Whitchurch-on-Thames Cricket Club

  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...

  Little Marlow chose to bat on a humid day that always threatened thunderstorms, but they never materialized. Little Marlow lost early wickets and were tied down by Grogie, Nick Hill and Cormac who all bowled well. Highlights were Woody’s almost salmon like caught and bowled, eagles catch and Dave Hartley pouching a skyer. The WCC fielding was also characterized by 2 injuries to bowlers in the same over which meant that 3 people bowled 1 over which was a maiden- I’ve never seen that before! Little Marlow finally got to 123 all out off 34 . 3 overs The Whitchurch reply was characterized by some classy blows by Woody and Nick Hill and we were flying along when Woody got out to a reverse sweep ( captains orders keep playing it Woody) we lost a few more wickets and it looked as if little Marlow had a chance but Ronnie and Grogie steadied the ship and got home winning by 4 wickets with 10 overs to spare. Good fielding/ bowling performance today by WCC and we had a very nice beer ...

  For two teams that usually meet much later in the year, blue skies and temperatures of up to 31 degrees were a welcome, if not slightly too warm, change of pace. Whitchurch won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that looked hard and had some cracks in places.  An opening partnership of 70+ from Woody (57) and Scooby (28) set the batting in a good stead. However, Regals rallied, with some excellent fielding and catching, as well as their opening quick returning to take his first ever hat-trick. As a result, Whitchurch were restricted to 182 all out from their 35 overs after looking to be on for 200+. Notable innings were had by Tommo, Lyn, and Gabriel who scored his first runs for the club!    After melted cheese sandwiches, and equally liquefied Tunnock’s chocolate bars, Whitchurch took the field. The pressure was on Regals from the outset as Waqar and Francis took a wicket each early on. Despite the best efforts of their number 6 bat who scored 43*, ...