The Saturday 1st XI narrowly failed to force a victory in a home match against Beaconsfield II. We batted first and posted our best total of the season to date, 233 all out from 51.5 overs. Safi Ahmed top scored with 94, well supported by Andy Parsons, who made 40. In reply, Beaconsfield got off to a flying start, but they were then pegged back by some excellent bowling from Shahid Din, who took 3-26 from 18 overs, and Rhys Mander, who took 4-32 from 12 overs. However, we were unable to take the tenth wicket, and Beaconsfield hung on for a draw, 156-9 from 48 overs.

A weakened Saturday 2nd XI travelled to Marlow Park II for a TVL Division 4B match and, on a very hot day in a picturesque setting by the river, was soundly beaten by 85 runs. Marlow won the toss and elected to bat first. Faheem Ijaz made an impressive debut for us with 2 for 20 off 10 overs and Marlow found themselves 66 for 3 off 20 overs. However, as the ball lost its hardness, the bowlers started to suffer against some good batting as the very fast outfield soon helped the score rattle up. Marlow eventually declared on 250 for 5 after 51 overs. We were slightly short on bowling and Asif Raza produced a monumental effort in bowling 26 overs unchanged throughout the hot conditions.

Our reply was steady against an opening spin attack but Martin White (13) fell to the new ball and James Mallinder (23) was superbly stumped down the leg side. Ijaz (33) and Ken Mander (35) put on 65 for the fifth wicket which helped settle the innings but Marlow's Steve Ayres (7-36) returned to the attack and made the decisive inroads. Some late lusty blows by Raza (26no) saw us finish on 165 in the 41st over.

The Saturday 3rd XI played its first match for seven years, a friendly match away against Staines & Laleham III, and achieved a memorable win in glorious sunshine. Opting to bowl first, Staines & Laleham made steady progress against Gareth Noot (10-0-40-0) and Dan Webb (14-0-72-2), and it was left to colt James Cook (6-0-37-2) and Richard Snelling (10-1-51-2) to clear out the middle order and ever dependable Pat Nagle to take the skippers wicket with a rare straight delivery. Some superb fielding all round and well held catches, along with fine wicketkeeping by young Robert Smally, kept the opposition down to 194 all out.

We elected to reverse most of their batting order, with John Spicer and Chris Waite opening, followed by the three colts in the team. Waite went on to 50 before throwing his wicket away, and Spicer was out for just 6. The young lads did well against a mixed seam and spin attack, Robert Smally hitting a four off his first delivery with a lofted cover drive, and James Cook amazingly caught pulling to square leg. The middle order picked up the gauntlet, with Noot (35) and Snelling (40) putting on a 70 partnership. The last word was left to Dave Andersen, unusually batting at number 9, who made 25 in short order - including a massive 6 that broke the sightscreen - to lead us home with 14 overs to spare. The first game for seven years, the Saturday 3rd XI can now claim that they are unbeaten since 1996!

The Sunday 1st XI played an away match against Langleybury and were defeated by the narrowest of margins, just one run. Langleybury batted first in a 40 over match and were bowled out for 170 in 36.5 overs. Shahid Din, with 2-25, was the pick of the Chalfont bowlers, and he was well supported by Martin L. White and Jeremy Sewell, on a rare guest appearance, who both put in very tidy spells. Tim Graver also effected a superb run out, with a clean pick up and throw from mid on. Saqib Ahmed opened the batting, and made a stylish and very effective 36 runs, but the Langleybury bowling was very tight, and we started to slip behind the clock, and then to lose wickets. Amit Puri top scored with 68, and looked like he was going to win the match for us when he hit the first two balls of the last over for four, leaving us three to win from four balls. But he missed the next two, and was bowled off the fifth. So, last man Jeremy Sewell came to the wicket and, with all the fielders on the boundary, he basically needed to hit a four or a six to win the match. No pressure, eh? He made a good contact, but the ball went straight to long on, and we could only manage a single. A great game of cricket but, sadly, defeat by one run!

This weekends fixtures are as follows:

Saturday 1st XI:
Fleet, TVL2B, away, 1.30pm start

Saturday 2nd XI:
Farnham Common II, TVL4B, home, 1.30pm start

Saturday 3rd XI:
t.b.a., friendly, away, 2.00pm start

Sunday 1st XI:
Stoke Green, MASL, away, 2pm start

Sunday 2nd XI:
Chiswick & Latymer II, friendly, home, 2pm start

WANTED: Help behind the bar on Friday nights.

