Whitchurch-on-Thames Cricket Club

 

 Except for Tour this must be the furthest we travel for an away game 45 mins away on the other side of High Wycombe. An exceptionally nice ground. The weather forecast was poor and dark overcast but humid conditions prevailed throughout the game and there was always the threat of rain/thunder- WCC thought the ball would swing but it did much more off the seam on a used, greenish but hard track. Luckily, the rain stayed away and Widmer batted first and were pegged back by the accurate Whitchurch attack of Tommo, Grogie, Lyn, Nick Hill, and Francis. They were pegged back so much ( but without losing too many wickets) that Whitchurch had to open the game a little towards the end of the innings to give Widmer a total to defend. This is where Woody’s "ball of the century" came in. He swopped wicketkeeping duties with Ronnie and bowled a spinning ball that moved a foot and bowled the batter through the gate WUNDERBAR ( not a comment about England going to get beaten by Germany at...

 A confirmed 10 man Whitchurch CC arrived to a home ground that had definitely seen some over night rain. However, thanks to the incredible efforts of Jon and Lissie, the pitch that presented itself, whilst muddy on the surface, had a true bounce and played very well.  Whitchurch confirmed their 11th man, Aaron Xavier, moments before going out to bat first after losing the toss. The main mention goes, unsurprisingly, to Woody who scored a delicious 147 out of the 254 total. He was amply supported by Jon Steward who scored a quick fire 21 at the top of the order, and Waqar who lost many a ball in his pursuit of a unbeaten 36 at the end. As wickets fell around the stand outs, Whitchurch finished on 254 for 9 from 35 overs.  Checkendon's reply was off to a rocky start as their opener was dismissed by Jon Steward who took a beautiful slip catch (deflected off Woody's thigh) in the 2nd over. After this, wickets feel regularly. Waqar with a 3-fer, Frankie taking 2, Ronnie and A...

  A fantastic day weather-wise and 28 degrees greeted the visitors Sonning Common to WCC. First use of a hard good track ( well done Jon S) was the prize to the winners of the toss and WCC duly obliged and made hay while the sun shone! Great knock of 96 by Woody supported by Nick L and Nick H and a great cameo of 55 by Tommo brought us to 236/9 off 35 overs. The Sonning reply started quickly with numerous boundaries being scored off the first 2 overs. The bowlers hauled things back however and the regular loss of wickets meant that Sonning were never in the game. Good bowling by Francis, Nick H and Nick L( who took a 3fer) held the reply in check. Sonning were eventually bowled out for 146 with WCC winning by 90 runs.   Highlights of the game was Nick L's caught and bowled ( hit like an Exocet missile - juggled it then pouched it)- Woody's knock of 96 ( including a great reverse sweep for 4) NB Cormac is the only other person to try that shot this year!!! Plus the wonderful we...

  A nice day presented itself as high pressure built over the south of England. The beautiful Pangbourne college was the venue as we were hosted by Pangbourne - The local Derby - we needed to win coming off a couple of v closes losses at Farley Hill and Jack Frost. Whitchurch batted first on a greenish track and after some early wickets the middle order steadied the innings with stylish 50's coming from Sid and Nick H and an exciting cameo from Francis at the end with 23. The innings closed at 185-8 off 35 overs. The Pangbourne reply was up with the required rate until about the 15th over, but the steady fall of wickets meant they fell behind soon after and then almost ground to a halt. Really good tight bowling and fielding performance today by everyone - special mention to Sid who took 3 slip catches and Grogie who took a rocket C&B chance off his own bowling . Well done Jon Morell in his first game proper who fielded fantastically. A really good performance today - as I have...