Simon Stanway and Mo Choudhry moved the ball around beating the bat consistently and were very economical in their opening spell as the hosts was restricted to 37-4 in the opening 21 overs in the game.

Stanway made the early breakthrough in the sixth over with Chloe Hill taking a diving catch behind the stumps. The second came in the 10th over followed by a third in the 12th both taken by Choudhry before Stanway took his second in the 21st over.

By lunch Horspath had reached 84-4 and a recovery was underway with the key partnership of 78 between Daryll Brown and Tom Cosford advancing their total to 120 before the fifth wicket fell. This was well supported by a couple of crucial late partnerships as the Horspath reached 228-8 from their 64 overs.

In pursuit of the chase, the new opening pair of AJ Woodland (pictured) and David Burnell (pictured) got off to an excellent start, easily the best in the last few years as they put on 120 before Woodland was out caught off the bowling of Lloyd Belcher for 54. The old cliché of one brings two rang true as 3 runs later Burnell fell LBW for 55 also off Belcher.

A collapse followed with the next three partnerships only producing a total of 12 runs as we lost the wickets of Steve Clark, Charlie Macdonell and captin Gumb. Next to fall was Sheridon Gumbs LBW after a partnership of 11 and then Rory Criddle after he too had added 11 with Michael Payne.

With the bulk of the batters gone, a draw was now the preferred outcome for TPCC and Payne found a partner in Choudhry to bat out the last 11 overs as our innings closed on 184-7 with the match drawn. After a couple of weeks away, the First Team return to London Road and host leaders Henley this weekend.

SECOND TEAM HANG ON FOR A DRAW

Kidmore End posted a relatively modest 217 for 6 in their 52 overs as the Second Team attack contained the scoring rate. Paul Orton was the best of the bowlers conceding just 2½ runs an over and picking up the wicket of opener Zac Leonard caught at square leg by Will Darraugh. There were also wickets for Tom Weymes and Sanjoy Bassi and two for Toby Wastling.

With a strong batting line up there was no concern about scoring 218 in 48 overs for victory. And in the ninth over at 49 for no wicket everything was going to plan. But by the end of the thirteenth over there was a very different complexion as the score had slumped to 51 for 4. Opener Solly Woodall was still there and was joined by Toby Wastling. They set about a recovery scoring just 12 runs in seven overs but then upping the rate to score 91 in the next 18.

They put on 102 together and with a scoring rate of just over a run a ball needed for the last ten overs, a Tring Park win looked on with wickets in hand. But Woodall was out for 50, soon followed by Will Darraugh whose short innings did include a full toss being deposited well into the car park. Toby Wastling followed for 59 in the next over and it was decided to play out for a draw. But this was completed in an odd manner.

Initially, as you would expect, there was no attempt to play shots. But then we had three fours and two sixes as extravagant shots were played and, more importantly, the loss of three wickets. This resulted in number eleven Nick Grant having to block the final ball to complete the draw by the slenderest of margins.

WALE & GRINHAM STAR IN HIGH SCORING DRAW

The Third Team fell 20 runs short of pulling off an excellent chase against Hayes last weekend. Chasing 277, the Third team were the only team out of the two that a had a chance of securing victory as all their batsmen contributed in a difficult chase. Nick Wale anchored the innings with a beautifully compiled 80 while the rest of the top six chipped in, but unfortunately they just fell short and had to settle for a draw.

Chris Curry won the toss and chose to bat in overcast and muggy conditions which looked to suit his new ball attack of James Gurnett and Tom Darling. The pair beat the bat on numerous occasions, but the excellent wicket allowed the Hayes openers Singh and Mughal to punish the bad ball and get full reward for their shots. With the opening partnership at 132, experienced medium pacer Ian Rildey dismissed Mughal LBW for 56 and only five runs later he dismissed his opening partner Singh for 63.

With two new batsmen at the crease, Ridley and young leg spinner Harry Grinham slowed the Hayes scoring rate with disciplined display with the ball. Grinham who has bowled some excellent spells for our adult teams in his debut year with the seniors, bowled his best spell to date bamboozling the Hayes middle order. Grinham picked up 4-78 with pick of his wickets, a wrong-un which trapped Rajinder Singh LBW.

Hayes fought back but with Grinham and the returning Sam Shearman chipping away with crucial wickets as the Third Team kept the visitors under 300 which after the start looked a formality. A late charge by James Gurnett saw him pick up wickets in successive deliveries as Hayes were bowled out for 277.

Ant McCormack and the returning Shearman started positively as the Third Team looked to chase the total down. Shearman playing his first game for the club in four years, looked like he had never been away as he scored a rapid 33 before being bowled by Safi. Shearman ended up staying on the field to act as a runner after McCormack suffered a hamstring injury. The injury restricted McCormack’s running, but it didn’t effect his batting as he continued where he finished against Taplow as he drove the ball impressively down the ground, and it was a shock when he was dismissed for 36.

Nick Wale batting at three, laid down an anchor and held the innings together as Alan Shepherd and then Chris Curry played aggressively at the other end. Wale batted beautifully, driving the seamers and sweeping the spinners as he brought up his first half century for the Third Team. Curry was dismissed with 98 required which brought James Wheeler to the crease to join Wale as the runs required approached nine runs an over. The pair put on 50 with a balance of powerful boundaries and hard running between the wickets, but they struggled to consistently score 10+ runs in an over.

With the run rate raising, Wale was dismissed for a well made 80 and the chances for the Third Team pulling off an unlikely win went with him. The Third Team kept on fighting but eventually finished on 258 which was 20 runs short of victory.

RUN FEST IN THE FOURS

The Fourth Team travelled to Harefield, and captain Andy Grout lost the toss and were sent into field. A very small field to be honest and with a rock hard outfield it looked like it would be hard to contain the batsmen.

This proved very true , the ball flew to the boundary ,sometimes over it and Harefield racked up 300-9 declaring after 46 overs. A few dropped catches didn't help our cause . Nick Wake took two awesome grabs at slip, Krishna Mohan was by far the pick of the bowlers with 5-29 and Freddie Newman on his debut bowled well.

Normally chasing 300 is out of the question but we quietly fancied giving it a go. We lost two early wickets but Nick Wake with 83 and Jim Turner with 76 kept us ahead of the rate and in with every chance . Both were excellent and at 210-4 needing 90 off 14 we had every chance.

Sadly wickets fell and blocking for the draw was our last resort. Going into the last over we looked safe but the captain got himself out leaving young Freddie two balls to face. He survived and we ended up on 266-9. A valiant effort and an honourable draw.

FIRST TEAM BEATEN ON FINALS DAY

On a day where England won their first Cricket World Cup final, the First Team also played in the HCPCL T20 finals. This was played at Amersham where our opponents Henley batted first and posted 172.

Our response saw some hard hitting from David Burnell who score 49 and well supported by Jack Rodnight (42) and Solly Woodall (23) putting up a good fight as the First Team finished on 164-7, eight runs short of the target. With some key players missing, this was a real challenge and excellent result for the relatively young team that we put out.