (31) all got starts but Chesham lacked someone to take them deep into the chase. Matt Bond’s three for 38 proving vital as the visiting side were bowled out for 202.
A third wicket stand of 131 runs between Adam Ali and Lloyd Paternott played a big part as Thame Town recorded a three-wicket victory at Gerrards Cross.
The pair took the visitors from 16 for 2 to 147 before Paternott left the field hurt. Ali continued from the opening spot before being caught for a solid 74. Paternott returned and took his side within eleven runs of the win as he finished with a 78-ball, 79 runs. Thame made it across the line with 4.3 overs left.
Earlier in the day, Thame’s bowling attack of Dinushka Malan, Devane Warner and captain Hassam Mushtaq all claimed three victims apiece as the hosts were removed for 262 in 47.2 overs. Henry Walsh (41), Hugo Hammond (34), Ben Spencer (75) and Patrick Smith (31) found form, but it was Malan (3-39), Warner (3-43) and Mushtaq (3-51) who all enjoyed success with the ball.
