One of the most longstanding of Twickenham traditions is that on the Wednesday of Cricket Week the Ts host the 1987 League Representative Side. 2022 was no different.

The game, as ever, started at 11h30, involved a sumptuous curry lunch in the ‘Green Spice’ and was played in the very best of spirits (see here for the card).

Tom Field and Olli George lead the way
Twickenham had first hit and the 1987 League side immediately started to make a mark. Fifth XI skipper, Harmeet Singh, received a truly unplayable long hop (!) that he duly thwacked straight to Matt Bendelow at point. Singh was destined for his first century on the Green, too. He had to settle for a duck instead.

Andy Donelan lasted longer, but just after moving in to double figures he fell to the wily left arm seam of Steve Blyghton (Highgate). Not the first player to have found himself saying that over the years….

With Ryan Cunningham (Crouch End) spinning delicate webs from the Staines Road End the Ts found themselves at 47-3 and struggling a bit. The returning Tom Field decided that the best way to deal with that was go on the attack; he rode his luck, but the ball was soon flying to all corners. An outfield that was like glass certainly helped, but Field was nonetheless excellent value for his half-century.

The same could be said for Olli George. He came in at six and immediately looked at home. Alber Chowdry (South Hampstead) did his best to stem the tide, as did Matt Bendelow (Old Hamptonians). Visiting skipper Vish Jadanath (Harrow Town) even resorted to some right arm filth from Ian Salter (Old Camdenians). George carried on seamlessly, and by the time Twickenham decked he was 56no.

Smooth as Salt(er)
The 1987 League started their reply with two long-standing legends opening up; Vish Jadanath and Ian Salter. They weren’t massively interested in turning ones into twos (or indeed running too much at all), but they picked the gaps in the field elegantly and soon had the scoreboard ticking over.

Another returning Twickenham CC stalwart, JP Bowman, put in a good turn from the Hampton Road End and his figures of 0-45 off 7 did him little justice. The first wicket of the innings fell at the other end when Sourav Burman snaffled a decent slip catch (off Tom Field) to remove Jadanath. The Ts’ hopes were duly lifted.

However, the wicket only brought Danny Blyghton, a man doing well for Highgate on Saturdays, to the crease. Blyghton wasn’t quite at his seamless best, although he did nearly manage to put a whopping big dent in his father’s Hackney cab. As Blyghton junior said at the time, “If you park at long on, what else should you expect!”. One suspects he might have been walking home had his aim been just a little better….

Back on the field club chairman Eugene Berger was playing through the pain barrier, but that didn’t stop him eventually dismissing Blyghton (for 44). Max Hunt took the catch; it was at the third attempt, but he got there in the end.

Matt Bendelow came in at four, but Hunt returned from the Hampton Road End to claim his first wicket of the day, Bendelow chipping to mid-wicket. The various comings and goings weren’t having much of an impact on Ian Salter. He rode his luck a bit, poor old Praween Siriwardena – nine games for the Ts in 2022 and now nine defeats – seeing the best chance to remove Salter go down at long on, but Salter was ultimately well worth his 116no.

That century saw the visitors home with around ten overs to spare.

As ever, the day was an all-round excellent affair. Well done to all concerned, roll on 2023.