With the Old Major promoted to the lofty heights of 1^st team cricket, new skipper Paul Johnson took his troops into a Napoleonic battle with Southall, looking for a third victory on the trot.

The game was slightly delayed in starting, less to do with the weather, more to do with half the Twickenham side looking at the pitch and retreating home to pick up various items of body armour. The Southall pitch would have excited David Bellamy with it’s various colours of grass, the odd clover and even a bluebell at the pavilion end. It looked a good toss to win and win it Southall did, which left many people amazed when the home skipper elected to brave the conditions and bat first.

A brief shower livened the pitch up a little more as the Southall openers struggled from ball one, bowled by Cassidy, which pitched, turned, lifted and swung exciting more than one of the Twickenham fielders as a sound was heard as ball passed Gill’s bat. Not out, the correct decision but Gill could last only 4 more deliveries before gloving to Trippett behind the stumps and Southall were 1 down before scoring a run.

Perry opened from the other end and kept things tight. Though the pitch behaved much better from his end, his well-paced inswingers meant runs were of a premium allowing Cassidy the freedom to explore a whole host of indifferent bounce from his end. The combination worked well, new bat Kumar looked at sea while opener Patel became the first victim of short leg Paxton.

Wickets continued to fall. Kumar still struggled as he watched Agger depart, caught Hawley and Dhutti present a Mollie Dolly catch back to bowler Cassidy – both without troubling the scorers. By now Cassidy had four wickets with the score on 20.

Dhahiya entered the fray and immediately looked to get everything he had behind the bowling of Cassidy as the ball continued to spit and turn. Perry’s line was enough from the other end, where the pitch was as flat as Pilkington glass by comparison. Dhahiya’s determination to hang around seemed to give the struggling Kumar the confidence to play a selection of risky, but well placed and well-timed shots as the pair batted well to bring up Southall’s 50.

It was time for a change and Victory replaced Perry (7 overs for 17 runs). Both batsmen looked to make the most of a rusty opening from the new bowler. As runs began to flow Victory’s dogged line and ability to move the ball proved the undoing of Dhahiya who was trapped in front of his stumps LBW. Out for 9, Dhahiya could lay claim to one of the best ever innings to have ended in single figures, his wicket fell with the score in the low eighties and his long innings allowed Kumar to reach his half century an over later. With 2 sixes and one lost ball Kumar was right to proudly lift his bat aloft, a measured innings of resolute defence combined with true power and timing, it was later to prove the difference between a struggle and an embarrassment for Southall.

Dhahiya’s wicket spelt another collapse. At short leg, Paxton caught Sajid from the bowling of Victory and Sadiq from the bowling of Cassidy with only 1 more run added to the total. Set a defensive field, Kumar became Paxton’s 4^th victim, well caught at midwicket for 57. Looking to close the innings below 100, Cassidy took wicket number 6, bowling Felsinger for Southall’s 4^th duck.

Benjamin Smith replaced Victory (7 overs for 37 runs and 3 wickets) at the flat end and his skiddy, swing bowling troubled the tale. Showing experience beyond his years, Smith bowled wicket to wicket and though he could not take the final wicket, no runs were taken from his bowling, while Cassidy struggle for the first time, conceding 24 before ending the innings and taking his 7^th wicket with the score on 118, Singh out for 10 leaving Qureshi on his Jack Jones on 14 not out.

A spicy tea followed with delicious chilli pasta and hot samosas which left the Jessie’s in the T’s side whimpering for refreshment before Perry and Paxton opened the batting.

Pinch hitting Perry, running between the wickets like Frankie Fredericks, quickly started to amass runs before Paxton received a squealer of a delivery which he did well to knick behind. Amos eagerly took to the challenges the wicket had to offer, displaying patience and fine placement, directing the field like Moses parting the Red Sea on many occasions.

Perry’s cameo finally came to an end as he missed a straight full toss and at 21 for 2, Twickenham were barely looking better than their opposition and when the new batman Liebenberg was dropped at first slip before scoring, nails began to shorten.

It was to prove a costly mistake. Liebenberg bedded in and though the run rate was slow to begin, both he and Amos began to find runs with minimal effort. As the ball got older, Liebenberg’s total began to snowball as boundaries were found with regularity but there was to be one more twist as Amos fell with 37 required. Hawley replaced Amos and began to wear the ball for the cause. Though Hawley’s rib cage resemble that of a boxer fighting Rickie Hatton, he hung around allowing Liebenberg to stroke his way to fifty and the T’s to a winning score.

Three wins on the spin for Johnson and next week the 2’s take on Hanwell. If they can make it 4 wins from 4, they wont make a muirel in their honour, but it will go a long way to cementing a prime position in the top half of the table for the back end of the season.