The Saturday 1st XI was well beaten by Windsor at Chalfont Park. Windsor batted first and made 149 all out on a damp wicket, having at one point been 110-2. Shahid Din was the outstanding bowler, taking 4-37 from 15 overs, well supported by Zamir Khan, who took 2-20 from 11 overs and Rhys Mander, who cleaned up the tail with 3-7. In reply, we were never really in the hunt, and collapsed to 37-6 before man of the match, Shahid Din, who struck five sixes in his sparkling innings of 56, added some respectability to our total of 96 all out, a defeat by 53 runs.

The Saturday 2nd XI was also well beaten by Windsor II at Windsor Great Park. Windsor batted first in a 40 over match and made 189-7, with Zia Sadique, playing his first match for the club, the outstanding bowler. In reply, we struggled to 114-9, a defeat by 75 runs. Simon Gooch top scored with an innings of 35.

The Sunday 2nds got off to a solid start, ending with a winning draw against Uxbridge Casuals. Put in to bat first, Chalfont lost the early wickets of Webb, Andersen and White to some impressive bowling. Collins(29) and Graver(28) then steadied the ship, before Chris Yoxall Jnr(28) and Matt Woods(20) made sure we finished at a respectable 142 all out. Chalfont started brightly, Dean Page (17-4-26-3) doing most of the damage whilst Yoxall Snr (9-4-15-0) tied up the batsmen from the other end. With Uxbridge threatening to get on top, Neal Collins (6-0-11-3) added some much needed wickets to the attack. Three dropped catches in the field showed the ring rustiness of the team, but Chalfont held on to restrict Uxbridge to 100-7. A great all round performance and a platform upon which to build for the rest of the season.

Shahid is in his second spell with the club, having first played for us in the mid 1980s. In those days he was a prolific top order batsman. He rejoined the club two years ago after the merger with Sir Ali, and has made a major impact with his metronomically accurate off breaks. Nowadays, he tends to bat down the order, but he is still capable of making a major contribution, as Windsor will no doubt testify after Saturday's fireworks! All round, a brilliant club cricketer, the only problem being where to hide him in the field!

Shahid will also be familiar to many club members as the chief chef / barbecue man whenever spicy Indian food is on offer at the club. The twinkle in his eye, as he serves you, is usually the tell tale signal that you are about to eat something hot or spicy! Remember last season's "delayed effect" curry, when everyone loved the food, and then about five minutes later felt like their internal organs were on fire? As a chef he has spent many years perfecting the art of cooking and he spends many hours tasting to ensure that the dishes are perfect.

Finally, here are some quotations (off the record) from some of the ladies at the club:

"He's got a nice bottom"
"He's a good cook"
"He's got eyes that you melt into"
"He's got a lovely hug"

This weekend sees the start of the Thames Valley League season. The fixtures are as follows:

Saturday 1st XI:
Reading II, TVL2B, Home, 1.30pm start

Saturday 2nd XI:
OMT II, TVL4B, Away, 1.30pm start

Sunday 1st XI:
Harrow Town, Away, 2pm start

Sunday 2nd XI:
Old Owens, Home, 2pm start

Batting:
Shahid Din 56, Simon Gooch 35

Bowling:
Shahid Din 4-37, Rhys Mander 3-7, Neal Collins 3-11 and Dean Page 3-26

Beer Festival - May 24th
The club's first beer festival will provide you with the opportunity to try numerous beers from the Youngs Brewery. It will run from early afternoon until closing at 11pm. A great excuse to come down to the club, try something new and watch some cricket in the sun.

This weekend Bucks County are hosting a pool for this years county championships at Milton Keynes Hockey Club. Also in the pool are Gloucs, Devon and the Royal Navy. The winners of the pool then go into the national semi-finals on 24th May.

Following the county trials and a strong season for the mens 1's Amersham and Chalfont have had three men selected to be in the Bucks squad, Warren Scott, Lau van Eestren and Dan Lovelace. This is the most players the club has ever had in the squad as well as providing the county manager, Doug MacColl. On top of this, after an excellent season as an umpire, Simon Seabrook has been selected to officiate at the championships. The county championships are the highest representative level below the national team and it is a sign of the success of the club as a whole that it has such a strong representation.

All support would be appreciated to help the county win. The bar will be open all day and there will be refreshments available.

Saturday:
Gloucs -v- Bucks, 14.00

Sunday:
Bucks -v- Devon, 11.35
Bucks -v- Royal Navy, 15.50