On Saturday the 1s beat top of the table Kay Plus, easily chasing their target of 155 for 4, Tom Flavell making 52 and Eddie Sykes 46*. The 1s stay 2nd in the table and have another bit game next week against 3rd place West Harrow.

The 2s couldn’t chase Wembley’s 263-9, but gave it a good go, and held on for a losing draw, with 50s to Jarvis Eyre and Joe Gilmour.

The 3s got a losing draw to a typical (and I don’t mean that in a nice way) Indian Gymkhana side. We recovered from 157-7 to post 220 – 50s to Johaan Anaokar-Sorensen and Nick Hewetson. We had them in trouble early but they finished 200-8 (Karthik Shivaram 5-43) and reinforced their reputation as unpleasant opponents. The 3s remain 3rd, 3 points off second.

The 4s played at Wycombe House’s main ground and came away with a win against their 4s. We bowled them out for 146, which we passed for 3, Hasseb Shahid sealing the win – and reaching his 50 – with a big six. They stay 2nd.

In the same division, the 5s lost to Twickenham 4s at Chiswick House. We made 72 on a minefield, but could and maybe should have still won, Twickenham only getting them for 6, with the outstanding moment of the game an unbelievable full-length diving catch by Tom Pate at mid-on. The 5s go bottom – but the game also demonstrates our desperate need for funds to re-lay the entire Chiswick House square this August. Please donate if you can (see below).

The 6s lost at Teddington, making 111 and they got them comfortably. But on Sunday the MDL side took a terrific win away from Teddington, who we have never beaten in this competition. They made a decent 230 in 40 overs, but we hunted them down with a brilliant team chase, to win by 7 wickets. There were 50s to skipper Zach Fry, and juniors Miles Dyson and Constantine Nur Shah. A fantastic effort.

The away side lost at Prestcold, with Jon ‘Gently’ Bentley top-scoring with 22. Gently Bentley last played for us in 2009, when he also top-scored. Welcome back Jon.

The women hosted a softball tournament at HQ, welcoming Shepherd's Bush, Wembley, Harrow, Kew and Actonians to the club. It was a great afternoon, and massive thanks to Boris Pomroy, Pete Forth, Cormac Forth, Johaan Anaokar-Sorensen, Joel Copp-Barton and Jim Yorath (plus Amy from Shepherd’s Bush) for helping with umpiring and scoring. That is much appreciated, many thanks, and well done to all the players.

On Thursday the men’s T20 side secured a convincing win over Actonians, making 178 (Matthew Long 66, Ryan Davies 50) and rolled Actonians for 91, Ben Hurtig-Isaac taking a brilliant 3-9.

We had a decent week in the juniors. On Wednesday the U15s lost to Ealing, but put up a very decent performance. Ealing made 168 but we got close with 140-8, Miles Dyson making a powerful 50 (retired). On Friday the U17s beat Brentham, chasing their 122 for just 1, Lewin Husband leading the way with 56*. And on Sunday, the U12 Girls beat Sheen Park in a friendly and competitive game. Well played all the juniors!

Tour is looming and we need more people to commit. The schedule is:
Monday July 28 Sth Devon CC
Tuesday July 29 Paignton CC
Wednesday July 30 Ottery St Mary CC
Thursday July 31 Exeter CC

Deposits are now payable – queries and bookings to Mad Dog asap, please.

On the fundraising front, I’m delighted to say we are closing in on the £2.5k landmark, which will be more than £3k including Gift Aid. But there is still a long way to go – and we really need to fix Chiswick House, which will be of benefit to the whole club, and wider community. Please dig into your pockets if you possibly can and donate here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/chiswick-cricket-club-fundraising#start

Next week marks the halfway point in the league calendar, with lots of juicy fixtures looming. Get your availabilities in ahead of selection next week – and let’s get another batch of wins.

Bernard