Whitchurch-on-Thames Cricket Club

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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...

  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*, ...

 

 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...

  The weather gods were shining on us as the summer anticyclones arrived on schedule and sunny blue skies and 24 degrees welcomed Jack Frost to our first home game of the season On Thursday night the square was still soaking wet, but 3 days of warm sunny weather dried it enough but made the track a bit tricky for Whitchurch who batted first. Good knocks from Andrew Mutepfa 68no, Nick Hill 43no and Francis 29, enabled Whitchurch to get to 179 which was a good score bearing in mind the wicket and their spin bowlers who turned it square. Jack Frost reply stuttered, and they lost early wickets their opener was dropped at the wicket off Grogie 3rd ball of the innings and that was to prove expensive ( more on that later). Tommo bowled well 3 -fer as did Lyn and Grogie but their middle order accumulated runs with the opener acting as anchor. The wicket had by now dried out and was playing a lot better and was coming on more and the opener went on to score a ton. Jack Frost got home by 3 w...