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Week 16 - Saturday Preview

Week 16 - Saturday Preview

Dan Hough18 Aug 2017 - 15:29
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Plenty to play as things get serious

I'm worried. This could be the week that I need to extend the mortgage to cover the costs of everyone's beer on Saturday night ...
- Jon Varney, TCC Chairman

If things go to plan, Week 16 could be a highly successful one for at least two of the Twickenham CC sides; both the firsts and thirds could, if they win and other results go their way, gain promotion on 19 August. But, even if that doesn't quite happen, two more Ws in the results column will go a long way to achieving that goal in either week 17 or 18.

Keep on going ...
The ones have been purring of late. And Carlos Nunes will very much be hoping that they can continue their winning ways on the Green against Barnes. Nunes has basically a full-strength side to call on, the only exception being the absent Darshan Chohan. But, the man who comes in for him - Parminder Singh - can hardly be said to be weakening the side; 308 MCCL league wickets for the Ts at an average of 16.3 says that he's not a bad man to be bringing back in to your team.

The twos move through the gears

The 2s came out on top in a first v second clash against Southgate last week (see here). That took them above their Week 15 opponents and they now proudly sit on top of the tree. But, that hard work will be wasted if they slip up away at Osterley. The Tentelow Laners may well be in mid-table at the moment, but they won't have given up all thoughts of promotion - and a win against the Ts is a must if that's going to happen.

Eugene Berger none the less travels with a strong side. Nakul Vishvanath and Arjun Rehncy aren't around this week, but with a middle order that's found its form of later there's undoubtedly plenty of runs in the team. The return of Simon Dunning also gives the 2nds plenty of oomph; few people in Middlesex hit the ball as far as the big South African does and it's good to see him playing again.

Promotion for the Threes?

The threes, much like the ones, will know that Saturday could in theory be a red letter day for them. Steve Watts's side currently have 94 points, just as Southgate do. Saturday's visitors, Ealing, are back in joint third (alongside Shepherd's Bush) with 76. So, a win for the 3s and a Bush defeat and they'll be home and hosed.

You can bet your life, however, that Steve Watts will make sure his side remains very much focussed on the job in hand. A win against a good Ealing side is the only part of Saturday's story that they can control, so that's what everything will be moving towards. Watts again finds himself with something of a plethora of options to choose from. He is unlikely, however, to be changing much; Mo Mashar and Steve Cowley have been batting really well at the top of the order, whilst Geoff Stohert, Olli George and Tom Jefferson offer lots of experience in the middle.

Bowling-wise, Anu Agarwal will doubtless be looking to twirl his way to yet more wickets (he currently has 29 this season), whilst the likes of Dom Thamby and Sam Cliffe will also be looking to make their mark. Eye on the ball, Saturday could be a day that ends with plenty to celebrate.

4s look to keep their eye on the ball
The 4ths keep getting positive results, but they somehow don't seem to be able to move out of 6th place in the league. But, things above them are concertinaring together and Hinay Dassani's troops are now just five points off a promotion slot.

This week they make the short journey to local rivals Richmond. And they will travel in confident mood. Richmond are already relegated and currently have just 7 points to their name. Now would not be the time for HD and his side to take their eye of the respective ball.

Unsurprisingly, the team looks pretty similar to previous weeks. The bowing department again looks strong, although this week the spinners will be looking to make sure the fast bowlers don't hog the glory; Shreeraj Chauhan has done consistently well when called upon, whilst Ant Hll chipped in with three wickets last week. Batting-wise the ever-reliable Martin Fairn steps up from the 5s, as does James Joyce. The 4s really will be kicking themselves if they don't return to TW2 with ten points.

Business-end of proceedings for the 5s
The fifths have put in two good performances over the last fortnight, running both Ealing (top) and Acton (second) close. But, they ultimately lost both games. The time for 'encouraging performances' is, however, at an end; this week sees Edmonton IIIs in town and the 5s will know that if they want to avoid relegation we are getting in to 'must-win' territory.

Phil Walker thankfully has a decent-looking side to go in to battle with. Pete Burke's wily medium pace (is it actually still medium pace, or have we got to the stage where it's simply slow bowling? Answers on a postcard please ... ) is always useful to have in your locker as a skipper, and Burkey is generally due one decent score with the bat a season. Now might be just the time that he delivers on that one.

With Fairn and Joyce in the 4s this week Nitin Parab and Andy Donelan will look to take some of the batting strain, although James Foster and Arvind Shidlagatta will also add some steal to the middle order. Bowling-wise, Vijay Sanas will no doubt be a handful for the visiting batters, as will the returning Zafar Ali. Paddy Turish has been picking up a number of wickets of late, too.

Plenty to play for
All five TCC league sides subsequently have plenty to play for. With that in mind it's going to be a really interesting weekend of cricket. If you're not playing, do pop down and support if you can.

Further reading