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2023 Season
April 30th Staplefield v TWCC - Wetted off
May 7th Streat & Westmeston CC v TWCC
May 14th TWCC v Greys
May 21st Partridge Green CC v TWCC
May 28th Bolney CC v TWCC
June 4th TWCC v Balcombe CC
June 11th TWCC v Xiles
June 18th TWCC v London Unity
June 25th TWCC v Cutters Choice
July 2nd Henfield CC v TWCC
July 9th Horsted Keynes CC v TWCC
July 16th TWCC v Horley CC
July 23rd TWCC v St James Montefiore
July 30th TWCC v Horsted Keynes CC
August 6th Brighton Crescent v TWCC
August 13th Headliners v TWCC
August 17th to 20th Tour
August 27th Eastbourne Martletts v TWCC
September 3rd Ditchling Sunday XI v TWCC
September 10th Loxwood Sunday XI v TWCC
September 17th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 24th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
October 1st TWCC v Zambucca Tigers

2022 Season
April 24th Staplefield v TWCC
May 1st Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 8th TWCC v Greys CC
May 15th Lindfield v TWCC - Rained off
May 22nd Horsted Keynes v TWCC
May 29th TWCC v Balcombe CC
June 2nd TWCC V Locksbottom CC T20
June 5th TWCC v Xiles
June 12th TWCC v London Unity
June 19th TWCC v Jevington CC
June 26th Henfield CC v TWCC
July 3rd Balcombe CC v TWCC
July 10th TWCC v Burgess Hill Sunday XI
July 17th Cuckfield CC v TWCC
July 24th TWCC v Cutters Choice - Cancelled
July 31st St James Montefiore CC v TWCC
August 7th TWCC v Headliners
August 14th TWCC v Cutters Choice
August 21st TWCC v Horley CC
September 4th Crescent CC v TWCC
September 11th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 19th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston CC
September 25th TWCC v Brighton Beamers

2021 Season
April 25th Staplefield v TWCC
May 2nd Streat and Westmeston CC v TWCC - Match abandoned
May 9th TWCC v The Mighty Greys
May 16th Lindfield CC v TWCC - Rained off
May 23rd TWCC v Bolney CC
May 30th Headliners v TWCC
June 6th TWCC v Xiles
June 13th TWCC v London Unity
June 20th TWCC v Lindfield
June 27th Henfield v TWCC Abandoned (early)
July 4th TWCC v Balcombe CC Rained off
July 16th Hurstpierpoint v TWCC 20:20
July 18th Cuckfield CC v TWCC
August 1st St. James' Montefiore CC v TWCC
August 8th TWCC v Zambucca Tigers - Rained off
August 15th Pavilion TWCC v Warninglid - and Pavilion opening
August 22nd Parham CC v TWCC
August 29th Ditchling CC v TWCC
September 5th TWCC v Staplefield CC
September 12th Bolney CC v TWCC
September 19th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston - Match abandoned
September 26th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
Captain's Review

2020 Season
July 12th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
July 19th Crescent CC v TWCC
July 26th Cutter's Choice v TWCC
August 2nd Hadlow Down and Moulsecombe Wanderers CC v TWCC
August 9th Warninglid CC v TWCC
August 16th Balcombe v TWCC
August 23rd TWCC v Parham CC
August 30th Ditchling CC v TWCC
September 6th TWCC v Staplefield
September 13th Bolney CC v TWCC
September 20th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 27th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
Captain's Review

2019 Season
April 30th TWCC v Wisley CC
May 5th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 12th TWCC v Greys
May 19th Lindfield v TWCC
May 26th TWCC v Westbourne CC
June 2nd TWCC v Southwick CC
June 9th TWCC v Xiles
June 16th TWCC v London Unity
June 23rd Jevington CC v TWCC Cancelled - arson!
June 27th-30th Tour - Wimborne
July 14th Staplefield v TWCC - Cancelled
July 21st TWCC v Billingshurst - Cancelled, no team (50 over World Cup)
July 28th TWCC Single Wicket Competition
August 4th TWCC v Cutter's Choice Cricket Club
August 11th TWCC v Warninglid CC
August 25th TWCC v Sunday Seconds CC
September 1st Crescent CC v TWCC
September 8th Staplefield v TWCC
September 15th TWCC v Bolney - Cancelled
September 22nd TWCC v Streat and Westmeston

 2018 Season
April 29th TWCC v Wisley - Match cancelled
May 6th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 13th TWCC v Greys
May 20th Lindfield v TWCC
May 27th Bolney CC v TWCC
June 3rd Jevington CC v TWCC
June 10th Xiles v TWCC
June 17th TWCC v London Unity
June 28th - July 1st TWCC Tour to Wimborne Minster
July 22nd Headliners v TWCC
July 15th TWCC v Staplefield - Match cancelled
August 26th TWCC v Warninglid - Match cancelled
September 2nd Crescent CC v TWCC
September 9th Parham CC v TWCC
September 16th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 23rd TWCC v Streat and Westmeston Match cancelled - rained off
September 30th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
2018 Captain's Report

2017 Season
April 30th TWCC v Wisley CC
May 7th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 14th TWCC v Greys
May 21st Lindfield CC v TWCC
May 28th Bolney CC v TWCC
June 4th Parham CC v TWCC
June 11th TWCC v Xiles
June 18th TWCC v London Unity
June 25th West Chiltington & Thakenham CC v TWCC
June 30th - July 2nd Tour to Oxfordshire
July 16th TWCC v Staplefield
July 23rd Warnham CC v TWCC No match, no opposition
August 12th Steve Rogers Memorial Game
August 20th TWCC v Rottingdean No match, not sure why
August 27th Nuthurst v TWCC
September 3rd Crescent CC v TWCC
September 10th Ashurst v TWCC
September 17th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 24th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
In Praise of Old Scorebooks - Richard on finding buried treasure
Season Review

2016 Season
April 24th TWCC v Partridge Green (no play due to several circumstances principally a lack of PG players)
May 1st Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 8th TWCC v Greys
May 15th Lindfield v TWCC
May 22nd Bolney v TWCC
May 29th Parham CC v TWCC - Called off
June 5th West Chiltington v TWCC
June 12th TWCC v Rottingdean
June 19th TWCC v Malayalee
July 1st to 3rd Tour!
July 10th Staplefield v TWCC - Called off
July 17th TWCC v Wisley
July 24th Henfield v TWCC - Called off 
July 31st Partridge Green v - Called off
August 7th TWCC v Xiles - Called off; no Xiles present
August 14th Warnham CC v TWCC - Called off, not by us!
August 21st Warninglid CC v TWCC
August 28th Crescent CC v TWCC
September 4th Ashurst v TWCC
September 11th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 18th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 25th TWCC v Brighton Beamers

2015 Season
April 26th Brunswick Village v TWCC
May 3rd Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 10th TWCC v Greys
May 17th Swans (Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC)
May 24th Bolney CC v TWCC
May 31st Parham CC v TWCC (Rained off)
June 7th West Chiltington v TWCC
June 14th TWCC v London Unity
June 21st TWCC v Headliners
July 3rd-5th Tour - Bournemouth
July 12th TWCC v Staplefield
July 19th TWCC v Wisley CC
August 9th TWCC v Xiles
August 16th Warnham CC v TWCC
August 23rd TWCC v Streat and Westmeston CC
August 30th Crescent CC v TWCC
September 6th TWCC v Ashurst
September 13th TWCC v Bolney - Teamed off (us)
September 20th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston - Teamed off (us)
September 27th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
2015 Review - Richard Brock TWCC Captain

2014 Season
April 27th Brunswick Village v TWCC - Match Teamed Off
May 4th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 11th TWCC v Greys
May 18th TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
May 25th Bolney v TWCC
June 1st Parham CC v TWCC 
June 8th TWCC v Twineham School 20:20 Good game, good fun, ran out of Harveys.
June 15th TWCC v London Unity
June 22nd TWCC v Headliners
July 13th Staplefield v TWCC
July 20th TWCC v Wisley
July 27th Henfield v TWCC
August 3rd Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC Teamed off (not us!)
August 10th TWCC v Xiles
August 17th Warnham CC v TWCC Teamed off (them)
August 24th TWCC v Warninglid Teamed off (them)
August 24th TWCC v Henfield
August 31st Crescent CC v TWCC
September 7th Ashurst v TWCC Teamed off (them)
September 14th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 21st TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 28th TWCC v Brighton Beamers Cancelled due to low numbers

2013 Season
April 28th TWCC v Brunswick Village
May 5th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 12th TWCC v Greys Rained Off/Teamed Off
May 19th TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
May 26th Bolney v TWCC
June 2nd Parham CC v TWCC
June 16th TWCC v London Unity
June 23rd TWCC v Headliners
June 30th Poynings v TWCC
July 5th - 7th Tour
July 14th TWCC v Staplefield
July 21st TWCC v Wisley
July 28th TWCC v Henfield
August 4th Warnham v TWCC
August 11th Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC Rained Off/Teamed Off
August 18th Partridge Green v TWCC
Rained Off/Teamed Off
August 25th TWCC v Warninglid
September 1st Crescent v TWCC No Data, Rained Off or Cancelled
September 8th Ashurst v TWCC 
No Data, Rained Off or Cancelled
September 15th TWCC v Bolney No Data, Rained Off or Cancelled
September 22nd TWCC v Streat & Westmeston No Data, Rained Off or Cancelled
September 29th TWCC v Brighton Beamers No Data, Rained Off or Cancelled

2012 Season
April 29th Brunswick Village v TWCC Rained Off
May 6th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC Rained Off
May TWCC v Greys Rained Off
May 20th TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
May 27th Bolney CC v TWCC
June 3rd Parham Park v TWCC
June 10th TWCC v Xiles
June 17th TWCC v London Unity Rained Off
June 24th TWCC v Headliners Cancelled
July 1st Henfield v TWCC
July 6th - 8th TWCC Tour

July 15th Staplefield v TWCC Cancelled
July 22nd TWCC v Wisley
July 29th TWCC v Henfield
August 5th Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC
August 26th Warninglid v TWCC
September 2nd TWCC v Crescent
September 9th TWCC v Ashurst
September 16th TWCC v Bolney CC


2011 Season
April 24th TWCC v Brunswick Village
May 1st Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 8th TWCC v Greys
May 15th TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
May 22nd Bolney v TWCC
May 29th TWCC v Xiles
June 5th Parham Park v TWCC
June 12th TWCC v London Unity Rained off.
June 19th TWCC v Headliners
June 26th Poynings v TWCC
July 3rd Wisley v TWCC
July 10th Tintern v TWCC
July 17th TWCC v Staplefield Rained off though the golf was on and lots of people thought it might be nicer to sit indoors watching it rather than get wet which we would have done if we'd played.
July 24th Henfield v TWCC 
July 31st Albourne and Sayers Common
August 7th Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC
August 14th TWCC v Warninglid
August 21st Partridge Green v TWCC
August 28th TWCC v Crescent
September 4th TWCC v Ashurst Rained off
September 11th TWCC v Bolney CC
September 18th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 25th TWCC v Brighton Beamers

2010 Season
April 25th TWCC v Brunswick Village
May 2nd Streat and Westmeston v TWCC rained off
May 9th TWCC v Greys
May 16th TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
May 23rd Bolney CC v TWCC
May 30th Parham Park v TWCC
June 6th TWCC v Xiles
June 13th TWCC v London Unity
June 20th TWCC v Headliners 
June 27th Poynings v TWCC - Poynings called it off because they prefer football to cricket
July 4th TWCC v Preston Park
July 11th Staplefield v TWCC
July 16th - 18th TWCC Tour to Dorset
July 25th TWCC v Henfield - Match cancelled due to shortfall of players. In numbers that is.
August 1st Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC
August 8th Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC
August 15th Warninglid v TWCC
August 29th TWCC v Crescent
September 5th TWCC v East Brighton
September 12th TWCC v Bolney
September 19th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 26th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
October 3rd TWCC v Partridge Green - Match cancelled due to too much weather

2009 Season
April 26th TWCC v Brunswick Village
May 3rd Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 10th TWCC v Greys
May 17th Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC rained off
May 24th Bolney v TWCC
May 31st Ashurst v TWCC
June 14th TWCC v London Unity
June 21st TWCC v Headliners
June 28th TWCC v Poynings
July 5th Wisley v TWCC
July 26th Henfield v TWCC
August 2nd TWCC v X-iles
August 9th TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
August 16th TWCC v Warninglid
September 6th Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC
September 13th TWCC v Bolney
September 20th TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 27th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
October 4th TWCC v Partridge Green
2009 Season Review
2009 Statistics

2008 Season
 April 27th Brunswick Village v TWCC
 May 4th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
 May 11th TWCC v Greys
 May 18th TWCC v Moulscombe Wanderers
 May 25th Bolney v TWCC
 June 1st Ashurst v TWCC
 June 8th Single Wicket Competition
 June 15th TWCC v London Unity
 June 20th to 22nd Tour to Suffolk
 June 29th Poynings v  TWCC
 July 6th TWCC v Wisley
 July 13th Staplefield v TWCC
 July 20th TWCC v Southern Cross and Hornblowers
 July 27th TWCC v Henfield
 August 3rd TWCC v President's XI
 August 10th Moulsecoomb v TWCC
 August 17th Warninglid v TWCC

 2007 Season

 April  29th Brunswick Village v TWCC
 May 6th Streat and Westmeston v TWCC  
 May 20th TWCC v Moulescomb Wanderers  
 June 10th Single Wicket 2007
 July 1st 2007 Twineham and Wineham v. Poynings
 July 22nd Southern Cross and Hornblowers
 July 29th Henfield v TWCC
 August 12th Moulescombe Wanderers v TWCC
 August 19th TWCC v Warninglid
 September 2nd TWCC v Worthing Foresters
 September 9th Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC
 September 30th TWCC v Brighton Beamers
 

 2006 Season
 August 6th TWCC v President's XI
 August 13th Moulescombe Wanderers v TWCC
 August 20th Warninglid v TWCC
 17th September Bolney v TWCC
 24th September TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
 1st October TWCC v Brighton Beamers
 Season Retrospective

 
2004-2006 Season - In Praise of Old Scorebooks
Written by Richard Brock in 2017 - on the occasion of Nigel finally returning a scorebook!

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2023 Season
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Streat & Westmeston CC v TWCC May 7th 2023
After the disappointment of having TWCC's season opener against Staplefield washed out, it was tremendous to receive confirmation that the match at Streat would go ahead, and thanks must go to Colin Mansfield for working away at producing a playable surface. Matt, captain of the day, won the toss and chose to bat first, hoping that the promised brightening of conditions would favour the side bowling later in the day. Paul and Tom F faced up to the bowling of Lea and M Porter and very much took their 2022 form into the new season. There was some swing available to the bowlers, which was commendable given the dampness of the ball, and the outfield was slow, and wet, and so boundaries were few and far between even though the uphill boundary towards the pavilion was close. Nonetheless plenty of eager running and lots of 2's and 3's soon began to get the scoreboard heading upwards, and it reached 52 before Tom was caught at wide mid-off (I think...) for 17 (two 4's) off the pacy bowling of S Lea as the slightly soggy ball just didn't get up over Dutta's head. With such a fine start to the innings TWCC looked well set, and it was the perfect time for Tony to dust off his ambition and set about things. Two singles and he'd seen enough as he cleared his left leg and swung through a good length ball from M Porter and planted it in the far hedge at long-on for 6 (below).
By some great good fortune, the Gazette staff photographer captured this power shot, but failed to press the shutter the very next ball when a clever slower ball from Porter found the toe end of Tony's bat, and Colin Marshall with the gloves jogged backwards to hold onto the skied ball. Tony out for 8 in 7 balls - not much, but all the signs are there. Disappointing though Tony's demise was, TWCC had another Pearce up their sleeve, and Mikey immediately looked like the batsman he is as he and Paul continued to play proper cricket. First change bowlers Colin Marshall and Chris Fullerton, whilst slower through the air than Streat's openers, were offering nothing but a tight line on a good length, but even so the regular scoring continued, with Paul still playing an opener's role to perfection, and Mikey powerfully middling the ball, mostly straight, and, once, finding the hedge for a 6. Next to go, though, was Mikey, with the total on 102, as he was caught by Lea off Fullerton for a characteristically quick 22 (24 balls, one 4, one 6). Another partnership in which Paul participated, the first being of 52 with Tom Firth, the second with Tony for a quick 15, and, then he added a further 35 with Mikey - what more could one ask of a No 1? Eventually, however, a straight ball from Chris Fullerton got through to Paul's stumps, just a ball or two after Mikey was out, and his first innings of the season was done - out for 33 and, with just one 4 and lots of scurrying, it was just the start that he, and TWCC, now with103 on the board, needed to see in their new season. Oh, but before we let him go we mustn't forget Paul's magnificent further and last partnership of 1 with Jim. For Paul it was just another single to his name before he was out, but for Jim it was a cherished shared contribution, which he can now look back on with pride in the context of the rest of his innings. As Paul left, in came Jonathan, a fine player to have come in at 6, and after Jim was run out for a convincing 0, he was joined by Matt, who also didn't get going and was out for 1. Tom Rydon, after a strong 6 off his second ball, also fell to the continued excellent bowling of Colin Marshall. And so TWCC began to drift a bit as, with Ed going for 4, the TWCC effort went from 102 for 2 to 135 for 8 in 10 overs. However, Jonathan was still there, and Henry, in at 10, did what many others had failed to do over the ages as he summed up the mystery that is Stan and survived the experience. Jonathan, meanwhile, was timing the acceleration of his innings to perfection, and he was soon planting sixes over the pavilion (why was Stan bowling to two left-handers from the Downs End?) on his way to a wonderful 53 not out (four 6's, one 4), and he and Henry (9 not out) had, in a ninth wicket partnership of 55, taken the total to 190 for 8 (43 overs).
A lovely tea, complete with, appropriately, coronation chicken sandwiches, was sadly marred by the news that Stan had suffered an injury to one of his fingers when fielding and was taking himself off to hospital. We all wish him a speedy recovery from what must be a difficult injury at the best of times, let alone right at the beginning of a season.
So to Streat's batting reply, and to see how TWCC's speed trio might shake off any Winter stiffness. Ed and Tom R had the first go, and they both settled down very quickly, and the Matt and James Porter opening pair were unable to make many inroads into the TWCC total. The grass had more or less completely dried by this time, and the Sun even came out, so whilst the ball did travel a little faster over the outfield, it was also possible to bring back a little shine to the ball and some movement in the air became available to the bowlers. Ed broke through first, as Matt Porter thick-edged a ball out to Rob at deep-ish wide mid-on who made the chance into a safe catch. Tom R, meanwhile, had started off with two maiden overs, and after 13 overs Streat were on just 38 for 1, but even though runs were not accumulating, neither were TWCC, in spite of the good bowling, making many inroads into the Streat batting order. Rob and Matt came on to bowl, and both found an excellent line and length, and it was Matt who bowled a rising delivery that tempted Colin Mansfield into playing at a shorter ball too close to him that rose up and glanced off his gloves to Jonathan who took an important catch - getting Colin out for 0 can't have happened that often. Streat were 50 for 2, but with 20 overs already bowled it was time to present the batsmen with something different, and Tony and Mikey were the men for the job. Tony bowled a few tempters, but the batters weren't biting, so TWCC were relying on Mikey to offer something more palatable, but he failed completely and, instead, dropped onto a challenging line and length, varying his pace and generally bowling an inspired spell. In his first over Mikey's first victim was Colin Marshall who powered a cover drive low to Jim's right in the covers, whose glasses miraculously passed their first test, and then, the very next ball Mikey's second was the wicket of J Dutta who was served up a yorker-length ball and was out LBW. Hat-trick? In TWCC's first game? Mikey? Didn't happen, but Mikey's first over was a double wicket maiden and TWCC were on their way. Mikey was only supposed to be on for an over or two, but it was impossible to take him off as there were, as advertised, some balls there to hit, but in going for runs the batters had to navigate all the many good balls as well, and whilst both Manger and then Fullerton were scoring some runs, they both felt encouraged enough to run at the ball, miss it and fall victim to the stumping-speed of Jonathan with the gloves. In an unprecedented 10 over spell Mikey finished with 4 for 22. Excellent, and we have to rely on his maturity for him not to go on about it. In the meantime Tom Firth fielding at point had almost caught James Porter off Mikey's bowling, but he quickly turned the situation into a smart run out, and TWCC might well have thought they were on the home straight.
Henry had replaced Matt, who, whilst he did test Jonathan's agility behind the stumps, did also cause a few false shots, one of which was a skied leading edge from the bat of Stuart Lea which needed all of Tom Firth's concentration to grasp as it looped behind him at mid-wicket for a great catch. With Stan no longer being available Streat's No 10 was their last man, but this was none other than Dave Porter, who, with Martin Butcher were Streat's last pair at the wicket, but they are both capable batsmen and in spite of the bowling side's best efforts, including a return over for Tom R, they survived to fend off defeat and the home side's innings closed on 130 for 8 (42 overs).
A good run out (who mentioned run outs?) for both teams, and a good game played in the great spirit that exists between our two clubs. For TWCC it was their first match of the year, and it sets up the prospect of yet another exciting season. Paul and Tom F set the match up very well, and asstd. Pearces at least aired their batting skills. Jonathan's was then really the only significant contribution with the bat, but a very good one it was, and he could well have won the match, but certainly secured the draw, for without his 53 the two sides may well have ended up on more or less the same total. Matt, Tom and Ed made a batting effort in order to pile on the runs, but it was Henry who stayed with Jonathan at the end which allowed some heavy scoring to the short pavilion boundary to get the visitors up to what proved to be an unassailable score.
This was the first game for a long time in which TWCC were without Phil, and his presence may well have tipped the balance of the game as his prowess is getting rid of good batters quickly, and TWCC will miss him on many levels and we hope to see him back soon. We did get to see Edward, which was great, and who has, until he's mended, identified a role for himself as TWCC's coach/mentor, and we look forward to benefitting from his support and encouragement. Neither was Skipper Brock with us on this occasion, and we look forward to seeing him and to sharing his enthusiasm for the game and for all that we enjoy as members of TWCC.
Paul and Tom's opening stand of 52 set the game up well, and, of course, further special mention must go to Jonathan, whose glove-work was called upon often, sometimes to swat down some early-season wides, but more importantly to hold onto a catch off Matt's bowling to get rid of Colin Mansfield, and then to smartly stump two of Mikey's victims. Mikey's bowling, with Jonathan behind the stumps, was a treat to watch as the ball frequently passed close to the bat at varying pace, and there could easily have been more Mikey wickets such was the quality of his bowling, but four is quite enough.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss, and Skipper Edwards chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld C Fullerton 33;  T Firth Ct J Dutta Bld S Lea 17; T Pearce Ct Wkt Bld M Porter 8; M Pearce Ct S Lea Bld C Fullerton 22; J Simon run out (R Manger) 0; J Rowland not out 53; M Edwards* Bld C Marshall 1; T Rydon CT J Dutta Bld C Marshall 7; E Howes Bld R Manger 4; H Short not out 9. DNB R Saunders. Extras: 32 (B16, LB3, W9, NB4) Total 190 for 9 (43 overs).
Fall: 1-52, 2-67, 3-102, 4-103, 5-103, 6-114, 7-127, 8-135.
S&WCC Bowling: S Lea 7-0-23-1; M Porter 8-1-36-1; C Marshall 8-1-33-1; C Fullerton 8-3-14-2; R Manger 5-1-19-1; S Spiegel 4-0-33-0; J Dutta 2-0-10-0; J Portert 1-0-1-0.
S&WCC Innings: M Porter Ct R Saunders Bld E Howes 18; J Porter run out (T Firth) 27; C Mansfield Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld M Edwards 0; C Marshall Ct J Simon Bld M Pearce 4; J Dutta LBW M Pearce 0; R Manger Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld M Pearce 21; C Fullerton Ct Rowland (wk) Bld M Pearce 6; M Butcher not out 11; S Lea Ct T Firth, Bld H Short 7; D Porter not out 15. DNB S Spiegel. Extras 18 (B3, LB2, W10, NB3) Total 130 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-32, 2-50, 3-55, 4-55, 5-67, 6-67, 7-98, 8-112.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-1-16-1; T Rydon 7-2-26-0; M Edwards 8-2-13-1; R Saunders 3-0-11-0; T Pearce 1-0-2-0; M Pearce 10-2-22-4; H Short 5-0-34-1.
Match drawn.

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TWCC v Greys May 14th 2023
Who was playing at home? TWCC's ground was waterlogged and the bulk of the silage had yet to be baled, and Greys don't have a home ground, so here we all were playing at St James' ground - and thanks to Alex from Greys for arranging that. Whatever the protocol that was thrashed out in the middle by the skippers it emerged that TWCC would bat first in a match to be played in the proper tradition of a timed match. Good work there from TWCC's Skipper Edwards, though he may have had to concede that Greys would bat first, which meant that in the second innings TWCC would have to take 10 wickets in order to win the match.
The Mighty Greys, and why not give them their full title?, have, indeed, proved to be too mighty for TWCC in recent seasons, though on paper and in spirit the two sides are a good match. They seem to be a side that knows how to invoke some of TWCC's famous batting collapses, though on this occasion TWCC had a full XI of people who could hold their own with the bat. All to play for.
Paul and Tom Firth saw off four and half good overs from Hermitage and Day before Paul, on a careful 5, was LBW'd. Was he downhearted? A little, no doubt, but he was more disappointed that his batting contribution was over than worried by any decisions here or there. Never mind - it's cricket and we're lucky to be playing it with so much grief going on in the world. One thing was clear; the outfield was plenty fast enough in three directions, and Tom managed to find it three times before he was bowled by Hermitage for a useful 14. Tony took a bit more time to see himself in than he did in his first game of the season the previous week, and waited fully until his third ball before crunching a boundary, after which, largely in a family run partnership of 70 with Mikey (in at 4), he hit a further 13 fours and a six. In recent innings Mikey's Top Trump strength has been his timing and the power with which he hits the ball, but on this occasion he didn't clear fielders so much as give them catches to drop. In the end Hoare decided to just hit Mikey's stumps and he was out for a remarkable 37 for 5 if you include a run out.
Greys strength is that they don't let up as all bowlers bowl well and all batters bat well and, perhaps rather like TWCC, they could mess about with who does what when and any order would work well enough. Not many poor balls were coming down, and thus it took some application to get the ball away at all, and not a little risk to find the boundary, but notwithstanding this Tony continued to pile on the runs, and in this endeavour he was joined by Jonathan who carried on from his great innings of the previous week and between them they added a further quick 33 before Tony, now comfortably past his half-century, let a straight one through to his stumps, and he was out for 71 (14 fours and 1 six) off 72 balls. A tremendous innings – the Tony of old, and nice for him to have shared time in the middle with Mikey.
Unbelievably, given his prowess, TWCC still had Rob Rydon to come in at 6, and not many sides could afford to do that. Sure enough, the two left-handers put on a quick 36 in 4 overs before Rob, having graced the ground with a number of classic shots including a tall 6, was caught at... dunno... for 24 off 30 balls. This left Jim a few balls to try and run Jonathan out, but, perhaps because Jim had woken up a little, they actually ran well together and added a further 18 in 3 overs before Jonathan was bowled as he played across a straight one half way through what the clock had decreed was the last over of the TWCC innings. Jonathan, out for 25 off 40 balls, and Jim not out 10 off 9 went off to tea with TWCC on 190 for 6.
The TWCC batters had concentrated, and scored, well and made everything they could out of all the good balls that were sent down. All quite crickety really. Had catches been held the TWCC innings may well have been strangled at some point, but with batsmen all the way down to No. 11 the TWCC total might well have been headed towards 200 come what may. But although TWCC had a compelling total, in order to achieve a win they would have to take 10 wickets, and Greys are no mean batting side and wouldn’t have thought 191 beyond them. The game was set up well.
However what soon became apparent was that TWCC meant business in the field. Matt and Ed opened up the bowling, and Matt was soon in the wickets, bowling, first, Flynn for 1 in his first over, and then also bowling Line in his third. Ed was no less likely to take wickets, but in this his first spell he didn’t. Given that Greys’ depth of batting was well known, Matt decided that he and Ed would bowl short spells in order to allow space for returning later on, and this was very effective, especially as there are other bowlers, even if none of them were Phil, who could carry on the current good work. Matt’s four overs 2-2, and Ed’s four overs 0-8 meant that Greys didn’t get off to anything like the fast start they might have wished for in the face of a demanding chase. Enter Tom Rydon, taking over from Matt down the hill - in he charged in his committed athletic way - and with his first ball he bowled an in-swinging yorker to Greys’ No. 4 Dorrell, and there was a wicket with his first ball; stumps akimbo. Ninth over, Greys 3 for 12. However, TWCC were familiar with the batting of the genial Covill, Greys’ No. 3, and further down lurked some powerful players; this was a line up which could always cut loose. But, backed up by some excellent fielding, this they failed to do as the bowling was tight from Tom R (4 overs 1 for 6), and Jim, who replaced Ed, also kept Covill at bay with a short spell of 3 overs that only yielded a single scoring shot (but it was a four...). With 15 overs gone, Greys were only 23 for 3; a perfect time for Mikey to bowl more or less whatever came out – if he bowled like he did the previous week he’d be directly effective, and if he bowled like he did the previous season he’d be likely to benefit from the batters hitting out a bit. As it happened he bowled like he did in his last game, and he bowled Greys’ No. 5 Newland for 29, and then, vitally, found the edge of Covill’s bat giving Jonathan a sharp chance which he pocketed with no trouble. Covill never really got going, out for "just" 26, thanks to some tight bowling and fielding, and Mikey's spell of 2 for 27 off 10 overs was, again, a pleasure to witness.
Henry, from the South end, didn’t drop on a full length and was a little expensive, but that really didn’t matter and, indeed, getting Greys to hit out a bit was a good thing, and then he was replaced by an assortment of returning opening bowlers whose energies had been banked earlier. Sure enough Ed had the formidable Ashton LBW, and Matt and Tom carried on where they’d left off but it was increasingly clear that Greys weren’t going to overhaul the TWCC total. Tony and Tom F had the final cracks with the ball, but the looming draw duly arrived, with Day and Burgess marooned on 13 and 33 not out respectively.
Features of the game were the number of chances Mikey got away with, and, indeed, Tony's 6 was caught inside the deep mid-wicket boundary before the ball was pushed over the rope. As always there are a few maybes - what if Paul hadn't been out early, what if Mikey had been caught more often, what if Tony had been caught on the boundary, what if, what if, what if? In the end it's cricket and what ifs butter no parsnips. I'm funny with parsnips - sometimes there's nothing nicer than meltingly soft buttered parsnips, and sometimes they're just too much. Rather like kippers.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first, although there was some talk around whose home ground it was, so trade offs re. format and who batted when were in play. It was all a bit confusing for me, which won't surprise anybody
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW Bld Hermitage 5; T Firth Bld Hermitage 14; T Pearce Bld Ashton 71; M Pearce Bld Hoare 37; J Rowland Bld Day 25; R Rydon Ct Dorrell Bld Ashton 24; J Simon not out 10. DNB M Edwards, H Short, T Rydon, E Howes. Extras 4 (B2, LB1, W1) Total 190 for 6 (41.3 overs).
Fall: 1-10, 2-33, 3-103, 4-136, 5-172, 6-190.
Grey's Bowling: Hermitage 8-2-31-2; Day 8.3-2-32-1; Sewell 6-0-31-0; Hoare 6-0-26-1; Ashton 9-0-51-2; Newland 3-1-16-0.
Greys Innings: Flynn Bld M Edwards 1; Line Bld M Edwards 1; Covill Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld M Pearce 26; G Dorrell Bld T Rydon 1; Newland Bld M Pearce 29; Burgess not out 13; Ashton LBW E Howes 14; Day not out 23. DNB in no particular order Hoare, Sewell, Hermitage. Extras 21 (B10, LB5, W6) Total 139 for 6 (41 overs).
Fall: 1-2, 2-6, 3-12, 4-66, 5-74, 6-93.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-3-9-2; E Howes 9-0-18-1; T Rydon 8-2-27-1; J Simon 3-2-4-0; M Pearce 10-3-27-2; H Short 3-0-28-0; T Pearce 1-0-5-0; T Firth 1-0-6-0.
Match drawn.

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Partridge Green v TWCC May 21st 2023
Lindfield couldn't get a side, Partridge Green could - thanks Ed, and thanks to Partridge Green for fitting us in. Partridge Green, home no longer to Dark Star brewery but still the place to go for a great butcher's shop and one of the best hi-fi manufacturers in the whole world, also had a recreation ground with a grass wicket with a short boundary on one side, a very long boundary on the other and a teamful of cricketers somewhere between the two. Skipper Brock, returning to the helm for the first time in 2023, won the toss and chose to bat first. TWCC welcomed Kanishka, a first time player for us, and it was good to see Matt C, Charlie Howes and Matt Brock back in the fold.
Jim and Tom F opened up with a modest 21 partnership, then Jonathan (27) and Rob (43) were the main contributors to TWCC's total of 148 in their third wicket partnership of 66 as their series of fours, one all-run, and Rob's smooth straight 6 handily upped the scoring rate as the overs ticked on by. Henry, Kanishka and Ed formed an assortment of valuable partnerships as the end of the innings neared, and on a slow wicket with longish grass the visitors hoped that 148 might well be tougher than one might think to overhaul, especially in just 35 overs. 

Ed and Henry opened the TWCC bowling reply, and were soon in the wickets, though it was Henry's tremendous throwing down of the stumps from short fine leg that started the ball rolling.  Ed was his usual dangerous self, and Henry's rhythm and pace were back to normal and soon the home side were 21 for 4, with Ed having Smallman LBW and Henry provoking a couple of catches. Time for Kanishka to have a bowl and he produced in-swinging (to right handers) full length balls that dipped under the batters' defences, and he had two bowled wickets in no time leaving Partridge Green on 36 for 6. There was a short regrouping from the home side as Tudhope and Wellstead put on 30 runs between them, with Matt Brock being straight enough, and Matt C perhaps exercising Jonathan more than he was hoping for. Soon however, it was time for the Skip to turn his over-wintered arm over, and with his second ball he bowled Wellstead, backing this up with another clean-bowled dismissal in the same over. Charlie Howes was his usual tricky self, replacing Matt Brock, but he ended up wicketless, and it was left to the returning pair of Ed and Henry to take the last two wickets to end the game.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first. 35 overs/side format.
TWCC Innings: J Simon LBW White 6; T Firth Bld Grinsted 12; J Rowland C&B Moules 27; R Rydon Bld Moules 43; H Short Ct (Wk) Bld Miller 13; Kanishka not out 15; C Howes Bld Miller 0; E Howes not out 14. DNB M Brock, Matt C, R Brock. Extras 18 (B1, W13, NB3). Total 148 for 6 (35 overs).
Fall: 1-21, 2-31, 3-97, 4-101, 5-119, 6-119.
Partridge Green CC Bowling: Grinsted 7-0-24-1; White 7-0-31-1; Morgan 7-2-22-0; Wellstead 4-0-39-0; Moules 6-2-11-2; Miller 4-0-15-2.
Partridge Green CC Innings: G Grinsted run out (H Short) 1; J Smallman LBW E Howes 9; K Miller Ct M Brock Bld H Short 0; S Barry Ct J Simon Bld H Short 7; J Bullingham Bld Kanishka 1; J Tudhop Bld E Howes 17; R Moules Bld Kanishka 0; T Wellstead Bld R Brock 12; M Wykes Bld R Brock 0; S White not out 14; D Crumback Hit Wkt Bld H Short 5. Extras 19 (B15, LB1, NB3) Total 95 all out (27.2 overs) or 85 if you add up the batters' totals plus extras.
Fall: 1-1, 2-3, 3-20, 4-21, 5-27, 6-36, 7-66, 8-66, 9-90, 10-95.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 5-1-13-2; H Short 5.2-0-25-3; Kanishka 3-0-4-2; M Brock 3-0-14-0; Matt C 2-0-22-0; R Brock 4-1-7-2; C Howes 5-1-8-0.
TWCC win, whichever format one finds appropriate.

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 28th 2023
Being up front about this, it’s not going to be easy to keep this write up brief – a lot happened, most of it interesting if you're inclined that way.
First off – lovely day. Matt won the toss for TWCC and chose to bat first, confident in his bowlers, possibly less so in his batters as TWCC were without Tony, Jonathan, and Rob amongst other willowmeisters, but were with Paul and Tom F, and they manfully squared up to the Brazilian paceman Luiz Morias who charged in down the hill and delivered really quite the quickest rockets anyone’s had to face for years. Morias, just one of a Brazilian contingent that Bolney had found on the international market, bowled a very good line and length combining this with pace and swing and it was all a bit serious. 
Both opening batsmen dealt with this shock onslaught very well, and, oddly, and annoyingly, it was the less potent bowling off Jignesh Agnihotri  that prised open a crack in Tom’s concentration and he popped up a simple catch to mid-wicket. Mikey, seemingly on top of keeping Morias out, also fell to Agnihotri as one of his total defensive blocks failed to meet the ball, and as he lifted his foot back to the crease the bails were removed by the keeper and a very close call stumping was the result. Enter Jim, nostalgically in at 4, who also seemed to be capable of keeping Morias out until he wasn’t. Jim might have looked mildly competent for a few balls, but he received what one respected analyst described as the “ball of the century” – hitting middle-and-off until it swung away late to tap the very outside of the top of off stump. There is no shame here. Matt seemed to be able to survive this modern bowling, and its follow ups of a less penetrative nature, and he and Paul put some of the pieces back together in a partnership, at last, of some import. Morias’s bowling had, through no fault of his own, contributed to the innings’ second top scorer, Extras, who ended up with a magnificent 49 not out. Just as well.
So, let’s move on, and one can’t overlook someone playing possibly the most significant role of the day. Paul was not only watching every ball closely onto his bat, and still scoring off Morias as well as Agnihotri and all subsequent bowlers, but as he did so he was keeping those yet to bat safe from harm. The Gazette feels this innings of Paul’s was one of his most skilful as it was constructed in the face of some truly excellent bowling and was as much a triumph of concentration as it was of scoring. But scoring there was, and, with Matt (non-striker, above), a partnership of 58 appeared before our very eyes until Matt was caught somewhere by someone off Green Smith for 10. It may seem as if at this point TWCC were out of the woods, but they were on 79 for 4 and the innings could go either way from here.
And so to Chinu – apologies, Chinu, if I’m writing your name wrong, I’ll check with you later – who came in at 6, and set the game alight. Un-phased by the pace of the returning Morias he generally set about whacking the ball in a style all his own. Sometimes baseballing the ball over the covers for four, and at others pulling it to the on side, he and Paul took the game to a new level, and as Bolney went through their full card of bowlers, these two put on a further 60 before Paul didn’t chase too hard to get in and was run out. What an innings - full of character and produced in something of a vacuum as early partners came and went - and he only left the crease when he felt he could safely leave the batting in Chinu’s hands. With 12 fours in his 68 off 74 balls Paul’s concentration in the face of some challenging bowling was looking like a match-protecting if not yet a match-winning contribution. He could walk into the pavilion with pride, put his feet up for three minutes before going out to umpire the rest of the innings before he kept wicket for the rest of the afternoon. Champion.
Chinu, returning to the TWCC fold after his opening appearance in 2022, took on all comers and began to use his natural skills to great effect as he fearlessly hit four after four, and he was joined by Tom R, in at 7, who looked every inch the classically trained performer he is. Sadly Tom seems to be dogged by bad luck and this time he was run out by a non-intentional half stop by the bowler of a powerfully hit ball by Chinu at the batting end, and he was out of his ground. Up to that point Tom had been the best of batters but he was run out for 12, but with a valuable partnership of 37 behind him so he was not too downhearted. Enter Henry, who is quietly stalking an impressive average this season, and he and Chinu continued on, building the TWCC total beyond anything they could have imagined at 21 for 3, before Chinu’s stumps were finally felled by the returning Morias. Chinu’s 47 off 50 balls (8 fours) took the TWCC innings up to and beyond the 200, and it certainly made it a tough afternoon for Bolney. Ed has promised to pay me not to report how long his innings at 9 lasted, but Morias it was again who did for him and shortly Henry's 18 off 22 balls and Graham in at 10 were declared upon by Skipper Edwards in consultation with TWCC's (self-appointed) Chief Minister for Declarations Firth - one of his most significant moments of the match.
TWCC 210 for 8 off 38 overs. A grand total, considering their early difficulties (which mysteriously disappeared when Morias was rested, only to reappear when Morias came on for a second spell), with Paul, Chinu and Extras providing the bulk of the runs.
Steve Bowles produced a master class tea (thanks Steve) which, amongst many delights, put forward a tray of sausage and mustard sandwiches which may well repeat at some point later in the season.
There had been some mutterings overheard; "When I was playing county cricket" and "First Class" and "List A" amongst the Bolney unknowns, and these weighty words were indeed backed up by some powerful batting as the home side began their return campaign. Indeed, Luiz Morias and Ian Crouch looked entirely untroubled as they drove and pulled a few fours, but then the pedigree of TWCCs bowlers is as good as any we see, and whilst runs were indeed scored, Ed found a thick edge and Graham pouched a spinning ball to start the wickets column off, though Tom R, feisty as ever, was wicket-free on this occasion. Jim, nostalgically first change bowler from Ed's end, and Matt - skipper Edwards keeping his opening pacers fresh in case of unforeseen eventualities as the afternoon progressed - kept up the good work, though Luiz Morias was striking hard at the ball, and he was not alone as the Bolney top order looked more than capable. However Jim's mix of luck, natural variation and luck was enough to find the thin bits of Morias's bat as he played a big cover drive to an out-swinging ball and top-edged the ball to Matt at an excellently placed short cover. Matt, in what became a spell of 2 for 5 off 4 overs, bowled Bolney's No. 3 who had looked solid in his batting, and then Jim tucked up ex-Brazilian captain Matthew Featherstone who tried to pull a ball that was onto him a little quicker and bounced higher than he thought and he top-edged a pull shot into the empty spaces just over the heads of the on-side fielders. The ball was clearly not going to fall near enough to any fielder to take a catch, which was a shame because this was a List A batsman capable of taking the game long. Henry was briefly interested at short fine leg, and then Charlie at mid-wicket went into full scurrying mode, and he began to catch up with the high ball. He spun round, running at full tilt away from the wicket, the ball now coming from behind his shoulder, and he stuck out two hopeful hands in front of him where he suddenly found the ball! An astonishing catch out of nowhere, definitely the champagne moment of the day as making it a chance at all was remarkable, but to actually to make the catch and take one of Bolney’s best out of the action was pivotal.
After these early wickets, and after Matt had hit the stumps for a second time, Bolney had quickly moved from a promising 70 for 2 to a difficult 82 for 6, not helped by the loss of Jignesh Agnihotri who pushed off for a quick run and collapsed to the ground with what looked like an achilles injury. Poor bloke was in serious pain, and he was carried off and we all send him our best wishes and hope he has a quick recovery.
Mikey took over from the South end after Jim's wicket maiden (just saying) and he was soon in the wickets too as Bolney's middle and lower order were called in to play, with two bowled wickets, mostly full length yorkey kind of bowleds. Mikey's batting had sadly been cut short, but his new to 2023 bowling is something of a revelation. Henry, replacing Matt at the top end, could have had a few wickets too, with one chance passing close to the single slip fielder, but on this occasion he was wicketless. But TWCC still had Charlie and Graham up their sleeves, and Charlie lined up his radar, and was soon in the wickets as he jagged a ball back up the hill to bowl Clemenson. Bolney were 8 down, and now, with Jignesh out, were one wicket away from defeat. Graham needed no time at all to align any radar - he was straight on the money, but he didn't get a second over as Charlie backed up a fine day's play by bowling Bolney's last man with the first ball of his second over.
Bolney all out for 125 in 32.1 overs.
An excellent game, with quite a bit of to and fro. Initially TWCC were in some sort of trouble with the bat, negated principally by Paul whose 68 in difficult circumstances was key, and then, as Bolney went through their bowling options, the visitors were able to rally with Matt and then most significantly with Chinu whose fresh style and powerful hitting grabbed the game and powered TWCC on to a fine total. One other candidate for the Champagne Moment - a Prosecco Moment? - was when Luiz Morias was pounding down towards him, unleashing another good length fast ball, and Chinu simply moved his left leg to the side a little and straight-drove Brazil's finest with complete ease. Proper cricket, and it was truly a heartening moment for the TWCC dressing room. Extras helped - take 49 off 210 and you get 161 which would have put Bolney's chase in a different light altogether. TWCC down, then up. Then, after tea, for the first few overs of their innings Bolney were suddenly right back in the game again, as their batsmen looked very much the part and were untroubled by much at all. But then a few key wickets fell, helped by some good and then excellent catching, and Bolney were back in trouble, though historically their lower order is very capable of not getting out. And so to the long line of TWCC bowlers, managed well by Skipper Edwards, and the interest lay in taking all the wickets, a feat not often accomplished in Fortress Bolney. Jignesh's injury was most unfortunate, both for Bolney's chances on the day and more importantly because it left him in some pain and let's hope his season will be back on track soon.
In closing it occurs to the Gazette to wonder how many teams can throw the ball to an eighth bowler in the team and rely on them doing the business? In fact TWCC could have expected perfectly good bowling performances from all 10 fielders, but there was no time for Chinu and Tom F to have a go, and we know both can bowl, as can Paul of course, though he might have been hampered by the pads and gloves. One could make the same argument, after duly acknowledging TWCC's virtuoso premier batters, and conclude it's a team of all-rounders, which makes any game interesting as one never knows from whom the sparks will fly.

Scorecard
TWCC (Skipper Matt Edwards) won the toss and chose to bat first. Umpires Barry Griffin and Steve Bowles.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter run out 68; T Firth Ct Morias Bld J Agnihotri 0; M Pearce stumped Bld J Agnihotri 0; J Simon Bld Morias 6; M Edwards Ct, Bld E Greensmith 10; C Sharma Bld Morias 47; T Rydon run out 12; H Short not out 18; E Howes Bld Morias; G Cuthbert not out 0. DNB C Howes. Extras 49 (B25, LB5, W16, NB2) Total 210 for 8 (38 overs).
Fall: 1-8, 2-12, 3-21, 4-79, 5-139, 6-176, 7-192, 8-192.
Bolney CC Bowling: L Morias 8-1-40-3; J Agnihotri 8-0-22-2; I Crouch 6-0-25-0; E Greensmith 5-0-16-1; B Clemenson 5-0-27-0; M Madden 3-0-32-0; T Cook 2-0-15-0; M Feathersone 1-0-3-0.
Bolney CC Innings: Luis Ct M Edwards Bld J Simon 37; I Crouch Ct G Cuthbert Bld E Howes; E Greensmith Bld M Edwards 12; M Featherstone Ct C Howes Bld J Simon 5; J Agnihotri retired hurt 11; Bob Bld M Edwards 0; G Sandwith Bld M Pearce 4; B Clemenson Bld C Howes 9; Tony Bld M Pearce 1; Dave not out 22; Mark Bld C Howes 0. Extras 16 (B11, LB3, W2). Total 125 all out (32.1 overs).
Fall: 1-23, 2-70, 3-70, 4-82, 5-82, 6-82, 7-89, 8-93, 9-125. Jiggi retiring hurt meant TWCC only needed 9 wickets to win.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-31-0; E Howes 4-0-16-1; J Simon 5-1-21-2; M Edwards 4-2-5-2; H Short 6-0-12-0; M Pearce 6-1-12-2; C Howes 1.1-0-9-2; G Cuthbert 1-0-8-0.
TWCC win by 85 runs.

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TWCC v Balcombe CC June 4th 2023
Well after the season had begun local naturists had spotted a heron fishing at silly mid-on and ducks pairing up at fine leg, meaning that, following cancellations and rescheduling, this June fixture was the first game TWCC had played on their home ground’s newly laid artificial wicket and no one was quite sure how the ball would behave. The Balcombe side, instant old friends when we first played them, was full of familiar faces, and there was much anticipation of another good game.
Balcombe won the toss and chose to field first, and from the first delivery it was clear that this new wicket was somewhat tennis-ball-bouncy. The Gazette will admit to batsman error being a thing, but the ball hitting the bat higher up than expected certainly had an effect on the early wickets. Skipper Brock, in at 4, and Tom Firth led a bit of a recovery after Jim and Chinu were history, until both Tom F (15) and Brocky (14) joined them in the pavilion. TWCC at 35 for 4 could have been an issue, but with Rob and Stephen (Steve? Can you "v" a "ph"?) Laing in the middle it became clear that the home side's fortunes were in the hands of batsmen of note and an element of calm descended over the afternoon’s play.
Sadly Steve's innings was cut short by a straight one getting through to his pads from Dhanki, and he was out with an excellent 38 (six 4's) to his name, by which time TWCC had advanced to 101 for 5. Steve's very crickety mix of patience and power, mirrored, really, by Rob at the other end, was a treat to behold as this pair shared a very valuable partnership of 66. Ollie Laing continued on the good work with Rob, but this was about the time Dave Ward came on to bowl, and even though he was only rolling in from a few paces, his left arm over cutters soon took the game back in Balcombe's direction as he bowled Ollie (5). This brought Henry into the middle, and there began a lovely partnership between Rob and Henry that, ultimately, put on a further 44 as Henry kept out the good balls and rotated the strike with Rob who powered on through his 50. Ward, as the scoring rate increased, began to up his intent and, sure enough, eventually he turned a faster cutter in through a gap between Rob's bat and pads that no one even knew existed. Rob, out after another fine innings for TWCC, for an invaluable 67 (nine 4's) had, with his partners, taken a dodgy situation and turned the game into something Skipper Brock could work with.
Henry, who weighs up which balls to go at very well, (and which not to - Ed) (not Ed, as in Ed), provided some cement to the innings, and as TWCC neared the end of their allotted time, Charlie entertained the crowd with an extraordinary stroke that involved taking the ball from above his right shoulder and swatting it for 6 over mid-wicket. Where that came from is still a mystery, but a notable one. Henry, pushing on, was Ward's final victim as he was caught by Bohm for 12, which brought Tom R in for a ball or two (two) before Ed, TWCC's secret weapon at 11, sorted out a few swashbucklers as he rattled off 19 off 15 balls before running his brother out an over before it was strictly necessary. TWCC ended on 193, which was, with the grass long, possibly a little above par, though with Balcombe's resources some scores are never high enough. Matt Rawbin and Dave Ward were the most successful of the Balcombe bowlers, with three wickets apiece, and the TWCC powerhouse middle order the pick of the TWCC batters, though there were contributions from across the board, give or take.
Tea was a treat of laser-cut sandwiches and delightful treats, and our thanks go to the Short Emporium, though it is a worry that the bar has now been set so high.
So to Balcombe's reply with the bat. TWCC opened with the trusty pacers Ed and Tom R, with Tom F manfully taking the gloves in the absence of any other volunteers.
Disclaimer: The Balcombe innings isn’t in a book, so nuances of the game aren’t available on a simple-to-read single page of paper. I’m sure it’s all there if one cares to hunt it down, but there’s nothing like a scorebook for actually seeing what happened, how it happened, and who did it.
On this occasion it was Tom who did for the visitors' top four batters. Tom had some trouble with letting go of the ball at the right time, and a few no balls resulted, but in his 9 overs for 34 there were three straight bowled and a catch. Tom's wickets didn't happen all at once, and although Balcombe were 1 for 3, Russel Nevard and Aayush Dhanki took Balcombe on to 39 before Ollie took a good catch off Tom to stop the free-scoring Dhanki at 27. The next three wickets happened quickly, and Balcombe were on 54 for 5 before any partnerships developed, and Tom’s four wicket haul had set TWCC off on their path in excellent fashion. Rob then got through, bowling Hirst for 18, he and Wall having put on a handy 42 as they took the visitors on to 96 for 6. In match terms, though, TWCC's total was still looking safe, especially so after Ed, with another catch taken by Ollie, took out TWCC's nemesis batter (and bowler...) Dave Ward for just 6 - potentially the most important wicket of the innings.
Charlie, Henry and Chunu were wicketless on this occasion, and Louis Bohm was piling in the big shots as Balcombe were homing in on a win, but then Skipper Brock took the ball and before you knew what had happened he'd got through first, Bohm, and then Jack Teasdale, bowling both with deliveries that seemed to dip past the bat and ping the stumps (the sprung stumps don't clatter - more of a peeoiunggg). Bohm had taken Balcombe a long way towards their goal, and yet Ed, returning to the fray, produced, with Tom Firth, another moment of proper cricket as he found the outside edge of Wall's bat and the ball whipped through to Tom's right hand where he held on to a great sharp catch. Wall was out for 47, top scorer in the innings, and the win predictor twitched back up to hover around the 50:50 mark. Following Brocky and Ed's two wickets each, Balcombe were 188 for 9, and with... I don't know how many balls were left at this point... but in the end Balcombe needed a few off a few balls, and, ultimately, with two balls to go the scores were tied. TWCC needed one wicket for a win, Balcombe needed one run for their win, and two dots would have resulted in a tie. It was moderately exciting, although there’s generally always a scampered single to be had somewhere so Balcombe were favourites at this point, and Callum Botting it was who, with an off drive, calmly saw the game through in Balcombe's favour and a tight game ended up as a win for the visitors.
Balcombe are very much into the genial side of the Sunday game, but one has to play well to beat them, and scoring 193 against their bowling and taking nine of their wickets is nothing but a sign of TWCC having played well. Ward being out for just 6, and then Brocky’s late wickets were potential match-winning contributions for TWCC, but in the end Balcombe ended up winners. Victors, maybe – we were all, as always, winners.

Scorecard
Toss won by Balcombe CC who chose to field first. Timed match.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct R Nevard Bld M Rawbin 6; T Firth† Ct C Botting (wk) Bld M Rawbin 15; C Sharma Ct T Wall Bld M Rawbin 0; R Brock* Bld J Teasdale 14; R Rydon Bld D Ward 67; S Laing LBW A Dhanki 38; O Laing Bld D Ward 5; H Short Ct Bohm Bld D Ward 12; C Howes run out 9; T Rydon Ct & Bld L Bohm 0; E Howes not out 19.
Extras 8 (B4,LB1, W2, NB1) Total 193 all out (43 overs).
Fall: 1-6, 2-6, 3-35, 4-35, 5-101, 6-116, 7-160, 8-173, 9-174, 10-193.
Balcombe CC Bowling: M Rawbin 7-0-16-3; J Teasdale 7-2-25-1; R Hirst 5-0-27-0; A Dhanki 7-0-32-1; B Nevard 6-1-26-0; D Ward 7-0-35-3; L Bohm 4-0-30-1.
Balcombe CC Innings: B Nevard Bld T Rydon 3; R Nevard Bld T Rydon 4; A Dhanki Ct O Laing Bld T Rydon 27; M Rawbin Bld T Rydon 0; R Hirst Bld R Rydon 18; D Ward Ct O Laing Bld E Howes 6; T Wall Ct T Firth (Wk) Bld E Howes 6; L Bohm Bld R Brock 46; J Teasdale Bld R Brock 1; C Botting not out 6; G Botting not out 0.
Extras 37 (B15, LB8, W3, NB11) Total 195 for 9 (37.5 overs).
Fall: 1-3, 2-39, 3-40, 4-46, 5-54, 6-96, 7-183, 8-185, 9-188.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 7.5-0-34-2; T Rydon 9-0-41-4; H Short 5-0-16-0; C Howes 4-0-8-0; R Rydon 4-0-13-1; O Laing 3-0-8-0; C Sharma 2-0-37-0; R Brock 3-0-15-2.
Balcombe CC win by 1 wicket.

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TWCC v Xiles June 11th 2023
Hot. That's what it was. But TWCC cricketers are of brave mettle even if it was starting to melt, so when Xiles' skipper David Hannant won the toss and chose to bat first, the elite sportsters of Twineham and Wineham were not downhearted. Tom and Ed opened up the taps and, sure enough, within Tom's first over he had crashed the new ball in to Hannant's stumps and the visitors were 1 for 0. David Hooper, Xiles' No.2, was his usual effective self and he duly found the boundary off both Tom and Ed before Tom produced the day's second-most unplayable delivery of the day to nip one past Hooper's bat and onto his stumps. In at 3 had come one serious looking player in the form of Shahzad Khan, who gave every appearance of not messing about. With the Hooper wicket, Xiles were 24 for 2 when Khan was joined by Bailey, who started carefully enough, not least because Henry and Matt replaced Tom and Ed to good effect, but as the batters became attuned to the wicket, even our most reliable bowlers soon began to suffer. For any TWCC fans it's perhaps best that we don't dwell too long on the remains of the Xiles innings, although Khan and Bailey certainly deserve full credit for taking the game somewhat away from the 10-man home side with some powerful hitting. Soon every bowler became more expensive than usual, although, amongst all this moderate carnage, Skipper Brock made something of a breakthrough as a difficult length ball was uppishly mistimed to Tom at point who held onto an important catch, dismissing Khan for a firm 57 (8 fours, 1 six). In a partnership of 99 Xiles had shot to 125 for 3, and from then on it became very much the Bailey show as he went on to claim the first century of the day, continuing on in partnership with Padam Gupta who certainly played his part ending on 22 not out. A quick count up shows that Bailey hit 7 fours and 8 sixes in his innings of 122 not out, and, we wish to point out, only two of them were off Jim's bowling although it didn't seem like that at the time. When tea time finally arrived Xiles were on an impressive 216 for 3.
It certainly wasn’t wilful, but whether it was the heat, extra drinks, or the time spent looking for balls, or all of the above, the record shows that TWCC only bowled 34 overs which isn't really enough being honest about it, so although it wasn't commented on at the time Xiles would clearly have added to this total if they had faced a more normal number of overs. However, it's Sunday cricket, and it all seemed fine at the time. Tom R's figures stand out, not only for his two wickets, but also because he didn't come on for a second spell when Bailey was in full flow! Anyone bowling at the end was going to have to reappraise their ultimate standings in the end of season averages - no names needed, I know who I am. Hats off to Bailey – 122 not out is a tremendous individual score.
Skipper Brock had not only marshalled his valiant bowlers, but had also masterminded a voluptuous tea and it was very nice to see a few TWCC friends, starting with Phil who brought out some drinks and it was very good indeed to see him and we all wish him a swift return to health. Also there, completely by chance turning up at tea time, were Dave Rogers and Steve Taylor, who had been lunching in the Presidential Palace, and the distraction of news from the far reaches of the TWCC family was very welcome as the TWCC troops drew breath after their ordeal in the Sun.
Although Coach Bunn, Phil, Dave R and Steve were at the game, two people they were without were Tom Firth and Jonathan, and so it was that once again Jim found himself meandering out to the middle with Paul to begin something of a daunting chase. After a calm start from both batters (I know!), Paul edged a full ball from Manger and he was caught behind for 10, which, given how well Paul's been batting this season, and with over 200 to chase down, meant that this wasn't a great start, either for him or his team. But in at 3 came Tony, and he and Jim set about affairs in a curiously responsible fashion, if you don't count Jim being dropped here and there. And there. The bowling wasn't especially difficult to keep out, but there was a definite outbreak of something akin to responsibility as even Tony was studiously dropping unintimidating but straight balls down at his feet such was his determination not to get himself out. But even with this abundance of caution the two were offered sufficient opportunities to score four, five, six, and more runs an over, and everything was going well for the home side. When Jim was out for 23, thinning a ball into the covers from Xiles' leg-spinning skipper, Hannant, the score was 117 for two, and the rest of the game largely comprised Tony plus A. N. Other as different partners came and went. Now, this certainly isn't to say that Tony's partners had no role in building TWCC's total, far from it, but such was Tony's dominance that he was regularly able to keep the strike which by definition kept other contributions small. But the runs from all were vital, as we shall see.
When Jim was out the required run rate at that point was around six per over - much the same rate as had been achieved all along - and all the remaining TWCC batters were quite capable of successfully keeping Tony company and of scoring in their own right. The only problem was that, capable or not, whilst Tony's partners didn't do anything especially wrong, they did get out just a little too often for comfort. No one looked to be in any particular trouble, but first Matt, then Tom fell to MccreadieFord and the returning Manger, but critically they too had scored boundaries, and, along with Duracell Tony still powering away, Matt's and Tom's partnerships with Tony had been of 25 and 34 respectively. But Tony was, and continued to be, the man.
Sadly, the entire Gazette staff were in an adjacent field looking for a ball when Tony passed the 100 mark, missing the moment, but if TWCC were to win the game it was essential that he continue on, and this he did even as the bowling threat went up a considerable notch. It's possible that Xiles' skipper hadn't intended to use the powerful Shahzad as a bowler, but, now, here he was, putting his mark down a long way back (as was the keeper) and we could all guess what was coming.
From being 187 for 4 with 8 overs to go, by the time there were just a couple of overs left TWCC were on  209 for 8. The later wickets that fell - in order Matt(5), Tom (2), Ed (6), Charlie (4), Henry (2) ensured a very close finish, and not only was Shahzad sending down accurate and pacy deliveries that not many would be able to keep out, but Tony was running out of partners.
One theme and two moments stick in the mind.
The theme was how well Tony optimised his opportunities even as he ran out of partners and time. At one point the much-penetrated mid-wicket boundary became increasingly defended and yet Tony played with the fielders out there, assessing his different boundary options as the fielders moved about and, sure enough, relentlessly finding the hedge, and, with pushes for twos and singles at or near the end of the overs, Tony's cultivation of the strike was a treat to watch, and he continued to increase his scoring right to the end of the game.
The two moments that stick out? The first was Graham's boundary four. It came at a time when TWCC were all but all out, and Shahzad was threatening to finish the game off in Xiles' favour with every ball he bowled, and so it was essential to capitalise on the bowling of Manger at the other end. There were a couple of blameless dots after Henry was run out, and then Graham squared himself up and pulled Manger over square-leg for four, swinging the game around again as the runs came and Tony was going to be on strike during the following over. Cheers went up from the pavilion for Graham’s four and it was game on.
Before we get on to the second notable moment, we get to the day's most unplayable delivery which, oddly, wasn't bowled at Jim as is usually the case. Less surprising was that it was Shahzad who bowled it, on Graham's 5th stump line. It was a difficult length, and it cut back off the pitch and took the very top, bail height, of Graham's off stump. Graham took one for the team there, for if it had been bowled at Tony it's not certain that even he would have survived it and then where would TWCC have been?
Back to the second notable moment. Graham was just out (see above), and TWCC’s last man was in. There was one ball left in Shahzad's over before Tony could be facing again at the other end. One ball left in the over to survive and keep the game going. Shahzad stormed in, tail up, and he sent a ball down straight at the off stump of TWCC's last man in. Who might be TWCC's Jack Leach? Who do you think? The man for the job was Captain "Scooby" Brock, who calmly put his bat in line with the delivery, the end of the over was seen out, Tony was on strike at the other end and it was game on again. More survival was required further down the line, which our Scoob managed without too much difficulty, but in allowing Tony to have a further scoring over, and then to, indeed, score Leachy's single to keep Tony going meant that TWCC's last man, Skipper Brock, with Tony still unbeaten, was instrumental in the home side chasing down the target of 216 with eight balls to go.
After fielding during the heat of the day as Xiles batted, and then batting more or less right through the TWCC innings, Tony's 141 not out was truly one of TWCC's great innings and it was as clever as it was powerful. An examination of his scoring will show that he hit an almost incredible 20 fours along with 4 sixes, and he went on to back up this tremendous effort by buying a full round at the pub, which seems a little wrong, really, as his team mates should have done the buying.
A memorable game, skippered inclusively by both captains and a lot of credit goes to them for engineering, as much as is ever possible, a close and exciting game. A player scoring a century for the side batting first would normally have ensured a win, or at least a draw, for their team, but, well made though Bailey's runs were, Tony's were all the more impressive for having been scored in the face of prolonged, and greater, jeopardy.

Scorecard
Toss won by Xiles, who chose to bat first. Timed match.
Xiles Innings: D Hannant bld T Rydon 0; D Hooper bld T Rydon 11; S Khan ct T Rydon bld R Brock 57; D Bailey not out 122; P Gupta not out 22. DNB S MccreadieFord, P Thompson, A Sankar, S Shindgikar, A Dinnie, R Manger. Extras 13 (B3, LB1, W7, NB2) Total 216 for 3 (34 overs).
Fall: 1-0, 2-24, 3-125.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-1-12-2; E Howes 8-1-48-0; M Edwards 7-0-47-0; H Short 5-1-37-0; R Brock 4-0-29-1; J Simon 3-0-41-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct P Gupta (Wk) bld R Manger 10; J Simon ct P Thompson bld D Hannant 23; T Pearce not out 141; M Edwards ct A Dinnie bld S MccreadieFord; T Rydon ct. bld R Manger 2; E Howes ct P Gupta (wk) bld D Hooper 6; C Howes ct S MccreadieFord bld R Manger 4; H Short run out (A Sankar) 2; G Cuthbert bld S Khan 4; ; R Brock not out 1. DNB M Pearce who had very little input into the game. Extras 22 (B4, LB1, W15, NB2) Total 219 (40.4 overs)
TWCC win by 1 wicket.

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TWCC v London Unity June 18th 2023
Every forecast had, for days, been predicting, or even just plain out stating, that anyone playing cricket in Twineham during the afternoon of Sunday 18th June 2023 would be doing so in the rain. However, at the time when decision-makers prowl, the sun, of course, was brightly out and only the saddest of doom-mongers and those with an aversion to honey-roasted sausages would have intervened.
With the rain factored in, a full match wasn’t on the cards, and so, much to the amazement of TWCC aficionados, a nostalgically reimagined Skipper Simon and Unity’s Mark Driver co-negotiated a swift 30:30 limited overs match. Three Unity players were still on their way, and so, in the face of the impending deluge, TWCC offered to field first and that’s what happened.
TWCC’s novice skipper, who, as ever, combined gormlessness and innovation in unequal proportions, and on one occasion both at once, insisted on a fielding huddle in order to get his excuses in early. Usually, with the bowling luxury of Ed, Matt and Tom in any permutation up front , TWCC’s route one through an opposition’s top order is clear, and if circumstances dictate, or permit, one can retain or spend their power as the skipper sees fit. On this occasion, however, there was no Matt or Ed, and so Jim explained that whilst he would open with Tom, because early wickets are early wickets, he would only give him maybe two overs in case a later Unity middle order resistance movement needed a crackdown. It would be Tom then Henry from one end, and Graham and Charlie from the other. Pace from one end can often provoke light-headed stroke-play from the other, and both Graham and Charlie are slower but do bowl difficult lengths, and so that, such as it was, was the plan. TWCC were also pleased to welcome Michael Short for his inaugural game, and though the Gazette missed the formal presentation of his trousers, his already familiar face clearly fits in the TWCC player’s enclosure and we hope to see him in whites more often.
TWCC were out there on the bong of 1.00, huddle achieved, and not long after they were joined by the Unity opening batters, who, not long after, were back in the pavilion again. Regular followers of TWCC will know that Tom Rydon gets early wickets, and, sure enough, with his sixth ball he splattered the stumps, which he went on to do with the sixth ball of his second over, by which time Unity were 5 for 4.
What?
Here’s how it happened.
After Tom’s first over, Graham soon found his customary good length and Joe Driver slightly clothed a ball for Henry to catch at...mid-on?... and Unity were two down after 8 balls. A great start for Graham, and then, in Tom’s second over J Burke pushed a ball through the covers towards the tree/standpipethingy-combo and Charlie set off in hot pursuit. Just a single really, but Burke turned for a suicidal second because whilst we know that crowd favourite Charlie has a bit of an arm on him, Burke didn’t, and a perfect throw to Paul produced a lovely clean run out and Unity were 4 for 3. Then, as alluded to in the above flashforward, Tom bowled Unity’s No 5 Gane in his second over and that’s how we get to 5 for 4 in three overs.
The huddle-plan plus a run out was working out well from TWCC’s perspective, and it was time to see what Henry could do as the pace follow-up to Tom. Sadly, although he started with a perfect maiden over, Henry’s back said no to more bowling, and so, as Graham finished his spell of 1 for 4 off 3 overs, Mikey and Charlie took on the job of bowling into the teeth of something of a Unity fight back.
Gashemi, at 3, was clearly a hitty out kind of batter, and a couple of 6’s and a few 4’s were sticking themselves to the scoreboard before the Pearce’s took him out with, we imagine, a slightly smokin’ catch in the covers by Tony off Mikey’s bowling. There would be more of a Technicolor description of the catch to insert here if only the Gazette insider had seen it, and it was lucky that the ball wasn’t hit towards TWCC’s ever-attentive skipper who was facing the other way at the time. Anyway, a wicket for Mikey, an indescribable catch, and Unity were, even after this fine stand of 51 between Gashemi and Caeser, still somewhat on the ropes at 55 for 5 after 17 overs.
Charlie was wicketless on this occasion (although his bowling analysis does give him a wicket without showing where it might have come from...) but he was bowling very usefully, along with Mikey, through the brief but forceful Unity regrouping. Rob replaced Charlie after a five over spell and, unlike his son, he waited until his second over before bowling anyone which he did with the first ball of his second over. Unplayable we believe.
Jim wheeled in with a few overs, bowling tremendous wicketless deliveries, which brings us to Chinu who was needlessly unconvinced of his own abilities, and who bowled 5 overs straight off which included Caeser’s wicket when a top-edged pull was caught by Jim at deep square leg, and he kept bowling to the end with excellent figures of 5 overs 1 for 20. Graham and Charlie came back as the 30 overs limit approached, and Graham topped up his wickets column by enticing Mark Driver to lift a ball to Jim at mid-wicket and then by bowling Unity’s No 9 to end with figures of 3 for 14 off 5 overs. Very good.
Unity had scored 95 for the loss of 9 wickets in their 30 overs, the early wickets having taken their toll, and in the light of the now-arriving rainstorm, the two teams quickly turned around without tea, and Paul and Tom opened the batting for TWCC, but neither of them truly got going, much as Unity's bowlers were finding it hard to bowl with an increasingly wet ball. Paul lifted a ball up to be caught at... mid-on? ... and Tom was bowled by Page who possessed a quicker ball that came as a surprise. Notwithstanding his exit after just nine overs, Tom did play the shot of the day – a lovely patient lofted off-drive over the infield off the slow bowling of Nuttall that had the Offcrick inspectors reaching for their gold stars.
Tony, at 3, simply carried on from his previous innings, which had, in turn carried on from the one before that, and he was briefly joined by Mikey who was also out caught, which brought Jim in with TWCC on 44 for 3, and he and Tony were about to win the game in no time at all when, with the rain setting in somewhat, after 12 overs of the TWCC reply it was time for tea under the verandah. TeaViz had been showing 80% Nigella all afternoon, with Jamie on an unlikely 20%, and, sure enough, there were the sausages, the full sandwiches and plump cakes. During this wonderful Rydon tea, however, the on-off drizzle became steady rain, the captains declared an abandonment, and the game was transferred to the pub.
Looking at how people get out it’s a definite possibility that the new wicket is behind many of the wickets that fall. This isn’t because of any inconsistency, but rather simply because of the high bounce. When driving off the front or back foot, the ball seems to hit the bat higher up than the batters are expecting with catches the consequence, and then, when playing with a horizontal bat, the ball needs a more definite hitting down to avoid the same fate. We’ll adjust if this is the case, or we won’t which is more likely.
An abandoned, but enjoyable, match, and it seemed as if everyone was glad they’d turned up.

Scorecard
Toss uncontested (Unity had some latecomers) and Unity batted first. Certain big rain around 4.00 - 5.00 mandated an unusual agreement to play a 30:30 limited overs game.
Unity batting: J Driver Ct H Short bld G Cuthbert 1; M Cockburn bld T Rydon 0; D Gashemi ct T Pearce bld M Pearce 38; J Burke run out (C Howes) 2; A Gane bld T Rydon 0; A Caeser ct J Simon bld C Sharma 20; D Page bld R Rydon 4; M Driver ct J Simon bld G Cuthbert 7; T Burke bld G Cuthbert 6; A Nuttall not out 4; Daniels not out 1. Extras 12 (W9, NB3) Total 95 for 9 (30 overs).
Fall: 1-1, 2-2, 3-4, 4-4, 5-55, 6-60, 7-75, 8-84, 9-92.
TWCC bowling: T Rydon 2-0-2-2; G Cuthbert 5-0-14-3; H Short 1-1-0-0; M Pearce 6-0-24-1; C Howes 6-0-27-0; R Rydon 2-0-4-1; J Simon 3-1-3-0; C Sharma 5-0-20-1.
TWCC batting: P Hunter ct M Driver bld A Nuttall 5; T Rydon bld D Page 5; T Pearce not out 28; M Pearce ct, bld A Nuttall 4;J Simon not out 1. DNB H Short, C Sharma, R Rydon, G Cuthbert, C Howes, M Short. Extras 1 (LB1) Total 44 for 3 (12 overs).
Fall: 1-5, 2-33, 3-44.
Unity bowling: J Driver 4-1-9-0; A Nuttall 6-1-21-1; D Page 2-0-21-1.
Match abandoned due to rain.


