Scorecard

Kew v Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday on Sat 24 Jun 2006 at 1.30pm
Thatcham Town Cricket Club Lost 5 wickets

Match report Thatcham made the trek up the M4 to Kew on Saturday and although they lost their unbeaten record, they gained more points from the defeat than either NPL Teddington and Harefield, who were on the wrong end of drawn games, and made up some ground on these 2 sides although Kew have now opened up a 16 point gap over Thatcham who now lie in 4th position with 101 points.

Winning the toss on a hot day with a good looking track, Thatcham skipper Duncan Johnson chose to bat first and Gavin McDonald and James Ettridge strode out to the middle to face a tight, quick Kew opening attack of Cameron and Aussie Nick Johnson, Cameron bowling a good line and swinging the ball and Johnson working up a decent pace on what is usually a pretty flat deck and he struck first, McDonald edging to former Eastern Province keeper Bruce Friderichs for 1. Danny Stone joined Ettridge and the pair added 31 before Stone was caught by Ali Jaffer off the bowling of Cameron for 15. Duncan Johnson and Ettridge then shared the partnership of the visitors innings, firstly repairing the early damage and then taking the initiative away from the home side as a combination of good running and decent strokeplay got the home side frustrated and with a few misfields, the ever increasing score saw heads drop and the 100 came up in the 23rd over. Seam was proving innocuous to the Thatcham pair so Kew skipper Rob Tindall switched to the spin of Jaffer and his own unique brand of left arm over, although Jaffer’s second ball was dispatched over the South Circular by Johnson for 6. Both batsmen passed 50, Ettridge striking the ball beautifully in all the usual areas from 71 balls faced and Johnson combining some flashing shots along with some chips and fair slice of luck to post his off just 37 balls, with 8 fours and a six and the momentum was definitely with the visitors. Jaffer though provided the breakthrough, Johnson gloving to Friderichs who spilled the 1st attempt but reacted quickly to scoop the ball up and take a great catch to send the Thatcham skipper on his way for 53. Ettridge followed 12 runs later for 61, as Tindall got one to stick in the pitch, Ettridge stopping the shot and chipping to short mid-wicket and it was now down to Matt Denness and Chris Wright to rebuild. Denness was his usual self, full of improvisation and Wright was hitting the ball sweetly, taking a liking to Tindall, but it was one shot too many that bought about his downfall, Smith taking a safe catch at long on and Tindall had his man, Wright gone for 20. Rakesh Patel was then dismissed by Jaffer without scoring and then a big wicket for Kew as Denness was stumped by Friderichs off Jaffer for a fine 35.

Paul Jenkins looked in fine touch as he and Faisal Ali came together, but again Jaffer tempted a Thatcham player down the track and Friderichs did the rest, Jenkins gone for 15 and when Ali hit Tindall straight down Johnson’s throat for 6, Thatcham’s good platform had gone and it was left to the experience of Peter Edgcombe and Nick Bishop to get the total over the 200 mark and up to 221-9 from the 52 overs, with just 34 runs added for the last 10 overs for the loss of 5 wickets and on a good track with a quick outfield, 221 was only a par score meaning Thatcham had to bowl and field above their normal standard to restrict Kew. Jaffer, 14 overs 4-52 and skipper Tindall 14 overs 3-58 did the damage, although Cameron 1-17 from 8 and Johnson 1-34 from 7 bowled beautifully early on.

Kew openers Abbott and Friderichs, literally, opened up for Kew and the Thatcham attack of Pete Edgcombe and Faisal Ali was blasted to all parts, both players scoring freely and the score was rocketing along when Friderichs played one shot too many, edging Ali and Ettridge hung on to a flyer at slip above his head. Former Pakistan first class star Ali Jaffer came in at 3 and looked a cut above from ball one and with Abbott just smashing anything full or wide for 4 the visitors really had their work cut out, so spin was introduced from both ends and paid immediate dividends as Nick Bishop bowled Abbott for 45, made from 46 balls and with 9 fours. Smith came and went for 12, Bishop again the successful bowler, Johnson taking the catch at mid off, but the partnership of the match then took the game away from Thatcham as Tindall joined Jaffer and they added 102 for the 4th wicket, Jaffer never in trouble, reaching a chanceless 50 and Tindall playing in his own unique way, strong through the covers and point area and improvising elsewhere and he had got to 41 before skying the returning Edgcombe to Faisal Ali, who took a good catch. Milne was then caught at short leg by Rakesh Patel off Johnson without scoring, but it was left to Jaffer to see his side home, with a perfectly timed innings of 83 not out and Kew had reached the victory post from just 40.5 overs and a 20 point haul to go top of the Thames Valley Div 1. Thatcham’s seamers struggled to put the ball in the right areas and only the spin of Nick Bishop, 9 overs 2-41 and Duncan Johnson, 15 overs 1-53, ever looked like applying the much needed brake to the Kew reply.

Thatcham entertain Amersham this week at Brownsfield and with Julian Wood now available, the batting and bowling gets a much needed boost, but Toby Radford is still out with a back injury for the foreseeable future which is a blow to Thatcham’s title hopes.
It’s a big 3 games for the West Berkshire side, with the visit of Amersham, then a trip to
Hampton Hill, followed by Marlow at home, and it’s these 3 games against lower league opposition which could shape the destiny of the season, especially as title rivals Kew, Harefield and NPL Teddington all have a tough run of games in the coming few weeks.

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 9 wickets
0
221		        
Gavin McDonald Caught  1
James Ettridge Caught  61 1
Dan Stone Caught  15
Duncan Johnson Caught  53 1
Matthew Denness Stumped  35
Chris Wright Caught  20
Rakesh Patel Caught  0 1
Paul Jenkins Stumped  15
Faisal Ali Caught  6 1
Peter Edgcombe Not Out  11
Nick Bishop Not Out  1

Kew Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Kew Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 5 wickets
0
223 (0.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Faisal Ali5.0044144.008.80
Peter Edgcombe6.5041141.006.00
Paul Jenkins5.014000.008.00
Duncan Johnson15.0353153.003.53
Nick Bishop9.0041220.504.56