Windsor 2’s 165 for 9; 52 Overs
Chesham 2’s 167 for 5; 42 Overs (M. Asif 74*)
With a return to Home Park after a fruitful away day at Ruislip the week before, Windsor 2’s welcomed Chesham 2’s in their Thames Valley Cricket League match on Saturday. Upon winning the toss, Windsor chose to bat on what looked to be a good wicket.
Windsor’s inning began in disastrous fashion as after a brief cameo from Jordan, Windsor found themselves 18 for 3 and then 40 for 4 within in the first 15 overs. With 3 of the top 4 removed lbw, Windsor were backs against the wall as Charters and Thompson looked to rebuild the innings. They managed to rebuild to some degree, until Thompson fell with the score on 95. With Charters departing shortly after for a well crafted 46, Windsor were again in deep trouble. Only another belligerent knock from Care saw Winsdor to a respectable score of 165 for 9 off 52 overs. Care was not out at the close on 39. Rance was the pick of the Chesham bowlers with 4 wickets.
Chesham’s reply started slowly as Hill and Chambers exerted pressure on the openers. When Chambers removed the first wicket to a fine low slip catch by Davis, Winsdor felt that they had a chance to pull back into the match. Asif rebuilt for Chesham, but another slip catch from Davis of Awan, created further inroads. Rance joined Asif and began to build what became a match winning partnership. Windsor continued to come close with a number of close lbw shouts, but it wasn’t until the score passed 100 did they strike again, with Kellard finding the edge for a third slip catch. Two further quick wickets raised Windsor’s hopes greatly, but whilst Kellard toiled at one end, Chesham found ways to create runs from the other and continued to edge closer to the total. A final flourish of catches that fell short symbolised Windsor’s day as Chesham cruised to a 5 wicket victory. Skipper Asif was the fulcrum of the Chesham innings as his 74 not out saw his side home.
It was bitter loss for Windsor due to the nature of the loss, especially with some good bowling having created a chance to pull off a win in the latter stages. However, with a long season still ahead and an 8 point lead at the top of Division 4A, Windsor would need to learn quickly to return to their promotion push.