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TWCC v Cutters Choice June 25th 2023
This shouldn't take long to wrap up. No more than a few days.
Hot. Dry. Breezy.
Long wait after Cutters Choice won the toss and chose to field first without a full team at the ground...
Without dwelling on individuals the TWCC innings, with a couple of exceptions, was mostly about getting out, but as it turned out, this wasn't a bad thing. There was one LBW (Paul), an unlucky bowled (Tom F) and the seven other wickets were catches. The bowling wasn't especially threatening, though of course there were plenty of good balls, but throughout the innings several TWCC batters got themselves out through a lack of concentration. There were exceptions, such as when Chinu, batting at 5, was unlucky when he truly smoked a half-volley back at the bowler, Saffi, who knocked the ball up and held on to the juggle for a great catch. There were several boundaries from all, a 6 from Tony, some good running here and there as TWCC tottered towards some sort of score, but it wasn't until No 8 Sam got to the crease with 26 overs gone, the total at 90 for 6, that anything much happened.
Sam seemed to be in control, and even looked as if he could not get out if he didn't want to, and as tea approached he just increasingly went for it. Tom R (4) and Ed (6) came and went, which brought last man Matt B in, and Sam and Matt took the home side to an at least respectable total. Matt certainly played a big part in this last wicket partnership of 41 off 32 balls, playing proper cricket shots including a whipped wristy cover drive all along the ground for 4. Matt's innings of 15 off 10 balls certainly invigorated TWCC's innings, but Sam seemed to be redrawing the boundaries on another level as he first tested out the strength of the Terry and June Oak, and then began to pepper the surroundings with all sorts of big hits, including taking a low full toss from around his ankles and cracking it clean over the pavilion. TWCC were on 148 at the start of the final over, Matt knocked a single, and Sam hit the remaining five balls for 6, 4, 6, 6, 4 taking TWCC to 175 for 9 and his own score to 55 not out off 22 balls, which included six 4's and four 6's.
TWCC went in to tea with at least something reasonable on the board, and Cutters Choice played their part in this by not reverting to their key bowlers at the end. Sam and Matt's batting must have given the visitors some pause for thought after a long period when TWCC really couldn't seem to string any runs together, though we suspect that they were quietly confident. The Gazette reporter, however, and for full disclosure, was as confident that it would be a draw or a TWCC win.
There was, as we combatted Tony's well-filled sandwiches and pork pies with bunches of grapes and slices of watermelon, an eye-of-the-storm atmosphere at tea. The unease of distant but gathering forces lurked behind both sides' reliving of the play just gone as they thought of what might be to come. In the TWCC camp Sam and Matt could hold their heads high, but maybe the rest were either pondering their bad luck or dwelling on their mistakes.
But TWCC do bowl and field well, it says here, so the home side were all bigged up as play resumed with Ed and Tom performing their usual ballistics display.
It's funny how it goes; this time it was Ed who took a wicket and Tom who didn't, but neither were going for runs and after ten overs although Ed's wicket had yet to arrive, they had only put on 24 runs. Cutters Choice would need to up the rate, but in their No 2, Toby, there looked to be someone who was on top of their craft and who, more importantly, seemed to be able to concentrate well. Early developments came from Ed, who, first had No 1 Paul out LBW, and then ran out CCCC's No 3. However, after that Toby, now joined by Paddy, set about setting about accumulating runs at an increasingly increasing pace.
Sam and Matt E took over the bowling at about this time, both with mixed success as, particularly Toby, played more and more expansively without looking to be in much trouble. His prowess was more front-footed than when playing shorter balls on a tight line, but the score was still climbing too fast for the home side to ignore. Sam, who hadn't played for a long time, became more confident as his spell lengthened and he finished off with a fast yorker that he forced through under Sam's bat (...no surnames to be seen...CCCC's No 6) for a solo wicket.
Mikey was soon right on the mark again, and sure enough he bowled the ball that Matt E caught at square leg. It really didn't take long to get there either, whipped as it was off a half-volley on leg stump, and Matt's reaction catch a foot above his head was great to see, but if you blinked you would have missed it. Tom R held another one off Mikey's fifth over which was a double wicket maiden... Where did this Mikey come from? And he started with a maiden! Who cares? - he's here now.
Toby was still in, and he really did hold CCCC's innings together very well, and he was now joined by capable all-rounder Saffi. Cutters Choice needed around 30 runs off the last 4 overs, and Matt had brought back Tom R and himself to try and either nip through the wickets or defend the total, and it was Matt who finally found the under-edge of Toby's bat for a played-on bowled. Toby had batted very well, and no doubt only attempted the shot he did in trying to get his side home. He was out for 76 (eleven 4's, more or less all nicely along the ground) and TWCC felt they were back in with a chance of a result that might not begin with an "L".
Little did they realise that No 8 Sham was another classy performer. He was simply untroubled by the bowling and his wristy pick-ups were reminiscent of Rohit who featured for TWCC in 2022, and he and Saffi in the end took the visitors home with ten balls to spare, leaving some bowling analysis carnage in their wake.
The Gazette has yet to mention the TWCC catching, significant though it wasn't. To mention each drop would be as repetitive as it is depressing, and CCCC's main protagonists had been undoubtedly living something of a charmed life. CCCC held lots of catches, TWCC didn't. In the home side's defence not many, if any, of the TWCC dropped chances were easy - skied balls on a bright breezy day are never easy - but had they been held the result may very well have been different.
Sam and Matt gave TWCC hope, Toby dashed most of it, and Saffi and Sham finished it off. On the day Cutters Choice were the better side, so hats off to them, and MCC counselling for TWCC. Perhaps they missed their Coach?

Scorecard
Toss won by Cutters Choice, who chose to field first. Timed game.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW Sham 15; T Firth bld Sham 9; T Pearce, ct, bld Andy 12; M Pearce ct, bld Andy 4; C Sharma ct & bld Saffi 0; M Edwards ct, bld Ryan 18; J Simon ct, bld Ryan 19; S Simon not out 55; T Rydon ct, bld Aide 4; E Howes ct wk, bld Paddy 6; M Brock not out 15. Extras 15 (B4, LB1, W8, NB2) Total 175 for 9 (37 overs).
Fall: 1-23, 2-31, 3-42, 4-46, 5-49, 6-90, 7-91, 8-109, 9-134.
Cutters Choice Bowling: Sham 6-0-23-2; Andy 7-0-22-2; Saffi 7-1-14-1; Ryan 8-0-43-2; Aide 4-2-4-1; Sam 3-0-32-0; Paddy 2-0-32-1.
Cutters Choice Innings: Paul LBW E Howes 8; Toby bld M Edwards 76; Kyle run out (E Howes) 1; Paddy ct Matt Edwards' bld M Pearce 39; Dave ct T Rydon bld M Pearce 0, Sam bld S Simon 9; Saffi not out 14, Sham not out 15. DNB Andy, Ryan, Aide. Extras 11 (B4, LB1, W4, NB2) Total 176 for 6 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-31, 2-41, 3-111, 4-111, 5-137, 6-150.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-3-22-1; T Rydon 8-2-35-0; S Simon 6-0-26-1; M Pearce 7-2-20-2; M Brock 4-0-22-0.
Cutters Choice win by 4 wickets.

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Henfield v TWCC July 2nd 2023
Clear, breezy day. Not hot – any influencers nearing pension age wore a short-sleeved jumper. TWCC's skipper Edwards won the toss and chose to bowl first, which Ed and Tom did with such gusto that Henfield's innings was rather compromised early on. This time it was Ed who seemed to have the run of the wickets; an LBW and a bowled backed up by some excellent catching all round. Mikey, running backwards at mid-off, turned an impossible chance into a wicket, and then couldn't quite make the ground to give Ed his full wickets five, and Matt took another catch to leave Ed with the excellent figures of 4 for 26 off 8 overs. Jim snaffled a catch at shortish mid-wicket to give Tom his, on the day, only wicket, and Henfield, in spite of some classy shots being played from many in the top order, were 45 for 5 in just the 11th over.
Tom off, Matt on - no respite - and soon Matt was causing trouble for the batters, culminating in an edge to 2nd/3rd slip, where Tony fought off all challengers to take a firm one-handed catch diving to his right. Another excellent catch on a TWCC catching day. Salt to wound was applied by Charlie who chased after a wide ball at fine leg, and pinged in his accurate throw to run out No. 8 Davis, and Henfield were in all sorts of trouble. Lal, Henfield's No. 4, was the only long-term presence at the crease, and his score of 65 when all around were playing good shots but getting out was truly a stand out performance. Lal stayed in whilst Charlie and then Graham bowled Henfield's 9 and 10 respectively, but his was the last wicket to fall, in the 26th over, after Jim bowled a ball a little wider that was mistimed to Matt at mid-on. Pick of the Henfield batting; Lal, though many Henfield batters were playing classy shots before they got out. Of some note was the excellent fielding, with five catches and a run out.
The BYOT was disappointing, it has to be said.
Paul and Tom F began the batting reply, and very nearly finished it too. The visitor's dressing room was relaxed, no doubt buoyed by the presence of their coach, as Paul smacked several shorter deliveries to the straight and mid-wicket boundaries. Tom pitched in with much the same, and some lovely high-elbow straight drives for 4 live on in the memory. Somehow, however, there was room in this game for Tony to score 39, so at some point Paul was out for 29, having hit six 4's, playing-on via a bottom edge off the leg-spinner Lewis. A lovely breezy unconcerned free innings shared with Tom, and TWCC were well on their way at 45 for 1.
Tony, in at 3, simply never seems to be out of form as his instinctive footwork compels the ball to meet with the middle of his bat, and he was soon charging about, timing big shots, placing 1's and 2's and generally living the dream. In no time at all TWCC were within three runs from victory, when Tony was bowled by a slippery ball from Mendis, out for a brisk 39 which included three 4's and a chunky six over... well... cow corner. And why not?
Tom nearly batted right through, but just before TWCC had overhauled Henfield's 121, he chipped up a ball to the excellent Mendis to catch. Tom was out for 40 of the best, having also hit six 4's along the way, and his partnerships of, first, 45 with Paul and then of 63 with Tony were the backbone of the TWCC innings. Great stuff.
It only remained for Jim, but principally Mikey to knock off the odd run or three, and TWCC were the easy winners in the 26th over.
Summary? Henfield's batting strength was somewhat nullified by some excellent bowling and catching, and perhaps their bowling wasn't as penetrating as TWCC have had to contend with in the past, but this takes nothing away from the TWCC bowlers doing what do very well, backed up by some almost faultless catching, and whilst Henfield's bowling was perhaps not as penetrating as they have been in the past, this also takes nothing away from the sheer competency of TWCC's top order. A solid game. As TWCC skipper Matt said; “...about as good as I’ve seen us bowl and field and bat – for those of us that batted!”

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field first. 40:40 limited overs format.
Henfield CC Innings: J Howson ct J Simon bld T Rydon 13; A Gander LBW E Howes 3; R Skinner bld E Howes 0; Lal ct M Edwards bld J Simon 65; Kieran ct M Edwards bld E Howes 10; D Mendis ct M Pearce bld E Howes 4; T Lewis ct M Pearce bld M Edwards 1; W Davis run out (C Howes) 3; Archie bld G Cuthbert 0; Mike not out 0. Extras 20 (B6,w14) Total 121 all out (26.3 overs).
Fall: 1-17, 2-17, 3-21, 4-35, 5-45, 6-52, 7 & 8 unrecorded, 9-95, 10-121.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-2-26-4; T Rydon 5-0-18-1; M Edwards 3-0-3-1; C Howes 4-0-18-1; G Cuthbert 5-0-38-1; J Simon 1.3-0-11-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter bld T Lewis 29; T Firth ct & bld D Mendis 40; T Pearce bld D Mendis 39; J Simon not out 1; M Pearce not out 6. DNB J Rowland, M Edwards, T Rydon, E Howes, G Cuthbert, C Howes. Extras 10 (B5, LB1, W4) Total 125 for 3 in 26.5 overs.
Fall: 1-45, 2-108, 3-119.
Henfield CC Bowling: Kieran 3-2-13-0; F G-M 3-0-9-0; Lal 4-0-18-0; T Lewis 10-1-51-1; D Mendis 6.5-0-22-2.
TWCC win by 7 wickets.

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Horsted Keynes v TWCC July 9th 2023
Once again TWCC found themselves in the time-warp village of Horsted Keynes with its cricket pitch surrounded by slightly rambling lavender hedges through which, perhaps, Agatha Christie gently poisons the Rev W Awdry's roses. And there's the slightly rambling pavilion, and the Harvey's pub that has rambled sufficiently to actually form part of the boundary. TWCC, complete with their coach, Coach, and touring supporters, were elevened by new-to-us Pete Fleming to whom we all extend our thanks and hopes that he both enjoyed himself and might like to join in again. Be warned Pete - once the jolly talons of TWCC have gripped, they often don’t let go. The general sense of bonhomie was further enhanced by the beaming presence of Skipper Brock -  very good to see him back - who won the toss and chose to field first.
Rather than go through endless mentions and details, the Gazette is, instead, offering up more of an impression of the game as its reporter was beguiled more by the soft balm of a summer’s afternoon than by any nipping and tucking. Besides, who needs the effort? Not the reader and certainly not the writer.
The wicket was hard and slightly prone to deviant bounce, though only the very odd ball kept low which was a blessing. Tom bounded in down the hill, and, whilst there was no good reason why this should be, no wickets came his way. Ed, on the other hand, running in up the slope, opened the wickets tally having Horsted Keynes’s No 2 Wilson out LBW in front of the stumps that looked like they'd been put in by Salvador Dali. Graham turned a suicidal run into an early run out, then he and Jim bowled a bit, then Charlie and Pete did some more of the same, and Brocky and Tony finished it all up. There – that wasn’t too hard was it? The bowling was tight – all that was required was a good length and the wicket did the rest - the fielding was excellent, Ed took a remarkable catch running backwards under a high ball, all-rounder Tony mopped up 3 wickets for 23, and Brocky produced his trademark 2/3 of a hat-trick. The home side never really got going, and even though Tony’s penultimate ball ended up in Richmal Crompton's bay window, his next ball bowled Horsted Keynes’s big hitting No 11 and it was time for tea with the home side all out in the 40th over for 126.
The tea was lovely. Maybe it’s a function of coming out of lockdown -  a desire for some zip - but 2023, the Gazette’s food critic insists, has been the year of mustard. He recalls being in a trattoria in Italy when someone said, “Non ha senso mettere un tocco di questo o quello, un barlume di basilica o una sniffata di limone: se entra devi saperlo assaggiare!”* and we couldn’t agree more when it comes to mustard. Pickles. Onion. Get the jars open, get the chopping board out, if it's going in, make it count – and Horsted Keynes’s teamongers were right with the programme. Or “program” as our American friends who secrete their spelling checks around the globe would have it, though they would be better served checking their own mustard. And cheese. And beer.
A digression too far? Of course it is!
Though we intend to be whimsical throughout, it is nonetheless important to mention a few specifics as TWCC’s chased down their modest target. It started straight off the bat as Paul absolutely smashed the very first ball of the innings for a four through the square leg umpire. It was one of those resounding sharp cracks of a hit that Paul had been working on the previous week, and it set the tone much as Zak Crawley’s cover drive did for the Ashes. Lovely, and from that moment on (spoiler alert) this was going to be a TWCC win. Paul's rapid 30 off 23 balls was another key Hunter fast-feet innings and included a full toss outside the off stump being pumped for a six over extra cover.
Henry, unable to bowl for a while, had opened the batting with Paul, and he was joined by a sequence of TWCC representatives, some more representative than others, and between them they zig-zag-stalked the Horsted Keynes total. Henry's excellent 21 was cut short by a stumping, and Tony was oddly circumspect as he accumulated 15 off 43 balls which says a great deal about the slightly treacherous wicket. It was left to Jonathan batting at 7 to pile in a quintet of fours in double time as he moved the game towards the pub with 24 off 25 balls before he was out leaving nothing for Jim and Ed to do, which they did.
Jez and his Horsted Keynes team were as welcoming as always, and it was one of those games when all players, from whichever side, were appreciative not only of any good play, but also of the joys of just being out in the sun, doing a bit of cricket, laughing at stuff and not being too bothered about who actually won. An oasis of Sunday calm in this troubled world. An oasis but no mirage; that was a pub and that was Harvey’s. Perfect.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field first. 40:40 limited overs format.
Horsted Keynes Innings: D Marmian bld C Howes 23; S Wilson bld E Howes 4; R Spetch run out (G Cuthbert) 0; E Long ct J Rowland (wk) bld J Simon 14; J Humphries-Davies bld T Pearce 23; M Floyer LBW C Howes; S Parker ct E Howes bld T Pearce 1; L Duly not out 17; O Wright bld R Brock 5; D Elliott ct H Short bld R Brock 0; G Holloway LBW T Pearce 7. Extras 20 (B9, LB5, W3, NB3) Total 126 all out (39.2 overs).
Fall: 1-16, 2-17, 3-44, 4-61, 5-80, 6-94, 7-98, 8-118, 9-118, 10 126.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-2-7-0; E Howes 5-2-6-1; J Simon 6-1-12-1; G Cuthbert 6-1-20-0; C Howes 4-0-13-2; P Fleming 3-0-12-0; R Brock 5-0-19-2; T Pearce 5.2-0-23-3.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct & bld D Elliott 30; H Short st, bld L Duly 21; C Howes ct S Parker bld G Holloway 1; T Pearce ct J Humphries-Davies bld S Parker 15; G Cuthbert LBW G Holloway 6; P Fleming ct O Wright bld M Floyer 7; J Rowland LBW M Floyer 24; J Simon not out 10; E Howes not out 2. DNB T Rydon, R Brock. Extras 12 (B5 ,LB2, penalty runs (hat) 5). Total 127 for 7 (35.1 overs).
Fall: 1-37, 2-40, 3-60, 4-76, 5-89, 6-93, 7-122.
Horsted Keynes Bowling: R Spetch 4-1-220; D Elliott 8-1-26-1; G Holloway 8-2-7-2; L Duly 5-0-17-1; S Parker 6-0-19-1; M Floyer 4.1-1-19-2.
TWCC win by 3 wickets.

*Translatata Googleroni 


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TWCC v Horley CC July 16th 2023
How to begin? It is going to be difficult to convey the drama, the twists and turns, that unfolded into one of the classic games as TWCC welcomed Horley CC to their humble village setting, but we'll have to have a go. Skipper Brock won the toss and elected to field first in a 38:42 Flexidraw game.
Conditions were dry but the lingering blasts of a full on Summer gale would make life difficult for anyone unlucky enough to be under a high catch or bowling from the Pavilion End. On the other hand if you're one of these fancy highly tuned fast bowlers you get to make the most of such wind assistance, and Tom duly stormed in from the Downs End with a helpful push behind him. Tom's analysis suffered a few early blows as edges evaded fielders at fine leg and third man and went for unwarranted boundaries, but he was right on the money and took the first wicket as Childs mistimed a forward push and sent the ball to Henry at mid-off (I think... - well, I know it was Henry, but as to exactly where he was fielding..?). TWCC were under way.
Jim, running into the gale, just about managed to make it to the crease and used the new ball and the slight crosswind to reasonably good effect. Although there were good balls in there it was a rather indifferent performance in terms of consistent line and length (blame the wind!), but one of the consequences of Tom’s much tougher bowling from the other end was that batters had ill-advised lunges at Jim’s wayward, though swinging, offerings and Horley’s Childs and Duncan Jee thick-edged the ball, first, to Henry for another catch, and then to Matt in the covers. Tom got through to the stumps of Horley's No 4, and with his and Jim's two wickets each Horley were 26 for 4. A very good start against a side that looked as if they meant quite a lot of business.
Matt replaced Tom, and with the wind at his back he built on Tom's good work, removing the capable Richard Waddington with a lovely bit of proper cricket as he sent down a series of in-swingers that the batter just kept out, and then just drifted one the other way that found the outside edge of Waddington's bat (I've got all this from Matt...can you tell?), and the ball flew through, really sharply, to Paul with the gloves, who held on to a great catch as if it was a routine and simple moment. It was all over in a flash, but there it was, a lovely bit of bowling backed up by Paul’s excellent reflexes and solid glove work. Horley had been enjoying a considerable resurgence and the removal of Waddington for 23 was an important moment in the game. But Horley were far from done, and Davies, now joined by Horley's captain Luke Smith, continued on with the defiant work and so, when Matt’s lengthy spell of 9 overs 1 for 41 was done, it was clear that, unless checked, the two batters at the crease were capable of taking Horley’s total up to worrying heights, so Brocky brought Tom right back in to see what he could do. Sure enough, as Davies tried to pull a waist-high ball from just outside the off, one of Tom’s pacy deliveries caught the inside edge of Davies’ angled bat, and he played on, out for an excellent 62 off 66 balls. Very good work, and he and Smith had taken the visitors on from 70 for 5 to 147.
Whilst the gale itself had abated somewhat, Brocky, replacing Jim, had found himself bowling into the teeth of some pretty capable and unforgiving batting from Davies and Smith, and so, wicketless on this occasion, he thought it was time to see what all this hype about Mikey 2.0 was about.
Well, although Mikey was very good, so were the batsmen, and an excellent and very crickety battle ensued, but, sure enough, in Mikey’s 6th over he finally got through taking two quick wickets, having Bayliss caught (another one for Henry!) and almost immediately bowled Jack Jee.
On 154 for 8 little remained of Horley’s hope to set a big target, and when Mikey bowled their skipper Smith for his third wicket, out for an valiant 50 off 62 balls, there was little hope of much further progress, and, indeed, Kanishka, who was sending down perfectly respectable nippy deliveries, had Dave Bunn caught by Tom and the Horley innings was over with 157 on the board.

Several performances demand commendation, and we must begin with the bowling of Tom and then Matt with the wind behind them which was something to see. I can’t recall any bad balls or any looseness at all from either of them, and both had edges that flew above or past fielders. TWCC’s fielding was excellent as always, backed up by some very good catching not least from Paul, which all added up to a fine fielding performance. From the Horley’s perspective the batters had plenty to worry about, and yet Richard Waddington (23) and then Ben Davies (62) and Luke Smith (50) stood tall and showed their cricketiness. It was proper cricket vs. proper cricket. Time for tea and I want to shout out for Matt’s sandwiches. Too often the cry when it’s Matt’s tea is just BROWNIES! but his sandwiches were really good too. Plenty of filling, so thanks Matt for all the mustardy effort. But he had more to give...

Horley opened up with bowlers who were not threatening in terms of pace, but they were very accurate indeed. Paul, his usual busy self, was out for 8 after being in no trouble at all when he annoyingly half-gloved a ball back to the keeper. Jim was joined by Tony at three, and the two of them set about Tony scoring some runs, but it wasn’t long before Jim attempted a bit of agriculture, yorked himself, and TWCC were 34 for 2. But TWCC had batting in spades, or at least it looked like that was what Jim had been using, and Tony was still going strong as Henry, at 4, came out to face a few balls with him, but all too soon he fell to a catch as he tried to hit out a little. Time for Mikey and sure enough he produced some lovely shots as the Pearces set about calmly overhauling the Horley total with some cultured and positive batting.
However, everyone knew that in the visiting ranks was a classy bowler, no doubt a force in league cricket, and Horley’s skipper Luke Smith rightly judged that this was the time to attempt to stop TWCC in their tracks by the taking of a few wickets. Ben Davies, who had top-scored for Horley, marked out a lengthy run up, sprinted in, and bowled low skimming pacey deliveries one of which did for Mikey who was out rather too soon for just 7. Enter Matt who hoped to build a powerful partnership with the remaining Pearce, but then Tony was also bowled by Davies who must have felt he had more or less done his work with TWCC on 49 for 5. But in at 7 TWCC had Charlie! If there’s a man for a crisis it’s Charlie. He’s fearless and capable and he and Matt were soon working even Davies about the field, for ones and twos and occasional fours and the total began to climb once more, and from TWCC’s point of view it needed to.
In good Sunday spirit Horley’s Luke Smith rotated Davies out of the attack, and this gave Matt and Charlie the opportunity to get out to bad balls – which they didn’t take! It’s hard to focus on individual moments during this passage of play, but suffice to say that the two doughty batters advanced their cause to such good effect that Davies was called back. Matt and Charlie had worked away at the deficit, and even after the fast bowler came back on in an attempt to halt TWCC progress, Matt pulled head-high bouncers for four using the pace and lifted a drive over the covers for a six to the poplar tree off Ben Davies’ first return over. Equally memorable were Charlie’s lean-back Root-like glances to third man off the face of an angled bat off Davies’ further bowling, plus, off the slower bowling of Waddington, he made a lovely uncomplicated swing of the bat to a full toss outside the leg stump that despatched the ball into the field beyond the poplar for a six. Matt and Charlie powered through in a stand of 80 before Davies finally got one through Charlie when he was out, bowled, for 22 off 44 balls. What a stand, and though I can’t easily tell from www.playcricket.stupid how many overs were left at the time Charlie was out, the situation for the home side at this point was a lot better than it might have been, but by no means was there any writing on either wall and WinViz was decidedly undecided.
Kanishka, at 8, joined Matt for a while, but having hit a big ball he was caught in front of the pavilion by Horley’s skipper Luke Smith who dived forwards whilst running round the boundary, scooping up a two-handed catch inches off the turf. Truly one of the best catches you could hope to see.
But Matt with Kanishka’s 3 had added a further 11 and TWCC were on 140 for 7. I can count back...hang on... playcrickekljfaj...look at whose wicket stupidnetbasednonsense... and .. er.. who bowled when... Ah! There were 5 overs to go! 18 runs required, and Tom took care of 4 of them with some good running, but then he, too, fell to Duncan Jee’s bowling, and, Oh! it’s all happening... then Graham, suffering with a concrete neck, also came and went leaving Matt, who had climbed past his fifty some time before, with last man Brocky and the score on 151 for 9! Seven runs required, but in order to get there TWCC couldn’t afford to lose any more wickets. Both sides in with a good shout, but what could TWCC do against the four remaining balls of the accurate Jee's last over and the final over from pacey Davies? Ten balls.  TWCC’s two skippers in the middle. Could Brocky be Leachy to Matt’s Stokes and score the telling single to get Matt back on strike? Of course he could! And, what’s more, Matt scored a further single off Jee’s fifth ball to ensure he would have the strike at the start fo the final over. Brocky, unflappable, ensured a dot in the book off Jee's last ball, leaving Matt to face the pace of the final over.
Six balls left. Davies charged in, all results possible... and Matt knocked the first into an empty space, and the batters ran a solid 2 off the first ball.
Scores tied.
TWCC 9 wickets down.
All results still on the table.
Davies, bowled the next ball, and he tried to intimidate Matt again with a fast bouncer, but Matt simply squared up and hooked the ball from head high from where it flew to the square leg boundary for a four! With the sharp crack of a middled ball Matt had steered his team home for a classic victory! A wonderful moment, and even the Horley players were appreciative of the drama and of Matt’s indomitable batting.

This was a match defined by moments of proper cricket, from Tom, Matt and Mikey’s bowling, to the patient but powerful striking of Horley’s more successful batsmen, to Paul’s catch, to Davies’ excellent pace bowling, to Matt and Charlie’s capability and resistance, to Luke Smith’s catch, topped off by Matt standing tall and taking on Davies’ final over in such a fearless fashion. It was a day of strike batting and strike bowling, fast running, catches held, bouncers, spinning deliveries, square cuts, crunching fours and sixes, ducking and clever glances – it seemed as if, having fallen asleep during a village game, one had woken up in the middle of some sort of county match with all the familiar faces doing extraordinary things. And yet, behind all this committed play, the spirit of Sunday cricket was maintained with inclusive Sunday captaincy and supportive sportsmanship from both sides. Proper cricket and proper village cricket are not mutually exclusive!
In spite of many great performances from all sides it was Matt’s day and his batting was truly a sight to see. Heroic stuff.
And let’s not forget Brocky’s single...

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bowl first. 38:42 Flexidraw.
Horley CC Innings: K Childs ct H Short bld J Simon 13; N Waddington bld T Rydon 1; R Waddington ct P Hunter (wk) bld M Edwards 23; R Bunn bld T Rydon 0; D Jee ct M Edwards bld J Simon 0; B Davies bld T Rydon 62; L Smith bld M Pearce 50; A Bayliss ct H Short bld M Pearce 1; J Jee bld M Pearce 0; D Bunn ct T Rydon bld Kanishka 1; D Childs not out 0. Extras 6 (B4, LB1, W1) Total 157 all out (37.2 overs).
Fall: 1-11, 2-24, 3-25, 4-28, 5-70, 6-147, 7-154, 8-154, 9-157, 10-157.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-1-34-3; J Simon 5-1-13-2; M Edwards 9-1-41-1; R Brock 6-0-35-0; M Pearce 7-1-24-3; Kanishka 2.2-0-5-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct R Bunn (wk) bld D Childs 8; J Simon bld D Bunn 1; T Pearce bld B Daview 30; H Short ct K Childs bld D Bunn 0; M Pearce bld B Davies 7; M Edwards not out 67, C Howes bld B Davies 22; Kanishka ct L Smith bld D Jee 4; T Rydon bld D Jee 4; G Cuthbert ct D Bunn bld D Jee 0; R Brock not out 1. Extras 16 (B6, LB3, W5, NB2) Total 159 for 9 (43.2 overs).
Fall: 1-8, 2-34, 3-36, 4-47, 5-49, 6-129, 7-140, 8-145, 9-151.
Horley CC Bowling: D Childs 8-2-14-1; L Smith 3-0-13-0; D Bunn 6-2-16-2; B Davies 10.2-2-36-3; A Bayliss 5-0-19-0; J Jee 3-0-24-0; R Waddington 3-0-14-0; D Jee 4-0-14-3.
TWCC win by 1 wicket.


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TWCC v St James Montefiore July 23rd 2023
Sunday sides put together by the bigger clubs in the area, St James Montefiore being a case in point, are often hard to size up. And, indeed, St James arrived at TWCC's home ground with an interesting blend of youth and older players and there was no way of knowing how well-matched the two sides would prove to be. Slotted more or less squarely in the middle of the SJMCC age spectrum was their skipper, Ben Vardy, who did the honourable thing and lost the toss.
TWCC's Matt, skipper on the day, chose to field first and with TWCC's full beans pacy trio available he duly opened with Ed from the Downs End who bowled out the visitors' No 2 and 3 in his third over. Tom battled in against the wind from the Pavilion End, but in the interests of keeping his powder dry, and since Ed had already taken care of a couple of wickets, he rested Tom for later and brought Jim on which sort of worked, but not so's you'd notice. Jim was economical overall, but a bit of a mix of unplayable and hittable, but at least one ball was slightly harder to hit for four than usual, and Hall, SJMCC's No 1, decided to run two where there wasn't two to be had, and Ed threw in a ball to somewhere near Jonathan who found enough of the stumps to run out the batter.
Charlie replaced Ed from the Downs End, and he did his energetic Charlie thing with his usual gusto, but he, too, was wicketless and, quietly, a bit of a stand was building between Kelly and Duddy who had taken the visitor's total from 20 for 3 to 83 when Henry, putting his body on the line, and taking over after Jim pulled up with a nasty strain, bowled Duddy who was out for 24. Henry's bowling is faster than his action betrays, but, sadly and we hope temporarily, his back played up again and he had to stop after just two overs. But he'd made the breakthrough TWCC needed, ending a fine partnership of 63 between Kelly and Duddy.
Chinu, following on from Charlie, settled on to an awkward length and before you know it he'd got the ball through to Malone's stumps and taken another wicket and St James were 85 for 5. However Kelly, now joined by Ben Vardy, were clearly both proper cricketers and the two put on a further valuable partnership of 54 before Matt, having saved himself for just this sort of moment, sorted all this out by taking a couple of quick wickets thanks to a brace of excellent running catches by Ed (again - Ed), running back from gully and snaffling the ball from over his head as he ran. One catch was easier than the other which was a bit harder than the other one of the two but both were harder than just an easy catch because of their difficulty. And he had the run out. Oh, and he took two wickets. And then he caught another catch off Tom, who had come back from the Downs End to help with the proceedings, but at least we have yet to get to Ed's batting.
Where were we? Oh, look, what with all the wickets, Matt and Tom coming back on, stuff happening all over, and I'm sorry if I've nissed anyone's notable performance out but it all sort of finished a bit earlier than St James would have wanted, thanks to some excellent management of his bowling options by Matt, and suddenly the BYOT moment was upon us, unless you hadn't done that and were left with a cold potato and a strawberry. St James' total of 153 all out in just 31.3 overs definitely put TWCC in the driving seat, but it had already been a fielding day once, and could easily be so again.

And so to TWCC's batting reply.
Sadly, during the first over of the St James bowling, amongst an abundance of waywardness there was a straight ball which would have hit Paul’s stumps if his pads hadn’t been in the way. The bowling side spotted this and successfully appealed for LBW. An early exit for the home side’s star batter, and TWCC would have to do without the quick early runs he often scores, and perhaps rely, instead, on a steadier approach. Luckily in at No 3 was our Henry, and he and Tom (T. firtharii) set about some steadiness that was pretty effective. It chewed up a few balls, but it was because of this approach that their shift together put on a stand of 65, and, as there weren’t many runs to get and there were plenty of overs in which to get them, this was no bad thing. In the end Henry fell first, bowled by the young tearaway Will Dalgliesh, who will no doubt be a real force in the land in years to come. What an excellent young cricketer. Henry fell first to the young paceman (30 off 76 balls), then Tom followed (24 off 72 balls) having defied and scored as required. Solid is the adjective that springs to mind.
Match situation: 24th over, TWCC on 74 for 3, and there were 21 overs left to score the remaining 80 runs. Just under 4 an over. No probs. Well done top order.
Jonathan and Ed were now the men in charge of TWCC’s future, but Ed, he of the run outs catches and wickets, tonked a lusty 4 and then went for another biggy. He really did connect, his sharp eyes placing the ball on the middle of his bat sure enough, but they didn’t spot the fielder lurking under the poplar tree at square leg, who took a very good catch. Jonathan of course looked his usual competent self, seeming to have more time than anyone else, but he chipped up a ball from Dalgliesh to mid-on/off and went early for just 6. So, on with the chase, TWCC now on 83 for 5. Enter Matt, TWCC’s ongoing star batter, and suddenly there we were, basking in the shared joy of being part of Matt’s innings as he pulled and drove and genrally got everything going in the right direction. Chinu, at 7, scored a chunky and well run 3 before he missed a straight one that kept a little...straight, and it was time for Charlie, the thinking man's superhero. Charlie, fearless in attack, solid in defe... oh... he was out for 0, bowled by Dalgliesh again, whose four for 16 off 6 overs was really commendable. But.. Charlie’s gone?!? Who can steer the TWCC ship home with Matt? TWCC still needed 55 to win and were 7 down, but as Tom (T. Rydonata) confidently strode out to the middle hopes were still high for the home side and, sure enough, Matt and Tom were soon safely scoring good runs quickly.
Tom pushed a comfortable single for his first run, and then stroked through a lovely six that I didn’t see at all because I was trying to get my pads on, but it sure was a goody I betcha. It went into the field by the pavilion anyway, I know that, and he and Matt were just doing the business when Matt was caught out, on 29 off 33 balls - another fine innings under a little pressure, especially as the bowling was still pretty hot. There were almost no runs left to score, and almost no one to score them, but Jim and Tom managed the task of finding about 9 runs off loads of available balls and that was it. Tom ended not out on 26 (34 balls) and for once wasn’t out in some unlikely and unlucky fashion and his was one of the four more substantial innings behind the victory for TWCC.
Another enjoyable game, for both sides I'd  like to suggest. Good humour all round, chat about each other's cricket, who'd done what well and so on - all very Sunday crickety and life affirming. Plus we'd won of course.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bowl first. Timed match. Be warned you scorebook fetishists - not much of this adds up.
SJMCC Innings: J Hall run out (E Howes) 7; J O'Niel bld T Rydon 5; M Dalgliesh bld T Rydon 1; T Kelly bld M Edwards 46; E Duddy bld H Short 24; H Malone bld C Sharma 0; B Vardy ct E Howes bld Trydon 38; W Mitchell ct E Howes bld M Edwards 3; W Dalgliesh ct E Howes bld M Edwards 4; D Mitchell bld T Rydon 0; D Mitchell not out 0. Extras 22 (B8, LB2,W8, NB4) Total 153 all out (31.3 overs).
Fall: 1-12, 2-12, 3-20, 4-83, 5-85, 6-139, 7-151, 8-151, 9-?, 10-153.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 4-0-12-2; T Rydon 7-2-22-2; J Simon 6-1-14-0; C Howes 5-1-21-0; C Sharma 3-0-22-1; M Edwards 4.3-0-31-3; H Short 2-0-18-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW O May 0; T Firth bld W Dalgliesh 24; H Short bld W Dalgliesh 30; J Rowland ct H Malone bld W Dalgliesh 6; E Howes ct W Dalgliesh bld E Duddy 4; M Edwards ct H Malone bld D Mitchell 29; C Sharma bld W Mitchell 3; C Howes bld W Dalgliesh 0; T Rydon not out 26; J Simon not out 5. DNB M Short. Extras 25 (B10, LB1, W12, NB3) Total 154 for 8 (41.3 overs).
Fall: 1-2, 2-67, 3-74, 4-81, 5-83, 6-98, 7-99, 8-146.
SJMCC Bowling: O May 7-1-29-1; W Mitchell 8-2-30-1; D Mitchell 6-0-26-1; B Vardy 7-2-21-0; J O'Niel 2-0-7-0; H Malone 3.3-0-14-0; W Dalgliesh 6-1-16-4; E Duddy 2-0-9-1.
TWCC win by 2 wickets.

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TWCC v Horsted Keynes CC July 30th 2023
It was raining before Horsted Keynes CC team rolled up for their first visit to the Twineham ground, it was raining when play started, and it was pretty much raining throughout the game. So, what did we do? We played all the way through of course. A full game. Quite right too.
The toss was won by HK's skipper Watts, and with joy in our hearts TWCC skipped out to enjoy fielding. At this late stage - it's now some days since we played - I think we should make this a gentle canter through the play rather than the customary blow-by-blow account we often enjoy so much, and so suffice to say that TWCC's enviable bowling attack, even without, on this occasion, Tom R - or any Tom come to that - soon had wickets in their columns and the visiting side’s batting intent was somewhat blunted early on. As soon as it was decently appropriate skipper Brock relieved the tearaways of their duties with the (increasingly wet) ball, with Ed having 1 for 11 off three overs, and Matt having started with a maiden, following it up with a wicket maiden, and finishing with a double wicket maiden. Good job he was taken off! All wickets clean bowled, apart from one off Matt that was an edged ball safely held by the no nonsense Paul with the gloves. Horsted Keynes found themselves on 11 for 4 off just 6 overs.
Time for some Chinu and Graham, whose spells nicely dovetailed with the middle order heat of Horsted Keynes's batting, which was a thing. Graham was slightly expensive though he did provoke a rash shot from Emerson who lobbed the ball up to Charlie in the covers, and Chinu certainly kept is end up with some great balls landing on a difficult length. It was time for Horsted Keynes, now on 39 for 5, to face up to a short spell from Henry and a burst from TWCC's premier spinner, although as it happened only Mikey was available. Henry, still struggling with his back, was only on for a couple of overs, but Mikey, his bowling bit firmly now in his teeth, produced the goods even with a wet ball, hitting the stumps of Long with his second ball, and then taking a caught and bowled with his tenth, this time the prized wicket of the high-scoring Waters who was out for 40. But even at 88 for 7 Horsted Keynes were far, far from done as their No's 8 and 9, Marmion and Smith, took the game on with gusto, and the home side were soon filching balls out of hedges, from gardens and not even bothering to look for some at all such was their escape velocity.
Charlie replaced Henry and though he was doing his Charlie thing pretty well, the total was beginning to climb. Not in itself a bad thing, but on a wet day who knew what a good score was? Skipper Brock, sensing that the batters who were in the middle might, from TWCC's point of view, be better off back in the pavilion, reintroduced the only lightly bowled openers Ed and Matt who did stem the flow, but it wasn't until Ed bowled the powerful Smith (played on - from memory (a dangerous precedent)) that there was a sense that the total could be restricted to below 200. Horsted Keynes now on 169 for 8, after Smith's crucial 45 in a partnership with Marmion of 81, had set the game up nicely. From this point, though, TWCC were able to manage the strike as No 10 Hunt found it hard to get the ball away, and sure enough Brocky had Hunt stumped by Paul's quick hands in his first over. The visitors were now on 180 for 9 in the 35th over, at which point the Horsted Keynes skipper, having put himself down as No 11, and feeling a not out could be bettered by a not wet, decided to declare! Good move. Marmion ended not out on 37 – an excellent innings.
Tea, a Howes family triumph, was really one of the best ever with fresh cakes, sandwiches so full there was hardly enough room for bread, fresh fruit - the lot. The bar is now higher than ever, and hopefully everyone forgets this Howes effort when it's my turn. Thank you team Howes.
Paul and Matt opened for TWCC, and the game suddenly seemed to more or less take care of itself. There was nothing wrong with the Horsted Keynes bowling, far from it, but if anything it was a little wayward. Smith was pacy but didn’t really threaten the stumps, and Paul and Matt simply batted.
And batted.
There were the trademark boundaries from both of them, but also a lot of singles and we all like a single - little and often wins the day.
In not over-hitting, the TWCC's openers didn’t fall to poor deliveries and the partnership grew and grew, first to 50 and then on to 100. Lovely!
Although, perhaps just this once, it would have been a joy to witness the opening pair return to the pavilion undefeated, it wasn't to be as Matt was caught in the covers off Watts, and he was out for a trouble-free - up to that point - 37 which included six fours and lots and lots of lovely singles. What a partnership! 118 with not a chance anywhere that I can recall, though, again this is from memory... What a treat, and with Paul still there on 63 and going strong in came Tony. Tony did his Tony thing, quite often, and in a quick innings of 23 in 22 balls with three fours and a six he had his fun but it all ended in a stumping when, for once, his eyes were bigger than his bat.
Henry, was similarly in and out, hitting a couple of fours in his quick visit, but Paul was still there. Jim, at 5, magnificently pulled his second ball for four behind square leg, although as it happened it didn't get as far as the boundary as he was caught by an excellent, truly wonderful, gravity-defying diving catch and he was out for 0. Not an unusual event in itself, but it left both Jim and his invisible fan somewhat disappointed, we imagine, and TWCC on 173 for 5, still needing just eleven to win. Paul, now on 79, was joined by Mikey and soon the two were sharing the victory strut back to the pavilion.
Paul, by the way, not only carried his bat, ending on 81 not out with eight 4's and two 6's, but he also kept wicket immaculately, letting just one bye through, and as official ball-dryer at mid-wicket/mid-on I can confirm that his skills also fully conform with Rob's definition of properness.
Batting's one thing, but without the strike bowlers taking out Horsted Keynes' top order so early TWCC's target could well have been very different. At the risk of sounding, no, being, obvious, you need both wickets and runs to win a game, and as it happened the efforts of TWCC’s elite bowlers and batters combined seamlessly to secure a home win.

Scorecard
Horsted Keynes won the toss and chose to bat first. 80 overs split format, with options including a draw.
Horsted Keynes Innings: D Foden bld M Edwards 9; D Marmion bld M Edwards 0; S WIlson bld E Howes 2; G Emerson ct C Howes bld G Cuthbert 10; S Teasdale ct P Hunter (wk) bld M Edwards 0; A Waters ct&bld M Pearce 40; E Long bld M Pearce 14; J Marmion not out 37; T Smith ble E Howes 45; J Hunt st, bld R Brock 7. DNB B Watts. Extras 10 (B1, W7, NB2), Total 180 for 9 declared (35.4 overs).
Fall: 1-8, 2-11, 3-11, 4-11, 5-39, 6-77, 7-88, 8-169, 9-180.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 9-0-39-2; M Edwards 8-3-23-3; C Sharma 4-0-25-0; G Cuthbert 3-0-40-1; M Pearce 6-0-22-2; H Short 2-0-12-0; C Howes 3-0-18-0; R Brock 1.4-0-2-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 81; M Edwards ct T Smith bld B Watts 37; T Pearce st, bld B Watts 23; H Short ct E Long (wk) 11; J Simon ct B Watts bld A Waters 0; M Pearce not out 10. DNB R Brock, C Howes, C Sharma, E Howes, G Cuthbert. Extras 23 (B6, LB3, W13, NB1) Total 183 for 4 (32.9 overs).
Fall: 1-118, 2-159,3-173, 4-173.
Horsted Keynes Bowling: G Emmerson 6-0-24-0; T Smith 6-1-25-0; E Long 4-0-28-0; J Marmion 4-0-20-0; A Waters 6.4-0-43-2; B Watts 6-0-29-2.
TWCC win by 6 wickets.


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Brighton Crescent CC v TWCC July 30th 2023
It wasn't raining, so that was a thing. Sensing a fellow adventurer into the wilds of cricket formats, TWCC's skipper Matt proposed a 40:40 2/3 for a draw format to Crescent’s skipper Gatword – and, at last, we were going to try out what many have said was a good idea and yet no one’s ever tried. Matt won the toss and chose to field first, which we did.
Blessed with one of TWCC’s strongest bowling attacks, lacking only, maybe, Mikey’s spin, the hosts were nonetheless worryingly capable of not getting out and scoring runs at the same time. Ed did bowl a ball at Pomfret’s pads, which he obligingly popped up to Chinu at square leg who held on to one of those catches that it’s all too easy to put down, but Chinu was safe as houses. Ed and Tom blasted on and all seemed to be going swimmingly, but it was nonetheless the case that after twelve overs the score was up to 40 for the one wicket, with Wood swinging free and hard and making the most of anything hittable.
Rob and Matt took over, and, before he pulled an intimate muscle, Rob broke through in his first over, finding Coles’ stumps and generally putting the lid on things. Matt, still in a fine vein of form, then bowled the troublesome Wood and, to some extent, at 70 for 4, the game was slightly swinging towards TWCC, especially after Crescent’s No’s 5 and 6 didn’t especially trouble the scorers, falling to Rob and Matt respectively. However, just as Rob pulled up with a strain, the batting kept on coming, and Crescent’s skipper Gatword was joined by Lakkakula and the runs kept on coming with even more regularity. Henry, still troubled by his back, bowled just two good overs, and Jim presented his usual mix for everyone, including the batsmen, to enjoy. Jim nearly had the wicket of Lakkakula in his first over, remarkable only because of Tom’s efforts to take the catch as he ran out from point, his head spinning round and round as he looked back over his shoulders, and launched himself forwards in a massive dive towards where the ball might arrive in due course, and landed heavily in a heap with the ball somewhere nearby. Somewhat winded it would have been one of the greatest catches of all time, but it wasn’t to be, and after seeing he was alright everyone resolved never to dive for a catch again ever. Thanks for the effort Tom, and I hope the glory of the effort lives longer than the pain.
This phase of the match was characterised by some very effective batting, as Jim and then Charlie found out, and even when Ed and Matt returned they, too, found that keeping the batters quiet was no easy task. In the end Matt did get one through to his opposite number Gatword, who was out for 46 in a partnership of 93 with Lakkakula, the total, by then, having climbed up to a challenging 175 for 6, with Lakkakula still in and scoring heavily. Skipper Matt finessed the last overs out of himself, Jim and Ed, both Rydons being somewhat incapacitated, and there it was, with 40 overs gone Crescent had powered through to 178 for 6 at tea on a difficult surface in the face of some largely excellent trademark TWCC bowling and fielding.
In itself 178 isn’t a particularly challenging-looking total for TWCC to run down, but the grass was very long and Crescent are a good side and it was to be a difficult chase. One felt this might be an excellent score.
TWCC were joined by their coach, affectionately known as Coach, and he watched as Paul and Matt opened the batting, and Brown and Bowley opened the bowling for the home side, and the ball won over the bat to the extent of hardly any runs being scored, but the batters saw what was afoot and realised that there was no point in them swinging and getting out as TWCC’s incoming batsmen would only have to face the same accurate, but not especially penetrating, bowling. Better to bide time, keep ten wickets in hand, and move on when the bowling changed. With eight overs gone, the score was just 13 for 0. When sixteen overs had passed by, the score was 36 for 0. The “0” is the important element as less sensible batting could well have TWCC on 45 for 4 which would have been of little better value.
The two opening bowlers bowled out, with excellent figures with just 32 runs against them after their eight overs each, and things did indeed start to change. The ball came on much quicker from Lakkakula and Lawson was easier to get away, and the score began to build. Now was the time to open out, which the boys in the middle did and it’s a great credit to them that they were still there to do so. Matt, however, was the first to go, in the 20th over, being bowled by Lawson for 27, and from then on, truth be told, the Crescent bowling and fielding made it difficult to make any risk-free progress. Crescent could, with the slow outfield, keep all the fielders in to stop the singles or quickly get to the ball if it had gone through the circle and thus runs were kept to mostly singles with just the occasional two. The only way to go was up, and Paul began to find the boundary, on one occasion clearing it for six, but Tony couldn’t quite get the whole Tony thing going, and he was out caught trying to for just 5, and TWCC's score was 80 for 2 with just 15 overs to go. Paul was next to go having just got to his 50, and with 11 overs to go TWCC still needed 70 off 11 overs. Somehow Paul had managed to hit five 4’s as well as his six, but it was no easy task to get the ball to the boundary. Matt had hit three 4's, but only Chinu and Tom were to get the ball to and over the rope respectively from that point on, and 178 began to seem like an impossible dream. After Tony was out, Jonathan, Chinu, Rob and Henry went out to score the runs, and that did happen but wickets kept falling. Everyone bustled, but it was largely singles and the odd two, and those didn’t add up to enough. With the win out of the equation Jim at 8 mirrored the earlier scoring rate (0 off 13 balls!), whilst Tom mirrored an innings borrowed from the Hundred as he pushed a 2, lofted a cover drive over the boundary for 6 and then was out. With eight balls to go, and 30 runs to get, Charlie faced the last couple of balls from the very successful Gatword who finished with tremendous figures of 7 overs, 1 maiden, 6 for 23, and kept him out successfully, and Jim, if we ignore the dropped chance to backwards square leg, safely saw off the 40th over from Lakkalula with his fiery in-swingers which were widely described as having been unplayable. It was the same person who described it, he just did it in a number of different places.
The match was drawn, with TWCC falling short on 150 for 8 after their 40 overs.
Points of note; though the bowling and fielding of both sides was really excellent, the slow outfield was overcome more persuasively by the Crescent batters than by the visitors. That was the difference, really. Paul’s 50 and Matt’s 27 were the only TWCC scores of note, but the necessarily slow start left TWCC rather behind the game, and though it definitely isn’t TWCC’s way to plod through a game, that became inevitable as the required rate climbed to around ten an over with five overs to go. Tom, in a final hurrah, did flash the blade, which earned him further credit, but HMS Draw hove into view and was firmly tied up at the end of play. TWCC don't often draw as they normally do something about one or other of the alternative results, but it was a good game with good people and it's a shame it wasn't closer. On the day Crescent were the better side, TWCC did their best and that's cricket.

Scorecard
Toss won by Skipper Matt Edwards for TWCC, and he chose to field first. Format: 40:40, 2/3 first innings total required to reach a draw, 1/1 + 1 required for a win.
Brighton Crescent Innings: B Cole bld R Rydon 10; B Pomfret ct C Sharma bld E Howes 3; M Woodbld† M Edwards 39; J Gatword* bld M Edwards 46; M Lawson bld R Rydon 8; S Lakkakula not out 50; Varun not out 0. DNB A Lambert, S Wood, M Brown. Extras 14 (B3, W8, NB3). Total 178 for 6 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-8, 2-40, 3-58, 4-70, 5-?, 6-?.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-1-34-1; T Rydon 6-1-21-0; R Rydon 7-0-29-2; M Edwards 8-0-28-3; J Simon 7-0-37-0; H Short 2-0-8-0; C Howes 2-0-20-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter bld J Gatword 50; M Edwards† bld M Lawson 27; T Pearce ct B Pomfret bld Varun 5; J Rowland* ct M Bowley bld J Gatword 12; C Sharma ct S Lakkakula bld J Gatword 7; H Short LBW J Gatword 1; J Simon not out 0; T Rydon ct S Lakkakula 8; C Howes not out 0. DNB E Howes. Extras 29 (B13, LB7, W7, NB2) Total 150 for 8 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-61, 2-80, 3-109, 4-129, 5-132, 6-140, 7-141, 8-149.
Brighton Crescent Bowling: M Brown 8-1-18-0; M Bowley 8-1-14-0; S Lakkakula 3-0-9-0; M Lawson 5-0-29-1; Varun 3-1-10-1; J Gatword 7-1-23-6; A Lambert3-0-20-0; B Cole 3-1-7-0.
Match drawn.

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Headliners v TWCC August 13th 2023
Some way from TWCC's usual stamping ground, recalling for some the ancient trail to Hadlow Down, the Headliners hosted a game at Coleman's Hatch Cricket Club in the verdant high ground of Ashdown Forest. Very nice indeed, on a fresh, blustery, dare I say it?... early Autumn afternoon. TWCC were only 9 strong, though Graham had agreed to drive up from somewhere in the Amazon to take part later in the afternoon, but in that 9-to-be-10 was James Taylor, a TWCC regular (he regularly plays every three or four years) and so, although they would be one down, the visitors were a good side. Also, whilst Graham was in transit and TWCC were only nine-strong, the genial Headliners were kind enough to supply a series of excellent fielders, for which we thank them. A good bunch, and the game was played throughout in a very nice spirit.
One quirk of the ground was a curiously short boundary, and when sitting in the pavilion it felt as if one was at fine leg/third man, sitting in a comfy chair, still saving one.
TWCC's Skipper Matt won the toss, and opted to field first. Ed and Tom opened the bowling, and didn't immediately break through which was a bit of a novelty as Huq and Khan navigated the difficult deliveries and sent the rest into the AONB. Headliners were on 63 for 0, with Ed and Tom having been temporarily been switched out, before James's off-spin did for Headliners' Huq, LBW for 21, with an excellent delivery that nipped back onto Huq’s pads for an LBW dismissal.
Rob bowled a tremendous straight eight over spell from the Eastern End, and as Ed and then Matt rang the changes from the Pavilion End, the number of hedge-bound balls began to diminish as Suhail Khan’s left-handed power batting was increasingly restricted, and whilst Rob’s 2 for 25 was TWCC’s outstanding bowling on the day, Matt, Tom and Ed came back and took wickets in the middle overs, the most notable one being when Tom's tight line found the top edge of a possibly tiring Khan's bat, and Graham, who had just arrived and who couldn't possibly have known how many runs were at stake, found himself under the ball and he securely held the catch on his second grab. Rob's two wickets included a Rydon caught Rydon, and Ed, in his second of three spells, also enjoyed a Howes caught Howes thanks to Charlie, and it all becomes a bit complicated to document, really, with lots of runs, plenty of determined fielding, calm efficient keeping from Paul and some good bowling from the main protagonists - but this was not a ground, with its short boundaries, to be a player short. James, Matt, Ed and Tom all came back on at various ends, Jim filled in for a tremendous 38th over that was 83% one run, and it all ended after 40 overs with the home side on 209 for 7 after Hudden (23) and Iqbal (39) had put together a good load of late runs.
We enjoyed a very nice tea, sitting in front of the weather-boarded chalet that is the Coleman's Hatch pavilion, but it was soon time to see whether 200-ish was reachable. It felt, with the short boundary, that it wasn't far above par, if, indeed, it was even as high as that, but possibly the Headliners would have been the happier side at half time if they'd known how TWCC were going to bat.
Paul and Tom opened up, the season's regular pairing soon settling into their work, but the bowling was pretty fierce and swingy and the ball nipped about off the wicket. Paul fell early to a very good reaction catch at first slip. It was the keeper's catch, really, but it went past him very quickly, and first slip just stuck out a right hand and when he had a look the ball was in it. It was an edge, but it's not often such a chance is taken. Tom was progressing very well, his signature off-side play reaping rewards to the short boundary off the pacy Junaid Khan, but James at 3 was LBW to Junaid before he could get the measure of the bowling. Rob joined Tom with TWCC on 6 for 2, and it was time for some rebuilding, which they did, but all too briefly. In the end Rob left a ball that didn't turn as much as he was expecting, and which caught the top of his off stump, but he had not only shared a partnership of 39 with Tom, but he'd also sent a ball for six over the longest boundary all the way over towards Uckfield in his curtailed innings of 18.
Jim, in at 5, calmly pulled his first ball for four behind square, a shot he later repeated in his own partnership with Tom of 31, before he went at a wide half volley and toe-ended a catch to point, out for 10.
Now we come to the main event. Matt, TWCC's Stokesy, joined Tom and they were both soon going strong, but another wicket fell all too soon when Tom was an early victim of Suhail Khan who began his late spell with two wicket maidens. Tom F's innings was one his best given the demanding circumstances as wickets fell around him, and he shared partnerships of 5, 1, 39, 31 and, now with Matt, of 43, and within it there were any number of Shots of the Day as he glided, punched, and cut the ball past gully and point, also hitting strongly down the ground. He was out for 35, including six 4's, and there was little more one could ask of him. TWCC needed a few more innings like Toms, but only Matt stayed in long enough to make a difference.
After Tom F left, with the scoreboard showing 119 for 5, Matt took a look at things, realised that the short boundary was there for the taking, and he cleared the decks and went for it. Sadly, with the returning Suhail Khan and Franklin, the going was a little tougher, and although Matt didn't appear to be in any trouble himself, he ran out of partners as Tom R, Ed, Charlie and Graham all fell cheaply shall we say. There were plenty of good balls, but one in particular from the powerful Franklin did for Ed as it pitched on middle and leg on a forward/back/forward/back/back length, and it cut away to take the very top of off stump. It has to be said it was unplayable. Unless, of course, Ed had got forward and played it.
In a final stand of 19, Matt and Graham cleverly managed the bowling, but in the end it was an attempt to keep the strike that led to Graham, TWCC’s last man, being more or less run out in the 36th over, with TWCC on 156 (for 9), some 53 runs short. Matt finished on a tremendous 64 not out off 44 balls, which had included ten 4’s and two 6’s, and it was shame that only Tom F and Rob chipped in with runs of their own. Matt keeps turning in performances like this, and it's a joy to behold as he strikes the ball so well and without seeming to be in any trouble. Tremendous stuff.
The bowling honours were pretty much shared by the two sides, as keeping any reasonable side to around 200 on that ground was a good effort, but Headliners' batting won the day, and congratulations to Suhail Khan whose 89 was the difference as he took his side to a 53 run victory.
It was a pleasure to see James again, and to think of the Steves, Dave and other past players. The Headliners, a friendly bunch of players, had found a lovely ground, and we look forward to taking on the challenge of this fixture in years to come.

Scorecard
Matt won the toss for TWCC and chose to field first. 40:40 limited prospects format.
Headliners Innings: R Huq LBW J Taylor 21; S Khan ct G Cuthbert bld T Rydon 89; Marshall ct T Rydon bld R Rydon 12; F McAteer ct C Howes bld E Howes 2; J Khan bld R Rydon 2; Hudden not out 23; S Iqbal run out 39; Zak bld E Howes 12. DNB I Huq, Franklin, Mustafa. Extras 9 (B2, LB3, W4) Total 209 for 7 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-63, 2-98, 3-101, 4-112, 5-133, 6-188, 7-209.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-2-36-2; T Rydon 8-2-43-1; J Taylor 7-0-63-1; R Rydon 8-1-28-0; J Simon 1-0-7-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter† ct Marshall bld Franklin 4; T Firth bld S Khan 35; J Taylor LBW J Khan 0; R Rydon bld I Huq 18; J Simon ct J Khan bld I Huq 10; M Edwards* not out 64; T Rydon ct J Khan bld S Khan 0; E Howes bld Franklin 0; C Howes bld Franklin 0; G Cuthbert run out 0. Extras 25 (B5, LB4, W14, NB2) Total 156 all out (for 9) 35.4 overs.
Fall: 1-5, 2-6, 3-45, 4-76, 5-119, 6-127, 7-129, 8-137, 9-156.
Headliners Bowling: J Khan 7-1-30-1; Franklin 8-3-25-3; Mustafa 4-0-40-2; I Huq 7-0-40-2; McAteer 4-1-14-0; S Khan 5-2-20-2.
Headliners win by 53 runs.


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Eastbourne Martletts CC v TWCC August 27th 2023
 We were almost on tour again, it seemed, as the TWCC convoy circled their wagons in the middle of another housing estate in wildest Kent. Skipper Brock won the the toss and agreed to a 35 overs win or lose game, also undertaking to bat first after some honest talk with Eastbourne Martletts' skipper.
Paul and Tom F opened the batting, Paul doing more damage more quickly than Tom with 22 off 25 balls before he decided to run himself out. Tony, in at three, set the game alight with some strong shots and lovely safe knock-down singles. Tom didn't quite get going as usual, the dead wicket not helping him, and was out for just 11, and so Tony was joined by Jonathan and soon the two of them were scurrying about and driving like good'uns. The artificial wicket yielded rather a low bounce which was a feature throughout the game, but Tony and Jonathan kept their heads down and powered on even in the face of some pacy bowling from Calcott which at first seemed as if it might be difficult to keep out.
The two went on to share a wonderful partnership of 105 before Jonathan, then on 34 off 65 balls, was given out LBW at which point Tony's puff ran out and he retired on a match-defining 69 off 65 balls. Brocky, a welcome presence at 5, and Henry added a few more runs coming in as a new pair with just two overs to go, and in that time Brocky's strike rate of 160 shows that he should bat more often than he does - the perennial skipper issue. TWCC ended on a creditable 172 off just 35 overs, the total helped, as if often the case, by an unlikely number of extras - 24 in this case!
The Gazette normally enjoys dwelling on the tea but sadly there isn't sufficient space on this occasion, so we move on to the second innings. As far as TWCC's bowling was concerend Tom R started with two maidens and Jim with two wickets, bought, probably, as the contrast with Tom's excellent pace encouraged the two openers to play across Jim's bendy line. These two early wickets brought the free-swinging left-hander Calcott to the middle, and, though he gave the odd chance (no names mentioned), Jim only worked out after he'd been hit for ten off his third (and, curiously, last) over that Calcott was less potent if you bowled at his heels. Replacing Jim, Charlie's natural instinct for the game allowed him to find this better line (a foot outside the leg stump) and so he was the perfect foil to Calcott's ambition, and the scoring slowed a little. Henry, replacing Tom and back to his best, bowled a great five over spell, bowling Levett at a time when he and Calcott were threatening to cut loose, and Rob did his Rob thing after Charlie's spell, taking two quick wickets in his three overs, bowling Calcott, Eastbourne Martletts' only real scorer (a valuable 43), in a double wicket maiden. His second wicket was notable for the sharp bounce and the equally sharp reflexes of Jonathan behind the timbers, whose gloves rose up and took the edged shoulder-high catch with aplomb.
After Henry it was time for a bit of Chinu music, and he really came into his own bowling full length deliveries, one of which forced a false shot out of Pandey that became a catch for Charlie, and another having Norman LBW in what turned out to be a four over 2 for 14 spell. Brocky, replacing Rob, went in for the end wickets, bringing about a wonderful low catch from Tony at slip - the second bit of Proper Cricket of the day to add to Jonathan's catch off Rob's bowling. Brocky it was, and fitting that it was Skipper, who ended the game as Harris chipped the ball out to Tom R at point for TWCC to take the tenth wicket with the home side on 99 in just 28.1 overs.
TWCC win by 73 runs.

Scorecard
TWCC (Skipper Brock) won the toss and agreed to bat first. 35 overs limited horizons match.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter run out 22; T Firth ct & bld I Vasquez 11; T Pearce retired puffed 69; J Rowland LBW E Johnson 34; R Brock not out 8; H Short st J Levett bld E Johnson 3. DNB R Rydon, J Simon, C Sharma, C Howes, T Rydon. Extras 24 (B11, LB3, W7, NB3) Total 172 for 4 (35 overs)
Fall: 1-37, 2-56, 3-161, 4-172 (Tony retired between the 3rd and 4th wicket).
Eatbournce Martlett's CC Bowling: J Levett 5-0-13-0; J Small 6-1-30-0; I Vasquez 5-0-14-1; T Norman 5-0-19-0; L Calcott 6-1-22-0; C Harris 3-0-25-0; A Panday 3-0-28-0; E Johnson 2-0-8-2.
Eastbourne Martletts CC Innings: R Calcott bld J Simon 0; N Piercey(?) ct T Pearce bld J Simon 1; L Calcott bld R Rydon 43; J Levett Bld H Short 11; E Johnson ct T Pearce bld R Brock 11; J Small Ct J Roland (wk) bld R Rydon 0; A Pandey ct C Howes bld C Sharma 1; C Harris ct T Rydon bld R Brock 13; I Vasquez run out (T Firth) 1; T Norman LBW C SHarma 0; T Brad not out 1. Extras 17 (B8, LB4, W2, NB2) Total 99 all out (28.1 overs).
Fall unrecorded, but there were a couple of quick wickets, a partnership between L Calcott and J Levett, then a decline.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-2-6-0; J Simon 3-0-20-2; C Howes 5-0-24-0; H Short 5-0-11-1; R Rydon 3-1-5-2; C Sharma 4-1-14-2; R Brock 2.1-0-6-2.
TWCC win by 73 runs.


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Ditchling Sunday XI v TWCC September 3rd 2023
One of TWCC's more recent annual fixtures, Ditchling are a club with resources to burn, and however this match was to pan out TWCC knew that they would have to be at the top of their game to be competitive. Matt, skippering once more, won the toss and following a discussion about relative strengths, offered to bat first.
Ditchling opened with two youthful bowlers, with all the pace that that often brings, which Paul quickly got on top of as he often does. Tom F, at 2, found himself facing the greater pace of C Nolan, which he manfully kept out while Paul scored more freely from the other end. Ultimately, however, it was Eastman who found the edge of Tom’s bat and he was caught at slip with TWCC on 26 in the 7th over. Enter Tony, who was soon encroaching down the wicket towards Nolan’s pace, and Paul and he were building the innings nicely when Paul slightly pulled out of a drive and lobbed a catch out to cover. This was to be a familiar form of dismissal as TWCC’s innings played out, with “out” being the operative word.
With Paul out for 24, a peppering of fours behind him, Mikey joined his dad for a few balls until Tony couldn’t leave a fast rising ball alone and he edged a catch through to the keeper, who dropped it, so he did the same with the next ball and this one was taken and thus Tony was out before he truly got going. Henry, at 5, looked solid until the in-swinging good length bowling of Carr got through to his stumps, and he was followed back into the pavilion soon after by Mikey, already on an eye-catching 20, who top-edged a cover drive up and to the left of O’Donnell in the covers, who ran round and back to take a very good running catch. Matt and Jim put on a few more before Matt chipped one up to O’Donnell again, which is what Jim did and is what Chinu did and is what Tom R did. In amongst this catalogue of self-destruction one has to mention the good length bowling, just short of a half-volley, from Carr, Simmonds and Cooke, which, with the ball stopping in the wicket, just meant the batters weren’t quite to the pitch and the ball was repeatedly clothed up for a series of very similar dismissals. As we look back we can see some good cricket from the batters nonetheless; Matt’s top-hedged 6, some good running, Chinu’s intent, and shot of the day Tom R’s straight six off Cooke. Comment of the day was from Ed who, as the crowd were applauding Tom’s wonderful towering six, said “he’ll be out next ball.” No help, but prophetic.
Which leaves someone we have yet to mention – the wonder that is Charlie, in at 9, who is gloriously fearless in his approach – and who cracked fours as if his bat wasn’t made of balsa wood. Chinu and Charlie put on 16 in their very entertaining 8th wicket partnership, and then, after Tom R was out for six, the Howes boys were once again showing some welcome flair for their team-mates and the excellent crowd to enjoy. Charlie continued to wield his Elven blade and Ed’s fast hands kept clipping the ball to the leg-side for four as the two put on a last wicket partnership of 24 to gladden the hearts of their followers. Ed, with a valuable and persuasive 19 to his name, including four 4’s, was finally caught towards the deep long on boundary (AKA cow corner) and the innings was over after just 32 overs. It could have been worse, and there was certainly no lack of intent, but this had nonetheless been an innings frustratingly punctuated by repeated catches lobbed into the off side. Good length slow bowling did the damage as the ball stopped and stood up slightly, and possibly a lack of foot movement to the ball led to the scoreboard finally coming to rest at a lowly 149 all out.
The second innings started well enough for the visiting side, with Tom and Jim combining once again in the first over or two, but after Jim’s slight out-swing found the top edge of Cooke’s bat for Ed to take a head-high catch at point, it all went slightly south. The Nolan brothers, in at 2 and 3, showed their pedigree as they freely swung at top-of-off balls from both bowlers, and the score climbed quickly from that point on as all bowlers were somewhat put under the pump as the home side’s score climbed rapidly and inexorably towards their modest target. No details concerning partnerships are available, but the two Nolans and Harry Eastman in at 4, were dominating the play.
Rather than dwell on each bowler, let’s instead pick out a few TWCC highlights, taking the excellent batting performances as read. Mikey took two wickets, one a Jim catch at the straight boundary as top-scorer Connor Nolan went for another biggy, and then Paul stumped Harry Eastman as he wandered out of his ground, giving the young entrepreneur figures of 2 for 27 off 5 overs. Henry, bowling into the teeth of the onslaught, did get the ball through very nicely, with good pace, but he was unsuccessful on the day as the batters had their eyes in and were finding the boundaries all round the ground. Chinu’s good-length off spin was effective as the batting bravado slightly thinned, and, indeed, he instigated the day’s Champagne Moment as Rufus Nolan, not quite middling a ball bowled slightly short of a length, struck it to the long on boundary where Ed, his heels teetering close to the rope, held on to a great catch. With slower bowling being the harder to survive, it wasn’t until the end that Matt brought himself on, and he started with a wicket maiden as he so often does, as Roger Spur, who had previously played for TWCC in a past life, bottom-edged a high wide ball down onto his stumps. But that was it, TWCC never had enough runs, and though the home side were 6 down by the end, there were still batters to come and the Harvey’s pump was being primed some time before the final curtain fell.
Looking at the wider TWCC picture the batters did provide some useful scores, with the top score being from Paul, again, whose 24 was achieved during the initial burst of pace and which was followed by Mikey’s 20 off 26 balls. Charlie and Chinu’s 16, followed by Charlie and Ed’s 24 at the end were the pick of the later partnerships, and in the field good catches were held when they were offered, the fielding was tight and restrictive, and everyone manfully kept going in the face of some forceful scoring. Talking of which one has to mention the home side’s main three batsmen of the day, Connor Nolan (51) and his brother Rufus (40) being backed up by Harry Eastman (27), who quickly took the game away from the visiting side. However, TWCC did take their wickets and definitely had the bowling to take more, and if they had put, possibly, as little as 30 more on the board in their innings the game might well have been tighter, but Ditchling cruised through to a  four wicket victory.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss, and after amenable Sunday deliberations, chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter† ct M Simmons bld C Nolan 24; T Firth ct C Nolan bld H Eastman 2; T Pearce ct Forman(?) (wk) bld C Nolan 12; M Pearce ct R O'Donnel bld R Nolan 20; H Short bld T Carr 4; M Edwards* ct R O'Donnel bld M Simmons 13; J Simon ct R O'Donnel bld P Cooke 2; C Sharma ct R O'Donnel bld C Eastman 6; C Howes not out 15; T Rydon ct C Eastman bld P Cook 6; E Howes ct R Nolan bld C Eastman 19. Extras 25 (B5, LB2, W8, NB11) Total 149 all out (32 overs).
Fall 1-26, 2-51, 3-55, 4-70, 5-81, 6-97, 7-100, 8- 116, 9- 125, 10-149.
Ditchling Sunday XI Bowling: H Eastman 6-0-32-1; C Nolan 7-2-22-2; T Carr 4=1=19=1; R Nolan 4-0-7-1; P Cooke 6-0-31-1; M Simmonds 3-0-12-2; C Eastman 3-0-19-2.
Ditchling Sunday XI Innings: P Cooke ct E Howes bld J Simon 3; C Nolan ct J Simon bld M Pearce 51; R Nolan ct E Howes bld C Sharma 40; H Eastman ct M Edwards bld E Howes 13; R Spur bld M Edwards 1; D Eaton(?) not out 1; G Forman(?)† not out 6. DNB 2 others plus T Nolan*. Extras 9 B1, LB1, W6, NB1) Total 151 for 6 (23.2 overs).
Fall: 1-3, 2-85, the rest unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-40-0; J Simon 3-0-18-1; E Howes 4-0-27-1; M Pearce 5-0-27-2; C Sharma 2-0-7-1; H Short 2-0-21-0; M Edwards 1.2-1-5-1.
Ditchling Sunday XI won by 4 wickets.


