The rains have finally arrived, but if the weather forecast is to be believed we should still get plenty of cricket in this coming weekend. The twos and threes will be particularly pleased to hear that; the twos look to continue their promotion charge against Osterley and the threes go into a huge relegation clash against Richmond.

Elsewhere, the ones will be looking to spring a surprise on third placed Shepherd’s Bush, the fours travel to Potters Bar (yes, Potters Bar!) to play Finchley 3s and the fifiths are off to Chiswick IVs.

Ones travel to Shepherd’s Bush
They may not realise it, but Shepherd’s Bush could have a big role to play in who stays in the Premier League this season. On Saturday the Ts travel to Bromyard Avenue looking for points in their quest to stay up and on the final day of the campaign Shay Boo travel to 9th placed Richmond (see here for the table).

It could, of course, all be done and dusted by Week 18. If Richmond lose to 2nd placed North Middlesex on Saturday and the Ts can win what looks like it’s going to be a relegation blockbuster on the Green against the Old Deer Parkers in Week 17 then Twickenham will be safe and Richmond will be down. Other narratives are nonetheless still available.

Skipper Carlos Nunes returns from a sojourn in Portugal to lead the side. Neville Talbot is also back in, as is quick bowler Adam Mather. Ethan Wright is unavailable (on wedding duty; not his own, we should hasten to add) so he makes way, Nikhil Nomula drops back into the twos. Callum Goldthorp’s back continues to wage a war against him so he’ll also be sitting this one out.

The 1st XI is Carlos Nunes, Pat Dixon, Ben Ellis, Ben Leale-Green, Don Manuwelge, Radha Marripati, Adam Mather, Rashid Mullazahdah, Akash Multani, Scott Newman and Neville Talbot.

Twos welcome Osterley to the Green
The Twickenham 2nd XI also have an interesting end of season to look forward to. They currently sit top of the table and with 117 points they are well placed to bounce back into the Premier League (see here for the table).

However, that’s not a done deal just yet. Fourth placed Osterley are in town this week and the Red Caps are desperate for a win. They’ve been there or thereabouts all season, but a defeat last week to Eastcote (by 8 wickets) and in Week 13 to Hornsey (by three wickets) means they’ve drifted away from the top two slots.

For their part, the Ts will be keen to get promotion business done early. Wins against Osterley and mid-table Brondesbury in Week 17 will see them all but up. That may be no bad thing; they travel to Harrow Town in Week 18, a side surging up the table.

Nakul Vishvanath’s team is definitely strengthened by the addition of Nikhil Nomula and it’s good to see Simon Rivers back and in the ranks. Dan Taylor and Eugene Berger both batted really well in Week 15, they’ll be looking to repeat the trick in the slightly less sweltering conditions predicted for the his weekend.

The 2nd XI is Nakul Vishvanath, Eugene Berger, Prabhu Dhev, Tapan Kumar, Hamish Johnston, Dave Jones, Monish Malhotra, Nikhil Nomula, Simon Rivers and Dan Taylor.

Threes host Richmond in relegation shoot out
In Week 14 the threes, and Robbie Bosier in particular, batted superbly to gain a much-needed 10 points against Shay Boo 3s. That win gives them hope that they may survive in Division One of the Third Tier (see here for the table).

If the Great Escape is to really take shape then a win in Week 16 would be very useful indeed. The Ts host bottom of the table Richmond IVs. That table really is very congested and two of Richmond, Twickenham, Highgate 3s or North Middlesex 4s will be going down. Two wins from three and you’d think you’ll be safe. Furthermore, Highgate and North Middlesex also meet this coming Saturday….

Hinay Dassani will not be too concerned about events over at Botany Bay; he’ll be very much concentrating on the task to hand. The fact that former skipper Connor Finney is in the side really helps, and Frankie Lingeman returns from a couple of weeks away. Nihal Tomar also had a positive impact on his seasonal debut last week and he’ll be hoping to continue with that into Week 16.

The 3rd XI is Hinay Dassani, Robbie Bosier, Connor Finney, Mehran Iqbal, Usama Khan, Frankie Lingeman, Imran Niazi, Rob Powell, Praween Siriwardena, Dom Thamby and Nihal Tomar.

Fours travel to Finchley IIIs
The fours have had something of a bumpy ride of late, but that’s not stopped them from picking up enough points en route to be all but safe (see here for the table). They currently sit 6th, 19 points above 9th placed Indian Gymkhana.

This week they travel to fourth placed Finchley. Not that Finchley play in Finchley or indeed anywhere near Finchley. They play at the Old Owen’s Ground in Potters Bar. With no trains, buses or indeed the underground available the fours have subsequently found themselves dealing with a whole host of logistical challenges.

The returning Deep Dasgupta has wisely opted to basically make this an over-nighter. He’s engineered a family trip to North London to effectively cut the journey in half. Sensible stuff. The rest of the side will be setting off early doors on Saturday for their the longest trek of their campaign.

Club secretary Dan Hough takes on the captaincy duties and he’ll be pleased enough with the side at his disposal. Geoff Stothert may well be making a seasonal debut in the fours, although that will be confirmed on Friday. Martin Fairn and Chetan Ubale provide the experience, Barty Boyd the big-hitting youthful enthusiasm. Ben Phillimore is back and he brings with him debutant Matt Knight.

The 4th XI is Dan Hough, Barty Boyd, Deep Dasgupta, Andy Donelan, Anir Dontula, Martin Fairn, Matt Knight, Ben Phillimore, Virender Singh, Geoff Stothert and Chetan Ubale.

Fives visit promotion-chasing Chiswick
The fifths have a potentially tough fixture incoming; they travel to second placed Chiswick 4s.

Chiswick have had a good campaign. They are 13 points ahead of Actonians 4s (in third) and 9 points behind top of the table West Harrow 3s. With a relatively easy run in Chiswick will certainly not have given up hope of overhauling West Harrow and claiming the title.

The Ts are in a mid-table that really couldn’t be any tighter (see here). Twickenham are fourth on 78 points but Teddington 4s are 7th on 77 points (!). Theoretically, the 5s are not mathematically safe from relegation. Brentham 4s are ninth and they have 60, only 19 fewer than Twickenham. It’d nonetheless take a really bizarre run of results for the 5s to go down.

For the first time this season the 5s won’t be led into action by Harmeet Singh. He’s injured and so will be forced to watch from the sidelines. But, in every challenge there lies an opportunity, and that gives young Sean Daly the chance to lead the side. It’s super to see youngsters backing themselves and stepping up to the plate.

Daly’s first task will be to control the (effectively uncontrollable) force of nature that is Jon Bosier, the undoubted best all-rounder in the club. Bosier is, as they say, due…..

The rest of the side has a youthful feel to it. Alife Gales continues his cricketing education whilst Thomas Stanton will be looking to make an impact with both bat and ball. Luke Muraszko will be hurtling down his left armers and Luke Jefferies is also likely to be heavily involved with the new ball action.

Kishore Dattani comes in to take on the mitts and the experience is provided by the in-form Zafar Ali, the ever-resilient Paul McLoughlin and the quietly effective Saul Croxford.

The full 5th XI is Sean Daly, Zafar Ali, Jon Bosier, Saul Croxford, Kishore Dattani, Alfie Gales, Luke Jefferies, Paul McLoughlin, Luke Muraszko, Ryan Oakes and Thomas Stanton.

Go well everyone.