The end of cricket week traditionally sees a Colts XI play a TCC Senior XI. 2017 was no exception. And, with the colts' section producing a steady flow of talented players in to the TCC senior side it was clear that this was not going to be a meander in the park for the grizzled TCC seniors. The Colts were up for showing what they could do.

Colts get out of the blocks quickly
The Colts XI kicked off proceedings by having first hit. Phil Nash bowled at his usual lively pace, but that didn't prevent Ajmal Allahdad and Waris Khan from cruising along to 24-0 off 3. But, that brisk start soon ran in to a tricky headwind as wickets began to tumble. Paddy Wheeler and honorary TCC colt (!) Darshit Mashar subsequently found themselves digging in. And they dug in with all the force of a souped up JCB, putting together a well-crafted partnership of 91. Wheeler's 40 (59 balls) and Mashar's 39 (34 balls) proved the mainstay of the Colts' innings as the seniors were set 148 runs to win.

Nash and Vishvanath come to the fore
Third team captain Steve Watts and fourth team stalwart Nihal Tomar opened the batting for the seniors. Rumours that this was a statement that the team was already settling for a losing draw nonetheless remained unfounded. Watts and Tomar found themselves facing the lively pace of Ozzie Qavi as well as the nagging accuracy of Luke Muraszko. Indeed, Qavi illustrated why he is so highly rated, bowing both openers in his second over. Once Karandeep Singh also departed (again to Qavi) it became clear that the Ts' Senior side had some knuckling down to do.

The Pride of Leicestershire, Phil Nash, and the Knuckle Duster (Nakul Vishvanath) came in to stabilise the innings. The word stabilise, however, evidently has a slightly different meaning in the East Midlands, Phil Nash smashing the first ball he received out of the ground for six. Be that as it may, they contributed 27 and 25 respectively before deciding that they'd had enough, retiring to the bar. That left a combination of Nitin Parab (23no off 28 balls), Steve Cowley and Arvind Shidlagatta to safely see the TCC ship home.

Colts v Seniors fixtures are always lively and competitive and this was no different. It's really encouraging for the future to see so many colts coming through and showing the seniors what they can do. Excellent stuff all round.