The Saturday 1st XI had a four wicket victory, our first of the season in the TVL, in a home match against Chenies & Latimer, enough to get us off the bottom of the Division 2B league table. Chenies batted first and laboured to 172-7 from 52 overs. Skipper Zamir Khan was the mainstay of our bowling, taking 4-67 from 18 overs. We lost two early wickets before Andy Parsons (39) and Safi Ahmed (32) steadied the ship, and then that man again, Zamir Khan, came in to play a match winning knock of 61, and steer us to a reasonably comfortable four wicket victory.

The Saturday 2nd XI had a 59 run victory in an away match against Kidmore End II, a second consecutive victory! Having lost the toss and been asked to bat, Chalfont got off to a solid start through Martin White (31) and Simon Gooch (20). However a fall of quick wickets left the innings sitting somewhat precariously at 72 for 5 off 26 overs. Rob Machin (46) and David Peters (23) then put on 66 runs for the 6th wicket to help turn the innings around and some sensible batting by Jason Page (20no) and Chris Yoxall (4no) added 29 runs in the last 6 overs. Chalfont finished on 175 for 8 of their 52 overs. Despite the loss of an early wicket, Kidmore responded very positively and it took a couple of wickets by Machin aided by good catches from Tim Graver and White to claw the game back and the hosts were 55 for 3 off 10 overs. Another sharp catch by Graver left the score on 72 for 4. The turning point of the game came when the score was on 110 and Kidmore's top scorer was run out by some slick fielding by Yoxall as he looked for a quick single. The last four wickets fell to the line and length of Asif Ahmed (4-22) as Kidmore were all out for 116 with 19 overs still remaining.

The Sunday 2nd XI claimed a draw against Dunstable after being set a target of 209. With the second and third Dunstable batsmen making 51 and 101, Chalfont made heavy progress trying to dismiss them, taking only three wickets in 41 overs. A host of dropped catches and misfieldings only added to Chalfont's woe. Martin White (again!) was the pick with an impressive 4 overs for just 4 runs with Webb and Raza also in among the wickets. Chalfonts batting started well with Raza (28) and Collins (35), but once they were out, Chalfont were bound to bat for the draw. Sturdy work by Nick Davenport and Pat Nagle, who both stayed in for almost an hour for only 10 and 11 runs respectively, left Chris Yoxall Snr all alone at the other end to claim a draw. So, the beard stays for one more week at least.

The Sunday 1st XI's rotten luck with the weather continued as the MASL match against North Maidenhead was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Murray Scott is the club treasurer and, if memory serves me well, a prolific and dependable opening batsman. Unfortunately, with the demands of career and family taking their toll, his appearances have become more and more limited. He now gives Saturday 2nd XI skipper David Peters the dates when he is available at the beginning of each season. This season, when he paid his £100 subs, he remarked that it was a lot of money for one game of cricket!

As a batsman, he is a man after Burgey's heart, always "keeping it on the carpet", never giving his wicket away lightly, and quite happy to bat through an innings, while the stroke players come and go at the other end. He first played for the club in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then he moved out of the area for a while, occasionally popping back to score a century for the President's XI, before rejoining the club in 1998 to become a stalwart of the Saturday 2nd XI.

Away from cricket, Murray's other main interest is climbing. Indoor climbing, that is, because he suffers from vertigo!

Last seen at the club: committee meeting, November, 2002
Last seen on the cricket field: Saturday 2nd XI match, July, 2002
 

This weekends fixtures are as follows:

Saturday 1st XI:
High Wycombe II, TVL2B, home, 1.30pm start

Saturday 2nd XI:
Eversley, TVL4B, home, 1.30pm start

Sunday 1st XI:
Uxbridge, friendly, home, 2pm start

There are a couple of external events happening at the club on Friday and Saturday nights. Volunteers to help man the bars would be very much appreciated. If you can help for one of the evenings please contact me as soon as possible on 07887 675310.

Also look out in the next couple of issues about the next big club social event that will be taking place in early July.

Batting:
Martin Cartledge, 101, Sat 2XI v. High Wycombe (31/05)
Neal Collins, 82, Sun 2XI v. Marquess (01/06)
Zamir Khan, 81, Sun 1XI v. Harrow Town (11/05)
Neal Collins, 77*, Sun 2XI v. Old Owens (11/05)
Zamir Khan, 69, Sat 1XI v. Falkland II (24/05)
Zamir Khan, 61, Sat 1XI v. Chenies & Latimer (07/06)

Sunday second team stalwart Neal Collins found his batting abilities tested to the limit last week. Invited by England team sponsors Vodafone to pit his skills against our Test bowlers, Collins was one of several journalists sent trembling in to the nets at Durham's Riverside ground last Tuesday.

The only-slightly rotund Collins, who has scored 29, 77 not out, 24 and 82 in four knocks for the unbeaten Chalfont St Peter Sunday Second XI this season, was soon found out. He admits: "It's nothing like the nets down at Chalfont Park on a Thursday night! Obviously Steve Harmison and James Anderson are too quick for club batsmen, you expect that, but what really shocked me was Ashley Giles, England's spinner. "I could hardly get a bat on him, he was brilliant! And when Marcus Trescothick, England's opening bat and very occasional seamer, bowled his quicker ball at me, I didn't even see it!" Fortunately for Collins, the 42-year-old Sunday People Sports News Editor, an excuse soon emerged: "I never bat in a helmet! The one they gave me was too big even for my head. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!"

Collins, his confidence severely shaken, has taken two weeks off from cricketing duties. He left on Monday to cover England's rugby Test matches against New Zealand in Wellington (June 14) and Australia in Melbourne (June 21). If any CSPA readers would like to ask questions of the England squad Down Under, feel free to email Neal on nealcollins@hotmail.com