It’s been a long, hot summer, but on Saturday 5 September it comes to an end. Meaning? The last round of MCCL games will take place and after that there’s 34 consecutive Saturdays without league cricket to look forward to. It’s going to be a long, bleak winter….

But, before that all sets in, there’s the small matter of (potentially, at least) a league title to be won (the fives) and a relegation to be staved off (the seconds).

Seconds aim to pull off great escape
The seconds have had an up and down season. At times they’ve played some good cricket, at times they’ve been decidedly abject.

All that now boils down to them needing to win – and indeed to get a bit of help elsewhere – to stay in the Premier Division of the second tier. In essence the deal is actually quite simple; if the twos can beat Crouch End while both Hampstead and Brondesbury lose then they will be up. Given that both of the other relegation contenders are playing top three sides there’s a chance that may indeed happen…..the Ts will then need to make sure they uphold their end of the bargain.

There are indeed scenarios where the Ts could end up on the same points as both Hampstead and Bron (see here for the table). In both cases, the tie-breakers go Twickenham’s way. First things first though; the Ts need to win.

The Ts go into the game with a side full of experience. Former captains Eugene Berger and Nakul Vishvanath will be there, and both Ethan Wright and Nikhil Nomula have experience aplenty. Margin Kantilal also returns to take charge of the new ball.

The 2nd XI is Ethan Wright, Eugene Berger, Milan Gurjal, Margin Kantilal, Syed Mehdi, Ollie Melville-Ross, Nikhil Nomula, Nishan Singh, James Smith, Dev Tomlinson and Nakul Vishvanath.

Fifths need a hand and will give it their all
The fifths are guaranteed to finish second, but that won’t be enough to see them go up. They need to finish top.

Over the last three months the fives really could not have done much more. Ten wins on the bounce is evidence of that. But that still leaves them behind Teddington 4s in the ladder (see here for the table). However, if Actonians beat Teddington reasonably well and Jonny Bosier’s side beat Barnes then the Ts can still overhaul their near neighbours. Fingers crossed.

Jon Bosier has picked a side jam-packed with experience to call on. There’s the Compo, Foggy and Clegg combination of Pete Burke, Dan Hough and Paul McLoughlin, plus Jon Goddard in the Nora Batty – minus wrinkled stockings – role.

Thankfully Sourav Salgotra has enough energy to make up for the dearth of it elsewhere, while Rishabh Gulati – now in the side as an all-rounder – will be hoping to finish what’s been a very productive season in style.

The 5th XI is Jon Bosier, Zafar Ali, Cameron Allen, Pete Burke, Jon Goddard, Rishabh Gulati, Dan Hough, Paul McLoughlin, Ryan Oakes, Jimmy Salgotra and Harry Tebb.

Ones travel to Finchley
The ones end their campaign at Finchley.

Indeed, the ones actually look a bit stronger than they have in weeks gone by. They’ll finish tenth in the ladder no matter what the result is, but Carlos Nunes will most definitely want to finish the season on a high if he can.

The 1st XI is Carlos Nunes, Ben Ellis, Faf Fourie, Preet Himanshukumar, Thomas Hopkins, Ali Jennings, Ben Leale-Green, Monish Malhotra, Akash Multani, Dru Shori and Ross Talmage.

Threes host Richmond
The threes are safe from relegation (see here for the table). But, they will still be looking to finish well when they host Richmond at Broom Road.

In Week 17 the threes had a very makeshift look about them. In Week 18, the side looks altogether much as it has done in weeks previous to that. Steve Cowley, a man in form, is back, as is skipper Robbie Bosier. Rohith Doma and Kev Cavilla are also back in, as is the stalwart figure of Ollie George.

The 3rd XI is Robbie Bosier, Kev Cavilla, Steve Cowley, Rohith Doma, Ollie George, Divesh Govender, Jonty Hunt, Frankie Lingeman, Imran Niazai, Praween Siriwardena and Mark Smith.

Fours travel to London Tigers
The fours finish their campaign at North Acton Playing Fields where they take on the already relegated London Tigers’ 3s.

The Holy Trinity of Dassani, Iqbal and Bozdar are once again united, while the run machine that is Hiran Dissanayake will be looking to finish the season on a high. The mercurial talents of Fairn, Wylde and Boys are also there to be enjoyed.

The 4th XI is Hinay Dassani, Barty Boyd, Shah Bozdar, Hiran Dissanayake, Martin Fairn, Mehran Iqbal, Ali Malik, Matt Parker, Puneet Sahota, Chris Wylde and Akilesh Yadav.

Go well everyone!