Ts take over at the top of the table after 6 wicket defeat of Hornsey

Hornsey 151 a/o (Ian Gregory 50, Joss Lower 27, Justin Scriven 5-41, Dimitri Nicolaides 2-19, J-P Cronje 2-27)

Twickenham 153-4 (Carlos Nunes 59, Pete Carey 28, Alex Storey 23no, Ian Gregory 3-48)

On a day that was once again more suited to water sports than cricket, Twickenham CC’s Portuguese Man-o-War, Carlos Nunes, stung Hornsey into submission with another high octane batting performance.  His blockbuster 59 came from just 39 balls and was enough not only to capture 10 points for the Ts, but also to lead Jon Varney’s men to the top of MCCL Division Three.

Both sides made a couple of changes to their line-ups from the previous weeks; Dimitri Nicolaides and the ever shy-and-retiring Ryan Combrinck making welcome returns for Twickenham, whilst Hornsey were forced to do without their Glastonbury-bound leading run-scorer and wicket keeper Alex Scrini.  After a slightly delayed start, the Hornsey openers, Graham Allen and Duncan O’Connor, strode out to the middle to take first hit on what looked a pretty decent track.  Even though there had been plenty of rain around, groundsman Tony Bendelow had once again come up with a belter of a playing surface and – providing the new ball was safely overcome – there were likely to be a few runs around. 

The heavy overhead conditions nonetheless ensured that the bowlers got plenty of assistance with the new cherry.  Nicolaides wobbled the ball around from the Staines Road end, whilst Justin Scriven bowled with plenty of fire from the Pavilion End.  Scriven, as is often the case, was first to strike, Allen edging into the mid-riff of Andy Barnes at second slip.  Scriven’s pace and bounce were causing the batters all sorts of problems; although, as can often be the way, it was one of his less-challenging deliveries that saw him pick up his second wicket; Struthers not knowing where to hit a full toss and ending up trapping himself leg before right in front for 0.  Nicolaides also joined in the fun, bowling Sanjay Patel and then prompting a false drive out of O’Conner who was caught by Nunes at mid off for 10.  Hornsey were reeling at 32-4.  Things quickly got worse; Chetan Patel was bowled by Scriven and – with rain clouds circling overhead – Hornsey’s innings was perilously poised on 34-5.

A mini-revival by Kirit Makwana and Joss Lower saw the score edge past 50, before the wily off-spin of J-P Cronje saw Makwana hole out in the deep for 13.  Andy Myhill came and went quickly – caught and bowled by Nunes for 2 – leaving skipper and overseas player Ian Gregory and Lower with a lot to do if Hornsey were to salvage anything from the wreck of a scoreline.  Both batters clearly decided that attack was the best from of defence.  Although Scriven tied Lower up in knots on occasion, Lower nevertheless began to play some forceful shots through the leg side as the score moved on towards 100.  However, Nunes, who is developing into something of a Golden Arm for the Ts, nipped what was developing into a dangerous partnership in the bud, Nicolaides taking a smart catch to dismiss the Hornsey number 7 for 27.  Gregory, no doubt realising that he was unlikely to get too much assistance from numbers 10 and 11, decided to up the ante, smashing anything that was pitched up hard and straight.  For half an hour he caused a fair bit of anxiety for Twickenham skipper Varney until eventually the ever-reliable Scriven cleaned him up for 50.  The weather then proceeded to intervene for half an hour, but once the players got back out on the pitch Scriven quickly ended proceedings by yorking Oli Yew for 0 to register another 5 wicket haul for the Ts.  Hornsey’s 151 didn’t look like it would be enough, but it was a damn sight more than they probably expected to get when the 7^th wicket went down. 

After another excellent tea (again A- on the teameter), Andy Barnes and Pete Carey set out to chase the target down.  Again, batting against the new ball wasn’t easy and both players started in circumspect fashion.  And with good reason, as Ian Gregory, the leading wicket taker in the MCCL Division Three with 22 scalps thus far in 2007, darted the ball about at a fair rate of knots.  Barnes was initially the more aggressive of the Ts opening pair, clipping the ball nicely into the gaps to take a succession of twos.  However, Barnes’s steady start came to an abrupt end when he edged a pearler of a delivery to O’Connor behind the stumps for 16.  Warwick Paull, batting at three, took his time to take a look at the bowling but just as he appeared keen on playing a few shots Yew removed the Ts leading run scorer thanks to a stunning catch by Chetan Patel.  This prompted former second XI skipper Al Storey to stride out to the middle at 4, safe in the knowledge that he had plenty of time to bat and that it was vitally important he simply occupy the crease.  This became even truer when Pete Carey drove loosely at a Gregory delivery and was caught by Lower in the gulley for 28.  61-3 and the large crowd in the pavilion realised that there was a fair bit of cricket left to be played in this game yet.

Enter the Mediterranean muscle of Carlos Nunes.  Storey sensibly nudged the singles while Nunes opened his arms and boshed the ball all over the place.  Even the excellent Gregory saw 12 come off his final over, whilst the two Patels bowled 6 overs for 60 between them.  Nunes was brutal on anything full, driving with power and style, and within 20 minutes he’d taken the game right away from Hornsey.  His 50 came up in 28 minutes off 31 balls, and included 8 fours and a six.  The massed ranks of Twickenham support gave excellent vocal support during the onslaught and the round of applause Nunes received as he walked back to the dressing room – having skied a catch with just six runs needed to win – was ample evidence of just what an entertaining cricketer he is.  With just six needed to win, Justin Scriven strode out to the wicket on a bit of a hiding to nothing.  However, he did what was needed with the minimum of fuss, depositing Adrian Fawden for successive boundaries to see Twickenham home. 

Once again, the Ts managed to get a result when most of the other games were washed out.  Skipper Jon Varney can be very pleased with the intensity in the field, the sound lines bowled by his bowlers and also by the solid performances of his batters around the brutish hitting of Nunes.  Next week sees the Ts hit the road to visit Ickenham.