Tring Park 2nd XI move to top of table

Tring Park 2nd XI moved to the top of the league table with a fourth win of the season. But Chenies & Latimer proved to be the stiffest opposition encountered so far; they were the first team to score in excess of 200 runs against Tring Park and the first to take more than five wickets.

Tring Park won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the visitors to bat, feeling confident that they could chase down any target set.

But in a fluctuating game, the outcome was in by no means certain until a few overs before the end. Tring Park had the best of the first ten overs as opening bowlers Paul Orton and Dan Boniface reduced Chenies to 38 for 3. There was then a recovery thanks to Andrew Chapman’s 85 not out and Chris May’s 34. They took the score to 148 for 5 from 32 overs and a total of 250 looked likely. Usman Khan then joined Toby Wastling in the bowling attack. They both pegged back the scoring rate as just 33 runs were scored from the next ten overs. Wastling then made the vital breakthrough when he bowled May. Khan took wickets with consecutive balls of the fiftieth over and Wastling wrapped things up with the second ball of the next.

With 218 needed for victory in 49 overs the solid start needed wasn’t forthcoming as both openers were back in the pavilion with only 11 on the board. But Ricci Trenti was then at the wicket and with Dan Plumeridge he put on 76 for the fourth wicket. Trenti played the more aggressive role with an array of shots including the excellently executed paddle to fine leg. When both were out within an over of each other with the score on 132 the game swung back in Chenies’ direction and when it was 170 for 6 and 48 still needed at a run a ball, the game could still have gone either way. Wastling was on 27 and was joined by Tom Calder who was playing his first 2nd XI league game. Calder kept the scoreboard ticking with a 22 ball 20 while Wastling scored 20 from his last twelve balls to see Tring Park home with an over and a half to spare.