Rain, Rain go away.

NPL Teddington 83 (Edge 31-6)
Windsor 86-3 (Eggenhuizen 30*, R.E. Noble 15*)

A captain’s spell to remember and looming rain clouds to defeat were the highlights of Windsors game on Saturday as NPL Teddington were on the receiving end of a dominant display of Cricket by Windsor at the Home Park.

After winning the toss NPL decided to bat and could not have got off to a worse start as after 3 balls Chris Edge has taken Singh’s off stump out of the ground to put them immediately on the back foot. After 4 overs Alex Hill joined the party to remove Gallifent but 3 wickets in 10 balls from Edge put Windsor into the ascendancy as NPL had no answer to the onslaught and were punch drunk at 18-5 after 13 overs. NPL captain Ben Wollant proved that there were no snakes in the pitch playing a patient and correct innings but by now the damage was done. Oliver Birch replaced Hill and in his second game of the season managed to make the same mistake of bowling a batsman off a no-ball however once he had removed Wooster for 36 and sharp cricket saw Saif run out NPL had disintegrated all out for 83 in the 34^th over, Chris Edge returning 17-7-31-6.

Due to the early finish Windsor had to negotiate 15 overs before the tea break however only 7 were possible as the first spell of rain brought the players in for an early(ish) tea with the loss of Noble the only negative blot on the batting order. The covers came off after tea and NPL immediately made inroads with Wing caught well at point off the 2^nd ball to see Windsor at 23-2 before the real rain set in and the players ran for cover. Had Windsor not reduced NPL to such a low total an abandonment with no chance of a result would have been a real possibility and thanks to sterling work from the Windsor fielders who were in no mood to let this result slip and to be fair to a sporting NPL team who were willing to continue when many others would have looked doubtful at just after 6 o’clock with parts of the square resembling a carpenters workshop floor it was that full of sawdust some uncomplicated hitting from Stephen Eggenhuizen at one end and some more watchful batting from Richard Noble at the other saw Windsor home in the 17^th over, some twenty minutes before another prolonged downpour would have finished the game off for good.

Windsor now open up a slight gap at the top from neighbours Slough and look to build upon it as they face Marlow Park next week.