With Week 12 washed out completely, all five Twickenham sides – and indeed everyone else in the Middlesex County Cricket League – will be hoping that Week 13 turns out to at the very least be a bit drier.

All five Twickenham sides are scheduled to be in action. The ones entertain Brondesbury on the Green whilst the twos are off to Lonsdale Road to face high-flying Barnes. The threes welcome North London IVs to Broom Road, and the 4th XI are off to Ealing Central Sports Ground to face Acton 4s. The fifth dimension, meanwhile, are back at Molesey Hurst where they play Old Isleworthians 4s.

Ones welcome Brondesbury
The first XI started positively in their game against Shepherd’s Bush in Week 12. They were north of 100 and looking ok when the rains unfortunately came.

Brondesbury were in a not dissimilar position in their match against Crouch End. They, like everyone else, had to settle for three points, but that can’t disguise that Bron look in decent nick and indeed have had an impressive first half of the campaign. They currently sit second on 66 points.

The Ts know that wins are needed if they are to maintain their premier league status moving into 2024. Carlos Nunes’s side have shown glimpses of what they can do, and that’s reflected in the fact Nunes keeps faith with the side that looked good against Shay Boo. Sanjit Sandhu is away and so he won’t be playing, the belligerent Nev Talbot comes in to replace him. That aside, it’s as you were.

The full 1st XI is Carlos Nunes, Pat Dixon, Ben Leale-Green (wk), Don Manuwelge, Adam Mather, Angus McKenzie, Mayank Malhotra, Akash Multani, Preet Patel, Gurjit Sandhu and Neville Talbot.

2nds visit Barnes
The 2nd XI will be looking forward to getting back into the groove on Saturday. They’ve not really been firing on all cylinders of late, but a win against one of their promotion challengers will inject some much-needed momentum into their season.

As things stand, the Ts are just the nine points behind Barnes. Hornsey and Brondesbury are between the two, illustrating just how congested the division has become, but with Hornsey playing runaway leaders Richmond Saturday’s game provides an opportunity for both of the sides fighting it out at Lonsdale Road to make a big leap forward.

Skipper Nakul Vishvanath is back to lead the troops. He has had to shuffle his pack a little. Dev Tomlinson returns, as does the ever-resolute Nihal Tomar. Hamish Johnston and Tapan Kumar offer plenty in the tweak and twirl department, whilst Geoff Stothert and Kevin Cavilla offer both experience and where-with-all. They are, in other words, both prime candidates either for the slips or fine leg/third man.

The 2nd XI is Nakul Vishvanath, Kevin Cavilla, John Fisher, Cameron Fraser, Hamish Johnston, Tapan Kumar, Monish Malhotra, Geoff Stothert, Ammar Syed, Nihal Tomar and Devin Tomlinson.

Threes host North London
The season for the threes has to start now. The odds on them staying up are, being realistic, long, but four wins out of six and there is indeed still a path to survival. A big 10/12 points on Saturday is a more or less non-negotiable part of that though.

North London currently sit seventh. They are currently 14 points above the relegation trapdoor but they will be conscious that taking survival for granted almost certainly won’t serve them well.

The Twickenham side that they will meet has that steely look in its eyes. Jonty Hunt and the Prince of Broom Road, Oli George, will be looking to get runs on the board, whilst Alex Waddell is definitely due. When that bomb explodes, it’s going to explode big.

It’s also great to see Dom Thamby back in the ranks, and he’ll add extra gravitas to a bowling line up that already looks decent. VP Singh, the skipper Robbie Bosier and the ageless Mark Smith all know what they are doing. Smith in particular is someone who just keeps on going and as things stand he’s got north of 200 victims to his name for the Ts at an average of a fraction over 17. Decent.

Frankie Lingeman might also be someone who is primed to make his mark; Lingeman has the second best strike rate of any Twickenham player (of those who have taken more than 20 wickets) who has played league cricket over the last two decades. 30 wickets in senior cricket with one coming every 20 balls. Quite the stat when you think about it. The trivia question of the week is subsequently which TCC player (across all five league sides) has the best strike rate in league cricket over that period? Answers on a postcard please….

The 3rd XI is Robbie Bosier, Sean Daly (wk), Oli George, Jonty Hunt, Max Hunt, Frankie Lingeman, VP Singh, Ali Sohail, Mark Smith, Dom Thamby and Alex Waddell.

4s visit Acton
The 4s are off to visit old friends Acton.

Acton are looking up at the promotion places with interest. They currently sit third, eight points behind Brentham 3s.

Hinay Dassani is able to call on some familiar faces this week, and that means he, too, looks like he has a stronger side at his disposal than he has for much of the season thus far.

Mehran Iqbal, a man with 163 wickets to his name for Twickenham CC (at a startling average of just 10.85), is back to try and cause havoc with the new ball, whilst Nitin Parab makes a welcome return in the middle order. Lloyd Townsend, a man who has done well in the 5s at times this season, comes in, as does Imran Niazi.

One of the stars of the junior network, Alfie Gales, also plays as does the Ts’ new South African import, Sven Steyn. If he isn’t racing in from the boundary and bowling north of 90mph then I for one will be sorely disappointed.

The 4th XI team is Hinay Dassani, Colin Blunden, Andy Donelan, Alfie Gales, Thomas Hopkins, Mehran Iqbal, Imran Niazi, Nitin Parab, Sven Steyn, Divij Suri and Lloyd Townsend.

Fives entertain Old Is 4s
The fives continue their cricketing odyssey with a visit of Old Isleworthians’ 4s on Saturday.

Old Is won Division 6B in 2022 and they’ll be pleased enough to have stabilised themselves mid-table in Division 5B in 2023. They are 17 points off second and 23 points off ninth. Decent enough.

Skipper Chris Wylde is out of the equation this week, so the indomitable Jon Bosier takes over the captaincy reins. It’s good to see Bosier’s big-hitting protégé Barty Boyd back in the ranks. If those two get batting together then sparks will definitely fly.

The TCC juniors are also heavily represented. Adi and Pawan Udernani have both done well in T20 cricket this season and they’ll be looking forward to facing down the challenge of senior cricket. The money is on them both being very much up to it.

Waris Khan is also back in, Matt Williams makes his debut and Mike Richardson returns to offer more batting prowess. All good.

The 5th XI is Jon Bosier, Bart Boyd, Saul Croxford, Chinni Devabhaktuni, Anush Ganesh, Waris Khan, Ryan Oakes, Mike Richardson, Adi Udernani, Pawan Udernani (wk) and Matt Williams.

Go well everyone!