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Loxwood Sunday XI v TWCC September 10th 2023
Another first time fixture, and thanks to Ed and Loxwood for getting a game on after a touring side pulled out from a Twineham home game. The records ought to show that the week leading up to this Sunday's away game for TWCC was the hottest on record for September, and which also contained the hottest day of the year for the UK. In September! Oh dear - what have we done?
Brocky won the toss, in a 35 over per side game, and chose to field first. Tom R and Mikey(!) opened the bowling for the visitors, and a scoring rate of five an over seemed to settle in for the duration as the hard ground and a short boundary on one side took their toll. Ed replaced Tom, and took the first wicket in an unbroken and excellent spell of 7 overs, two maidens 1  for 15, but no one else really managed to keep the lid on Nick Ranson's scoring as he repeatedly found that short boundary and generally looked to be in little trouble. A broad brush portraying TWCC’s bowling would describe balls passing the bat, edges that went for fours, and Nick Ranson not getting out as he forged a trouble-free extended partnership with his young son, Lachlan, on his way to a match-defining 75 which included thirteen 4’s and a 6. All the bowlers found their way past the bat, but not always, and runs just kept on accumulating although Henry did have Ranson senior dropped. Quite a serious drop, but we won’t mention any names because we’re better than that at TWCC. It was Charlie, in the end, whose tempting bowling provoked Nick Ranson into a mighty pull off the middle of his bat, only to look and see that Ed's right hand was securely wrapped around it. A remarkable shoulder-high reaction catch at midwicket that stuck as if nothing else would ever have been a possible outcome. It went into his palm, and that's where it stopped. I’m not even sure he was looking. Champagne right there, no other moments need apply, one of the best catches we've seen.
The wicket of Ranson senior brought more batters to the middle, and much the same scoring rate of five an over just carried on. Ed's catch wasn't the only fielding moment of glory as Tom F ran back to overtake and hang on to a skied ball from the bat of Lachlan Ranson after Jim bowled a slower ball that actually worked. It was a wonderful catch that not many would have got to - he's a speedy chap, Firthy - but the scoring sort of just carried on at this pesky five an over - perhaps a natural scoring rate for the ground? Will Price, Loxwood’s No 4 batter, was soon scoring heavily and, indeed, he advanced the home side’s cause significantly as he swung free and powerfully. Chinu caused his customary measure of difficulties for the batters in his short spell, but it was  Brocky, his usual indomitable self, who found the top of the stumps with his very first ball - a perfect length delivery that just did enough of something, and there it was; another wicket which brought in another batter who also scored at sort of five an over, maybe a little more, and as the last overs played out Price’s quick 44 not out and Warmington’s 12 not out off 11 balls took the home side to 201 for 4 at half time.
A big thank you to Loxwood for a wonderful tea – it really was appreciated, particularly as the early start and the travelling had meant that there had been no time for lunch, and no time, probably for some, for breakfast either. A proper tea made with obvious care and generosity makes a visiting side feel truly welcome.
Paul and Tom F opened the batting for TWCC, and Paul’s two boundaries off the first over set the positive tone that was required if the visitors were to overhaul 201 in just 35 overs, and this approach was matched by Tom as the two put on a quick 32 before Paul was given out LBW to the clearly accurate and wily Newman. Paul always gives momentum to the start of an innings, and he looked to be in just the right frame of bat once again as he, and Tom, exploited the fast-running outfield and it’s a shame he was out early for just 18 during which he hit four 4’s. But in at three was Mr Mikey Pearce, and not only do we all know what he can do, this time he did it! Perhaps it was the worry of Jim being the next man in, but whatever the reason Tom and Mikey didn’t especially get out as they navigated their way through some excellent bowling, not taking risks with good balls but putting less threatening offerings to the sword. As the opening bowlers either finished or were rested, the scoring opportunities increased, and the visitors were right on track on 113 for 1 after 20 overs. There we go again; about 5 an over... Tom and Mikey really were providing something of a masterclass of batting and running, until Mikey was run out. It did take a direct throw from Will Price to shatter Mikey’s dreams and stumps, but there he was, walking back to the pavilion, wistfully swishing his bat to and fro as his dominant innings was curtailed with him on 44 off 52 balls and the total on 125. A great knock, and a 93 partnership with Tom which was just perfect for the occasion, but sadly cut short. At least it was some great fielding that led to his downfall, if that’s any consolation. Which it isn’t.
Thirteen overs to go, six runs per over required. Tom still in and looking good.
Loxwood had plenty of bowling in reserve, and, with Jillians, Curtis and the two openers up their sleeve, it was going to be hard to maintain the required scoring rate, but Tom and Jim did alright in a partnership of 27, with some strong play and good running, but there would be no prizes for falling short with batters to come, so Jim rather clunkily stepped outside off to Curtis, who was getting some away swing, and he top-edged a ball to midwicket, out for 13, all but one run of which were fours. Tom was still there on 48, still scoring, and TWCC had plenty of batting to come, which was the point of Jim having a rush of what passes for blood. Henry, at five, found himself once again required to play a selfless innings, which he did, striding down the wicket and using his good hand/eye coordination to swing through, but at this point TWCC were, quite rightly, taking risks and burning wicket in their chase, and he was out caught going for a shot of which his coach may, in other circumstances, not have entirely approved.
Loxwood’s openers returned as the 35 overs limit loomed, and, pushing on hard as ever, Tom F, in the end, was bowled shortly after reaching his half-century, 52 off 68 balls, and the top-scorer for TWCC on the day. He was bowled by Bonney as he went hard at the ball having hit nine 4’s and run really well on a very hot day, and it must go down as one of his best outings. Or, rather, innings. And outings. Err... both.
TWCC were now on 163 for 5, with just four overs or so left.
Graham, at 6, epitomised the desired approach as he kept his first ball out, produced a contender for shot of the day with a smooth, punchy, on-drive from a ball that wasn’t quite there to hit that screamed between mid-on and mid-wicket for four for his second, and then he was caught behind off Bonney from his third ball. But the point was that he’d scored four off three balls. Enter Chinu, who understands the game as well as anyone, who went in with perfect ambition, knocked a run, then was bowled as Newman picked up his second wcket. Notwithstanding the wickets tumbling, it really was building to a decent climax as TWCC still had another Tom, an Ed and the powerhouses of Charlie and Brocky to come.
With two overs to go the match situation became starkly clear. With Tom R and Ed at the crease 27 runs were required off 12 balls. Difficult, but not insurmountable, and even moderately exciting from an optimistic viewpoint, which is clearly an untenable perspective to have in life. But there are such people about, and it doesn’t hurt to cheer every scrambled run and hoick.
Last over. 21 required. Tom and Ed in the middle. A wonderful TWCC victory was, at least, a possibility as Reynolds ran in to bowl the last six. A wide! Still six more balls to go. Oooh - a dot.... A scrambled single. Ed’s hit a boundary! Another wide! A dot. A bye! A two to finish, and the win was the home side’s as TWCC's  valiant effort fell short on a creditable total of 193 for 7 – just 9 runs short.
It was not a TWCC win, but it was a genuinely enjoyable afternoon’s play with both sides clearly aware that the prime objective of Sunday cricket is to do just that first, and then win if you can. The Ranson family’s combined 110 runs, backed up by Will Price’s 44 and his fielding, were the prime movers for the home side, though, naturally, all players from both sides contributed in the many ways that cricket rewards effort and commitment.
Well done Loxwood, and good to see Firthy and Mikey hitting the big time, even if in a losing cause.

Scorecard
Toss won by TWCC (Brocky) 35 overs/side win or lose.
Loxwood CC Innings: A Seeley bld E Howes 11; N Ranson† ct E Howes bld C Howes 75; L Ranson ct T Firth bld J Simon 35; W Price not out 44; M Jillians bld R Brock 1; O Warmington not out 12. DNB J Curtis, O Reynolds, J Bonney, M Newman, C Newman. Extras 23 (B6, LB8, W5, NB4) Total 201 for 4 (35 overs)
Fall unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-21-0; M Pearce 3-0-17-0; E Howes 7-2-16-1; H Short 5-0-38-0; C Howes 4-0-39-1; J Simon 6-0-30-1; C Sharma 3-0-19-0; R Brock 2-0-16-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW bld M Newman 18; T Firth bld J Bonney 52; M Pearce run out (W Price) 44; J Simon ct W Price bld J Curtis 13; H Short ct M Jillians bld J Bonney; G Cuthbert ct O Warmington (wk) bld J Bonney 4; C Sharma bld M Newman 1; T Rydon not out 8; E Howes not out 5. DNB C Howes, R Brock*. Extras 39 (B7, LB9, W21, NB2) Total 193 for 7 (35 overs).
Fall: 1-32, 2-125, 3-152, 4-159, 5-163, 6-164, 7-175.
Loxwood Bowling: J Bonney 7-0-46-3; M Newman 7-1-26-2; O Reynolds 7-0-32-0; C Newman 5-0-30-0; L Ranson 2-0-22-0; M Jillians 5-2-12-0; J Curtis 4-0-12-1.
Loxwood CC win by 3 wickets.

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TWCC v Bolney CC September 17th 2023
Within the balmy world of timed Sunday afternoon cricket matches, bathed as they are in a Wodehousian glow, it is often difficult for a side bowling second to take the ten wickets necessary to secure a victory. This isn’t to say that it doesn’t happen, and the bowling and fielding journey is all the more rewarding when it does, but as the days get shorter and the rain wetter, fitting in around forty overs per side is more of a challenge and so, on the day TWCC welcomed Bolney to their ground in the pouring rain, with thunder and, presumably, lightning, crashing around, Skipper Edwards for TWCC and Skipper Elliott for Bolney, agreed to a 35 overs per side match, with the proviso that the side batting second could still achieve a draw if they scored at least three-quarters of the first innings score. Not a unique innovation, but one that TWCC have now instigated a few times with some success. While we’re at it, let’s hope that 35 overs per side doesn’t take root as fitting in as many overs per side as possible is more likely to guarantee that all players get a bowl or a bat or both. Principal bowlers will always get a bowl, top order batters will always get a bat, but if shorter games become the norm there are some who might fall between the cracks.
The rain, really the heaviest we’ve seen since the season began, lasted for an hour, but it did blow through and, after Bolney won the toss and chose to bat first, Matt had the difficult task of finding a couple of bowlers who might be able to run in and bowl without falling over on the slippery surface.
Ed opened from the Downs end, and he didn’t seem to have too much trouble, not that he made much of anyway, and whilst Jim did lose his footing as he bowled his first ball, he put even less effort into his bowling from then on and all was well. The ball, however, was soon wet and so there was really no swing, but going cross seam on the wet artificial surface did occasionally provide some extra bounce and the occasional cut off the seam.
That’s the bowling. The batters, Gould and Morris, had their own troubles as several beautifully-timed drives, on and off, that would have been fours in a flash in normal circumstances, but which instead pulled up in a spiral of spray as the long, wet, grass dragged the ball to a standstill just past the inner ring of fielders. Swings and roundabouts.
Right. Onto some wickets! There weren’t that many of them is the truth. Jim did manage to get a few good balls down, one of which jagged up a fraction from a just short of a length, and Jonathan, standing up to prevent Gould making it a half volley by leaving his ground, took a wonderful sharp catch as the ball found the edge of the shoulder of Gould’s bat as he half-pushed at the rising ball. If this sounds a bit like Proper Cricket then, well, we’ll leave that up to the reader to decide. It was certainly a proper catch.
Gould’s wicket, and we were to learn that this was a good wicket for TWCC to get as Gould is a serious player, brought Shah to the middle, and, as he and Morris worked their way through Jim’s sixth over which went for thirteen, the remaining overs of Ed, then Tom R (who did slide about as he bowled...) then Henry, then Charlie and then Graham... Oh dear! or Oh good! depending on your allegiances and/or on whether watching runs being scored is your thing, these two, Morris and Shah, took the immediate initiative away from the home side. Pace on seemed to be what the batters found easiest to score from, and so, recognising this, Matt called upon Charlie and Graham and they both did get past the bat on several occasions and in the end it was, indeed, Charlie who finally produced a false stroke from Morris as he pulled and top-edged a rising ball that flew over Tom R’s head at square leg, which he leaped after and took a really very good catch that dropped over his shoulder as he ran. Important wicket indeed, with Morris on 57 and having been in very little trouble on the way. Charlie backed this up with a second wicket in that same over as Nasseri also edged a rising ball from Charlie to produce another fine keeper’s catch from Jonathan who was really doing the business. Top marks Charlie.
Shah, now joined by Adby, was still scoring freely and he went on to pass his century, scored in just 72 balls. Tremendous batting, and Bolney were by this time also past the 200 mark with five overs still to go in their innings.
Matt brought himself on and took the wicket of new-to-the-crease Adby with another piece of real proper cricket -  a fast ball that flew through off the edge of Adby’s bat, and, still rising, thumped into Jonathan’s gloves at shoulder height. Lovely to see. Unless you’re Mr. Adby of course, to whom I apologise for making so much of it.
Shah was still in occupation, still scoring, and, given that the surface was still slippery and that Tom's physical health wasn't worth risking when he still had tea to deliver, Matt brought Jim on to bowl the 35th and final over. Regular readers will no doubt be slightly concerned at this prospect, but a tiring Shah fended off Jim’s first ball that cut back into his midriff, and he clothed the ball to Tony who was fielding at a shortish mid-wicket, a skipper’s master-stroke field placing? Anyway, a good solid catch from Tony, and no further runs were added as Bolney finished on 228 for 5. Shah’s innings, ending in just that final over, totalled a fine 116 off 83 balls, with thirteen 4’s and three 6’s, was certainly match-defining. TWCC had stuck to their task well, even in the face of some hard-hitting batting, but had on the day come up against some proper players, and that’s a good thing.
Tom R had tead, from the verb to tea, and thank goodness he had spread the Rydon load to others in the group as this led to a tray of lovely warm honey-glazed sausages; the Rydon hallmark of sausagey excellence. It wasn’t all about the sausages, of course, as everything sandwichcake was present and very correct and the bar was worryingly  raised to new heights with two teas still to go...
So to TWCC’s batting reply. 213 to get in 35 overs is... hang on... that’s... just over 6 an over. A tough prospect, no mistake, but not necessarily too many for TWCC’s strong batting brigade to chase down.
As he has all season, and of course has done for years, Paul set about the challenge with intent, and he was soon pulling fours across the drying grass, whilst Tom F, who himself started his account with a four, rotated the strike with Paul in an altogether accomplished fashion. All looked good as TWCC go going in the face of some pacy bowling from Nasseri and the characteristic guile from the Great Chaffmeister. Dryer grass meant more twos and fours for the batters, but a dryer ball and run-ups were a plus for the bowlers. S&R*
Things have to happen though, and the first setback for TWCC was the loss of Tom F as he chipped a ball up into the covers. Out for just 7, he and Paul had nonetheless put 29 on the board, and incoming was Tony, brimming with Tonyness. At first he didn’t appear to be letting rip, but he soon got going as he and Paul put on another 25 before Paul, after Nasseri was replaced, pulled a ball from Mark Madden to mid-on which just carried to Chaffey who held onto a good low catch. Paul’s rarely out in a passive way – he’s always going for it one way or another – and TWCC were on the march albeit two down for 54 in 13 overs. That’s 4 an over; not enough, but it was a good promising start.
Having denied himself much in the way of bowling, Matt put himself in at four, and why not? His recent time in the middle has shown us all how good he is, in a good way, and he didn’t let his team down. Both he and Tony, perhaps realising the importance of them not getting out before they’d done some damage, allowed themselves time to settle in, but then the two really did let rip as they somewhat plundered the bowling from all comers. Sixes and fours began to rain down and... err.. along... as these two took TWCC from 54 for 2 in the 13th over to 143 in the25th before Matt was given out LBW to Symes, playing back to a ball that, perhaps, didn’t get up as expected. What a shame, as he was really flying along, with at least two of the best shots of the day as he lofted off-drives over the infield for one-bounce fours to the cover boundary. A partnership of 88 in 12 overs was just what the TWCC doctor ordered, if there had been one (we don’t even have a physio unless you count the peas in Jim’s freezer). A lovely innings, and a shame it was cut short.
Tony at this point was on 39, but, happily for TWCC, he was just getting going. Joined by Jonathan – the batting just keeps on coming -  Tony switched into top gear, and these two continued to score at a rate that might have begun to worry the visiting side who, not without good reason, might have thought 228 in 35 overs was a pretty safe total to defend. Tony was swinging through in his freestyle fashion, swishing the ball high over the hedges, as he powered on to 82 off 64 balls before he was bowled by the off-spin of Gould. One got through, but plenty hadn’t, and Tony and Jonathan had taken TWCC to within a few further big shots of an unlikely win. Tony was out in the penultimate over, with the total at 199 for 4, and who better to come in at 6 to score some immediate boundaries than Mr T Rydon? Sure enough he started with a 2 off the impressive Gould, and then he straight drove a four! TWCC were on 203, with one over to go. A long shot; 26 required. Several long shots.
Jonathan, then on 16 and really getting going, tried to run two when it would have taken a misfield to allow that, and he was run out for the cause. In came Ed, the very man for some more quick runs. A leg bye. Tom then skied a tremendous blow that would have been safe had anyone other than Michael Gould been under it, but, predictably and to his credit, he made the catch look easy. Tom out, Jim in, and whilst here at the Gazette we are perenially in awe of his latent superpowers, it is true that even Jim was probably not equal to this task of scoring 22 in 3 balls. He survived an LBW decision, scrannied a quick single from a  sweep to fine leg, and then, off the last ball, Ed hit a four. Which is what he does. TWCC ended on 212 for 6, 17 runs short.
One wins many less enjoyable games, and in this instance the 3/4 runs rule secured the home side a well-deserved draw getting to within striking distance of Bolney's excellent 228. It was a pleasure to see a revitalised Bolney, and we look forward to our next meeting.

Scorecard
Bolney won the toss and chose to bat first in a 35:35 over 3/4 draw hybrid game which seems to be a thing and good job too.
Bolney Innings: M Gould ct J Rowland (wk) bld J Simon 21; K Morris ct T Rydon bld C Howes 57; A Shah ct T Pearce bld J Simon 116; A Nasseri ct J Rowland (wk) bld C Howes 4; S Adby ct J Rowland (wk) bld M Edwards 8; D Symes not out 5; M Madden not out 0. DNB B Clemenson, J Elliott, J Moore, D Chaffey. Extras 17 (B5, LB2, W6, NB4) Total 228 for 5 (35 overs).
Fall: 1-34, 2-159, 3-167, 4-209, 5-227.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 7-0-34-0; J Simon 7-3-23-2; T Rydon 5-0-43-0; H Short 3-0-32-0; C Howes 6-0-54-2; G Cuthbert 5-0-24-0; M Edwards 2-0-11-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct  D Chaffey bld M Madden 30; T Firth ct D Symes bld D Chaffey 7; T Pearce bld M Gould 82; M Edwards* LBW D Symes 50; J Rowland run out 16; T Rydon ct M Gould  bld K Morris 6; E Howes not out 4; J Simon not out 1. DNB H Short, C Howes G Cuthbert. Extras 16 (B6, LB1, W9) Total 212 for 6 (35 overs).
Fall: 1-29, 2-54, 3-142, 4-199, 5-206, 6-207.
Bolney CC Bowling: A Nasseri 5-1-17-0; D Chaffey 7-1-23-1; M Madden 6-0-44-1; D Symes 7-1-42-1; B Clemenson 2-0-23-0; K Morris 4-0-17-1; M Gould 4-0-37-1.
Match drawn (TWCC scored over the 172 threshold to secure a draw)

*Work it out for yourself


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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston September 24th 2022
Oh my goodness another season's nearly done. How did that happen? But here we are, and this penultimate fixture was a momentous one for TWCC and for Edward who made his playing return to the team sheet after a lengthy absence. He has shown great fortitude and resilience and his customary dedication to the club, manifested in repeated appearances as Coach, home and away, is really much appreciated by his friends and team mates. No longer do we have to just imagine the outbursts from first slip as someone drops a catch or fumbles the ball. Anyway - welcome back Edward.
Notwithstanding the lateness in the year, the day was markedly bright and clear, albeit with a very strong south-westerly careening in from the Atlantic, as TWCC welcomed their old friends, and some not so old, from Streat and Westmeston. Skippers Edwards and Marshall met in the middle and decided, in exemplary Sunday fashion, to do what they could to engineer a full and enjoyable game. On this occasion they decided that TWCC would bat first in, it almost goes without saying, a classic timed match. And didn’t that work out well!
With no Paul, and Tom F being scheduled to be late for the start, Mikey and Matt strapped on the pads and went out to open the batting for TWCC. Colin Marshall, he of the perfect line and length with a little away swing, and Chris Foulerton with a little extra pace opened the bowling for S&W and, initially, it wasn’t too easy to get the ball off the square. If there had been a square. The grass was long and the bowling straight, but soon the batters began to get the measure of the conditions, and they were off and running. Matt didn’t see much of the strike, and then Colin found the edge of his bat and he was caught behind for just 3. Obviously a shame for him and for the cause, but these things happen. Coming in at three was a slightly stiff Rob, who soon loosened up sufficiently to run all sorts of threes and quick runs in a second-wicket partnership with Mikey that just kept on giving as the bowling rotated and the TWCC innings was enthusiastically embraced.
In the end Mikey went first, caught off Barnes after he’d plundered the bowling for 68 runs, which included eight 4’s. Mikey stands tall, and punches the ball powerfully on the off side, and even plays with a straight bat into the on side which is more than can be said of some. Tremendously crickety stuff in a seamless partnership of 75 with Rob. PC indeed, that had left TWCC on 102 for 2 in the 19th over.
Next we have to report an extraordinarily bit of bad luck that befell Tom Firth, who had only just got his pads on after driving down from some sojourn or other in Oxford, only to fall to a fluky run-out at the bowlers end as Rob middled a straight drive along the ground only for the bowler to half-stop the speeding ball and deflect it onto the stumps at Tom’s end. Naturally Tom was backing up and there you go... Out for just 1 after just having got to the middle.
With Jonathan at 5 the batting kept on coming, and he and Rob continued the scoring with lots of powerful drives mixed in with cuts and pulls to the boundaries. Well into his stride, Jonathan reached forwards to sweep a slightly overpitched ball from Maysey for a crisply struck four, and then a couple of deliveries later Maysey just held back a ball that turned off middle as Jonathan tried to sweep again, and the ball hit the top of his off stump. A good bit of bowling to get rid of Jonathan for 34 quickly scored runs in a 46 run partnership with Rob. But good runs, quick runs, were accumulating.
Next in was TWCC favourite Chinu, whose batting you don’t want to miss. He’s always at the bowlers, generally crunching balls into the middle distance. He was denied at least two straight fours, or even sixes, as he timed some mighty blows up into the stalling gale. One particular shot that sticks in the mind was a clip off his heels with a vertical bat for four behind square leg, reminiscent of Viv at his best. If you don’t know who Viv is, you’re younger than some and you missed out.
The TWCC innings was powering on, as you might have gathered, and as it approached 200 after around 30 overs the crowd began to bay for their too-long-absent hero. Sensing this, Rob took on a second run that wasn’t there, an act of generosity rather than misjudgement, and he was run out for another big score, this time 64, comprising lots of running, eight 4’s and a 6 he’d hit into the Gazette’s carbon offset zone.
The crowd were to be denied Edward for a while, however, as Henry went in to enjoy a few tonks with Chinu, but Chinu was bowled by Colin Marshall in his return spell, but not before he’d scored a lively 22 in no time. A TWCC star in the making.
And in, finally, came Edward, taking his rightful place in the TWCC line up. We know he’s missed his cricket, and we’ve missed him, but here we all were again, or most of us at least, and, sure enough he was immediately off the mark with one of TWCC’s more significant singles.
As Henry struck out again, only to be caught by Foulerton for a quick but classy 7, Matt took the opportunity to declare with Edward not out on 1 and TWCC on 215 for 7. Graham was the provider at tea - a debut possibly? – and he hit it out the park as they say but I wish they wouldn’t and that I hadn't. There are various signature offerings that have come to populate the tea calendar, and I’m afraid, Graham, your corned beef and potato pie can never not be part of your future. A revelation in warming comfort. I suggest you do the teas in the cooler parts of the season when this is absolutely just what is required. Thank you and good work. The bar remains high. Hopes should not be raised for the final game.
Nigel Butler and Colin Mansfield opened the batting for S&W, and Jim and Henry the bowling for the home side. In a remarkable bit of bowling, Jim, just about running in against the gale, managed to hit Colin Marshall’s stumps with his first ball - normally a cause for celebration here at the Gazette - but sadly these were the stumps at the non-striker’s end and he had to bowl it again. After that these two openers bowled well, though neither had the odd chance held and both were wicketless on the day. Not so the first change bowlers Graham and Chinu, who both found their customary great length. Graham took the first wicket as Nigel Butler pulled a ball hard to square leg only to find Henry there to catch it. This was a significantly solid, business-like catch, held with such confidence by Henry that it set the fielding tone throughout the game. Good bowling and catching were just what was required if TWCC were to take ten wickets for a win and Henry had shown the way.
Then it was Chinu’s turn for a wicket, and his was a product of some really excellent bowling as he got the ball to nip about off the surface from just short of a length, and S&W’s No 3 Rich Flower almost placed the ball into the competent hands of Mikey at first slip. It looked like proper cricket to me!
Talking of PC, look at Graham there, scampering after a ball behind square leg, attacking the ball and whipping in a throw to Jonathan to run out Colin Mansfield going for a second run. Oooh! Suits you, TWCC! Colin's is a difficult wicket to take, so well done Graham (and Jonathan!).
Matt and Mikey took the bowling reins, and the game moved on again as, first, Mikey had John Suckling LBW and then, as Barnes and Foulerton began a spirited attempt at the target, Chris Foulerton skied a ball from Mikey into the safe zone in the hinterland beyond mid-on, some distance from any likely fielders, and so the unlikely one sprinted over from mid-off to take a wonderful running catch! Skipper Edwards was the man, and if we need a second Champagne Moment after Edward’s quick single, Matt’s catch was it.  
Foulerton’s approach was as commendable as it was short lived, but more wickets were required if TWCC were to win the game, and who better than Rob to amble in and bowl his thunderbolts? In the midst of his typically economical eight over spell Rob found the top of Bill Baxter’s off stump and S&W were 91 for 6.
Amongst these TWCC successes, Murray Barnes was still there, scoring freely on his way to a somewhat isolated 50, until Matt got a ball through to his stumps and he was out for 53 after an outstanding innings during which he scored freely even as Streat wickets were falling all around him.
There still remained some batters in the way of a TWCC win, and Matt brought Mikey on to bowl at Lee Maysey who pulled a ball straight to Michael at square leg, TWCC’s self-declared specialist fielder, who held on to a catch much like Henry’s earlier one at the start of Streat’s innings.
Now 9 wickets down with just 125 on the board, Matt’s declaration had bought the overs TWCC needed to finish the match, and as Mikey bowled his ninth over poor Stan was surrounded by fielders and he chipped the ball up to Jim at short sillymidoffsideshortcoverthingy who juggled a catch to end the game.
Streat & W all out for 125, with just 2.1 overs left, it was exciting stuff, and thank goodness the skippers had agreed to play a timed match as the result was uncertain throughout and the win for TWCC had to be earned. Well done Matt and Colin, well done cricket. Matt's marshalling of his team to secure a victory when bowling second was exemplary, as was, indeed, the overall bowling and fielding performance.
Talking of Matt, this was his last game of the year and the Gazette would like to congratulate him on his skippering throughout the year. Between them Brocky and Matt keep the TWCC ship buoyant and help make the club what it is on and off the pitch. It was also the last game for Mikey, Tom F, Edward and Michael, and some others had already played their last 2023 match before this, so a big thank you to all for contributing to all that we do together. Meanwhile, let's not forget that it's not yet time to hang up the off-whites. Weather permitting, we look forward to one more waffer-thin game...

Scorecard
Matt and Colin Marshall met in the middle to compare notes. In a tossless outbreak of common sense it was decided that TWCC should bat first in a proper timed proper Sunday proper cricket proper match.
TWCC Innings: M Pearce ct Foulerton bld M Barnes 68; M Edwards* ct R Flower bld C Marshall 3; R Rydon run out 64; T Firth run out 1; J Rowland† bld L Maysey 34; C Sharma bld C Marshall 22; H Short ct Foulerton bld C Marshall 7; E Bunn not out 1. DNB J Simon, G Cuthbert, M Short. Extras 11 (B1, LB1, W7, NB1) Total 215 for 7 declared (36.3 overs).
Fall: 1-27, 2-102, 3-109, 4-155, 5-187, 6-214- 7-215.
Streat and Westmenston Bowling: C Marshall 6.3-0-3-32; C Foulerton 11-0-0-53; R Eastwoos 6-0-0-30; M Barnes 6-0-1-56; L Maysey 6-0-1-30; S Spiegel 1-0-0-2.
Streat and Westmeston Innings: N Butler ct H Short bld G Cuthbert 3; C Mansfield run out (G Cuthbert) 27; R Flower† Ct M Pearce bld C Sharma 6; J Suckling LBW M Pearce 8; M Barnes bld M Edwards 53; C Foulerton ct M Edwards bld M Pearce 3; B Baxter bld R Rydon 0; C Marshall* bld M Edwards 6; R Eastwood not out 5; L Maysey cy M Short bld M Pearce 0; S Spiegel ct J Simon bld M Pearce 0. Extras 14 (LB1, W8, NB5) Total 125 all out (47. 5 overs).
Fall: 1-12, 2-27, 3-51, 4-81, 5-90, 6-91, 7- 113, 8-124, 9- 125, 10-125.
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 7-1-17-0; H Short 5-1-5-0; G Cuthbert 3-0-8-1; C Sharma 5-0-10-1; M Edwards 11-1-46-2; M Pearce 8.5-2-23-4; R Rydon 8-1-12-1.
TWCC win by 90 runs. 


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TWCC v Zambucca Tigers CC October 1st 2023
How did that happen? Whoosh - another season goes by. But, before it passes into history TWCC have one final game to enjoy; their traditional autumnal match against Brighton Beamers. But... what? The Beamers have bowled their final ball, hit their final run - ever. For many years the Beamers have been exactly the right opponents for TWCC, but after many close and exciting games, the Beamers have ceased trading. Maybe they'll come back in some form, but for now that's it. TWCC would like to thank them for being competitive but fun, intelligent and fair and good for a pint in the pub after many close-fought games. We'll miss you Beamers, and thanks for all the memories. If nothing else it highlights TWCC's great fortune in being able to count on just the right number of elite sportsmen, and occasionally, women, as we continue into future seasons. We are ageing, but we are youthing as well, and good on us all. But, yes, sorry to have lost you Beamers, and thanks for all your cricketiness.
So it was time for TWCC's hard-working Fixtures Sec., who thought his 2023 work was done, seinen Stein abzulegen and seek out a team who could fill the gap, and he came up trumps with Zambucca Tigers CC. They are an interesting club with over 150 members, but only eleven of whom arrived in the October sunshine to share a game with TWCC.
Skipper Brock won the toss and chose to bowl first in a 38-to-42 overs (3/4 runs for a draw) format, and from the off it was clear that the Zambucca Tigers' batters were well organised and that it was going to take something special to break through. It was also clear that their batters would have had early boundaries to their names had the grass been shorter, but some very well-timed shots along the ground stalled just outside the ring with singles going into the book rather than fours.
As for the full innings detail, the prospect of listing everything that happened is just too overwhelming, and so, instead, we’ll just hope readers can take it as read that all the batters were accomplished, and of course all the bowlers were great. Yes, this write up is being brought to you in glorious Wokerama!™ which not only filters out the very few drops, but also gives us the space to dwell on the catching!
It started with Tony. We have all seen some spectacular catches held in the slips by Edward and Tony, and this one was something special indeed as Porter edged a fast ball from Tom that was whistling on through the slips until Tony, in a flash, stuck out a shoulder-high right hand and solidly held on to a very sharp slip catch to rival anything we've seen over the years. What a catch! It shocked the entire crowd into silence. Porter was quite funny as he left, tucking his bat under his arm as he said in a mock huff; "Well... if you're going to play like that..!" I think we’re going to like the Zambuccas.
Chauhan was joined by De Silva who, similarly, looked to be very capable, but Tom wasn't done yet as Chauhan uppishly pulled a shorter ball to Chinu at square leg who held on to a lovely catch. The ball wasn't travelling at top speed as Tom had forced a false stroke out of the batter, but it still needed catching and Chinu was very much up to the task. The Tigers were very quickly on 8 for 2 in the 5th over, when Henry, who opened at the other end from Tom, and who was bowling with good pace and rhythm, had Irani caught at short fine leg by Tom to move the score to just 9 for 3. Tom doesn’t drop catches, and he didn’t drop this one.
Three wickets, three catches, the visitors weren’t able to break free, and with Charlie and Matt Brock taking over the bowling it wasn’t going to get any easier for them. It was Matt who bowled a pull-able ball, and De Silva pulled it. Hard. I mean proper hard off the middle of his bat, and the ball flew absolutely horizontally to Chinu at square leg who managed to control the ball with some part of his anatomy or other and then grab it in his hands. Whoosh. It was over in a split second, and another wonderful wicket had been taken thanks to some really solid catching. I don’t think Chinu will ever be far from square leg in the future! Each of the batters who had been in and out had looked worryingly good, and without this fine fielding the total could well have been building fast, but as it was the Tigers were 39 for 4 in the 12th over.
And there’s more catching to come, as Rob’s usual tight and pacy bowling forced some false shots from, first Majitha and then Tomlins, the ball on both occasions being chipped up from a leg-stump line to Charlie at mid-on. One went more or less straight to Charlie, but the other was only taken after he made some considerable ground to meet it. Two more great catches, off excellent bowling of course, but we’re taking that as read, remember? Tigers were now 84 for 6.
But still the batters came in, and Sam Silverwood-Cope was another goodie as he took on the bowling without giving chances, and Steve Donelan was another.
But the catching wasn’t finished either, and as Chinu came on to bowl his lovely line and length, which brought edges into play, Tony was in action again twice more. I can’t remember one of this pair of catches, but the other was certainly memorable as either Mariner or Silverwood-Cope thick-edged a ball high into the air over the top of Tony's head, and although I doubt if he ever thought he'd chase it down, he turned and sprinted back towards where a fly-slip would be if there was one, and stuck out his hands just as the ball dropped past him, and there it was again – another catch held. This really was a catch made out of the slimmest of chances, and many would have though the high ball was going to fall safe. And it did - safe into Tony’s hands! Two wickets for Chinu and the Tigers were somewhat reeling on 110 for 8.
Donelan, who was clearly a proper player, managed the strike very well with his last two partners, but in the end poor Steve Adams and Simon Binns fell to the inevitable, but nonetheless skillful, tail end skirmishing of Skipper Brock who saw his chance and took it, bowling these last two without any further catching being required.
The Zambucca Tigers ended on 158 all out in the 41st over, so one has to say they paced their innings well in the face of some truly memorable fielding, and Donelan farmed the strike and scored some valuable runs as the overs ran out ending up with a really valuable 37 not out as the last wicket fell. On this long grass, and if the Tigers bowled as well as they batted, TWCC might be up against it.

In reply, Paul and Brocky opened the batting for the home side, but the Gazeteer didn’t see much of the early phases of the innings as kitchen duties called. Thus we can’t add anything much beyond the unemotional scorebook entry that reads R Brock, LBW, bowled Mariner for 5 in the 5th over, at which point the total was 19, with Paul on 14.
From the little that was seen in the reflection of the urn the bowling didn’t look as if it was too penetrating, which impression was backed up as Paul and , now, Tony, simply took the game on and won it. This isn’t to say that the two of them had an easy task, not at all, just that they executed their duties with exemplary pacing and shot-making. Paul soon found his role morph into one of watching his partner bat as Tony let loose some end of season carnage hitting four 6’s and four 4’s (and two 3’s) and that was just on his way to 50. Then he accelerated, adding three more 4’s and four more 6’s, the last of which took him on to 101 with TWCC's total 148 for 1. Catches win matches, but centuries help! What a way to fuel oneself at the season's end, and Tony can glow all winter long.
With Paul alongside him there were plenty of neat and tidy singles and twos, all of which we love, and if this sounds like a walkover I don’t really think it was always destined to be, as the Tigers clearly have good players and promise to be well-matched opposition if we are able to continue with this fixture, but Tony and Paul simply had the answers on the day. Tony made way, in a TWCC retirement for beer deal, for Henry, and with just 11 more runs required and endless time in which to get them, it was just a case of getting the job done. Which Paul, sadly, just at the end, couldn’t quite do himself as he was stumped off De Silva after his anchoring role had almost seen him carry his bat. Out for 33, partnering Tony through their partnership of 129, he was out with just three more runs required. Busy and involved, first as keeper (no byes at all) and then as No 1 batter more or less seeing TWCC home, Paul's winter will also be warmed by some lovely cricket memories.
Henry and Matt B saw the home side through to the, by then, inevitable victory and the season was done.
As may have been gathered from all the above, the Zambucca Tigers could well have scored more than they did, were it not for a whole inningsful of really tremendous catching from, in particular, Chinu and Tony. The long grass didn’t help the Tigers either, but then the same conditions prevailed for both teams. In the, sad, absence of the Beamers, hopefully the Tigers will become our new end of season opponents and we’ll see how this all develops over the years. In the meantime another season’s rushed by, but not without joys and jokes, a tour (thanks Ed (and Tom)), and with a committed clubful of friends behind us there’s nothing to lament, so let's just celebrate.

Scorecard
Toss won by Skipper Brock for TWCC, and he chose to field first in a 38-42 over 3/4 runs for a draw game. Excellent.
ZTCC Innings: A Chauhan ct C Sharma bld T Rydon 5; B Porter ct T Pearce bld T Rydon 1; N de Silva ct C Sharma bld M Brock 16; R Irani ct T Rydon bld H Short 0; D Majithia ct C Howes bld R Rydon 26; S Silverwood-Cope ct T Pearce bld C Sharma 36; A Tomlins† ct C Howes bld R Rydon 1; S Donelan not out 37; T Mariner ct T Pearce bld C Sharma 10; S Adams bld R Brock 3; S Binns bld R Brock 4. Extras 19 (W16, NB3) Total 158 all out (41.4 overs).
Fall: 1-6, 2-8, 3-9, 4-39, 5-80,6-84, 7-98, 8-110, 9-127, 10- must have been 158 but the book says 151.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 4-1-5-1, H Short 4-0-12-1; C Howes 5-0-25-0; M Brock 5-0-27-1; J Simon 4-0-12-0; r Rydon 4-2-8-2; C Sharma 5-0-25-2; G Cuthbert 6-1-24-0; R Brock 4-2-18-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter st Tomlins bld Da Silva 33; R Brock* LBW bld Mariner 2; T Pearce (retired) 101, H Short not out 3, M Brock not out 1. DNB J Simon, T Rydon, R Rydon, C Sharma, C Howes, G Cuthbert. Extras 15 (B6, W9) Total 159 for 2 (26.4 overs).
Fall: 1-19, Tony's retirement-148, 2-156.
ZTCC Bowling: T Mariner 8-0-39-1; S Binns 2.1-0-18-0; S Adams 4-0-25-0; D Majithia 4-0-47-0; S Donelan 4-0-10-0; N De Silva 2-0-7-1; A Chauhan 2.5-0-7-0.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.

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2022 Season
Staplefield CC v TWCC April 24th 2022
Earwigo again! Bright day, chilly at times, particularly later when sitting outside the pub. Chipper Skipper Brock won the toss and Paul and Jim went in to try and remember what to do. The wicket was one of the worst ever, with bare patches, dry knobbles and dusty dents, so it was hard to figure out a par score. Staplefield were only a nine-man side on the day, which TWCC failed to notice until we counted up about half way through TWCC's innings, and though this helped with the general scoring it wasn't of much importance, sadly, to Paul who was bowled by a ball that shot along the ground under his bat and onto the base of the stumps. Jim and Jonathan in a stand of 44 began to flip some numbers on the scoreboard, until Jim failed to make any sort of effort with a straight one and was out LBW for 27.
Jonathan (16), Matt (11), Edward (1) and Tom R (9) cycled through runs and wickets, the choicest being Tom's exotic leave which saw the ball sail through under MCC shouldered arms to catch the top of the stumps. For those of a cynical nature this was one of the contenders for the champagne moment of the day, but there are more candidates along the way, both comedic and wonderful.
Thus it came to pass, following Tom's dismissal, that Alex strode to the middle to join Edward, where he was all too soon to be joined by his father for what was to prove to be an extraordinary partnership. Of note, and instructive, is the fact that, with 25 overs of the innings stretching ahead, Alex sensibly steered his way through ten dot balls before worrying about scoring and Rob's initial circumspection was equally essential with TWCC 6 down with more than half the overs still to come. However, gradually, the shackles were thrown off as both batters were skilled enough to trust their eyes over expectations, and the boundaries began to flow. Fours were not hard to come by what with the boundary up the hill being so short and the wide open plains of the rest of the village green being downhill all the way to the main road, and Alex and Rob duly peppered the undergrowth as the opportunities were presented to them. Staplefield's Rizwan, known of old, was his usual challenging self with his pacy, accurate off-spin with the occasional other one thrown in, and was the pick of the home bowlers in spite of the nought in his wickets column, but it would be wrong to say that playing the ball off that wicket was ever easy as neither of the Staplefield bowlers were particularly easy to face.
Alex pushed a single to mid-off for his 50, and then just carried on. A sequence of champagne moments followed and the Gazette's shot of the day wasn't either Alex's or Rob's towering straight sixes, though both were tremendous, but rather a perfectly timed on-drive from Rob that sped across the ground to the pavilion for four. Both players watched the ball and then had the ability to put the bat to it once it was done messing about, which prowess saw, first, Rob to his 50 (8 fours, 1 six) and then, momentously, Alex to a 72 ball 100 (15 fours, 1 six). This was Alex's first ever century and it was magnificent that, in their 6th wicket unbeaten partnership of 170, father and son were able to share the anticipation and then the long-anticipated champagne moment itself.
Curiously a maiden over finished the 40, and Rob finished on 53 and Alex on exactly 100, both not out and setting the bar high for the season's average-hunters.
There was tea, which was most welcome, thank you Staplefield, and then it was time for Skipper Brock's master bowling plan. Phil bowled the first over and soon had his radar adjusted to 2022 specifications as he stopped going for runs and took his, and TWCC's first wicket of the season as Jonathan side-stepped to hold onto a glanced edge on the leg side. Ed, running in with the wind behind, was more hindered than helped by the wicket, as was poor Jonathan who risked teeth on several occasions with the ball repeatedly failing to bounce and skidding through along the bumpy ground. Let's get this over now; Jonathan had a lot to deal with. In proper cricket the keeper just stands up and sidles about, and the ball neatly climbs into his or her gloves off a regulation line and length. In this game both keepers were "awarded" bye after bye - often four of them - as the ball did ridiculous things off the pitch, and, let's be honest, there are some bowlers who don't help. Many a fine stop was pulled off by Jonathan who also kept very well when orthodox keeping was possible. Excellent stuff.
5 overs of Phil brought the first change, and on came Matt whose first four overs, let's be honest, went for 20. But, as the Winter rust wore off and his pedigree glow began to shine through, his next three overs were remarkable. Not more champagne moments, surely? Sure enough, it was Matt's day as his next over was a double-wicket maiden, and so was his next one which included two in two and the inevit... didn't happen. What a shame as it would have been truly remarkable for someone to get a hat-trick at Staplefield which has, apparently, always proved to be an elusive milestone for the club. Hey ho, Matt took his fifth wicket in his 7th over which left him with wonderful figures of 5 for 21. The ball was Matt's. Can one have too much beer?
Brocky bowled Staplefield's No. 3, the impressive Riz, in a short and accurate spell, and then Tom was unleashed. Rather late in the day for someone of his ability, but his pace was, as suspected, making batting (let alone keeping) more or less plain dangerous, so, sadly for him, he only had a couple of overs before Paul and Jim were brought on to mop up the final wicket, and sure enough Paul's bowling provoked an unwise pull shot and the top edge was skied towards Alex's safe hands. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" shouted Jim, strutting in from mid-wicket, whereup... oh dash it all... Champagne ridicule followed and Finisher Phil was needed to send down a straight one, which he did three balls in to his comeback over, and the game was up.
Many things combined to make this match rather one-sided, not least the fact that TWCC were the only team with eleven players. The game was remarkable for the eye-opener of a wicket - quite a shock for the first game of the season, especially if you're Paul. Then there was Rob's pedigree 53, Phil's reliability as the enforcer, and Jonathan's heroic keeping. Tom's cultured leave and Jim's catch were appreciated by many, but of course the honours of the day go to Matt for his 5 wickets and especial congratulations go to Alex for his maiden century constructed in actually quite difficult circumstances.
Hooray for cricket and Harvey's.

Scorecard
TWCC (Skipper Brock) won the toss and chose to bat first. Limited (40) overs format for some reason.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Sadler 1; J Simon Bld Clarke 27; J Rowland Bld Clarke 16; M Edwards Ct, Bld Sadler 11; E Bunn Bld Threader 1; T Rydon Bld Clarke 9; A Rydon not out 100; R Rydon not out 53. DNB E Howes, R Brock, P Steinke. Extras 30 (B13, LB5, W11, NB1) Total 248 for 6 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-2, 2-46,3-59, 4-64, 5-76, 6-78.
Staplefield CC Bowling: Clarke 8-0-51-3; N Sadler 8-3-19-2; Threader 8-1-40-1; Parish 6-0-60-0; Rizwan 7-1-40-0; Revitt 3-0-22-0.
Staplefield Innings: J Ellis Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Steinke 12; R Prevett LBW Edwards 30; Rizwan Bld Brock 33; N Sadler Ct T Rydon Bld Edwards 0; Bein Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Edwards 0; Steve Bld Edwards 5; Pike Bld Edwards 0; Dan C Bld Steinke 27. Rhys not out 8. Extras 30 (B18, LB1, W11) Total 145 all out (for 8 wkts).
Fall: 1-26, 2-86, 3-86, 4-90, 5-94, 6-94, 7-97, 8-145.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke 6-1-21-2; Howes 8-2-33-0; Edwards 7-2-21-5; Brock 3-0-12-1; T Rydon 2-0-7-0, Simon 4-0-9-0, P Hunter 3-0-24-0.
TWCC win by 103 runs.

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 1st 2022
Dust-encrusted windscreens began to show spatters of what might have been rain as these two friendly foes met up once again under the V. There was some inexplicable reluctance to get going because of the vanishingly small amounts of intermittent drizzle falling, but, once common sense prevailed we started proceedings and the weather played no further part in the game.
Skipper Brock won the toss and, having been restricted on safety grounds the week before, Tom R was unleashed from the Posh End for a blistering, though ultimately wicketless, statement 5 over spell of which four were maidens, and the other one went for just the one run. Somehow the batsmen survived several near-misses, whilst Jonathan also had less scurrying to do behind the stumps as the wicket was very true and the bounce consistent (thank you Colin for all the hard work), and, backed up by some excellent fielding all round, runs for the home side were hard to come by. Ed's fuller length was the perfect compliment to Tom's slightly shorter-pitched bowling, and there was plenty of risk to the batters' wickets from both ends.
Skipper Brock changed the attack after ten overs, keeping his openers fresh for a late bite, and Rob S came on for his first outing of the year, and what a worthy spell it was. Starting with a maiden and then in denying, particularly Colin Mansfield, easy access to the ball unless shots were to be played at risk and at a stretch, Rob continued to ensure the scoreboard remained inactive. Phil, absolutely his usual reliable self, also gave away nothing as he took TWCC's first wicket by bowling the home side's No 2. Eastwood in his 9 over spell of 1 for 19. After 16 overs the S&W total was, remarkably, just 33 for 1.
With drinks taken and a message given to the batters to up the rate, a few runs began to flow, but not without risk. Advancing down the wicket to Brocky, who replaced Phil from the Downs End, the ever-in-form Colin Mansfield missed a ball which Jonathan pulled in from outside the off stump for a sharp stumping, which action provided the afternoon's Champagne Moment. S&W 67 for 2 after 30 overs, and Colin back in the pavilion.
As all good things do, Rob's lengthy spell of 9 overs for just 22 runs came to an end, and Jim took over from the Posh End. The ball swung about in the clammy air, and Jim had, first, N Butcher out LBW, and then he found the base of Marshall's leg stump. With no runs being on offer S&W were 77 for 4 after 35 overs and with time for just a few overs, Brocky (5 overs 1 for 20) and Jim (6 overs 2 for 11) were replaced by TWCC's mighty opening bowlers for a final attack, and Ed, indeed, bowled M Butcher under his bat for his first wicket of the day. Lea and Wolff were adding a few runs as S&W's allotted time was up, but it was a case of too little too late and the 110 for 5 total was looking a little unlikely.
After tea Paul and Jim opened the batting for TWCC, though Jim barely blunted the scorer's pencil as he pushed at what should have been a defensive block and was well caught by Hartfield diving forward in the covers. Tom Firth at 3, he of much great fielding in the covers, was the perfect man to help Paul to overhaul the modest total S&W had set, but whilst he certainly looked at home and in charge against the undoubtedly impressive bowling of Wolff and Lea, he didn't last as long as he might have being given out LBW to Wolff for just 6, with the total on 18. It was to get worse as Will and Ed Howes' brief visit to the middle was over all too quickly, and habitual wanderers in the hinterland of the Gazette's archive will have recognised the signs with TWCC on 22 for 4 which, whilst being just plain silly, was also not unprecedented.
With endless time in which to get the very small number of runs required, what was needed was a bit of good old proper batting as exemplified by TWCC's No. 1 Paul who, with four down, might have only been on 3 runs off 22 balls faced, but neither was he, critically, out. At least someone was paying attention to the facts of the matter, and in an exclusive Gazette interview conducted in the middle during drinks, Paul said that the job was simple; just build an innings and the runs will come. Jonathan came in at 6, and, as S&W's excellent openers were replaced, and the business of just staying in was made slightly easier, more scoring opportunities arrived and were duly capitalised upon. Paul remained unquestionably open-y in his new-for-2022 approach in that he didn't once hit the ball in the air in his chance-free innings, which isn't to say there were no agressive shots but rather that he waited for the right ball to hit. In the meantime Jonathan gave a little more encouragement to the fielding side when he went over the top once or twice, but both Paul and Jonathan in their match-winning partnership of 92 first brought the target down to safe levels, then overtook it without any further assistance required. Jonathan's 36 not out (5 fours) stopped any further slippage in its tracks, whilst Paul's definitive 44 not out (7 fours) sent out a strong message for the rest of the season. No pressure.
Streat and Westmeston came up against a strong TWCC side which, in spite of the odd outlier, in current form boasts a remarkably low average age which on this occasion was further reduced by the welcome inclusion of Will Howes who selflessly flung himself about in the field and who,sadly, has the scars to prove it. Specific points of advantage TWCC had on the day, and have in general, is their depth of bowling, their energy in the field, and, in certain players, some of whom didn't even get to put their pads on or weren't even there, no little ability with the bat.
Skipper Brock was typically Brearley-esque in his decision-making, and Jonathan, who crisply shepherded every ball, was once again a pivotal presence in the middle both with the gloves and, as it turned out, with the bat. All teams have someone who keeps wicket, but not many have an actual wicket-keeper, as we'll find out next week when Jonathan's not about...

Scorecard
TWCC Skipper Brock won the toss and chose to bowl first. Proper format.
S&W Innings: Mansfield St J Rowland Bld R Brock 21; Eastwood Bld P Steinke 17; Butler LBW J Simon 24; Marshall Bld J Simon 5; Butcher Bld E Howes 14; C Wolff not out 16; S Lea not out 3. DNB Baxter, S Lea (or J Lea?), R Wolff, Hartfield. Extras 10 (B3,LB3, W3, NB1) Total 110 for 5 (43 overs).
Fall: 1-33, 2-67, 3-74, 4-77, 5-100.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-4-7-0; E Howes 7-0-26-1; R Saunders 9-4-22-0; P Steinke 9-1-19-1; J Simon 6-0-11-2; R Brock 5-0-20-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 44; J Simon Ct Hartfield Bld S Lea 2; T Firth LBW C Wolff 6; W Howes Bld S Lea 1; E Howes Bld C Wolff 1; J Rowland not out 36. DNB R Saunders, E Bunn, T Rydon, R Brock, P Steinke. Extras 24 (B10, LB6, W4, NB4) Total 114 for 4 (24 overs).
Fall: 1-8, 2-18, 3-19, 4-22.
S&W Bowling: C Wolff 5-1-5-2; S Lea 5-0-10-2; R Eastwood 5-0-19-0; M Hartfield 5-0-30-0; R Wolff 2-0-12-0; M Butcher 1-0-11-0; C Marshall 1-0-10-0.
TWCC win by 6 wkts.

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TWCC v Greys CC May 8th 2022
The Gazette skates a fine line with the press regulators, and has been fending off accusations of bias on a number of occasions, and so, in order not to provoke further brushes with the powers that be, this report will, sadly, not be dwelling for long on TWCC's performance in this match against Greys CC. Disappointed readers may wish to read reports of the first two games of the season.
TWCC served up the finest of weathers, skipper Brock won the toss, and Greys were asked to bat first. Tom Rydon made the first breakthrough, clattering a perfect-length ball into the stumps, and then we saw a resurgent performance from Matt Brock as he first set about finding his line and length before instigating the first of three nominated Champagne Moments of the day as Flynn, Greys' No 2, edged a ball through to Edward at first slip who didn't "cling on to", or "snatch", or otherwise flounce a catch; he just caught it neatly and cleanly at chest height in an outbreak of proper cricket. Lovely to see.
Greys continued to send in batsmen who knew what they were doing and who all added substantial numbers to the score sheet. Phil provided his trademark clink of ball onto bails dismissing Grey's No 3, and then Brocky bowled Ashton, but not before he'd scored 32 powerful runs, and the total, whilst it wasn't so much getting away, was nonetheless consistently climbing. Edwards, Greys' No 5, was beginning to follow Ashton's example, and a period of strike-management followed ending in Edwards offering Jim the simplest of caught and bowled wickets of which Skipper Brock was very proud having been, it seems, almost 100% responsible for it. The second Champagne Moment happened during Jim's spell as a wide delivery (it does happen) avoided Paul, who was keeping, and the ball ran down towards the distant boundary whereupon Tom Rydon, at mid-off, registered the lack of interest in fielding the ball and sprinted from, yes, mid-off, to, yes, fine leg, overhauled the ball by the boundary, and kept the runs to just two. Like a whirlwind he went, and what an awareness and commitment from the young greyhound. Tom Firth replaced Jim for just one over, probably because of the wide and the four off his slower ball, in which Tom also took a catch off his own bowling and, the very next ball had Newland caught by Matt E, and so had, once again, taken two in two which meant the ha... didn't happen. Graham's first bowling moments of the season, which to his credit prompted several novelty scorebook innovations, finished off the innings with Grey's having been restricted quite well overall, to what many would consider, at 178, no more than a par score.
Brocky provided his and TWCC's first real live tea out of the new pavilion, and what a joy it was to share in the cornucopia, sitting around on the grass, balancing plates of sandwiches and cake just as players who don't care about their waistlines have done for centuries.
So, to TWCC's batting. It would be wrong to say there were no highlights, but there were plenty of the other sort of lights. Starting off with one of the highs, Paul, having kept so well in the absence of Jonathan, was his usual batty self, and he, once again, top-scored for TWCC in their stuttering reply. Jim, again playing forward too pushily, was out for the second week in a row to a low diving catch of unlikely excellence, and Tom Firth was in early and there followed a period of relative stabilty as Greys began to run through their bowling options to great effect. But, in the end, after 14 overs, Paul was out for a commendable 37 (7 fours, many his trademark pull behind square), Matt E was bowled by something of a mystery ball that somehow got through to his off stump, then Tom F was out, caught somewhere (mid-off?) and there began a bit of a... well, a bit of a... thing. Let's not go into the detail.
Resistance there was from Matt Brock whose belligerent counter-punching, which, whilst intimidating, didn't seem to particularly involve the ball much, nonetheless did endure for 28 balls and featured a collector's item of another highly emotional father and son partnership. You had to be there to enjoy the melodrama. The surviving younger Brock's partnership with Edward was a glimpse of what might have been as the inevitable end drew closer. Indeed, Edward, as well as pulling several balls in front of square for four, provided the third, and most persuasive Champagne Moment of the day as the pacy Ashton, one of Greys' most proficient players, bowled a faster ball short, and the ball climbed up but, quick as a flash, Edward pivoted and hooked the ball to square leg for four, all along the ground and comprehensively a win for the batter. A second outbreak of proper cricket which both, not coincidentally, involved Edward who finished on 31 not out (7 fours) giving some comfort to the home side who were, let's be honest, unable to lift the score up to anything approaching par. Matt was eventually out, as was everyone else bar Edward and that was it; Paul and Edward scored 68 for 1, and everyone else was 20 for 8. TWCC not good enough, so we're going to stop now and get on with the rest of the week. I've just taken a loin/belly of pork out of the freezer and that's going to become either a porchetta or, maybe some Chinese nuggets of braised soy ginger chiliness. Or both!

Scorecard
TWCC Skipper Brock won the toss and chose to field first. TWCC fielding a 10-man side.
Greys CC Innings: Brasher Bld T Rydon 6; Flynn Ct E Bunn Bld M Brock 26; Line Bld P Steinke 19; Ashton Bld R Brock 32;
Edwards Ct & Bld J Simon 23; Burgess Ct & Bld T Firth 26; Fenton LBW J Simon 0; Day run out (T Rydon) 9; Newland Ct M Edwards, bld T Firth 0; Sewell not out 2; Hoare not out 6. Extras 29 (B6,LB3, W18, NB2) Total 178 for 9 (37 overs).
Fall: 1-28, 2-66, 3-66, 4-109, 5-137, 6-137, 7-162, 8-162, 9- unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-1-21-0; T Rydon 5-1-15-1; P Steinke 8-1-24-1; M Brock 3-0-38-1; R Brock 7-1-27-1; 4-0-17-2; G Cuthbert 3-0-25-0; T Firth 1-0-2-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Hoare 37; J Simon Ct, Bld Newland 6; T Firth Ct, Bld Sewell 10; M Edwards Bld Hoare 2; T Rydon Ct (Wk) Bld Sewell 0; M Brock Bld Ashton 1; R Brock Bld Sewell 0; G Cuthbert Bld Sewell 0; E Bunn not out 31; P Steinke Bld Ashton 1. Extras 6 (B4, W2) Total 94 all out (9 wkts) in 27.5 overs.
Fall: 1-23, 2-51, 3-53, 4-57, 5-58, 6-58, 7-58, 8-68, 9-94.
Greys CC Bowling: Day 7-1-26-0; Newland 4-1-17-1; Hoare 5-2-11-2; Sewell 7-2-28-4; Ashton 4.5-2-9-2.
Greys CC win by 84 runs.

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Horsted Keynes v TWCC May 22nd 2022
Eager followers of TWCC's local rivalries will have been looking forward to this weekend's fixture, but, sadly, Bolney were unable to raise a Sunday side and so TWCC's Fixtur ED ept. went into action to find a replacement game. Thus it was that the TWCC motorcade headed over to Horsted Keynes on the sunniest of sunny days to find what may well be the perfect village, not only because there are two pubs (though with one actually backing onto the playing field who needs another one?), but also because it offered an opportunity to travel back in time, and the Gazette staff were reminded of a golden era when bacon was dry, when phone numbers were three digits long, and, if you were a little under the weather, your doctor would actually visit you at home, albeit in a car that produced fumes that could kill you. The cricket pitch itself was surrounded by a jumble of tile-hung Wealden homes each with separate shanty garages one could aim at, with tidy gardens in which museum piece renactments of afternoon teas were taking place. Everything in the whole world was temporarily absolutely wonderful.
Horsted Keynes CC were, under the genial captaincy of Jez Humphries-Davies, clearly a happy bunch and within minutes it felt as if we'd known them for years. Captain Brock won the toss and suggested that TWCC would like to bowl first, and so Tom Rydon wound himself up and charged in down the slight hill and ripped out a good part of the home-side's batting. Some, who should be more supportive, say there were full-tosses, whilst others more generously inclined say they were very full yorkers, but what undeniably happened was very stumpish as, first, Spetch was bowled on the third ball of the match, and then, the very next ball, Simpson also found his stumps in pieces. Oh, wait a goddam minute here; two in two? That means... doesn't that mean...?
Didn't happen.
What had happened was that Tom had the home side 0 for 2 in the first over. There was no let up from Ed, bowling up the hill, but TWCC's pacers didn't have it all their own way as Simpson, Horsted Keynes' No 2. batter, began to whip the ball to the boundary with low hands, taking advantage of any imprecise width or length. Matt replaced Tom and carried on the good work, keeping a tight lid on things, but it was game on indeed.
Time for some Phil, who just did what Phil does, nipping the ball back from outside off, the perfect top-of-stump length first giving a catch to Edward in the slips to get rid of Kadshaw (10) and then clean-bowling the powerful Foden whose blistering innings ended on 31 (5 fours) but which looked as if it might otherwise have gone on to do some real damage. Phil took two further wickets, an LBW and a catch to Tom, and with figures of 6-overs 4 for 14, proved to be, on top of Tom's earlier successes, the deciding factor of the day.
Brocky came on from the high ground, and Graham from below, and Graham produced his most impressive spell to date having, first, Horsted Keynes' skipper Jez stumped thanks to Jonathan's typically quick fast glove-work, and then producing a catch to backward point for Jim to make a meal of. Graham ended on 2 for 14 off 5 overs; very impressive and his best figures ever. Rob Rydon was brought on to engineer an early tea, and unless we're careful, he'll walk away with all the averages, bat and ball, as, quietly stalking to the crease like Michael Holding on beta-blockers, Rob unceremoniously bowled Williams, and then Eloisa Duly as she flicked the ball up to Edward in the slips for a gentle catch to end the home side's innings on just 96 all out. Horsted Keynes were clearly capable of some heavy scoring but with Tom's two early wickets and then Phil's four-fer evisceration of the middle order, they were definitely under par even as it certainly felt that, on another day, they could well have expected to rack up a much larger total.
Thus it was time, albeit a few overs earlier than one might have expected, for tea to be enjoyed in and around the perfectly un-restored period-piece pavilion, and a lovely tea it was, replete with charcuterie, filo quiches and feta salads. Sunshine, tea, excellent savoury and sweet fare and the perfect day glowed on. Until, that is, Paul and Jim went in and a slight shadow fell across the afternoon's play as Jim was given not out to a double-bouncing ball from opener Eloisa Dule that tumbled into his stumps, but the analysts and Google later were of the opinion that this wasn't a no ball at all having possibly passed the crease before its second bounce. Jim was out soon enough after that, playing through a pull too early to a ball that stopped and was caught behind off the back of his bat, and then Paul pulled across a short straight one that similarly dug in, looped up and dropped onto the top of his stumps some time after Paul had finished playing his shot. But there really had been no need to get out, as Jonathan and Matt began to prove as they took the score on without too much trouble and with plenty of pizazz, especially from Jonathan as he repeatedly pulled balls for four behind square, and Matt's leg glances were lovely to watch.
The Gazette's champagne moment of the day wasn't however, any of the grandiose shots from Horsted Keynes' Foden, or Jonathan's cultured all-along-the-ground pulls for four, nor any of Phil's wickets important though they were, but was, rather, a lesson in how to go about playing cricket - a lesson of which others would do well to take heed. Matt it was, who with the field set a little deep because of the abundant scoring, noted a good, but simple, straight ball and pushed it deliberately and safely into the no-man's-land of the short off-side, and called Jonathan through for the simplest of lightly jogged runs. There's nothing like proper cricket, as is often the case.
With the small total all but overhauled, Williams came on from the top end for the last rites, and produced what the standing umpire felt was the ball of the day, which took care of Matt's off stump. Moderately pacy, the ball swung in from outside off to middle, and then jagged back away from Matt's bat to hit the top of off stump. Matt had to leave, but there's no shame in being out to great bowling, and, with a cultured 27 (4 fours) behind him, the game was already in the bag. With the scores tied on 96 Tom joined Jonathan who was on 44 (8 fours), and, with there being only one way Jonathan could reach the magic fifty, he abandoned his usual skills and strode down the wicket towards the ball, swung and gently lobbed the ball up in the air to be out caught with the scores still tied. An unfortunate end, but, once again Jonathan's precise batting, in a partnership of 77 with Matt, had steered TWCC to a six (or five if you count Jim as being out twice) wicket victory. Rob joined Tom in another emotional match-winning family partnership of 1, which Tom scored and the game was over.
Looking through and beyond the apparent scoring disparity on the day, Horsted Keynes and TWCC are a good match for future cricket, and the two sides agreed to make this a permanent fixture if the 2023 stars align, and they can look forward to more Sunday cricket at its glorious best. Perhaps the format could be more draw-ey, as always, but on this occasion the flawed 40:40 format didn't impact the day at all.
There was beer, there was Googling, there was an attempt to get TWCC's umpire to apologise to Eloise Dule for denying her a wicket, and there was plain old sitting out in the soft focus of the 1950's for as long as possible. And happily, for some, not even Monday morning sharpens anything up much.

Scorecard
Toss won by Skipper Brock, and Horsted Keynes were invited to bat first. 40:40 but it didn't matter.
Horsted Keynes CC Innings: R Spetch Bld T Rydon 0; D Foden Bld P Steinke 31; D Simpson Bld T Rydon 0; J Kadshaw Ct E Bunn Bld P Steinke 10; J Humphreys-Davies St Rowland Bld G Cuthbert 18; R Willard Watts LBW P Steinke 0; L Duly Ct T Rydon Bld P Steinke 8; D Marmion Ct J Simon Bld G Cuthbert 3; D Elliot not out 14; B Williams Bld R Rydon 1; E Duly Ct E Bunn Bld R Rydon 0. Extras 11 (B4, LB1, W6) Total 96 all out (35 overs)
Fall: Miscellaneously recorded.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 6-2-10-2; E Howes 6-1-15-0; M Edwards 5-1-17-0; P Steinke 6-2-14-4; R Brock 5-0-25-0; G Cuthbert 5-0-14-2; R Rydon 2-2-0-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld D Simpson 11; J Simon Ct Humphries-Davies (Wk) Bld D Simpson 5; M Edwards Bld B Williams 27; J Rowland Ct Willard-Watts Bld L Duly 44; T Rydon not out 1; R Rydon not out 0. DNB E Bunn, G Cuthbert, E Howes, P Steinke, R Brock. Extras 9 (B4, LB1, W3, NB1) Total 97 for 4 (19.3 overs).
Horsted Keynes CC Bowling: E Duly 3-0-9-0; D Simpson 2-0-15-2; D Elliot 4-0-15-0; R Willard-Watts 3-0-28-0; R Spetch 3-1-9-0; L Duly 3.3-0-16-1; B Williams 1-1-0-1.
TWCC win by 6 wickets.

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TWCC v Balcombe CC May 29th 2022
Quite a special day for TWCC as we welcomed Balcombe CC to our new pavilion for the first time, as we also did two new players in the persons of Henry Short and Ed Noakes, both relatively local and both under 60. Skipper Edwards won the toss, and chose to field first in yet another hybrid format that still allowed draws if that was the way it went, and also guaranteed a maximum total of 80 overs play if one team was slow to bowl their allocation as does sometimes happen (naming no names - you know who you are). As it turned out TWCC, usually adequately rapid when bowling their overs, were themselves somewhat guilty of a slow over rate, though (at the risk of giving too much away), ball-hunting was a factor...
Balcombe had come with what appeared to be a strong team, and they went about proving it as they resisted the potency of Tom R and Matt, until Matt bowled a fast full-pitched ball which R Botting smashed to mid-wicket where Tom somehow grasped the meteoric ball just before it took his head off. On many another day Tom's catch would have walked the champagne moment alone, but there were to be more candidates down the line. G Botting, Balcombe's No1, continued to take and make runs, and he was briefly joined by T Wall, who couldn't keep out Tom's pacy fare and whose stumps were soon in disarray, and Balcombe were 35 for 2 in the 9th over. And here matters took on a different aspect as G Botting and No4 Ward began to score more freely, sometimes just a few runs here and there, and then a number of boundaries. Jim dropped Botting on the long-off boundary which didn't help, and it wasn't until Rob and Phil came on, and other fielders were involved, that the game swung around again. First, Rob produced a thin edge from the hitherto worryingly solid bat of G Botting and Edward held on to a sharp catch at first slip in another outbreak of Proper Cricket - supplying another CM candidate - but, by then, Botting, out for 47 (6 fours) had built Balcombe a great platform. Ward, with a very fast 26 to his name, was beginning to treat the bowling with some disdain when Phil sorted out his stumps which produced another event for the Champagne Committee to consider - not the important and well-engineered wicket - it was the celebration that caught the eye and the ear.
Which brings us to yet another CM candidate, as Rob's concealed pace forced a rapid outside edge to Tony, who had only just then been moved to backward point by the intuitive Matt. After the thick snick and the flurry of action was over, Tony looked at his right hand and was surprised to find that there was a ball in it to give Rob his second wicket of the day in another fine spell of 2 for 13 off 6 overs.
But the Balcombe side had many reserves down the order, and it's certain that had they wanted to be less Sunday-ey, their batting order could well have been arranged somewhat differently. First, Pradhan, with a steady 25, and then Draude and Balcombe's skipper Bohm were simply untroubled by the bowling they faced. Brocky did have Pradhan caught by Matt for a steady 25, but the competence and forceful skill of Draude (ending not out on 42 - 8 fours) and Bohm (ending on 38 - 5 fours and 1 six) saw the visitors to an impressively easy total of 207 for 6, at which point Balcombe declared two overs before their innings would otherwise have had to end, on 207 for 6 in 38 overs.
Whilst the game clearly got somewhat away from the home side, it would be remiss not to mention Newest Ed's skills with the gloves, with many a leg-side ball being de-bye'd as a result of his fast footwork, and Henry, the other debut player in the team, who dashed about with wonderful energy in the field and, indeed, bowled a four over spell at a difficult time as a fine introduction to the team.
Only the most elite of athletes denied themselves more than one sandwich and a small piece of cake from the Hunter spread, and at least one of these padded up and headed out to face the music in the middle. It seems as if, in 2022, one or other of TWCC's regular opening batsmen (and we use the term loosely) is prone to an early dismissal, and this time it was Paul who prodded at a ball too close to him, and he was out caught in the slips with just one to his name. Jim was joined by Tony, only playing his first game of the season, and who was duly circumspect for 10 dots, after which he followed with a four just to show he was still in there. These two put on 27, with Tony pulling several fours to leg from the shorter offerings of Teasdale, before he powered a half-volley to mid-off where the capable hands of R Botting held on to a sharp catch. Tony's first offering of the season was over for just 18 (3 fours) but at least he was on his way and it is to be hoped that he can now get going for real.
With Tony gone in strode one of TWCC's new recruits in the form of Ed Noakes who, scoring just two off his first 35 balls, kept out the straight ones and ignored the rest. In the meantime Jim was inadvertently keeping out the pace of Sivapragasam, and even actively hitting the odd ball, up to the point when the bowling became easier to face, which was, naturally, the cue for him to get out, and he duly skied a top edge to mid-off with, depending on scorebooks, either 19 or 21 to his name. TWCC were 43 for 4 and, from here, the game could have gone a number of ways, but with Rob walking in with many overs in hand clearly the home side were thinking...oh. The scorebooks show R Rydon Bld Gordon 1, but, apparently, that does nothing to describe the pearler that pitched on leg and took the top of off. Which was a shame, and as one doesn't often see Rob bowled congratulations must go to Gordon for getting significant turn on the artificial wicket. Then, as Bohm, the Balcombe captain, began to run through his bowling options and a few drag-downs presented themselves, who better to pull the ball to the roadside than Edward, in at 6, and he and Ed took the score on from 64 for 5 to 110 before the older Edward simply lost concentration as he let a straight ball get through to his stumps. He had been in no trouble up to that point, and there is little to explain how the ball got through as he wasn't playing across the line - it just happened.
In to join New Ed came New Henry, and, with Balcombe giving more overs to their occasionals, this was the perfect introduction to the home side's ranks for the new recruits. Henry and Ed saw off many overs, with increasingly confident strikes, before Henry was out for a fine 19 (3 fours), caught off the bowling of R Botting. The game, by this point, was clearly beyond the reach of a victory for TWCC, which result wasn't over-eagerly sought by Balcombe, and it was Matt who came in for the final overs. D Ward, he of the strong batting, was also clearly a very strong bowler who had hitherto been reigning in his pace, and so there was some surviving to do, but survive Matt and Ed did, up to the last ball when Matt was encouraged to go for a "six to win" off the last ball. Happily for the legal team he didn't get his six, and instead he was bowled which just goes to show you shouldn't mess about.
Balcombe clearly had the better game than TWCC and were generally in control of events, and TWCC look forward to the forthcoming return fixture.
The actual Champagne Moment of the day, notwithstanding Tom, Edward and Tony holding on to some great catches, was the walk back to the pavilion at the end of play when we applauded Ed's debut 55 not out (6 fours), and, who, like Henry, was increasingly forceful with his bat as his time in the middle lengthened. Both new players had, we trust, enjoyed their first afternoon with TWCC and we hope to see them often amongst our ranks.

Scorecard
Toss won by TWCC (Skipper Edwards) who chose to field first. 80 overs game, max 40 to be bowled by team bowling first, declarations with transferred overs a thing, draw possible.
Innings of Balcombe CC: G Botting Ct E Bunn Bld R Rydon 47; R Botting Ct T Rydon Bld M Edwards 2; T Wall Bld T Rydon 6; D Ward Bld P Steinke 26; N Warde Ct T Pearce Bld R Rydon 0; P Pradhan CT M Edwards Bld R Brock 25; N Draude not out 42; L Bohm not out 38. DNB I Gordon, D Sivapragasam, J Teasdale. Extras 21 (9W, 1NB, and something called "Fielding Extras" in iPadland... which added another 11. Presumably a failure to note byes and leg byes?) Total 207 for 6 declared (38 overs.
Fall: 1-8, 2-35, 3-93, 4-94, 5-98, 6-142.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 8-1-34-1; M Edwards 8-0-53-1; R Rydon 6-3-13-2; P Steinke 6-2-32-1; H Short 4-0-24-0; R Brock 4-0-23-1; J Simon 2-0-17-0.
Innings of TWCC: P Hunter Ct L Bohm Bld J Teasdale 1; J Simon Ct D Ward Bld T Wall 19; T Pearce Ct R Botting Bld D Siva 18; E Noakes not out 55; R Rydon Bld I Gordon 1; E Bunn Bld T Wall 13; H Short Ct P Pradhan Bld R Botting 19; M Edwards Bld D Ward 8. DNB T Rydon, R Brock, P Steinke. Extras 10 (B2, LB3, W2, NB2) Total 144-ish for 7 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-5, 2-36, 3-41, 4-43, 5-64, 6-110, 7-144.
Balcombe CC Bowling: J Teasdale 5-1-17-1; D Sivapragasam 7-2-11-1; I Gordon 6-1-26-1; T Wall 4-1-7-2; N Warde 4-0-15-0; P Pradhan 5-2-19-0; D Ward 6-0-29-1; R Botting 4-0-17-1.
Match drawn.

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TWCC v Locksbottom CC June 2nd 2022
Locksbottom CC made contact through the website of all places, and Ed H sorted it all out and then abandoned the fixture and went to Lords for the day. There were a couple of hangovers in evidence in the touring side, but they nonetheless provided some boisterous and capable opposition. Happily it had been decided that players had to retire at the end of the over in which they reached 25, otherwise there probably wouldn't have been much to stop the visitors from accumulating a very big score indeed after they won the toss, batted first and set about Matt E and Tom's bowling.
Habgood and King were part of the imposed retirement package which stopped the score from ballooning even higher than it did, and new batters had to at least acclimatise before they, too, hit out. However Locksbottom weren't to have it all their own way, and Alice's debut appearance was another Noakes success story as she took two wickets in quick succession, bowling the opener Barton and then having Seymour caught by George at mid-wicket. Jim and Rob also hit the stumps, one with a little more force than the other, and Matt Smith pulled off a run out where there wasn’t a single at all and, after a few more overs from Matt S and Graham the visitors ended on 131, having lost 7 wickets, with 3 over-25’s retirements.
Locksbottom opened their bowling having set a field of mid-off, the keeper and 8 slips, and Paul was offered an over of long-hops and full tosses which he dealt with by scoring three fours, which was just as well as the second over, bowled fast and, dare I say it, wide down Jim’s leg side, was a maiden. Jim was run out at the start of the second over and Phil Cuthbert, another debut player, scored a couple of runs before being bowled. Paul retired at some point with a quick 27 (7 fours) to his name, and George, he of the big swing, came in to swing and he duly swung big for a quick 28 (4 fours 1 six) before he, too, retired, but not before there’d been another run out which, sadly, took out Matt Smith who looked as if he could have made some serious inroads into the required total. In the meantime Tom came in to place the ball in second slip's palms... and Alice, at 7, seemed to surprise herself every time she timed the ball to the boundary, which she did twice, in a significant innings of 17. Then came Rob who, after he knocked his first ball for four, was surely the man to sort it all out with just about enough time left, but that script stalled in the face of some good length bowling, and Rob didn’t quite fire being out for 8.
Ian Irvine, the irregular but welcome Staplefield Scrambler, was an impressive force with the bat, intuitively stepping to leg and creaming the ball off the middle of his bat into the off side for a crediatble 13 in quick time, and whilst his innings helped the home side at least approach the target, ultimately TWCC fell short, as Matt E was out for 9 off 9 and then Graham and Ian were left requiring 15 off the last over which didn't happen, but they did get us to within 7 runs which, actually, is pretty good and, now that I'm writing it out, it all seems rather more exciting than I remember at the time.
Pub, chat, beer, a bowl of tasty rice and the tourers undulated back to Brighton under their "Bottom on Tour" caps for another no doubt unbearable night on the town, leaving the hushed gloaming to the Royal Oak Four who disjointedly chewed over England teams of the past like a Beckett read through.

