Never let it be said that cricket is dull. All five of the Twickenham Saturday sides found themselves deeply immersed in fascinating games of cricket on 20 May, with two of them coming out on top and three just missing out – sometimes by the narrowest of margins.

Nunes in Control
The ones bounced back impressively from their defeat at Highgate in week 2 to ease past a potentially dangerous Hornsey side (see here). Hornsey struggled along to 175-7 off 45, Paul Weekes (44) and Will Prest (43) being the mainstays of the visitors’ innings. Following a bit of a top order wobble the Ts’ middle order settled in to the chase nicely, ultimately getting home with four wickets to spare. Carlos Nunes led from the front, hitting a crucial 75 (off 75 balls).

Three out of three for the Twos
The seconds now remain the only Ts’ Saturday side with a 100 per cent record and are subsequently joint top of the ladder (see here). Berger’s Boshers posted a competitive 188 at Hornsey, Matt Dean (37) was again in the runs whilst Eugene Berger (19no) and Arun Sandhu (24) put on a vital 53 for the 9th wicket. In reply the hosts never really got going, ultimately falling 45 short as Nakul Vishvanath (once again) helped himself to three wickets.

Batting Blues
The 3s, 4s and 5s were all in fascinating (but ultimately frustrating) games of cricket. All the bowlers did well but in the cold light of day none of the three sides managed to chase down the 100 (or less) that they needed to win.

A mightily impressive 76 from Richard Crompton helped Ickenham post a potentially awkward round 100 against the threes. Steve Watts’ charges chased steadily but some good Ickenham bowling and a very stodgy track meant that scoring was never easy. Ultimately the Ts needed 23 off the last three overs and despite the best efforts of the lower middle order they fell 3 short. The two bonus points that the 3s get for getting so close to the Ickenham score nonetheless takes them to the top of the league (see here) and in the great scheme of things the defeat may be just the wake up call that’s needed to spur them on to new heights.

Sanchez tries to take the strain
The 4s experienced a similar tale of woe. Highgate 4s were skittled for 94, Mehran Iqbal (4), Pete Burke and Sarwant Singh (3 a piece) doing the damage. The batting, however, never came to the party – 65 all out and a 29 run defeat. Plenty to be worked on for next week. The 5s, meanwhile, were asked to chase 107 at Finchley. Having scored well north of 200 in Week 2 Phil Walker’s team were confident that they could do the job. Much like the 4s, however, the wheels fell off and not even the efforts of the obstinate Gilbert Sanchez (17 in a long time) could halt the slide.

Defeats always hurt, but all five of the Ts’ league sides are certainly competitive. And that is something. A bit more solidity with the bat and there’s plenty of reason to believe that the lower sides can turn things round. They better had do. They’ll be calls to bring back Paul Johnson to teach the art of the forward defensive if not …