Another strong set of performances from the Ts
Going in to Week 16 two Twickenham sides knew that if the dice fell nicely they could be promoted by 8pm that Saturday evening. Despite beating Barnes (see here for the card), the firsts will nonetheless have to wait a week or so for their celebrations to kick off. The thirds, however, can let the party begin. They have gained promotion to Division Two of the 3rd XI League, bouncing back at the first attempt after relegation in 2016.

3rds promoted!
On a testing surface at St Mary's the 3rds knew that Ealing IVs were not going to make life easy for them. Indeed, with Ealing in third place they, too, had promotion ambitions of their own.

The Ts nonetheless had to do things the hard way, losing the toss and being asked to bat on a surface that was not exactly batsman friendly. On such days are promotions gained. The Ts battled game to 189, an entirely respectable score given the circumstances and one that skipper Steve Watts was confident his side could defend. Tom Jefferson provided an important 51 whilst the ever-reliable Geoff Stothert made 42. Sam Cliffe's 25 also helped the Ts set what was certainly a testing target.

"Some days you think it's going to be tough to defend 280 whilst on others you think you're in the box seat with 150" Watts mused in an emotional interview with Sky's Charles Colville later in the evening. "Today was firmly in the latter camp" the Oxfordshire Oracle opined.

Details of Ealing's reply are sketchy, no doubt they've been lost in the evening's celebratory fog. But the big story is clear; the visitors managed precisely 100 before being removed in the 36th over. As news filtered through that Shepherd's Bush had lost to (bottom of the table) Kenton the partying duly began. See the league table in all its glory here.

Digging in
The firsts were hoping that they'd be in the same position, but Enfield's victory against relegation-threatened Eastcote means the champagne remains on ice for another week. But, a slightly nervy win against Barnes nonetheless sees the Ts remain 19 points clear of their nearest rivals with 2 weeks of the season left.

Mid-week rain had turned the normally batting friendly Green in to a bowler's paradise, and both Barnes and Twickenham knew that this wasn't going to be a 600 run shoot out. Far from it. Barnes took a deep breath and had first hit, although it wasn't long before they were in real trouble (see here for the card). 16-3 soon became 61-8 as Parminder Singh (4-29 off 9), Carlos Nunes (2-13 off 6) and Tom Grundy (2-36 off 9) all enjoyed themselves.

A bit of tail-end hitting from Garth Sullivan at 10 (22, including 3 of only 5 boundaries that Barnes scored in the entire innings) helped the visitors give themselves half a chance. They finished on a round 100.

The Ts knew things weren't going to be easy, and in Sullivan it became clear that Barnes had a serious weapon at their disposal. He bowled fantastically, causing carnage across the Ts' top order. When he removed skipper Carlos Nunes leg before for 2 the Ts were reeling on 35-4, and that soon got worse with Clint McCabe and Luke Jones following Captain Fantastic back in to the shack. 47-6 did not look good.

Sullivan, however, had been bowled out, and everyone of a green and white persuasion was relieved to see him out of the attack. His 5-30 was well-deserved, but could the rest of the Barnes attack follow his lead?

Gurjit Sandhu and an inspired Amardeep Rehncy weren't in the mood to find out. Rehncy in particular realised that a Chris Tavare approach to batting was only ever going to get you so far. A ball with your name on it was always potentially just around the corner. Rehncy therefore decided that with little more than 50 needed to win it was time to try and hit the boundary rope a few times. The fact that he did so on four occasions doesn't sound like a big deal, but the momentum shift was clear. With the experienced Gurjit Sandhu (15no off 20 balls) a beacon of reason at the other end Rehncy's quick fire 20 was enough to all but see the Ts home.

Rehncy may have been out when the scores were level, but the job was done by then. The Ts were home and hosed. Roll on next week and a trip to Eastcote.

Frustration for the Twos
The Twos, meanwhile, suffered a frustrating day at the office. Osterley are never easy opponents, and the hosts posted an imposing 268-7 off their allotted 45 overs (see the card here). The hosts' skipper, Karthik Singh, lead the way with 78, whilst Simon Dinning was the pick of the bowlers with 3-35.

The Twickenham reply got off to a solid start, and at 72-0 the visitors fancied their chances of chasing the total down. But, wickets soon started to fall and although Sanjit Sandhu managed 55 (62 balls) the Ts soon began to flounder. Phil Nash (34 in 41 balls) and Eugene Berger (27 in in 42 balls) did their best to keep hopes alive, but ultimately the visitors succumbed to 189 all out.

The defeat means the Ts slip from 1st to 3rd (see here). But, hope is certainly not lost. 4th placed Barnes visit the Green this coming Saturday, and a win there will knock the Lonsdale Roaders out of the promotion race. That then leaves a potentially mouth-watering visit to top of the table Shepherd's Bush. It's still very much all to play for.

4s keep up the pressure
The Fourth XI continue to put pressure on their promotion rivals with another convincing win. Hinay Dassani's troops travelled to Richmond, where they dismissed their hosts for 154. Given that Richmond were 90-2 off 17 at one stage that's no mean feat.

The skipper himself led the way with three wickets, although he was ably supported by Anthony Hill (who also helped himself to a 3-fer) and the ever-reliable Mehran Iqbal (who got two). Mehran's timely run out also did much to stem the Richmond top order flow. Rumours of an excellent Dassani catch, diving forward at mid off, are also doing the rounds!

In reply the Ts raced to 31-0 off 5, Colin Blunden and Uzzi Khan wielding their blades with intent. The visitors then had a minor wobble, slipping to 60-3, before James Joyce came in and hit an entertaining 27 to get the ship back on track. Ultimately, it was a fine undefeated partnership from Nihal Tomar (39no) and Karamdeep Singh (35no) that saw the Ts home with plenty of overs to spare.

The 4s remain outside the promotion places, although Teddington's surprise defeat of Perivale further tightens everything up. If you were a betting man you'd still think that two wins out of two and the fours will be playing Division One cricket next year.

5th XI run feast
The 5ths chose an excellent time to turn on the style and score runs a plenty. Fellow strugglers Edmonton had got the better of the Ts in a drawn game in North London earlier in the season, but they were no match for Phil Walker's side this time round.

The Ts batted first and posted an imposing 235-5. The Ts' very own Sachin Tendulkar impersonator, Nitin Parab, was the star of the show with 65no, although Arvind Shidlagatta's 44 also helped build a fine base early on. Mr E.X.Tras also doffed his cap to the applauding masses; well batted on your 51no, sir!

Edmonton knew that given that the draw was out of the equation, they might as well give it all they had. But, they never really got going, ultimately being removed for 162. Zafar Ali's tremendous 4-10 (in 10 overs) was the cornerstone of the Ts' bowling display, although good catches by James Foster and Pete Burke also helped things along nicely; what a difference it makes to everyone when catches are held.

"The 5s have three cup finals to finish the season" skipper Phil Walker told India's Star Sports immediately after the game "and it's pleasing to see the players rise to the challenge". Walker, feeling in combative mode, then added that "this is what happens when evil notions such as taking coffee as part of a cricket tea are banished from your mind; such things won't be happening at Broom Road on my watch, I can tell you that now". The Star Sports reporter was seen to nod solemnly.

Onwards and Upwards
Four wins is a good weekend in anyone's book, and although the twos suffered a frustrating day they are still very much in the promotion mix. Bring on next week.