Speaking in the round, Week 14 of the MCCL season was a good one for Twickenham CC. All of the top three sides won, the fours had very much the better of a winning draw and only the fifths – albeit against the side that’s top of the league – came home empty handed. Not a bad day’s work.

Ones move clear at the top of Div 1
The firsts led the way with a four wicket win against fellow promotion-chasers Finchley (see here for the card). That win is significant, too, as it puts the Ts 14 points ahead of Saturday’s opponents (see here for the table). Finchley remain second, with Brondesbury a further two points back.

Much about the clash between the top two was intriguing. A good cricket wicket that offered something for bat and ball meant that the game had none of the wham-bam feel that sometimes seems to be omnipotent. Batters grafted, bowlers kept plugging away and the game moved intriguingly along.

Finchley batted first and recovered from a shaky start to post 175. Muhammed Ikraam (71 off 104) was at the centre of that, although Charlie Hoban (35 off 57) also chipped in nicely. Akash Multani (5-63) span some impressive webs for the Ts, while both Gurjit Sandhu (2-44) and Angus Parker (2-30) bagged a brace apiece.

The Twickenham response was built round the Bradford Wall, Patrick Dixon. He took his time, wasn’t flustered by playing out dot balls and contributed a more than useful 57 (off 137 balls). He provided the cornerstone around which others could play.

Don Manuwelge (27 off 39) and Carlos Nunes (27 off 41) helped keep things moving, but it was ultimately Ben Leale-Green (23no off 42) who kept his nerve longest, leaving Gurjit Sandhu (14no off 8) to hit a couple of boundaries and a straight six to win the game.

The Ts are on their bye week in Week 15, although they aren’t completely devoid of cricket over the weekend; on Sunday (17 August) they take on Acton in the quarter-final of the Middlesex Cup.

The TCC Chairman gets it done for the 2s
The twos also found themselves in an exciting contest with Finchley (see here for the card). Blake van der Linde’s side could only post 154 but they moved heaven and earth to defend it. And, that they did, getting home with 14 runs to spare.

Phil Nash held the fort for the Ts with the bat. He went in at three and put 58 on the board. The other Twickenham batters struggled to really get going, and only Callum Watson (23 off 48) was able to hang around for any length of time. The 53 that they put on ultimately proved to be really significant. Leigh Woolridge (4-38) took the bowling honours for Finchley.

In the field, Twickenham started like a whirlwind. Blake van der Linde removed Tom Yerbury for a duck, Margin Kantilal then did the same with the other opener, Rishi Mehta. Finchley were 1-2 and on the back foot.

They did, however, fight back. Yuvrajsinh Shinol decided that attack was the best form of defence and his 27 (off 26 balls) got the visitors moving. Rohit Mehra, batting at six, then knuckled down for the long haul. He put on 62 with Alex Pennington and it was only when Eugene Berger dismissed Mehra (56 off 75) that the Ts could really have faith that they were going to get the 12 points.

A run out by Wayne Edgar helped, but it was Eugene Berger (3-42) who wrapped things up nicely. The win sees the Ts move five points clear of Stanmore and 24 clear of Eastcote. Eastcote do have a game in hand, but, still, Twickenham’s 2s are very much in the promotion box seat (see here for the table).

Threes brush aside league leaders
On paper, the threes had a really tough task on Saturday. They locked horns with top-of-the-table Perivale Phoenicians 3s. Would the Ts be able to get anything out of the title-chasers? Yes. 10 points. Magnificent stuff.

And, it wasn’t just that the threes won, they won at a canter (see here for the card). Faizan Qureshi looked good for 48 (57 balls), but the other Perivale batters couldn’t handle the ebullient Nishan Singh (3-22), Dom Thamby (3-19) and Ollie Prescott-Brann (3-39). They closed on 133.

Those sorts of scores can be tricky to chase. They can, in other words, often seem a long way away if you start off at, say, 20-4. Oli George (44 off 62) and Mo Ahmad (58 off 66) were more than aware of that so they promptly went out to be positive and make quick inroads into the total.

Both batted admirably, putting on 88 before Ahmad was removed by Saqib Mohammad. No hint of the collywobbles there though, Monish Malhotra (20no off 18) came in at three to ensure the Ts got safely home.

That win makes Division Three of the third tier look really very interesting (see here for the table). Perivale slip to second, 15 points ahead of Twickenham (in fourth). With Bessborough only three ahead of Perivale it really is crunching up at the top. Can the Ts gatecrash those promotion slots? They may need to win all four remaining games to do so, but the way they are playing anything is possible.

Milan Gurjal goes big for the fours
The fours finished their game against Wycombe House 4s with mixed feelings (see here for the card). On the one hand they were left disappointed in that they couldn’t get the 10th and final wicket as the House dug in for a losing draw. That meant Twickenham took five points rather than twelve.

On the other hand news then filtered through that fellow promotion chasers Ealing Trailfinders 3s had lost to Brentham 4s. That meant that the Ts closed the gap on Trailfinders to two points ….. and the Ts have a game in hand (see here for the table). All in all, not too bad a weekend then.

In terms of the contest with Wycombe House, the Ts piled up 275 before declaring on the 46 over mark. Young ‘keeper batsman Milan Gurjal was the undoubted star of the show; he scored a round 100 (94 balls) as the Ts piled up the runs. Jarryd Knott (48 off 67) helped keep things moving, whilst Shah Bozdar gave it a bit of long handle at the end (three sixes in a quickfire 26).

Given that bowling is generally regarded as Twickenham’s stronger suite, hopes were high that the Ts could bowl Wycombe House out. Rohan Bhogal (42no off 65) nonetheless proved resolute to the end, keeping Shah Bozdar (4-39), Akshay Kumar (2-22) and Hinay Dassani (2-46) at bay.

Fives dig in, but to no avail
The fives were the only Twickenham side to come out on the wrong end of a result (see here). They lost to top-of-the-table Chiswick 4s by 77 runs.

Even then, skipper Jon Bosier was left frustrated with what might have been. Chiswick, as befits a side gunning for the title, declared generously. Many a side would have gone on beyond 204, but they chose not to – they recognised that they might need time to bowl Twickenham out.

That having been said, the Ts did a decent job of stemming the run rate. Puneet Sahota got through a punishing 15 overs and ended with 3-54. Lloyd Townsend chipped in with 2-39 off 12 and Adam Tebb rounded things off with 2-22.

In reply Paul McLoughlin set his stall out and was plodding along nicely. He, however, succumbed to George Wilson after keeping out 46 balls. A shame, as it looked like he was booked in for bed and breakfast.

Ryan Oakes (22 off 35) briefly offered hope and skipper Bosier, a man in decent form, was removed on 31 (47 balls). Puneet Sahota then hit three fours in a quickfire 19, but that wasn’t enough to see Twickenham home. Jim Yorath led the way for Chiswick (4-33), ably supported by James White (3-20).

All in all, a decent set of results. Next week sees both the ones and fives on a bye week. The ones have that cup game on Sunday (17 August) to look forward to, the fives are likely to be playing a friendly on the Green. Bring it on.