Two wins and three defeats was the tale of the tape on Saturday 22 August. The fives did their thing, winning their tenth (!) game on the bounce, while the threes kept their powder dry until it really mattered to overcome top-of-the-table Hornsey III. The ones will be writing their contest off very quickly, the 2s and 4s got closer yet still found themselves with nothing to show for their efforts.

Cowley and Thamby hold their nerve
The threes are not quite safe yet, but their win on Saturday helped them take a colossal step in that direction. Robbie Bosier’s side sit fifth, 19 points ahead of both Chiswick 3s (8th, and in one of the relegation positions) and Enfield 3s (seventh, so currently just about safe). It really would have to be a most peculiar set of results in rounds 17 and 18 if the threes were to go down from there (see here for the table).

In terms of their performance this weekend, beating high-riding Hornsey – still eight points clear of Stanmore in second – will certainly have turned a few heads. But then again, Robbie Bosier’s troops do have a knack of turning up and showing what they are made of at times like this.

Hornsey had first hit and put 169 on the board (see here for the card). Openers Odane Giddings (37 off 28) and Lachlan Busch (49 off 42) were at the centre of that, and at 88-0 Hornsey looked set for a much bigger score than they ultimately got. Once the openers had departed the batting wobbled dramatically; Peter Millard’s 14 was the next best score Hornsey could muster.

The key weapon in Bosier’s bowling attack turned out to be one of the most understated members of the Ts in recent years; Jarryd Knott. There’s never been any doubt that he’d put his body on the line for the cause – breaking his collar bone whilst taking a magnificent catch a number of years ago is testament to that – but he’s generally someone seen as a batter rather than a bowler. That needs to change. His 6-50 changed the game, and with that Knott blitzed his previous best league bowling figures for the Ts of 2-2 (against Brentham in June 2025).

In reply, the Ts made reasonable progress. But, Hornsey were bowling tightly and it quickly became clear that this was a game that could go to the wire.

Monish Malhotra (24 off 42) batted sensibly, but when Steve Cowley and Vamshi Krishna came together the Ts were 59-4 and still had a long way to go. They dug in and put on 65 before Kirshna was bowled by Abi Agarwal for 21 (off 35), and blood pressures rose further in the Ts’ camp when skipper Bosier and Tom Petrides then came and went quickly. 146-7 and still 23 needed…..with overs slipping away.

Someone needed to step up and help Cowley get Twickenham over the line. That man was Dom Thamby. Known primarily for his bowling, Thamby’s always been confident that he can do a job with the bat, too. Today was the day to prove it.

And, Thamby did precisely that. The two put on an undefeated 36 with Thamby scoring 17 (19 balls) and Cowley the rest (62no off 92). An excellent partnership to win what became a thrilling game. Say it quietly, but Cowley has also become the club’s in form player with the bat; 378 runs at an average of 75.6 is a decidedly decent effort. That’s his highest aggregate run total in a season since he started playing for the club in 2010….

Fives just do their thing
The fives also won on Saturday. They may well not get promoted (see here for the table), but ten wins on the bounce is – in anyone’s book – an impressive effort.

The start of the fives’ show this week was Rishabh Gulati (see here for the card). His 21 in the middle of the Ts’ innings was important, but it was his 6-26 in 12 overs that really jet-propelled Jon Bosier’s team to victory.

That having been said, 98 from the returning Hiran Dissanayake was also very useful in setting Ealing 201 to win. Dissanayake has missed most of the season, but he’s got enough experience in the locker to make runs when the chance comes his way. That 98 marks his top score ever for the Ts, eclipsing the 78 he got against Old Isleworthians’ 3s in June 2023.

Gulati may have been the stand out man with the ball, but he wasn’t without accomplices. Lloyd Townsend, the Mighty Mariner from Grimsby, snuffled 3-40, young Jake Hendry got his first senior wicket to claim 1-16 off 4. Excellent stuff.

Twos looking down the barrel
Of the other three sides, the twos had what looked and felt like a must win contest in their fight to stay in the premier league. Unfortunately, they lost (see here for the card).

Theo Katzenellenbogen (which even by Germanic standards is a truly magnificent name) led the way with 43 (61 balls) as Hampstead posted 165. Phil Nash starred with the ball, taking 5-50 and grabbing a hat-trick along the way. Decent stuff. Syed Mehdi (2-35) and Nishan Singh (2-35) helped Nash out nicely.

The Ts’ bowling subsequently got the side more or less where they needed to go. It was now down to the Ts’ batters to get the job done.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Eugene Berger (38 off 57) opened and stood tall, but that couldn’t prevent the hosts from lurching to 36-4. Nakul Vishvanath offered a bit of middle order stability, Dev Tomlinson (20 from 23) and Syed Mehdi (14no off 13) gave it a bit of a whack at the end. To no avail, the twos were all out for 114.

If the twos win their final two games they may well stay up (see here for the table). But, next week they travel to champions’ Teddington. Going to be a tough one…..

Fours come away with silver medal
The fours came off second best against Chiswick 4s, but results elsewhere nonetheless mean that they are safe to remain in Division 4A of the third tier for another season (see here for the table). Indeed, it’s mathematically possible that they could still finish as high as third, and that even though they currently sit seventh.

As far as Week 16 went, Chiswick put 221 on the board (see here for the card). Number three Max Absolom (48) and number four Shub Roy (41) were at the centre of that, the redoubtable Hinay Dassani led the way with the ball (4-53).

Twickenham’s reply started well enough; Andy Donelan (23) and Rajdeep Choudhary (19) set a decent enough base. A middle-order wobble then saw Chiswick move into the box seat and it wasn’t until Ross Leighton – never one to die not knowing – started whacking a few that the Ts really got back into things.

Ultimately, Leighton nonetheless departed for 56 and the fours fell 43 runs short.

Hornsey Ones cruise past Twickenham
The poor old ones simply cannot catch a break at the moment. They came across championship-chasing Hornsey and in truth were second best from start to finish (see here for the card).

With, as has become the norm, a raft of players not available, it was left to Faf Fourie to again try and lead the charge. He couldn’t repeat the fireworks he produced in Week 15, but his 21 was still Twickenham’s top score.

Hornsey, to be fair, are playing some great cricket at the moment, and they never looked likely to have a problem chasing the small total down. Ali Jennings bowled Gareth Orr early doors, but Josh Haynes (27no off 22) and Tom Lytle (39no off 27) got the job done. Two more weeks until the ones can draw a line and properly move on.