Only four Twickenham CC sides are in action in the MCCL on Saturday 15 August. The fives are the side missing out. They already have their ten points safely tucked in their back pockets. How come? Wycombe House 5s have succumbed to the challenge of getting teams out at the height of the holiday season. They’ve had to concede the game.

Elsewhere, three sides look horns with teams from Shepherd’s Bush whilst the fours welcome Old Isleworthians 3s to Broom Road. Plenty to play for all round there.

Ones host Shepherd’s Bush
With skipper Carlos Nunes away on international duty (see here for more on that) and a number of other folks either long-term injured or unavailable, the ones once again find themselves spinning the selection carousel.

Being positive, Faf Fourie looked in excellent nick against Teddington last time he played so fingers crossed he’ll be in the same mood against their national knock out conquerors, Shepherd’s Bush. Don Manuwelge is back to strengthen the middle order, Pat Dixon adds a bit of gravitas up top.

Varad Rampal makes his seasonal debut behind the stumps while Nakul Vishvanath will offer plenty of nuggetiness to the batting. Shay Boo have picked up after a slow start to the campaign, but the Ts have little to lose. Throw the dice, give it a go.

The 1st XI is Pat Dixon, Francois Fourie, Preet Himanshukumar, Ali Jennings, Margin Kantilal, Don Manuwelge, Akash Multani, Varad Rampal, Dru Shori, Ross Talmage and Nakul Vishvanath.

Twos travel to Bromyard Avenue
The twos, meanwhile, have it all to play for against Shepherd’s Bush’s second string (see here for the table).

The Bush sit fifth, but they’ll feel they need one more win to be properly safe. Twickenham, meanwhile, are eighth, three points clear of the relegation zone. A win against the Bush – with Hampstead and Brondesbury playing Ealing (2nd) and Teddington (top) - will go a long way to securing top flight status for 2027.

The twos are looking reasonable. Skipper Blake van der Linde is a much welcome returnee, as is the ever-reliable Eugene Berger. Kev Cavilla has been savagely and mercilessly dropped from the ones – he’ll both take the mitts and look to do some damage with the bat.

Greg Nielson is also back, as are Ollie Melville-Ross and Ethan Wright. The twos have reason to travel as much in expectation as in hope.

The 2nd XI is Blake van der Linde, Eugene Berger, Kevin Cavilla, Valentin Giraud, Syed Mehdi, Ollie Melville-Ross, Greg Nielson, Nikhil Nomula, James Smith, Dev Tomlinson and Ethan Wright.

Threes hit the road
The threes sit fifth in Division Three of the third tier (see here for the table). As you’d expect from a side in that position, neither promotion nor relegation look on the cards, although gaffer Robbie Bosier would still ideally like one more win to make sure that the thirds really are in this division next season.

Shay Boo sit one place and five points above Twickenham. So, on paper this should be a decent contest. Ollie George will be leading the threes into battle, and he’ll be pleased to see the mercurial Imran Niazai back in the line up. The 3rd XI have missed Naizai in recent weeks.

Barty Boyd has been in reasonable nick of late, and he plays, as does the ever-energetic Sourav Salgotra. Praween Siriwardena and Jonty Hunt offer the experience and where-with-all, Matt Parker the mystery leg spin plus a bit of long handle batting brutality. Jon Goddard also steps up to keep wicket – always useful to have JG about, if any nooks and crannies of the game’s legal infrastructure need explaining, he’s the man.

The 3rd XI is Ollie George, Barty Boyd, Rajdeep Choudhary, Rohith Doma, Jon Goddard, Jonty Hunt, Imran Niazai, Matt Parker, Sourav Salgotra, Praween Siriwardena and Dom Thamby.

Fours host Old Isleworthians 3
The fours had a big win last week, beating runaway leaders West Harrow 3s in a real knickergripper of a contest. That win saw Hinay Dassani’s side ease comfortably up the ladder and into mid-table (see here).

Dassani won’t feel that relegation has been safely banished just yet, but a win against bottom of the table Old Isleworthians would see them more or less safe.

The fours look like they will be strong. The Holy Trinity of Dassani, Iqbal and Bozdar will be present and correct, while the MVT contest will played out solely in the 4th XI this week (as both Liam and Harry Tebb are in). Jarryd Knott fills one of the all-rounder slots, while Andy Donelan needs 42 runs to move past Colin Blundon to become the seventh top run scorer in modern Twickenham CC history. No small feat that.

The 4th XI is Hinay Dassani, Shah Bozdar, Andy Donelan, Mehran Iqbal, Jarryd Knott, Eijaz Mahmood, Ali Malik, Tom Petrides, Freddie Steel, Harry Tebb, and Liam Tebb.

Remember your hats and suncream, folks. Go well everyone.