Thank you to John Finch, Andy Parsons, Tony Hewston, Mike Burge and Nick Wilson for helping out on the the last few Fridays and Cash and Neil Turner for this Friday. However, people are still needed for the 11th July, 18th July, 25th July, etc.

Batting:
Martin Cartledge, 101, Sat 2XI v. High Wycombe (31/05)
Safi Ahmed, 94, Sat 1XI v. Beaconsfield (28/06)
Martin L. White, 94, Sat 2XI v. Windsor (21/06)
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)

Local rivals Tring Park 3rd XI were this week's opposition for the much improved Sunday 2nd XI. Tring won the toss and elected to bat, and made steady progress against the bowling of Chris Yoxall Snr - again wicketless despite some fine bowling - and Steve Baker (10-1-37-2), whose bowling has improved all season. Chris Yoxall Jnr and Neal Collins could not provide a breakthrough, although there could have been some run-outs had Dan Webb not misfielded twice - and let his feeling be known to all and sundry by castigating the ball and kicking it around the park. Baker was returned to one end in the fiery heat, and Webb took up the gauntlet at the other, finishing with a repectable 3-50 off 10 overs - even if the bowling was called 'pony' by the rest of the team. It looked like Tring had set a far too big a target with 219-6 after we had bowled an amazing 51 overs and were unlikely to get more than 40 themselves.

With Dave Andersen injured and dropped to number 9, it left skipper Webb to open with Baker. Webb quickly hurried around to scoring runs, slashing wildly at anything near the bat but was cheaply dismissed for 8. Neal Collins (52) and Baker (38) then put on a mighty stand, but when both were dismissed it looked like Chalfont would fall far behind the run-rate. Enter the rejuvenated Martin White (40) to push Saints back on track with at least one magnificent six, along with the irrepressible Rob Freeman (28), who top edged a pull in to his eye but insisted on carrying on. A change of batting order saw Dave Andersen pushed up to number 8, and he duly obliged by setting about the bowling as if he was seeing the ball like a football. Needing twenty off 12 balls, Andersen scored 11, and Kris Collins, in for the last ball of the penultimate over, ran two to keep Andersen on strike for the last over. Two fours by Andersen followed off the next two balls, leaving us winners with only four balls to spare.

Truly it was a momentous win for the Sunday 2nd XI, as not only had they now beaten the win record of last year, but of the 2001 season also.

SUNDAY night. Chalfont Park. Silence except for the birds singing, the beers sinking... and the hum of Dan Webb's electric razor. Yes, the Sunday Second XI captain promised six weeks ago: "If we win five games this season, I'll shave off my beard." Most expected him to look like Santa Claus by Christmas, given recent Sunday Second XI summers. But when arch-rivals Tring were beaten with four balls to spare on Sunday, the Second XI showed a club-best record which reads five wins, three draws and just one (or two) defeats. The hairy Webb lived up to his promise. Despite tears from tea-making expert and girlfriend Jenny, off came the King Arthur goatee, and Webb had wiped 20 years off his face in one short shave.

Last season the Sunday Second XI won just twice all summer. This season Webb, drawing on the seasoned experience of middle order Martin White and consistent medium pace bowler Chris Yoxall (yeah, those two who both have more talented sons with exactly the same names just to confuse innocent scorers), has turned things around completely. Webb has brought in three or four of his Three Pigeons football team (they won the local Sunday League without losing a game last season, you can hear fascinating details of their season on any given Sunday night at the club between jugs), including draw specialist Nick "The Wall" Davenport and Rob "Oops, I've hit the ball into my own eye" Freeman. Also prominent in the side's improvement is Pat Nagle, the Emmanuel Petit lookalike capable of gazelle-like work in the field, solid batting and occasional seam. But we have overlooked Dave Andersen, the post master general and past master batsman. Despite a severely pulled muscle in his throwing arm, it was the massive figure of Andersen strolling to the wicket at No 8 which finally took the spring out of Tring on Sunday. Andersen's big hitting, plus a courageous unbeaten two from Kriss "Burning Ambition" Collins, turned a close shave into an emphatic victory. For everyone except Dan Webb of course...

Did you know...

That women are eligible are to play in men's cricket matches? So, if any of the lady hockey players want a game, let us know. Maybe we will be able to find enough players to form a ladies team? Email Watsy at andy@watsy.com or Matt at matthew@stevenson103.fsnet.co.uk if you are interested.