All five TCC sides brought home the bacon on 29 June, leaving Chairman Jon Varney with a potentially monstrous bar bill as players from all teams celebrated in to the night. These weren’t five run of the mill victories, either; the ones beat the defending champions on their own patch, the twos beat second placed Hornsey and the fives saw off high-flying Chelsea and Kensington III. As weekends go, it really doesn't get much better.

Ones come to the party
The first XI led the winning charge by seeing off Richmond by five wickets at Old Deer Park (see here for the card). The hosts won the toss and decided to have first hit. They got off to a decent start, moving past 50 without any causalities. Skipper Carlos Nunes then came to the party, removing William Phelps for 42 before Val Guiraud saw off Bhavesh Pankania on the same score.

Nunes then added the scalp of Ben Compton to his ever-increasing list of victims this season leaving Richmond on 59-3. Abhi Jhunjhunwala (batting at four) and Robert Gibson (at five) oversaw a mini-revival in Richmond fortunes, but their 62 run partnership ended up being pretty much as good as it got for the 2018 MCCL champions.

Abhi Singh (3-35) and George Yates (4-35) then took control, ripping out the middle order (in the case of Singh) and sweeping away the tail (in the case of Yates). 167 all out was definitely at the better end of what the Ts could have anticipated when Richmond were on 121-3.

In reply, Scott Newman (40 off 59 balls) set the trend, but it was ultimately Don Manuwelge (54no off 108) who played the key hand. Manuwelge’s welcome return to form was the backbone of the Ts’ reply, although a run-a-ball 25no from Darshan Chohan was also important in seeing the Ts over the line. The win takes the Ts out of the relegation zone (see here) and offers a bit of welcome relief after a tough few weeks.

Seconds cruise past Hornsey
The seconds also chased at Hornsey, getting home with plenty to spare (see here). Hornsey had been flying high and the game represented a tough challenge for Eugene Berger’s men.

As listeners of the TCC podcast will know (listen here), Berger had been critical of some of his own captaincy decisions in the previous week’s defeat at bottom of the table Kenton. This week, however, there can be no doubt that his decisions were a massive asset to the side.

Opening the bowling with debutant Brandon Newman may have been regarded as a gamble by some, but it was a gamble that certainly paid off.. Big style. His 3-19 got the Ts off to a flyer. With Dom Thamby chipping in with 2-9 (off 6) Hornsey soon found themselves on 19-6 and looking down the barrel.

Things improved little for the Tivoli Road side as Sam Cliffe (2-21) and Tom Field (3-29 off 11 and a bit) also joined in the wicket-taking fun, although 39no from number 10 George Everitt at least saw Hornsey manage to get some respectability in to the card. 101 all out nonetheless represented an eminently gettable target.

Berger himself got the chase going with an ebullient 22 from 12 balls. Ajmal Allahdad, batting at 3, also managed 22, but, crucially, he remained undefeated as Ethan Wright (21 off 15) and Nikhil Nomula (30no off 22) got the business done from the other end. A well-earned 10 points and a rise to 5th in the table, just six points off second place (see here).

Young guns start for the threes
The threes, meanwhile, impressed in brushing aside Finchley. It was also particularly pleasing to see that it was two young guns who took the plaudits.

At 76-5 Steve Watts’s men weren’t in the greatest of shapes. But Mo Ahmed (38) and third XI debutant Saad Nawaz (39no) dug in and saw Twickenham up to 186 all out. Certainly something for the Ts’ strong bowling line up to get their teeth in to.

And that they certainly did. The chief jostler himself, Ozzie Qavi, raced in to claim a mightily impressive 6-51 off 10, whilst JP Bowman and Mark Smith chipped in around the edges. Finchley, to their credit, certainly didn’t throw in the towel, number seven Chintan battling gamely for 47. The Ts nonetheless held their nerve, bowling Finchley out for 164. That moves them up to 5th in the table (see here).

Fours carry on as normal
The fours, meanwhile, continued their amazing start to the season by brushing aside MTSSC.

The Middlesex Tamils were, and still are (see here), bottom of the table, but Hinay Dassani and his side were taking nothing for granted. Dassani himself led from the front, taking six scalps as MTSSC slumped to 68 all out in 18 overs.

In reply, Colin Blunden did as Colin Blunden does. Not a great deal in the way of quick singles, but plenty on offer in terms of clean, straight hitting. His 35no saw the triumphant fours home with a minimum of fuss.

Fifths impressive in victory
With four TCC sides having won, the pressure was on the 5ths to make it a full house. And, boy, did they deliver. Chiswick and Kensington III are in the thick of the promotion race and will no doubt have fancied themselves to come out of Saturday’s encounter on top. They didn’t. The Ts won by six wickets.

Harmeet Singh (5-53) was once again the star of the bowling show, although Zafar Ali (3-30) certainly played an important supporting role. Chasing 157 was by no means a straightforward task for the Ts, but the rock-solid opening pair of Andy Donelan (35no) and Jonty Hunt (35) again saw them off to a steady start.

On other occasions Hunt’s departure may well have prompted a few batting flutters. Not this year. Indeed, every one of the six Ts’ players who batted reached double figures as the runs kept on flowing. Zafar Ali (24) was the next highest scorer, but Phil Walker, Jon Bosier and Liam Tebb (14no at the end) all played their part in seeing Twickenham to victory and indeed shoring up their position in mid-table (see here).

As Saturdays go, they don’t get much better than this. But, one swallow does not, as they say, make a summer and the challenge now is for all the Ts’ sides to build on this. And to make Jon Varney much poorer in the process!