Scorecard
Locksbottom CC won the toss and chose to bat first. T20, retire at the end of the over in which you score 25 (imagine that... 25!)
Locksbottom CC innings: F Habgood retired not out 30, C Barton Bld A Noakes 18; E King retired not out 26, B Charman Bld J Simon 0; J Seymour Ct G Hunter Bld A Noakes 9; J Baxter Bld J Simon 0; S Baker Bld J Simon 0; S Stachini Bld R Rydon 5; J Thompson run out (M Smith) 14; P Stachini not out 25; J Lott not out 2. Extras 4 (LB3, W1) Total 131 for 7 (20 overs).
Fall: 1-48, 2-50, 3-61, 4-61, 5-61, 6-86, 7-130,
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 4-0-29-0; T Rydon 2-0-19-0; A Noakes 4-0-21-2; J Simon 3-0-17-3; M Smith 2-0-5-0; R Rydon 3-0-12-1; G Cuthbert 2-0-25-0.
TWCC innings: P Hunter 27 retired not out 27, J Simon run out (Hunter) 0; P Cuthbert Bld Baker 2; G Hunter retired not out 28; T Rydon Ct, Bld Cox 0; M Smith run out 6; A Noakes Ct, Bld Cox 17; R Rydon Bld Tanner 8; I Irvine not out 13; M Edwards Bld Unrecorded 9, G Cuthbert not out 1. Extras 5 (B1, W3, NB1) Total 124 for 7 (20 overs).
Fall: Unrecorded.
Locksbottom CC Bowling (Approximate!): Tanner 4-0-33-1; Lott 4-1-11-1?; Baker 2-0-16-1; Cox 4-0-32-2; P Stachini 2-0-17-0; S Stachini 2-1-4-0; Baxter 2-0-5-0.
Locksbottom won by 7 runs.


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TWCC v Xiles June 6th 2022
Jubilee socialising took precedence over cricket on TWCC's home ground, and Xiles kindly arranged for the fixture to played in East Brighton Park, which looks nicer in the above photo than it is. TWCC's skipper Matt won the toss and chose to bowl first.
After Xiles' skipper had dashed home to fetch some stumps, the match got under way with Tom skidding in down the slight slope, and Ed bowling up the hill with less underfoot difficulty. These two were their usual excellent selves, and between them they bowled out Xiles' two openers for not much. Rob and Matt continued the good work, from TWCC's point of view, each taking a wicket with Rob's being a proper catch from Paul with the gloves and Henry taking a catch at mid-off (I think...) off Matt's bowling. All was going as usual with TWCC who bowl deep and field well, up to the point when a nice Parking Monitor in hi-viz popped his head through the hedge and offered to look elsewhere for a few minutes "just in case not everyone had paid for their parking yet" which cleared the pitch for 20 minutes whilst society's cheaters lined up, heads bowed, in front of the pay and display machine like naughty kids in front of a robot headmaster.
As play resumed Xiles's No 5 Shahzad began to find his range, and in his mighty innings he cleared the boundary for four 6's on top of six 4's and he wasn't fussy about whose bowling he despatched into the middle distance. Increasingly puffed, however, he eventually fell to a Matt run out for a fine 63 which was just as well for TWCC because he didn't look like getting out any other way. The only other Xiles batter who scored significant runs was Smith, at 7, who in the end fell to a Phil tempter that had him caught by Jim at long on for 22. Ed came back on to bowl Samson, Phil took his usual haul of excellent wickets (3 for 29), and Henry finished off the innings removing Xiles's No 10 thanks to an Ed catch at mid off (I think...). Xiles all out for 150, which, whilst not a big score by any means, didn't feel like it would be an easy target to chase on a stoppy wicket.
Paul and Jim. Well, Jim lasted three balls if you count the one he edged to second slip, but Paul looked like he knew what he was doing as he hung in, keeping out good balls and scoring when he could. And good balls were what everyone got, right through the innings, from the openers Manger (1 for 15 from 7 overs)  and Smith (3 for 27 off 7 overs).  Smith's first victim was none other than Rob, who was in at three because after Jim TWCC needed someone who could bat, but not even Rob could keep the ball out.
Rob out to Smith. Henry in and out to Smith. This Smith was trouble. Matt, in at 5, took his cue from Paul who was still there being a proper cricketer, and played out seven dots before the ever-accurate Smith over-pitched a fraction outside the off stump and Matt calmly swung through a lofted drive that hung up high in the breeze and fell back to earth beyond the cover boundary for a lovely 6. This was TWCC's Champagne Moment, and, unusually, was probably the only contender, though the Rob/Paul wicket was very Proper Crickety. In the end Matt was bowled by, yes, Smith for 12, which brought Edward in at his much-loved No 6, and he did his No 6 thing, never looking to be in trouble even though, by this time, the slow but very accurate bowling of Tim Richardson was causing everyone some difficulty, including the umpire, who shall remain nameless, who gave Edward out LBW even though the ball hit the bat (so I'm told). (By everyone.) Luckily the opposition withdrew the appeal and let Edward be bowled later by Samson for a fine 25 (five 4's).
By this time Paul's marathon was over with him being caught off the deceptively impressive Richardson by a ball that, I think, somewhat stopped on him, and that was more or less it. Paul had been determined to stay in, which was just as well as no one else did, and his 29 with just two 4's off 76 balls was remarkable for its resilience and toughness and there should be more like him. Tom looked very cool and collected until Richardson provided the perfect ball for him to pull low and very hard to deep square leg to pick out Smith who took a fine catch. Ed, New Matt (Cox) and Phil came in, and Ed scored some good runs, as usual, ending up not out on 11 (two 4's), while Matt Cox succumbed for 1, as did Phil.
TWCC all out (9 wkts) for 96. Not very good, but although both sides fielded and bowled equally well, the batting of Xiles was better, and Shahzad's innings in particular was the difference.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss, and Matt chose to bowl first. Proper friendly timed match! TWCC 10 players.
Xiles Innings: Padam Bld E Howes 8; S McCreadie-Ford Bld T Rydon 5; Karthik Ct H Short Bld M Edwards 11; D Bailey Ct P Hunter (Wk) Bld R Rydon 19; Shahzad run out M Edwards 63; Hannant Bld P Steinke 2; A Smith Ct J Simon Bld P Steinke 22; Samson Bld E Howes 2; R Manger St P Hunter Bld P Steinke 4; Pete G Ct E Howes Bld H Sort 7; T Richardson not out 0. Extras 6 (B3, W3) Total 150 all out (37.2 overs).
Fall 1-13, 2-13, 3-39, 4-58, 5-69, 6-115, 7-117, 8-132, 9-143, 10-150.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-2-17-1; E Howes 9-0-39-2; R Rydon 6-1-17-1; M Edwards 7-0-38-1; P Steinke 7-2-29-3; H Short 1.2-0-5-1; J Simon 1-0-2-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct H Smith Bld T Richardson 29; J Simon Ct Karthik Bld R Manger 0; R Rydon Bld A Smith 9; H Short LBW A Smith 2; M Edwards Bld A Smith 12; E Bunn Bld Samson 25; T Rydon Ct A Smith Bld T Richardson 2; E Howes not out 11; M Cox Ct Hannant Bld Karthik 1; P{ Steinke Ct Manger Bld Samson 1. Extras 6 (LB1, W4, NB1) Total 96 all out (9 wickets) 96.
Fall: 1-1, 2-21, 3-25, 4-42, 5-69, 6-77, 7-83, 8-84, 9-96.
Xiles Bowling: R Manger 7-1-15-1; A Smith 7-0-27-3; Pete G 7-0-18-0; T Richardson 7-3-17-2; Karthik 4-1-11-1; Samson 3.1-1-8-2.
Xiles won by 54 runs.

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TWCC v London Unity June 12th 2022
A game of two sides, one of them being TWCC, unashamedly our favourite club here at the Gazette, and Paul and Jim went in to bat for the home side after skipper Matt won the toss and decided he'd like to watch other people running about in the heat. Paul did a great job of bustling the score along even as he kept the good balls out, and Jim did the same with one important difference. In came Rob R, ever capable, and Paul and Rob put on a very crickety 58 run partnership before Paul was caught off the slow bowling of McKenzie in a fashion the entire Gazette's staff can't recall. Rob fell in the very next over to the impressive Mark Driver who bowled a lifting ball that moved away from the middle of Rob's bat and the slips gobbled up the edge. Paul (40, 6 fours) and Rob (29, 5 fours) suggested what the innings ought to, and could, have been, but beyond these two punchy performances TWCC crumbled somewhat. The slow bowling being offered up from the Pavilion End was both tempting and deadly with all the usual consequences, whilst Mark Driver was wheeling in with remarkable consistency and skill and Mark's figures of four for 7 off 9 overs says it all. So, to wrap up the next 5 wickets, Tom F, Henry, Matt E, J Armstrong and Tom R all fell cheaply, some after solid resistance, and some not. Obviously all these can bat well, but Unity on the day had their number and TWCC fell from, first, 35 for 1, through 93 for 2 after 17 overs, to 116 for 8 by over 28. But not all was lost as tremendous resilience from Rob S and Graham kept pads-on-Phil firmly in his seat. Rob's innings was characterised by enourmous patience punctuated by pulls for four, and he, with Graham, kept the innings alive and at tea these two were not out, with Rob on a very valuable 21 and Graham with 3 well-taken singles, and they took the TWCC total on to a mildly defendable 139 for 8 off 37 overs.
Regular readers may have noticed a new name in TWCC's ranks as they welcomed Jake Armstrong into their side, and his four runs may not look much, but only four players managed double figures and he did keep his wicket intact for longer than some.
Play after tea is even simpler to report than the somewhat disappointing TWCC innings, in that Unity looked good with the bat and were as good as they looked. The first wicket did fall respectably early when Tom R had Unity's No 2 caught somewhere by Matt (can't remember I'm afraid but it was probably in the covers?) with the score on just 20, but after that McKenzie and Ghashemi were taking full advantage of several lives being handed out as they survived many dropped catches; it's hard to think of a match in which so many catches went down. Some were impossibly difficult, like the two that Jim only just failed to hang on to, but had all the other simple chances been taken the game might have ended up being considerably closer than it was.
But, as it was, by the time Rob S had, first, McKenzie caught by Tom F from a leading edge in the covers for 46, and then Ghashemi caught behind (another fine keeping performance from Paul), for 41, the game was all but over. Burke and Gane knocked off the remaining runs required, and that was it. For once both Phil and Rob R ended their spells with an empty wicket's column and it was Rob S who made the breakthroughs, but it was all too late with too many lives having been given to the Unity batters along the way. On a more positive note the short spells from Henry and Jake at the very end commendably held back the Unity tide for longer than might have been anticipated by the visiting side, and these two new players looked quite difficult to score off even when, by that time, barely any runs needed scoring.
On the day TWCC didn't score enough runs or take enough catches and Mark Driver bowled really well, and that decided the result.

Scorecard
Skipper Edwards won the toss and chose to bat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct, Bld D McKenzie 40; J Simon Bld S Page 10; R Rydon Ct Ghashemi Bld M Driver 29; T firth Ct M Daniels Bld M Driver 3; H Short Bls M Daniels 4; M Edwards Ct, Bld M Daniels 4; J Armstrong Bld M Driver 4; T Rydon Ct and Bld M Driver 1; R Saunders not out 21; G Cuthbert not out 3. DNB P Steinke. Extras 20 (B4, W16) Total 139 for 8 off 37 overs.
Fall 1-35, 2-93, 3-93, 4-101, 5-101, 6-108, 7-109, 8-116.
London Unity Bowling: A Griffiths 7-0-32-0; D Page 7-0-36-1; D McKenzie 4-0-23-0; M Driver 9-7-7-4; M Daniels 8-0-31-2; D Ghashemi 2-0-6-0.
London Unity Innings: D McKenzie Ct T Firth, Bld R Saunders 46; M Cockburn Ct M Edwards Bld T Rydon 11; D Ghashemi Ct P Hunter (Wk) Bld R Saunders 41; J Burke not out 13;  Gane not out 22. Extras 9 (B2, LB1, W5, NB1) Total 142 for 3 in 29 overs.
Fall: 1-20, 2-102, 3-112.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 5-0-31-0; T Rydon 8-1-34-1; P Steinke 3-0-18-0; R Rydon 4-0-14-0; R Saunders 4-0-24-2; H Short 3-1-9-0; J Armstrong 2.1-0-6-0.
London Unity win by 7 wickets.

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TWCC v Jevington CC June 19th 2022
It's been a while since we last met the excellent fellow-cricketers all the way from over there in Jevington, but unforeseeable factors, some local, some global, combined to impose a break of four years between our first and second matches. But here we all were, Jevington won the toss and chose to field first. Paul and Jim, the usual suspects worked through the early bowling, and, indeed, a fair portion of the middle bowling in an opening stand of 119, but after drinks and with so much talent lurking in the pavilion, a certain amount of rashness entered the mind-sets in the middle, and Jim threw his bat at a tempter from the leg spin of Rippinghall and he was comfortably caught by mid-off running round to his left. Jim's innings, worth about 50 runs more than normal, included 8 fours and, almost more pleasingly, 2 threes! Paul was then joined by Tony, back from manoeuvres, and the pair put on a further very quick 52 runs before Paul was caught off the bowling of Page for an excellent 88 (13 fours), leaving Tony to mastermind his way on past 50 in no time with a combination of mixed boundaries and crafty singles. Henry chose too tight a run to call and was run out for 4, and Alice, at 5, was caught after a quick 5 runs which included a lovely pull for four. Which brings us to TWCC's acclaimed No 6 who, with Tony, took the score on to 245 for four before Skipper Brock called Edward and Tony in for tea ten minutes early. Edward scored more singles than boundaries (3 and 2 respectively) in the nine balls he faced, and Tony had whisked his tally on to 79 in just 44 balls (12 fours 2 sixes) in a humbling display not only of power but also of placement and generally discouraging ability.
The first Rydon tea of the season was thus presented a few minutes early, complete with a pair of textbook Victoria Sponges, and then it was the turn of Jevington to bat, and Swansborough and Fielder had to face up to Matt and Phil. Matt was, as ever, sending down wicket-taking balls, but wickets were there none as the batters kept out the straight ones and missed the edgy ones, but Phil was more stumpy and duly got his first wicket in the sixth over of the innings bowling Fielder for 23. Jevington clearly had an impressive arsenal of batsmen and, right through to the tail, were fully capable of scoring from everything that came at them. TWCC's first changers, Alice and Henry, had to cope with being taken on, but both had the last word when first Alice bowled a dipping yorker to Jevington's No 1 Swansborough (32) and then Henry got through to Nelson's stumps. Henry also had the first Jim drop to deal with, about which there is little to say beyond the increasingly obvious. Graham found his line and length quickly and was hard to get away though he was on this occasion wicketless, though Jim once again failed to hang on to a simple chance at short fine leg. Hmmm... One can only apologise. On a happier note Brocky's first ball caught the edge of S Page's bat and went through to wicketkeeper Tony whose hands were as safe as one could wish. Jevington's run chase was beginning to look as if it might be unsuccessful, but the batsmen kept on coming and the run rate barely, if at all, dropped.
When the time came for the last 20 overs to begin to count down, it became clear that the Jevington skipper had mentioned that he'd like the home side's slightly early declaration to be recognised by the addition of an extra over, which at the time, was of potentially of equal benefit to both sides as it obviously gave TWCC an extra over in which to try to take any wickets that might be necessary, but also could provide an extra over in which Jevington could score a few more runs, and that might be important too. So, there was this extra 21st over looming over the end of proceedings, and it remained to be seen which side, if any, might be the beneficiary of these six balls. As it turned out, following Matt's run out of Vias, and Rob's two wickets - one a Matt catch at long on and the other a nice crickety edge through to Tony - and then the return of Phil who bagged, via a second well-taken catch by Matt at the other long on, it was Jevington who needed to hang on rather than TWCC worrying about the runs. Jevington did take the chase commendably deep, and the game was certainly interesting right the way through, but come the end, in the pursuit of the final wicket for the win, whilst Rob continued to ping the ball down, after his two wickets, he had no further success, and the return of Matt was equally wicket free.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and there is only one person for this kind of work; someone who threatens the stumps with every ball, and as the final over, the loaded 21st over since the countdown, began, Jevington's last man simply had to keep the ball out. It only took Phil two balls before the tinkly sound of bails graced the evening air, and the game was over and the pub was invoked. Thanks go to Jevington for making the longish journey over to these parts (and, indeed, in some number to the Royal Oak), and for sharing in a fully comp. game of cricket. Everyone had something to do with the day's play, and it was all conducted with great good humour and in good spirit. It was another game in which the obvious benefits of a timed game being the best format for this kind of thing were surely clear for all to see as the game was alive into the last over and both sides look forward to meeting up again next season.

Scorecard
Jevington CC won the toss and chose to bowl first. Proper timed Sunday game.
TWCCInnings: P Hunter Ct, Bld S Page 88; J Simon Ct, Bld M Rippinghall 52; T Pearce not out 79; H Short run out 4; A Noakes Ct, Bld S Page 5; E Bunn not out 11. DNB M Edwards, R Brock, G Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 6 (B2,W3, NB1) Total 245 for 4 declared 10 mins early, off 37 overs.
Fall: 1-119, 2-171, 3-198, 4-205.
Jevington Bowling: R Figgins 7-1-48-0; L Page 6-1-31-0;M Vias 5-0-28-0; S Page 12-0-82-2; M Rippinghal 6-0-51-1; M Page 1-0-8-0.
Jevington Innings: A Swansborough Bld A Noakes 32; R Fielder Bld P Steinke 23; M Rippinghall Ct M Edwards Bld P Steinke 50; L Nelson Bld H Short 0; M Page Ct T Pearce (Wk( Bld R Rydon 3; M Vias run out M Edwards; S Page Ct T Pearce (Wk) Bld R Brock 12; L Page Ct M Edwards Bld R Rydon 9; R Figgins Bld R Rydon 4; A Fielder Bld P Steinke 4; B Taylor not out 0. Extras 14 (B5, LB1, W6, NB2) Total 178 all out (38.2 overs).
Fall: 1-28, 2-83 then unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-1-18-0; P Steinke 6.2-0-40-3; A Noakes 6-0-40-1; H Short 4-0-22-1; G Cuthbert 3-0-11-0 R Rydon 8-2-23-2; R Brock 4-1-11-1.
TWCC win by 67 or 65 runs depending on which part of the scorebook you look at.

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Henfield CC v TWCC June 26th 2022
Away to Henfield, to play one of the more firmly-rooted local clubs we are fortunate to meet on our rounds, which normally guarantees a blend of really excellent youngsters, some established older players, and, if we're lucky, a fair number of players who begin to approach TWCC's average age. Matt won the toss and sent Paul and Jim out to face the music, and what a reliable pair these two are, for if one of them fails the other one always goes on to play well! In at three, after this Sunday's unplayable ball took out an assortment of Jim's stumps again, came Tony, throbbing with intent following his lightning 79 off 44 balls the game before. The slower pace of Garmston-Newman, compared to that of T Helps, belied the fact that he got the ball to move in the air and off the pitch, and a ball that came back up the slope caught Tony unawares as he chopped the ball onto his stumps and was out for just a single. Jonathan, back from a break, looked well in control, as always, but went for a gentle pull off Garmston-Newman rather than a full-blooded hit, and he scooped the ball to short fine leg. Out for another 1. TWCC 3 for 25, but Paul was still comfortably dealing with all the pace and movement, and there was plenty of batting to come so TWCC, even if there was some individual disappointment, were still encouraged by a warranted degree of expectation.
Enter Alex Rydon, who joined in at the very point when the bowling became a little less difficult to survive, and he took four fours in a row from leg spinner Lewis's first over, and, once in the groove, continued, with Paul, to take it to the home side in a steady stream of runs. The total smoothly rose to 79 when Alex, who had taken on much of the scoring whilst Paul carried on with his appropriately steady approach, edged a rising ball from E Helps outside his off stump, and instead of the ball trundling down to third man it found itself in the safe hands of Griffiths in the gully. Rather a good catch too – yes it arrived at a comfortable height, but it got there quickly and no catch is easy (it says here) (in large capital letters) (necessarily large or I can't see them). Out for a quick-fire 47 off 41 balls, with 40 of those runs being from 4's, Alex had given TWCC some hope of a decent total.
Paul, by now on 20, was joined by Tom Firth and this 5th wicket pairing of discerning batters took the innings safely and productively through towards the time when discretion could begin to be abandoned. In the end Paul's innings was brought to a close when he went for a sweep and the ball, a little full, slipped under his bat and onto his pads, and he was out LBW to Heitman, but once again he'd been the backbone of the TWCC innings, a constant and necessary force, and his 42, with five fours and lots of dots, proved the value of just continuing to be there through the sticky times.
Time for a bit of Rob, and he soon tucked in, though he was forced to somewhat abandon his signature cultured play as tea approached, and, indeed, it was at long-on that he was caught, but not before he'd scored 31 off 25 balls which included four 4's and a 6.
Selfless Rydon play, which trait was also in the mind of Skipper Edwards when he asked Tom R to go in and swing which he did. Two runs to Tom R, and a wonderful innings from Tom F who ended up not out with 37 chanceless runs behind him; runs scored in the face of continued bowling pressure from Henfield. Yet another excellent innings from The Firth.
TWCC 180 off 37 overs, and it didn't feel like enough until Tom R and Ed took an early wicket each after tea. Tom bowled the strong-looking Stewart with a ball that rattled through to his stumps, and Ed found the outside edge of Griffith's bat so the be-gloved Jonathan could ice the propercrickety cake.
2 for 2. Could TWCC dream? Well, of course they could, and you got to have a dream, for if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream co... O-Ohh - Trouble, as 2 for 2 turned in to 86 for 3 as Mendis and T (Tom?) Helps seemed to have not quite enough of a problem facing Tom and Ed, and then, indeed, were equally untroubled by the rest of the bowling. However, in the end, it was Phil, of course, who broke through with a slower ball bowled a touch short, and Mendis, going for his second 6, knocked a ball up for Alex to catch in the covers, and, with their ears ringing from another trademark Phil celebration, Henfield were 86 for 3 at the start of the final 20 overs. But whatever success TWCC were enjoying, Henfield’s Digger Luck kept the ever-present T Helps in play, and the TWCC cause was beginning to look a little lost when Matt, who hadn’t been able to break through himself, deployed his last Rydon.
Alex whirled in from the Pavilion End and the character of Henfield’s chase changed as he bowled, first, Digger Luck and then, the very next ball, E Helps. Oh – two in two!!! Would this be the first ever all-bowled hat-trick for TWCC? The field closed in around Henfield’s No. 7 Heitman, Alex sprant in and... didn’t happen, but Alex did have Heitman caught by Matt three balls later. T Helps was still the main problem for TWCC, and the main hope for Henfield, but a returning Phil dragged the impressive batsman forward, he missed the ball swinging for a biggy, and Jonathan whipped off the bails for a great stumping. T Helps’ fine 83 (eleven 4's) had ensured that Henfield were well on target, but, with Henfield now 6 wickets down and the remaining overs ticking down, a close finish was on the cards with all three results in play.
But what was this? Henfield had seen TWCC's third Rydon and raised them another Helps - they also had a spare! Alex did bowl F Chaplin, giving him the remarkable figures of 5 overs, 4 for 21, but Ben Helps, Henfield's skipper at No. 8, appeared to have little difficulty in taking his side over the line with an over and a couple of wickets to spare as he calmly took a quick 24 runs off 18 balls, which included two fours and a six to win.
Sunshine, extra cake, beer, chat, counselling, and we're all looking forward to the next one.

Scorecard
TWCC (Matt Edwards) won the toss and chose to bat first. Proper timed Sunday game.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW A Heitman 42; J Simon Bld T Helps 6; T Pearce Bld F Garmston-Newman 1; J Rowland Ct A Heitman Bld F Garmston-Newman 1; A Rydon Ct C Griffiths Bld E Helps 47; T Firth not out 37; R Rydon Ct D Mendis Bld F Garmston-Newman 37; T Rydon not out 2. DNB M Edwards, E Howes, P Steinke. Extras 13 (B3, LB2, W4, NB4) Total 180 (37 overs).
Fall: 1-12, 2-13, 3-25, 4-79, 5-125, 6-177.
Henfield CC Bowling: T Helps 6-2-14-1; F Garmston-Newman 6-2-18-3; T Lewis 7-0-43-0; E Helps 5-3-10-1; A Digger-Luck4-0-26-0; A Heitman 4-0-25-1; F Chaplin 3-0-2-0; D Mendis 2-0-17-0.
Henfield Innings: H Stewart Bld T Rydon 1; C Griffiths Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld E Howes 1; D Mendis Ct A Rydon Bld P Steinke 43; T Helps St J Rowland Bld P Steinke 83; A Digger-Luck Bld A Rydon 11; E Helps Bld A Rydon 0; A Heitman Ct M Edwards Bld A Rydon 1; B Helps not out 24; F Chaplin Bld A Rydon 0; T Lewis not out o. DNB F Garmston-Newman. Extras 22 (B9, LB4, W5, NB4) Total 185 for 8 (34.5 overs).
Fall: 1-2, 2-2, 3-86, 4-140, 5-140, 6-144, 7-169, 8-170.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-1-33-1; E Howes 5-1-37-1; P Steinke 6.5-0-34-2; M Edwards 6-0-29-0; R Rydon 4-0-17-0; A Rydon 5-0-21-4.
Henfield CC win by 2 wickets.


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Balcombe CC v TWCC July 3rd 2022
Nominally the end of tour game, TWCC headed for the Principality of Balcombe where they were, as always, generously greeted by the Balcombe players. Balcombe's skipper Louis Böhm won the toss and asked TWCC to bat first. Paul and Jim - usual thing, with Jim falling early to an excellent low catch in the covers as he punched the ball along where the ground ought to be, but failed to take into account the fact that the ground was dipping down faster than the ball. Jim out for just 18 (four 4’s), but as the total was up to 81, thanks to Paul already having cracked on to 49, as starts go it didn’t look too bad. Tony came in at three, and he pushed the ball around for a few singles getting his eye in, and he and Paul put on another 44 together, with Paul finding the boundary with some ease and frequency. This was another vintage innings from Paul, one of many this season, but he eventually fell to Teasdale for 82 (eleven 4’s and two 6’s) but largely thanks to him the total of 125 for 2 had put TWCC on the path to a substantial score.
Tony, sadly, didn’t make any further progress with his innings, but Jonathan and then Tom Firth made considerable headway again as they took the total on to 175, with Jonathan in particular finding the gaps to the boundary. The partnership was freakishly ended when a particularly strong straight drive from Jonathan struck the boot of the bowler, M Rawbin, and the ball ricocheted onto the stumps at the bowler’s end, leaving Tom, who was backing up, stranded and run out for 14 – some way below his par score of recent times. An unfortunate dismissal to say the least.
Jonathan, who had watched the ball tightly and played late, and who had moved on to 33 (six 4’s), tried to repeat a lovely very late cut off Ward, but the ball lifted a little high and he gloved the ball through to the keeper who took a sharp catch to end his time in the middle.
Edward had little trouble as he worked the ball around, and whilst Brocky and Tom R didn’t stay out there with him for long, Matt did linger, and the two of them took the total on to 227 by the time the 40 overs were up with Edward not out on 17 (three 4's) and Matt on 15 having hit three fours and a towering shot which looked like a six all the way so the batters didn't bother running, but which just fell short of the boundary where it died in a rabbit hole and no run was taken.
227 in normal circumstances would almost automatically be enough to defend, but the Balcombe ground was hard and very fast-running with slopes to the boundary on both sides, and one very short boundary indeed. Any sense of security there may have been in the TWCC camp was further enhanced when Matt homed in on the stumps of Balcombe’s 1, 2 and 3 in short order, and with Tom backing this up with great energy and acceleration into the crease from the Pavilion End the home side were looking shaky. Phil, replacing Tom, was soon into his work, and whilst C and A Botting did make some hay, they ultimately both fell to Phil, one bowled and one after skying a catch to Brocky at mid-on. Balcombe were 111 for 5, for the Bottings had been far from idle at the crease, but with just 16 overs to go they still needed a further 117 to win.
But we all know how the bigger clubs, quite rightly, mix up their resources in the interests of giving Sunday opportunities to all, and, indeed, in this Balcombe (and Henfield last week) were no exception. Ward, who had already bowled well and, probably, at something less than his usual pace, is a player who TWCC have learned to respect - and with good reason as he, together with G Botting and then skipper Böhm, set about reeling in the TWCC total. With the total on 181, Brocky, in a welcome full 8 over spell, found the edge of G Botting’s bat and Balcombe were 7 down, but Ward was still there, knocking plenty of boundaries at a rate sufficient for their cause.
In the spirit of the game, and in acknowledgement of Balcombe’s approach, TWCC bowlers were limited to a maximum of eight overs, and whilst a returning Tom bowled Louis Böhm, bringing Balcombe’s Teasdale to the crease, the momentum was certainly with Balcombe. Jim, for three overs, managed to keep something of a lid on the increasingly potent Ward, but eventually his outside the off theory was debunked as Ward repeatedly swung through the line and found boundary after boundary. Graham and then Phil bowled the last overs from the North End, and, indeed, with Ward at the non-striker's end, Phil heroically bowled five dot balls in a row in the 39th over, but Jim was spared the ignominy of bowling the final six balls to Ward as Teasdale knocked Phil’s last ball over mid-off for four to win the game with an over to spare.

Scorecard
Balcombe CC won the toss and chose to field first
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct. M Rawbin Bld J Teasdale 82; J Simon Ct Dransfield Bld J Teasdale 18; T Pearce Ct, Bld J Teasdale 5; J Rowland Ct C Botting (Wk) Bld D Ward 33; T Firth run out M Rawbin's boot 14; E Bunn not out 17; R Brock Bld L Böhm 8; T Rydon Ct, Bld G Botting 0; M Edwards Ct, Bld G Botting 15; G Cuthbert not out 0. DNB P Steinke. Extras 29 (B20, LB3, W6) Total 227 for 8 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-81, 2-125, 3-129, 4-175, 6-188, 7-193, 8-223.
Balcombe CC Bowling: B Dransfield 6-0-44-0; A Rawbin 5-0-18-0; A Botting 1-0-11-0; J Teasdale 5-0-30-3; I Tremble 5-0-27-0; D Ward 5-0-27-1; M rawbin 5-0-14-0; G Botting 4-0-26-2; L Böhm 4-2-13-1.
Balcombe CC Innings: A Rawbin Bld M Edwards 12; B Dransfield Bld M Edwards 0; M Rawbin Bld M Edwards 0; C Botting Bld Steinke 21; A Botting Ct R Brock Bld P Steinke 36; D Ward not out 69; G Botting Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld R Brock 16; L Böhm Bld T Rydon 11; J Teasdale not out 9. DNB I Tremble, N Gordon. Extras 34 (B15, LB8, W10, NB1) Total 229 for 7 (39 overs).
Fall: 1-1, 2-4, 3-27, 4-82, 5-111, 6-181, 7-?
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-0-19-3; T Rydon 8-0-30-1; P Steinke 8-0-39-2; R Brock 8-0-42-1; J Simon 5-0-38-0, G Cuthbert 2-0-28-0.
Balcombe win by 3 wickets.

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TWCC v Burgess Hill Sunday XI July 10th 2022
In the absence of a fixture, as TWCC were supposed to be recovering from the rigours of touring, our favourite team realised that they would be all good to go again after all, and a fixture was arranged through Geoff of Burgess Hill CC, and there we all were, in the stifling heat, prepared to do the business; TWCC v a Burgess Hill Sunday XI. TWCC have been very pleased to welcome a few young Burgess Hill players into their team this season, and, indeed, on this occasion it was regular Henry who joined TWCC to play against a side that included many cricketers he knew. Good fun, and thanks to Geoff and Burgess Hill for making a game of cricket a thing.
TWCC (skipper Matt) won the toss and mercilessly pushed Paul and Jim out into the heat, giving Paul the opportunity to score freely, and Jim a chance to try and not get out early. They both obliged in their various ways, with Paul benefiting from the ball being repeatedly offered up to his leg-side strength. The field could have more readily been adapted to stem the flow of runs, but simply wasn’t, and this allowed TWCC to get to 76 before Paul was caught at mid-wicket for a rapid 63 (Jim was on 11...). Another excellent innings from Paul whose 2022 season must, surely, be one of his best.
The Firth joined Jim, and the two of them marched on with greater ease as the excellent Cerys Pegley was rested, and even though wickets occasionally fell, TWCC’s score progressed remorselessly upwards. First Tom (F) was caught at slip for 18 that included three 4’s – the wicket was providing a bit more lift even than usual – and then Jonathan was caught at mid-on off G Kaye for 14 that included a lovely late cut for four, but at 155 for 3 and with plenty of time still to go before tea the score was clearly becoming a problem for the visitors.
Jim was eventually out to a slow yorker from Saffi Ismail, having taken 83 balls to get to 63 as compared to Paul doing the same off 38 balls, and with the total on 185 for 4 the scene was set for a Rob (R) explosion, but Rob, being a bit sun-struck, was caught at extra-cover for a modest 14. Edward set about stepping outside leg and straight-driving boundaries at will, and Matt was bowled by the returning Pegley for a quick-fire 18. Edward lost two balls in quick succession which brought about an early declaration (with one ball to go) leaving TWCC on 232 for 6, with Edward on 26 and Henry only just in but who knows how valuable his single might prove to be...
After tea TWCC took to the field, and unless B Hill got cracking, 232 runs in the bank would be very hard to overcome. However, the ground was very hard and fast, and it was all possible until the wickets began to fall, which they did from early on. In rough order Tom R fizzed in a return to Jonathan for an ill-advised/suicidal run out, then Ed and Tom removed a few stumps each, Phil caused his usual first-change mayhem taking 3 for 18, which included some proper cricket as Edward and Jonathan took catches at slip and as wicket-keeper respectively. Henry got the ball talking and Paul took a catch, then Edward, Tom F and Jim all bowled truly magnificently but then were generous enough to leave Skipper Matt an opportunity to bring himslef on and clean up as the overs ticked down. Matt first had his revenge on Cerys Pegley and then, with just an over or so left before an exciting draw might have been recorded, he bowled Geoff Brailey and the game was over.
Apologies for the late (but mercifully brief) report, but the BH scorebook was delayed in its arrival, and the Gazette team want the weekend off because Mon-Fri is such hard work.
This was yet another example of draw-possible (AKA proper) cricket being the way to keep an imbalanced game interesting until it's reasonably acceptable to find oneself at the pub. I know it's not about the pub, or certainly not all about the pub, but there's almost nothing nicer than sitting around with your crickety friends on a warm evening with a glass of beer.

Scorecard
TWCC (Skipper Matt) won the toss and chose to bat first - timed format.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct R Goss Bld D Cole 63; J Simon Bld Saffey 63; T Firth Ct Saffey Bld D Cole 18; J Rowland Ct J Brailey Bld G Kaye 14; R Rydon Ct M Hammond Bld R Goss 14; E Bunn not out 24; M Edwards Bld C Pegley 19; H Short not out 1. DNB T Rydon, E Howes, P Steinke. Extras 16 (B3, W10, NB3) Total 232 for 6 (37.5 overs).
Fall: 1-76, 2-123, 3-155, 4-185, 5-187, 6-222.
Burgess Hill Bowling: K Bhattacharya 5-0-47-0; C Pegley 7-1-32-1; D Cole 5-0-29-2; H Hammond 5-0-28-0; R Goss 7-0-33-0; G Kaye 4-0-33-1; S Ismail 4.5-0-27-1.
Burgess Hill Innings: G Kaye run out (T Rydon) 8; S Ismail Bld T Rydon 4; D Cole Bld E Howes 1; M Hammond Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld P Steinke 22; H Hammond Bld P Steinke 10; R Goss Ct E Bunn Bld P Steinke 0; R Slack Ct P Hunter Bld H Short 10; C Pegley LBW Bld M Edwards 6; R Hammond not out 25; K Bhattacharyra Bld E Howes 0; G Brailey Bld M Edwards 1. Extras 16 (B3, LB2, W11) Total something like 93 all out (35.2 overs).
Fall unrecorded, as was much else...
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-2-16-1; T Rydon 2-0-6-1; H Short 7-2-27-1; P Steinke 9-1-18-3; T Firth 4-0-13-0; E Bunn 2-0-14-0; J Simon 2-1-3-0; M Edwards 2.2-0-3-2.
TWCC win by 139 runs.

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Cuckfield CC v TWCC July 17th 2022
Skipper Ed won the toss and decided to bat first, and Cuckfield started off by bowling two consecutive wicket maidens. Paul gloved a high ball close to his chest through to the keeper, and Jim’s bat hit more of his pad than the in-swinging ball and he was bowled. So, looking at that, it's more of an equipment issue than anything else!
After this challenging beginning, unless TWCC were destined to be 3 for 0, there was only one way to go and happily Jonathan and Mikey set about getting some positive numbers on the scoreboard in both columns. As is common at this time of year with dry, hard pitches, any scoring shots were either a single or a four, and Jonathan's fours largely came from his signature very controlled knockdown late cuts to the fine third man boundary. However, it was an attempt at this same shot that undid him in the end as a ball from Sheldon lifted a fraction higher than before and caught the edge of his bat and he was caught behind. Neither Jonathan nor Mikey had looked to be in any great degree of trouble, and Mikey carried on in imperious style scoring freely and with some ease just as if he'd been turning out for weeks. Tony and Mikey enjoyed one of those much-coveted family partnerships before Tony, too, was caught behind off Sheldon who now had three wickets to his name, which brought Cerys to the crease in her debut for TWCC. Mikey and Cerys put on a further 22 before Mikey was caught at long on, pushing hard as always, for an excellent 54 (10 fours), and Cerys, too, was finding the boundary before getting to a pull shot a fraction early and chipping the ball to mid-wicket and being out for 12.
TWCC were 101 for 6, and, whilst they've been in worse predicaments, as always when playing a big club's Sunday XI there are dangers lurking ahead as strong club sides out to have fun often mix up their resources. Thus Sam, in his first game for some years, found himself, yet again, in the middle with a bat in his hands and a somewhat pressing need to get some scoring under way, and so he knuckled down, first with Henry who managed a couple of fours before being bowled by S Sheldon, and then with Tom (R). This was something - a partnership! There was even quite a lot of defence, and some calm decision-making between them, not to mention some good running and plenty of boundaries. It was too good to last, but it almost did, until, after they'd put on a fine 78 runs between them, Sam was caught (was this the low, diving catch?) off Turner for 41 (6 fours). As with Mikey, it would be good if Sam could play more often. Turner, clearly a cricketer of note in the Cuckfield locker and held back in the interests of Sundayness, with his pacy spin and bounce was intent on wrapping up the TWCC innings, and in his one over he first took out Sam, and then bowled Tom. Which was a shame. It was great to see Tom batting for longer than normal, engaging that bubbly cricketiness that is too often dogged by bad luck, but which on this occasion happily donated a potentially vital further 40 runs (7 fours) to the TWCC cause. Skipper Ed, serially under-batted, was, once again left high and dry as Phil was stumped, finally giving a wicket to the dogged Tanfield who had up to that point bowled a long spell for no reward. TWCC were all out for 189 in 30.4 overs and it was a total that was unlikely to be enough on a hard, dry surface with a short boundary to one side and with every Cuckfield player likely to have been coached from the age of 2.
It wasn't the Cuckfield batsmen who started well, however, as Tom R charged in up the slight hill with his usual high-octane stuff and removed both the openers in his second over. Ed, from the North End, kept up the pressure and bowled Cuckfield's No 4 in his third over, whereafter Tom finished off the early carnage in yet another outbreak of Proper Cricket as B John edged a ball through to Jonathan who held on to a catch that came through at a good solid height. Cuckfield weren't reeling, one couldn't say that, but at 34 for 4, and with Ed firing up his first change bowlers, it was time for Cuckfield to bring out their full on game.
Sam took a few balls to line up after such a long layoff, but was soon pinging the ball down in like a good-un, and Phil took no time at all to do his Phil thing, but Turner and Galbraith-Gibbons were used to being actual batsmen and often dealt with every ball that came their way by sending it back out with interest. Sadly Phil’s spell was cut short when he stopped a ball with his shins and had to go and get that looked at, and whilst Sam occasionally bowled unplayable balls that got the batters playing and missing as the ball swung in and then cut away, quite a few of them also ended up in the fence and, on one occasion, over it. Cerys and Henry had the thankless task of sending the ball down to a pair of very competent batsmen who increasingly didn’t particularly care if they got out or not and so had a potency that saw the runs flow inexorably towards an early finish.
Henry did have the consolation of having Galbraith-Gibbons caught by Ed at mid-on (I think), but he and Cerys mustn’t take anything negative away when reflecting on their bowling day as they did as well as anyone would have done in the circumstances, although Jim was just about to come on for a spell in which he probably would have taken 5 for 3 when Turner neatly averted Cuckfield’s consequent defeat by hitting lots of fours in a row. In the Cuckfield scorebook Turner is given 98, but a count up of his runs does give him a round 100, so let’s go with that. In any case, he may not be too precious about the odd century here and there as it’s certain he’s been there before and will be there again. One could say Turner was the difference between the two sides as he got rid of Sam and Tom in his one over when bowling, and scored a century with his bat, but Cuckfield’s superiority goes deeper than that, of course, and it’s likely that their squad would have been capable of winning the game in any number of different permutations.
The positives for TWCC are, however, not hard to find as Mikey, Sam and Tom’s batting was creative and productive, Tom’s 3 for 24 with the ball provided the best of starts, and, once again, Jonathan’s keeping was truly excellent as he remarkably only conceded one bye when some of the bowling might not have been as easy to cope with as one could wish. It was also great to welcome Cerys to the team, and though she and Henry were bowling when the set batsmen were at their most carefree, they did well to prolong the game as long as they did.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and skipper Ed chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct (Wk) Bld B Sheldon 0; J Simon Bld S Shepherd 0; J Rowland Ct (Wk) Bld B Sheldon 15; M Pearce Ct, Bld Bennett 54; T Pearce Ct (Wk) Bld B Seldon 8; C Pegley CT, Bld Bennett 12; S Simon Ct, Bld Turner 41; H Short Bld S Sheldon 8; T Rydon Bld Turner 40; E Howes not out 1; PSteinke St, Bld Tanfield 0. Extras 10 (B6, LB1, W1, NB2) Total 189 all out (30.4 overs).
Fall: 1-0, 2-0, 3-22, 4-44, 5-83, 6-101, 7-110, 8-188, 9-188, 10-189.
Cuckfield Bowling: B Sheldon 5-1-23-3; S Shepherd 5-1-34-1; Bennett 4-0-41-2; S Sheldon 9-1-44-1; Tanfield 6.4-0-35-1; Turner 1-1-0-2.
Cuckfield Innings: P Meader Ct P Hunter, Bld T Rydon 4; M Wood Ct E Howes, Bld T Rydon 2; B John Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld T Rydon 20; J Downey Bld E Howes 4; G Galbraith-Gibbons Ct E Howes, Bld H Short 46; D Turner not out 98; A Bennett not out 8. Extras 7 (B1, W5, NB1) Total 191 for 5 (24.4 overs).
Fall: 1-7, 2-9, 3-32, 4-34, 5-155.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-24-3; E Howes 5-0-37-1; S Simon 5-0-35-0; P Steinke 3-0-14-0; C Pegley 4-0-36-0; H Short 2.4-0-46-1.
Cuckfield win by 5 wickets.


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St James Montefiore CC v TWCC July 31st 2022
As TWCC took to the field, after Brocky had won the toss and chose to bowl first, there was a whiff of a mismatch in the air as Tom Draca, he of youthful and athletic Aussie ability, set about the bowling in such a way that Tom and Ed, the pride of TWCC, were off after just three overs each. Ed suffered somewhat more than Tom, and boundaries there were aplenty on the hard and fast-running ground (if the ground was involved at all), and an early change was at least a thing Skipper Brock could do in order to alter the input end of the Draca equation. Manfully, Brocky took over Ed's end and began to send the ball down into the fiery furnace, and, as it is perhaps best to concentrate on the positives, we are happy to report that we found most of the balls that sailed into the hedge. The road. The next hedge. The next field. Undaunted, and with doughty spirit, Brocky persevered and, whilst Draca was occasionally forced into some circumspection, he continued to power his way on through Brocky's bowling average. Rob, having replaced Tom, was bowling fast and with a following wind, and the swinging Draca was often only able to rotate himself off strike leaving Rob the stumps of M Dalgliesh, StJMCC's No 2,  to knock over. Which he did. This opened up the game for Brocky to begin his revenge, and though Draca, when on strike, was as sixy as ever, his partners were perhaps somewhat kidded into trying to bat like him, and a series of unnecessary strokes resulted in balls hit up in the air, where Paul (twice) and Tom F made difficult catches look easy and, thank goodness, gave Brocky something to put in the wickets column. Paul's catches were hit to him at mid-on with some pace and demanded sharp action, and Tom's in the covers was over his head all the way until it wasn't.
Tom Draca was, after getting his hundred in 53 balls, minded to respect the Sunday game, and he made way for others in his team to join in and enjoy a bat. Draca's was an excellent, if cavalier, innings, and one can't argue with carefree power and it was impressive to see. We are reminded of George Hunter’s innings against Wisley all those years ago, and it was revelled in then, so it would be churlish not to hold Draca’s innings in similar regard. However, whilst there were still 25 overs left, the tone of Draca's batting had infected the StJMCC psyche and the home side's batting approach was rather more gung-ho than was desirable from their point of view and regular wickets began to fall. Rob hit the stumps again, and Henry, reliable and testing, took 3 for 17 bowling his tight line, with one caught behind and two bowled (proper cricket), and Graham, soon on a length, had two for 15 in his 3 overs. Draco returned, faced a few balls from Graham with which he didn't connect, and it was Henry's last wicket that ended StJMCC's innings as Malik's stumps were disturbed. From 135 for 2 in 15 overs, just nine overs later StJMCC had drifted to 171 all out.
In reply Paul and Jim started off well enough, with Paul taking two fours off the somewhat random opening over from Vardy, but, as is often the case, Jim fell early, this time to an in-swinging ball from J Smith and was out LBW. Tony fell in more or less the same way the very next ball and was bowled by another in-ducker that started outside the off stump and went through a gap onto his stumps. At 26 for 2 some recognisable, if faint, writing was on the TWCC wall, especially so as it was hard to judge which bowlers were bowlers and who was being held back, but thanks to a wonderful third-wicket partnership between Jonathan and Paul, who both applied themselves to the task with great skill, the StJMCC total was in the end overhauled with some ease. Vardy, apparently more of a batsman, was expensive with the ball, and whilst his left arm over opening partner, J Smith, had taken out Jim and Tony early on and continued to be hard to get away, the rest of the home side's bowlers simply couldn't stop Paul and Jonathan finding their way to score freely on the fast-running ground. All season these two have been good enough in the first place to not get out early in their innings, and thus are able to take one Sunday's batting over into the following weekend, and their ability to apply a good defence if required, and to then have the confidence to hit through when runs are on offer, was key, and they took the TWCC reply to all but the finish line before Jonathan pulled up with Keeper's Calf. Jonathan deserved his fifty, but was stricken before he got there, and he retired on 45 off 49 balls (7 fours), leaving Tom F to join Paul in the 27th over with the total on 162 and with just ten more runs to get. Tom hit two fours in quick succession, but fittingly left Paul to see his side home as he clipped the winning two to fine leg. Paul deserved a century but his 89 not out (14 fours and a six) was a great achievement, as was the match-winning unbroken partnership of 136.
It was a peculiar game in the end, with the home side perhaps having been strangely unbalanced by Draco's innings, for, once he had retired, the remaining batters seemed to be unable to settle down and just play cricket. And, when TWCC were batting, the home side either didn't bowl their full range of options, or didn't have options. TWCC, on the other hand, were resilient in the field after Brocky had taken one for the team, and, whilst TWCC's batting might not have been as explosive as Draco's had been, Paul and Jonathan's pace of play was more in tune with the demands of the game. With two Toms, a Rob and a range of further batters in hand, and with plenty of overs in hand, a higher total to chase would have represented no great difficulty on the day, but as it was the game was over with 13 overs to spare.

Scorecard
Toss won by TWCC - Skipper Brock - who chose to field first. 40 overs live or die.
StJMCC Innings: T Draca not out 103; M Dalgliesh Bld R Rydon 27; S Attrell Ct P Hunter Bld R Brock 1; J Hall Ct T Frth Bld R Brock 0; D Stevenson Ct P Hunter Bld R Brock 0; M Smith Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld H Short 3; J Riddell Bld R Rydon 0; J Smith CT R Brock Bld G Cuthbert 15; W Dalgliesh Ct E Howes Bld G Cuthbert 2; B Vardy Bld H Short 10; Malik Bld H Short 1. Extras 9 (B6, W3) Total 171 all out 24.1 overs.
Approx. Fall: 1-120, 2-135, 3-137, 4-137, 5-138, 6-157, 7-161, 8-169, 9-71, 10-171.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 3-0-30-0; T Rydon 3-0-19-0; R Brock 6-0-70-3; R Rydon 6-1-19-2; H Short 3.1-0-17-3; G Cuthbert 3-0-15-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 89; J Simon LBW J Smith 7; T Pearce Bld J Smith 0; J Rowland Ret'd 45; T Firth not out 8. DNB T Rydon, R Rydon, H SHort, E Howes, R Brock, G Cuthbert. Extras 23 (B12, LB4, W6, NB1) Total 172 for 2 (27.1 overs).
Fall: 1-26, 2-26. (J Rowland Retd 162)
StJMCC Bowling: B Vardy 7-0-60-0; J Smith 8-1-20-2; W Dalgliesh 7-0-36-0; Malik 4-0-37-0; J Riddell 1.1-0-8-0.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.


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TWCC v Headliners August 7th 2022
What a cheerful bunch the Headliners are. There are, I gather, fewer to no practicing journalists within their ranks these days, but in their place are a team full of people who enjoy getting together on Sunday and playing the great game. It’s hard to imagine a better match for TWCC.
Skipper Matt won the toss, and, given the absence of a few regular TWCC bowlers, chose to field first which proved to be the correct assessment of the situation as wickets, for both teams, were hard to come by. Instead TWCC would have to rely on, yes, some wickets as they were certainly not without any good bowlers, but also on their ability to field well and restrict the runs. However, the ground was hard and very fast, and it was going to be a high-scoring game however well any side fielded.
Matt himself and Rob Saunders – happily returned from injury – opened up for TWCC, and were threatening from the start, which, with the TWCC fielding machine kicking into gear meant that early runs were hard to come by. Rob made the first breakthrough, bowling straight, and had Barnett out LBW, which brought S Khan to the crease, a player who soon began to score freely. At the other end, Matt, in his sixth over, had, first, with the ball swinging back into line, R Ul-Haq LBW, and then B Khan caught in the slips by Edward (PC). That’s a lot of commas, but they get the job done.
Headliners 3 for 40, but they weren’t in particular trouble as the day was long, their line-up was long, and the grass was short. Phil, economical as ever, and then Jim about whom we can say much the same, were unable on this occasion to make any further breakthroughs, and before long the power of the left-handed S Khan was bringing about rather a lot of boundaries. Khan’s partner, Headliners’ skipper McAteer who came in at 5, was less swingy, but there’s no doubting that his ultimate 52 not out was the steadying hand on the Headliners’ tiller as they navigated through their allocated two-and-a-half hours. Khan, finding gaps and scoring four after four, was a potent force, but at the same time TWCC weren’t simply letting the game go, and, after Tom (F) and Graham had had a go at getting someone out, Matt and Rob returned to take the game through to tea, and with some excellent fielding from all and especially Andrew Cuthbert (making his debut for TWCC), the visitors weren’t building up anything like an unassailable total. Matt took the final wicket of the innings with the caught and bowled dismissal of the high-scoring S Khan, and, shortly after, the session ended with the Headliners on 186 for four, in 37 overs. Khan was out for a dominating 84 which included 15 fours, and, also in the Headliners' bank, was McAteer’s 52 not out, which included the only 6 of the innings. Matt was the pick of the bowlers with his 3 for 32, and Jonathan, again, was the maestro behind the timbers with no byes at all going against him. Sadly, in preventing byes, he did subject his keeping finger to repeated abuse and by the end of the innings it was turning blue to purple to black and was, is, no doubt, very sore indeed.
TWCC did very well to restrict the Headliners to under 200 on a hard, hot day, and a target of 187 was an attractive one. Jonathan’s fingjury meant he wasn’t going to be able to bat, either at all, or in any case with his usual potency, but as Paul and Jim made a steady start against some tight bowling TWCC were, after 20 overs, 77 without loss, which left a required rate, with 20 overs to go, of "just" five and half runs per over with 10 wickets in hand. Without taking any risks they’d been scoring at around 4 an over, and the opening bowlers were no longer in operation, so the prospects were good. Until, that is, Paul top-edged a high chance behind point, and didn’t hear Jim’s shout of “YES” until Jim mentioned it to him again when they met at Paul's batting crease. Paul hared off to the bowler’s end, and he still would have been in had not the fielder, who had dropped the catch, directly hit the stumps. Oh dear -  a run out. Never a good way to go, and an unnecessary loss of a batsman whose potency might well be needed.
But TWCC still had nine wickets in hand, including the redoubtable Tom F at three, and Jim and Tom began to up the rate a little, though the bowling was still coming down straight, and it was only when the lengths occasionally fell short that boundaries were taken with pulls to the leg side. All that was needed, from TWCC’s perspective, was a boundary per over topped up with ones and twos, but the batters began to fall back from even this modest demand, as, first, Tom played an uncharacteristically wafty shot up into the covers to be caught for 10, and then the ultra-slow bowling of R Ul-Haq, the Stan of the day, was exactly the right temptation to dangle in front of the TWCC batters’ eyes as they sought a few boundaries. Initially it all went well enough as, indeed, a few boundaries began to flow, but then Jim, losing concentration a little, went down the track in a rather haphazard fashion, missed the ball and was stumped. Not a bad innings of 48, but it wasn’t the best return on the investment of his innings up to that point. TWCC were 132 for 3, 55 runs behind with, now, just 7 overs to go. Eight an over would do it, and Matt was still in, having crashed his first ball through midwicket for four, and Edward, he of the strong arm and true eye, and who also pulled a four off his first ball, were men who could certainly do the job.
The bowling was, by now, a mixture of slower fare, and it was, again, the tennis ball-y bounce of Ul-Haq that undid Matt as he gloved the ball through to the keeper just 7 runs later and with 13 to his name. Edward gamely continued on, with the infrequent but ever-welcome Ian Irvine as his partner, and they took the score up to 153 before Edward failed to keep one down towards mid-wicket and he was caught for 15 (14 balls with three 4’s) and the TWCC attempt at a win was, with just two overs left, something of a lost cause.
It all became a little confusing from this point on, but in general terms a few wickets fell (Ian was, somehow, run out even though the runs had ceased to be a thing, and Rob was bowled) but Jonathan and Graham safely shepherded the draw home with little fuss and with TWCC 25 runs behind.
A Headliners’ victory wasn’t ever especially on the cards, although they kept up the pressure having anticipated this situation by ensuring they bowled as many overs as they could throughout the innings. TWCC didn't have an individual reply to the big-hitting S Khan, and thus it was, rather, the overall pace of the TWCC batting that gave away the possibility of a home win. In the usual course of events if Paul and Jim are both batting after 20 overs, the total would be over 100 (with Jim on 20), but, in the face of some persistently accurate bowling all the way through the innings, even Paul wasn’t able to accelerate in his usual way, and as the required runs/over figure increased, TWCC were unable to meaningfully find the accelerator let alone press down on it. A missed opportunity, really, for TWCC, but with both sides having had a say in the game, and having enjoyed a day dashing about, there’s little to be sad about.

Scorecard
TWCC's Skipper Matt won the toss and chose to bowl first. Proper match.
Headliners' Innings: J Barnett LBW R Saunders 12; R Ul-Haq LBW Edwards 22; S Khan C&B M Edwards 84; B Khan Ct E Bunn Bld M Edwards 0; F McAteer not out 52; J Khan not out 2. DNB S Iqbal, I Al-Haq, G Almeida, B Haddon, F Guoonghe. Extras 6 (LB2,W4) Total 186 for 4 (37 overs).
Fall: 1-30, 2-40, 3-40, 4-182.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 10-2-32-3; R Saunders 8-0-39-1; P Steinke 7-2-23-0; J SImon 6-1-28-0; T Firth 3-0-26-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter run out 37; J SImon Stumped Bld R Ul-Haq 48; T Firth Ct, Bld S Iqbal 10; M Edwards Ct (Wk) Bld R Ul-Haq 13; E Bunn Ct, Bld J Khan 15; I Irvine run out 1; R Saunders Bld J Khan 0; J Rowland not out 6; G Cuthbert not out 0. DNB A Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 31 (yes - 31!) (B6, LB8, W17) Total 161 for 7 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-77, 2-114, 3-132, 4-139, 5-153, 6-153, 7- between 153 and 161.
Headliners' Bowling: G Almeida 6-0-13-0; B Haddon 6-2-17-0; F Guoonghe 4-0-19-0; I Ul-Haq 7-0-35-0; S Iqbal 6-1-29-1; J Khan 7-0-18-2; R Ul-Haq 4-1-24-2.
Match drawn.


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TWCC v Cutters Choice August 14th 2022
Still hot, still no green grass, still without Skipper Brock and, once more, without Skipper Edwards, so TWCC were operating under the captaincy of Ed Howes, who chose the easy way out by losing the toss. Cutters Choice decided to bat first, which is probably what TWCC would have wanted to impose had the toss gone the other way. Opening with Tom Rydon and the Skip himself, this time it was Ed who had something to show for his efforts, and Tom who missed out. Aniket chipped a leading edge (I'm making this up) back to Ed who took the catch off his own bowling, and then Ed found the edge of Nils' bat and Paul (wicket-keeper of the day) took a proper catch behind the stumps. It was possible that TWCC would need some bowling firepower further down the line, and so the openers' spells were short at five overs each, which brought Henry and Phil into play. Henry took a couple of overs to settle in, but soon got into his rhythm, but it was Phil who made the breakthroughs as he removed Cutters Choice No1 and No4, firstly thanks to Ed who held on to another catch, and then, with the next wicket, Phil provided the Champagne Moment of the day as Dave blasted a drive back at him and he snapped up the catch. A sharp chance indeed, and the visitors were 75 for 4. James Rayward, either making his debut or making a return after a long absence, was the next player to make a big impression as he took three quick wickets and held onto a catch. In turn, he and Paul combined in another bit of caught-behind PC, then in the next over, and at the time most importantly, James had Cutters Choice’s Sam finally, and excellently, caught by Tom Firth at deep mid-wicket/long-on. Sam had been swinging everything to cow-corner, and, indeed, soon three fielders were lurking in that small arc, but for four after four, Sam had been getting the ball through or over the field. He was always about to get out, but it was a matter of trying to get that to happen sooner rather than later, and eventually he skied a ball up and there was Tom Firth, thank goodness, who made the high catch look easy. The very next ball James bowled Vidit for his third wicket and set up another ha... DH, but the Cutters Choice innings had terminally faltered by that point, and it was up to Charlie Howes and Jim to wind up proceedings. Ed took a catch in the covers off Jim's bowling, and Charlie, with the remarkable figures of 1.1 overs, 2 for 6, offered up precisely the kind of bowling that will get wickets as long as catches are taken - and they were, one by James and the other by Tom Rydon. Memory fails the entire Gazette staff with regard to the details of the catches, but they were taken and the visitors were all out for 154, ten minutes before the allotted time was up. Worth pointing out is that there was only one bye and Paul probably has a valid excuse for that one, and all catches were taken. Excellent stuff.
In reply Skipper Howes chose to shuffle the TWCC batting pack and Tom Firth joined Paul as the home side went about chasing the modest target. Paul leaped into action as normal, hitting his second ball for four, but he was bowled early on in the second over which brought Mikey to the middle who set about being Mikey. Hitting 37 off his first 19 balls (including seven 4's), his run rate was only moderated when Cutters Choice brought on their second pair of bowlers who were much trickier customers to face than had been the openers. Vidit varied the pace of his tight off spin to great effect, and Gaurish's pacey leg-spin/leg-cutters (it was too fast to see what was going on as the ball left his hand) were delivered with speed and accuracy, and both demanded a much more circumspect approach from the batsmen. Indeed, Tom, who had been at the other end of the Mikey Show, was a victim of Vidit's third ball, but he, byes and Mikey had by then put on 53 so TWCC were well on their way. Jim's job, at four, was mainly to keep reminding Mikey that his rate of scoring to date had put TWCC so far ahead that weathering the storm was all that was required for the time being, and, indeed, Jim himself couldn't do much with the bowling at first, but he did passively manage to keep Mikey on strike at the beginning of each over thus ensuring that ones and twos and the occasional four were still ticking their way up the scoreboard. Inevitably even these most capable bowlers began to tire, and the runs began to flow again as Mikey cruised on up past his fifty until Gaurish nipped a ball around/under Mikey's bat to bowl him out for, as it turned out, a match-winning 74 (twelve 4's). Mikey's innings had ensured that TWCC only needed to score off the bad balls, and these were occurring more frequently as Vidit and Gaurish tired a little and were, in time, replaced. Boundaries began to flow as looser deliveries arrived, and Edward, in at 5, was responsible for three of them before he was caught at mid-wicket off Aniket, which brought James Rayward to the middle who finished off the chase with three well-timed fours, including a lofted on-drive that only just didn't make it for 6. James, not out 12, and Jim not out 28 (six 4's), walked in with 10 overs to spare.
Without Mikey's innings, who knows exactly what TWCC would have made of chasing 154, but Mikey had played his innings, and so there had been no need to find out.

Scorecard
Cutters Choice CC won the toss and chose to bat first.
CCCC Innings: Paul Ct E Howes Bld P Steinke 33; Aniket Ct & Bld E Howes 17; Nils Ct P Hunter (Wk) Bld E Howes 1; Dave Ct & Bld P Steinke 13; Ryan Ct P Hunter (Wk)  Bld J Rayward 13; Sam Bld J Rayward 24; Vidit Ct T Firth Bld J Rayward 22; Andy Ct J Rayward Bld C Howes 6; Ian Ct T Rydon Bld C Howes 8; Gaurish Ct E Howes Bld J Simon 1; Vijay not out 0. Extras 16 (B1, LB5, NB4) Total 154 all out (33.1 overs).
Fall: 1-24, 2-35, 3-72, 4-75, 5-unrecorded, 6-137, 7-137; 8-unrecorded, 9-153, 10-154.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-20-0; E Howes 5-1-15-2; H Short 5-0-26-0; P Steinke 10-2-34-2; J Rayward 5-0-39-3; J Simon 2-0-5-1; C Howes 1.1-0-6-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter† Bld Ian 5; T Firth Bld Vidit 6; M Pearce Bld Gaurish 74; J SImon not out 28; E Bunn Ct Gaurish Bld Aniket 17; J Rayward not out 12. DNB T Rydon, H Short, C Howes, E Howes*, P. Steinke. Extras 14 (B12, LB1, W1) Total 156 for 4.
Fall: 1-7, 2-60, 3-100, 4-140.
CCCC Bowling: VJ 5-0-32-0; Ian 4-0-26-1; Vidit 9-1-23-1; Gaurish 7-0-22-1; Andy 3-0-24-0; Aniket 2.4-0-13-0; Ryan 1-0-4-0.
TWCC win by 6 wickets.


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TWCC v Horley CC August 21st 2022
Regular readers will be pleased to learn that there are two ways this write-up could go; brief or, as Brocky prefers, very brief.
Horley CC were visiting Twineham for the first time, and as neither side knew the others' capabilities it was likely that the side winning the toss would opt to bowl first, thus avoiding the need to get ten wickets should winning become an option. Horley won the toss and bowled first.
Paul, continuing on in what must be his best ever season, started with a four and carried on from there. Tom, Horley’s opening bowler, was surprisingly quick from a modest run up, and, sadly for the visitors, edges yielded more runs than chances. Jim didn’t last long, falling to a swinging yorker from Horley’s other opener D De Castro for 8, and Tony, slightly repaired, joined forces with Paul to get the game more thoroughly on the way. Tony and Paul put on a quick further 45 to take the total to 82 for 2 in the 15th over, when Tony’s forceful striking led to him being caught for 22 (four 4’s) off 23 balls. Paul, now on 46, was joined by Matt and the two began the partnership that defined the match, and Paul soon, once again, passed his half-century. Lots of running, lots of boundaries, the odd six here and there, and try as Horley might to find bowlers who could stem the tide, the total rose up through to 171 before Paul was, finally, bowled for a truly accomplished 82 (one 6, twelve 4's) by the returning opener Tom whose pace was, oddly just this once, accompanied by a touch of swing. Paul and Matt had shared a 13 over partnership of 89, which, although over, still left Matt going strong, who with his eye truly in, also nipped passed his fifty as his scoring rate further increased. Indeed, as TWCC’s total rocketed past 200 any thoughts of a declaration had to be shelved as Matt was, suddenly, quite close to scoring a century. Henry went in at 5 to do some scurrying which he did admirably, giving Matt the strike when he could, but he was run out in so doing, which brought Edward in to do the same thing. A tickle to leg for a single (given as a leg bye by... ahem, well, let’s not dwell on such things), and there was Matt, on 96, with the strike. A fast ball, a swing going for a big hit into the maple trees, but... didn’t happen as he was solidly caught at wide mid-off. But, however disappointing it was that Matt didn’t get to his century, nothing can take away the excellence of his 68 ball 96 (fifteen 4’s, one 6). He and Paul had ensured TWCC weren’t going to lose.
The trick for TWCC, given this platform, would be to win, and, after Tom’s excellent tea (honey-roast sausages voted tops) there had to be some finesse from Skipper Brock in order to bring that about. Horley’s opening batters weren’t, it seemed, the most batty, and by opening with Henry and Phil, thus keeping the pace of Tom Rydon and Matt in reserve, he did the trick as Phil soon had the visitors three down with two bowled victims and another as Henry took a catch at short fine leg. Three down in the tenth over, and, soon five down as, first, Rob had Danny caught at mid-on by Jim off his loosener, and then Graham bowled Horley’s No 5. With the visitors at 5 for 36, and with lots of time left to get another five wickets, what could possibly go wrong?
Well, it didn’t go wrong for TWCC so much as right for Horley, who in Ollie and Tom (no surnames supplied), had a pair of batsmen who were prepared to offer nothing but dogged resistance right through to the very end. Not even more Rob, whose first ball had taken a wicket, Tom R at full throttle, Brocky, Tony, Matt and then Jim could break through. Occasionally the batters would forget themselves when offered some tempting balls, and even some good balls, but they did manage to avoid actually getting out. And that was it.
Some might say that playing proper draw-possible cricket denied TWCC a victory, but others would say that victories have to be earned, and if a side bowling second can’t take ten wickets, and if a side holds out for a draw then the greater game is being played as it should be. Horley earned their draw.
Champagne moment? Matt scoring a century would, clearly, have taken the spoils, but as we were denied this milestone the focus unfortunately shifts to the Royal Oak. There is a press embargo in force, so all we can say is that it became all too clear why Rob had chosen Row Z (as far as possible - appropriately - from the Long Room) for stage 1 of his TWCC outreach programme. He then breathed a huge sigh of relief when he remembered he hadn’t committed to stage 2 which included dinner with the Latvian Ambassador.

Scorecard
Horley won the toss and decided to field first. Timed match.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Tom 82; J Simon Bld D De Castro 8; T Pearce Ct T De Castro Bld D Childs 22; M Edwards Ct Millord Bld D Childs 96; E Bunn not out 0; H Short run out 3. DNB T Rydon, R Rydon, R Brock, G Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 19 (B10, LB4, W4, NB1) Total 234 for 5 (35 overs).
Fall 1-37, 2-82, 3-171, 4-227, 5-234.
Horley CC Bowling: Tom 10-1-53-1; D De Castro 5-0-30-1;Ollie 5-0-32-0; D Childs 6-0-37-2; D Bunn 3-0-20-0; T De Castro 4-0-30-0; C Patel 2-0-18-0.
Horley CC Innings: Compton Bld P Steinke 3; Artie Bld P Steinke 0; Leon Ct H Short Bld P Steinke 8; Danny Ct J Simon Bld R Rydon 9; Tim Bld G Cuthbert 12; Ollie not out 64; Tom not out 26. DNB Chiraq, D De Castro, D Bunn, D Childs. Extras 11 (B1, W9, NB1) Total 130 for 5 (43 overs).
Fall: 1-2, the rest unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: H Short 4-0-6-0; P Steinke 5-0-9-3; G Cuthbert 5-0-13-1; R Rydon 8-1-23-1; T Rydon 5-1-13-0; R Brock 2-0-5-0; T Pearce 2-0-14-0; M Edwards 6-0-35-0; J Simon 6-4-5-0.
Match drawn.


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Crescent CC v TWCC September 4th 2022
So to the grandeur of the Horsdean Bowl - surely one of Adam's finest achievements. Adam Dobbs, that is, Brighton and Hove Director of Allotments.
This was another last minute arrangement for which we have to thank Ed and Simon Wood, Crescent's very own last minute arrangerer. For once the Sun was shining and the wicket was a dust bowl rather than a soft pudding as TWCC's skipper Matt Edwards successfully lost the toss and Crescent chose to bat first - a brave move as the home side could then only win the game by getting all ten TWCC wickets. They were confident!
And so we begin to describe the successive waves of quality TWCC bowling that defined the game. Rather than to unduly prolong the write up suffice to say that Ed, Tom R, Phil and Matt tore the heart out of Crescent's batting who were, by the 17th over, 6 for 64. It was clear, too, that good players were being removed, for from the first ball which Kidman back-foot-pulled through midwicket for four, his quality and that of subsequent higher order batters was undeniable, but TWCC's Fab Four were simply too good. Ed (LBW) and Tom (bowled) took a wicket each in their first spells, both working up a fine pace, and then, and this is TWCC's almost unique strength, after the first change Crescent had to face up to the equally proficient Phil and Matt. Phil, whose first over generally results in a wicket, bowled Crescent's No. 4 with his second ball, and he continued to be impossible to get away for his entire 8 over spell. In his seventh over he struck the stumps again, by which time Matt, in a golden period of form, had taken three further quick wickets, one in each of his first three overs. Matt's spell, and the catching that went with it, put the lid on any hopes Crescent may have had of reaching a total big enough to defend. Catches? What catches? There were only two in the whole innings, both full on Proper Cricket. First, Matt, who had been finding the edge of a few bats, got a ball to lift on this generally unresponsive wicket, and Tom F, at second slip, held a shoulder-high catch with creditable nonchalance, and then Alex (be-gloved in spite of his earlier demands) had to react to another fast rising ball from Matt that was edged high to his right and he, too, held on to a great reaction catch to get rid of opener Kidman, who had been very classy at the crease for his 30. Matt also bowled Lakkakula, and his spell of 3 for 26, together with Phil's 2 for 12 (8 overs 2 for 12!!!), stopped Crescent in their tracks.
With the removal of the entire top order complete, Charlie, George and Sam set about the next bowling phase - trying to wheedle out resistant batters, and Charlie did bowl Awdry with a high looper that dropped onto the stumps, but generally wickets became hard to come by as the batsmen tried to bat the time and score as much as they could even though it was unlikely that it could add up to enough. Sam didn't quite manage to shake off the rust, and Roberts, batting at 7, kept the score going very well, and his contribution of 34 not out did lift the home side's total to something that might possibly be defendable, but after a run out (Matt was involved but I can't remember much else about it (in fact I can't remember it at all but it says "Run out M Edwards" in the scorebook)) there wasn't much further for the Crescent innings to go. Ed came on for the last few overs, and with the last available ball of the innings, he yorked Cordery to give him two, and TWCC ten, wickets. Crescent all out for 145 on the stroke of the agreed maximum of 42 overs.
Beetroot houmous was the star of the tea - light and with a hint of mint. More like it please! Grass-sitting, chat, someone asked Jim about bread which caused people to drift away, sunshine, bleedin' football, Winter plans, padding up.
Tom Firth and Jim opened the batting, in that order, and Jim set about making his most important contribution to the day by being bowled for a golden duck which brought Tony in nice and early. TWCC 1 for 1, to TWCC 140 for 2 says it all. Crescent had good bowlers, quite a few as it happened, but Tom and Tony played 31 overs of impeccable proper cricket if you ignore Tony's first ball at which he took a wild swing as it zipped past his outside edge. They kept the abundance of good balls out, and then pushed, nurdled, glanced and smote the rest to all parts. It wasn't until later in the innings that carefree hitting began to feature in their game plan, but Crescent had no answer to just excellent batting.
Tom's defence was absolute, and Tony's fleet-of-brain opportunist play was a joy to watch. Both were scoring freely when they were presented with suitable balls, and, indeed, Tom got to his fifty before Tony which is a credit to Tom's ability and, also, I suppose, to Tony's restraint as quick scoring is his trademark. To his fifty Tony did get (?) and the pair of them began to benefit from a combination of being truly in, tired bowlers and, finally, not caring too much and the TWCC total powered up to 140 when Tony finally gave a caught and bowled to Hewitt. Tony was out for 68 (nine 4's) in 97 balls, and Tony and Tom's second wicket partnership of 139 was a great achievement in the face of consistently good bowling.
Alex came in at four, watched two dot balls, and then proved how he would have gone on to another century in no time by driving a good length ball through wide mid-off for 2, which he followed with an on-drive on the up for the three runs required to win. Tom, batting from ball one, walked off with that lovely not out glow and 58 runs to his name (eight 4's off 99 balls) and a TWCC win in his pocket.
It was undeniably a batting triumph from Tom and Tony, and with a not insignificant required rate of around four an over reaching the target was no pushover, but the target of 146 might well have been nearer 200 had not Tom R, Ed, Phil and Matt combined to restrict the Crescent innings with such a great bowling display. Ball and bat, bat and ball, which is tops is hard to call. Bat and ball, ball and bat, well done team and well done Matt.

