Two wins, two defeats and the better end of a draw for the Twickenham CC sides on Saturday 6th July. The ones and fives were the stars of the show, both teams clocking up impressive triumphs. The fours' magnificent winning run came to an end, but they still had the better of their game with Chiswick. The twos and threes will be re-grouping and looking to next week.

Manuwelge’s magic sees the ones home
The first XI made it two wins out of two as their mid-season rejuvenation continues. Shepherd’s Bush posted a decent enough 274-6 on the Green, Tom Cox leading the way with 66. Idris Otto-Mian chipped in with 63, whilst Ali Easton’s four sixes at the end turned an average score in to a competitive one.

Parminder Singh tucked in for a long spell for the Ts, and his 23 overs yielded 5 wickets. Don Manuwelge also helped himself to a couple before the Bush declared at the end of the 64th over.

That left Twickenham 56 to chase the total down. The key to getting anywhere near was going to be both a good start and solid partnerships. Scott Newman’s departure (for 14) didn’t bode well, but Rhys Davies (63 from 81) and Phil Nash (55 off 50) gave the innings the momentum it needed.

Even when they departed things kept progressing nicely. Don Manuwelge played the spin of Easton and Alex Blofeld impressively and in Ishi Sohi he found an able and willing partner in crime. Sohi’s 32 (39 balls) very nearly saw the Ts home but ultimately it was Gurjit Sandhu who was at the crease with Manuwelge (66no) when the winning runs were scored (see here for the card).

The win doesn’t really change too much table-wise (see here). The Ts remain eighth. But, both Hampstead and Stanmore are now within striking distance, and Carlos Nunes’s men are eight points ahead of 9th placed Harrow St Mary’s. A good Saturday’s work.

Donelan and Hunt just keep on going ...
The fifths, meanwhile, put in as good a performance as they are likely to do all season. Batting first Andy Donelan and Jonty Hunt did what they do; bat sensibly and give the rest of the order a great base on which to build.

You can see how far both batters have come this season when the thing that you’re disappointed about is that neither carried on to make three figures. Hunt was eventually removed for 88 while Donelan went one better and ended on 89. Zafar Ali then followed that up with a quickfire 40 as the Ts decked on a positively imperious 265-6 off 46.

In reply Wembley never really got out of the blocks and at 20-4 they were all but out of the game. Anil Bhatt continued his good recent form by claiming a couple of those wickets, whilst Zafar Ali also got in on the wicket-taking act.

Wembley did then rally a little, but there was only ever going to be one victor on the day. Anil Bhatt (4-22 off 11) and the Harminator (Singh, 4-38) ultimately saw to that as the Ts triumphed by 149 runs.

The win sees the fifths move up to sixth place (see here). The big question now is whether, slowly but surely, a promotion charge is developing here. 20 points separate Chris Wylde’s side from 2nd place. Too much to ask? If the side continues to play like this then who knows!

4s settle for winning draw
The 4th XI’s perfect start to the season was always going to end at some point, and if you’d said at the start of the season to skipper Hinay Dassani that it’d be in week 9 he’d have snapped your hand off.

The 4s found themselves chasing 215 in 44 overs against Chiswick. That total soon looked like it would be a bridge too far and the aim shifted to making sure that the side got the winning draw. And, that the fours did, although only in the last over. Praween Siriwardena was the man for the job, helping the Ts to 198-8 and just enough to claim the lion’s share of the points.

The table still makes excellent reading for the 4s (see here). Acton keep performing well and they sit 7 points behind the Ts in second place. Richmond are now third, 23 points adrift. If the 4s aren’t playing Division 4 cricket in 2020 then something will have gone badly wrong.

2s and 3s move on to fight another day
Details of both the 2s’ and 3s’ games are sketchy, but the bottom line is that both sides came away with little to show for their efforts.

The twos travelled to Brondesbury, and found themselves chasing 213-5. Given that Bron’s track was re-laid in the winter and given the scores that have been posted there this season, that was always going to be a tough ask to chase down. The Ts never really got anywhere near, succumbing to 113 all out. That leaves Eugene Berger in 5th place in the table (see here).

The news for the threes was little better. Steve Watts’s side batted first and in the end did well to struggle up to 78 all out. That was never likely to be enough against a strong MTSSC side who got home with a minimum of fuss. That leaves the Ts in 5th and the Tamils chasing Ealing at the top of the league (see here).

All in all, a day of mixed fortunes. But, we move on...