Whitchurch-on-Thames Cricket Club

Mike Butt, who died peacefully aged 82 on 11th May 2023, was captain of Whitchurch Cricket Club for many years. When he gave up playing cricket he became the scorer and groundsman, cutting, seeding and watering the pitch.  Mike moved to Whitchurch Hill with his family in 1973 and on Day 1 he drove down to the cricket ground to find the current cricket captain to ask about a game! Mike worked for nearly 30 years at South Oxfordshire District Council as Chief Planning Officer, moving on to be Deputy Chief Executive prior to his retirement. He will be remembered by a memorial bench, inscribed with his name, on the ground he loved best, Whitchurch Cricket Ground. Mike's Family

  Wow a match without fisticuffs! A beautiful sunny 25 degree day and a very hard and quick wicket greeted the teams. It took a nano-second for WCC skipper to decide to bat when he won the toss. It was a bit of a slow start but when a half volley presented itself Scooby let rip and was caught in the covers one handed - great catch and very unlucky Scooby. The innings progressed and the scoring rate increased and a great knock of 94 by Nick Hill acted as the backbone of the innings supported by aggressive cameos by Francis and Callum who was playing his first game for the club. Whitchurch ended at 239 -9 off 35 overs.   The Farley Hill response was aggressive from the start and the game looked as if it was slipping away but a great catch from Lyn on the boundary quietened, their aggressive intent and the game turned once again Whitchurch's way. They slowly rebuilt and whilst a few wickets fell they had the chance to rebuild between dismissals. Farley Hill needed 10 from the...

  So, for a second week in a row, we nearly came to blows! A feisty competitive encounter where WCC won the toss and batted first on a hard wicket. Good knocks by Woody, Andy M and Cormac saw WCC to 168 all out. Whereas last week we had a very quick bowler the likes of which we hadn’t seen for years at WCC - this week he was usurped by someone even quicker!   and it was this bowler who got into the altercation with Woody when he bowled him a very quick bouncer that Woody was able to deflect away from his chin with his gloves - this was close! and led to Woody putting   a helmet on! (Not many bowlers have done that!) The ensuing situation led to handbags at 10 paces with their slip and Cormac ( who was umpire) trading niceties!   They had a good bowling side and on a very good wicket with the ball coming on we always reckoned we were 30 runs short. The Reading reply started quickly 1 opener acted as an anchor whereas their other opener ( first team league player f...

  A feisty encounter with an oppo which was a last min stand in for Wokingham who pulled out earlier in the week. Overcast conditions became full sun as the afternoon wore on and West London won the toss and batted on what was a slightly damp wicket at the start of the game. Really good bowling by Andy H ( playing first game of the season), Grogie, Tommo( v quick today) Francis, Lyn and Anand. The absolute highlight however was 3 catches by Eagle Morrell ( 2 of them one handed plucks from balls hit hard) were outstanding - well done eagle. One other moment of note was Tommo ( my head hurts) again having a ball go through his hands and hit him on the same cheek bone as last year skier that did the same thing! Unlick Tommo - hope the op goes well on Thursday mate. In the end we bowled west London out for 147 in the 35th over. WCC reply got off to a good start with Scooby and Woody scoring well and putting on 70 or so for the opening stand - there was there after a steady fall of wick...

  Sun with clouds, and a brand new strip was the setting for the second meeting of Whitchurch Vs. Pangbourne in 2021. Having won the previous encounter Whitchurch had a title to defend in the local derby. Losing the toss and being put in to bat proved beneficial to the cause with Woody scoring 100 (retired) , Nick Hill 88* and Matt Gingell a sturdy 11. In total, Whitchurch scored 259 for 2 after their 35 overs. Pangbourne’s reply was pinned back with some excellent bowling from Tommo and Johnny Gingell in the beginning followed by Gabriel Neeson who bowled an *excellent* 7 overs, 1 (wicket) maiden, 24 runs with 3 wickets. Other notable mentions go to Lyn with 3 overs, 2 maidens, 1 run for 2 wickets, and Jonathan ‘The Eagle’ Morell who, in bowling his first overs for the club, took a wicket. Overall, with a stumping, a run out by Tom Chapman, and catches by Scooby and Cormac, Whitchurch fielded superbly, backed their bowlers, and finished with a win after Pangbourne mustered only ~1...

  Rain never felt far away, however as in previous weeks the sun gods were looking after us and it was dry and sunny as the game went on   Whitchurch batted first on a wet wicket that resembled an unrolled outfield! Good knocks by Sid and a 50 from Scooby saw Whitchurch to 147 for 6 from the 35 overs on a wicket that played only slight better than the afore mentioned description  Crazies hill reply was reasonably solid and when they lost wickets, they did not lose them in 2s but consolidated each time and this meant they were always in the game even when slightly behind the run rate WCC bowled well - Francis and Tommo in particular were hard to get away but we didn’t have the best day in the field dropping several catches, the exception being Dave Hartley pouching a skyer -well done Dave - good catch that! In the final over all 3 results were possible but their batter who got 50 saw them through off the penultimate ball of the innings with 2 wickets  left...