Scorecard
Crescent CC won the toss and chose to bat first.
Crescent Innings: M Kidman Ct A Rydon (Wk) Bld M Edwards 30; Vrushal Gharote LBW Ed Howes 18; D Hewitt Bld T Rydon 1; J Hughes Bld P Steinke 1; R Garg Ct T Firth Bld M Edwards 8; S Lakkakula Bld M Edwards 0; W Roberts not out 34; S Iqbal B P Steinke 13; F Awdry B C Howes 3; S Wood run out ( M Edwards) 4; M Cordery Bld E Howes 2. Extras 31 (B8, LB2, W18, NB3) Total 145 all out (42 overs).
Fall: 1-35, 2-37, 3-45, 4-53, 5-55, 6-64, no further record.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 8-1-21-1; E Howes 8-0-34-2; P Steinke 8-2-12-2; M Edwards 8-1-26-3; C Howes 4-0-21-1; G Howes 3-1-3-0; S Simon 3-0-21-0.
TWCC Innings: T Firth not out 58, J Simon Bld S Lakkakula 0; T Pearce Ct & Bld D Hewitt 68; A Rydon not out 5. DNB S Simon, M Edwards, T Rydon, E Howes, C Howes, G Howes, P Steinke. Extras 15 (B11, LB1, NB3) Total 146 for 2 (32.4 overs).
Fall: 1-1, 2-140.
Crescent CC Bowling: S Lakkakula 8-1-24-1; S Iqbal 6-0-28-0; M Cordery 5-2-17-0; D Hewitt 6-0-28-1; F Awdry 2-0-14-0; M Kidman 5.4-0-23-0.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.


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TWCC v Bolney CC September 11th 2022
A perfect early Autumn day, albeit one that began with a nip in the air and a heavy dew on the ground. Happily, however, by 13-o-clock-00-zero-hundred-hours the sun was out and the game was on. By their own admission Bolney weren't at their strongest, and were, on top of that, fielding just ten players, so the toss was replaced by an agreement that TWCC would bat first.
TWCC are a team full of all-rounders and in order to spread the skills around Brocky asked Tom Rydon and Ed Howes to open the batting which they managed without either of them being run out which was a little disappointing. 24 was safely on the board when Ed, who has scored many more, and tougher, runs in games gone by, holed out somewhere for 14 (one 4) which brought Mikey, who used to be an all-rounder himself but now, thankfully, has put that all behind him, in at 3 and he quickly found his stride. Tom, and Mikey in particular, ran really well together and the two of them just sort of played cricket, and twelve overs later we'd witnessed yet another hundred-plus partnership. They'd powered on through a few changes of not particularly threatening bowling and could probably have just continued on all afternoon and as Mikey kept piling into the bowling - an over came in which he hit two 4’s and two 6’s - it seemed a little wrong to allow this carnage to continue and so, as he had reached yet another half-century (56 - five 4’s and two 6’s) the retirement card was played – either by him or at him it’s hard to remember. Edward, in at 4, and Tom carried on the good work until Tom, in the interests of batters to come, clipped a ball off his toes towards the tall poplar tree where it didn’t quite carry for 6. Tom, often unlucky with the bat, was on this occasion at the crease long enough for his class to show through, and, even though he was caught on the boundary, his 55 (six 4’s) was a well-deserved reward for his season’s batting efforts. His bowling efforts speak for themselves. Edward, now with Brocky who had come in at 5, continued on with the accumulation up to the moment when Edward, having scored a trouble-free 21 (two 4’s), decided he, too, would make way for the next man.
Whilst it was becoming clear that TWCC probably had more than enough runs, Brocky was going well which prolonged the innings a little in the hope that there'd be another 50 to celebrate, but sadly he was caught behind off an inside edge for 42 (six 4's) which, with Jim on a quick 18 not out (three 4's), meant that when TWCC declared, as they did at this point, the total was 214 for 3.
Given the relative absence of wickets it's hard to give much of a mention to the Bolney bowling, but Lake and Symes did bowl tightly early on, and Symes' two wickets for 15 was notable within the context of the innings. Barry Griffin's catch to get rid of Brocky was also not an easy chance as it took an inside edge and kept quite low, and B Clemenson's two catches were solidly held. Apart from these moments Bolney's task was a little thankless given the free scoring from all the batters, and, with Mikey's dominance, Tom's elegant strokeplay and Brocky's 42 Bolney had rather been up against it.

The task for TWCC after tea was simple; take nine wickets. In this pursuit Brocky opened with Phil, which is usually a guarantee of success, and Paul. Sure enough in Phil's second over he bowled the hard-hitting Lake, who'd scored 9 off just 5 balls, but even after that Bolney were in little trouble on 52 for just the one wicket and were well up with the required run rate. All good stuff. Paul was replaced at the Pavilion End by the half-centurion Tom Rydon, who set about his task with the usual gusto, and he duly bowled Bolney's No 3 Elliott in his third over. Symes, however, Bolney's No 2, was commendably still going for the win when Jim, replacing Phil, swung the ball onto the leading edge of Symes' bat as he tried to clip the ball to the leg side, and the ball skied somewhat which gave Tom Firth just enough time to ignite his rocket boots and sprint from mid-off to take a great catch on the on side. Bolney, from 52 for 1 were suddenly 59 for three, and then, shortly after 62 for 4 after Tom R bowled Graham Sandwith for 2 in his excellent spell of 7 overs two for 13. Bolney's run chase was done, but experience shows that once hanging on for a draw becomes the play, Bolney are a hard side to prise out. It was no given that TWCC would win the game.
Tom Firth, his bat having temporarily been laid aside for this game, had a go with the ball, but to no avail, and so Brocky unleashed Matt and Ed, who had hitherto been held back in the quirky spirit of the day, and it was suddenly a different game. Matt, who'd also taken a batting backseat, was inexplicably wicketless, though there were many close shaves, and the successes were Ed's. Let's talk about Ed. He seemed to be in great rhythm and was bowling faster than many had ever seen him bowl before, and straight and true too. This didn't, and couldn't, go on long before there was an outbreak of Proper Cricket and the resistant B Clemenson who was settled on 21 and looking good, duly feathered a fast ball from Ed through to Paul (now keeping) who took a lovely chest-high catch. Mark Madden came in at 7, faced up to the rampant Ed, and edged the very next ball through to Paul for two in two! The hat-trick didn't happen, but these were two great PC wickets - great fast bowling and clean catching from Paul.
Sadly for TWCC and happily for Bolney, these were the last wickets to fall, and not even the return of Phil nor the stump to stump bowling of Charlie Howes could prise out the ever-present Matthews who'd come in at 4 and been in since the 15th over for his 7 runs. Bolney's No 8 J Moore also refused to yield, and the visitors managed to hold out with three wickets still in hand for a draw.
Normally the Gazette has to lay it on a bit thick in order to get players and readers to believe that draws can be enjoyable, but the result was in doubt for more or less all the game, and everyone had contributed to the day's play. Most who don't often bat/bowl had batted/bowled, and whilst TWCC were undoubtedly the stronger side they failed to take the wickets required for a win, and that's cricket.

Scorecard
Not so much a toss as an agreement that TWCC would bat first
TWCC Innings: E Howes Ct B Clemenson Bld Symes 14; T Rydon Ct B Clemenson Bld P Clemenson 55; M Pearce retired 56; E Bunn retired 21; R Brock Ct Griffin Bld Symes 42; J Simon not out 18. DNB M Edwards, C Howes, P Hunter, T Firth, P Steinke. Extras 8 (LB1, W3, NB4) Total 214 for 3 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-24, 2-130, followed by retirements which always mess things up.
Bolney CC Bowling: Lake 8-0-29-0;Symes 6.2-1-15-2; Madden 6-0-28-0; Elliott 5-0-29-0; B Clemenson 7-0-55-0; P Clemenson 7-0-37-1; Matthews 3-0-21-0.
Bolney Innings: A Lake Bld Steinke 9; D Symes Ct T Firth Bld J Simon 28; J Elliott Bld T Rydon 10; P Matthews not out 7; G Sandwith Bld T Rydon 2; B Clemenson Ct P Hunter (Wk) Bld E Howes 21; M MAdden Ct P Hunter Bld E Howes 0; J Moore not out 5. DNB B Griffin, P Clemenson. Extras 26 (B5, LB5, W15, NB1) Total around 107 or less or more for 6 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-14, 2-52, 3-59, 4-62 no further recording.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke 9-0-23-1; P Hunter 4-0-21-0; T Rydon 7-0-13-2; J Simon 4-1-14-1; T Firth 3-0-15-0; M Edwards 6-2-8-0; E Howes 5-2-3-2; C Howes 2-2-0-0.
Match drawn.

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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston CC September 18th 2022
Another lovely bright, clear, early Autumn day greeted TWCC's head groundsman when he turned out early to sweeten up the pitch. The grass was duly trimmed and the dew brushed aside and by the time cricket began it was a faultless surface.
After a brief skippery chat between Brocky and Streat's Colin Marshall it was agreed that TWCC would bat first. Paul and Jim started off with characteristic briskness, and Jim was soon out brisking away at a wide ball that skimmed at head height into the capable grasp of Dutta in the covers. Jim's main task of getting Tony in nice and early was therefore successfully completed, and the two de facto openers began to play actual cricket for a while. All too soon, however, Paul followed Jim back into the pavilion giving Colin Marshall his second wicket, and then Matt, in at 4, gifted Colin his third by gently chipping a ball back for a caught and bowled.
Now we come to TWCC's first mystery guest, Rohit. He and his friend Chinu were drafts in from friends, and we didn't know what to expect. We were to find out. Rohit watched his first ball carefully as it neared him, and then at the last minute he swooshed his bat through at enormous speed and clothed the ball for an easy two. Well - have a look Rohit, we thought, no need to go crazy. But Rohit's crazy and TWCC's crazy were two different things. TWCC's crazy would have been wild swings followed by a quick end, but Rohit's crazy was wrists and timing and bat speed and middled balls in the next field. Many fields. Somehow there were eleven dots, but the other 20 balls went for 69 (nine 4's and four 6's). He was a force of nature. Tony, still scoring as Tony does, was pedestrian by comparison as his, by any other standards, rapid scoring was going somewhat under the radar, but however it happened the two of them took the game away, rather, from the visitors in just a few overs of stadium-worthy grand striking. It became clear that Rohit's class was unstoppable, and were he to continue there'd be no competitive game, no balls, and no car windows, so, with good grace, he retired from the middle with an IPL 69 under his belt and the afternoon lost its extraordinary, and revealing, spectacle. The game returned to Sunday normal, the gentle breeze could once again be seen playing with the top of the poplar tree, and the birds started to sing again. But before we leave Rohit it must be recorded that, quite apart from his fast wrists and dominant ball-striking, never have there been more accomplished defensive blocks than those Rohit played when he'd sized up a good ball and decided to kill it dead. He isn't a thrasher, though the ball was often hit tremendously hard and the bottom line is he's a cricketer.
Back in the real world Edward and Tony made consistent, though less parish-wide, progress, and the score kept nipping up on the board until Tony hit a fast ball into the stinging hands of James Porter at mid-wicket, and he was out for 51 (six 4's, one 6). Another half century for Tony who is, just in time for the end of the season, hitting peak form again. Rohit's friend Chinu came in at 7, and, though he said he wasn't as likely to upset the neighbours as his mate, he nonetheless scored 13 off 7 balls which included both a 4 and a 6. By this time the contrasting constituents of TWCC's innings had more or less resolved themselves into their final form, and so, when Edward was out LBW to Maysey for 8 (one 4), there remained an opportunity for, first Henry, and then Graham and Phil, to take the home side at a trot to a point of declaration. Henry, with his characteristic calm timing, was out to a good catch at mid-off for 7 (one 4), and Graham ended up not out on 6 when Phil was out caught. Brocky brought the innings to a close and TWCC declared a quarter of an hour early on 178 for 8 (34 overs).
All good stuff. Rohit's innings had lifted what might have been a much more modest score up to a defendable total, but a total that was far from Streat and W's ability to overhaul. Had Rohit not batted in the way he did I don't think TWCC would necessarily have ended up with 69 fewer runs, as a certain lower state of concentration was in evidence post-Rohit than may have prevailed had TWCC been on, say, 120 for 6 with an hour to go, but the visitors had certainly made a good start with the ball that was negated by Rohit’s big hitting.

With the ball TWCC were without Tom (either Tom, come to that) and Ed, but their absence certainly didn't mean there was a shortage of opening bowlers as TWCC are blessed with many potent operators, and Matt and Phil are as difficult to face as any. However on this occasion neither of them were able to break through which is rare indeed. Less rare, on this occasion, were missed chances in the slips off Matt’s excellent bowling, but the Gaz doesn’t blame anyone for not hanging on to these ephemeral opportunities because slip-catching is difficult. But do not fear - Henry's here! What a day for Henry, beginning as it did, with a wicket from his second ball and then another just two balls later. Henry, TWCC's very own Trint Boult, was getting the ball to swing back in from outside the off stump to right handed batsmen, and it looked as if he was pretty unplayable. Indeed, Colin Mansfield, one of Streat's finest, was Henry's first victim and his is no mean wicket, and, in due course there followed three further dismissals as Matt added to his catch off Colin’s bat with another to get rid of James Porter, and then Henry went it alone with an LBW and a clean bowled for his third and fourth wickets. Henry’s bowling, as game-changing as was Rohit’s batting, was tremendous stuff, of note because more or less all the wickets before and after Henry’s spell were ones in which the batsmen had rather got themselves out with rash strokes than been victims of unplayable balls.
Replacing Phil, Chinu bowled good length slower off spin, and he was soon in the wickets as batsmen swung at  balls without taking into account the fact that they ought to stay in. I speak from experience of this sort of thing, and Chinu, and later Graham, were exactly the bowlers to exploit the moments when batsmen's eyes unadvisedly lit up. Chinu’s 3 for 22 included a spectacular catch by Rohit at straight cover, which rocketed to him off Slimin’s bat, and it took one go to stop it going for four, and another to pull it in for the catch. Jim also bowled a modestly reasonable spell that, too, yielded a few edged chances, but although Henry returned for a bit it was Graham who polished off the Streat innings with a spell of 5 overs 3 for 17, his best ever, and which included a so-easy-it’s-difficult catch that looped up to Brocky at square leg which, once it was held, naturally became the game’s champagne moment. For those who wonder, the PC moment of the day could have been any of Henry's wickets, but the most proper of all these must be the ball that swung in from the fourth stump line, dived through between Webster's bat and pad, and clipped the bails on top of the middle stump.
With a total of just 178 to overhaul, and plenty of overs in which to get the runs, Streat’s task was far from insurmountable, but, as with TWCC’s innings, the trueness of the wicket perhaps masked the bounce off it, and many batters from both sides were out caught. It was a day for either the disciplined keeping of the ball down and calmly ticking the runs off, or, alternatively, not doing that and batting like Rohit. But however significant Rohit’s innings was, and it was, it was Henry’s four wickets, backed up by Chinu's and Graham's three wickets each, that saw Streat all out for 120 in 33 overs. An interesting day’s cricket, with Streat and Westmeston making a good start with both the ball and the bat, and the result could have gone several different ways, but on this occasion TWCC won by 58 runs.

Scorecard
No toss, TWCC batted first after a chat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct J Webster Bld C Marshall 10; J Simon Ct J Dutta B;d C Marshall 1; T Pearce Ct J Porter Bld J Dutta 51; M Edwards Ct & Bld C Marshall 5; R Pruthi retired 69; E Bunn LBW L Maysey 8; C Sharma Bld J Dutta 13; H Short CT J Dutta Bld A Slimin 7; G Cuthbert not out 6; P Steinke Ct, Bld J Dutta 0. DNB R Brock. Extras 8 (B3, LB1, W3, NB1) Total 178 for 8 declared.
Fall: 1-4, 2-30, 3-39, 4-149, 5-163, 6-163, 7-173, 8-178.
S&WCC Bowling: M Lea 5-0-12-1; C Marshall 9-1-40-3; S Lea 6-0-47-0; J Dutta 8-0-35-3; L Maysey 5-1-32-1; A Slimin 1-0-2-1.
S&WCC Innings: N Buttler Ct R Brock Bld G Cuthbert 32; C Mansfield Ct M Edwards Bld H Short 4; M Barnes LBW H SHort 4; J Porter Ct M Edwards Bld C Sharma 9; J Webster Bld H Short 0; M Lea LBW H Short 0; J Dutta LBW C Sharma 16; A Slimin Ct R Pruthi Bld C Sharma 16; C Marshall Ct E Bunn Bld G Cuthbert 13; S Lea Ct C Sharma Bld G Cuthbert 12; L Maysey not out 0. Extras 15 (LB3, W11, NB1) Total 120 all out.
Fall: 1-41, 2-46, 3-62, 4-62, 5-63, 6-63, 7-86, 8-108, 9-111, 10-120.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-0-23-0; P Steinke 9-2-20-0; H Short 3-1-21-4; C Sharma 4-1-22-3; J Simon 5-2-13-0; G Cuthbert 5-1-17-3.
TWCC win by 58 runs.


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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 25th 2022
The ground staff had once again turned out early to transform a damp surface into an even, though slow-running, outfield, and although there were discussions in the middle between skippers Brock and Rigby, the Gazette isn't sure if a toss took place or not. Whatever the circumstances the Beamers padded up to bat and TWCC limbered up for a final run in the field. Tom R had one of those spells. And so did Matt. Tom picked the game up and shook it, homing in on a great line that took out Richard Rigby with a ball that nipped away off middle-and-leg to clip the top of off stump - the perfect wicket and certainly a PC moment. He then had Howarth LBW with a ball that ducked back in, and for his third he caused an edged ball off a full length to fly to Matt in the Gully, and who, of course, made the catch look easy. Matt, on the other hand, bowled with his usual flair and accuracy, but his efforts were unrewarded and he ended up with 3 maidens in his excellent spell, but no wickets.
Brocky and Henry took the ball off Matt and Tom, and both were soon in the wickets with Brocky catching the slow-scoring but persistent Hutchinson off Henry’s bowling and Tony holding on to a ball at deep-ish square leg off Brocky’s bowling. It had been some time since Brocky last bowled, and he dropped straight on to a great line and length, and Henry’s rhythm was tremendous to see and some of his balls were basically pretty speedy. However, lest it appear that TWCC were having it all their own way, by this time Beamers’ No 6 Eastman was showing he’s a class above, and watching Henry tearing in, pinging the ball down, and seeing Eastman bat so well, were great memories of the day from da yoof. Less engaging was a display of yoof past when Jim dropped a simple catch off Henry’s bowling as Eastman chipped a straightening ball up to mid-on. Henry deserved that match-up wicket, and Eastman went on to do the only real damage of the Beamers’ innings. Matt, with a direct throw, ran out all-rounder Siddens, and Graham, Phil and Jim did their thing taking the last four wickets and the Beamers finished, with the excellent and exciting Eastman not out on 51, all out for 129 in 36.4 overs.
The critical damage was done by Tom who took those early wickets, and Beamers, with the exception of Eastman, never got going after that. Most teams TWCC face have, perhaps, just two or three really good batters whose skills can go on to dominate a match, and time and again TWCC’s opening pacemen remove these players. “Too good for me...” they often respectfully mutter towards Ed, Matt and Tom as they tuck their bats under their arms and head back to the pavilion, and this was another game in which TWCC's opening bowlers, on this occasion it was Tom, absolutely set up the game in their team's favour. Jonathan, behind the timbers again after his sabbatical, was a fine replacement for Paul, and, indeed, those of a mind to delve deep into the analysis will not see any byes recorded at all, which is quite something given that he was standing up a lot of the time. As a performance, apart from one conspicuous drop, this was a fine display of bowling and fielding from the home side and a fitting one with which to end the season.
In reply Mikey and Jim opened for TWCC, and Mikey was soon making the game look very easy, as much as Jim was doing the reverse. Ten overs down and Mikey was on 34 (Jim was on 3) when he was caught off Beamers’ opening bowler W Hutchinson – a characteristically forceful innings which included six 4’s and set TWCC well on their way to their target, now only 91 runs away. And when Tony, in at 3, carried on from where his son had left off, the target quickly began to draw nearer and nearer. Jim carried on staying out of the way, knocking the odd ball for 1 to get his partner on strike, and Tony strode on with characteristic vigour to yet another half-century in no time at all. Eastman, he of the fast bat, was also pretty fast with the ball, but he wasn’t able to get through, and when Tony was caught on 51 (eight 4’s), with the total on 106 the game was all but over. Richard “Riggers” Rigby’s leg spin is always fun to face, and he does get turn and bounce, and it was he who did for Tony, and although the reliable Siddens was his usual tight self, Blackadder wasn’t able to find a good line and length and Matt, in at 4, was able to benefit from this and pull the ball repeatedly to leg and wrap up the game.
The end of another season, time to wash the kit one last time and put the Gazette to bed.  As it happens we did take a team photo, which is good to have, even though it is of a side that doesn't include many of TWCC's regulars. So, apologies to them, but if we didn't have this photo there'd be no record at all.

Scorecard
Toss - not sure - Beamers batted first.
Beamers' Innings: R Rigby Bld T Rydon 17; T Hutchinson Ct R Brock Bld H Short 9; W Howarth LBW T Rydon 4; B Rigby Ct M Edwards Bld T Rydon 3; G Blackadder Ct T Pearce Bld R Brock 10; H Eastman not out 51; R Siddens run out (M Edwards) 0; S Esson Bld G Cuthbert 3; M Renshaw Ct H Short Bld J Simon 0; J Richards Bld J Simon 0; W Hutchinson Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld P Steinke 2. Extras: 20 (LB13, W5, NB2) Total 129 all out (36.4 overs).
Fall: 1-27, 2-31, 3-43, 4-59, 5-78, 6-78, 7-102, 8-108, 9-108, 10-129.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 8-0-17-3; M Edwards 7-3-15-0; R Brock 6-1-19-1; H Short 6-1-21-1; G Cuthbert 2-0-16-1; P Steinke 4.4-1-9-1; J Simon 3-0-19-2.
TWCC Innings: M Pearce Ct Blackadder Bld Hutchinson 34; J Simon not out 17; T Pearce Ct T Hutchinson Bld R Rigby 51; M Edwards not out 18. DNB: J Rowland, E Bunn, G Cuthbert, H Short, T Rydon, P Steinke, R Brock. Extras: 10 (B6, W4) Total 130 for 2 (28.1 overs).
Beamers' Bowling: M Renshaw 4-0-31-0; W Hutchinson 6-1-11-1; H Eastman 5-1-11-0; S Esson 4-0-34-0; R Rigby 4-0-18-1; R Siddons 4-0-9-0; G Blackadder 1.1-0-11-0.
Fall: 1-39, 2-106.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.


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2021 Season
Captain's Review - 2021 Season 
PLAYED 17 WON 7 DRAWN 6 LOST 2 ABANDONED 2
(2020 P 12, W 11, D 0, L 1)

Last season was extraordinary because of the pandemic.This season was historic.Through the winter we had built a brand new clubhouse, after some 65 years of the previous block built clubhouse. It was kitted out by club members notably Paul, Jim and Jonathan and we were able to move in in the early season. In August it was officially opened by the former England wicket keeper Matt Prior and we had a splendid and celebratory BBQ for the whole village of Twineham, attended by some 80 villagers, club friends and club members. The sun shone and we celebrated.
We have been back to a full season after so many matches had to be scrapped last season. Our results this season have been good: we’ve only lost 2 from 17. Our top order batting has excelled: Paul has had a remarkable season, enjoying the benefits of retirement by playing every game and great scoring. Jim has also played every match and has also had a good scoring season, plus some excellent spells of bowling. Tom Firth has continued to impress in the middle order – and Edward has had a fantastic season with the bat. Our remarkable bowling attack continues with shock and awe – and has been added to greatly by the full return of Phil whose skill and experience are invaluable. The figures tell their own  story. We have a team of specialists, who can also all be described as all-rounders. We bat deep and bowl deep, which is why it’s important to get as many people involved in every match as we can.
Now we’ve got our lovely pavilion, we need to concentrate on the long term future of the team. We need another couple of regular players. I’m delighted Rob Saunders and Graham have played as many matches as they have – but we still need to strengthen further. Our squad is small and vulnerable to the return of summer holidays. I will be proposing that one person takes this on as a project.
One other thing for next season: we will tour again. We miss it!!
The Player of the Year Award continues to challenge fine minds. The points system proved curiously divisive – but also difficult because I missed too many matches. There have been a large number of outstanding performances, and a number of players will see this as their finest season in a while.  But one man has stood out. The man who once again had a brilliant season with the bat, frequently rescuing us from a batting abyss. But far more important is his continuing passion for the game, for our team and for our club players. His boyish enthusiasm is infectious and drives on the whole team. The TWCC player of the year goes to Edward Bunn. Congratulations Edward.

Richard Brock, Captain TWCC


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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 26th 2021
TWCC always enjoy playing the Beamers, who approach the frolic with intelligence and with the game's integrity to the fore. Rob Nicholls won the toss for the Beamers and he decided to test out the TWCC batting and see where that got him. Renshaw and Smith opened up for the visitors, and Paul and Jim negated the accurate and testing deliveries well, keeping out the many good balls and running some swift runs when they turned up. The first bowling changes, however, brought about Jim's demise as an innocuous leg-side ball glanced off his pads and ran back on to the stumps. Just 12 runs for Jim, though the Gazette has been inundated with requests to highlight a front-foot cover-drive that whistled through point, sadly condemned by the length of the grass (and its un-characteristic proximity to it) to be worth only 2 rather than the 4 it, we're told, so very richly deserved. But here we now have first-change bowlers, Paul set, and Tony with a license to thrill. Hammer Time! Tony's 2021 season has been dogged somewhat by a mixture of a lack of opportunity and some plain bad luck, and though he has contributed, of course he has, in several games, his fan base have been too often denied the spectacle of his free-flowing batting. But the season wasn't to close before he showed what he can do and he and Paul set about hustling and smiting the ball to all parts and generally dominating the game for much of the rest of the TWCC innings. Tony rocketed to his 50, shortly to be followed there and beyond by Paul, and the two of them, benefitting from the left/right challenge of their stances, put on a 153-run second-wicket partnership that defined the game. Tony, in the end, missed a ball that bowled him, but not before he'd plundered 73 runs (12 x 4's, 1 x 6) and he finished his batting season with something to savour over the cold winter months. Paul, still going strong, was joined by Jonathan whose cultured play once again graced the field of play, and he and Paul took the score on to 197 before Paul was eventually out, caught, off the returning opening bowling of Smith, with 76 runs to his name (10 x 4's). A fitting end to Paul's batting season, which has surely been one of his best, and his anchoring of the side through many matches is a vital component of the TWCC machine. Jonathan remained not out on 10 as skipper Edwards waved the innings to an end, declaring on 197 for just 2 wickets, some 19 minutes before the scheduled time.
Tea, taken early, was soon over, and it was time to unleash TWCC's exceptional pace attack - Ed with the wind behind and Tom battling in against the rising gale. On this occasion Tom was wicket-free, though not in the absence of many excellent deliveries and certainly not from want of trying, and it was Ed who first climbed aboard the wicket train by first bowling Beamers' No 2 and then producing an edge that climbed on through to the ever-capable Jonathan with the gloves to remove Rigby, Beamers' other opener. Here at the Gazette we love anything that reminds us of proper cricket, and this was such a moment, a moving ball, a thin edge, a clean catch behind. Lovely!
The Beamers were beginning to rock, and with a large total to chase they never looked as if they'd be able to get cracking, and when Phil provoked an unwise drive from the bat of Moores, and Jim took a solid (but simple) catch at deep-ish mid on, there was very little left in the Beamers' tank, even at this relatively early stage of their innings. Tom Firth, unused like so many in the home side's batting line up, was brought on to bowl and his rewards came early as he first took the top of off to bowl Cline, and then had Smith caught by Matt at mid-off in his four over spell. Tom, in the covers, caught Edwards off Phil, and the Beamers were looking very shaky indeed.
Graham replaced the ever-effective Phil, and he immediatley found a great line and length which brought him a wicket in his second over as Tony rocked back at backward point and held on to a looping ball, and Jim's deployment of the even slower ball mopped up the final three wickets as Twineham cruised to victory.
Matt's captaincy was on the money, not least in his declaration and thoughtful field-placings, but also with regard to his appreciation of the Sunday game as he spread the play around and by doing so denied himself a spell of bowling. Many batsme..batters didn't get a chance to wield the willow, and though Matt and Edward didn't get a chance to strut their stuff, all enjoyed the glow of the early Autumn afternoon. Paul and Tony, with the bat, offered much for their team to enjoy, and the bowlers, backed up by some excellent fielding (again), though they didn't need the extra time Matt's proactive declaration provided, had the great satisfaction of taking ten wickets. On this occasion TWCC were the easy victors, but we all know that the Beamers are capable of turning the tables next time. It was a shame for us and for Brocky himself that he ended up missing out on the last few games of the season, but even without his contributions the post-game pints at the Oak went down very nicely. Another season gone, and whilst one doesn't want to wish one's life away, many of us here at the Gazette are already counting down the days to the first game in 2022.

Scorecard
Brighton Beamers won the toss and chose to bowl first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Rob Beast, Bld S Smith 76; J Simon Bld T Edwards 12; T Pearce Bld Rob Beast 73; J Rowland not out 10. DNB T Firth, E Bunn, M Edwards, T Rydon, E Howes, G Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 25 (B11, LB4, W9, NB2) Total 197 for 3 declared (33.5 overs).
Fall: 1-23; 2-153; 3-197.
Brighton Beamers Bowling: M Renshaw 7-1-22-0; S Smith 4.5-0-14-1; T Edwards 8-1-43-1; R Rigby 5-0-36-0; Ron Beast 4-0-31-1; Notton 4-0-31-0; R Nicholls 1-0-6-0.
Brighton Beamers Innings: R Rigby Ct J Roland (Wk) Bld E Howes 14; Chafey Bld E Howes 6; Moores Ct J Simon Bld P Steinke 20; Cline Bld T Firth 6; S Smith Ct M Edwards Bld T Firth 1; Edwards Ct T Rydon Bld P Steinke 8; R Nicholls Bld J Simon 16; R Beast Ct T Pearce Bld G Cuthbert 3; Notton Bld J Simon 1; Renshaw not out 0; Richards Bld J SImon 1. Extras 13 (B4,LB1, W8) Total 89 all out (31.5 overs).
Fall: 1-12; 2-31; 3-54; 4-55; 5-56; 6-74; 7-83; 8-87; 9-87; 10-89.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 6-2-11-2; T Rydon 5-0-19-0; T Firth 4-0-23-2; P Steinke 6-1-12-2; J Simon 6.5-1-9-3; G Cuthbert 4-1-4-1.
TWCC win by 108 runs.


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Bolney CC v TWCC September 12th 2021
Good wicket, fast outfield. After a characteristically tight start from TWCC's big 4 bowlers, in which Phil bowled Bolney's No. 1 and Matt found a top edge that went through to Jonathan with the gloves, Bolney's Morris and Jayarathne scored lots of runs. Jim, ever dodgy as facilities fail, dropped Morris off Matt's bowling at long-off before he went on to score another 100 runs, and it turned out that this was the single most significant event in the whole afternoon. Bolney didn't appear to have enourmous reserves of batting after the excellent Jayarathne at 4, and Morris' wicket in Matt's first spell would have had WinViz pretty convinced of a TWCC win. As it was, following the dropped catch, Morris and Jayarathne went on to score 184 runs in a convincing third wicket partnership. The value of so many runs was, however, somewhat squandered by the home side who batted all their 42 available overs, scoring hard all the time, which served more to bat TWCC out of the game than increase their chance of winning.
Paul and Jim opened in reply, Jim being run out going for 2 after a fine bit of mock-dawdling in the 7th over, and then the first of the LBW's set in. Tony was given out LBW to Chaffey, which brought Tom Firth to the middle who set about a steadying and necessarily dogged innings. Morris' bowling was on the money and slightly curving off down the hill, and Paul and Tom dealt with it very well by the simple expedient of putting their bats in the way. Tom, however, did eventually fall to the slow bowling of Steve Bowles, mysteriously playing on a ball from well outside his off stump, in an innings comprising 20 runs but which, more importatnly, dulled the Bolney blade for 12 overs. Paul meanwhile was soldering on, resistance engraved in his features but nonetheless not turning down runs, and also not getting out. Jonathan at 5 fell to another tight LBW decision, and then a sequence of TWCC batters looked, and indeed were, in no trouble at all as the game dawdled to a draw as the 38 overs were done. Matt (14) and Ed (10) came and went, but Tom Rydon ended up on 13 not out along with Rob Saunders whose job it was to walk on with one ball to go, block it, and then walk off again.
It was, in the end, a slightly disappointing game for both sides as it felt as if there was a good game in there trying to get out. Bolney's Morris and Jayarathne saw off all TWCC bowlers (and readers may like to dwell on the Morris drop), but in going for the big total and the glory of high individual scores it was as if a draw was in the home side's mind all along. And a draw is what they got.
Paul more or less batted through the innings, scoring all along the way, never looking to be in any particular trouble and his 81 looked and must have felt good, and it certainly insulated the TWCC side from possible/probable catastrophic exposure. Shot of the day, however, was not Paul's as Ed takes this coveted award home to look at as he drops off to sleep every night for ever. Anyone who saw the crisp and freely-swung flick to the square leg boundary off his toes for a rocketed four will recall the moment well enough. Every inch a first class cricket shot it was only just not a six and it drew a gasp from the crowd, probably because that's where the cars were parked.

Scorecard
Bolney CC won the toss and chose to bat first. Format: 42/38 Flexidraw
Staplefield Innings: S Weeraratne Bld P Steinke 13; K Morris not out 129; S Bowles Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld M Edwards 1; H Jayarathne not out 77. DNB B Clemenson, D Bridge, G Sandwith, P Matthews, J Moore, M Madden, D Chaffey. Extras 29 (B3, LB3, W23, NB1) Total 249 for 2 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-51; 2-65.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-0-43-0; T Rydon 7-0-43-0; P Steinke 7-1-27-1; M Edwards 8-0-40-1; R Saunders 7-0-42-0; G Cuthbert 2-0-29-0; J Simon 3-0-20-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct, Bld S Weeraratne 81; J Simon run out 17; T Pearce LBW D Chaffey 12; T Firth Bld S Bowles 20; J Rowland LBW B Clemenson 4; M Edwards Bld S Weeraratne 14; T Rydon not out 13; E Howes Ct, Bld B Clemenson 10; R Saunders not out 0. DNB G Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 27 (B2, LB3, W19, NB3) Total 198 for 7 (38 overs).
Fall: 1-39; 2-57; 3-103; 4-108; 5-159; 6-184; 7-197.
Bolney CC Bowling: D Chaffey 6-0-37-1; S Weeraratne 8-1-36-2; K Morris 5-0-10-0; B Clemenson 7-0-46-2; S Bowles 5-0-18-1; M Madden 2-0-21-0; H Jayarathne 5-0-24-0.
Match drawn.


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TWCC v Staplefield September 5th 2021
Iit was very hot and the outfield was very fast. Staplefield, the usual mix of cheerful players from West Sussex and Sri Lanka, won the toss, and Skipper George Morley opted to bat first, and Ed, Tom R and Matt did the pace and Phil the style. It's hard, notwithstanding the above-mentioned self-imposed writing restrictions, not to highlight the economy of Tom's bowling as Staplefield's top and middle order very effectively took on the challenge of a lively wicket and a swinging ball, and though four of the top order batters fell to Ed (2), Tom and Matt (1 apiece), two Staplefield innings stood out; those from Haris (57) and Riz (56 not out). For the bowlers it was a case of generally being as good as ever, backed up by plenty of committed fielding which included catches taken by Jonathan behind the stumps off Matt and Tom and an outfield catch by Rob (R), but the score nonetheless climbed impressively. Rob and Jim were offered up to the big-hitters as Riz and Haris continued to apply their admirable batting skills, but this move did ultimately see the end of Haris and Maj, and then didn't allow the heavy-hitting Sadler to become established. Even with an over or two being added on to the agreed two and half hours to compensate for the time taken to look for a few lost balls, the first innings only yielded 34 or 35 overs depending on which bit of the scorebook you believe, which wasn't as many overs as Staplefield might have expected, but they still managed a fine total of 168 for 6.
Tea wasn't, and Paul and Jim put on their best heat-retaining overalls and went out to bat to good effect in an opening partnership of 50, when, in the ninth over, the ever-productive Paul (30 - 5 fours) was caught somewhere (can't recall... mid off/on?) and Rob R joined Jim for another 50+ partnership. George Morley, true to the Sunday cricket tradition, hadn't started with his most effective bowlers, but Staplefield did need to rein in the runs, and he brought Riz and Haris on to bowl; the same two who had been so excellent with the bat, and Rob fell, caught in the slips for once mis-cutting a high ball from Riz that was a little close to him, for a fine and characteristically smooth 32 (6 fours). Jim and Tom's partnership wasn't quite as productive as the first two had been as Tom was bowled first ball by the excellent Riz, and then Jonathan came in and, with Jim, saw TWCC more or less home before Jonathan was bowled (19 - 2 fours), by Riz again with the total 146 for 4. This left 20 or so more runs required by TWCC, with 9 overs to get them in - not too much of a problem, one might have thought, only the bowling was now relentlessly tight and threatening, and TWCC only had 10 players. Jim was out (45 - 4 fours 1 six) and, after Ed the Great was out for just 2 (Riz again), the home side still needed a few tough runs from Skipper Matt and Charlie H, which they duly provided as Charlie, who hasn't played this season, knocked a few fine Riz balls for runs and Matt and he saw TWCC home. Graham and Phil were both padded up and, with the bowling being as good as at any time in the innings, some warming gentle nerves were enjoyed in the pavilion before thoughts turned to beer.
The home side were victors on this occasion, though a few overs here and there, such as those not bowled by TWCC in the first innings, might have led to a Staplefield total which would have been more of a challenge to the home side. Staplefield's skipper was the perfect captain for a Sunday game as he might well have started with their two league stars, Riz and Haris, with both bat and ball, but instead George's thoughtful contribution to the day gave a balanced game to others in his team and precipitated an exciting conclusion to the day's play. It was possibly TWCC's excellent fielding and then quick running that pushed the game in their favour as the home batters took many quick singles and ran two's and threes where others may not have been so committed. It was also a pleasure to see Graham and Charlie again, and to share an afternoon's play and a packet of Reggae-Reggae crisps with them.
Much can be said in favour of the 42/38 over flexi-draw format, which would have penalised Staplefield less for hitting the ball into the hedge, and which might have made the home side's nerves a little more urinary.

Scorecard
Staplefield won the toss and chose to bat first.
Staplefield Innings: George Ct R Rydon Bld E Howes 14; James E Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld T Rydon 6; Maz Bld E Howes 2; Haris Bld J Simon 57; Roshan Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld M Edwards 2; Riz not out 56; Maj Bld R Rydon 16; Neil Sadler Bld J Simon0; Sane not out 1. DNB Foumi, Rhys. Extras 14 (B1, LB1, W10, NB1) Total 167 for 7 (35 overs).
Fall: 1-20; 2-21; 3-42; 4-59; 5-125; 6-158; 7-160.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 7-0-37-1; T Rydon 5;2;8;2; M Edwards 9-0-41-1; P Steinke 6-0-23-0; R Rydon 4-0-40-1; J Simon 3-0-17-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Sane Bld N Sadler 30; J Simon Bld Haris 45; R Rydon Ct Rohsan Bld Riz 32; T Rydon Bld Riz 0; J Rowland Bld Riz 19; M Edwards not out 9; E Howes CT, Bld Riz 2; C Howes not out 3. DNB G Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 28 (B7, LB7, W10, NB4) Total 168 for6 (36.3 overs).
Fall: 1-50; 2-111; 3-111; 4-146; 5-unredorded; 6-159.
Staplefield bowling: N Sadler 7-1-43-1; Sane 5-0-21-0; Lebbe 6-1-27-0; Roshan 3-1-10-0; Riz 8-1-28-4; Haris 7.3-0-26-1.
TWCC win by 4 wkts.


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Ditchling CC v TWCC August 29th 2021
Skipper Matt won the toss and suggested that Paul and Jim might like to have a crack at batting, which challenge the pair of them dealt with in their usual ways. Tony, at 3, looked at home but in the face of this rather good bowling from Broyd and O'Meara he lobbed a catch to gully off a ball that stood up on the sloping pitch which had a somewhat unpredictable bounce. Not a bad wicket as such, more just a consequence of it being made of real grass and earth, but there was something about it that demanded attention, and as Paul continued to successfully steer his way through he was joined by Tom Firth who managed the same problems very well in a third wicket partnership of 35. On came young F Coburn who seemed to bowl a lot faster than his years might suggest was possible, and Tom's stumps duly rattled with him having scored a valuable 12 runs. Enter Rob (Rydon) who, for once, had time to build an innings, and this he certainly did. Paul and Rob, dealing with the serious leg-spin of Middleton and the pace of Coburn, put on 51 runs together in this critical period of the game until Paul was stumped (I have no recollection of this...) off Ted Carr for 35; hard-won runs seeing off a range of bowlers as he showed once again what an opener is supposed to do by taking the brunt of the bowling, picking off the fours whilst not getting out much.
In walked Edward, he of the strong arm boundaries, and he stroked three of them in a fruitful partnership of some duration as Rob passed the 50 mark. Edward was, in spite of looking in full control, eventually bowled for 17 by Carr (Tom or Ted - who between them were credited with 3 wickets though only 2 need a home), leaving Rob to carry on the great work in partnership with his son who, surprisingly, was run out (4). Matt soon fell in the same selfless way as Rob was plundering for all he was worth as he took TWCC to, and then beyond, the 200 mark while he himself nudged up towards three figures. The 200 was reached, but Rob's innings finished on a very tantalising 99 not out as the last ball of the innings couldn't be persuaded to yield more than a 2. Rob seemed to particularly savour the challenge of facing some difficult bowling and with thirteen 4's and two 6's his innings accelerated even as the most penetrating bowlers returned. For us here at the Gazette Rob's shot of the day, picked from any number of eye-catching strokes, was a quickly punched straight four off the pacy Coburn; a sharply executed shot of power and timing following a quick assessment of a ball only just fractionally over-pitched. There were 6's too, but a drive's a drive.
Ditchling ran through an assortment of bowlers, young and old, all offering little lee-room and all demanding attention. The prolific leg-spin of H Middleton was a treat to see, though one wonders if he might have been more successful bowling over the wicket into the slope and straightening the ball rather than trying to maximise the deviation from way out to his right. From around the wicket the turning ball was always going to periodically beat the bat, but an LBW wasn't going to happen if it pitched anywhere near in line. Notable pace from Coburn and Broyd had to be overcome or succumbed to, and some chose one way and some another as TWCC ended on 204 for 7.
Tea was a proper sit down affair; the first since time stopped, and the fuel was in as Ditchling set about their reply to TWCC's total whilst the visitors, in turn, resolved to take 10 Ditchling wickets before the end of play. Tom and Matt started things off with the ball, and batters Middleton and Webb soon took matters along at a worrying pace as the boundaries flowed. Settling things down a fraction, Matt sent down a great lifting ball to Middleton who edged it to Tony, wearing the gloves, but in came another Middleton to carry on. Webb was establishing himself as a very good batter indeed, with timed glances and strong shots square of the wicket, and runs were occurring at a significant rate as the batsmen rather fed off than were troubled by the pace of Tom and Matt. TWCC needed a bit of Phil, and there he was, on that length, tying the batsmen down, drying up the runs and taking two for 32 in a 9 over spell. Phil really turned the game and Ed, replacing Matt, was soon on his own line and length, taking the ball down the slope away from the batters, and his rewards came in number as, by the end of the game, he had taken 4 wickets. Webb continued on as his partners came and went - Rob (R)'s swift arm getting the ball through to Tom Carr's stumps in a very sharp 3-over spell - but when Coburn batting at 9 began to accelerate the scoring, along with the ever-present Webb, towards the home side's target, the game ratcheted up a notch. Ditchling, nearing the winning post, began to run twos and threes in the twilight giving Tom Firth down in Cemetery Corner the run-around, but his sprinting efforts were rewarded when Webb took on a second run as Tom picked up the ball and rifled a one-bounce throw to Tony who ran Webb out - a great bit of fielding. Webb's innings, quite a young man, was a treat to see as he never looked to be in trouble at all and stroked the ball around as if the game was a lot easier than some of us find it.
The game wasn't over, however, and as Dithcling approached 200 they still had two Coburns swinging the bat and taking good runs off the two Robs as caution left the field of play and both sides pushed for a win in the witching hour. With Matt and Ed having returned to the bowling fray, Ditchling needed 8 to win off Ed's, and TWCC's, and Ditchling's, last over. Predictably the scorebook goes a little wonky at this point, but it looks like Ed took a wicket or two, there was certainly a stumping and Rob (S) grasped a troubling high catch in the covers. It came down to the last ball with Ditchling needing four runs, and TWCC needing one wicket to win. With all results possible off this last ball, Ed stood tall, didn't bowl a wide and a dot went into the book. Match drawn, though it wasn't an anti-climax as both sides deserved something from the match.
TWCC needed all of Rob's runs, as well as the banked important runs from Paul, Edward and Tom F, without which the game would have unfolded somewhat differently, and the same could be said from the home side's perspective with regard to the 68 from Webb. Ditchling's chase never fully recovered from Phil's spell, and Ed's return from his sabbatical proved to be equally significant as he was proper wickety. It's worth recalling every run saved, every run pushed, and, not least, the five penalty runs Ditchling conceded when the ball rolled up against the wicket-keeper's helmet on the ground. Tony, with his hands once again thrust into the keeper's gloves, managed to stop many balls going by that would have defeated lesser men, and, indeed, very professionally snaffled the classic pace-man's edge off Matt's bowling early on. One of those good draws, close for both sides; another enjoyable trip to Ditchling whose talented youngsters seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of a friendly Sunday game.

Scorecard
TWCC (M Edwards) won the toss and TWCC batted first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter St, Bld T Carr 35; J Simon Ct C Nolan (Wk) Bld F O'Meara 1; T Pearce Ct H Middleton Bld F O'Meara 4; T firth Bld F Coburn 12; R Rydon not out 99; E Bunn Bld T Carr 17; T Rydon run out 4; M Edwards run out 0; E Howes not out 1. DNB R Saunders, P Steinke. Extras 32 (oh yes!) (B8, LB4, W19, NB1, Penalty 5) Total 204 or 205 depending on which bits you look at.
Fall: 1-8; 2-21; 3-56; 4-107; 5-185; 6 and 7 unrecorded, though in or around the 200's.
Ditchling CC Bowling: W Broyd 9-1-43-0; F O'Meara 5-1-8-2; H Middleton 7-0-29-0; F Coburn 5-0-10-1; M Webb 5-0-37-0; Ted Carr 5-0-38-1; Tom Carr 2-0-14-1.
Ditchling CC Innings: H Middleton Ct T Pearce (Wk) Bld M Edwards 16; M Webb run out (T Firth) 68; Hugh Middleton LBW P Steinke 27; W Broyd Bld E Howes 6; C Nolan Ct T Firth Bld E Howes 5; I Poysden LBW P Steinke 0; Ted Carr Ct R Saunders Bld E Howes 0; Tom Carr Bld R Rydon 25; F Coburn not out 25; J Coburn St T Pearce Bld E Howes 0; F O'Meara not out 0. Extras 13 (B13, LB1, W9) Total, live, was 201 or 203, or according to adding up the book it was 195 or whatever; they were aiming at 204 and just didn't make it.
Fall: 1-37; 2-80; 3-89; 4-100; 5-102; 6-103; 7-149; beyond this unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 4-0-24-0; M Edwards 7-0-41-1; P Steinke 9-0-32-2; E Howes 10-1-47-4; R Rydon 3-0-18-1; R Saunders 3-0-25-0.
Match drawn.


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Parham CC v TWCC August 22nd 2021
What a relief to open the curtains on a Sunday morning with no weather-dread picking away at the day ahead. The sky wasn't entirely clear, but there hadn't been 60mm of rain in the week and neither was a deluge actually in progress. Off to Parham!
Skipper Brock won the toss and chose to bat first - once again putting the onus on his bowling forces in the second innings if ten wickets were to be taken. Paul and Jim stood tall and faced up to the excellent bowling of Williams and Huffer...but only for so long. Jim was first to go caught behind off a good length out-swinging ball from Huffer, and Paul was unlucky to block a lifting ball from Huffer only for it to roll back onto the stumps. TWCC 14 for 2. Next up and away was Tony who looked to be in no serious trouble until he smoked a drive inches off the ground back to the bowler only to see Williams grab a great low catch; 20 for 3. Jonathan, composed as ever, grafted low and hard and kept his end up as he was joined, for a ball or two, by Mikey who clothed a ball out into the covers and was caught for just 5; 37 for 4. Looking bad, and indeed thus it seemed to the Parham skipper who, by now, had taken the home side's foot off the pedal in the hope that the game could be made to last until tea and the excellent opening spells from Williams and Huffer were brought to a close. Jonathan and Edward, taking advantage of the less penetrative bowling, began the fightback, but Jonathan wafted at a high ball that stopped - the bane of batting at Parham - and his patient innings came to an end as he lofted a ball out to the covers. And so the new boy, Jo Palmer, who hadn't played cricket since school, joined Edward and something like cricket began to take shape. Edward, imperious as ever, demonstrated his preference for boundaries over less worthwhile runs, and Jo, as he re-kindled his cricketing grey cells, began to join in with some gusto, though he had to learn not to dash about but rather to just watch the fours cream off Edward's bat. Edward's characteristically punchy 41 included 8 fours, and Jo was awarded shot of the day for an MCC Coaching Manual-perfect cover drive for four off the re-instated Williams' pacy bowling. However, to quote our Geoffrey; "But at the laste, as everything hath ende" this vital stand of 65 was brought to a close when Huffer finally found a way through to Edward's stumps. Another excellent bit of Bunn batting. Jo carried on the good work whilst Matt came and went, then Tom R once again showed his mettle with the bat as, amongst other things, he replicated Jo's magnificent cover drive and so, as it was exactly the same shot, he must also be awarded the shot of the day. Brocky, whose very capable batting suffers somewhat from a lack of opportunity due to his self-denial, was up to the task, as, by now, Parham had Williams and Huffer back and fully firing. In this context Tom and Brocky's 9th wicket stand of 36 was remarkable in that the bowling was no longer of a charitable nature at all. Great runs and, in the end, match defining as we shall see. In the end both Brocky and Tom, with 13 apiece, fell to Williams and TWCC were all out on the stroke of tea, with Phil the only survivor. Parham's bowling started too well for the visitors, at least on that wicket, and the home side's skipper provided an opportunity for TWCC to put some runs on the board to make a game of it, which the middle order duly did, but when the returning Huffer and Williams, brought back for 7 overs each, failed to re-control the scoring, the total by tea had risen to a creditable 141 all out.
And so the "curious" nature of the game unfolded. Why "curious"? Well, even after some help, 141 might still appear to be a modest total to overtake, and yet, after a good batting start from Wales and Higginson the home side seemed reluctant to fully engage with the chase. Sure enough, TWCC's opening bowlers (Tom/Matt down-wind, Brocky/Phil up-wind), were as effective and tight as one would expect, but there wasn't much in the way of apparent agression from the batting side. Brocky, effective and secure on his length as ever, went off to work leaving Matt in charge, and Phil it was that seemed to kill off any attempt at a chase as he bowled both Higginson and Osborne in his potent 8 over spell. Could it be that Parham didn't bat deep? But here was the attacking Mark WIlliams, in to join Andy Wales and this pair could have, surely, got the game to an interesting phase? Maybe they could have, but Williams was, perhaps, finding the tight line of Matt, Phil and then Paul too much to handle as he couldn't swing his arms and hit the big shots. Indeed, cramped up, he top-edged a couple of extremely difficult almost impossibly awkward catches that, quite excusably, weren't able to be taken (Ker-ching! Thanks Tony). Paul it was who excellently caught and bowled Williams in the end when the ball came back to him off the splice and from this point on, if, indeed, they had ever been really going for the win, Parham dug in, and when Andy Wales digs in, he digs deep.
If anything became clear it was that in the first innings the TWCC batsmen had, with the help of Parham's admirable approach to the day, actually scored quite a lot of runs for this wicket, and a post-match analysis shows that Parham had, in essence, just three particularly effective bowlers. TWCC, on the other hand, bat very long indeed. A look at the second innings shows that Parham's batting line up was quite short, which explains their lack of purpose with regard to going for a win, but it also shows that TWCC bowl long too. Tom, Brocky, Matt and Phil set the tone and certainly dealt very well with a few batsmen, but TWCC's third string of bowlers; Paul, Jim, Tony and Jo Palmer, if one combines their spells, bowled 7 overs, 4 maidens, 3 for 10 at a time when wickets needed winkling out. However, time was up, and though there didn't seem to be much batting left, a draw, seemingly an inevitable result for most of the last hour, duly arrived.
Curious. Maybe par at Parham is 120? Maybe TWCC's depth of batting came as a surprise to the home side? Maybe Parham didn't bat deep and they were closer to losing the game than we thought? Maybe TWCC bowl deeper than was fully utilised? Maybe there should be a pub nearby? Maybe, one day, there'll be sandwiches, cakes and mugs of tea? Little chocolate-covered inappropriate biscuits? Anyone remember plain chocolate Club biscuits (much deeper, darker chocolate than Penguins)? Maybe a lot of things. And I haven't even begun with courgettes. Hey ho. Life.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and batted first. Prapper timed game!
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld S Huffer 7; J Simon Ct A Wales (Wk) Bld S Huffer 7; T Pearce C & Bld M Williams 3; J Rowland Ct, Bld Osborne 17; M Pearce Ct, Bld Osborne 3; E Bunn Bld S Huffer 41; J Palmer Ct, Bld M Williams 19; M Edwards Bld S Huffer 0; T Rydon Bld M Williams 13; R Brock Bld M Williams 13; P Steinke not out 0. Extras 15 (B1,LB4,W9) Total 141 all out (43.5 overs).
Fall: 1-13; 2-14; 3-20; 4-37; 5-49; 6-114; 7-114; 8-114; 9-140; 10-141.
Parham Bowling: M Williams 13.5-3-31-4; S Huffer 12-3-22-4; P Fraser 6-0-26-0; P Osborne 4-1-6-2; Z Leas 4-0-24-0; T Higginson 3-0-25-0.
Parham Innings: A Wales Ct J Palmer Bld T Pearce 29; T Higginson Bld P Steinke 31; P Osborne Bld P Steinke 2; P Fraser Ct, Bld M Edwards 1; M Williams Ct J Palmer Bld T Pearce 9; J Balchin Bld J Simon 0; S Huffer not out 13; Z Leas not out 0. DNB J Leas, B Leas. Extras 13 (LB1, W12) Total 85 for 6 (37 overs).
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 9-0-23-0; R Brock 6-0-17-0; M Edwards 8-1-21-1; P Steinke 8-2-26-2; P Hunter 2-1-4-1; J Simon 1-1-0-1; J Palmer 2-1-2-0; T Pearce 2-1-4-1.
Match drawn.


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TWCC v Warninglind CC and Pavilion Opening August 15th 2021
In the 1950's the practical members of TWCC grabbed their shovels and put their hands in their pockets and built their club a serviceable small building with a couple of small rooms and an even smaller utility area with a wonky sink in it and thus TWCC’s famed rudimentary facilities reigned for over 60 years. However, passing time and storm Dennis combined forces and a new building became a pressing need.
Those who might wish to know will know already who it was that has, in an act of humbling generosity, stumped up more or less the entire budget required to build the new pavilion we see gracing the corner of the playing field today, and present and future club members, warmed by their long-term friendships, will look back on this moment with pleasure and gratitude for many years to come. Paul Hunter also deserves a special mention for his patient and persistent driving of the project in the face of obstacles that would have floored lesser men, by which I mean me. The official opening event saw club members and locals gather for a barbecue and cake-fest and, after well-considered speeches from both club captain Richard Brock and new-boy Matt Prior, the obligatory ribbon was duly cut by Lily Prior and the new dawn was upon us.
The undoubted distractions of the day resulted in there being no record of who won the toss, if, indeed, a coin was ever involved, but TWCC went in to bat first and it was up to Paul and Jim to do what they could to disperse the crowd. Paul got off to a fast start, and it was his speed, relative to that of his opening partner, that led to him being run out for 4. In Jim’s defence, if such be required, with the ball safely in the hands of the youthful fielder at long-ish off the prospect of a second run hadn’t even occurred to him until Paul nipped up to Jim's end to suggest it, by which time the die was cast. A terrible shame, at all times, to be run out, but it’s an especial shame that it happened on the day we were celebrating the official opening of the new pavilion which project Paul had done so much to bring to fruition.
Jim and Tony took the score on to 88 in quick time, which was just as well as a one-off crazy-paced 2-hour-per-innings-but-draw-possible format had been agreed between skippers, and boundaries flowed even as players were out and new players came in. Everyone was scoring runs (sorry Paul...), and Warninglid were giving the day a celebratory air as more or less all their players took a turn with the ball. Jim (43), Tony (23), Jonathan (27 n.o.), Edward (34) and Mikey (18) all kept the momentum going and with Edward’s towering leg-side sixes into the strong prevailing wind fresh in our minds, Tom F and Jonathan eventually left the field after the two hours was up with a total of 182 on the board. A poky total, and that was achieved with considerable further fire-power (I mean - Rob Rydon!) left in the locker unused.
But with a draw being a possibility (and two hours to get 10 wickets seems like this won’t be a format to catch on) TWCC would need all their aces if a victory was to be achieved. With this in mind Matt E (7 overs 1 for 8) and Tom R (7 overs 3 for 19) got cracking, and, later, as Phil and Rob S backed up these impressive spells, the visitors were soon reeling on around 5 for 50 after 14 overs. Catches were held all over the park and it never did seem as if Warninglid would meaningfully approach TWCC’s batting total. As the wickets fell resistance eventually came in the genial form of Acton with his funky Mongoose bat, who ended on 36 not out, but that was about it as even Rob R coming in off his short run and Tony mixing it up couldn’t force a way through to the very end of Warninglid’s tail. Phil, Matt and Tom came back to do what they could about these matters but the two hour cut-off arrived and a somewhat inevitable draw duly fell on proceedings. I may have selective memory, or indeed no memory of much at all, but the Toms have both left their marks in my brain; Tom Firth took a great catch in the mid field off Phil’s bowling (other catches are available), and Tom Rydon’s second spell was absolutely tremendous and it seemed impossible that the stumps could have survived this onslaught. Shot of the day was probably played by Paul who didn’t get a chance to play it, but the memory of Edward’s sixes climbing heavenwards over the hedge is a fine, and appropriate, image to take away for mental replays.
Warninglid joined in with the jolly nature of the day, and, even if the necessarily shortened format was flawed, there was much to enjoy playing in such circumstances and, for once, in good weather.

Scorecard
Not sure who won the toss. In any case TWCC batted first. Some under-recording seems to have occurred. Match timed over two hours per innings; draw probable.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter run out 4; J Simon Bld Roberts 43; T Pearce Ct, Bld Roberts 23; J Rowland not out 27; E Bunn LBW Mr X 34; M Pearce Bld Mr Y 18; T Firth not out 2. DNB R Rydon, T Rydon, M Edwards, R Saunders. Extras (waitforit..) 31 (B4, W22, NB 5) Total 182 for 5 (29 overs).
Fall: 1-7, 2-88, 3-89, 4-147, 5-174.
Warninglid Bowling: Dark 5-0-23-0; Acton 4-1-16-0; Cocker 2-1-4-0; Mr X 4-0-19-1; Mackie 4-0-23-0; Mr Y 4-0-36-1; Papa J 4-0-40-0; Roberts 2-0-15-2.
Warninglid Innings: Barns Ct M Edwards Bld T Rydon 1; Eadie Ct R Brock Bld M Edwards 2; Cocker Bld T Rydon 5; Mackie Ct M Edwards Bld R Saunders 10; Roberts Ct  T Firth Bld P Steinke 11; Parsons Ct M Edwards Bld R Brock 14; Acton not out 36; Jamie Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 7; Dhruv Bld T Rydon 7; Dark not out 3. DNB Swanscoe. Extras 15 (B6, W7, NB2) Total 113 for 8 (28 overs).
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-2-8-1; T Rydon 7-1-19-3; P Steinke 5-0-32-2; R Saunders 3-0-12-1; R Brock 4-0-13-1; R Rydon 4-0-13-0; T Pearce 1-0-4-0.
Match drawn.


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St. James' Montefiore CC v TWCC August 1st 2021
Persistent rain that had fallen over recent weeks was forecast again, so it was time for a quick 30 overs/side dash on the main pitch at St James' Montefiore where the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first, possibly so that they would at least get a bat before the weather took a turn for the worse. The St.JMCC side was populated with several clearly thoroughly crickety young men in their pomp, and their up-the-order contributions looked as if they might well prove critical to the outcome of the game. But TWCC have some young and older guns of their own, and the host side's ambitions were nipped in the bud before anything much in the way of a total could be attempted. Skipper Ed and Tom soon took charge, and Ed's excellent 3 wickets for almost no runs in his four overs were matched by Tom creating three possible catches that didn't quite manage to end up in safe hands - ever the Rydon curse. After Ed's, really, match-defining success in removing several young blades, Phil came on and took out the next two for, again, almost no runs and St.JMCC were from this point on almost certainly not going to achieve anything much in the way of serious runs. The two Robs held on to good catches early on off Ed's bowling, and Phil forced an edged ball through to the ever-secure Jonathan. That left Atterill, the last of the poky St.JMCC batters, who fell for their top score of 22, again to Phil, to a fine catch deep on the mid-wicket boundary taken by Ed who had put himself there for just this eventuality and the home side were 46 for 5. Even though scoring runs on the stoppy and claggy pitch was difficult, the home side were, disappointingly for them, going nowhere fast.
Rob Saunders settled into a great rhythm and bowled Donaldson during his full 6 over spell, and Rob R ambled in and, with his fast arm, clean-bowled Hall and Stevenson in a four over spell that, sadly, saw an edge go for four but which nonetheless still only cost TWCC 8 runs. Jim did a turn and took the final wicket meaning St.JMCC were all out in just 27.3 overs for an unlikely 76.
After a slightly soggy tea Paul and Jim took on the host's opening bowling, which came in the form of some fine pace from D'Orsaneo and some extreme finger spin from Basley. Luckily Paul is a proper batsman and he took everything in his stride, whilst Jim fared less well and was bowled after leaving a straight one, soon to be followed by Tony and Jonathan who were also bowled by D'Orsaneo on his way to 3 for 16 in his allotted 6 overs. TWCC only needed 77 to win, and although they were three down all too soon, the total was already on 36 thanks to Paul who was still going strong on 31 as Edward, at 5, came to the middle. Atterill, spearing the ball at the stumps from the Road End, bowled Edward for 5, and then, with the game in the bag barring an unlikely(!) TWCC collapse, Paul finally provided an edge to be caught behind off the youthful E Duddy's promising bowling, with 34 runs to his name, including many fine shots as one might expect, the pick being, for us here at the Gazette, a square cut off the pacy D'Orsaneo to the point boundary for four. In came our third and final left-hander, and we were treated to a short-form Rob R calm cameo innings uncharacteristically curtailed by an lofted drive at the first ball from a new bowler, who, it turned out, bowled quite potent leg-breaks and had Rob caught at mid-on. But Rob's 13 took TWCC almost all the way to the finishing line, leaving Rob S to secure the win with a timely 8 runs before he was out with just two more runs required when it was up to Ed to provide the Captain's stamp on the game by smearing the ball to the pavilion where we soon joined it and a (slightly aged) barrel of Harvey's.
The match was won, but actually only just, on all fronts. First off, and arguably most significantly, the TWCC bowlers, particularly Ed, (Tom) and Phil, ensured that only a modest target would need to be overhauled as the batsmen they removed looked as if they were used to scoring plenty of runs. Secondly, and importantly, even though Tom's offerred chances fell to earth, five catches were held which always greatly helps. And lastly, of course, someone needed to score the required runs, and for that we had Paul without whom even the small target of 77 to win would quite possibly have been out of reach. Not, then, a comprehensive victory, for TWCC were 8 down at the end, but a victory nonetheless against a side who on many other occasions would have batted to more effect and yet whose modest runs still almost added up to enough.

Scorecard
St.JMCC won the toss and chose to bat first.
St.JMCC Innings: J D'Orsaneo Ct R Rydon Bld E Howes 0; N Bushell Ct R Saunders Bld E Howes 9; E Duddy Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld P Steinke 7; J Duddy Bld E Howes2; J Atterill Ct E Howes Bld p Steinke 22; B Donaldson Bld R Saunders 5; J Hall Bld R Rydon 10; M Smith Run Out (E Howes) 5; D Stevenson Bld R Rydon 1; D Basley Ct G Cuthbert Bld J Simon 3; T Malik Not Out 1. Extras 11 (B4, W6, NB1) Total 76 all out (27.3 overs).
Fall: 1-0, 2-9, 3-11, 4-27, 5-46, 6-50, 7-69, 8-72, 9-76, 10-76.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 4-2-6-3; T Rydon 4-1-13-0; P Steinke 6-0-19-2; R Saunders 6-0-19-1; R Rydon 4-1-8-2; J Simon 3.3-0-7-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct (wk) Bld E Duddy 34; J Simon Bld J D'Orsaneo 4; T Pearce Bld J D'orsaneo 0; J Rowland Bld J D'Orsaneo 0; E Bunn Bld J Atterill 5; R Rydon Ct J Atterill Bld D Stevenson 13; T Rydon Ct M Smith Bld E Duddy 4; R Saunders Bld D Stevenson 8; G Cuthbert Not Out 0; E Howes Not Out 4. DNB P Steinke. Extras 4 (B1, W3) Total 79 for 8 (23.2 overs).
Fall: 1-11, 2-11, 3-36, 4-47, 5-57, 6-67, 7-67, 8-75.
St.JMCC Bowling: J D'Orsaneo 6-1-16-3; D Basley 4-0-26-0; J Atterill 4-0-15-1; E Duddy 4-1-10-2; D Stevenson 3.2-1-11-2; T Malik 2-0-1-0.
TWCC win by 2 wkts.


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Cuckfield CC v TWCC July 18th 2021
A very hot day. Very very hot, especially running about in full batting gear which is the situation Paul and Jim found themselves in after Brocky won the toss and chose to bat first. Cuckfield's well-deserved reputation for bringing on fine players as they progress through the age groups is well known, and this youthful side, skippered by the ever youthful Meader, proved to be no exception as S Hatt and A Sheldon set about getting the new ball to talk. In spite of probably being the pick of the bowlers, Hatt ended up wicketless, and it was Sheldon who nipped the bails off the top of Paul's middle stump with a delivery Paul failed to pick up in the shimmering heat. Up to this point Paul and Jim had survived pretty well largely by not engaging with the bowling, but with just 17 on the board and Paul walking off it became somehwat imperative to do something about scoring some runs. This thought was in Jim's mind when he went to sweep the slow bowling of Meader but his bat was nowhere near horizontal and the ball slipped beneatht the bat and onto his stumps. The reliable Tom Firth was joined first by Matt Edwards and then by the impressive new recruit Tom Harvey-Jones and the score began to advance as Cuckfield went through their bowlers in search of someone who might offer less of a challenge. Tom F was his usual self, making good decisions on his way to a fine 35 before he was caught off the bowling of Meader, and Tom H-J also very much looked the part before he was brilliantly caught at mid-off. However it was clear that there are no makeweights in Cuckfield's arsenal and the general standard of bowling remained high, and, indeed, too potent for TWCC's batters, with one exception, to endure for long as the overs ticked by. Edward it was who began to hit some big shots off his pads, and even, on several occasions, skipping down the wicket to create boundary-bound half-volleys which rocketed to the rope at mid-wicket/mid-on before he, too, was out, caught, for 40 priceless runs. Brocky, possibly just the man for this crisis, was run out for 0, and whilst there was some resisistance down the order from Tom R and Matt B the truth is that as a side we were, on the day, somewhat below par in the face of some good to honest talented bowling.
The Cuckfield reply to TWCC's 128 all out was emphatic. The opening batters, one of whom apparently opens the bowling and bats at 10 for the Cuckfield first team, soon had us flouting the Highway Code as 6's rained down on the Sunday traffic, and Tom Rydon's pace only added velocity to the ball as it made its repeated way down the hill to the roundabout. Phil was his usual quality self, predictably bowling the only maiden of the Cuckfield innings, but TWCC took no wickets at all as both openers retired on 50 to give someone else a go and the game was wrapped up in 17.1 overs. Matt Brock did force a couple of top edges that might (cough) on another day have been taken, but other than that there were few bowling highlights that stand out.
Cuckfield's young side were too accomplished in all departments for TWCC on the day. Our batting didn't progress very far, and the truth is that whatever total we might have achieved, one is bound to say that Cuckfield would have overhauled it. The home side were gracious in victory, and if there is a positive to take from this game it is to observe with local pride that the game, in the care of sides such as Cuckfield, is in very good hands.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld A Sheldon 7; J Simon Bld Meader 13;  T Firth Ct, Bld Meader 35; M Edwards Bld Meader 4; T Harvey-Jones Ct, Bld Hatt 3; E Bunn Ct, Bld Gordon 40; R Brock Run Out 0; T Rydon Bld Gordon 8; M Brock Bld Barker 12; G Cuthbert Ct, Bld Downey 0; P Steinke Not Out 0. Extras 6 (B2, LB2, W2) Total 128 all out (37.2 overs).
Fall: 1-17; 2-49; 3-55; 4-66; 5-66; 6-68; 7-98; 8-124; 9-128; 10-128.
Cuckfield Bowling: S Hatt 7-3-15-0; A Sheldon 5-0-11-1; Meader 7-0-29-3; A Hatt 6-2-9-1; S Sheldon 5-0-26-0; I Gordon 6-0-34-2; T Barker 1-1-0-1; Downey 0.2-0-0-1.
Cuckfield Innings: Conner not out (ret'd) 50; T Barker not out (ret'd) 50; J Downey not out 17; D Scar not out 5. Extras 3 (B1, W2) Total unrecorded, but enough, for 0 wkts off 17.1 overs.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-43-0; P Steinke 4-1-19-0; M Brock 2-0-21-0; M Edwards 2-0-16-0; T Harvey-Jones 2.1-0-15-0; G Cuthbert 2-0-13-0.
Cuckfield win by 10 wkts.

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Hurstpierpoint v TWCC July 16th 2021
TWCC, for precipitatory reasons, haven't played cricket for weeks on end, and indeed the last time they took to the field against Henfield the game was only a few overs old before it was abandoned as more rain fell. The Gazette ought to report that Ed did bowl someone out before the covers were fetched on, but other than that there was little to report from that outing.
Roll on to Friday 17th July and we find that Ed, our hard-working fixtures guru, had secured a 20:20 game, starting at 6pm, for TWCC against Hurstpierpoint CC, and, what's more, had arranged for some summer weather. However, it is only 20:20 and not proper cricket, so the match naturally doesn't merit the full Gazette treatment, other than to say how good it was to play something a bit like cricket and to have Joe P back in the fold, with all his energy and general gravitas.
Ed lost the toss (I think) and Hurst were batting, and their opening pair were clearly able and up for it. We did some bowling, and some fielding, and even some catching, and Hurst scored 138 in their 20 overs. Phil opened the bowling to great effect, and came back to take a wicket near the end and ended on 1 for 13 off four overs, Tom tried all sorts of innovations which, as a rule, are tried out in the privacy of ones home, Rob S got 2 for 9 in a fine couple of overs, other people bowled - oh yes, we met Greg who fielded like a ...er... fielder and who bowled pretty feisty stuff once his radar kicked in, and stuff happened.
Then TWCC batted, and Paul carved up their openers in a proper left-handed Jason Roy impersonation, and Joe, his opening partner, kept his end up. Paul scored his limit of around 30 in very quick time which set up a calmer chase with some truly good strokes out through the covers and the odd six behind square. Joe's eye was in and he pulled a few big runs before being bowled by a 14 year old, then Rob reached his proscribed limit with some elegant glances and powerful pulls. Edward top-edged a pull to somewhere behind leg or to the keeper, Jim flounced about and tried to serially run out both Jonathan and himself, and this pair took the score to the required 138 with a couple of overs to spare.
Scorecard
Too difficult with a wonky book from when Ed wasn't sitting there with the pencil. Maybe he shouldn't play at all, and then we could have perfect scorebooks for both inningseses.
TWCC win by getting the runs before they were out or the overs ran out. Er... 8 wkts? 1 run?


