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Week 17 Review

Week 17 Review

Dan Hough1 Sep 2019 - 14:06
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Three wins, two defeats and some Mankad madness

Robbie Bosier's not really known for his batting. Saturday's excellent 50 may change that
- Steve Watts

Week 17 was supposed to be a week where all attention focussed on the twos. It didn’t quite work out like that. There’s a never a dull week where Twickenham CC are involved.

Twos clinch promotion
Eugene Berger’s second XI have had a rock solid campaign and that was underlined on Saturday when they clinched promotion back to the top flight of second XI cricket.

Their opponents, Hornsey, were in fourth and so, on paper at least, looked likely to pose a tough test. In practice, the game was emphatically won by the Ts by a cool 196 runs (see here for the card). Victories in club cricket don’t get too much more emphatic than that.

Batting first, Ethan Wright led the way with a solid 86 (101 Balls), although he was well-supported by both Phil Nash (63 in 65) and Nikhil Nomula (48 in 52). A platform of 224-2 then enabled the middle and lower order to wheel out the big shots, Lewis Mitchard ending on 26no (17 balls) and Berger himself contributing a brutal 20 (off just 8).

296 was always likely to be a tough target, but the hosts did at least get off to a decent start, openers Tom Lytle and James Bull getting in to their rhythm quickly.

Once Lytle (24 in 31 balls) was removed by Berger the wheels nonetheless quickly fell off. The skipper helped himself to a cheeky 4-29 whilst Harry Grinstead took 3-5 in little more than a couple of overs. With Tom Field and Nakul Vishvanath the other wicket-takers that meant that all the wickets that fell were to spin.

With the Ts winning, results elsewhere were irrelevant, but Stanmore’s defeat against bottom of the table Kenton nonetheless means that the title is now still very much up for grabs (see here for the table). If Hornsey can get their act together and beat Stanmore next week then the Ts know a win on the Green will see them pinch the title on the very last day of the season. Calling Anu Agarwal, your time could once again be coming … !

The Mankad makes an appearance!
Even before the Week 17 games took place the 4s knew that they were going to be Division 5A champions. The only remaining question was would they be able to go through the whole campaign unbeaten.

Moving in to Week 18 the answer to that remains a resounding ‘yes’. Hinay Dassani’s side brushed aside bottom of the table MTSSC by 119 runs (see here for the card). A walk in the park? Well, not for everyone …

First, the basics. The Ts had first hit and posted an eminently competitive 235. Colin Blunden and Uzzi Khan got the side off to the usual solid start, putting on 33 for the first wicket. The Big Tackle (Stu Amos), batting at three, then chipped in with a neat 44 before being bowled by a shooter. Dave Jones carried on the good work at five, hitting a rambunctious 52, before Chetan Ubale (29no) and Hiran Dissanayake (22no) finished things off.

In reply, the first three home batters were out for 0, as was the number 5. The middle order did rally a little, but MTSSC ended miles away from the total on 116 all out. Dassani wought carnage once more, claiming 6-18 off 11 overs whilst Dave Jones (2-21 off 9) also bowled excellently.

But that is only half the story. Ask Nihal Tomar. Tomar fell victim to arguably the most controversial type of dismissal in the whole game; the ‘Mankad’. Umpire Uzzi Khan had little choice but to give Tomar out when the bowler knocked off the bails at the non-striker’s end. Tomar was out of his ground and had to go. The sour taste it left all round nevertheless remained long after the (excellent) Tandoori drumsticks that were served for tea had been digested.

Was Tomar out? Sure he was. The laws of the game are clear. Ask Joss Buttler if you don’t believe me, he’s been dismissed twice (!) via a Mankad in international cricket. But in a game that can at times be positively sanctimonious in how it views itself, you do wonder whether Mankads are really what we should be seeing in 4th XI (or indeed any other) cricket. Either the Spirit of Cricket is in reality a load of codswallop or, if it does actually mean something, then this sort of thing doesn’t really fit in. We’ll leave you to work out where you stand on that particular debate.

Be all that as it may, the 4s remain 29 points clear with 10 points left up for grabs (see here for the table). Only fifth placed Chiswick 3s stand between them and going the whole campaign unbeaten.

Threes brush Finchley aside
The threes unfortunately went down to 10 men just before kick off against Finchley, but that didn’t stop them easing to a comfortable 7 wicket victory (see here for the card).

Robbie Bosier was the undoubted star of the show. He helped himself to 4-45 with the ball as Finchley were reduced to 155 all out. The ever-reliable Sheik of Tweak, Anu Agarwal, helped him along with 3-56 whilst Fahriar Hasan did what he’s becoming increasingly adept at doing; cleaning up the tail with a quickfire 2-2 off just under 3 overs.

The threes have struggled to bat at home this season so Steve Watts decided that some changes to the order might be in order. The principle one of them was to promote Bosier to open the batting. Bosier revelled in taking on the added responsibility. He knuckled down and helped himself to a well-earned 50 (off 60 balls). Fair play to the skipper for getting that call spot on.

Once Bosier had departed, Watts (30no in 35 balls) himself then saw the ship home alongside Mo Ahmad (23no in 23). The win leaves the Ts in 6th (see here). And no matter how they get on at MTSSC next week that’s where they’ll end. Do keep an eye out for any stray Mankads whilst you’re there though, fellas.

Fives battle well
The fives lost, but they lost in the right way (see here for the card). Batting first the Ts amassed 192 off their 45 overs.

Andy Donelan, a man who is having his most impressive season in years, led the way with 69 at the top of the order, whilst Kevin Cavilla contributed 44 – including a magnificent check-drive straight six – from number three.

Messrs Walker, Bosier (J) and Wylde all contributed double figures from the middle order, but three ducks to round things off meant that a score north of 200 was ultimately just beyond the fifth dimension’s reach.

Kensington & Chelsea didn’t have everything their own way in reply, but a solid 81 in the middle meant that they were always just about in control. Kev Cavilla (3-12) led the way with the ball, whilst Anil Bhatt bowled a tight but ultimately unlucky 11 overs for a miserly 29. The visitors ultimately got home with five wickets to spare.

Ones come off second best against Richmond
That just leaves the ones. Although Carlos Nunes’s men lost against Richmond (see here for the card), they are now nonetheless safe. The two points they gained in losing ensure that if Stanmore – the side in 9th – were to draw level on points with them next week the Ts would pip them as they’ve won more games outright (see here for the table).

Batting first, Richmond saw Adam London run out early but the visitors were still able to post 252 off their 50. Abi Jhunjhunwala (118 off 127 balls) was the leading light there. George Yates again showed his wicket-taking prowess, helping himself to 3-40. Val Guiraud (2-35) was an able support act.

In reply the Ts were always in the game but somehow never quite on top. Scott Newman (21) and Mesome Hussain (29) put on 36 for the first wicket, and Rhys Davies added a nice 40 (in 60 balls) from number three. Don Manuwelge (23) and Ben Leale-Green (43no) also made good contributions, but wickets kept falling as ultimately the hosts fell 21 short. A decent effort, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Cricket is never dull and Week 17 did much to illustrate that. Bring on Week 18, goodness knows what will happen then.

Further reading