Old Actonians 4s 262a/o (40.2 overs)
Twickenham 5s 171a/o (35.1 overs)

Twickenham’s fifths started their 2020 season by engaging in something of a run fest against Old Actonians. Opener Daljeet Singh (93) was the undoubted star of the Actonians innings, although Rakesh Prasher (45) offered him strong support. Dan Hough (4-37) picked up some poles for the Ts and Jonny Bosier boshed a glorious half century, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the visitors claiming the bragging rights.

New year, new captain, new ambitions. With the MCCL’s Division 6B officially on hold, six of the 10 sides in the division have opted to play friendlies amongst themselves. Indeed, a full fixture list has somehow been juggled up and the fifths have 9 fixtures to enjoy in this most bizarre of summers.

Catches win (and lose) you matches
The first of those fixtures was a tricky looking encounter at Broom Road against Old Actonians. In truth, Actionians won it at a canter, but it wasn’t always destined to be that way. Seven dropped chances (some of them far from difficult) tell a story, and there were times in the game when a Ts victory wasn’t necessarily being ruled out. Harmeet Singh and Luke Jefferies both bowled well, whilst Pete Burke bowled generally without luck. Both of Actonians’ star performers always made you feel that you were in with a chance and, well, the only issue was whether the Ts were going to be able to take one of those chances before the game was taken away from them.

By 4pm, however, the game had slipped very much in to the “well, it’ll be a good one to win from here” category. The Ts understandably lost a bit of zest in the field, and even when Dan Hough burgled himself four wickets it was clear that 250 plus was on the cards. A tough task on any day in 5th XI cricket, but that was even more so given that the Ts’ batting did look a bit lighter than normal.

Bosier biffs it
The Ts’ response couldn’t have got off to a worse start, Pete Burke and Zafar Ali getting into a horrible mix up that led to Burke being run out. Not good. Indeed, it’s probably a good thing that Pete’s mother was in the vicinity of the pavilion as he marched back to take his kit off. A few Anglo-Saxonisms would no doubt have been uttered otherwise.

Paul McLoughlin and Dan Hough threatened to add a bit of stability, but ultimately it was the effervescent Jon Bosier (56) and the equally as brutal Sam Johnson (24no) who did most to make the score respectable. Actonians’ Steve Smith (4-44) was the star with the ball, as the visitors won by 91 runs.

The 5s may have lost, but there are reasons to be hopeful. Luke Jefferies looked promising with ball (and indeed the bat), Jack Denham made an encouraging debut, and Jon Bosier illustrated that he can cause havoc. As if there were ever any doubts. As and when availability gets better up the club, skipper Harmeet Singh will find he’s got more tools at his disposal. That should ensure that the 5s are competitive moving forward.