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TWCC v Lindfield June 20th 2021
Thanks again go to the TWCC Fixtures Department for arranging this replacement fixture following the waterlogging of Jevington's pitch. Indeed, whilst Twineham with its artificial wicket is always going to have an obvious wet weather advantage, the amount of rain that had fallen on the outfield in Twineham still made for a distinctly clammy fielding experience more or less throughout the game.
Matt Edwards, TWCC's VC, having proposed, and agreed upon, a classic Sunday friendly timed game, lost the toss and TWCC were asked to field first. Result!
Before embarking on the match report it is with some humility that the TWCC Dept. of Legal Affairs later admitted to falling short, on this occasion, with regard to the understanding of the playing conditions pertaining to a timed game. It seems that for 128 years TWCC have lived in ignorance of the proper way to play a Sunday friendly, and the too-simple aggreement whereby two-and-a-half hours are available for the side batting first to do with what they will within the number of overs serendipity sends their way, followed by, after what passes for tea these days, the side batting second having one hour and fifteen minutes plus 20 overs to have a crack at the arising situation, is a format that is wrong. TWCC has been fortunate indeed to have got by with nothing but friendly communication accompanied by a spot of active common-sense since 1893 and TWCC are surely big enough to know that they were given a bit of a lesson in how to organise a game of cricket.
Moving on to the game itself, which was a timed game with attitude, there were some considerable highlights, not least of which was playing at all during a week when the rain had only stopped that morning and which began again even as the stumps were drawn at the end of play. Lindfield in choosing to bat first, were either bluffing or were indicating that they had a strong side capable of winning with either bat and ball or both, and this did appear to be the case as the opening batters looked competent and skillful, particularly M Newcombe who seemed to have time on his side in his responses even to TWCC's trademark nippy opening bowling. Lindfield appeared to have a line up of youthful talent, combined with some well-honed skills of the third age, and it was going to be important to take any chances that might be created.
Matt took the direct route and bowled Lindfield's skipper, Bob Hopkins, in his third over and Ed, too, running in hard was troubling the batsmen every ball. Perhaps Lindfield's pre-match research was some comfort to them, and they may consequently have been hoping that TWCC's critical catching was going to be more England than New Zealand, but in this they were going to be disappointed. Ed, bowling with good pace, found the outside edge of Newcombe's bat as he fenced at the ball off the back foot, and Edward, at first slip, stuck up a "Though shalt not pass!" right hand and stopped the fiercely rising ball, knocked it about a bit, and passed it to Matt at second slip who took all the scorebook glory. Tremendous effort, and Newcombe was on his way.
Then, in the very next over from Ed, Edward did it again - only better. The edged ball, rocketing head high into the slip cordon, suddenly met its match in the meaty palm of Edward's right hand and the second sharp chance was cleanly taken. Ed's bowling brought the edge on these occasions, but he and other pacy bowlers often just have to accept that chances in the slips off their bowling are tough to hold on to, but on this ocasion Edward's reactions and solid grabbing duly rewarded the bowler. Proper wicket, proper cricket. TWCC generally make more chances like this than ever end up as wickets, and on this occasion these two catches, in removing Lindfield's top order batsmen, certainly swung the course of the match.
Ed and Matt, in their match-defining opening spells, took a further wicket each, clean bowling Edwards and and Moorton respectivley, and Lindfield were somewhat reeling on 5 for 34, and, with their most crickety, batty batsmen back in the pavilion, it was going to be difficult for the visitors to work their way up to a reasonable total from this position.
Phil's first-change bowling was, again, of considerable note as he had only one four taken off his bowling from the only slightly hittable ball in his entire spell, after which he bowled the perpetrator. There was one other dashed single and that was it. 5 runs from 6 overs, four maidens and one of his trademark bowled wickets where the ball just clipped the top of the stumps. Tremendous, and to have Phil there, often after the pacier openers have just set a tough enough challenge, gives batsmen no let up after they may have thought their day might have just got a little easier. Phil's remorseless line and length bowling continues to be a great asset for TWCC.
In other bowling Mikey was somewhat wayward, Jim had a few edged balls drop safe or pass through the slip area which on another day might have brought a breakthrough, and Graham found his way very well in this his first action of the year, but a progressively sticky Pierpoint and Barnett had decided to avoid getting out if they could.
Enter Tom, who had arrived a little late and so been denied an early bowling opportunity, who upped the ante, firstly providing a catch off a short ball to Mikey at square leg and then magnificently cartwheeling a stump to take two wickets for 20 in his truly fiery spell. Indeed, Tom's bowling must have come as a bit of a shock to the Lindfield lower order who may have been justified in thinking that the worst was over, but there he was, charging in and exerting extreme pressure at this late stage of the innings. Ed returned from the Downs End, but the Lindfield innings, quite legitimately extended into tea territory, didn't yield much more in the way of wickets or runs and in the end the declaration came from Lindfield after 45 overs with the visitors on 124 for 8.
With such a small total to chase it would take some particularly collapsy batting to make a game of it, and Paul and Jim (mostly Paul) took the score to 53 before Paul was caught at mid on/off/left/right/can't remember for a sparky 30 with four 4's. Jim, though no-one probably noticed, was also doing his best to hit out and get out, which he finally managed to do when he placed a falling full toss outside his off stump into the hands of mid-off with a slightly stodgy 19 to his name.
This brought the two Pearces to the crease and there followed a most entertaining display of sporty performance from them both. Much inter-generational banter mixed with dismissive hitting took the home side to an easy win with lots of time to spare. Mikey's classy 27 not out included the Gazette's nominated shot of the day; a clipped leg glance off a straight bat behind square for two. Tony, more hitty than glidey, scored the lion's share of the runs, ending on 40 not out with seven 4's and a big 6 in the mix. It was a treat to watch father and son enjoying their time together, but it is important to note that there was some fine batting going on at the same time.
This season has been notable for the excellence of whoever has the keeper's gloves on, and on this occasion Paul (Tony resigned after a few balls) kept up the good work. When one sees there were - ahem -  28 single wides (single as in with no additional runs being attached) it's clear nothing much got past his scampering, and this was a great effort and testament to his all round high-energy contribution to the afternoon.
It was the bowlers what won the day; Ed, Matt, Phil and Tom; but Lindfield's batting strength, full of potential, was stopped in its tracks by two great catches, one a shared event with Edward being the main protagonist, and one Edward's solo champagne moment which knocked the stuffing out of the Lindfield innings.

Scorecard
Lindfield won the toss and chose to bat first.
Lindfield Innings: M Newcombe Ct M Edwards (via E Bunn!) Bld E Howes 15; B Hopkins Bld M Edwards 1; T Hunt Ct E Bunn Bld E Howes 5; M Edwards Bld E Howes 11; M Moorton Bld M Edwards 1; J Pierpoint Bld P Steinke 4; J Barnett Ct M Pearce Bld T Rydon 19; T O'Brien Bld T Rydon 22; M Williams not out 9; T Richardson not out 2. DNB G Storer. Extras (...wait for it...) 35 (B5, LB1, W28, NB1) Total 124 (45 overs).
Fall: 1-18; 2-26; 3-27; 4-32; 5-34; 6-44 the rest not recorded.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 12-4-34-3; M Edwards 8-1-22-2; P Steinke 6-4-5-1; M Pearce 2-0-12-0; J Simon 6-2-14-0; G Cuthbert 5-0-18-0; T Rydon 6-0-20-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter(†) Ct J Pierpoint Bld M Williams 30; J Simon Ct J Pierpoint Bld M WIlliams 19; M Pearce not out 27; T Pearce not out 40. DNB E Bunn, I Irvine, M Edwards(*), T Rydon, E Howes, G Cuthbert, P Steinke. Extras 12 (B5, LB2, W4, NB1) Total 128 for 2 (26.2 overs).
Fall: 1-53; 2-56.
Lindfield Bowling: J Pierpoint 6-1-16-0; T Richardson 3-0-14-0; T Hunt 7-0-27-0; M Williams 6-1-25-2; G Storer 2-0-17-0; J Barnett 1.2-0-15-0; M Edwards 1-0-7-0.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.


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TWCC v London Unity June 13th 2021
Assuming all keen Gazette readers, and there are no others, read last week's edition, they could be excused for believing that the website had failed to update so numerous are the parallells between this match and that of the previous week. Personnel may vary, but the difficulty of taking ten wickets on an artificial surface if batsmen fail to conspire with bowlers remains. This isn't to say that, within the narrative of the match, there aren't many triumphant performances to register, and some equally momentous failures to gloss over.
An air of bonhomie and goodwill to all pervaded the TWCC dressing room, along with several other airs, as Skipper Brock won the toss and condemned his opening batsmen to rushing about in the considerable heat of the afternoon, which cruel design was cuningly thwarted by Jim who arranged to be bowled by the second ball he faced. Paul, who had pounded the very first ball of the match through point for four, was then, happily, joined by another real batsman in the eager form of Jonathan and this pair went on to produce some proper batting in the face of some proper bowling from Unity stalwart Joe Driver. Care was needed to survive Joe's nippy out-swingers to these left-handers, whereas the less penetrating slow bowling from the Pavilion end was both the means to runs and an opportunity for the batters to get themselves out. Happily survival and scoring prevailed, and Paul and Jonathan took TWCC on to a healthy 53 for 1 before Paul edged a high-bouncing slow ball to first slip, which one-handed catch would have made any highlight reel if such things were a thing. 26 calculated runs (four 4's) from our long-time opener, and the scoring was well under way. Tom Firth, batting at No. 4, was only briefly involved on this occasion before Rob (R) made his understated way to the middle. It seemed, and a glance through the more recent archive entries confirms this, as if this might have been London Unity's first sighting of Rob. Unassuming in his body language, little did they realise that Rob's batting is a force of nature. Unity began by bringing the field in to the new man, and the new man calmly dumped the ball over their heads. A fluke, they thought. Maybe an opportunity? Bowl it again. 4 again. The penny was beginning to drop as Rob smoothly changed up through the gears on his way to a match-defining 66 not out (ten 4's, two 6's) and London Unity will certainly remember him next time. Meanwhile Jonathan was still there, also upping the ante as he took on the bowling in an increasingly forceful manner before he was out to a good catch at mid-on off a hard-hit ball. Coming in so early and, with Paul, working through the opening bowling, and then cashing in with four 4's and a 6, on his way to 42 was a great effort and a testament to his classy play.
Rob, increasingly dismissive of the bowling, was joined by Edward who continued on his undoubted upward curve in form as illustrated, not least, by the popular vote for shot of the day of a pull/hook off a short ball to square leg for four. Let us not dwell on other candidates such as Rob's wide leg glance for four towards fine leg, or Jim's heroic block of his first ball, or many other shots played by others, for Edward's four was a sight to behold and to enjoy. Then he was out.
Tom (R) went in to bat with his Dad - always a joy to see - and though neither of them was comically run out the vigour made for good watching from the home side's point of view as both Rydons finished the innings with their not out status intact. Tom's quick 9 and rotation of the strike with Rob, who continued the plunder to the end, secured a 200 plus total for the second weekend in a row.
Of note was the over rate which was pretty poor, with just 33 overs being bowled in two and a half hours, so it's just as well that the TWCC batters were able to score at a rate of over 6 per over, and to end up with 205 for 5 on the digiboard.
So. A fine total. 10 wickets required. TWCC's extensive range of fine bowlers. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, I could cut a long story short and disappoint regular readers who savour every piece of pith, but we'll see how it goes...
Ed and Tom, suppliers of the usual blitzkrieg, could be relied upon for a bit of sturm und drang, and it was Ed der das erste Wicket genommen hat whilst Tom, equally tight and fierce, on this occasion had to settle for just being plain devastating without getting a mention in the fourth column. First change, as is TWCC's way, brought no relief for the batters, and Phil, starting with a maiden, moved on to take 3 for 5 in his next 17 balls. Not that he ever went away, but Phil's back!
And so is Matt (E) who was back to his well-oiled self in his 6 overs during which Paul took a t-r-r-r-r-emendous catch in the covers. Jack Moore, keen keeper and powerful left-hander, drove a pacy ball from Matt over Paul some twenty yards from the bat, but Paul has arms that go higher than his head, and he pushed the ball up, kept his eye on the debris and clung onto the falling ball. A great wicket, and probably the main reason that Unity were unable, as the game progressed, to attempt to overhaul TWCC's score. Joe Driver, marooned, now had to consider whether or not the visitors should continue to loosely bat on with runs in mind, or whether to simply try to survive. Not that surviving was easy as first Brocky, with a high catch taken by Jim, and then Rob, holding on to a mincing catch off his own bowling, convinced the visitors to stop trying to make headway against the strong tide and to drop anchor.
It then got a little dull. Verging on very dull, though, as Brocky worked through the beauty pageant of bowling options at his disposal, we did get to see single overs from Edward, Tom Firth and lastly Paul who, when, after the third ball of the last over of the game had dribbled off Joe Driver's bat to irrevocably deny TWCC a win, flipped the ball past the advancing Joe leaving Jonathan to whip off the bails. The last chapter was written, and a draw had been acheived by London Unity.
Jonathan had once again had a great day behind the timbers, with 2 sharp catches and a stumping to his name. Just 2 byes is a credit to his agility and skill, especially given the frequent opportunities he has to fail. Pick of the bowling was undeniably from Phil who continues to deliver balls that clip the very top of the stumps from an awkward length which, when this control is combined with a bit of movement off the pitch, means that it's no surprise that he ended with the commendable figures of three for 18 off 8 overs.
Significant contributions were, on this occasion, from our main batting arsenal, but it is worth noting that TWCC's batting strength doesn't stop there, with Tom (R) only just getting going at tea, and with the likes of Ed, Matt, Brocky and Phil to come high scores are becoming an expectation not an aspiration. Let us hope that this potential is fully on tap as TWCC march on to Jevington next week.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct (slip) Bld McKenzie 26; J Simon Bld J Driver 0; J Rowland Ct  D Ghashemi Bld McKenzie 42; T Firth Ct D Ghashemi Bld McKenzie 3; R Rydon not out 66; E Bunn Ct J Driver Bld D Ghashemi 33; T Rydon not out 9. DNB E Howes, M Edwards, R Brock, P Steinke. Extras 26 (B3, LB1 W20, NB2) Total 205 (33 overs).
Fall: 1-4; 2-53; 3-61; 4-105; 5-186.
London Unity Bowling: S Columbine 5-1-21-0; J Driver 7-2-18-1; McKenzie 7-0-46-3; M Driver 5-0-37-0; J Uren 3-0-24-0; M Daniels 3-0-32-0; D Ghashemi 3-0-22-1.
London Unity Innings: J Burke Bld P Steinke 22; M Cockburn Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld E Howes 3; J Caulfield Bld P Steinke 12; D Ghashemi Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld P Steinke 4; J Moore Ct P Hunter Bld M Edwards 5; J Driver St J Rowland 22; D McKenzie Ct J Simon  Bld R Brock 6; J Uren Ct & Bld R Rydon 11; M Driver not out 6; S Columbine not out 0. DNB M Daniels. Extras 10 (B2, LB2, W5, NB1) Total 105 for 8 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-11; 2-30; 3-39; 4-44; 5-48; 6-59; 7-81; 8-104.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-4-16-1; T Rydon 9-2-21-0; P Steinke 8-3-14-3; M Edwards 6-0-14-1; R Rydon 4-0-9-1; R Brock 4-0-16-1; E Bunn1-0-4-0; T Firth 1-1-0-0; P Hunter 1-0-4-1.
Match Drawn.


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TWCC v Xiles June 6th 2021
TWCC welcomed Xiles - regular and evenly-matched opponents, and a team with whom TWCC have shared some exciting games - to the Twineham ground which was bathed, now for the second weekend in a row, in glorious sunshine. In other exciting news TWCC welcomed their VC to the 2021 season; Matt is too valuable a player to have wasting his time prancing around on a football field. And a spot of Joe wouldn't go amiss either.
Xiles won the toss and put TWCC in to bat; the obvious way to achieve a win without having to bowl out the other side which is always a challenge in an afternoon game. Paul and Jim may have made a slightly slower start than is sometimes their norm, but at around 4 an over and with 10 wickets intact after 11 overs no alarms were ringing, and, with their trademark scurrying for quick runs, the good balls could be treated with respect without the run rate falling off too markedly. In the end Paul missed a straight one, trying to pull to leg, and was out LBW for a solid 25 (3 fours), with the score on 43. Jonathan, potentially capable as ever, on this occasion chipped a ball up to point and was caught for just 2, a missed opportunity of course, but of such events is cricket made. Enter man of the moment, Tom Firth, who, with Jim, continued with some gentle pressure on the throttle even as the bowling improved and the opportunities correspondingly dried up as Murgesan and Smith offered little to be getting on with. However, runs did come, and when Jim (77, 10 fours) ran out of left leg at the end of the 36th over these two had taken the score on to 162 for two. Some good running combined with plenty of boundaries had upped the run rate and a platform was there for the powerhouse players.
Shot of the day was Edward's clip to the square-leg boundary off his toes, in his 14 off 11 balls, and then Tom (F), hitting out, was caught behind off the classy Murgesan for another impressive knock of 61 which included 5 fours and lots of leg work which included a race to the same end with Edward that, somehow, didn't result in a run out. Brocky and Matt (E) added a few before Tom (R) came in to cream a couple of fours off his first two deliveries to ensure that the magic 200 was achieved. The innings closed, at the end of the two and a half hours, on 203 for 5. Respectable. Or sufficiently respectable. A good target to bowl at in any case.
After half time, and some healing hi-cal cookies courtesy of Matt E's footy conscience, It was time to see what Xiles had up their sleeves. They always come with a good range of abilities with bat and ball, and, there was, in the familiar form of David Hooper at No.1, the first notable challenge. David seemed comfortable, even against Ed and Tom R, until Tom's in-swinging pitched-up pacy deliveries proved too much for both openers in quick succession. Ed, wicketless though no stranger to maidens, was replaced by Matt (B) who soon homed in on his target and a calm catch by Matt E at mid-on was his reward. Spell of the day was bowled by Rob (S) whose 8 overs, 3 for 18 took TWCC well into the territory earmarked for the winning team, but, in the end, despite Brocky taking out Karthik Murgesan with an LBW, the last flicker of Xiles' ambition flickered and died and Hannant (56 not out), who had batted very well for the bulk of the game since coming in at No. 4, and Smith were more than capable of keeping their wickets intact in pursuit of a draw which dully arrived.
Winning the toss and bowling first is the clear way to go as a win is possible without the taking of 10 wickets, which is a challenge for any bowling attack, especially on an artificial wicket, if the batters have chosen not to go for the runs. One approach would be to allow a batting side to more nearly approach their desired winning total and thus encourage shot-playing, but with that comes the considerable risk that they might all of a sudden achieve their goal, and so TWCC, with their plethora of attacking bowling options really had to lean on the good balls getting through which didn't happen often enough, and which was especially difficult given the quality of batting that was holding the ground as the overs ticked by.
Another point discussed over a slightly soulless beer in the Oak's gazebo, which on Sunday evenings now seems to have a bit of an end of season feel to it, was the noting of the trend for sides without too many good bowlers in their ranks to open up with their less capable bowlers, thus hoping to sneak a few cheap overs out of the way whilst batters get their eyes in. TWCC, blessed with a stream of quality bowlers, can just go at it, and what a joy it is to see them at it. Hey ho - a draw, which would have been exciting if Xiles hadn't been quite so capable of not getting out.

Scorecard
Xiles won the toss and chose to field first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW Wilcox 25; J Simon ret'd hurt 77; J Rowland ct, bld Wilcox 2; T Firth ct wkt bld K Murgesan 61; E Bunn LBW Tully 14; R Brock st, bld Tully 4; M Edwards not out 2; T Rydon not out 9. DNB E Howes, R Saunders, M Brock. Extras 9 (LB3, W6) Total 203 for 5 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-43; 2-65; (Ret'd hurt 162); 3-186; 4-190; 5-193.
Xiles bowling: Tully 10-0-53-2; Wilcox 9-0-32-2; Murgesan 8-0-34-1; Smith 9-0-45-0; Vaz 6-0-36-0.
Xiles Innings: D Hooper bld T Rydon 17; Ash bld T Rydon 1; S Mcreadie-Ford ct Edwards bld M Brock 2; D Bailey c&bld R Saunders 25; D Hannant not out 56; P Stead bld R Saunders 1; S Vaz bld R Saunders 0; K Murgesan LBW R Brock 4; A Smith not out 10. DNB L Wilcox, P Tulley. Extras 20 (B6, LB4, W9, NB1) Total 140 for 7 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-22; 2-24; 3-56; 4-56; 5-65; 6-89; 7-97.
TWCC bowling: E Howes 9-6-14; T Rydon 9-4-18-2; M Brock 6-0-48-1; R Saunders8-3-18-3; R Brock 5-0-20-1; M Edwards 3-0-11-0.
Match drawn.


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Headliners v TWCC May 30th 2021
Thanks to the TWCC Fixtures Dept. for arranging this game at short notice, and for, presumably, arranging for the sun to join us. It felt like the first game of the season in that unsatisfactory wet weather formats were unnecessary and we could just play a full game of cricket.
Paul and Jim opened up the batting for TWCC, following skipper Edward's winning of the toss, and sorted out a good solid start in the face of some slightly wayward bowling on a stoppy wicket. The ball kept a little low and had to be watched onto the bat, and straight balls had to be blocked. Or, of course, heaved across the line at. Some trademark quick running provided both some smart scoring and a run out, but if you have one then the other will happen now and then and, with 57 on the board after 12 overs all was well when the first wicket fell, as, with a solid middle order to come, Jim's quick 33 together with Paul's more cultured 29 goes down as a job more or less well done. And we had Tony at 3, so, with a platform in place, a short downhill boundary and lots of time in hand, what could possibly go wrong? Hmm... We'll gloss over a lobbed gentle poke to mid off - a sure sign of Tony not having had much time in the middle this season, besides, at around this point, the bowling became a little more tricky; from the uphill end Imzamam-ul--Haq(!) was bowling a great line and length, varying his pace very well with occasional speedy darts to watch out for, and, from the southern end Harwood offered easy balls to block if one blocked them, but if one had a go, and missed, the stumps would get into the game. And so they did as Harwood took four for 43 in his 9 overs. Arguably the better bowling was coming from the top end, but ul-Haq ended wicketless, and Harwood's slow-but-straight deliveries demanded attention that they didn't get as batsman after batsman missed or mis-timed the stopping, dying, ball. In the face of this bowling Tom (Firth) at No. 4 carried on his recent good work by properly waiting for Harwood's bowling to get to him before punching it through the off side, and his 27 accrued during this interesting phase were priceless runs. Mikey, oozing confidence built up over a winter of dreams, strode down the wicket to Harwood and simply missed a straight one - a sad event as it's no small thing to travel down to play a game of cricket, but it was pleasure to see him and he appeared to have enjoyed the day. Edward, revelling in his captaincy, set about playing a captain's innings at 6, and, indeed, fully looked the part as he watched the ball onto his big bat and smote a few fours, but as he made room to glance to leg he mis-stepped and trod on his stumps to be out for 12. Time for Tom (Rydon) to take his time and be the man. And he was absolutley proving what we know about his ability with the bat; waiting, watching, blocking unless sure of good contact, it was all going so well until he was asked to ignore yet another wide from the extraordinary Pulbert bowling from the stratosphere, and, as the ball emerged from re-entry to land 2m outside the off stump, Tom, at first, did the right thing and left it alone, then, when he risked another look, the ball was still there... just waiting to be spanked for four through point. Unfortunately, his self-denial in ruins, Tom swung mightily at the tempting ball, which he thin-edged to slip. This was, in a game of quirky dismissals, the quirkiest and most dissatisfying of wickets. Graham briefly settled the game down, and he was joined by Rob (Saunders) who pulled a couple of valuable fours to leg, but the score wasn't otherwise progressing and TWCC were all out some 20 minutes ahead of schedule for an underwhelming 143. So many might have beens... Jim's run out, both Pearces out for 0, Edward's hit wicket, Tom Rydon's nemesis delivery... it all made for an interesting low target for Headliners to deal with in their innings.
Tom (R) opened up the taps from the top end, and his in-swinging deliveries were an order of magnitude tougher to face than anything anyone had had to deal with up to this point in the match. He took out the clearly capable Medhurst with an LBW (who might have left the field with more grace), and then, after a couple of maidens, clean-bowled Harwood at 3. The Headliners, thanks to Tom's efforts, were, even with such a modest target to overtake, already falling behind in the game. Phil, pre-match favourite for a multi-wicket haul, was curiously wicketless at the end of his 9 over spell - it's often the bowler who commands most respect that gets it - but he was as economical as ever and probably produced wickets for the bowler at the other end. Jim, who found a bit of swing, benefited from an unlikely yorky-full-toss first ball to bowl Hadden at No.4, and then, with some excellent catching from Rob (S) and Harvey took another couple of wickets and the Headliners were, by the time the 20 overs began to count down, reduced to playing for a draw. Harvey, his first game for us and very welcome he is too, followed up a couple of rangefinding deliveries with a tighter line and removed, finally, the last line of Headliners' resistance as Barnet, who had been there from the first ball, middled a ball into the high grasping hands of Jim at square leg. Harvey followed this up with a caught and bowled and it was only a matter of time, of which there was plenty, for the remaining wickets to fall. Paul rattled Haq's stumps with a slower ball, and Rob, held back for the denouement, snicked the top of the stumps to take the last wicket of the day.
An early victory, once again proving the mantra that catches win matches, as does good bowling. And, not for the first time the standard of wicket-keeping was extremely high from, on this occasion, Tony, who only saw two bye events pass his nimble form and who was as solid as anyone could be with the gloves. It was a shame that neither Tony nor Mikey got a chance to show what they can do with the bat, and that Graham didn't get an opportunity to be a primary contributor though he was, as always, very effective in the field.
From an initial feeling of not having scored enough runs, TWCC's bowling, fielding and general approach brought the game around. TWCC's low total was, in the end, competetive on a slow wicket, and Tom's removal of the clearly capable Medhurst early on, and then the removal of Harwood at No.3, were conceivably the major turning points in the game, underlining, once again, how fortunate TWCC are to have Tom and other pacers in our arsenal. Headliners, cheerful and well-matched opponents for TWCC, were the losers on this occasion, as TWCC had been at our last meeting. A win in the sun, under the assured captaincy of Edward, was rewarded with some Harvey's back at the Oak, where the post-victory glow was further enhanced by a packet or two of Reggae Reggae crisps.

Scorecard
Proper timed game, or, in other words, cricket. Toss won by Skipper Bunn who decided to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Harwood 29; J Simon run out 33; T Pearce ct Haq bld Harwood 0; T Firth bld Harwood 27; M Pearce bld Harwood 0; E Bunn hit wicket bld Parkinson 12; T Rydon ct Medhurst bld Pulbert 14; G Cuthbert LBW Parkinson 1; R Saunders bld Hadden 8; H West not out 0; P Steinke ct Al-Haq bld Pulbert 0. Extras 19 (LB1, W17, NB1) Total 143 all out (34 overs).
Fall: 1-57; 2-57; 3-82; 4-82; 5-107; 6-111; 7-133; 8-134; 9-140; 10-143.
Headliners' Bowling: B Hadden 6-0-34-0; Islam 5-0-22-0; Imzamam Al-Haq 6-2-9-0; Harwood 9-0-43-4; Parkinson 4-0-23-2; M Hadden 2-0-3-1; Talbot 2-0-7-2.
Headliners' Batting: Barnet ct J Simon bld H West 16; Medhurst LBW T Rydon 4; Harwood bld T Rydon 3; M Hadden bld J Simon 13; Inzamam Al-Haq Ct R Saunders bld J Simon 2; Riz Haq ct H West bld J Simon 25; B Hadden ct & bld H West 8; Islam Haq bld P Hunter 5; Parkinson bld R Saunders 6; Talbot not out 0. Extras 8 (B5, W2, NB1) Total 90 all out (9 wkts) (31.4 overs).
Fall: 1-5; 2-14; 3-31; 4-33; 5-48; 6-73; 7-73; 8-82; 9-90.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-3-13-2; P Steinke 9-2-23-0; J Simon 6-2-24-3; H West 4-1-13-2; P Hunter 3-2-1-4; R Saunders 2.4-0-9-1.
TWCC win by... winning? How does this work?


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TWCC v Bolney May 23rd 2021
Cold again. Some rain later. Match re-aranged from a Bolney home game (thank you skippers) to Twineham, and a 30 overs per side format was chosen in the light of the weather forecast. Paul and Jim opened the batting after Bolney won the toss, and Jim was even less apparent than usual, and, unusually, so was Paul. Tony (26) and Tom F (38) sorted matters out in a partnership of 54 off 10 overs, then the powerhouse middle order got a chance with Jonathan (28), Edward (23) and then Rob R (38) piling on the runs magnificently as TWCC ended on 191* for 8. Highlights; Tom F's calm decision-making and selective scoring, Tony's straight 4's, Jonathan's slightly delayed cut to the point boundary, and Rob's repeated hedge-bothering to his square leg which included the only 6 of the game.
In reply Bolney didn't really get going at all, though the reliable S Bowles (20) and skipper D Bridge (31) did offer some resistance and application. TWCC's bowling attack was its usual potent self, this time enhanced by a fine opening spell from Phil who found his line and length immediately as he took out the Bolney openers in a 4 over spell of 2 for 8. Ed and Tom R were unusually unsuccessful, thought their spells were foreshortened as Edward and Tony's skills were in demand. Further short spells from Tom Firth (1 for 3), Brocky (1-16) and Jim (1-1) left the field clear for the highlight performance from Rob whose spell of 4 for 2 off 4.5 overs, including two wicket maidens, was only spoilt by Jim's infirmity in the gully area.
Of particular note was the best wicket-keeping on show all weekend from Jonathan which included two stumpings, one off Phil and one off Rob, as well as countless sharp work off good and less good balls, all which helped the home side to keep pressure on and chew through the Bolney wickets. A shame the day was so cold, but the shortening of the game did at least allow a result as the rain so ably forecast arrived just in time for us to get merely damp.

* There is a bit of Scorebookgate going on... Total on the day was 187, but the extras plus individual runs add up to 191.

Scorecard
Match re-arranged to Twineham from a Bolney home game due to waterlogged pitch, and a 30:30 format was agreed upon.
Bolney won the toss and fielded first.
TWCC Batting: P Hunter bld Madden 5; J Simon Bld Garside 0; T Pearce st Bushell bld Clemenson 26; T Firth st Elliott bld S Bowles 38; J Rowland ct & bld S Bowles 28; E Bunn LBW Moore 23; R Rydon not out 38; T Rydon bld Moore 1; P Steinke run out 0; E Howes not out 7. DNB: R Brock. Extras 25 (B14, LB1, W10) Total: 191 for 8 after 30 overs.
Fall: 1-2; 2-10; 3-64; 4-108; 5-115; 6-161; 7-163; 8-171.
Bolney Bowling: Garside 7-0-32-1; Madden 4-0-17-1; Clemenson 4-0-31-1; Bowles 8-0-63-2; Moore 7-0-32-2.
Bolney Innings: J Elliott st Rowland bld P Steinke 9; M Garside bld P Steinke 3; S Bowles bld T Firth 20; D Bridge LBW R Brock 31; B Clemenson bld R Rydon 4; N Bushell ct R Brock bld R Rydon 8; T Malik st Rowland bld R Rydon 2; G Sandwith bld R Rydon 0; J Moore not out 1; N Madden Ct & Bld J Simon 0. DNB B Griffin. Extras 5 (B1, LB1, W2, NB1) Total 83 all out (B Griffin retired).
Fall: 1-8; 2-13; 3-58; 4-71; 5-73; 6-80; 7-80; 8-81; 9-83.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 5-0-17-0; P Steinke 4-1-8-2; T Rydon 3-1-3-0; E Bunn 1-0-5-0; T Pearce 4-0-26-0; T Firth 3-2-3-1; R Brock 3-0-16-1; R Rydon 3.5-3-2-4.
TWCC win by 108 runs.

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TWCC v The Mighty Greys May 9th 2021
Greys won the toss and put TWCC in to bat. Paul and Jim once again took on the opening bowling, and for once it was Paul who minded his P's and Q's whilst Jim ignored the MCC manual and bashed his way to a chance-ridden 28 off 19 balls. Totally inappropriate opening batting... Paul sadly retired with a gammy leg and a more circumspect 36 to his name, leaving the rest of the team to step up and do the business. Which may or may not have happened.
The problem was that The Mighty Greys became mightier as they ran through their bowling line up, and it might have been a good idea for the home side not to get out so often. There were good shots, boundaries even, people had their chances, but what was required, and this goes back to the Jim's gung-ho-ness, was application. In short, with some excellent bowling from the Greys, TWCC finished on 149 off 38.3 overs. It was more or less time for tea, so one couldn't deny that TWCC had perfectly matched the batting line up with the end of the allotted time, but another 30 runs would have helped. From the sidelines it certainly looked as if the Greys' bowling became more potent as the game went on, and Sewell (3 for 38) and particularly Ashton's 4 for 8 really were exceptionally good.
But let's not be downhearted! TWCC's opening bowling gave rise to the hope - nay, belief - that 149 might prove to be enough! Ed and Tom R were tremendous; charging in, ripping stumps out of the ground, giving chances to Tony's kneecap. 0 for 2 anyone? 43 for 4? Game on! Ed and Tom were devastating and they really could not have set TWCC up any better, especially with some excellent fielding from all and especially Rob Saunders in the gully whose determination saved several runs and kept spirits high and the game's trajectory in the home side's favour. But Ed and Tom couldn't bowl forever, and credit here must go to the skip who exposed himself as first change. Bowling to the hard-hitting middle order, and not to the tail, he came up with the goods in a fine spell of 3 for 31 off 7 overs as he took out the impressive Day (33) and then Burgess and Fenton for not much. Rob S struggled a little with his run up, but once sorted he was back on it only to run into the reality of how the Greys had managed their resources. Ashton, with Newland, confidently steadied the ship and calmly ran the overs down requring first five, then four then three per over (approx) as they struck out with increasing effect. Jim's economical three overs for 8 steadied the ship but then even a resurgent Ed and Tom R couldn't stop the Greys train from hurtling to a victory with 15 balls to spare. Ashton ended on 61 not out and, with bowling figures of 4 for 8 off 6.3 overs his obvious prowess with bat and ball was clearly the determining factor in this match.
This was a properly good game of cricket, hard fought and won by the better team. TWCC certainly needed at least 30 more runs, and this game was a wake up call - possibly needed at the start of a new season - for the batsmen to apply themselves with more care (note to self). Or, maybe, the opposition could provide worse bowling.

Scorecard
Greys won the toss and chose to field first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter retired hurt 36; J Simon ct Edwards bld Newland 28; T Pearce ct Brasher bld Flynn 11; J Rowland ct Fenton (wkt) bld Sewell 9; E Bunn bld Ashton 10; T Firth bld Sewell 11; R Brock ct Day bld Sewell 19; H Karvay ct Hoare bld Ashton 4; T Rydon ct Day bld Aston 0; R Saunders bld Ashton 5; E Howes not out 5. Extras 11 (B3, LB5, W3) Total 149 for 9 declared (38.3 overs).
Fall: 1-46; 2-72; 3-92; 4-93; 5-113; 6-123; 7-139; 8-139, 9-149.
Greys Bowling: Newland 6-2-20-1; Hoare 4-0-32-0; Day 5-0-24-0; Flynn 7-1-16-1; Sewell 10-4-38-3; Ashton 6.3-1-8-4.
Greys Innings: Brasher bld Howes 0; Line bld T Rydon 12; Edwards ct Rowland (wkt) bld Howes 0; Day bld R Brock 33; Flynn ct Rowland (wkt) bld T Rydon 2; Burgess ct Saunders bld R Brock 2; Fenton bld R Brock 9; Ashton not out 61; Newland not out 19. Extras 12 (B1,LB4, W7).
Fall: 1-0; 2-0; 3-33; 4-43; 5-56; 6-61; 7-78.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 11.3-1-50-2; T Rydon 10-1-25-2; R Brock 7-0-31-3; R Saunders 5-1-31-0; J Simon 3-0-8-0.
Greys win by 3 wickets.


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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 2nd 2021
To quote the Chuckle Brothers; "Oh dear oh dear." It became clear, after several near misses driving in the narrow lanes under the Downs, that refusing to engage the wipers on the grounds that doing so would only encourage the water was becoming an increasingly difficult position to maintain. No longer could this be passed off as a heavy mist, and if we'd known then what we knew later we'd have stayed at home and watched The Great Escape with a mug of tea and a hot water bottlle.
A delayed start was agreed, and, as possibly some of the more playable conditions passed us by, the two sides waited in vain for the clouds to break, but eventually, with TWCC having won the toss, Paul and Jim began to bat, and Streat and Westmeston began to do their best to bowl. Sadly, after a few overs, the ball became soapier than a bar of soap, especially the sort of soap provided free at the tabloid end of the B&B market which, let's face it, never seems to have being soapy high up on its list of priorities, the principal one of which is to cost less than the tea bags. And don't get me started on the "milk."
The poor Streat and Westmestoners had to get wet as well as cold, their bowlers in particular not seeing the funny side of Paul and Jim not getting out, and their attempts to dry the ball soon stopped making any difference. Jim, to his credit, did his best to give someone else a go which magnanimity characterises his general approach to batting, and in this he was as successful as usual which brought Tony to the crease in the 12th over with the score on 58. Tony's eye is almost permanently in and his first ball went for a strong straight four, and then he and Paul continued on apace whilst S&W, who were undoubtedly bowling in almost impossible conditions, did their best as waves of showers swept across the ground. Paul ended up on 29 not out with his four 4's and Tony, with a lovely straight 6 and then a next-ball-four off M Porter's third over, ended the game on 24 not out as abandonment hit.
One feels sorry for all players from both teams who made the effort, and especially for those who ended up doing nothing crickety at all.  Particular mention, and thanks, must go to Ian whose commitment to TWCC gets the better of him every decade or so, only for him to find that there was nothing to join in with other than a bit of communal shivering. It is to be hoped that he won't succumb to another ten years of self-denial before we see him again.
Not a good day's cricket, which is a particular shame as playing Streat and Westmeston is invariably a pleasure, especially at their home ground which was kindly brought to us, as always, in glorious, though muted, Elgarama.
Better luck next time. Let's hope the weather sorts itself out.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first. Not that it mattered in the end, but this was to be a shortened PROPER game of cricket.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 29; J Simon bld M Lea 20; T Pearce not out 24. DNB J Rowland, E Bunn, I Irvine, R Rydon, T Rydon, R Saunders, E Howes, R Brock. Extras 11 (B6, LB3, W1 NB1). Total 84 for 1 (15 overs).
Fall: 1-58.
Streat and Westmeston Bowling: S Lea 5-0-19-0; M Lea 7-0-37-1; M Porter 3-1-19-0.
...and that was it. Rain stopped play. Match abandoned.



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Staplefield v TWCC April 25th 2021
In anticipation of the new season, here at the Gazette offices we've put a new ribbon in the typewriter and thrown open the shutters, but, sitting here with fingers numb from cold, we are reminded of yesterday's icy gale that swept across the plains of Northern Europe before taking it out on a bunch of cricketers in summer dress on Staplefield Common - it was freezing!
Skipper Brock both lost the toss and agreed to a 40 overs limited overs game, but, with Paul and Jim strapping on the pads and other asstd. items to take the edge off, expectations nonetheless remained high, even, oddly, after Jim ran himself out for 0 - six months' anticipation DOA.
Paul, suitably crickety and active, quickly accrued a few runs, then ducked a dodgy high ball/no ball and was bowled, then he wasn't, and then he was. At 14 for 2 was this TWCC headed down a dreadful path?
Of course not; TWCC bat to No 11! Tony and Jonathan, having been reminded, remembered how to play proper cricket and soon the Staplefield attack was dulled and progress was being made by the batting side; the outfield was hard and fast, and, once a shot missed the fielders, a boundary was guaranteed. Tony (who else?) was first off the line with TWCC's first six of the year, which he followed with another, and by the time Rosham, the pick of Staplefield's bowlers, pitched his left-arm-over deliveries into first Tony's (26) and then Jonathan's (24) stumps, TWCC were already well on their way at 77 for 4.
Edward and Tom F then consolidated the game, continuing on with Jonathan and Tony's excellent work, in a heartening partnership of 64, with both batsmen avoiding risk whilst plundering anything loose. Edward's 10 fours sounded meaty and middled as he waited for the ball to arrive and proper-cricketed his way to 49 (oh dear!) before being bowled by Sadler. Tom F continued on, his appropriate early care giving way to more expansive shot-making as he was briefly joined in the middle by a succession of TWCC batters, ending with Ed who stroked his way to 22 in a magnificent 9th wicket partnership of 55 when the 40 overs were up. Tom's 53 not out (8 fours and a six) is a great way for him and TWCC to start the season, and 213 on the board with such solid performances from Jonathan, Tony, Edward, Tom and Ed was a wonderful total to admire and defend. Staplefield's bowlers had a bit of a lean time of it, with Rosham and Sadler providing most of the teeth.
Tea was cold but over soon enough, and it was time to see how TWCC's total of 213 would match up with the boot on the other foot. It was soon clear that Ed and Tom R were more than up to the task, and their spells ended with the home side reeling on 35 for 5.  Ed took 3 for 15 (2 bowled and an LBW) from his 6 overs, and Tom 2 for 16 (both bowled) including two in a row thus reawakening the hunt for the first hat-trick of the season (...) and the TWCC pace-setters had more or less secured a win from that point on. Matt B re-learned how to bowl after a couple of deliveries, and he hit the stumps on his way to 1 for 23, and Rob S did much the same, minus getting a wicket though he did have a few catches dropped, one particularly memorable for the usual reasons.
And here we come to a difficult subject. The Gazette believes it may have uncovered an attempt by our otherwise honourable Captain, to cover up a hat-trick! Hoping to slip it under the radar, modesty being one of his rare failings, an analysis of the scorebook appears to show that Brocky took his second wicket at the end of his second over, and then, much as he might try to conceal it, took another two with the first two balls of his third. Taking four wickets for just 2 runs and wrapping up the win clearly demands a serious mentioning in dispatches in its own right, but the bowling analysis does show three W's in a row... The home side's scorebook is unable to support further investigation as the scorers didn't finish all the batsmen's entries, and so the Gazette is appealing to witnesses.
The victory was delivered, three-in-three or not, by TWCC's skipper, who, even after his heroic spell, was generous enough to say that, in his opinion, "The openers won it" which made Paul and Jim feel a lot better, though it's possible he was referring to the bowlers.
The Gazette's lengthy campaign to eradicate limited overs games from Sunday cricket regard this as nothing short of a total vindication of our views, for in just the ninth over of Staplefield's innings the home side were 25 for 4 and there remained little point to a game that fizzled out with two hours to go. Were a draw to have been possible there would have been some point in Staplefield batting for a draw (something they appeared to do even though a draw was not an option), but this avenue of interest and enjoyment was denied both sides by the chosen format. As it happened Staplefield were all out and would have lost a proper game, but had normal Sunday rules applied there would have a least been some meaningful excitement up to the point when the last wicket fell. But fall it did, and TWCC are on their way.

Scorecard
Staplefield CC won the toss and chose to bowl first. 40 overs limited cricket (limited being the operative word).
TWCC Innings: P Hunter bld Bully 5; J Simon run out (Riz) 0; T Pearce bld Rosham 26; J Rowland bld Rosham 24; E Bunn bld Sadler 49; T Firth not out 53; T Rydon ct Riz bld Morley 0; R Saunders LBW Sadler 2; M Brock bld Sadler 4; E Howes run out (Sadler) 22. DNB R Brock. Extras 28 (B10, LB2, W9, NB7) Total 213 for 9 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-9, 2-14, 3-66, 4-77, 5-141, 6-143, 7-154, 8-158, 9-213.
Staplefield Bowling: Bully 7-0-28-1; Francis 5-1-19-0; Rosham 8-1-37-2; Pike (6-0-18-0; Morley 8-0-54-1; Sadler 6-0-44-3.
Staplefield Innings: James bld Howes 1; Asbo bld Rydon 14; Jools st Rowland bld R Brock 20; Maz bld T Rydon 0; Rosham bld Howes 6; Riz LBW Howes 4; Pike bd M Brock 9; Neil bld R Brock 33; Bully LBW R Brock 0; Rhys not out 0; Francis LBW R Brock 0. Extras 13 (B7, LB1, W5) Total 100 all out (28.2 overs).
Fall: 1-18, 2-18, 3-18, 4-25, 5-35, 6-63, 7-89, 8-92, 9-97, 10-100.
TWCC Bowliing: E Howes 6-1-15-3; T Rydon 6-1-16-2; M Brock 6-0-23-1; R Saunders 6-0-24-0; R Brock 2.2-0-2-4; J Simon 2-0-12-0.
TWCC win by 113 runs


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2020 Season
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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston July 12th 2020
So... July came in and TWCC hadn't dropped a catch all season! No one had been out! We had lost no games! Truly a season of firsts, including hearing the cry of "Sanitise!" every six overs which, sadly, reminds us all that any ups of 2020 need to be seen in the context of the many, many downs. However, in spite of the truly serious nature of the year's events, here were TWCC unlocking with the best of them, bent on unbending as we staggered into the shattered remnants of normality. Who better than our old friends from Streat and Westmeston, meeting us on the brightest and breeziest of Sundays, with whom to share an emergence into this exploration of new times?
There was a reassuring echo of times past as Skipper Brock lost the toss, and TWCC were asked to field first, indicating, curiously, that the visitors weren't too bothered about taking all TWCC's 10 wickets in pursuit of a victory.
However, those interested in a Streat victory were to be disappointed by the efficacy of TWCC's young bowling guns. Both Colins fell to an impressive Ed running in from the Downs End, and, as TWCC know only too well, a lot of runs had thus been taken out of the equation very early on with Streat 9 for 2. Matt E, steaming in from the Pavil...err...the Bombsite End, was unlucky in his first spell, though he did ultimately shiver the timbers of Streat's last man standing in a second spell later on. Tom R it was, who, replacing Matt, had Streat's No 3 caught at/from deep long on by Paul in a magnificent running-sliding-pouching demonstration of what clean-living can do for a man. Ed then took his third as Archie Bell failed to keep out what looked, from square leg, like an unplayable delivery and, in letters large, the writing was on Streat's wall. Merciless in his approach, Skipper Brock brought on Jim, Edward and Tony, and Tony it was who, with the ball jumping off a length, had Lee Masey caught behind by Jonathan who, as ever, made wicket-keeping look more straight-forward than TWCC's other options usually manage. Tom Firth, replacing Edward, found his range after an over and Jonathan's gloves wrapped themselves round a back-hand from J Heath to take Streat to 87 for 8. P Bradford pulled up short going for a quick single (I hope his rehab is going well), and then what passed for tea was thrust upon us as Matt took his one wicket of the day and Streat were 109 for 9 - effectively all out with Bradford seeing sense and not coming out to bat with his leg in bits.
An unusual tea it was, as the Editor found himself not only distant from his team mates (perhaps not as unusual as all that...) but also from anything approaching a sandwich or a slice of cake. Water; that's the fare to be found in this frugal world of expense-free journalism. Just luke warm water.
Paul and Jim opened TWCC's reply, and, well, there weren't many runs to score so there was a certain abandon as Paul tucked into his usual boundaries and even Jim managed to find the hedge, albeit with a bit less gusto, before he chipped one up to James Porter at mid-on. Mikey, his chopper sadly out of action and who had thus failed to make it down from London in time to field, went in at 3 and soon tucked into the bowling with a quick 25, 17 of which was scored before he allowed a dot to pass his bat; his 1,6,4,1,4 are there in grey and white for us all to enjoy, but fall he did as something happened involving a catch but I can't remember exactly what. Six-hitting Jonathan and Paul carried on the good work, Paul in the end bowled for 24 by the persevering J Heath, and Jonathan out to an excellent hard, low caught-and-bowled by Lee Masey. Edward, Tony and Tom Firth wrapped up the innings, with Tom hitting the winning runs as TWCC cruised to an easy win thanks, principally, to Ed with his early breakthroughs with the ball as he ended his first 6 over spell with figures of 3 for 12. Good stuff Ed!
A win for TWCC, but, more importantly, cricket was played, with both teams rather feeling their way into this new world. The practicalities of playing were soon overcome with a bit of common sense, though where the umpire at the bowling end can safely stand needs some careful thought. Maybe the umpire should stand several paces back, and, if the bowler has a straight run, move into position only after the run up's under way?
So, we're off. Thanks to Streat and Westmeston for sharing a game and for working through the processes with us. It's hard to predict what else 2020 might have in store, but hopefully there'll be more good and less bad.

Scorecard
(First game rustiness in one of the scorebooks to blame for errors. Please report mistakes to The Gazette and the archive will be rectified).
Street and Westmeston won the toss and opted to bat first

Streat Innings: C Mansfield Bld E Howes 4; C Marshall Ct T Firth Bld E Howes 5; I Tomlinson Ct P Hunter Bld T Rydon 12; A Bell Bld E Howes 0; J Hawkins Ct M Edwards Bld T Rydon 7; L Masey Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld T Pearce 11; M Lea run out E Howes 27; J Porter not out 16; P Bradford retired hurt 0; J Heath Ct J Rowland (wk) Bld T Firth 0; S Lea Bld M Edwards 16. Extras 11 (B1, LB2, W 7, NB 1) Total 109 for 9.
Fall 1-4,2-9, 3-18, 4-30, 5-38, 6-52, 7-85, 8-87, 9-109.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-2-3-12; M Edwards 8-2-1-16; T Rydon 4-0-2-14; J Simon 3-2-0-1; E Bunn 5-0-0-20; T Pearce 5-0-1-13; T Firth 4-1-1-5; R Brock 4-1-0-11.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld J Heath 24; J Simon Ct J Porter Bld M Lea 16; M Pearce Ct J Hawkins Bld M Lea 25; J Rowland ct & Bld L Masey 23; E Bunn LBW L Masey 3; T Pearce not out 8; T Firth not out 2. DNB T Rydon, M Edwards, E Howes, Rbrock. Extras 6 (B1, LB2, W 3) Total 110 for 5.
Fall: 1-29, 2-70, 3-72, 4-93, 5-106.
Streat Bowling: S Lea 4-0-0-22; M Lea 7-2-2-24; J Hawkins 1-0-0-16; J Heath 7-0-1-15; L Masey 4.3-0-2-30.
TWCC win by 5 wkts.

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Cutter's Choice v TWCC July 26th 2020
Breezy, bright, with Simpson's clouds scudding over the well-groomed turf of St James' Montefiore; this was the happy prospect as TWCC players assembled for their third Sunday game of 2020. Cutter's Choice, cheerful well-matched opponents for us, won the toss and chose to bat first. Ed opened up with the ball, up hill and into the strong wind, which combination of hurdles may have been the reason for the lack of his usual penetration. Tom, however, not only had his natural excellent capabilities to hand, he also had a downhill run, a skidding slope-of-a-wicket in front of him, and a rear-quartering wind to help his late inswing to a right-handed batter in his favour, and he didn't waste the opportunity to excell; 7 overs, 3 for 18 rather took the sting out of the Cutter's Choice line up with two batsmen bowled and one caught by Matt by the end of his 7 over spell. Brocky took over from Ed and his awkward length soon had the batters in trouble and their No. 4 fell LBW to the Skip.
Cutter's Choice might well have thought that, some overs into the game, their batters might get some sort of a break, but there was to be no respite as they now had to face the likes of Phil and Matt. Phil tied the batters up in knots bowling uphill, and Matt took over the downhill pace from Tom. Ed took a fine catch off Phil, and Matt bowled the No. 6 Vidit, and then in an outbreak of proper cricker had Ian caught behind by Paul with the gloves. Cutter's Choice clearly weren't headed for a big total by this point, and so it was safe to bring on Mikey who dumfounded his critics (are there any?) by turning in a great display of seam-up bowling (2 for 3), and then George cleaned up the last wicket by trapping the No. 11 LBW. Cutter's Choice; 117 all out.
Tea... well, yes. Tea. No excess of calories on show, but at least there was lots of footy talk, thank goodness, and everyone was so busy with boring football that they forgot to spoil Jim's enjoyment of the test match highlights later on. Hooray for football!
Paul and Jim opened the batting for TWCC, and Ian and Nick took the new ball for Cutter's Choice and did what they could with a low total behind them. The bowling was tight and there was some swing about, and there were a few dots, but there was also the occasional loose ball and boundary, and a few of quick singles and twos before Jim played across a full toss and was out LBW. Paul carried on until his wicket-keeping caught up with him and his trademark scampering led to a hamstring injury, a suicidal swing and a miss. Mikey, in at three, took control and began to treat the bowling with some disdain as it became clear that even TWCC couldn't fail to overtake 117 to win. Brocky, promoting himself to No. 4, unselfishly turned up to work an hour early as he provided us all with a fine golden duck to cherish, and it was left to Edward and Mikey to continue the good work. And this they did; the outfield was fast and the ball travelled across it often in their partnership of 69; Edward with the straightest of bats clipping fours at will ending the innings on 21 not out, and Mikey taking the game by the scruff of its neck and just hitting the ball hard all around the ground. It was a big ground, with quite distant boundaries, but the ground was fast, so although there were no sixes, there were lots of fours, and 12 of them came from Mikey's bat. Hitting three final fours in a row off the luckless Sandeet, Mikey ended up on 62 not out and TWCC had won the day.

Scorecard
Toss won by Cutter's Choice, who chose to bat first.
Cutter's Choice Innings: Paul Bld T Rydon 4; Dave Ct M Edwards Bld T Rydon 10; Paddy Bld T Rydon 25; Ram LBW Bld R Brock 10; Nils ct E Howes Bld P Steinke 23; Vidit Bld M Pearce 18; Pat Bld M Edwards 7; Ian Ct P Hunter (Wk) Bld M Edwards 0; May not out 5; Sandeep Bld M Pearce 1; Nick LBW Bld G Howes 2. Extras 12 (B 4, LB 2, W 6) Total 117 all out (32.3 overs).
Fall not recorded.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 4-0-17-0; T Rydon 7-1-18-3; R Brock 5-0-19-1; M Edwards 7-1-25-2; P Steinke 5-0-20-1; G Howes 2.3-0-10-1; M Pearce 2-1-3-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Vidit 16; J Simon LBW Bld Ian 17; M Pearce not out 62; R Brock LBW Bld Vidit 0; E Bunn not out 21. DNB T Firth, M Edwards, G Howes, E Howes, T Rydon, P Steinke. Extras 4 (LB 2, W 2) Total 120 for 3 (21.4 overs)
Fall: 1-25, 2-51, 3-51.
Cutter's Choice Bowling: Ian 6-0-20-1; Nick 6-0-26-0; Vidit 5-0-32-2; Max 2-0-13-0; Ram 2-0-13-0; Sandeet 0.4-0-13-0.
TWCC win by 7 wickets.


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Crescent v TWCC July 19th 2020
Although I've promised brevity before, discerning readers have frequently been disappointed. But this time I mean it.
TWCC bowled first, and Crescent's Aksay and Eastwood got the home side off to a very good start as Matt and Ed failed to take wickets in the rain. Brocky and Tom took over and Brocky removed, first, both Cresent's openers and then their No. 5 in a three wicket haul, and Tom bowled Crescent's No. 6 in his third of his ten strong overs. Importantly the TWCC fielding performance backed up the bowlers' efforts - Matt (2), Mikey and, yes, Brocky, all took catches, and there were two top-order run outs; Ed's Clive Lloyd-alike swooping throw-down of the stumps at the bowler's end took out Cresent's No 3, and Rob, still capitalising on his lame duck display of yesteryear, stopped the threat of Gatford in his tracks. Honse then very competently mopped up the tail taking three wickets in his 5 overs - and, let's be clear - Br***y took a catch!
Cresent all out for 167. Not an inconsiderable total, but TWCC had a very long and capable batting line up. Notwithstanding this Jim it was who accompanied Paul to the middle after "tea", and some sprightly running soon saw the target coming well into range. Surprisingly Jim wasn't run out; it was LBW that got him thanks to his leg-side blind spot. Tony and Paul carried on the good work, and their partnership of 69 put the result in little doubt when Tony (four 4's, three 6's in his 57), in carefree unselfish mode, chipped up a catch having just cleared the boundary for a series of big-stride 6's. Paul continued on, with his mix of power and guile, to 61 before he was caught somewhere and it was left to Mikey, Edward and then Rob (check out this line-up!) to see the game off with little fuss with 6 overs to spare.
Thank you to Crescent for welcoming us in their happy way and for arranging for the rain again. We are well-matched sides, and on this particular occasion it was TWCC who came away with a win.

Scorecard
Captain Brock won the toss and chose to stand out in the rain.
Crescent Batting: Aksay Bld R Brock 35; R Eastwood Ct M Edwards Bld R Brock 37; A Spencer run out Ed Howes 0; G Stringer Ct M Pearce Bld R Brock 6; J Gatford run out R Rydon 2; N Hollands Bld T Rydon 9; M Lawson Bld H Karvay 23; M Newcombe Ct M Edwards Bld H Karvay 14; B Cook not out 5; S Wood Ct R Brock Bld H Karvay 5; R HAll not out 7. Extras 22 (that's a lot!) (B 8, LB 1, W 9, NB 4. Total 167 for 9 (42 overs)
Fall: 1-72, 2-79, 3-80, 4-94, 5-95, 6-114, 7-146, 8-146, 9-155.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-1-24-0; E Howes 5-0-29-0; R Brock 8-0-28-3; T Rydon 10-1-28-1; R Rydon 8-0-30-0; H Karvay 5-1-18-3.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct, Bld B Cook 61; J Simon LBW Bld M Newcombe 15; T Pearce Ct, Bld M Lawson 57; M Pearce not out 13; E Bunn Ct and Bld Aksay 2; R Rydon not out 10. BNB M Edwards, T Rydon, E Howes, H Karvay, R Brock. Extras 10 (B 4, W 6) Total 168 for 4 (30.2 overs).
Fall: 1-40, 2-109, 3-150, 4-155.
Crescent Bowling: R Hall 5-1-14-0; M Newcombe 8-1-36-1; J Gatford 5-1-21-0; B Cook 5-0-39-1; S Wood 1-0-15-0; M Lawson 4.2-1-28-1; Aksay 2-0-11-1.
TWCC win by 6 wickets.

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HD&MWCC v TWCC August 2nd 2020
A pleasant ride over into the Wild East heralded an afternoon's climbing in the foothills of Hadlow Down's cricket pitch. The home side's skipper whispered in the ear of TWCC's Captain Brock tales of less than a full strength side, and a mutual agreement emerged that TWCC should bat first.
Jim and Brocky opened, and faced some sharp in-dipping deliveries from one end and some less threatening slightly wayward bowling from all other quarters. Notwithstanding the absence of, let's face it, genuine opening batters in the traditional sense, Jim and Brocky managed not to get themselves out too early, though Jim did his best as he flailed, head up, on his way to 41 before being caught at mid wicket with the score on 79. Brocky, living less dangerously, kept the ball down and found himself still at the crease some hours later. Tony came in, watched a ball or two, and then began a Pearce onslaught which, on this occasion, came to a sudden end as he was caught out, a simple catch I seem to recall, for a dissapointing 13 after having hit a four and a six in quick succession. The Hadlow Down ground is small, hard, free-running and heavily sloped, and more often than not a push goes for either nothing or a boundary, so all knew that a high score would be required by TWCC whatever the home side's batting was like. Enter Ed, who obliged by taking the TWCC innings by the scruff of its neck as he set about finding the boundary over and over again as he nipped to a quick 65 before Brocky, now concerned about being overtaken by fast-scoring Ed, declared with 221 for 2 on the board. Brocky, 68 not out, carried his bat though you wouldn't have known about it such was his modesty as we sat down to a wonderful tea.
After the sumptuos feast Tom R opened up the taps from one end, and George Howes from the other, with Kevin Cooke (friend of old from Moulsecombe days) immediately finding Tom's pace and nip-back troubling. The wicket itself does have a tilt to it and so most deliveries jump into right handed batsmen at one end and away at the other -  something of a compensation for the ease of hitting boundaries. George H was unsuccessful in terms of wickets, but Tom soon proved too much for the openers and for the match situation as he took two quick wickets, so he made way for Phil and George was replaced by Charlie H, who surprised himself after such a long lay off by clean bowling the home side's No. 4. After that Honse took a wicket courtesy of a one-handed running catch in the deep by Man of the Moment Ed, and all the time HD&MWCC's Josh Fake was piling on the fours on his way to a somewhat lonesome 77.
It wasn't the ground, really, for slow bowling as there was no protection at all, so Edward's bowling contribution was short. Mikey's spell however, seemded rather longer... He warmed up with an over that only went for four runs off the bat and then fully went to town with his second and last over which truly challenged the scorer's ability to cram detail into the book; 15 wides, 5 no balls, and a few boundaries in his 2 overs for 30 runs. It all helped the game move along of course, so much so that Brocky brought Tom back on and gave Ed back his proper job. Both TWCC's star bowlers thus ended up with their usual haul of wickets (4 each) and the game was soon over as Tom and Ed brought proceedings to an end in quick time.
HD&MWCC were not at full strength and it showed, but the application of a Sunday cricket approach to the game made the day enjoyable for both sides with all players having the opportunity to play principal parts.
With his 65 off just 40 balls, 11 fours, a tremendous one-handed running catch and then a bowling spell of 4.4 overs, 4 maidens 4 for 8 Ed must count himself unlucky not to be named Man of the Match. 

Scorecard
A mutual agreement that TWCC would bat first.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct Browning Bld Moore 41; R Brock not out 68; T Pearce (Wk) Ct Smyth Bld Browning 13; E Howes not out 65. DNB M Pearce, H Karvay, E Bunn, T Rydon, G Howes, C Howes, P Steinke. Extras 34 (B 9, W 22, NB 3) Total 221 for 2 declared (35 overs).
Fall: 1-79, 2-107.
HDMWCC: Ryder 8-2-22-0; O Fake 9-0-59-0; Moore 5-0-38-1; Browning 10-0-68-1; Smyth 3-0-26-0.
HDMWCC Innings: K Cooke Bld T Rydon 7; S Lightly Ct T Pearce (Wk) Bld Trydon 10; J Fake Bld E Howes 77; C Sealey Bld C Howes 5; S Ryder Ct E Howes Bld H Karvay 10; F Chalkin C&Bld E Howes 9; O Fake Bld E Howes 4; J Trory Bld E Howes 0; T Moore Bld T Rydon 0; D Browning Bld E Howes 8; P Smyth not out 1. Extras 36 (B 3, LB 5, W 16, NB 12) Total 167 all out (35.4 overs).
Fall: 1-17, 2-17, 3-60, 4-81, 5-140, 6-144, 7-148, 8-148, 9-148, 10 167.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-1-20-4; G Howes 6-1-26-0; P Steinke 4-1-22-0; C Howes 5-0-11-1; H Karvay 5-1-21-1; E Bunn 2-0-21-0; M Pearce 2-0-30-0; E Howes 4.4-4-8-4.
TWCC win by 54 runs.


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Warninglid CC v TWCC August 9th 2020
"All batters under 6'2" must wear helmets" was the WCB decree after the pitch inspection. Well, a number of players are over 6'2" and I'm ready to bet that they, too, were glad they had helmets such was the state of the hard and lumpy wicket.  Protection from the heat, too, was an issue and it is a testament to the elite levels of fitness within both sides that no one actually passed out during the game itself. Whether it was a bout of generosity from the home captain to opt to field first in the extreme heat or just a heat-induced error of judgement, the upshot of Skipper Brock losing the toss was that he asked Paul and Jim to wrap up warm and enter the desert.
Paul's ongoing leg injury didn't kick in for a few overs, so initially the madcap dash was on as he impartially tried to run both himself and Jim out several times, but they survived both Paul's suicidal mindset and the absolutely crazy variable bounce from a hard uneven wicket with the ball finding the boundary a few times here and there and the score rattled along - helped particularly at one point when a quick single sparked off 4 additional buzzers! We love buzzers here at the Gazette - "Buzzers!!". In the end the bounce did for Jim who stood tall and blocked a rising ball in front of his chest, which he was expecting to see fall to the ground at his feet, but it had much more energy than that and became an easy lobbed catch to the bowler following through - a repeated method of dismissal throughout the game. An opening partnership of 42 which, with the difficult conditions, transpired to be the highest of the match, but the end of Jim was soon followed by Paul's wicket as he was, unsurprisingly, run out for a jaunty 30. Jonathan at 3 and Mikey at 4 didn't disappoint, though it was Mikey who took the game properly along with successive partners falling to the wicket's treachery. Jonathan caught behind, Edward caught at slip, Tom Firth bowled, Matt Edwards bowled all for not much as Mikey watched the ball well and spanked it when the opportunity arrived, accruing 8 fours to his name - proper batting in other words. Mikey's wicket, in the end, fell more to drinks than anything else as his concentration dipped after the short break and he popped up a caught and bowled to Mackie; out for 40 of the best. A very good innings in its own right, but especially so in the tricky circumstances.
But TWCC weren't done! Oh no! They still had last week's top scorers lurking at 10 and 11 of all places, with, would you believe, Tom at eight and then Rob, yes - ROB at 9! And this tail end strength paid dividends altogether adding a further 90 runs, with a Rob straight 6, lots of 4's all round and as Warninglid's bowling faded somewhat the visitors powered to 199 all out. There was no real need to be all out, especially on such a threshold, but Skipper Brock wanted his tea and called for a run that Ed could only half complete before being run out.
The Lifestyle section of the Gazette has somewhat slim pickings these days, so we'll fail to discuss the sumptuosness of asstd. garage sandwich packs and sweaty buns, and move on with the game.
Warninglid's innings was begun impressivley by a pair of batters who knew their way around the game; youthful and keen of eye they made the most of any loose deliveries and quite a lot of some good ones too. Ed and Matt opened the bowling for TWCC and the score wasn't slow in getting going; if the ball missed a fielder it was 4, no question, as the hard ground took no pace off a rolling ball even if travelling uphill. In the end a good length ball from Matt jumped a little and a thick leading-edge lobbed up in Jim's general direction at square leg, and the impressive R Swinscoe's innings was over for 32. TWCC were in, and a further brick in the Warninglid wall was removed by a run out from backward point and from that moment Warninglid didn't really get going again, as Matt, Rob and Tom Rydon and Ed cleared up the game in competent style.
TWCC's pace attack; the out-and-out run-in-hard-and-bowl-quick trio of Matt, Ed and Tom, together with the astonishing out-and-out amble-in-off-two paces-and-bowl-quick from Rob, is a formidable force and one which it is hard for any opposing team to overcome, and this game was no exception as a glance at the bowling analysis will illustrate. We do have notable batters, of course, so it's not just the bowling that shines, and as TWCC field as well as any this TWCC side with its mix of youth and experience, a culture of commitment, led by a captain who knows his onions, is, in short, a formidable unit. With the new pavilion taking shape back in Twineham, and the side building its momentum and energy, this is a particularly positive and rewarding period to be part of TWCC.

Scorecard
Warninlid won the toss and decided to bowl first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter run out (unsurprisingly) Cocker 30; J Simon C&Bld Acton 17; J Rowland Ct Nastys (Wk) Bld Acton 7; M Pearce C&Bld Mackie 40; E Bunn Ct Church Bld Acton 0; T Firth Bld Mackie 7; M Edwards Bld Mackie 4; T Rydon Ct Acton Bld Swinscoe 14;  Rydon Ct Nastys Bld Mackie 21; E Howes run out (Brock) 24; R Brock not out 24. Extras 11 (B 1, LB 3, W 6, NB 1) Total 199 all out (38.4 overs).
Warninglid CC Bowling: J Acton 8-1-34-3; Church 4-0-18-0; Lake 8-1-46-0; Mackie 8-2-32-4; J Swinscoe 7-0-51-1; Clarke 3.4-0-0-14.
Fall: 1-42; 2-54; 3-58; 4-62; 5-84; 6-109; 7-125; 8-125; 9-160; 10-199.
Warninglid Innings: R Swinscoe Ct M Edwards Bld R Rydon 32; H Cocker Ct J Simon Bld M Edwards 14; M Nastys run out Simon 14; W Bridges Bld M Edwards 0; J Reilly Ct T Firth Bld T Rydon 4; C Mackie Bld R Rydon 0; J Acton Bld E Howes 17; M Church Bld R Rydon 6; R Clarke not out 1; M Blake Ct T Firth Bld E Howes 0; J Swinscoe Bld E Howes 0. Extras 5 (B 2, W 3) Total 93 all out (27.4 overs).
Fall: Unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 5.4-2-22-3; M Edwards 6-2-20-2; R Brock 2-0-25-0; R Rydon 8-4-4-3; T Rydon 6-0-2-1.
TWCC win by 106 runs.

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Balcombe CC v TWCC August 16th 2020
We like Balcombe. Not only are Tony and his team very companiable, they also welcome us into their small shanty principality surrounded by rolling farmland and beer. One could live up there.
Tony, Balcombe's skipper, won the toss and chose to bat first, little knowing that we, as is often the case, have more potent opening bowlers than there are ends from which to bowl them. In Balcombe's favour was the weather forecast which, if it had been observed, would have meant that the only batsmen to have a go would have been their own and so, rather as in the recent test match, nothing of any consequence was likely to occur whoever did what first.
Now, if we report that TWCC were blessed with all three pacenators, regular readers don't really need to read on beyond this point, they'll know the score, or at least be able to make a good guess at it; Matt, Ed and Tom... what chance does an opposition have to avoid being behind the game after just a few TWCC overs?
Tom it was who had to cope with the paucity of ends, and in waiting his turn he gave up the opportunity to bowl with a dry ball and clean boots, for, by the time 11.5 overs had been bowled the rain got a grip and forced a bit of distant socialising under the rain-rattled Balcombe eaves. By that time (and of seemingly incidental interest compared to that shown in the rainfall betting that was engaging some), Matt, bowling with great rhythm and apparently easy pace, had forced a good catch from Brocky (I know!), and Ed, relying on surer accomplices, had clean bowled Balcombe's No. 2 and had their No. 3 caught behind by Jonathan in another outbreak of proper cricket.
Oh, alright... Brocky's catch... OK, it was pretty good. He had to turn and run looking over his shoulder as the ball threatened to fall to ground beyond his station at mid off, but, rather than provide an outlet for the usual banter, congratulations were in order and duly given.
So... the much heralded rain. Some weakened towards their sandwiches, some talked of an early bath, but after just 45 mins there we were again, trying to keep our feet down and the ball up. It was too slippery to run in hard, so Alex and Edward took on the bowling load and good fun it was too. Cat and mouse cricket during which the Balcombe cat found some tasty titbits here and there but all the time the TWCC mice were nibbling away at the batters foundations. Alex ended up wicket-free, but Edward, in an impressive 8 over spell, took 2 for 29 which warmed the cockles. His first wicket was all his own as he snuck a ball under/around the bat of Balcombe's No. 5, and his equally welcome second turned up thanks to Alex's surehanded catching running along just inside the hedge on the deep mid-wicket boundary. During this period mention must be made of Tom and Alex's fielding prowess. We're used to seeing Tom's excess of limbs do extraordinary things at several Hz, and he was equalled by Alex in his commitment to the cause facing hard-hit balls bounding towards them both down the hillside. I'm sure others performed fielding feats of equal excellence, but Tom and Alex's efforts stand out, as did Alex's knee following a ripping of the trouser on the knobbles. I suspect others will feel hard done by not being mentioned in fielding despatches, and, certainly, TWCC's general fielding prowess is as good as any we meet around the circuit, so let's just say other people fielded well too and move on.
Once the sun came out, as it did for the rest of the afternoon, and the run-ups dried out, Tom came on for a breif flurry, but the ball was clearly, by now, not really playing the game and Tom's length was somewhat of the same mind. However, pacey and intimidating he was and at some point he dived (again!), sliding across the slurry for a great caught and bowled as Balcombe's young No. 8 fended off a climbing delivery. Alex then held on to another catch off Tom's bowling somewhere else I can't remember where... point? In the covers? Somewhere over there I think. Rob Saunders took over from Edward and he, too, though full of heart as always, found the soggy ball difficult to control and was unable to take a wicket on the day.
One of the features of TWCC's time in the field on this occasion was the absence of any dropped catches, and it may surprise keen followers of TWCC to learn that this feature of the fielding performance continued to the end, including when a top edge off Brocky's bowling was heading safely high over the slips only for Tony to stick up a hand and snatch it out of the crickosphere. In his defense I don't think Tony knew much about it, but there it was, in his hand and we all went over and took a look at it just to make sure. Oh yes, and Brocky, bowling his usual teasing length, added another clean bowled to his burgeoning tally. And other people did things to. Lots of people did stuff - now there's a carbon-footprint-friendly Wisden in the making!
40 overs up, quick "tea" and Jim and Jonathan were out there, though not so's you'd notice. Jonathan, at least, had the satisfaction of quickly dispatching two fours and a six to and over the fence respectively, while Jim had no satisfaction at all that he can recall, apart from enjoying the view for the rest of the afternoon after he'd prodded forward offering a low chance to first slip. Jonathan, sadly, edged a ball (I think...) and was caught behind or in the slips, but with his explosive 15 off just 7 balls TWCC were off to fine start thanks to his keen eye and fancy footwork. A start which got even better when Jim was out, replaced by Tom who joined a purposeful Tony - back at his rightful place of No. 3 - though sadly Tom didn't last long.
TWCC 15 for 3... Ooo-err. Connoisseurs of the TWCC game might have been begining to think about the looming spectre of ... a...no... not a colla... shhh... don't say it... But Matt took care of affairs, settling the nerves, before he was caught doing something or other, which brought Alex in to share a long partnership with Tony who was calmly getting on with playing some cricket. What a treat for the spectators; both Tony and Alex aggressive, both intent on not getting out - patience mixed with exploitation of opportunity; more proper cricket. If a single was the only offer, a single it was, if a block was required, blocked it was, if a ball deserved it, a boundary it was, and the boundaries became more and more frequent as the target was hauled in with time to spare. Alex roared past his 50 with 6's clattering into the neighbouring estate, and Tony was approaching his own milestone when the end of the game got in the way.
Beer and probably some other wishy-washy pointless drinks were consumed, and we sat enjoying the day's last rays of still-warm sunshine, watching the shadows lengthen and feeling the end of tour vibe that has become associated with our visits to Balcombe. Tony (Rawbin) is the most caring of host skippers; he genuinely wants everyone to enjoy themselves irrespective of which team they play for, and that sense of being in the right place pervaded the day.

