Ts unbeaten Sunday record falls as Byfleet cruise to 5 wicket victory

Twickenham    188-7   (Eddie Paxton 78, Pete Carey 38, Brent Kay 2-45)

Byfleet             189-5   (Tim Buzaglo 68no, Andy Savage 66no, Richie Saunders 3-21)

The Ts lost their spot at the top of the Thameside Sunday League following a 5 wicket reverse against Byfleet on Twickenham Green.  Solid contributions from Eddie Paxton and Pete Carey weren’t enough to see Dan Hough’s men home, and despite the fine efforts of Richie Saunders with the ball Byfleet were able to get home with room to spare.  Although the Ts came out on the wrong end of the result it was nice to have a genuinely competitive Sunday fixture and the Ts players can take much away from this entertaining encounter.

Despite the torrential rain Tony Bendelow once again produced a good surface on which to play.  Although much slower and lower than the normal Twickenham Green motorway, the pitch nonetheless offered plenty to keep both batters and bowlers interested.  On winning the toss Byfleet skipper Andy Savage asked Twickenham to have a bat, so Steve van Niekerk, making his Sunday debut, and the old war horse Eddie Paxton strode to the middle to get things up and running.  Van Niekerk’s stay didn’t, however, last long, as Brent Kay took a straightforward caught and bowled to dismiss the big South African without scoring.  Things didn’t get much better for Twickenham as Richie Saunders soon joined van Niekerk back in the hutch, caught by Blake again off Kay for 3.  The Ts were struggling.

Kay and the opening bowler from the Staines Road End, Shakel Ahmed, were causing all sorts of problems for the Twickenham top order.  The ball darted both ways and occasionally bounced rather more than expected, and after 10 overs the Ts had struggled to 29-2.  Ashley Gray and Paxton slowly started to edge the score along, but both of the change bowlers – van Dyke from the Pavilion End and the wily Denham from the Staines Road End – kept the shackles well and truly on.  Boundaries, in particular, were few and far between and it was in the attempt to press the accelerate button that Gray (14) perished, run out, to a smart piece of fielding with the score on 53 in the 20^th over. 

The Byfleet attack continued to maintain the upper hand as the Ts batters tried in vain to generate a bit of momentum.  Despite the best efforts of Paxton – leading something of a charmed life, having been dropped a number of times in the outfield – to force the pace, the Ts innings simply couldn’t get going.  Al Storey came and went quickly, bringing Barnsley’s finest, Steve Victory, to the crease.  Despite Victory’s idiosyncratic running between the wickets, the Ts eased passed 100 and gradually started to up the run rate.  Paxton continued to thrash away, passing 50 in the process, and the score had reached 127 before Victory (27) left the stage thanks to a clever delivery from the returning van Dyke. 

Pete Carey immediately added an extra touch of class to proceedings, clipping the ball nicely into the wide open spaces around Twickenham Green.  Paxton and Carey took Twickenham passed 150 and their sprightly running gave some hope that the Ts could post a score that might conceivably be defendable.  Paxton’s long vigil at the crease came with the end of the innings in sight, the opener sacrificing his wicket (78), run out, for the cause.  Some last over comedy cricket – Pete Carey run out trying to take a single to the bowler and Matt Huntington facing one ball and registering a six (including four overthrows) – saw the Ts close on a respectable, if less than daunting, 188-7.

A scrumptious tea was followed by a sprightly start by the Twickenham bowlers.  Matt Huntington struck in the first over, Santosh Venkata holing out at mid-on going for a grandiose hoik/drive through the on side.  He departed for 0.  The loss of an early wicket did not prevent number three Liam Blake from coming in and playing plenty of positive shots.  He drove well and was quick on to anything short, ensuring that the scoreboard quickly began to tick over, as the boundaries flowed at a much greater rate than they did in the Ts innings.  The other opener, Matt Hockin, didn’t play as freely as Blake and appeared quite content to watch as his partner took most of the strike.  As the score approached 50, his innings was nonetheless brought to halt as Richie Saunders produced a truly rancid delivery to trap him leg before for 2.  The Ts looked to be in the ascendancy.  This was even more so when the dangerous Craig van Dyke (2) was snuffled in the gulley by Steve Victory to give Saunders his second wicket and to leave Byfleet on 50-3.

Skipper Andy Savage came in at 5 and he immediately looked to calm things down.  Whilst Blake continued to play expansively, Savage remained content to work the ball around and to pick up whatever came his way.  Blake’s departure (45) to the impressive Junnaid Mehmood (caught behind by Pete Carey – no byes and no dropped catches, an impressive performance by the newly discovered keeper) and the immediate dismissal of Denham (0) to Saunders (again caught by Carey) again saw the pendulum swing Twickenham’s way as Byfleet found themselves on 72-5.

The entry of Tim Buzaglo – once of Woking United fame, and former captain of the Gibraltan national cricket team – saw the game move decisively in Byfleet’s favour.  Buzaglo’s technique was straightforward and uncomplicated as he mixed resolute defence with some powerful hitting.  Savage had also began to find his feet, producing a number of rasping off drives as well as the odd delightful clip through mid wicket.  As the score cruised passed 100, and on towards 150, Dan Hough opted to ring the bowling changes in the hope of breaking the dangerous-looking partnership.  Matt Bendelow thought he managed just that when Buzaglo edged towards the gulley, but the chance didn’t stick and the Ts realised that a key moment had not gone their way.  Junnaid Mehmood tried his best to fire in a couple of yorkers, while Ashley Gray bowled with plenty of fire; to no avail.  The ever-young Steve Victory also managed a little lateral movement, but it was all academic in the end as Savage (66no) and Buzaglo (68no) coolly steered Byfleet to their victory target. 

Although the Ts probably had the worse of the conditions (in that the pitch was certainly more lively early doors), Byfleet were good value for their four points.  They bowled well as a unit and batted well when it really mattered.  Skipper Savage in particular always appeared to have things under control as the victory target approached.  Eddie Paxton worked hard for his 78, whilst Richie Saunders (3-21 off 7) did very well with the ball.  The Ts have a week off league cricket next Sunday, returning the week after when they make the short trip to Kew.

Dan Hough