Scorecard

Aldershot v Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday on Sat 06 May 2017 at 1pm
Thatcham Town Cricket Club Lost by 1 run

Match report A thrilling encounter at newly promoted Aldershot saw Thatcham beaten by the narrowest of margins in a disappointing start to their Thames Valley league campaign.

Electing to bat first, Aldershot struggled against the opening attack of Ryan Gilmour (1-43) and Josh O’Flynn (3-47) and when Gilmour accounted for the prolific Collins for just 6 streaky runs, Thatcham began to assert control.

Whilst wickets were hard to come by, Thatcham kept the run rate in check as spinners Chris Bird and Nick Bishop – a late call up for the injured John Williams – made life difficult for the home batsmen. Bird was especially frugal, conceding just 17 runs from his 10 allotted overs as Aldershot laboured to 100 for 3 at the 30 over mark.

The departure of Grover for a circumspect 54, brought the busy Anslow (25) to the crease as he and skipper Hameed (20) looked to up the tempo. It was now Thatcham that began to look laboured as they struggled to control the late burst of runs. Occasional seamer Stephen Bartholomew (2-54) battled manfully, but with Thatcham short of options, Aldershot fought their way to 210, a significant 40 or so runs more than Thatcham would have realistically hoped for given their promising start.

If Thatcham were disappointed by Aldershot’s late flurry it didn’t show as openers O’Flynn and Kieran Wood set about their task with gusto. The pair raced to 60 in just 9 dominant overs but a severe bout of cramp forced Wood off the field and although replacement Jamie Young started confidently, Wood’s departure unquestionably lifted Aldershot’s spirits.

As the home side rallied, Thatcham capitulated, losing 4 wickets for just 15 runs inside 8 disastrous overs. The wicket of O’Flynn (35) was pivotal, brilliantly stumped by the impressive Collins as the balance of power shifted firmly in the home side’s favour.

But Thatcham weren’t going to go down without a fight as Gilmour (33), Stephen Bird (14) and Nick Bishop began to rebuild. Despite their efforts, there was still plenty to do when number 10 Chris Bird joined Bishop at the crease with an improbable 33 runs still required. With Bishop taking the senior role, the experienced duo chipped away at the total and when Bishop smashed the returning O’Dwyer for a towering straight 6, Thatcham moved past 200 and now seemed to be in the box seat.

In a final brave roll of the dice, skipper Hameed re-introduced young spinner Ahmed into the attack and when Bird smashed him high over mid-on for what everyone thought to be a crucial maximum the game seemed all but over. But as Thatcham began to celebrate, they were stunned into silence as Faraz, sprinting from long-off stuck out a speculative hand to somehow pouch an unbelievable catch.

Still requiring 9 for victory, Ben Denton-Powell came to the crease and he and Bishop carefully moved onto 209, just two runs from victory. Thatcham still looked set for a remarkable comeback win but Ahmed was to have the final say as he held his nerve to bowl Bishop for 21 and leave a shell shocked Thatcham with little to show for their efforts.

It was particularly hard on Bishop, making his first 1st XI appearance in over 6 years but despite the deflating nature of the defeat, Thatcham can take confidence from a battling performance and will look to bounce back when Beaconsfield visit next week.

Aldershot Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 21w 1b 2lb 
for 9 wickets
28
210 (50.0 overs)		     
R Collins b  Gilmour 6
C Grover ct  Bartholomew 54
S Tilson b  Bird 20
M Lloyd ct  Bartholomew 16
F Abbas Run out  27
A Faraz ct  Bishop 7
D Anslow ct  O'Flynn 25
A Hameed ct  O'Flynn 20
S O'Dwyer Not Out  7
B Gill b  O'Flynn 0
Z Ahmed Not Out  0

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ryan Gilmour10.0243143.004.30
Josh O'Flynn10.0047315.674.70
Nick Bishop10.0131131.003.10
Ben Denton-Powell1.001600.0016.00
Chris Bird10.0217117.001.70
Steve Bartholomew9.0053226.505.89

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 1XI- Saturday Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 32w 2lb 
for 10 wickets
38
209		        
Josh O'Flynn st  Anslow 35 6
Kieran Wood lbw  Hameed 29 4 1
Jamie Young ct  Abbas 11 1
Jack Young Run out  8 2
Tom Mahoney lbw  Anslow 0
Steve Bartholomew ct  Anslow 11 2 1
Ryan Gilmour ct  Gill 33 5 1 1
Stephen Bird ct  O'Dwyer 14 2 1
Nick Bishop b  Ahmed 21 1 1
Chris Bird ct  Ahmed 8
Ben Denton-Powell Not Out  1

Aldershot Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
S O'Dwyer9.0049149.005.44
B Gill7.0040140.005.71
F Abbas6.0225125.004.17
D Anslow10.0242314.004.20
I Ahmed10.0234217.003.40
A Hameed7.0217117.002.43