Scorecard
Balcombe won the toss and decided to bat first.
Balcombe Innings: M Ripley Ct R Saunders Bld E Bunn 31; L Waters Bld Howes 0; G Bolting Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld E Howes 1; J Longride Ct R Brock Bld M Edwards 1; N Draude Bld E Bunn 6; G Elliott Ct A Rydon Bld T Rydon 19; D Ward Bld R Brock 48; T Waters Ct & Bld T Rydon 1; A Lorushaar Ct T Pearce Bld R Brock 6; L Bohm not out 13; T Rawbin not out 17. Extras 16 (B 6, W 7, NB 3) Total 165 for 9.
Fall (incomplete): 1-4, 2-14, 3-15, 4-35, 5-66...
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-2-7-1; E Howes 6-3-5-2; A Rydon 8-0-46-0; E Bunn 8-0-29-2; T Rydon 3-0-10-2; R Saunders 3-0-14-0; R Brock 3-0-18-2; G Cuthbert 3-0-24-0.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct N Draude Bld T Waters 3; J Rowland Ct D Ward Bld T Rawbin 15; T Pearce not out 43; T Rydon LBW G Elliott 5; M Edwards Ct G Botting Bld L Waters 14; E Bunn Bld D Ward 15; A Rydon not out 64. DNB R Saunders, E Howes, G Cuthbert, R Brock. Extras 10 (B 2,W 7) Total 169 for 5.
Fall: 1-21, 2-25, 3-31, 4-54, 5-83.
Balcombe Bowling: T Waters 7-0-46-1; T Rawbin 2-0-20-1; G Elliott 5-0-24-1; L Waters 8-1-32-1; D Ward 6-2-15-1; M Ripley 2-0-15-0; Gordon 1-0-16-0.
TWCC win by 5 wickets

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TWCC v Parham CC August  23rd 2020
Parham's first visit to us at home, and very welcome they were too - so much so that we provided them with a dressing room as big as all outdoors! If they want to come over next season at least we'll be able to offer them some shelter from the rain which would be nice. Skipper Edwards lost the toss, or, more positively, Parham won the toss, and they decided to bat first in a non-traditional limited over format game of 35 overs per side. No comment, regular readers will notice. No comment at all...
Mark Williams and Andy Wales of Parham, who we know from old, opened for the visitors, and Matt and Ed opened the bowling for TWCC, and all went well, really, for both sides as not too many runs were being scored but neither were there any wickets. After 5 overs Matt made way for Tom (Rydon), and here the game changed as Tom launched himself at the batters, going for the odd single here and there until in his fourth over he clipped the bails behind the hard-hitting Mark Williams, then following this up next ball by doing the same to Parham's No.3. On a hatrick! (Didn't happen.)
Ed finished his first increasingly economical spell, and Rob moved in - inexplicably going for 4 off his fist ball. Rob? Our Rob? He soon found his length, though the line was never in question, and fewer and fewer runs were scored as the two Rydons progressively took control of the scoring. Tom, by now, was in his sixth over of a possible eight, when he bowled the durable Andy Wales, and then immdediately clean bowled Parham's No. 5 to set up another hatrick! (Didn't happen). Tom wasn't done as he took his third wicket in the same over; a triple wicket maiden!!! How often does that happen?
Parham's well-paced start was behind them now, thanks to Tom's wonderful efforts as he removed the core of their batting strength, and the visitors achieving a fancy total looked unlikely, especially after Tom took a sixth wicket! Edward and George took over the bowling and although there were some leakages, just a few singles came from Edward's three overs at a time when Parham were hitting out which is to be commended, and George held his own filling in before the TWCC pace attack was recalled to do the tidying up. And this they did, with Ed and Tom working hard, though it was Matt who iced his and TWCC's cake by removing Smith thanks to a running catch from Rob at long on, and then immediately, the very next ball, having Lacil LBW setting up a third hatrick opportunity! (Didn't happen.) But Matt wasn't done, and in his next and last over he took a further two wickets as Parham finally succumbed, though, with only one ball remaining in their allotted 35 overs, one could say it was a perfectly paced demise. 141 all out, and Tom's 6 destructive wickets and Matt's 4 in quick time at the end had limited the target somewhat, but with four an over required, over in, over out, it was still a run chase that deserved some attention.
Notwithstanding the need for a good start Jim was sent in to open up the batting for TWCC, though this was somewhat mitigated by his sharing the honour with Tom F. Parham's bowling attack was well disciplined and tight, and just a few scampered runs came from the first few overs, when Jim and then Tom were out early on. Tony Pearce - the man for just this situation in that he wasn't afraid to block the ball if that was the right shot, but all the time knowing TWCC's best bet was for him to still be there when later opportunities arrived. I've never seen so many dots in Tony's column; 41 balls for 11 runs before the bowling pressure eased and he could get on with it. Before progress could be made, however, we have to report that after No. 4 Rob played himself in over 11 balls, scoring just one run, he forgot to do the next bit and was out caught behind. Clearly an opportunity missed, but here at the Gazette we do take some comfort in the knowledge that in this game Jim only scored one less run than Rob! That, too, doesn't often happen. Edward took over from Rob, but as the bowling was still tight and secure TWCC were falling behind rather, and after 23 overs the score was just 52 for 3. However, with Tony and Edward out there, taking the odd single along with an occasional boundary, the game was alive even if, with 12 overs to go, TWCC now needed 7.5 runs an over.
Time to move the game on, and Tony, taking stock of the situation, took a strong stance outside leg and swung at the pacy bowling of Mark Williams and hit him for three fours, bang, bang, bang. A game-changing moment, and Williams was off. Tony and Edward opened up as new bowlers were found, and Tony climbed into another half-century, hitting 16 off his last six balls before being caught behind for 66, generously leaving the coup de grâce to others. What a well timed effort in this tight game from Tony; just as significant a performance with the bat as Tom and Matt had delivered with the ball.
And then came Alex. A commanding 15 off his first 7 balls set the game up nicely for a close finish, and as Edward swung and finally missed a straight one, in came Skpper Edwards to partner Alex in some fine free-scoring positive cricket which brought the required run rate down to one a ball with two overs to go. Finally, after further inroads by these two chargers, Alex pushed a two off the first ball off the 35th, and last, over to see TWCC home.
As it happend, this limited overs game was exciting, and a do-or-die target did mean the game didn't ever drift, but here at the Gazette we like to think that just such an exciting game might have occurred were it to have been a traditional Sunday match with all the opportunities such a format allows for ebbs and flows of initiative - and there's the reason people call me old fashioned. That and the fact that I am old fashioned. Or...old... fashion never really came into it.
Thanks to Parham for making the trip over and for making the most of our wonderful facilities. This game was about Tom's 6-fer, Matt's 4-fer and Tony's 66, performances backed up by Edward, Alex and Matt with the bat, and let's not forget that opening partnership which in the end was as important, with Rob's further wonderful single, as any 8 runs scored elsewhere!

Scorecard
Parham won the toss and decided to bat first. 35 over limited over match, no draw! (.....). Weirdly, 8 overs per bowler.
Parham Innings: M Williams Bld T Rydon 36; A Wales Bld T Rydon 32; E Simpkins Bld T Rydon 0; H Smith Ct R Rydon Bld M Edwards 27; J Balchin Bld T Rydon 0; D Balchin Ct A Rydon (wk) Bld T Rydon 0; H Karim Ct J Simon Bld T Rydon 0; P Lack LBW M Edwards 16; P Fraser CT E Howes Bld M Edwards 6; S Huffer Bld M Edwards 9; S Forest not out 1. Extras 18 (B 6, LB 2, W 6) Total 141 all out (34.5 overs).
Fall: 1-61; 2-61; 3-72; 4-72; 5-72; 6-76; 7-125; 8-125; 9-140; 10-141.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6.5-2-26-4; E Howes 8-1-30-0; T Rydon 8-1-22-6; R Rydon 6-1-20-0; E Bunn 3-0-10-0; G Howes 3-0-21-0.
TWCC Innings: J Simon LBW S Huffer 0; T Firth Ct S Huffer Bld P Fraser 6; T Pearce Ct (slip) Bld H Smith 66; R Rydon Ct Barr (wk) Bld P Fraser 1; E Bunn Bld S Huffer 27; A Rydon not out 23; M Edwards not out 11. DNB T Rydon, E Howes, G Howes. Extras 7 (LB5, W 2) Total 142 for 5 (34.1 overs).
Fall: 1-7; 2-9; 3-19; 4-96; 5-117.
Parham CC Bowling: S Huffer 8-1-22-2; P Fraser 8-1-26-2; M Williams 7.1-2-24-0; H Karim 5-1-20-0; P Lack 4-0-22-0; H Smith 2-0-22-1.
TWCC win by 5 wickets, or 1 run, or 5 balls.

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Ditchling CC v TWCC August 30th 2020
Ditchling, having had the opportunity to stop there rather than merely to pass through on the way to Harvey's brewery, seems like a nice place, peopled, what's more, with nice people who play cricket. A new fixture (thanks Ed), and one that, given Ditchling CC's obvious stature, might well have proved to be a stretch for TWCC to give a good account of themselves if they had, as they sometimes do, their usual holiday-time resources to draw upon. However one thing this summer is not, is usual, and TWCC were able to field an excellent side, much as they have been able to do for most of this year compromised as it is in so many ways elsewhere.
Ditchling won the toss and asked TWCC to bat first on a worn and somewhat stodgy wicket. The established opening pair of Paul and Jim faced up to Heine and  Kelly, Paul with his usual success and so, too, Jim with his. 25 for 1 when Tony came in at 3 and mysteriously he, just like Paul, seemed to have little trouble with the bowling as he tonked an overpitched delivery from Heine to the long-on boundary for four. However the stoppy surface did for Tony before he really got going as he went through with a drive and chipped one to mid off - out for 6. But never fear; Staplefield's here! Paul and Jonathan set to and batted, though in the interests of accuracy we have to report that Paul was dropped rather more than once. However, the scorebook doesn't show that sort of thing, and, instead, it has recorded a partnership of 50 that formed the backbone of TWCC's innings. The majority of the scoring, at that stage, was done by Paul whose energy at the crease somewhat strained his sinews, and he began to hit out in order to save ankle-work; pulling and, memorably, straight-driving the ball to the boundary and ending on 65 before being caught somewhere. Another fine innings and one that set TWCC on the path to a passable total in the face of both excellent pace and especially turny spin bowling.
Jonathan continued through the rest of the innings, never once, I believe, giving a chance. This certainly doesn't mean he didn't put much bat to the ball; he certainly did, with six 4's (I can't make the low-pixel-count picture of the scorebook completely reveal the data here...) and lots of characteristically busy runs. There were dots, but there had to be as the important matter in hand was to stay there and build a total. He was, in turn, joined by Edward (two 4's), Brocky (not so much), Rob (R) (a four and some bits) and then Matt who piled in with a six and two fours in quick time before being bowled by Robinson for 14. Tom, generally the man for some strong arm batting (though he can probably equally well accumulate given the chance) only had time for a two as he pressed on selflessly, and Ed showed his class at the end by being unable to terminally hoik. Jonathan, serene on his 48, stayed aloof from all this swinging, contenting himself with the odd smooth boundary, taking care to rotate the strike as the innings drew to a close at the end of the allotted 40 overs. A total of 184 for 8, which, in the face of some excellent bowling, particularly the pace early on from Heine and latterly from Porter, and then the middle overs of prodigious spin from Westgate and Middleton, was a total sufficient to give cheer to both sides; for Ditchling this was probably a total they are used to overhauling in their sleep, but TWCC know the strength of the bowling they command and, knowing that they generally field above their weight, the visitors approached the Ditchling reply with equal relish.
D Porter - he of the fast slingy bowling - opened for Ditchling and he was clearly a cricketer, but he had to survive the opening salvoes from Matt and Ed and then Tom before he could prove it. But survive he did, and prove it he did, though his colleagues at 2, 3 and 4 failed to join him for long as Matt's first over was a wicket maiden when he bowled Westgate for 0, and Ed knocked over the stumps of Ditchling's 3 and 4 in quick succession. The host side were 16 for 3 in the 10th over, which set TWCC up in a strong position indeed, and Matt and Ed finished their opening 6 over spells with Matt's figures showing 6-3-1-8 and Ed 6-1-2-13. Excellent stuff, and we still had Tom and plenty of other albeit more gentle bowling to come. However... TWCC were up against some good cricketers, and so it should be, and Porter and Ditchling's No. 5 Heine set about showing what they could do. They began to get on top of the bowling, and though there was little wrong with most of the balls served up, Tom and Rob weren't spared, and neither were, in turn, Rob (S) and then Brocky. Rob, as in the Saunders variety, finally did get through to the top of Porter's leg stump, but by then, after a great partnership of 138, Ditchling had caught right up with the game, and the hard-hitting Heine was still at the crease. With 17 required and four overs to go, Matt came back for his two overs, (taking two wickets with his last two balls) and then Ed for his remaining allocation, but with only 12 required off the last 2 overs the game was Ditchling's to lose. TWCC's hopes were briefly raised by this flurry of wickets towards the end, including one involving Tony starting off at deep mid on, chasing a high ball off a thick edge for a catch to his left. With his eyes on where the ball would land he was travelling faster than his legs could actually go, so his angle of lean increased as his outstretched hands neared the impact zone, when finally, as his tilt finally did become horizontal he subsided in a pile of limbs, one of which, when the knots were undone, finally emerged holding the ball! What a catch! Heroics aside (and it was a remarkable feat of mind over matter), Heine and Ackland calmly saw the home side...home. TWCC did take the game into the last over, and will feel that, somewhere, the scoring could have been restricted just enough to hold Ditchling to a draw, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and for much of the Ditchling innings both batsmen were equally potent, so giving a single and defending one end wasn't an option until very late in the day.
TWCC send their thanks to Ditchling for their good spirit and general hospitality, and, perhaps we shall return, though we do need a top side again to be worthy opponents.
Whilst there is no doubt at all that Ditchling won, we have to report another outbreak of Scorebookgate; the TWCC innings doesn't quite add up with the extras and individual totals... No comforting ambiguity implied or desired - indeed the accounting errors may be in TWCC's favour for all I know.

Scorecard
Ditchling won the toss and decided to bowl first. 40 over proper match - 8 overs per bowler.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct W Heine Bld A Westlake 65; J simon Bld W Heine 0; T Pearce Ct Cook Bld T Kelly 6; J Rowland not out 48; E Bunn Ct T Robinson Bld A Westgate 9; R Brock Bld D Porter 2; R Rydon Bld D Porter 7; M Edwards Bld Robinson 14; T Rydon Ct Middleton Bld Robinson 2; E Howes not out 3. DNB R Saunders. Extras 23 (B 12, LB 2, W 1, NB 3, Penalty 5) Total 184 for 8 (40 overs).
Fall: 1-25; 2-57; 3-107; 4-123; 5-139; 6-147; 7-166; 8-174.
Ditchling Bowling: W Heine 5-1-1-26; T Kelly 6-0-1-23; A Westgate 8-1-2-36; Middleton  8-1-0-27; S Ackland 3-0-0-20; D Porter 5-3-2-5; Robinson 3-0-2-17; P Cook 1-0-0-6.
Ditchling Innings: D Porter Bld R Saunders 78; A Westgate Bld M Edwards 0; T Robinson Bld E Howes 9; C Robinson Ct & Bld Howes 0; W Heine not out 77; C Nolan Caught P Hunter Bld M Edwards 3; J Nolan Ct. T Pearce Bld M Edwards 0; S Ackland not out 11. DNB H Middleton, T Kelly, P Cook. Extras 6 (LB 1, W 5) Total 185 or so for 6.
Fall: 1-0; 2-16; 3-16; 4-154; beyond this not recorded...
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-3-3-19; E Howes 8-1-2-20; T Rydon 8-0-0-44; R Rydon 5-2-0-22; R Saunders 8-0-1-49; R Brock 2-0-0-24.
Ditchling win by 4 wickets.

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TWCC v Staplefield September 6th 2020
A bright early autumn/late summer day saw Skipper Brock winning the toss for TWCC and he chose to field first. Pre-match-day negotiations with our opponents had borne fruit and Staplefield were kind enough to loan an eight-strong TWCC two excellent players in the persons of Rameez and Faisal, and there was, indeed, a festive international atmosphere to the whole day's play as Tamil banter resounded around the ground for many of the Staplefield side, as well as TWCC's very own Rameez and Faisal, were of Sri-Lankan origin. 10 a side.
This was the first occasion this season when so many of TWCC's usual key players opted for being somewhere else, including, amongst others, all three of their usual high octane opening bowlers. However, here at the Gazette we're unashamed Jim fans and don't mind admitting it, so the sight of him measuring out his 13-and-a-bit pace run up, unchanged for the past 50 years, warmed our hearts as once again we revelled in his new ball trademark economical line and length, occasional deviation and lack of wickets. Brocky, from the Steve Rogers end, completed the home side's somewhat sepia-toned opening attack and Staplefield found themselves being asked questions to which they had long forgotten the answers, and this experienced pair of bowlers rather kept the lid on the scoring, helped, it has to be said, by Staplefield's Idrees, batting at 2, never fully getting into his stride. Faizal, on the other hand, was very much up for scoring some chanceless runs, which he continued to do for most of the Staplefield innings. TWCC's own counter-Faizal it was, replacing Brocky, who took Idrees' wicket courtesty of a catch by Phil, which he followed up by provoking Fammy to lob a gentle catch to Brocky at mid-off. This brought Riz to the crease at No. 4 for Staplefield, and he and Staplefield's Faisal set about making a partnership of some substance. Jim, happy to have had the chance to roll back the years, was replaced by Honse whose first game this was for some weeks and who, whilst not immediately dipping into his box of magic tricks, did take a couple of wickets as the batters thought they'd better get on with it a bit. Indeed, with two wickets falling on consecutive balls, by first clean-bowling the forceful Riz and then having Rizvi caught behind by Jonathan, Honse found himself on yet another potential TWCC hat-trick (didn't happen).
With his shoulder begining to play up, TWCC's Faisal was replaced by Phil (whose shoulder seems to have repaired itself) who soon found himself, once again, in charge of proceedings as he first tied down and then removed Neil and, an over or two later, the long-standing Faisal for 56 thanks to a catch by Honse. Two more wickets for the evergreen Phil to add to his impressive stats. When Honse was through his influential spell of two for... er...well, no need to go into details... it was time for Rameez, who measured out a decent length run up, sorted out his ரேடார், and began to ping down some penetrating and ultimately wicket-taking deliveries. Modesty seems to be part of the Sri Lankan character as he said he "bowled a bit" but he did rather more than that and took a couple of wickets and kept an end lean through to tea. Graham and Brocky sorted matters out at the other end and the Staplefield innings closed at 170 for 8 off, it turned out, 33 overs. Staplefield's No 1, Faisal, had been intermittently supported throughout, and Staplefield had a good total in the bank, especially given the slow outfield, though without TWCC's bowlers taking wickets at crucial moments it could well have been more.
Tea, and once again, Tony showed that he would definitely be someone with whom to go on a picnic, with his Fortnum and Mason hamper brimful of caviar en croûte, truffle compôte and jugged narwhal, but Jim with his Argos flask of luke warm tea - hmmm... not so much.
Jim and Jonathan went in to bat for TWCC, and the bowling was intense from both ends, with Bull firing from the Steve Roger's End and Rasweet bowling medium paced left arm spin from the Concrete Slab End. As is usually the case Jim struggled to get going, though he did send a couple of strong drives off over-pitched balls to the long-on boundary, but shortly after that he succumbed to a fast off-stump yorker from Bull. Jonathan weathered the storm and, although struggling somewhat with an upper leg strain, set to with Tony in at 3 to respect the bowling and to not try and force anything from good balls of which there were plenty. And so it went on; a great partnership of 67 which settled everyone down, although as the available remaining overs dwindled the required run rate rose above 6/over with the bowling continuing to give nothing away.
Jonathan and Tony persisted, however, certainly scoring boundaries but also exploiting gaps in the field for ones and twos as the grass was long and the ball stopped in unusual places. These two took the scoring along, weathering the fast-paced left arm bowling of Ahmed, until Tony was out, one of his best 30's even though he often scores more runs, played-on from Riz as he tried to knock a rising spinning ball down through the gully area (I may have got this wrong, but I was the umpire so I wasn't watching properly).
This brought Mikey in; the perfect man for adding some momentum without requiring of Jonathan that he took risks. Mikey is a good batsman, no question, and his watchful cover drive for two was, for us here in the Gazette, the shot of the match, lifted as it was straight from page 1 of the MCC coaching manual. Mikey and Jonathan upped the rate nicely, though there were still plenty of runs required as the last few overs arrived, and Mikey was caught somewhere for 26 of the most valuable of runs given the evolving context of the game.
In spite of Faisal and Rameez saying that they "batted a bit" Brocky came in at 5, and, well, did a great job. One TWCC player thought Brocky's drive through the covers off a low full toss for four was the shot of the day, though a wide poll wasn't undertaken for fear of giving offence. Whatever the relative merits of any particular stroke(s), Brocky and Jonathan, who was still riding the pain of his strain, began to crack the ball about, with some strong shots - and in particular a number of hard square cuts for four from Jonathan's bat as he opened up, timing his acceleration to perfection. The two batters powered on up the scoreboard, until, with one over to go and one required to win, the Staplefielders came in, a single was duly knocked through a gap, and TWCC had another victory in their pocket.
Another great day's play, and a particularly good win against a capable Staplefield side. Jonathan's innings-long ...er... innings... was the backbone of the home side's run chase, all the more gratifying as, during the 2019 season he had many good starts and then got out, but here in 2020, a season during which he's playing more often, he's the batsman we all knew he was and his 78 not out secured him the MOTM award, though most who batted also played their part in chasing down a good total in this shorter than average timed game. TWCC also send their thanks to Staplefield not only for the fixture and for sharing a great Sunday's play, but also for sharing out their team. Faisal and Rameez seemed to have enjoyed their time on loan, and, well, everything's lovely.
Last of the home crowd to leave, the Gazette staff bid farewell to the Sri-Lankans, two of whom had a win under their belts, leaving them to enjoy the residual warmth of the day munching on some fruit, sitting out in the gloaming as the light made its last pass over the Downs. More prosaically TWCC went to the pub and didn't do anything like that.

Eagle-eyed, numerate and pedantic readers ought to avoid checking the scorecard below and get a life. Faisal, if you read this, I'm pretty sure you took a catch, but I don't know which or who... Sorry.

Scorecard
Toss won by TWCC who chose to bowl first. Proper cricket format. 10 players per side.
Staplefield Innings: Faizal not out 56; Idrees Ct Rameez Bld Faizal 2; Fammy Ct R Brock Bld Faizal 15; Riz Bld Karvay 36; Rizvi Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld H Karvay 0; Neil Ct H Karvay Bld Steinke 0; Jules Bld Rameez 29; Joe Bld P Steinke 14; Bully Bld Rameez 6; Rhys not out 0. Extras 15 (B-8, LB-2, W-4, NB-1) Total 170 for 7 (2 hours 15 mins/33 overs).
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 7-1-18-0; R Brock 6-1-16-0; Faizal 4-0-22-2; H Karvay 7-0-43-2; P Steinke 7-0-29-2; Rameez 4-0-14-2; G Cuthbert 1-0-13-0.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Bld Bull 11; J Rowland not out 78;; T Pearce Bld Riz 30; M Pearce Ct, Bld Rasweet 26; R Brock not out 12. DNB Rameez, Faisal, G Cuthbert, H Karvay, P Steinke. Extras 11 (B 1, LB 3, W 6, NB 1) Total 171 for 3.
Fall: 1-22; 2-89; 3 unrecorded but around...150???
Staplefield Bowling: Bull 10-3-39-1; Rasweet 11-0-45-1; Riz 8-0-40-1; Ahmed 6-0-28-0; Idris 1-0-13-0; Reece 0.1-0-1-0.
TWCC win by 6 wkts.


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Bolney CC v TWCC September 13th 2020
This can, and will, be a short write up. Regular readers will have seen this brave promise unfulfilled in the past, but in this instance all that's required is about 100 words about how great Brocky is and then we can all get on with our lives.
In brief, then, Bolney's skipper and Brocky decided it would be best if TWCC batted first, so Jim and Tom (Firth) buckled on their codpieces and set about their task. Bolney's bowlers struggled somewhat, and Jim and Tom found little difficulty in keeping out the good balls and scoring off the rest. The outfield was fast; short on the pavilion side and all downhill on the other, so, by the time they regained conciousness at drinks their opening partnership was intact and doing fine. Tom finally succumbed to the slow temptation from Steve Bowles, hitting a catch up into point, out for 59 (a maiden 50) with the total on 110. Well done Tom, plenty of running and good calling which really helps a total to build. Honse, up the order at 3, took the score along, with Jim, to 145 before he swished across a slow ball from Steve Bowles, to be out LBW for 13, which included two 4's. Steve, bravely bowling with the short boundary to leg for the right handers, was geting his usual wickets.
It was clear, given Jim's survival, that the bowling wasn't too challenging, and who better than Tony to up the tempo and take TWCC on to a monster score? He carefully watched his first ball onto the middle of his bat, shortly after which it was in the long grass at long on, and he watched his second into the left hand of the fielder at gully. Two balls faced - clearly a bit too hot for Tony out in the middle and his chair in the shade was calling. Edward, in at 5, demonstrated that we all have our strengths; Jim's is leaving the ball alone just outside his off stump, whereas Edward's is to hit the same ball for four. Which he did 7 times in quick succession before the first significant and most important Captain-y decision of the day was made by Skipper Brock, who declared half an hour early! On such an easy-scoring ground? Inspired or foolhardy? Edward not out on 29 in quick time, and Jim on 63 in Boycott time, the score was over 200, but, well...! Would this be a decision that lived in the anals for the right or the wrong reason? The right reason, of course, would be if TWCC lost the game for that would allow maximum persecution for years ("Brocky's Bolney moment"). The wrong reason would be if it proved to be a master stroke when insufferability would be the inevitable outcome.
We'd soon know, for after Bolney had manfully side-stepped the no tea regs by offering the visitors a crate of sanistized chocolate muffins (thank you Bolney!), Ed and Tom (Rydon) were plying their trade down and up the hill respectively, but, mysteriously, to no avail as the Bolney openers were clearly players and the score was rattling onwards and upwards. Playing Ed and Tom well is no mean feat and Skipper Brock's socks must have become a little hot and itchy - so much so that he brought himself on to bowl! Bolney on 56 for 0 and it was apparent that the home side had no fears about being able to chase down TWCC's score. And, let's not forget, whilst the TWCC Captain's declaration had given TWCC an extra half hour to bowl at Bolney, Bolney also had been given lots of time to go about running down just over 200 on a fast-scoring ground! Brearley-Brock or Botham-Brock?
Well... there's little add that the scorecard doesn't show. Brocky removed both well organised openers, the first LBW to his 4th delivery, then he bowled a maiden, then he set up another hat-trick two-in-two moment*, then a double-wicket maiden with, yes, yet another hat-trick opportunity* followed by another wicket that doesn't appear in the bowling analysis but no doubt will once Brocky gets his hands on the book. 6 for 17 off 6 overs... An inspired bit of bowling that completely removed the spectre of the home side successfully chasing down TWCC's total. It mustn't be forgotten that Phil who had replaced Tom at the low end of the ground, did what Phil does, and calmly took some much-needed middle order Bolney wickets, and, Brocky aside, wickets were proving hard to take. Phil's trademark line and length, much suited to a perfectly lively Bolney wicket, brought him the welcome rattle of ball onto stumps, and then, almost immediately another - dare I say it? - Captain's wicket in that Brocky had only just moved Edward to short mid-on for Phil when Monty Patel chipped an on-drive up to him in that close position, and Edward stuck up his right hand and held onto a catch. Two for Phil, but Bolney, unlike TWCC had 11 players, and there remained two wickets to take. Honse and Edward tried, but it took another skipperly moment to bring Tom and then Ed back, and Ed it was who bowled Bolney's skipper an unplayable ball that pitched on middle and took the top of off, and then he won the game with just a few overs left bowling the resilient Madden with a fast yorker. Two for Ed, much needed, and he has often shown that his second spell, bowling at the tail (and at the stumps), does force a result.
There were plenty of good performances on the day; the Bolney openers certainly posed a threat in the home side's reply to TWCC's 203, and, though it is a fact that much of TWCC's long and potent batting line up never got to the middle, those at the top did set up a reasonable platform, and Tom Firth's maiden half century was great to see. Ed's 2 for 18 off 11.5 overs was clearly a wonderful bit of bowling and it was his spell at the end that won the game, Phil's two wickets also needed to be taken when momentum could have swung either way, and Tom's energy running up hill and down, though wicketless on the day, was notable together with other bowling performances from Honse and Edward and another excellent day for Jonathan behind the stumps with a catch and a stumping to his name. A negative amongst all this success were the 7 catches that had been dropped by TWCC; a not infrequent occurence. The Gazette won't mention names because the culprits know who they and, more importatnly, everyone else knows who they are too. But of course this latest TWCC win is certainly Brocky's win; first with the declaration without which Bolney would not have been bowled out, some excellent field placings posted throughout, and all this gooey wonderfulness topped off, of course, with his remarkable spell of 6 for 17.

Lastly and as a footnote really, but I didn't see where else I could put this other than at the end, this game is a perfect illustration of why playing timed cricket, with a draw a possibility, is the best format for our Sunday games. If this had been a limited overs game the result would have been certain about an hour and a half from the end of play, but play would have continued with there being no point to it. As it was, this game was still alive and exciting for both teams until Ed took the last wicket, and it was very close to the end before he did.
Just saying.

Scorecard
TWCC batted first by negotiation. Proper cricket format!
TWCC Innings: J Simon not out 63; T Firth Ct, Bld S Bowles; H Karvay LBW S Bowles 13; T Pearce Ct, Bld Levensen 4; E Bunn not out 29. DNB J Rowland, R Brock, T Rydon; E Howes, P Steinke. Extras 35 (!) (B 14, LB 1, W 14, NB 6) Total 203 for 3 declared (34 overs).
Fall: 1-110, 2-145-, 3-150.
Bolney CC Bowling: Maddon 4-0-31-0; M Patel 8-3-20-0; H Patel 6-0-32-0; S Bowles 7-0-5-2; C Levensen 6-0-29-1; J Moore 2-0-10-0; B Byrne 1-0-7-0.
Bolney Innings: N Bushell LBW R Brock 31; C Vacher St J Rowland Bld R Brock 30; S Bowles Ct J Rowland (Wk) 1; B Clemeson Bld R Brock 0; G Byrne Bld P Steinke 1; M Patel Ct EBunn Bld P Steinke 6; H Patel LBW R Brock 0; D Bridge Bld E Howes 15; G Sandwith Bld R Brock 9; J Moore not out 11; M Madden Bld E Howes 1. Extras 18 (B 6, LB 7, W 3, NB 2) Total 123 all out (44.5 overs).
Fall: 1-5, 2-62, 3-62, 4-63, 5-73, 6-73, 7-80, 8-92, 9-121, 10-123.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 11.5-4-18-2; T Rydon 8-1-30-0; P Steinke 9-1-31-2; R Brock 8-3-17-6; H Karvay 5-3-6-0; E Bunn 3-1-2-0.
TWCC win by 80 runs.

*Didn't happen

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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston September 20th 2020
Another fine September afternoon saw a ten-strong TWCC play host to their old Streat and Westmeston friends, and with neither Skipper Brock nor Skipper Edwards present, Skipper Howes took up the mantle, won the toss and chose to field first. Brocky was playing but was unable to make the start time, so TWCC gratefully accepted the temporary help of S&WCC's Stewart Lea.
Tom opened from the Pavilion End and Ed himself from the Steve Rogers End, and Ed it was who took the prized wicket of Colin Mansfield whose outside edge off a rising ball carried comfortably to Tony fielding at gully, and Tony doesn't miss those however hard they come, but it was a good catch in any circumstances. Colin was a good wicket for the home side to nab early, and Tom soon followed it up by clean bowling Baxter who didn't really get going. After this S&WCC began to settle down to business as Butler and Christmas kept their wickets intact and began to accumulate some runs.
Tom (Rydon) and Ed were replaced by Rob (Saunders) and Brocky, and, with the pace off, Christmas and Butler began to score more freely, and whilst Brocky's natural awkward length kept his analysis healthy, neither bowler were amongst the wickets on this occasion. Jim managed three overs before his hamstring warning light came on, during which spell Edward made a sharp chance at first slip look much easier than it was - removing Butler for a dogged 31 as he nudged at a rising ball outside his off stump.
Phil, following on from Rob, did a Phil; 5 overs, 3 for 6, and S&WCC were in trouble. The first of Phil's wickets was a caught and bowled as Christmas skied a top edge back to the bowler, and in his second over Phil had Griffiths caught by Jim at shortish mid-wicket and then - the very next ball - had Owen LBW. Two in two! Again! *
Tom (Firth) took over from Jim at rather short notice, and began a valuable spell at the very end of which he provoked a catch out of Brocky at mid-on after which there was, naturally, much celebration, some even for Tom who was bowling well. Phil had decided he had had enough and Tom (R) was closest and came on for one more over before tea.
S&WCC hadn't got away fast, had made some hay after Tom (R) and Ed's opening spells, and then been knocked back by wickets in the heart of the innings which stopped the total ever making much overall progress, and 121 was never going to be competitive.
In reply Jim and Tom (F) settled down to seeing off the opening bowling, with the total benefitting from some wayward balls - 27 extras in the innings is a lot. Some fast running and watchful play took the total to 60 before Jim fell to a gloved catch behind off a leg-side ball from the impressive Wolff. Tony at 3 moved proceedings on characteristically quickly, especially benefitting from some less penetrating deliveries being served up, and with 6 fours and a six to his name before being caught for 32 there was little the visitors could do to save the game having posted such a low total. Jonathan and the bat-carrying Tom (F) did the necessary. Tom's unbeaten 32 was the backbone of the innings, and, with Jim's 22, Tony's quick 32 and Jonathan's coup de grâce contribution of 12 which included a wonderful, calm, deliberate square cut off a very slow ball from Stan for four, TWCC were the easy victors.

Scorecard
Skipper Howes won the toss and chose to field first. Proper cricket format, albeit seasonally shortened).
Streat and Westmeston Innings: C Mansfield CT T Pearce Bld E Howes 0; Butler Ct E Bunn Bld J Simon 31; Baxter Bld T Rydon 1; D Christmas Ct & Bld P Steinke 44; J Porter not out 23; Griffiths Ct J Simon Bld P Steinke 0; Owen LBW P Steinke 0; C Wolff Ct R Brock Bld T Firth 14. DNB L Maysey, S Lea, S Spiegel. Extras 8 (LB 4, W 2,  NB 2) Total 121 for 7 (36 overs).
Fall: 1-1, 2-11, 3-52, 4-88, 5-89, 6-89, 7-121.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-3-15-1; E Howes 6-2-10-1; R Saunders 6-0-36-0; R Brock 5-0-16-0; J Simon 3-0-10-1; P Steinke 5-1-6-3; T Firth 4-0-22-1.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct C Mansfield Bld C Wolff 22; T Firth not out 32; T Pearce Ct J Porter Bld L Maysey 32; J Rowland not out 12. DNB E Bunn, R Brock, T Rydon, R Saunders, E Howes, P Steinke. Extras 27 (B 8, LB 1, W 17, NB 1) Total 125 for 2 (23.2 overs).
Fall: 1-60, 2-101.
Streat and Westmeston Bowling: S Lea 1-0-11-0; G Owen 4-0-24-0; D Christmas 6-1-25-0; C Wolff 6-0-18-1; L Maysey 5-0-25-1; S Spiegel 1.2-0-13-0.
TWCC win by 8 wkts.
* Please refer to previous write ups

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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 27th 2020
There was an edge to the wind, coming, as it now was, from the general direction of Iceland. It felt like the real start of autumn and so was, once more, clearly the season to spar with Brighton Beamers, and whilst both teams were somewhat dribsy and drabsy as they drifted in, it wasn't long before play began.
There may or may not have been a toss, but as the Beamers were less numerous than TWCC, the visitors batted first and faced up to the fearsome TWCC opening bowling attack personified on this occasion by Ed and Tom (R). It was cold, and some effort was required to get the blood pumping, but pump it did and metabolisms were further enlivened by a catch at mid-off off Tom's bowling by none other than the Skip himself! (Oh - the power of an exclamation mark - no more need be said.) That was Tom's wicket in the middle of an extraordinarily economical spell, whereas Ed chose the more secure option of clean bowling Siddens.
Both openers gone, then both openers off (batting/bowling).
Matt, available again (not sure where he's been) and Charlie took over the bowling, and whilst Matt was his usual most capable self he was wicketless by the end of his spell, but Charlie, on the other hand, with his slower deliveries proving a temptation to the batters after having faced nothing but pace for so long, provoked the kind of naughty shots that end up as wickets. The first of these was a strong pull to square leg, where Phil tumbled to his right and, with two strong hands, held on to a great sharp catch. That's two catches held and no drops! Next to go, thanks to another fine catch by Tom (R) at, I think... deep mid off (though this may be a misplaced memory) as a skied ball hung in the air just long enough for Tom to run round and make it look easier than it was. It was the sort of catch that only those with young legs can make look easy, because unless you get to where the balll's going to be it's not a chance at all. Charlie - 2 for 12 off five overs!
If the Beamers thought life was going to get any easier as the bowling changed again they were going to be disappointed as Skipper Brock gave the nod to Rob and Phil. It's hard to imagine a better pair of bowlers to come on at any stage in a game, let alone when the Beamers' total was somewhat struggling at 4 for 46 with 22 overs already having gone by. Rigby and Edwards-Lunn, Beamers' No 4 and 6 respectively, were showing some resilience and intent, but Phil's steady targeting of the stumps off a difficult length brought its usual reward as Rigby's middle stump found out, and Rob's extraordinary pace and lift with a "run" up even shorter than Phil's somewhat dumfounded the visitors' middle order even though on this occasion his spell ended wicketless.
Rather than leave this next comment as an aside for the last paragraph, it's worth bringing to the fore the excellent general fielding performance from TWCC. Runs were hard to come by, not only because the bowling was tight, but also because the fielding was restrictive and fleet, and catches were all held. On many occasions a lesser side would have allowed a single where TWCC stopped any run at all, and where a batsman might have been forgiven for thinking there was a two on, it was kept to a single, and over the course of a whole innings this commitment really pays off. Also of note, while we're on it, is how well Tony kept wicket; just 2 byes all game and it's unlikely these were especially his fault. Many times did he nip round to the leg side, or grab a swinging ball, always encouraging the bowlers and generally doing the keeper's job very well.
Brocky and Tom (F) filled in the last two slots in the bowling analysis, and very well they did too. Brocky clocked in to the wickets column first when he bowled Edwards-Lunn, one of the more successful batters, and Tom (R) took another catch - which may well have been the one I described above... I can't be bothered to rearrange the description of Tom's catches, and cannot, either, recall his first catch if the one outlined above was this, his second, one, so let's just move on. Brocky's bowling 2 for 6 off three overs - hard to argue with that, much though many try. However, all was not lost for the visitors, with 100 for 7 on the board, and with three wickets in hand they might yet hope to progress a little further before tea.
Which brings us to TWCC's latest hero.
There's some evidence to suggest that Tom Firth's line and length are a bit off for the first few balls, and then he gets better. And better. By the time he got to his fourth over he'd had 11 runs scored off his bowling, and he was to be hit for a couple more at the start of his fourth, but after that it was all change as he first bowled Beamers' No 9, then, the very next ball, had Renshaw out for a golden duck caught behind by the excellent Tony with the gloves. "Golden duck"? Does that not mean... not two in two? Not a... a... another... hat-trick opportunity? The Beamers' No. 11, Richards, got to the middle, the field closed in for yet another hat-trick moment, but did anyone truly believe? Tom ran in, bowled a shortish ball that rose off a length just outside the off stump, the ball was gloved by Renshaw and Matt pocketed a catch in the general slip area! After all the many possible two-in-two moments TWCC had experienced in 2020, finally we had a proper real live hat-trick! At one stroke Tom had wrapped up the innings, and the Beamers were all out for 107.
Tea was the usual mixture of dicey cardboard sandwiches and hamper envy, after which Jim and Tom (R) began TWCC's reply. It would be fair to say the batting wasn't explosive, but the bowling was generally tight, especially from Chafey who got his reward in the 20th over when Tom knocked the ball back to him for a caught and bowled. Out for a steady 20 with 3 fours, and the total on 81, Tom, with Jim, had managed four an over which was more than sufficient a rate to get the modest job done. Tony, obviously capable of knocking off the required 27 runs in a couple of overs, first rehearsed a few swipes across the line bang in front of the stumps, before executing the same stroke to a live ball and was bowled for 0 - a good job he'd been so involved in the game as the keeper, for his batting forte was never explored nor enjoyed. Ed joined Jim with the score on 83, and left him there with the score on 86, having been bowled by the leg-spin of Rigby for 1 which is a shame for Ed's fully capable with the bat as we know.
Edward joined Jim, and they took the score on to 91 before Jim's chance-ridden innings was finally brought to an end by a good catch off a bad shot at deep square leg. Jim's 8 fours and a six were made possible by a mixture of reasonable shots and dropped catches, and whilst a total of 107 was unlikely to have been a score TWCC couldn't overhaul, his 47 runs were nonetheless valuable however lucky he was to stay in for as long as he did. Brocky's 4 took him joyfully onto (apparently) an average of over 50 for the season as long as he didn't get out, when he got out - caught by Briggs off the bowling of the tricky Rigby. Edward stroked a couple of fours and stayed not out as Rob, coming in at an unlikely No 7, gently pulled a four off his first ball for four to give TWCC the win.
The Beamers never really got going with the bat, though Rigby's 23 and Edwards-Lunn's 28 at least helped them to a total of over a hundred, but 107 was never going to be enough. However, the Beamers have played TWCC for long enough to know that a spontaneous collapse cannot be ruled out from more or less any situation, especially with the (too) late introduction of Rigby whose bowling was so successful, but on this occasion there were no dramas and the day's play goes down as an easy win for the home side.
If this proves to be, with autumn's rains upon us, the last game of the season, at least TWCC have Tom's hat-trick to cheer them through what is likely to be a difficult winter ahead.
But we may all be back next week!

Scorecard
Not sure there was a toss, but Brighton Beamers batted first. And TWCC fielded first.
Brighton Beamers' Innings: Blackadder Ct R Brock Bld T Rydon 12; R Siddens Bld E Howes 7; N Chafey Ct P Steinke Bld C Howes0; R Rigby Bld P Steinke 23; C May Ct T Rydon Bld C Howes 8; T Edwards-Lunn Bld R Brock 28; W Howarth Ct T Rydon Bld R Brock 10; R Benfield not out 4; W Briggs Bld T Firth 4; M Renshaw Ct T Pearce (wkt) Bld T firth 0; J Richards Ct M Edwards Bld T Firth 0. Extras 9 (B 2, LB 2, W 2, NB 3) Total 107 all out (38.4 overs).
Fall; 1-21, 2-23, 3-31, 4-46, 5-78, 6-98, 7-100, 8-107, 9-107, 10-107.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 6-0-15-1; T Rydon 6-3-10-1; C Howes 5-2-12-2; M Edwards 5-1-14-0; R Rydon 5-0-20-0; P Steinke 5-1-12-1; T Firth 34-0-12-3; R Brock 3-1-8-2.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct Blackadder Bld R Rigby 47; T Rydon Ct & Bld N Chafey 20; T Pearce Bld W Briggs 0; E Howes Bld R Rigby 1; E Bunn not out 11; R Brock Ct Briggs Bld R Rigby 4; R Rydon not out 4. DNB T Firth, C Howes, M Edwards, P Steinke. Extras 22 (B 3, LB 3, W 8, NB 8) Total 109 (25.4 overs).
Fall: 1-81, 2-83, 3-86, 4-91, 5-105.
Brighton Beamers' Bowling: M Renshaw 6-1-17-0; G Blackadder 4-1-24-0; N Chafey 6-2-8-1; W Briggs 5-0-30-1; R Rigby 2.4-1-11-3; T Edwards-Lunn 2-1-13-0.
TWCC win by 5 wickets.

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Captain's Review of the 2020 Season
Played 12, won 11, drawn 0, lost 1 (2019: P16, W10, D3, L3)

Well this has been the most extraordinary of seasons.  When players of the future TWCC look back on 2020 they will read part of the history of the nation, and part of the history of our club.  The coronavirus pandemic stopped us playing until July as the country went into lockdown.  Then suddenly, unexpectedly, we were told we could play.  We enjoyed a socially distanced net – which was mostly the opportunity to see each other and enjoy a beer together - at the ground in July.  Then on 12th July the season restarted.  Strange additions to the rules:  we couldn’t go inside any pavilions, we had to use hand sanitiser every 6 overs, there was to be no body to body contact – so wickets could only be celebrated by the slightest elbow bumps, victories the same.  And horribly…we had to take our own individual teas. The better prepared brought flasks of tea- but the virus ripped out a tradition going back hundreds of years: the cricket tea.  Yet the desire to play cricket had fermented during lockdown.  When we finally got back on the field of play, two and a half months later than usual, we were buzzing with uncapped energy.  And wow:  didn’t we convert that into good cricket!
Our results this season have eclipsed all other seasons.  Putting aside the extraordinary nature of the season we managed to play 12 matches and lost only 1.  Our squad has been strengthened by more regular appearances from a number of players including Tom Firth, Mikey and a happy return to fitness for Phil.  We’ve had some extraordinary individual performances: Tom Rydon ripping through Parham, Richard doing the same against Bolney, Tom Firth’s maiden TWCC 50 vs Bolney – and his hatrick vs Brighton Beamers.  And Ed finally letting his batting side come to the fore – whilst still helping clear out wickets against Hadlow Down and Warninglid.  We’ve seen far more of Jonathan and he’s led from the front for the batting – 78* vs Staplefield was the season’s top score.  How’s this for a stat:  we’ve had only 5 noughts all season!!  As captain, week after week I’ve had the privilege of looking through a team of fine batsmen and a stable of thoroughbred bowlers.  There has been one unfortunate side effect:  the top order has been so successful that far more frequently than previously, later batsmen have been unable to get a bat.  I have tried to balance things so that everybody gets either a bat or a bowl, but on occasions that hasn’t been possible for which I can only promise to try to address things next season.  But I can’t apologise for people doing what I ask of them so successfully!  My philosophy – perhaps even more so in this season – has always been to ensure everybody gets a good game of cricket – I think that’s far more important even than the result.  A short season and some sensational performances have stymied me to an extent in terms of batting.
And through all this we’ve been living TWCC history, for during 2019, and with a particular act of generosity, funding was in place for a much-needed new clubhouse, which was just as well as a winter storm then ripped the roof clean off the old pavilion, damaging struts, doors and window frames. The old building was beyond repair and, with the presentation of a magnificent donation, a team went into action to prepare for, plan and oversee the construction of a brand new pavilion.  Throughout the year that team – led brilliantly by Paul Hunter, and including Edward Bunn, Jim Simon and Jonathan Rowland  – has worked ceaselessly, dealing with the council planning department, the planners, the local councillors, the local residents and the pavilion supplier and a local builder.  At every turn Paul has faced difficulties and frustrations – but he has shown extraordinary dedication and determination to keep pushing until, in August, we saw the remains of the old pavilion fully demolished and the new one erected weeks later.  Over the winter it’s being kitted out and next year we will have an official `opening` day.  I should also add that, in addition to one major donation in particular, Paul also managed to secure a £10,000 grant from Rampion, the energy company which has substantial works in Wineham, a sum most gratefully received and which has further helped the project to reach fruition.
It is hard to overstate the amount of work Paul in particular has put into this.  The club owes him enormous thanks.  The same for those who’ve worked with him.  Every hurdle put in their way they’ve dealt with.  They’ve dodged, weaved, sewn a little magic, sprinkled a little fairy dust – and the result now stands proudly ready for the next generation.  Paul, Edward, Jonathan and Jim:  thank you.
We will have a pavilion to be proud of, and through an act of, yes, great financial generosity, but also, and not missed, a generosity of spirit, this historic club will have a clubhouse which will enable it to play the magnificent game for years to come, to attract new players, something for the club and the villages of Twineham and Wineham to enjoy.
Last season I said I would reintroduce the Player of the Year Award – to be done fairly, points awarded after each match.  That went to pot as we struggled simply to get matches on.  I will bring it in next year .  But there have been enough matches for me to award it this year.  As I said earlier there have been many stand out performances, and many excellent seasons for players.  But one man has stood out.  One of the assault bowlers, somebody I’ve also made my  `go to` guy to clear up the final two or three wickets.  And he’s shown that – given the opportunity – he’s also pretty handy with a bat.  Oh…and he can catch!  The TWCC player of the year goes to Ed Howes.  Congratulations Ed.

APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2020
We sat at home and kept safe.  We locked down.

JULY/AUGUST/SEPT
At last, we played cricket.  A winning run that stretched until  August.  No tour obviously,  but big wins all the way with our batsmen putting in a series of challenging targets and our bowlers rifling through the opposition.  Paul’s early season 61 vs Crescent helped secure the win, along with 57 fron Tony.  Richard and Ed’s season’s best partnership of 114 helped see off Hadlow Down, Tony and Alex Rydon chipped in to help us past Balcombe, Tony’s 66 and Tom Rydon’s sixfer blasted aside Parham.  Our only defeat came at Ditchling, despite good knocks from Paul and Jonathan.  Jonathan kept his form the following week with a season top score of 78* vs Staplefield.  Against Bolney, there was a very classy opening century stand by Tom Firth (maiden TWCC 50) and Jim Simon and Richard took a sixfer before Ed cleared out the tail.  We finished up with wins against Streat and Brighton Beamers, lost a match to the weather and decided against playing in October because even in an extraordinary season that would have been super weird!

Next season will be very exciting.  We will move into our lovely new clubhouse – if restrictions allow by April.  Our intention is to hold the official opening during the season, involving WAGS, friends of the club.  And – again Covid dependent – we will tour. 
Gentlemen, it has been a testing season – testing mostly because we have been deprived of so much cricket and the fun, friendship and bonhomie that goes with it.  But as ever it has been a privilege to be your captain, it continues to be a great honour and I have to say that what this wretched virus has done is show us all how we value everything that Sunday cricket offers us.  Thanks to an expansive donation, a gift that has made a long wished-for pavilion a reality, that is something that will be available to us all for many years to come.

Richard Brock
Captain TWCC


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2019 Season

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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston September 22nd 2019
Weather iffy, but ultimately no problem. Brocky won the toss and TWCC fielded first. Ed, then Matt opened, both with the usual fire. Ed took the first wicket, LBW, and then Colin Mansfield and Murray Barnes rather settled in, Colin in particular playing like a man in an end of season groove. First change brought on Rob who climbed in with two wickets, clean bowling Colin (can't remember details... sorry) and then, causing Murray to glove a classic short fast ball through to Jonathan behind the timbers. Colin's 53 was the meat of the Streat & W innings up to this point and with him gone there seemed to be little danger of the game getting away from TWCC. Hah!!!
Jim offered his usual humdrum stuff, and Brocky bowled his testing length and line taking a wicket as Jonathan held on to a very high ball running to mid-wicket, but all in all, TWCC had the visitors just where they wanted even though Archie Bell seemed worryingly capable of making trouble. Honza, Hugo and Graham bowled a few overs, and it was Honza's fault that TWCC ended up facing 198 to win because it was he who held on to a difficult high, long catch to get rid of Rob Eastwood off Graham's bowling that brought Harry Freeman to the crease at No. 7. Oh deary me. Oh deary deary me...
With T20 disregard for the bowling, Harry strode about the wicket, getting the balls into his arc and smacking them into his choice of field. Honse had a valiant and nearly successful crack at hanging on to what would have been a flat six at straight mid-off, but Harry was too much for the home side, and Archie was doing his own bit of damage too. Poor Ed came back on to get his figures mauled and, to his credit, so did Brocky albeit with less in the way of damage, but there was little TWCC could do and the score shot up from 120 for 5 in the 29th over to 197 when tea arrived at 36 overs after Harry had his 50 off 26 balls.
With some wounds to lick we settled down to Rob's signature smooth gourmet sandwiches backed up with decadent brownies and virtuous fruit, but with the light always an issue at this time of year it was soon time for Jim and Rob to head the middle and after 12 overs one of them was keeping up with the required run rate of around 5 an over. Rob was on a masterful 41 (Jim 13), and all TWCC needed was for Rob not to get out, which was a shame. Having been in no trouble, and with him and Jim running about pretty well, Rob tried to knock a fuller ball down to short leg for a single to keep the strike but John Hawkins' off-break did turn and it beat Rob's bat and a bail was removed. Veteran TWCC fans felt a little ill at this point.
Jim followed soon after Rob to a skiddy faster ball from Harry Freeman, and Jonathan made a quality 11 before hitting a ball up into Archie Bell's hands in the covers (is that right? Can't remember if I remember that or I'm making it up.)
Matt looked truly excellent with the bat, and a consecutive brace of powerful back-foot punches to the cover-point boundary stay in the mind. Edward, as usual, was in little trouble, but then he played an uppish shot, which brought Brocky to the crease. Often Richard comes in to bat with a skipper's mix of defiance and winning intent and this was one of those occasions and a half-forward drive through mid-on that burst through the fielder's hands and still made it the boundary for four, was, along with Matt's cover-point square drives, a contender for TWCC shot of the day. Tom F, who with Brocky, put on an initially win-threatening 38 runs at a reasonable rate, once again looked super reliable with the bat, and he has been, in all roles asked of him, a great asset over the season. Brocky fell for 26, though, after the attempt at a win had subsided and the game was more or less safe. In and out came and went Ed, and it was left to Hugo to survive a ball and then, with the game safe, to stride down the wicket and clip an excellent single to get off the mark. Tom finished his thoroughly crickety innings of 15 with a couple of runs and off we went to the pub.
After Colin's excellent start to the game for Streat, and then Archie's and, particularly, Harry's onslaught at the end of their innings, the target for TWCC was always going to be a toughy. Rob set about it in good heart and with great style, but in spite of his, Matt's, Brocky's and Tom's best efforts there just wasn't time to get near Streats total.
Let's hope this game wasn't the last of the season, but the forecast for Sunday looks less promising the closer we get to it...

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Streat and W Innings:  Innings: C Mansfield Bld R Rydon 53; N Buttler LBW E Howes 2; M Barnes Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld R Rydon 15; R Eastwood Ct H Karvay Bld G Cuthbert 14; C Marshall Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld R Brock 10; A Bell not out 31; H Freeman not out 50. DNB J Hawkins, L Maysey, J Porter, S Spiegel. Extras 22 (W 7, LB 3, W 12) Total 197 for 5 (36 overs).
Fall: 1-26, 2-65, 3-82, 4-96, 5-120.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-1-26-0; E Howes 7-2-50-1; R Rydon 4-0-23-2; J Simon 4-0-15-0; R Brock 5-0-20-1; H Karvay 4-0-16-0; H Riley 4-0-24-0; G Cuthbert 2-0-13-1.
TWCC Innings: J Simon LBW H Freeman 13; R Rydon Bld J Hawkins 41; J Rowland Ct A Bell Bld J Hawkins 11; M Edwards Ct R Eastwood Bld L Maysey 19; E Bunn Ct A Bell Bld J Rawlins 2; R Brock Ct L Maysey Bld M Barnes 26; T Firth not out 15; E Howes Ct & Bld L Maysey 0; H Riley not out 1. DNB H Karvay, G Cuthbert. Extras 18 (B 6, LB 2, W 9, NB 1) Total 146 for 7 (36 overs).
Fall: 1-62, 2-62, 3-78, 4-82, 5-104, 6-142, 7-143.
Streat and W Bowling: C Marshall 4-0-24-0; R Eastwood 4-0-17-0; H Freeman 5-2-14-1; J Hawkins 7-3-20-3; S Spiegel 7-3-20-0; L Maysey 7-0-19-2; M Barnes 5-1-15-1.
Match drawn.



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Staplefield v TWCC September 8th 2019
It seems like a few years have passed since TWCC last played Staplefield, which is a shame as the fixture is a very good fit in terms of cricket, location and prevailing good-naturedness.
Skipper Brock won the toss for TWCC and he decided that the best way to enjoy the lovely late Summer sun was to soak it up in the field. On this occasion for some reason this was going to be a limited 40 overs game.
Tom, in his last appearance before heading off for old archives new, and Ed opened up for what has become TWCC's signature give-nothing-away-and-look-out start to a game. With Matt (where's Matt?) in the side as well many a game has been favourably set up by the opening bowlers denying opponents anything like a fast start, and many teams often never get going as a consequence. Tom, although he occasionally lost his grip on the new ball and sent down the odd high full toss, zeroed in as he does and his was the first wicket, clean bowling Bull for 1. Ed, with no wickets on the day, was just as penetrative and economical, though no wickets came his way. At the end of their spells Staplefield were just 17 for 1 off 11 overs. Tremendous stuff which went a long way to shape the outcome of the day.
Upon first change Brocky and Phil took up the challenge of bowling to the now free-swinging batters, and although runs did begin to flow as Staplefield had to do something about a score, the home side's skipper fell LBW to a full toss from Brocky. Sawrey and Moufeed were beginning to play strong shots for fours, though several boundaries were delayed if not always saved thanks to the way Graham seemed to regard his limbs as broadly expendable. He's clearly from the footier end of the sporting spectrum and doesn't shy away from putting a shin or two in the way of things which is to be commended if not recommended.
Jim replaced Brocky in the hope that the scoring rate would be changed, as indeed it was with Jim's first two balls going for 10. Then Jim hit a bit of a purple patch as his fibres realised they were still hanging together and a flurry of wickets followed; all caught, two by Jim and one each from Hugo and Tom. The wicket, which hasn't been mentioned yet, was the main factor in this game; quite bobbly and slow with the occasional shocker of a bounce. Hitting out through the ball brought the vagaries of the pitch into play and leading edges and scuffed strokes began to take their toll on the Staplefield innings which, from 86 for 2 fell to 99 all out (9 wkts) within a few overs thanks to a much-deserved bowled wicket from Phil (8 overs for 20) and then with a quick-fire two more from Hugo. Hugo took a wicket with something like his third ball in ten years, and produced a mixture of off-spin and seam-up that was simply too much for Staplefield's lower order, and he finished with 2 for 3 off 1.4 overs. Good stuff.
Staplefield all out for 99, early tea and lots of contented lying about watching the shadows creep across the perfect village green towards the perfect village pub.
But stumps had to be stirred, and Paul and Jim wandered out to face the bowling and the wicket. Paul had little trouble, as did Jim until, with the total moving along nicely (25) he swung through a ball that was too short to drive on this holding surface and lofted a catch to mid-on where young Yousef held on to a dipping ball very well. In strode Joe who also seemed to have little difficulty as his true eye allowed him to swing balls off his legs (and stumps) to the leg-side boundary; quick runs, the score moving up and up to 61 for 3, no problem; good innings, just the job.
Graham came in at No 4 to help Paul along, and the pacy Fawny was brought on to shake up the TWCC reply. Although Paul's thrusting front-foot drive to the mid-off boundary off Fawny was the Gazette's Shot of the Day, the very next ball rattled his timbers and he was out for a 32 very valuable runs. A fine performance from Paul, as ever, which left TWCC in just the sort of winning position from which only TWCC could lose.
In came Hugo - unphased by his return to the sporting top drawer - and he looked as good with the bat as he had been with the ball. He, too, stroked Fawny to the boundary for a fine four through cover point, but then he and Graham both fell to the well-controlled spin of Razzak.
But, with the batting order having been influenced somewhat by events, TWCC had two key players up their sleeve. Firstly, Edward, with a lifetime's study of the MCC coaching manual in his locker, set about  sending the ball into the hedge, and secondly little did Staplefield know but this self-effacing gentleman, sidling to the middle, was none other than the doyenne of Sussex cricket Tony Pearce himself. Tony and Edward ooh'd and arr'd their way through TWCC's nervous 90's, and although Tony was out for a quick 12, Edward, renowned as TWCC's finisher, and Ed ran through for a bye to win the game for the visiting side.
We retired to the Victory to lick Graham's wounds as we sipped an array of well-earned drinks beneath an intriguing blue plaque on the wall above the door. As if by some divine alignment of the heavens a shaft of the low sun clearly picked out some small white writing; apparently on this very village green in 1964 an unknown player had achieved an all-bowled hat trick! What a shame no more could be learned about this miracle of cricket, but of course we raised a glass to this uncelebrated unknown and concentrated on England losing the Ashes before our very ears.
Thank you, Staplefield, for a very nice game played in great spirit, and we hope the fixture is repeated in 2020, when cries of "Big swing, no ding!" will once again be heard ringing round the village.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Staplefield Innings: R Bull Bld T Rydon 1; R Prevett LBW Bld R Brock 13; Sawrey C&Bld J Simon 16; Moufeed C&Bld J Simon 45; R Razzak Ct H Riley Bld J Simon 3; N Sadler Bld P Steinke 2; Fawny Ct T Rydon Bld J Simon 1; R Hutchins Bld H Riley 2; R Hutchings Bld H Riley 0; Yousef not out 0. Extras 16 (B 8, LB 1, W 4, NB 3) Total 99 for 9 (all out).
Fall: 1-7, 2-29, 3-86, 4-90, 5-91, 6-93, 7-93, 8-94.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-2-11-1; E Howes 6-3-6-0; R Brock 6-0-36-1; P Steinke 8-0-20-1; J Simon 4-1-13-4; H Riley 1.4-1-3-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Fawny 32; J Simon Ct Yousef Bld R Bull 11; J Panther Ct Bull Bld Fawny 13; G Cuthbert Ct x Bld Razzak 1; H Riley Bld Razzak 5; E Bunn not out 11; T Pearce Ct x Bld Abdullah 12; E Howes not out 0. DNB T Rydon, R Brock, P Steinke. Extras 10 (B 6, LB 4) Total 100 for 6 (24.4 overs)
Fall: 1-25, 2-61, 3-69, 4-69, 5-74,6-98.
Staplefield Bowling: R Bull 5-0-18-2; N Sadler 5-0-23-0; R Razzak 6-3-13-2; Fawny 5-0-23-2; R Hutchings 1-0-7-0; Abdullah 1-0-0-1; Yousef 0.4-0-1-0.
TWCC win by ... scoring more runs in a few less overs than available and by not being all out before they got there. 1 run? 4 wkts? 15.2 overs? I don't know, it all seemed very clear yesterday in the pub. 


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Crescent CC v TWCC September 1st 2019
For once TWCC's visit to the Horsdean Bowl didn't coincide with an early Autumn squall and the skippers tossed with the prospect of a 38-42 over draw-possible match being uninterrupted by rain. Skipper Brock won the toss and chose to bat first, relying on a runs-on-the board-and-take-10-wickets approach to win the day.
Jim and Mikey took to the field of play, and it was with some relish that Jim tucked into Mayer's first ball, smacking a four through the covers, his hopes high for more of the same, please, from the Crescent bowler. Sadly this was just a loosener and Mayer soon served up over after over of pacey balls on or just outside the off stump and from then on Jim could only manage leaves, blocks and the odd edge. Mikey, exclusively batting at the other end and having also found an early boundary in his classical style, pulled out of a shot and dollied the ball to mid-off. If, once committed, he'd followed through with the full beans he'd have lived to fight another day, but on this occasion his race was run. In came Tony who took up residence at the South End whilst Jim continued to just about survive against the constant threat of Mayer. In the end Jim's natural ability came to the fore and he was cleaned up by a fuller ball on the off stump that he simply missed. In came Tom, and perfectly respectable batting ensued but he was out LBW, Brocky dug in, but was bowled by his opposite skipper, and all the time Tony kept up the scoring when he could. On this wicket length was everything as the bounce was variable and a straight ball was to be feared, but Tony had a strategy that was backed up by the ability to be able to apply it. His approach was very crickety; advancing down the wicket to meet the ball often on the full and either pushing for crafty well-placed singles and twos or taking on full shots for fours and a couple of sixes. Joined in the middle by John, the brothers Pearce patiently progressed through the available overs whilst also mixing in calculated aggression as possibilities presented themselves. Tony, having managed his crease so well and in the process making Mayer look considerably less dangerous than had Jim, eventually missed a slow ball from Cook and was stumped for 66 runs which, in the context of the game being played on such a slow and awkward pitch, was a priceless contribution to the TWCC cause.
John continued on, with Ed, Honse and Hugo (new to the side - welcome Hugo!) but the fluency was gone and it became a matter of continuing the innings through to garner as many runs as possible; it was clearly going to be a low-scoring match and every run could be vital. After John was out for a valuable 18 (also stumped, bowled Cook) it fell to Hugo and Malcolm, and, lastly, Phil to eke the very last possible run out of the 42 overs. The innings closed on 145 for 9 and TWCC had done what they could. Tony's 66 runs stood out starkly as a tremendous effort on a difficult wicket.
Crescent's bowling exploited the conditions very well as one might expect, and their grip on the game was only unlocked, really, by Tony and John.
After the characteristically excellent Crescent tea, for once eaten outside sitting on the grass as opposed to in the shelter of the pavilion, it was time to see what sort of total 145 would prove to be.
The answer, for the first 20 overs, was that it looked like a perfectly good total. Ed's first spell of just 6 overs for 10, with a chipped catch to Honse at short mid-wicket, set the tone, and John, shimmering in once again for TWCC like he'd never been away, set about achieving the incredible figures of 7 overs, 5 maidens 1 for 2. The runs were not flowing, which made many TWCC batters, if you can call them that, feel a whole lot better. Tom and Phil took over with the ball and the home side continued to struggle as they fell behind the game as the overs passed by. Tom, initially slipping about in the dusty crease, managed to find a way and homed in on the stumps getting his reward with 2 for 9 off his first four overs, one of which wicket was the dangerous Spencer who looked as if he could take Crescent on with some conviction. The rest of Tom's spell was not helped as some edges went begging and, often, continued on to the long-stop boundary. Oh, and there was a 6.
Phil's tight line and length was, as ever, difficult to face and his four overs for just 6 runs at a time when Crescent were looking to score was key to the way the afternoon played out. As was Jim's total misjudgement of what was, in retrospect, a catch at long-on which he thought was falling a lot shorter than it eventually did... Do Specsavers run a Sunday side? (Sorry Phil/team Ed.)
However, with Jamie WIll and Matt Lawson at the crease a Crescent renaissance began to manifest itself and it was, in the face of a reducing required run rate, time for a TWCC change-up and one member of the TWCC team thought Mikey should have a bowl. And no one can deny that he does make things happen; his first ball was excellent, and there may have been others, but after two overs Brocky brought himself on, fresh from his five-for (fer?). Brocky would sort us out!
Well, wickets did fall, ultimately, thanks to Ed's return following on from Tom's long spell of 2 for 34. Crescent's skipper fell to a perfect delivery from Ed that trimmed the left-hander's off bail from a perfect length and the home side's afternoon became tricky from this point on. Brocky, beginning his spell at a time when Crescent were definitely still going for the win was initially expensive, but Ed's wicket unbalanced the batting and Jamie Will, trying too hard once his main partner had left the field, missed a straight one from Brocky and it was game on, once again, for a TWCC win. Crescent's afternoon became all about resistance and Ed's second wicket of his second spell, and Brocky's second wicket took TWCC to within a whisker of an away win, but the dead bats of Cook and Mayer denied such a result and the game ended in an exciting, yes exciting, draw. Ed ended up with four for 18 off 10 overs; a great performance, matching with the ball what Tony achieved with the bat.
Once again the validity of a draw-possible format is clear; more results remain possible for longer than when a strictly score-based game moves through various stages towards a climax, and there are few nicer sides with whom to share an exciting draw than the happy chaps of Crescent. This has become a regular fixture and one to which I'm sure both sides look forward each year.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bat first.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Bld Mayer 10; M Pearce Ct Partridge Bld Newcombe 4; T Pearce St. Hollands Bld Cook 66; T Rydon LBW Newcombe 6; R Brock Bld Lawson 8; J Pearce St Hollands Bld Cook 18; E Howes Ct Morris Bld Partridge 9; H Karvay run out 1; H Riley Bld Partridge 7; M Gasson not out 1; P Steinke not out 0. Extras 15 (B 4, LB 1, W 10) Total 145 for 9 (42 overs).
Fall: 1-11, 2-27, 3-42; 4-67; 5-111, 6-121, 7-129, 8-139, 9-144.
Crescent Bowling: Mayer 10-4-19-1; Newcombe 8-3-28-2; Singh 8-0-24-0; Lawson 8-0-31-1; Cook 5-0-20-2; Partridge 3-0-018-2.
Crescent Innings: J Morris Bld J Pearce 4; N Hollands Ct Karvay Bld Howes 0; A Malby Bld Rydon 7; A Spencer Bld T Rydon 7; J Will Bld Brock 43; M Lawson Bld Howes 34; M Newcombe Bld Howes 6; A Singh Bld Brock 3; S Partridge Bld Howes 3; B Cook not out 0; R Mayer not out 0. Extras 15 (B 11, LB 3, NB 1) Total 119 for 9 (38 overs).
Fall: 1-1, 2-16, 3-16, 4-29, 5-101, 6-111, 7-119, 8-119, 9-119.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 10-3-18-4; J Pearce 7-5-2-1, T Rydon 9-1-34-2; P Steinke 4-0-6-0; M Pearce 2-0-21-0; R Brock 6-2-24-2.
Match drawn.


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TWCC v Sunday Seconds CC August 25th 2019
The hottest day of the year saw TWCC welcome another Crinder first date in the shape of Sunday Seconds CC. "Hot" doesn't really do justice to the gruelling oven-like conditions, and it was no surprise that the visiting skipper decided upon winning the toss to bat first thus keeping his troops merely luke warm in the pavilion whilst TWCC were obliged to take life on in the full furnace.
Ed and Tom did the honours with the new ball, and this time it was Ed who took the glory, starting off his 6 over spell with a wicket maiden - a high catch to Charlie who, although he looked a bit wobbly when finding himself under a high ball, nonetheless held on to it well when it arrived as he often seems to do. He has no need to worry - he's streets ahead of most TWCC catchers... Tom was feeling the heat, gasping for breath and turning all sorts of unlikely colours (good job he's off to Scotland for a bit of recuperative frost and rain), and on this occasion his wickets column remained bare. Ed's second wicket was a sharply caught catch at first slip by Tony off a shorter ball, and his mixing of short and full deliveries caused constant uncertainty in the Sunday Seconds' ranks and he ended his 6 over spell with 2 for 17.
When the time came for bowling changes Brocky put himself on from the Downs End and he began as he meant to go on with a tight maiden over, and Jim's first over brought out another good catch from Charlie at deepish cover. Both Brocky and Jim suffered the odd boundary as the Sunday Seconds' middle order showed its power, however the obvious difference between the two bowlers was that Richard took lots of wickets for not too many runs and Jim didn't. Brocky's bowling was perfect in line and, particularly, length as the ball seemed to dip and then lift from just short of a length and Jonathan, standing up behind the stumps, was taking the ball shoulder-high. It all looked very good and yielded figures of, in his first 8 over spell, 3 wickets for 27, and there was more to come.
Honse, still recovering from a long-standing injury, and Charlie bowled a few overs though both were unable to take a wicket on this occasion, and the aggression from the visitor's middle order batting line-up continued unabated even though wickets were falling. Brocky brought himself back for an over to avoid the Sunday Seconds' total getting away on this hot, hot day, and, indeed, took a further two wickets for just 3 runs ending with a well-deserved five-for 30, including a stumping from Jonathan and a good catch by Ed. Sunday Seconds at tea were 156 for 7. The over rate wasn't fast, with two drinks breaks and a few lost balls, but the weather was definitely a factor in how it limited springs in steps from all concerned. Not that all were concerned as the Sunday Seconds team were gathered close to TMS and we all, whether immediately or in relayed commentary, kept tabs on how Stokesy was setting about the Aussies at Headingly. When the moment came, an over or two before our tea, players from both teams leapt and cheered as the unlikeliest of results became first a possibility and then a reality. Amazing, though not, of course, real cricket like ours.
Tony's tea was gratefully received, not only because it was tea, but also any time out of the sun was very welcome. Tom began to return to a healthier shade of pink, and the England line-up was debated over excellent sandwiches and slices of cake.
Jim and Mikey strapped on the usual equipment and Jim began a characteristically dogged marathon, whilst Mikey, after stroking a fine four, sadly yorked himself and his afternoon was over before it had even begun. One Pearce out, another in, and Tony began with a 4 and carried on from there as slow long-hops were carted to the square leg boundary and, with Jim trying to give Tony the strike when he could, the score climbed from 5 for 1 to 105 in the 17th over when Tony was given out played on to his pads. A reprieve was offered, in true Sunday friendly fashion, but Tony, true sportsman that he is, said he'd been given out and would go and sit down in the shade. Of course he already knew that the game was secure given that he'd personally knocked 62 runs (ten 4's, one 6) off the target of 157.
Jim, still plugging away, was joined by Jonathan, and whilst the bowling as it sometimes does actually got better for a while, they both managed to remain in place and take the total onwards and upwards without too much difficulty. How good to see Jonathan have some extended time at the crease given that his recent innings have been somewhat short-lived for various bizarre reasons in spite of him looking so secure. Indeed, it was a somewhat freak incident that led to his downfall on this occasion too as he spun round to whack the slowest of dobs to the fine leg boundary - we all admired the shot, the umpire signalled four and then someone noticed that there were bails on the ground; he'd stepped on his stumps. However his excellent 24 (two 4's, one 6) had helped push the total up to 143 and there was little for Edward, the power house in at 5, to do beyond watch the ball onto his bat and off again a few times. The field came in with just one to get, Jim demonstrated a bit of agriculture to cow corner, and the game was over; TWCC 159 for 3, a home win by 7 wickets.
Heat. Sunday Seconds being a good lot who we'd like to see again. Stokesy. More heat. Harveys - these are the lingering memories of the day. The season unwinds, there's another notch on the TWCC stump, and all's well with the World. Apart from the obvious, of course.

Scorecard
Sunday Seconds won the toss and opted to keep cool.
Sunday Seconds Innings: B Larder Ct C Howes Bld E Howes 0; G Harris Ct C Howes Bld J Simon 14; C Grantham Ct T Pearce Bld E Howes 16; Kenny Rogers St Rowland Bld R Brock 54; C McLachlan Bld R Brock 16; F Sweating Ct & Bld R Brock 4; Keith Rogers Ct E Howes Bld R Brock 10; G Smith Bld R Brock 26; T Grantham not out 1. DNB P Meader, I Gordon. Extras 15 (LB 4, W 7, NB 4) Total 156 for 7 (33 overs).
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-24, 3-45, 4-66, 5-84, 6-99, 7-155, 8-156.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 6-1-17-2; T Rydon 6-1-24-0; R Brock 9-1-30-5; J Simon 6-0-28-1; H Karvay 4-0-34-0; C Howes 2-0-19-0.
TWCC Innings: J Simon not out 54; M Pearce Bld C Smith 4; T Pearce LBW C Gratham 62; J Rowland hit wck Bld T Grantham 24; E Bunn not out 3. DNB T Rydon, H Karvay, C Howes, E Howes, R Brock. Extras 12 (B 2, W 10) Total 159 for 3 (31 overs).
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-105, 3-143.
Sunday Seconds Bowling: C Smith 4-0-32-1; P Meader 6-0-28-0; K Rogers (Kenny or Keith?) 3-0-19-0; G Harris 6-1-25-0; C Grantham 4-2-8-1; I Gordon 4.4-0-22-0; T Grantham 4-0-22-1.
TWCC win by 7 wickets.


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TWCC v Warninglid CC August 11th 2019
After a week of gales and rain, bar a couple of light squalls the afternoon on game day was dry and bright. TWCC were up against a typically capable but only nine-strong Warninglid team, but although they were short in number they looked long enough, as always, on ability. Warninglid, with their characteristic sprinkling of league players are always a side to be reckoned with. And, look out! Warninglid's John Swinscoe arrived on a Moto Guzzi! What a player he must be!
Given the absence of several regular players, Skipper Panther had done well with assistance from all around, to draw together an excellent TWCC side including, for the first time this season, Jonathan R and President Jones. There was a brief chat between skippers in the middle, with tree explanations and vague boundaries no doubt part of it, and a sort of no-toss agreement that TWCC would bat first emerged. No problem.
Paul and Jim togged up and off they went, seeing off a sequence of bowlers and even scoring some runs. With Paul scoring a bit quicker than Jim - naturally, given their relative abilities - the runs built nicely as this athletic pair scampered many quick 1's and 2's as well as making the most of any poorer balls. Drinks at 20 overs came and went with the score on 106 for 0, and a good platform had been set.
Jim was the first to go to a swinging full-length ball; 49 his personal contribution to a first wicket partnership of 117, then Paul was caught on 65 shortly afterwards with the TWCC total on 125 for 2. This left a useful 14 overs for the TWCC collapse - but keen observers of this phenomenon were to be disappointed as, whilst batters did come and go, runs were accumulating all the time. Charlie swiped a cool 19, then Mikey -TWCC's very own Jason Roy - looked dominant but was undone somewhat by the strong southerly wind that stalled the ball into Reilly's capable grasp at long on; out for 14. But these runs all add up, and Jonathan's 9, Dave Jones' 2, and even George's single run might have proved to be important by the end of the day. But there's more; Joe had kept back plenty of power for the end of the allotted 40 overs, and his own 16 (three quick 4's), together with Tom's 10 and Ed's 16 added a powerful punch to the end of the TWCC innings that took the score up to an impressive 216 for 8. Five of those eight wickets fell to the excellent John Swinscoe, he of Moto Guzzi fame, who bowled a simple but clearly effective line and length that proved too tempting or too good in equal measures. Did I mention his Moto Guzzi?
Everything in Joe's master plan had worked out; TWCC's good base to the innings with wickets in hand had left an opportunity for the rest of the team to swing the bat - especially as the 40 overs played out, and Paul's (second) tea of the season probably tasted better to the home side than it did to the "'Lid."
TWCC's time to bowl and Joe had a plan for this too. A good plan, and that plan was to open the bowling with Phil. How good to see Phil back hurling the ball down from two paces, finding that length that is all his own. Did Warninglid's crack batters get on top of Phil's bowling? Of course not! And neither were they finding anything simple about facing Tom from his favoured Pavilion End. Phil's perfect awkward length gave Warninglid just 12 runs off his 6 overs, and Tom's in-swinging guided missiles in both his spells cost just 20 runs off an allotted 8 overs during which time he took 2 top order wickets. Tom's bowling, especially into the prevailing wind which seems only enhance the swinging penetration he achieves, is truly in a purple patch. Ed, held back until after Phil's excellent spell, also gave nothing away as is his wont which must have been a worrying surprise to the visitors, and his 8 overs for 28 with 3 wickets to his name (including his own running catch somewhere in the outfield off his own bowling and a sharply taken catch at mid-off from Phil) simply meant there was little hope for Warninglid unless something radical occurred. But all TWCC could offer in this vein was a few creaky overs from Jim followed by somewhat better-oiled offerings from Joe, Dave and George which did give the scorer something to do, but not enough to bring anything like hope to the visiting side. Great to see Dave getting a wicket thanks to a high-energy sprint to mid-wicket from Jonathan, and Tom's calmly taken but tricky catch in the deep also gave George something in the wicket's column. Mikey's one over of spin deserves a mention; more or less all the deliveries landed on the short stuff, and his 1 for 1 off 1 is now nothing short of a worry for the rest of the season.
Warninglid were all out in the 34th over, some 74 runs short of TWCC's 216.
A well-paced batting performance followed by some great bowling from TWCC's A-list with Ed and Tom removing 5 top order batters between them, canny skippering from Joe combined with excellent all round performances from the whole side sent us to the pub with little need for further cheer.

Scorecard
Toss negotiated due to Warninglid having 9 players, TWCC batted first. 40 overs game, no nice draws available. Some weird Last Man Stands thing was agreed. It did happen but nothing much came of it which is just as well as I've no idea what was going on but I know it wasn't cricket.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Clarke Bld Blake 65; J Simon Bld Frankham 49; C Howes Ct Mackie Bld Swinscoe 19; M Pearce Ct Reilly Bld Swinscoe 14; J Rowland Ct Mackie Bld Swinscoe 9; D Jones Bld Swinscoe 2; J Panther Bld Swinscoe 16; G Howes Ct Blake Bld Parsons 1;
T Rydon Not Out 10; E Howes Not Out 16. DNB P Steinke. Extras 15 (B 6, LB 1, W 4, NB 4) Total 216 for 8, 40 overs.
Fall: 1-117; 2-125; 3-154; 4-166; 5-169; 6-174; 7-175; 8-192.
Warninglid Bowling: Blake 8-0-34-1; Acton 7-1-30-0; Clarke 6-0-46-0; Mackie 3-0-21-0; Frankham 8-2-26-1; Swinscoe 6-0-32-5; Parsons 2-0-18-1.
Warninglind Innings: J Reilly Ct C Howes Bld T Rydon 8; J Frankham-Eade Ct P Steinke Bld E Howes 21; M Nastys Bld T Rydon 0; C Mackie Ct & Bld E Howes 29; A Parsons Ct P Hunter Bld J Simon 9; R Clarke Bld E Howes 1; S Acton Ct J Rowland (Wk) Bld D Jones 35; M Blake Ct T Rydon Bld G Howes 20; J Swinscoe Bld M Pearce 3. Extras 15 (B 2, LB 3, W 10) Total 142 all out 33.5 overs.
Fall: 1-9; 2-11; 3-39; 4-50; 5-53; 6-78; 7-120; 8-127; 9-142.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke6-1-12-0; T Rydon 8-2-20-2; E Howes 8-0-28-3; J Simon 4-0-16-1; J Panther 3-0-28-0; D Jones 2-0-16-1; G Howes 1.5-0-15-1; M Pearce 1-0-1-1.
TWCC win by 74 runs.

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TWCC v Cutter's Choice CC August 4th 2019
Every time I begin to write up a game I mean to be brief. But all too often, for my RSI and busy readers alike, TWCC games are so action-packed that it would be an injustice not to go through the afternoon's play in all it's exciting detail. On this occasion, however, this ambition of mine should be perfectly possible to achieve.
Cutter's Choice, or CCCC as it seems a shame not to refer to them as, are a side new to TWCC, but they assured us that their innoculations were up to date and were a very jolly and pleasant group of players with whom to share a somewhat grey Sunday, so on we went with CCCC batting first.
Ed and Tom R opened up, and whilst both were their usual ebullient selves, on this occasion it was Ed who got the maidens and Tom who took the wickets. I wasn't in a position to see quite what Ed was doing with the ball though it was clearly something good, but fielding in the slips was a perfect place to see how Tom's inswinging fast pitched-up deliveries were doing the damage. Jim dropped a sharpish chance in the slips, but Tom ploughed on and his reward was an LBW and a bowled 2 balls later. It looked to me as if facing either of these two was tricky indeed.
To return to my ambition; (I'm overdue a trip down the road to see Joffra again) notable other events are as follows:
Phil's return! Phil - he of the fast arm and reverse cap, back where he belongs in a TWCC shirt and in the wickets column. 5 overs for 14 and a bail-trimmer bowled wicket. Welcome back Phil!
Graham's catch! Out at long on, a high swirling catch that he judged perfectly and held on to in front of the pavilion (shed). What a goody.
That was it, really, as far as I can recall, and here we are at tea! Ed's tea; coronation chicken and Guinness cake - how good is that?
TWCC's batting can be dealt with even quicker; we had 187 to overhaul, a target somewhat larger than might have been possible if we'd bowled Ed and Tom for 20 overs each, but there it was on the scoreboard, large as life.
Edward at 4, stayed and scored - the only one of us who looked good for any length of time. Jim and Tom opened, and Tom stayed for long enough to be noticed, Jim and Brocky not so much. After that only Edward with 42 runs to his name made any headway against some perfectly respectable bowling from the CCCC bowling outfit. I don't think the bowling was such that we couldn't or shouldn't have made a worthier effort, but there it was; we weren't going to overhaul the target of 187 in spite of Edward's excellent performance, and it became clear that we needed to hold out for a draw which the TWCC middle and lower order contrived to do. Asstd. Howes' did their valiant best, backed up by Honse and Rob S, but it was Graham and lastly Phil who absorbed the last ball of CCCC's 42 overs to safely bring home a somewhat lose-y feelingy draw.
Cutter's Choice proved to be the better side on the day, and TWCC came somewhere near second place.

Scorecard
Scorebook does not record who won the toss, but Cutter's Choice batted first
Cutter's Choice CC Innings: Paul Bld Steinke 7; Nigel LBW Bld T Rydon 22;
Rajat Bld Rydon 0; Dave Ct & Bld Saunders 13; Paddy Ct Cuthbert Bld Karvay 36; Ian Bld C Howes 27; Abs not out 35; Saff not out 16. DNB Andy. Extras 31 (B 6, LB 2, W 22, NB 1) Total 187 for 6 (35 overs).
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 7-2-19-0; T Rydon 7-0-27-2; P Steinke 5-0-14-1; R Saunders 6-0-36-1; R Brock 4-0-28-0; H Karvay 2-0-15-1; C Howes 2-0-16-1; G Cuthbert 2-0-25-0.
TWCC Innings:  J Simon ct Ian Bld Andy 12; T Rydon LBW Saff 14; R Brock Bld Saff 5; E Bunn LBW Paddy 42; E Howes Bld Afzal 2; H Karvay Bld Afzal 4; R Saunders Bld Ian 2; C Howes Bld Rajat 7 G Cuthbert not out 3; G Howes Bld Rajat 0; P Steinke not out 3. Extras 22 (B3, LB1, W 18) Total 116 for 9.
Cutter's Choice Bowling: Andy 6-0-29-1; Saff 11-1-27-2; Afzal 8-3-12-2; Ian 10-4-26-1; Paddy 4-1-12-1; Rajat 3-1-5-2.
Match drawn.


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TWCC Single Wicket Competition July 28th 2019
It takes, on average, three to four years for TWCC to forget what playing a single-wicket competition is like. What madness! But what fun!
There were notable and much-missed absentees, but plenty of the usual suspects were present; Mikey Pearce, Honse, Graham, Brocky, George (Howes), Matt Edwards, Joe, Matt Brock, Tom Rydon, Tom Firth, Tony Pearce, and Ed. Twelve good men and true.
Brocky, who had clearly been lying awake for weeks (some say years) planning this event, had devised a new format for the competition, and, much to everyone's surprise, it was entirely successful. The play revolved around an initial league: 4 groups of 3 players, two of whom would go through to quarter-finals/knockout stages, and anyone unlucky enough to come last in the initial group stages would take part in the Plate Competition via semi-finals/final knockout rounds. 12 balls to be bowled by each bowler, no byes to the keeper allowed but you could run off a wide. One further, and ultimately decisive rule played its part; lose a wicket and you lose 6 runs, but stay in to fight on.
TWCC's very own tribute to the 50 over World Cup! Was Bet Tony interested?!?? Oh yes! Folding money was blowing about in the mid-summer breeze like confetti.

First round results
Grp. 1: Honse & Mikey through, Graham out.
Grp. 2: Brocky & George through, Matt E out.
Grp. 3: Matt B & Joe through, Tom R out.
Grp. 4: Tony & Ed through, Tom F out.
Well... Someone has to lose, and Matt E and both Toms being out twice proved decisive, whilst Graham was concentrating on the Plate Competition...
Quarter Finals
1. Brocky v George: Brocky scored a solid 13, showing even more commitment than normal by running a lot of quick runs, and George bowled a steady tight line without taking a wicket. T'other way round George, in spite of having top-scored in the first round, suffered an early wicket from which he didn't recover. Brocky through.
2. Ed v Tony: Both were out once, but Tony's the wiley one and chased down Ed's 10 by the 11th ball. Both were out once, which, in spite of tight performances from both players, proved a more challenging backwards step to overcome for Ed than it did to the old hand.
3. Mikey v Joe: It could be said that this was a tense match up, and, indeed, it proved to be a close-run thing. Mikey, one of our very best batters but who seems to have forgotten how to bowl up against Joe of the swinging bat and balls. Indeed it was ball 1 that Mikey contrived to hit straight to a fielder (no idea, now, who or how) and started on -6 with only 11 balls left. But he did come back. Straight back - second ball hit for 6! This was full-on modern cricket, and Mikey continued to build an innings over the next 10 balls, ending on a very respectable 25 runs. But Joe had a secret weapon; Mikey's bowling. With 5 wides and a no ball, Mikey gifted Joe 6 runs and bowled an extra over, and Joe's total climbed steadily until he needed a single off the last ball to go through. Just one run. Odds-on Mikey would bowl a wide, but he didn't, and Joe couldn't get a bat on the ball which went through to the keeper. No byes was the rule = no run. Mikey goes through. Just.
4. Honse v Matt B: Matt B continued his great form with the ball, taking Honse's wicket too often to allow an injured Honse any chance when it came to his turn to bowl. Matt needed less than no runs to win and did. A shame for Honse as his is just the sort of game that can do well in these tight and unpredictable situations.
Semi-Finals
1. Mikey v Brocky: Decided, in the end, by a catch. Mikey scored a very solid 21 without being out, with only two 4's in the mix thanks to Rich's brave use of the slower ball. He's a smart one, that Skip, and with Mikey's unpredictable bowling to come, he may well have been able to get into the final of his dreams... 15 off the first 6 balls, he was on course until a smack to Ed at short cover ended up in a remarkable catch which impressed us all tremendously, including Ed himself when he realised he had the ball in his hand. 13 runs for Rich to get off just five balls was just too much, especially as Mikey forgot to bowl any more wides. Mikey through.
2. Matt B v Tony: Nothing but Pearces and Brocks in the semi-finals; dynasty cricket. Exuberant youth versus the sagacity of experience. No, more than just sagacity; Tony is, of course, an excellent all round sportsman so Matt was up against it. But he was up for the challenge, scoring steadily, and with three 4's he ended up on 22. That was a strong challenge indeed, but Tony spun the cogs in his head and, in reply, of course came up with 23 runs in reply. Why wouldn't he? No wickets at all in this match, Matt bowled perfectly well, batted even better, and came up just short. Tony through; it would be a Pearce's name on the trophy. On Tony's trophy.
Playing out the Plate
In the remaining matches in the Plate, if you were out you were out, and thus, by extension, if you overhauled the desired total batting second, you won. Tom F faced all 12 balls of quality pace bowling from Matt E, ending on a very creditable 16, but it was Matt who stroked a four off Tom's 7th ball to play his way into the Plate final. Sadly for Graham, in the other semi-final, Tom's well-honed pacey skills resulted in his being bowled first ball, leaving Tom with the tricky business of surviving one ball from Graham to win. Tricky also, it would have been, for the count-backers to decide who would go through to the Plate final if Tom was also out first ball... but Tom's single off Graham's first ball earned him his place in the final and the back-room stat boys could relax.
Plate Final: Matt E v Tom R. Who'd have thought it - Matt and Tom, quality players both, in the plate at all? But such are the vagaries of the Single-Wicket Competition and here they were in what was to be, as with many match-ups on this day, a very close and interesting game. Matt batted first - don't forget when a wicket fell that was it; sudden death of the cruellest variety - and batted for all 12 of Tom's offerings, ending up with an impressive and challenging 18 runs to his name. Tom offered no wides or weirdnesses; he just bowled good, honest, tight balls which Matt did well to score off. Pads on, Tom had a tough task in front of him; score 19 runs, against Matt, and don't get out. Which is what he did! He needed a single off the last ball, and got it, just like that. Either could have won, both played well, but Tom it was whose name will be scribbled onto some sort of miscellaneous cracked crockery with a blunt felt pen sometime in the next few years.
Which brings us to the climax of the day... The Pub! Oh, apart from the final of the single-wicket competition.
Single Wicket Competition Final
A Pearce-off. Pundits would pay good money, surely, to see how Mikey's lifetime of intimidatory back garden experiences played out, and here we were, in the TWCC Single-Wicket final, witnessing the Pearce inter-generational throwdown showdown.
Mikey batted first, and with so much at stake, both Pearces were a little cagey. Tony bowled no wides, and Mikey declined to hit out until Tony's sixth ball went for four. Another 4 the next ball, but only another 8 runs in all to take Mikey to 21. And Mikey's bowling arm was not behaving as he'd like... Tony took his time, waiting for the wides, and a no ball, and then, in the conclusive meat of the game, balls 7, 8 and 9, were struck for three 4's in a row; bang bang bang, taking him to 27 (5 runs ahead of his target of 22) with three balls left. But this wasn't the Plate; if Tony was out he'd lose 6 runs. A dot ball, then on the penultimate ball, Tony stroked the decisive single that took him to 28 so that even if he was out on his last ball he'd be on 22 - one more than Mikey, who in spite of his heroic batting efforts, came second on the day.
Edward and James are previous serial winners of this much-cherished trophy, but it is Tony's name that appears most often in recent years, and it will be there again in 2019. Thanks to Brocky for coming up with the format and tea, and congratulations to all who took part and to Tony for showing, once again, that class will out.


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TWCC Tour to Wimborne Minster June 27th-30th 2019
For such a small cricket club, TWCC’s ability to tour year after year is truly astonishing – as are some of the events which unfold!  This year, in Rob’s memorable phrase, we dipped into the same river for a second time.  12 months on from our 125 tour to Wimbourne, we were back.  Joe was declared tour captain, a title he treasured and used (and frequently overused) in all available situations, though he  was very restrained when selecting himself in the batting order – he went as low as 5 against Bournemouth!
Dave and Joe set off from Brighton, Tom R and Ed from Wineham and Edward, Jim, Matt B and Richard from Twineham.  We were heading for an 11.30 round of golf and the weather was fantastic –warm and sunny.  The course – Queen’s Park in Bournemouth – was in the town’s outskirts.  By the time we actually got underway, the weather was yet hotter and more humid.  The `players` started off:  Jim, Tom, Ed and Joe.  The rest jumped into a pair of golf carts and began the humiliating process of teeing off in front of the clubhouse.  Fortunately, despite the quality of the course, nobody was on the balcony watching.  The course turned out to be a ball-eater.  There was nothing between the fairways and thick impenetrable rough and once a ball either rolled or was powered into any part, it was gone.  For most of the once a year hackers, the numbers of lost balls headed into double figures.  It was, for most, a dispiriting process.  Though the professionals were smacking the balls off the tee, the process of getting the ball into the hole was frequently interrupted by the infernal rough.  Jim was making the least heavy work of it, as Ed and Joe tried to chase him down.  In the other group,   the heat, the frequent waits for dog walkers and the general lack of regular golf all took their toll – and when the par 3 9th hove into view after 3 hours, it was decided it would be the last.  Edward won the inevitable betting on that hole and then it was into the buggies and off to a cold beer.  But the other group continued on – losing an exasperated Tom at the 15th.  Finally the group of 3 finished the course with Jim the victor.  Temperatures by mid afternoon were in the high 20s, and the beer slipped down a treat. 
With that the two groups headed to Wimbourne and the Kings Head Hotel.  We were greeted by the lovely Rachel, over whom Richard slavered rather too lasciviously and was duly fined.  We met up in the hotel bar and after a couple of beers, headed to the nearby Prezzo for dinner.  We then headed to Weatherspoons, were joined by Tom Firth and 8 became 9. 
The following day, after a hearty breakfast at the hotel, it was tennis on the nearby grass courts.  We had plenty of racquets, but were hampered by a lack of balls until the helpful coach supplied a few and we were off.  What he didn’t have that would have been handy was a lawnmower, but we decided to brave the jungle.  It soon became clear that the legendary `5 racquets` and Ed were the guys to beat.  They generally made fewer error than others-  but generally everyone had a good game, most won and lost occasionally and for an hour and a half we raced around the courts on another glorious day.  But it was like a swingers BBQ and such was the chopping and changing of partners that there were no official `winners` - so that title remains vacant.  At lunch, the boys decided to try a first visit to the legendary Rising Sun where they found beer at £1.95 a pint – which is a good start for any pub.  Apres beer, they purchased a set of boules and we all headed to the park.  These were not the metal boules beloved by the French – they were plastic and very bouncy and - when thrown around the parents and children at the end of school time – it made for a rather entertaining spectacle.  Boules went long and short, on the path, under tables, through the children.  Richard beat Ed in the singles, only to then lose his prize money to Joe in a one-off gamble.  Jim and Tom won the doubles.  Relief was offered by the shade of a lovely oak tree as temperatures hit the 30s. By the time we were done the school was empty and it was time to head back to the hotel, meet up with the newly arrived Rob and make our way to Bournemouth CC for our first game of cricket. 
And so to Bournemouth Cricket Club – the vast centre of cricketing power in Dorset.  It was a hot afternoon when we rolled up, by this time we were 11 with the VERY late arrival on tour of Matt E.  We were starved of cricket and we were ready to go - in a `pop into the bar first` sort of way.   Joe won the toss and elected to field.  Bournemouth had rallied around to pull together a team – including an out of sorts first teamer, a few coaches and others.  The first two batsmen looked young, lean and keen.  But with Rob tearing in from one end and Jim letting the ball weave its crazy flighted way down the wicket at the other, these guys found it hard to get away and failed to get the pinch-hitting score they were clearly hoping for.  In fact, with the regular two over rotation spells of the bowlers, it wasn’t until the third over that the first boundary was struck, and in the 4th over, with the score on a mere 16, TWCC made the breakthrough when a run out was exceptionally delivered – though the book does not say who was responsible.  4 overs later, the score had more than doubled as the powerful opener Luke Matthews got into his stride.  But Matt kept the pressure on at the other end with an LBW of their number 3 Palmer.  TWCC tails were up and – considering the heat and beer – the bowling and fielding was looking really impressive.  Tight bowling continued with Ed and Matt Brock – and another run out brought BCC to 72-3.  There was a dangerous looking combination as the dangerous Owen Jones joined Matthews – and it took the wily old timer Brock Snr to float down one of his slower balls to encourage Matthews to sweep and dink the ball to the keeper.  106-4.  After that, Bournemouth batted sensibly, another run out ensued, but they got to 132-5 after 20 overs.  Surely that could be overhauled….
Joe eschewed the previously tried and tested tour batting line up selection process – involving pulling names out of a pint pot – for something new and exciting.  He chose it himself.  Well that was never going to work!  Tom Rydon opened up with Richard and they never quite got onto the same wavelength.  Richard scooped the ball up in the air, within 6 feet of the crease, whereupon a scrum of fielders dived for it, but were prevented from catching it by the skilful shielding of the ball by said batsman.  Imagine his surprise then to turn back to his crease and see the young Rydon standing there, the only person to have engaged in anything slightly pursuant of progressing the match – namely, by taking a run.  Dave Rogers was next in – he also made 1, Tom Firth 2, Joe 2, Matt Edwards 9 and suddenly the score stood dangerously close to a wipeout on 36-5 – which became 36-6 when Tom surrendered his wicket for a valiant 17.  Not for the first time, Rob showed us the way to Respectability Road and the next 3 batsmen also joined the happy band of batsmen actually batting.  Rob smacked the ball to all parts for 25, Jim stroked it gracefully for 19 and Matt Brock clubbed it for 10.  Their combined effort took us to 93-8 and 115-9, though in truth they were assisted by the comedic bowling efforts by some of BCC’s bowlers keen to impersonate their peers and team-mates.  In the end, the defences buckled at 115 when Matt was clean bowled, leaving Ed wishing for more – surely he’d be higher up the order for Balcombe -and we lost by a gaping margin, which will go down in the book as 17 runs.
BCC were very good to us, a nice bunch of chaps with whom we socialised afterwards over beer and hot dogs. We laughed when one of them got hit on the head by an `incrediball` and we generally enjoyed sitting out at a huge and lovely ground on a gorgeous evening.  What we lost on the pitch we won back off it.  They tried to sign up a few of our star players – but the prospect of 120 overs in the searing heat of the day was less than enticing.  (Anyway they only actually wanted Rob and he was already prostituting himself elsewhere on the Saturday).  As the sun set it seemed like the right moment to take our leave.  We said our thanks to our great hosts, were invited back at anytime and left in excellent spirits.  

TWCC VS Bournemout Cricket Club 20/20 28th June 2019
TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl
BCC Innings: J Coombs Run Out 6; L Matthews Ct Keeper Bld R Brock 43; J Palmer LBW Bld Edwards 6; O Jones Run Out 48; D Rani Run Out 11; F Oldfield Not Out 8; B Thompson Not Out 2; TOTAL 132-5
FALL: 16-1, 38-3, 72-2, 106-5, 128-4
TWCC Bowling: R Rydon 2-1-11-0; J Simon 3-0-26-0; M Edwards 2-0-15-1; M Brock 3-0-18-0; E Howes 2-0-9-0; R Brock 2-0-10-1, J Panther 2-0-15-0, E Bunn 3-0-18-0.
TWCC Innings: R Brock Run Out 1; T Rydon Bld A Humber 17; D Rogers Bld N Pack 1; T Firth Ct Matthews Bld N Pack 3; J Panther Bld Jason 2; M Edwards Bld Jason 9; R Rydon Bld F Oldfield 25; E Bunn Bld J Coombes 6; J Simon Ct, Bld Thompson 19; M Brock Bld Palmer 10; E Howes Not Out 2.
TOTAL 115 all out
FALL: 3-2, 5-3, 17-4, 19-5, 36-1, 36-6, 69-8, 72-9
BCC Bowling: too many confusing impressions going on.
BCC win by 17 runs

Back at the hotel, we changed and headed out to the Rising Sun, to see if its legendary status as Wimbourne’s number 1 night-time venue was still valid.  Alas, it was not.  The pub had a live band but was relatively quiet.  So TWCC did what we do best.  We simply sat around a table, all 11 of us, and drank beer, chatted, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company.   Inevitably the evening got slightly more riotous the longer the night went on and more cheap beer was swilled.  Suddenly karaoke was the order of the table, led by Matt E – who took it worrying seriously - with the rest joining in.  The evening went on into the early hours when 8 of us piled into the local kebab shop on the way back to a sultry night in the hotel.
The following day promised to be the hottest of the weekend:  temperatures were threatening to reach 34 degrees.  Four brave golfers – Ed, Tom F, Matt and Joe – decided to hit the same golf course as Thursday.  Rob headed off for a 20/20 at Sherbourne.  The rest – Matt B, Edward, Dave, Tom R, Jim and Richard – went to the Bournemouth golf centre for a challenging 18 holes. 
The course was very different from that being faced by the fearsome 4.  While they were once again facing the dust, the rough, the noisy road and sirens of the Queen’s Park course, the 6 were surrounded by dinosaurs – with real dinosaur sounds – purple, green, red and yellow balls and excited toddlers as they were treated by Edward to a round in Bournemouth’s premier crazy golf course.  The challenges for both groups were substantial.  The grass boys faced searing heat and 6000 yards.  The dino boys faced a course where the obstacles included  a 2 foot water jump and a 3 year old girl wandering across the championship fairway.  Frankly, details of the grass boys` round are sketchy – other than Matt suffering from hay fever.  They turned up at dino park at lunchtime red and sweaty.  Once the waiter had thrown a club sandwich at them, they recovered and showed enthusiasm to take on the dino course.  Game on!  Teams of 3 were organised with a team prize and an individual title to fight for.  But interestingly, it wasn’t long before the team ethos kicked in.  According to the rules laid down by the TWCC golf rules committee, once a ball has been played in crazy golf, it can’t be picked up.  So if – during the course of your round – your ball sidles up to another, you are within your rights to thwack your opponents ball out of the way, as long as you hit your own first.    During the morning, this had been an important tactic, willingly employed by all, and frequently with great glee.  But as the `team ethos` kicked in during the afternoon, teams worked as one.  Joe’s careful reading of the carpet like fairway (well, actual carpet)  proved a boon for his team-mates.  Dave’s wily experience from a lifetime of golf helped – but only a little! Edward’s sage advice about how to jump the 2 foot ditch was listened to – though mostly ignored by the hapless players who accompanied him.  They opted to drive the 15 foot hole like they were on the first tee of their morning course and whilst the balls cleared the gap, they then ricocheted off the rocks protecting the hole and bounced into the nearby dino pond!  Joe fished out first one, then another, then another as team Bunn collapsed into a melt of testosterone.  The young guns team of `TomTomEd` were putting their golfing prowess to good use as they tiptoed their way carefully through the bumps, jumps and crafted curves of the dino course.  But this match was always going to be decided on the 17th – the fearsome hole which in the morning had seen Tom Rydon forced to retire after 15 shots because of the length of the queue building up on the tee behind him.   Team Bunn – and in particular their leader – displayed a previously unknown condition – dyscalculia.   As Edward missed the hole, went round the hole, left the course, got stuck in a gulley – all in rotation  - and his shot count tipped into the 20s – his condition seemed to make him unable to count above 13!  Finally we escaped the blazing sun and over a beer on the balcony, the scores were totalled.  The boys did well, Joe, Matt and Richard did less well but by 1 shot – the wooden spoon went to team Bunn, and they duly treated the rest to a pint. 
Back at the hotel Dave announced he had to leave early for family commitments.  Joe was convinced he’d left with his cricket bag in his car and got all silly and fretty.  Big mistake!  The wind up lasted 2 hours before Joe’s cricket gear – including his less than fragrant box – appeared in various decorative places in the hotel dining room.  In the meantime the boys played a few games of shoot, warming up for a proper cards sess later that night. 
The Saturday night provided us – and Wimbourne – with the spectacle of `shit shirt night`.  A very loud group – vocally and visually – gathered in the hotel reception. A picture paints a thousand words so hopefully the editor of the Gazette will get the hint.  There was a little kerfuffle about the curry which had been booked, Joe – tour captain and therefore God – insisting that Richard had broken a tour pledge by not booking RimJim.  It was one of a number of savage fines handed out during a fines session at the Rising Sun.  Others to suffer were Rob and Matt – late arrivals, Codgers – non attendance, and virtually anything that entered the minds of Joe and the fines manager Tom R.  The kitty was well stacked.  So too was Ellie, the manager of the Rising Sun who promised to judge our shit shirts.  But in the end she decided there was something more important than tickling the fancies of a collective Jackson Pollack painting so the honour of deciding the worst shirt went to some bloke in the pub, who very good naturedly played along, took the photos and decided Tom Rydon’s Arsenal shirt was worst.  Ed’s newly bought rose tinted shirt was judged the most wearable – a shame in itself on SSN.  It was a funny, chatty night, supping our cheap pints, the sort this club is best at.  The curry, when it happened, was excellent – a restaurant far excelling RimJim and almost empty apart from us.  We headed back to the Rising Sun – again struggling to regain its former glory – and after a few more beers, returned to the hotel.  A poker school ensued – 8 players with Rob having a suspiciously masterful knowledge of the rules.  Little good it did him – he was one of the first to go.  As the hours fell away, so did the players until by around 2am, Matt B, Tom R and Richard called it quits and agreed to pocket their winnings.   The following morning we packed up and left Wimbourne for Sussex.
We rolled up at The Victory in Staplefield on a baking summer lunchtime to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of one of Sussex’s most beautiful villages.  And we then bombarded – to Jim’s great concern – our fellow drinkers with live TV coverage on mobiles of England vs India in the CWC semi final.  Great fun!  We were joined by Honse before the short trip to a sun-baked Balcombe ground where Joe lost the toss and we were put in.  Joe, who by this time was suffering from captaincy fatigue and really making very little sense, tried and failed to explain the rules – but we can reveal that the match was a 40/40 `hybrid` which permitted a draw.
Joe decided to put himself as wicket-keeper.  He opened up Matt E and Tom R and in the first over Matt clean bowled their opener.  The pair of them then continued with the tidiest of spells that finished with them having conceded just 29 runs off 10 overs for the 1 wicket.  A double change brought Richard on up the hill - who enticed the second opener to lob a catch to Tom Rydon – and Ed down the hill, who continued with the miserly bowling, and during his 5 wicket spell took a clean bowled wicket of – wait for it – I Tremble - for just 10 runs.  Richard meanwhile got another fortunate catch and a clean bowled and Balcombe were in trouble at 58-5.  But Joe had in his control, bowling greatness – an array of talent only rarely available to TWCC captains.  Next on were the combination of Honse and Matt Brock.  Now Honse bowled well and tight and took a wicket.  But Matt was awesome.  Opting to go without a full run-up, the occasional and oft erratic young gun rifled the balls down the hill, with great accuracy and to devastating effect.  Over the next 6 overs, he clean bowled 4 Balcombe players, including the last 2 wickets, leaving him sitting on a hat-trick.  The Balcombe innings petered out to 109 with the scorebook showing the Brock surname 7 times in the bowling column. 
Tea was taken and very good it was too, with fresh fruit, cake, sausages and quiche.  Quite excellent. Jim and Tom Firth refused to overindulge because they were the chosen ones – the TWCC openers.  They were facing the bowling combo of T DeCastro and D Decastro.  Jim took his time, feeling his way into the innings, despatching any loose balls.  Tom however didn’t.  A fine batssman on his day he was clean bowled for what looks – and I’m sure he will confirm – like a golden duck by T DeCastreo, a talented but not unduly fearsome opening bowler.  His 0 in the scorebook has a suspicious dot in the middle of it!  Anyway no problem, Tony, the tour refusenik, had deigned to show his face and proposed to do the same with his undisputed talent.  However, after two dot balls, he too was clean bowled by the same bowler.   Possibly he was still reliving the Gladys night concert which had – outrageously – taken precedence over tour!  Thank God we had a tour captain who can whip the ball off his legs and send it whizzing to the short legside boundary.  But wait!  Two short overs passed and the OTHER DeCastro sent down a straight ball and Joe was traipsing off, also clean bowled for 0. The jubilant DeCastros were threatening to wipe out the whole team.  At 16-3, Edward went in to stop the rot.  He was given out shortly afterwards for LBW but refused to walk.  The umpire was in a difficult situation.  This was a small Sunday match, a friendly, and he had a man refusing to walk.  He relented and decided to accept that Edward had edged the ball – then gave him out for LBW shortly afterwards.  But the let off had gave Edward time to watch Jim play his strokes and start to restore respectability.  When Edward finally agreed to let the umpire retake control of the match, Matt Edwards made his way in with the game delicately poised on 62-4.  But the high drama ended there because through shots that were smooth and elegant Jim and Matt took the game away from Balcombe and brought it home.  No other wickets were to fall, sixes started to rain down including the final shot which won the match, a fine hit by Matt.  Tony managed a bit of last minute tour betting, depriving Jim of a pint of Guinness on the outcome of the CWC. Then we sat and enjoyed the Balcombe hospitality overlooking the beautiful Sussex countryside before taking our leave at the end of tour 2019.
It was a quieter tour than normal.  But it was fun – a lot of fun.  It’s great just being with a bunch of guys you really like and really get on with.  There was a huge amount of piss taking, fun being had, mischief being made and even some half decent cricket.  The shape of future tours was discussed, but one thing came out clearly – tours R Us – we do them well and will continue to do so. 

Balcombe vs TWCC, Sunday 1 July
BCC won the toss and opted to bat
Balcombe CC Innings: J Deansfield Bld M Edwards l0; G Deansfield Ct T Rydon Bld R Brock 16; M ElliottCt E HowesBld R Brock 20; N Rawbin Bld M Brock 18; I Tremble    Bld E Howes 0; D Decastro Bld M Brock 0; C Hurst Ct M Edwards Bld H Karvay 11; T DeCastro Bld M Brock 15; A Rawbin Bld M Brock 5; T Rawbin Not Out 0; C DeCastro Bld M Brock 0. TOTAL: 109 ALL OUT
FALL:  0, 35, 57, 57, 58, 69, 88, 102, 109, 109.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 5-2-8-1, T Rydon 5-1-21-0, E Howes 5-1-10-1, R Brock 5-0-13-3, H Karvay 5-0-26-1, M Brock 6-0-21-4.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Not Out 51; T Firth Bld T DeCastro 0; T Pearce Bld T DeCastro 0; J Panther Bld D DeCastro 0; E Bunn LBW Bld A Rawbin 8; M Edwards Not Out 31. DNB: R Brock, T Rydon, H Karvay, M Brock, E Howes. TOTAL: 115 – 4
FALL: 11-2, 11-3, 16-4, 62-5
Balcombe Bowling: D DeCastro 5-1-13-1; T DeCastro 5-1-16-2; A Rawbin 5.3-1-29-1; T Rawbin 2-0-16-0;  I Tremble 2-1-8-0; M Rawbin 4-1-11-0; N Elliott 5-1-14-0.
TWCC Win by 6 wickets


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TWCC v London Unity June 16th 2019
Rain for days... would the game be on? And rain all Sunday morning too, but the faith of Skipper Edwards, who at 09.00-o-clock-hundred-hours was buttering up his sandwiches and had a vested interest in showing faith in the forecast, was rewarded when with an hour to go the clouds parted, shadows began to appear and a strong wind began to dry off the grass. It would be a slow outfield, but game on!
Matt, found himself as leader of a remarkably and inspiringly youthful TWCC side, and when he won the toss he chose to bowl first. Matt himself and Tom R opened up the taps in great style, with Matt, at first, struggling for line running into the wind with a swinging ball and Tom flying in from the Downs End. Within two overs Tom, whose energy never flags, had his and TWCC's first wicket - another clean-bowled for Tom, and Matt piled in with three straight maidens, the last of which ended with a twotrick. None of the Unity batters were finding it at all easy to get the ball away, and skipper Edwards was able to keep a tight field in place with Unity on 19 for 3. Joe Driver did manage to both survive and score a few runs, but the wicket was pacy, the ball was swingy and the bowlers were swinging it. Reese was chipping in with some good leg-side takes and the overall fielding performance, undoubtedly helped by the youth of the home side, was restrictive and unforgiving.
First change brought Honse and Joe into the attack, and the situation was perfect for them; Unity were on the defensive having lost cheap early wickets, and the slower pace brought out the high-bounce of the artificial surface which conditions often provoke batters into unwise and elevated strokes (I should know, Ed). Joe's middle over of five was a wicket maiden as Pitcher failed to keep the ball down and Matt took the catch (covers?). Honse, whose first over was a maiden, followed that up by bowling a tight line with his deliveries bouncing at an awkward height that earned him a three-for; two caught (Matt again and Josh) and a clean-bowled. Unity were crumbling somewhat, not ever really recovering from the 8-over opening spells of Matt and Tom. The situation called for a calculating approach to batting in order to recover from a slow start, but the visitors found it hard to get the ball away without giving chances and taking risks. Joe Driver was approaching the game in the right way for the situation, but he found himself somewhat alone and was then out for a dogged 18, and it was left to McKenzie in at 9, when the bowling was less penetrative though still hard to score from, to knock up a quick 32 before being out, caught (Ollie), off the bowling of Josh. Unity all out for 104.
After an early tea Jim and Mikey P faced up to the in-ducking swing of Joe Driver, which was typically tight and difficult to score off, but, on the day, neither Driver took a wicket though both were, as always, economical. However, whereas the TWCC opening bowlers had the batters pinned down from both ends, Unity's Caulfield was, on the day, rather expensive and Jim and Mikey started off like trains; Jim's Pacer to Mikey's Bullet. Hitting four 4's and three 6's Mikey took TWCC to 56 (Jim on 10...) in the eighth over before he was out, stumped, hopping down the wicket to McKenzie's slow spin with a grand 46 to his name.
Chasing low totals has often been TWCC's downfall, largely because the first innings total may be low for a reason - in this case the slow outfield - but with this start in the bank it was going to be difficult for Unity from here. But Unity have played TWCC before and knew what to do; bowl slowly and watch the batters get themselves out. McKenzie was their man for the job and he delivered slow, awkward length often wide balls that need hitting and need hitting on the up and straight to fielders. That often does it.
Jim fell quickly, caught in the covers. Then Ollie. Then Tom F. TWCC 66 for 4. However, and happily for the home side, that was bad as it got as Josh and Reese set about the business in hand, and although Reese was out for a calm 10 the game was won soon enough. Josh was showing his cricketing pedigree with bat as well as ball, and Edward stood tall and cracked a couple of pulled fours for another not out score (average building nicely). To finish the game off Josh, who had a train to catch, gently leaned on a straight ball and stuck it into the Jones Stand over the toilet complex. Josh's 23 not out in quick time saw the home side to the win.
Unity were up against it this time; a fixture that is generally very closely fought and which, historically, Unity have often won. On this occasion, with Matt and Tom setting the bowling tone leaving the middle order subject to excellent extended spells from Joe, Honse and Edward, Unity never had enough runs. The fielding from the home side was excellent, and lots of catches, some simple, some hard (Honse's catch at mid-wicket and Ollie's at long-on stick in the mind and others probably should too but that depends on the mind in question more than the excellence of the catch), stopped any sort of total building from the combined bats of the Unity team. Mikey and Josh's runs took us over the line, though the line wasn't too far away in the first place.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field first.
London Untiy Innings: M Driver Bld M Edwards 1; Dean Bld T Rydon 7; J Driver Ct M Edwards Bld H Karvay 18; A Gane Ct H Karvay Bld M Edwards 0; A Pitcher Ct M Edwards Bld J Panther 3; J Caulfield Ct J Pieters Bld H Karvay 8; J Moore Bld E Bunn 11; Cockburn Bld H Karvay 2; D McKenzie Ct O Foulger Bld J Pieters 32; S Columbine C & Bld J Pieters; M Driver not out 0. Extras 18 (W7, NB3, B4, LB4) Total 104 all out (36.5 overs).
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-3-14-2; T Rydon 8-3-10-1; H Karvay 7-1-24-3; J Pieters 5-0-24-2; E Bunn 3-0-14-1.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct M Driver Bld McKenzie 11; M Pearce St, Bld McKenzie 46; O Foulger Ct M Driver Bld McKenzie 2; T Firth Ct J Driver Bld McKenzie 5; J Pieters not out 23; R Packham Ct, Bld McKenzie 10; E Bunn not out 8. DNB M Edwards, H Karvay, J Panther, T Rydon. Extras 5 (W3, NB2) Total 110 for 5 (20.1 overs).
TWCC win by 5 wickets.

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TWCC v Xiles June 9th 2019
No Brocky, no Matt - what were we to do? Call in the Panth of course! Fixture fixer, part of the future of TWCC - who better to steer us through another Sunday afternoon?
Joe took Xiles' skipper of their ten-man team out to the middle and, showing a full understanding of the best of TWCC traditions, lost the toss. TWCC were asked to bat first and thus it was that Jim and Edward walked out to see what was what.
What it was was pretty tight, that's what it was. Jim will freely admit that he often finds it as hard to score off good bowling as he does off any other sort, and, after a long hop outside leg which did go for four he found it difficult to do much other than keep the ball out. Edward, after generally playing straight and true and looking secure, scored 8 solid runs before playing a strong shot to a straight ball, missed it, and was bowled.
Tom Firth and Jim then went about survival mixed in with some stroke play, notably from Tom. Adopting a realists approach to the scoring rate they ran well and pushed the score on to 48 before Tom sent a catch out into the infield and was caught out for a fine 25. Xiles' openers were more plain accurate in length and line than they were penetrative, more economical than dangerous as long as TWCC were prepared to see them off and carry on from there. In that regard, of course, the bowlers did a fine job of restricting the score right from the off and a low first innings total looked likely. The outfield, greened up from recent rain, was slower than in recent games, and even well-struck balls were pulling up, hence there were many twos and even a well-run three off Tom's bat.
Xiles' first change bowlers were, on the day, more troubling than their openers. Tony's slow, turning balls were benefitting from the bounce that looping balls find on the artificial wicket, and this phenomenon took care of Reese, again falling short of his undeniable potential, as he forced an uppish shot that had him caught for just 1. Joe joined Jim and there was much running about and the total began to increase as Joe's true eye came good once again. Karthik, Xiles' best bowler on the day, came on from the Pavilion End and, with pace belied by a languid approach, his swing and good line made it even harder to get the ball away. Having successfully kept Karthik out, in the end Jim fell to the slow bowling of Tony as the need for acceleration became ever clearer, deploying a shot that on one previous occasion had resulted in a glorious towering six but which this time saw the ball evade all the physics going on and softly bump into his leg stump. 93 for 4, with three-quarters of an hour to build up a competitive total.
What we needed was someone like Rob Rydon to come in and show off his wares, but unfortunately although he looked like Rob, walked out like Rob and had Rob's bat, he was also a Rob suffering from a bout of some unmentionable virus that had, we gather, rather spoiled his weekend and had his underclothes running for cover. He was wan and clearly so ill that he started off with three fours, followed it up with a couple more and, oh, some sixes and quickly got himself up to another fifty at which point we all clapped exuberantly. He took the plaudits, succumbed finally to a good ball from Karthik who had been suffering from Rob's cultured onslaught as much as the next man, only to find that his half-century had controversially been revised down to a mere 47. What, though, was undeniable was that he had at least given TWCC a defendable total and a chance. Others did share centre stage with Rob, and their role of staying out there was more important than all the runs they didn't score. 152 on the board at half time... could go either way, a bit like Rob's cup of tea.
Now, TWCC have, even without Matt, a formidable bowling unit. Ed, himself feeling a bit UTW, ran in hard and shook 'em up. Rob Saunders, though, took the first considerable chunk out of the visitor's batting expectations by dismissing the evergreen Hooper, caught and bowled, courtesy of a leading edge. Xiles' No. 2, Stead, was the first of Ed's two victims as Rob (R) casually took a sharp catch in the slips, illustrating how many more wickets Rob himself might have taken for TWCC over the years if he'd been able to field in the slips off his own bowling. Rob caught another catch off Ed's bowling somewhere I can't recall as I must have been looking at something more important at the time. The game was moving on; Xiles' target wasn't high, but they were losing wickets at a healthy or unhealthy rate depending on your particular allegiance.
Xiles' No 3., Bailey, who had been excellent in the field, was even more potent with the bat, and he was completely un-phased by good and bad balls alike, hitting them hard to the boundary and, now and then, over it, but he wasn't being helped much by his batting partners as they came and went. TWCC's reliably excellent ground-fielding was keeping the scoring down by denying Bailey the strike as much as possible and, thanks to a smart run out from Honse at mid-wicket, the visitors' task began to look a little tougher as each over passed by. Reese behind the timbers was once again underlining how his availability has such an impact on the game as he dived about, stopping many byes and nudging balls into Rob's face.
Tom (R) , who replaced Rob (S), must have come as a surprise to the Xiles. One might expect, first change, to enjoy a bit of relief but, much like when Karthik came on for the Xiles, Tom's pace and general energy quickly showed the visitors that they weren't going to have an easy time of it. Bailey resisted for some time on his way to an excellent 55 (top score of the match) but in the end a fast yorker from Tom took him out of the mix and the balance shifted towards TWCC again. But, oh dear, here came TWCC's nemesis; Karthik! He looked every inch a cricketer whilst fielding and, particularly, bowling, and now he was confirming his all-round ability as he set about ticking off the runs required. If Karthik stayed in Xiles would win, unless TWCC cut the ground from under him by taking wickets at the other end.
Joe, replacing Ed, found his good length which Karthik only now and then got hold of, and Joe bowled Xiles' No.8 - another wicket down. Meanwhile Tom was still running in hard, and he followed up an unusually eccentric over of wides and no balls with some of his better stuff, and, with only a handful of runs required for Xiles to overcome their target of 144, he stuck a fast yorker in at the base of the stumps - another wicket down. Only one more wicket required for the TWCC win, only a few runs required for an Xiles win, only a few overs left. Karthik still in with Xiles' No.10; their last man.
With the game needing a positive move from the skipper, he took himself off. Karthik facing... dangerous, but this was Honse Time. Guile. Mystery. Prestidigita... oh! It's all over! Honse's first ball was top-edged by the in-form and calm Karthik to Rob (S) at square leg! Xiles all out for 134, Nine runs short.
What a good game. With all results possible until one suddenly occurred this was an exciting low-scoring match-up of two equal sides, both with strong performances popping up in unexpected places through the bowling and batting orders. Rob's gutsy runs got TWCC a total to work with, and the home side's bowlers and a general attention to fielding when all runs mattered won the game for TWCC.

Scorecard
Xiles won the toss and chose to field first.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Bld Tony 27; E Bunn Bld Luke 8; T Firth Ct Paul Bld Tony 25; R Packham Ct Luke Bld Tony 1; J Panther Ct Bailey Bld Karthik 27; R Rydon Bld Karthik 47; C Howes Bld Karthik 2; T Rydon Bld Dan 0; H Karvay LBW Karthik 1; R Saunders Ct Tony Bld Bailey 5; E Howes not out 0. Extras 10 (LB2, W7; NB1) Total 143 all out (38.3 overs)
Xiles Bowling: Luke 8-1-27-1; Claude 8-1-19-0; Tony 9-0-46-3; Karthik 11-0-37-4; Dan 2-0-22-1; Bailey 0.3-0-0-1.
Xiles Innings: Hooper C&Bld R Saunders 1; Stead Ct R Rydon Bld E Howes 0; Bailey Bld T Rydon 55; Hartley run out (H Karvay) 6; Hales Ct R Rydon Bld E Howes 1; Claude Bld T Rydon 8; Karthik Ct R Saunders Bld H Karvay 38; Luke Bld J Panther 2; Dan March Bld T Rydon 5; Tony not out 0. Extras 18 (B9, LB5, NB4) Total 134 all out (9 wkts) (30.1 overs)
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 10-2-24-2; R Suanders 7-1-39-1; T Rydon 8-1-37-3; J Panther 5-0-29-1; H Karvay 0.1-0-0-1.
TWCC win by 9 runs.


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TWCC v Southwick CC June 2nd 2019
Another new fixture for TWCC, and for Southwick too, presumably. Everyone arrived in good time, apart from TWCC. Skipper Edwards didn't win the toss, though he maintains he didn't lose it, but in any case the visitors ended up batting first on a bright and breezy early Summer's day with the outfield hard and fast. Any well-struck ball was likely to make it to the boundary.
Tom and Ed opened up the bowling for TWCC and Southwick's Hyde and Higgs certainly made the most of the conditions, though Higgs fell to what, from mid-on, looked like and unplayable in-cutting perfect length ball from Tom that nipped onto the top of the off stump. Ed's figures suffered somewhat from Hyde's free-swinging bat, with one over in particular going for five 4's, but he took a new aim and jammed the ball just short of a length into the batsman's body and, sure enough, Hyde chopped the ball down onto his stumps. The Southwick batters, in general, looked - and indeed were - more than capable and the TWCC pace of Tom, Ed and then Matt was being absorbed and reflected with some competence. However, although there were boundaries, our main three opening bowlers are so imposing and relentless that wickets fell, and the scoring slowed after having somewhat raced to 53 for 1 after 7 overs. Ed took a second wicket with a catch to Matt that may have been truly stupendous but which I'm afraid I can't recall, and Matt smartly bowled Southwick's No. 4 for a duck and, lo and behold, with a bit of manipulating of the field taking care of Crathern's potency, suddenly that was more or less it. Honse took care of Crathern with a high-bouncing slow ball that spooned up a chance to Mikey at short point which he made look easy because it was. Hyde's 31 and Crathern's 41 were Southwick's only scores of note and soon, after Honse's excellent two-wicket spell, Mikey and Edward were bowling in a Brockian mop-up operation. Edward took two for 4 in 7 balls, and Mikey, whose bowling analysis looks like someone dropped a kitten on to a Windings keyboard, also took a wicket with his modern approach to bowling. A few catches here and there and the visitors' innings was, having at one point looked like TWCC might be facing a large total, suddenly all done and dusted before the urn was hot enough for tea.
So, a quickish turn around and Jim and Joe squared up to Southwick's best on an empty stomach, and, miraculously, survived the awkward session before tea. As it was Joe's tea I guess it was the lure of the washing up that made him surrender his wicket so soon after the restart as he swished across the line to be plumb LBW. Such a shame because he clearly has a great eye and playing straight would truly sort him out and give him and TWCC lots of runs.
Jim was joined by Tony whose season is really only beginning, and we were treated to some vintage Pearce action. And, as it happened, to some contemporary though nonetheless classic stroke play from Pearce the Younger after Jim gloved a loopy catch to the keeper from a wide ball down the leg side. With the total on 46 for 2 Jim hit some solid shots including six 4's in his 27.
Time for the Pearces to do the business, and they did - all over the pitch. Mikey's 17 may not sound like much but the Gazette Shot of the Day epitomises their stand of 59 together, father and son. The shot in question wasn't either of their 6's (one each to long-on), nor one of their many 4's, but was Mikey's delayed gentle push for one, deliberately placed behind point, rotating the strike and producing a mature run off a good rising ball outside the off stump. A connoisseur's shot, just a single, but the two were happy to work for each other and play the proper cricket that won TWCC the game. Mikey's innings was ended in spectacular style by a caught-and-bowled from Hyde who clung on to a beautifully timed straight drive from Mikey's bat that, had it not been stopped, would have been a one bounce four if it was going to miss the umpire's head. Unlucky to get out for a thumpingly good shot, but it was a great catch so all aficionados were happy even if Mikey's innings was stopped in its tracks.
Rob (S) and Reese fell to the slow bowling of Walker but there was little to do after this other than for Tony to continue on his merry way, ending on 63 not out, and for the game to end with a four from Edward and a win for TWCC.
Another new fixture against a side who, at one stage, looked as if any score was possible, but it was the courageous bowling from TWCC's pacers that won the game as the visitors' middle order and tail were exposed early leaving Honse, Edward and Mikey to strut their stuff to good effect. It would have been a slightly different game had Southwick opened their bowling with their opening batsman, Hyde, for his pace and control when bowling was only brought into play late on in the day, but with Tony's 2019 form blossoming nicely and TWCC's notorious batting-depth, the result would most likely have been the same.

Scorecard
Southwick won the toss and chose to bat first.
Southwick Innings: J Hyde Bld E Howes 32; A Higgs Bld T Rydon 7; W Barber Ct M Edwards Bld E Howes8; D Noakes Bld M Edwards 0; L Crathern Ct M Pearce Bld H Karvay; T Preston LBW Bld M Pearce 16; G Manvell Ct R Packham (wk) Bld H Karvay 0; A Walker Ct T Rydon Bld E Bunn 5; M Johnson Ct T Pearce Bld M Pearce 2; L Smith Bld E Bunn 0; D Fields not out 0. Extras 17 (W13, NB4) Total 123 all out (32.1 overs).
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-1-33-1; E Howes 9-1-56-2; M Edwards 5-1-12-1; H Karvay 5-2-10-2; M Pearce 4-1-12-2; E Bunn 1.1-0-4-2.
TWCC Innings: J Simon Ct Wk Bld L Crathern 27; J Panther LBW Bld L Smith 7; T Pearce not out 63; M Pearce Ct & Bld J Hyde 17; R Saunders Bld A Walker 6; R Packham St Bld A walker 0; E Bunn not out 5. DNB T Rydon, M Edwards, E Howes, H Karvay. Extras 4 (W4) Total 129 for 5 (25.5 overs).
Southwick Bowling: L Smith 4-1-21-1; L Crathern 6-0-29-1; D Fields 5-0-39-0; J Hyde 6-2-19-1; A Walker 3.5-0-18-2.
TWCC win by 5 wickets.


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TWCC v Westbourne CC May 26th 2019
A let down for all tea enthusiasts, Bolney couldn’t find enough people who wanted to play us, and so, once again, Joe found himself on Crinder and he came across Westbourne CC who were up for a game. It's always interesting when we play a team unknown to us as there could be a complete competence mismatch on the cards, but in this case the teams were well matched both in their abilities and in the way they chose to play the game.
In the absence of Skipper Brock (too much work or too much holiday or both) TWCC ran out for Skipper Edwards who had won the toss and chose to field first.
Matt opened with himself and Tom R and the game followed a familiar TWCC pattern; not many runs scored, with plenty of edges and some chances not being taken off a Rydon's bowling. A couple of catches (Joe and Rob) did go to hand off Matt's bowling, but Tom was, once again, unlucky in that several chances were dropped, hard, or fell safe.
After 17 overs the TWCC openers were taken off with the score on 64 for 2. The game could go either way from there, especially with Westbourne's Turner now swinging freely and connecting well.
Ed and Jim came on first change, and whilst Ed's pace kept a lid on the scoring Jim's slower deliveries found the middle of Turner's bat for a couple of big sixes to cow corner. Jim had the last word immediately after the second six when Turner dragged a cutting ball from outside off onto his stumps. After that the run rate was slowed again and not many runs were accumulating until, as the end of the game approached, Westbourne opened the taps and began to score off Joe and Honse. Harland-Jones was run out for 38 by Mikey taking advantage of some confusion, but this only brought Lucas Evans to the crease whose youthful true eye took a liking to the bowling. Honse took a wicket with his first ball of the game, but the visitors' middle order was fearless in attack and the runs flowed to the end of the innings, with 20 coming off the last over including a 6 to finish. 189 for 5. A total not too unapproachable in itself, but it was some 30 runs more than it could have been. We hadn't seen Rob bowl and Westbourne's bowling attack was unknown...
After a very good communally produced tea suddenly it was time for Paul and Jim to put on most of their protective equipment and see what was coming down the track.
Dean Kehagics (worryingly pronounced somewhat like Khawaja) opened with some strong, cannily varying, pace. The Twineham wicket was lively indeed as it had been all afternoon and playing forward was the way to go until the ball popped up and shot past at chest height. Magil, opening from the Pavilion End, was also lively though more consistent in pace and, for an over or seven matters progressed well. Paul, as ever the more competent batter, was taking advantage of the less good balls whilst Jim was pleased to see that at least someone was finding that there were any.
Jim fell, far too soon for his principle fan, to a remarkable catch from teenager Lucas Evans; the ball was slightly full and Jim drove it, poorly but with moderate contact, over the offside ring towards the empty spaces at deep-ish wide mid-off. Running from cover, Evans twisted and turned, writhed almost, to catch up with the ball as it fell towards the ground, and, diving full stretch and clinging on with just the tips of his outstretched right hand he came up with the ball. So remarkable was the catch that Jim joined in the rush to congratulate him on the catch. Oddly, Evans was unsure what a 6' 3" helmeted bat-wielding madman he had just caught out was doing chasing him around the outfield, but he seemed to recover well enough to bowl later. 30 for 1 (Jim 4...) (A good 4 mind you.)
Mikey, confident as ever, came and went which was a shame but it happens to the best of us, which brought Rob to the middle. Ahh... Paul and Rob. Time to relax and enjoy the glorious game. Good running, Paul stroking the ball well, Rob assessing the conditions whilst pushing ones and twos; this would show Westbourne what we had in our locker! Look! A calmly pulled 4 from the middle of Rob's blade. All the time in the world. Oh! Whilst it is gratifying to see that Rob's copy of "Jim Simon's Cricket for Dummies" is clearly still lingering in the Rydon's smallest room, perhaps it should have been made more clear that the chapter "Wafting outside the off stump" was intended as satire. Rob, uncharacteristically, went through with a shot to a ball that wasn't quite there and chipped a catch up into the covers which was, again, well taken. Oh deary me. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.
Edward. The 2019 Edward. Oh yes! The ball coming on, strong clunks for four - here we go. Paul meanwhile stroking 4's, 2's (I know!!) 1's  and soon, there he was, another 50 to his name! I don't know if Paul tweaked something when celebrating his 50, but in doing so he became aware that he was somewhat unprotected in the lower stomach/upper leg department but, after a dash to the pavilion and with order restored, he settled back into his rhythm of getting low, playing the ball right under his head and trying to shut Mikey up at Square leg.
Oh, look out Edward! Leg spin. Swish across the line. Swish across the line. I'm not sure if the umpire should try to pass on advice, but when the official in question is such an authority on batting it proved to be too hard to keep it to himself. In any case Edward was encouraged to play straight and, within reason, this is what happened and indeed it wasn't the leggy that did for him. 16 good runs from Edward but he was caught behind off Descir and TWCC were 106 for 4. Paul and Edward's partnership was a fine 56 and the game was finely balanced and, possibly, the WASP was moving in TWCC's favour.
Reese! Good old Reese. The swagger, the timing, the confidence to take guard and club his first ball out of the middle of the bat for a straight four over mid-on. What a way to start his 2019 season, and he and Paul carried on the good work. In general the required rate was beginning to climb a little; that flurry of runs at the end of the Westbourne innings were telling, and here came the visitors' secret weapon. Not only did Evans take 33 runs off Honse and Joe when he came in to bat, and not only did he stop Jim's maiden century with his crazy catch, but he ran in, did a Thommo flick and whizzed the ball down like a ... like a ... Oh I don't know. Something like a ... speedy thing.
Evans came on when the score was 126 for 4 with TWCC needing  64 off 13 overs - about 5 an over, but the outlook changed as he trapped the impressive Reese LBW and bowled the impressive Joe (ever-eagle-eyed pulling to leg). The outlook was looking less winny and more draw-losey all of a sudden, and with Kehagics returning for four overs Westbourne were pushing for victory. Kehagics it was who finally did for Paul, bowled just four runs short of a great century and just 2.3 overs from the end of the game. Paul often comes up with a disproportionate number of runs in any TWCC innings, and this was no exception. On this occasion he scored a wonderful and chanceless 96 (14 fours), batted for 41 overs and always seemed to be in control. He survived an early LBW appeal (the Gazette asked the umpire for an interview after the game but he had left early by the back gate) but it was noticeable how he got his nose down towards the ball and played it late, watching it all the way onto his bat. If there were any shots played in the air they were few, and Paul, instead, relied on not hitting on the up to stay in and on the slick outfield for his runs. Paul 96, the rest of his team 66.
With a win still a possibility, Skipper Edwards came in at No. 8 and, notwithstanding the pace of Evans and Kehagics, his correct technique saw him take the game forward, particularly with a straight-batted back-foot glance wide of gully for four, but he was out for 13, the third victim of the irrepressible Evans. To win TWCC needed 17 off the last 2.2 overs - but 8 wickets had fallen. A win was unlikely and so Honse's usual "You shall not pass!" batting style was called for and it was delivered. Ed's mission was to stay there at all costs as Tom, capable though he is, was a wounded man at No.11.
Ed faced up to Evans for the final over. Two dots. A wide. Another dot. "We didn't come all this way for a draw!" came the sledging, but Ed held out for another dot. Four balls bowled. Survive the fifth and a.... Doh! Bowled! One ball left, in came Tom with the pride of TWCC resting on his shoulders. Evans was all fired up and his aim was true but Tom survived the last ball and the game ended in a draw.
A balanced game between two well-matched sides, albeit that Westbourne didn't face the bowling of both Rydons. Let's hope we can tempt Westbourne back if a gap in the fixtures appears. After all, now that they are inoculated against our facilities, they have only to fear our cricket.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field first.
Westbourne Innings: J Malley Ct J Panther Bld M Edwards 9; S Malley Ct R Rydon Bld M Edwards 18; J Stockley not out 41; W Turner Bld J Simon 36; D Harland-Jones run out (M Pearce) 38; N Suckling Ct R Packham (Wk) Bld H Karvay 1; L Evans not out 33. DNB S Descir, D Kahagics, B Bently, M Magil. Extras 13 (B2, LB3, W7, NB1) Total 189 for 5 (36 overs).
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 9-1-27-1; T Rydon 8-1-35-0; E Howes 8-1-36-0; J Simon 5-0-31-1; J Panther 4-0-30-0; H Karvay 2-0-25-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld D Kehagics 96; J Simon Ct L Evans Bld D Kehagics 4; M Pearce Ct Turner Bld M Magil 0; R Rydon Ct Harland-Jones Bld M Magil 10; E Bunn Ct Wkt Bld S Desi 16; R Packham LBW L Evans 12; J Panther Bld L Evans 10; M Edwards Bld L Evans 13; H Karvay not out 0; E Howes Bld L Evans 1; T Rydon not out 0. Extras 13 (B4, LB2, W5, NB2) Total 176 for 9 (43 overs).
Westbourne Bowling: D Kehagics 13-2-38-2; M Magil 9-1-37-2; B Bently 9-1-34-0; S Desi 6-0-34-1; L Evans 7-0-27-4.
Match Drawn. 


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Lindfield v TWCC May 19th 2019
Here at the Gazette we remember with some embarrasment last year's Lindfield fixture, not because TWCC were all out for 77 but because that was the write up entrusted to their then intern, Pete Tong, who wrote such monumentally mis-judged tosh that the Gazette, I fear, is still recovering from the almost terminal drop of circulation.
This, however, is a new season; Pete's long gone to write for the Mail, and this report will have none of the pseudo-gothic flummery that did nothing to disguise the fact that last year TWCC, batting first, were 77 all out. Surely this year would be different?
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Skipper Brock won the toss and decided that TWCC would field first.
TWCC are blessed with a fine selection of youthful opening bowlers. On this occasion Matt E and Tom R it was who opened up, and, well, the afternoon was largely going to be all about batsmen not scoring runs and getting out whilst they didn't. Matt's figures of 8 overs for 10 runs, including 6 maidens with a wicket (Ct & Bld)  in his fourth over says it all. From the other end Tom, in his first over, bowled Lindfield's No. 2 and he went on to take two further wickets in his spell; one sharply caught behind by budding wicket-keeper Panther and one safely gathered in by TWCC's specialist mid-off in the shape of Brocky. Both catches remarkable in their own way. Well - in the same way, as it happens.
Reeling at 4 for 20 it was with some relief that Lindfield welcomed the first bowling change as, with a spell of 6 overs 3 for 11, Tom was taken off so he could concentrate even more on throwing himself about in the field. Lindfield's Hopkins (No. 4) and Kalser (No. 6) possibly felt that the pressure might be coming off and that they could relax a little. But, oh no!, it was another opening bowler who came on in the shape of Ed, and Hopkins was soon out LBW and Kalser was clean-bowled (I just typed clean-bowelled which is quite a different thing and is, thankfully, now difficult to prove). Ed wasn't finished, and his third wicket was thanks to another catch by Tom R. Tom was everywhere on the field, leaping about. Both Toms, and a few Matts and, actually, all TWCC's fielders gave a fielding performance that was very good indeed including,  yes, hanging on to all the catches! Tom (R) would have it that he dropped a catch at third slip, but that he got a hand to it at all was remarkable as he was horizontal at an altitude of several feet and travelling towards point at the time.
Matt B, a rarity in the fold but always eager and energetic, bowled five smart overs with only a little rust creeping in whilst he was remembering how to do it, and 12 runs off his 5 overs was a great way to start his 2019 season.
Honse bowled his usual mystery balls for two wickets (more great figures Honse); one bowled and one a catch taken by Joe whose 0-15mph performance is surely second to none. Another good catch - and what do catches do? Catches make for early tea, though Jim, who was hit for 6, spurned TWCC's new found confidence in catching by bowling the culprit next ball and ending the Lindfield innings.
The ball both swung and moved off the pitch, particularly downhill on the sideways slope, so batting wasn't easy and Lindfield's 90, especially if regarded in the light of TWCC's 2018 performance, might not prove to be as easy to overhaul as some might think.
Thank you to Lindfield for their tea (and general hospitality), and, with grey skies looming the early tea meant TWCC could begin their reply before any poor weather might breeze in.
Batting on the Lindfield slope is quite tricky. The home side must be used to it, but add in a bit of movement in the air and a good length ball is a dangerous thing. Over- or under-pitched deliveries can be dealt with, but on a good length and line, well, maybe 90 was a pretty good total? Jim played back to a ball landing about 8" outside the off stump and which in his mind was about to be punched into the off side, but it jigged across inside his bat and onto his pads; plumb LBW. Lying awake at night Jim now plays forward to all balls like that. Over and over again...
With Jim gone someone else clearly had to occupy the crease without scoring and Skipper Brock set about this task with dogged determination and was almost completely successful through to the end of the game, only spoiling it right at the end by hitting a couple of fours and undoing all the good work.
Joe, who had been using his true eye to swipe balls to leg for three fours, rather hoiked one to mid-on and was caught, which brought Edward to the crease. Edward, fresh from an average-building not out the week before, looks more and more like the heyday Edward of yore; the Edward correct in defense, strong in attack is amongst us once more. Not that running is anasthma to Edward (there's always the opportunity for a quick single at the end of an over), but with ten 4's and a 6 to finish the game which took him to 53 not out, most of the running was done by the fielding side dashing off into the praries to get the ball back. Brocky and Edward, in a partnership of 72, took TWCC to victory. The Gazette's prized shot of the day award goes not to any of the big shots, but instead it goes to Edward's off-the-face-of-the-bat leg glance for a single to fine leg. It may have been the last ball of the over, but it was nonetheless a classy, crafted stroke. We do like a leg glance here at the Gazette, probably because no one in the office can play it.
Last year it was TWCC that didn't really compete, and this year it was Lindfield's turn. TWCC's bowling was especially mean, and the fielding backed it up, but it was difficult to gauge what total would prove to be a good target. The challenges of batting on a sideways slope are being more fully understood by TWCC on each visit and the feeling that both sides have is that the fixture is competitve, and is certainly enjoyable, so we look forward to seeing how the chips fall in 2020.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and Richard chose to field first.
Lindfield Innings: W Fuller C&Bld M Edwards 5; L Kaye Bld T Rydon 0; C Burton Ct R Brock Bld T Rydon 1; B Hopkins LBW E Howes 18; M Manwering Ct Panther (wk) Bld T Rydon 1; J Kalser Bld E Howes 12; T Richardson Bld H Karvay 14; J Armand Ct T Rydon Bld E Howes 4; M Cook Ct Panther (wk) Bld H Karvay 1; A Parsons Bld J Simon 18. DNB R Green. Extras 15 (B-9, LB-1, W-3, NB-2) Total 90 all out (32 overs).
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-6-10-1; T Rydon 6-1-11-3; E Howes 7-1-19-3; M Brock 5-0-12-0; H Karvay 3-1-9-2; J Simon 3-0-13-1.
TWCC Innings: J Simon LBW T Richardson 2; J Panther Ct, Bld R Green 17; R Brock not out 9; E Bunn not out 53. DNB T Firth, M Edwards, T Rydon, E Howes, H Karvay, M Brock. Extras 10 (B-5, W-4, NB-1) Total 91 for 2 (20 overs-ish).
Lindfield Bowling: R Green 9-2-26-1; T Richardson 4-1-21-1; M Manwering 2-1-10-0; L Kaye 3.1-0-24-0; J Armand 1-0-1-0.
TWCC win by 8 wkts.

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TWCC v Greys May 12th 2019
A warmer day than of late, some light cloud, bright low Sun at the end of play. Greys won the toss with Skipper Panther in charge of proceedings, and TWCC were invited to strap on the pads and prepare to face the music. Paul and Jim - becoming a regular and comfortable pairing - overcame pace, bounce and swing from the Downs End and something less life-threatening though accurate from the Pavilion End so even Paul's scoring was slow. The Greys' openers, however, remained wicketless until Paul let one through from Ashton bowling round the wicket; bowled for 16 with the score on 32 it was shame that Paul didn't himself benefit from the hard work of seeing off the opening bowlers. Tony, whose arrival did indeed coincide with a relaxation of intensity from Greys, capitalised in his usual nonchalant way, though, sadly, on this occasion not for as long as he or TWCC would have liked; three 4's and a 2 adding up to 14. However, our prudent skipper had a plan for this loss; if one Pearce happens to fall by the wayside, we had a spare! Mikey's first ball was a good straight one so he simply leaned forward, waited for the ball to get to him then presented the full face of his bat and the ball rocketed up to mid-on. A shiver ran through the fielding side. Mikey then settled to his task; timing, patience, good shot-selection, fast hands belying the ease of stroke, the ball was sent to into the long grass and down the road. There has been some recent thought in the TWCC boardroom concerning whether we could use chicken wire to reduce the time spent looking for balls, but the question now is; do they make chicken wire 20m high? Mikey was as at home picking up 6's as he was singles and Jim did his best to ensure Mikey had the strike; blocking the last ball of an over, nudging the first or second ball for a single leaving Mikey to keep up the scoring pressure. Greys, in true, honourable, Sunday style, allowed a total to build by holding back their, as it turned out, best bowler in the shape of Flynn (worryingly nicknamed Hat-trick), and Mikey's score passed fifty in no time. Jim, to no-one's surprise when Flynn did come on to bowl, was clean bowled with an unplayable (it says here) fast in-swinger that nicked the off bail. Out for 33, present for many more than that with the score on 154 for 3..
Mikey quickly followed Jim to the pavilion but with a tremendous 77 (six 6's and six 4's) appearing against his name - what a great performance, and a pleasure to watch from the middle as opposed to the lot of his team mates who had to admire it all from a selection of nearby fields whilst looking for balls.
Tom Firth enjoyed a brief visit to the middle but failed to keep a ball down - a victim of not having played any cricket yet this year, and out came Edward strutting like a man completely confident in his sandwiches. Mysteriously Edward seemed little-phased by the pacy swinging deliveries from Flynn, and Joe, too, looked to be in little trouble until Edward's quick single was quicker than Joe's; an exonerating similarity to a previous incident a couple of weeks before. Honse and Edward finished off the innings, with Honse keeping out the good balls of which there were plenty whilst Edward's keen eye saw him in little trouble on his way to a useful 14 not out.
TWCC were done on 186 for 6, possibly a few runs short, but with tight bowling..? Talking of needing a few more runs the next man due in, curiously, was Rob Rydon at No. 9 who would have surely obliged if he hadn't been overcome with modesty during the batting order parade.
Grey's opening bowlers, Ashton and Newland, kept it very tight for their first spells, and Flynn's late appearance was a master-stroke from the visitors as he put a brake on scoring at a time when TWCC may have thought they could power on to a decent total. Still, 186 has proved to be enough in the past (although is that only when it's TWCC that have to get them?).
Edward was keen that I should mention his tea and, indeed, his sandwiches, a tea's primary litmus test, were excellent and copious. However I believe he's set the bar worryingly high by making 4 loaves-worth and not the usual three. Mind you I didn't spot a couple of lavish three tier home-made sponge cakes... but maybe I held back too long and others got there first? Instead I found myself clutching a lemon finger which was also delicious.
What TWCC needed to do, when they took to the field, was to contain Greys much as the visitors' opening bowlers had TWCC. Enter Ed and Tom, our two young tearaways, and there we were; 15 overs in, not many runs on the board and Greys were falling behind. Flynn was clearly quite a player; never in trouble and it needed to be a good ball for him not to send the ball spinning to the boundary, but good balls were what he and Line were getting. Tom, it was, who took the wicket of Line courtesy of wicket keeper Tony Pearce. A fast rising ball, an audible click, and all of us, including Tony, watched the ball pass him by to his right. Then, as if it had been a trick all along, he quickly reached behind him and snaffled the ball in his right hand glove. All it needed was for him to quickly slip the ball into his pocket and look about as if mystified and we would all have thought it was what he had intended all along.
This left Flynn still at the crease where he was joined by a sequence of partners who might reasonably have thought that their opportunities to score would increase when Ed and Tom finished their spells, but little did they realise that TWCC still had tight bowling up their sleeves in the shape of Rob and Jim both of whom continued to tie the scoring down. