By Hinay Dassani

The first TCC Sunday ClubXI 11 game of season on the Green was against annual visitors CYPOS? Mark Johnson skippered, won the toss and, as all good Sunday skippers do, he batted first.

Thamby stars with the bat
Sunday opener T-Rex Dom Thamby opened the innings with no nonsense big Geoff Stothert. Stothert in particular showed his intentions right from the start; he was there to entertain the locals with a blast of boundaries. Stothert contributed a blistering 44 whilst Thamby ticked along when needed. They put on 80 before the first wicket fell. Stothert danced down the track, missed the ball and before the keeper had even knocked off the bails Geoff was off to the bar.

Wickets started to fall and it was down to Dom Thamby and an ex colt making his return, Harry Churchill, to right the ship. Thamby got himself to an elegant 30 odd whilst Harry looked impressive with some beautiful drives, pull and cut shots to the boundary. Plenty of confidence and character was shown especially under pressure.

Thamby eventually started to pick up more boundaries and he eventually got himself to a classical and elegant half century. It was well deserved because the Ts were under the cosh. Thamby nonetheless Dom took ownership and responsibility with a cool head which shows the confidence and faith he has in his batting but also dealing with pressure situations. Definitely one of the most underrated batsman in the club!

Dom was eventually dismissed and a very impressive returning debut from Harry (30) also came to an end. Waris Khan, Mark Johnson and Dayne all had short cameos as the Ts ended on 192.

Stothert and Thamby team up with the ball
CYPOS? had a good start to their reply with quick boundaries. Mark Johnson, one of the most tactically astute skippers, immediately made changes to the field, bowlers bowled in the right areas and it was Dayne who got the break through with a caught behind by Harry Churchill. Churchill continued to impress with the glovework right through the afternoon.

With runs restricted it was Big Geoff Stothert who picked up a quick 3fer at first change and it looked all set for the Ts. CYPOS? middle and lower order nonetheless didn’t throw in the towel just yet as they started to pick up runs at a good rate. Alex Waddell, Connor Finney, Waris Khan (a particularly good spell that brought him a wicket) all tried to add more wickets but it was Big Geoff who came back on to bag a crucial wicket to earn himself a 4fer. Dayne also came back on for a second spell and he, too, added another W in the wickets column. CYPOS? were still on par to chase the total down and Mark Johnson had to use his trump card which was Dom Thamby.

Dom who certainly had ‘Dom Thamby’ moments on the field and he simply couldn’t be kept out of the game. Dom Thamby again showed pressure who the boss is by bowling in the right channels and helping himself to an impressive 3for. That secured the win for the Ts.

Overall it was a good bowling display and the fielding deserves a huge mention as there were brilliant catches from Nihal Tomar, Connor Finney and James Joyce. Shout out to CYPOS? for giving a really good fight and it was a close game which made it an enjoyable day for everyone. You got to love a bit of Sunday cricket!!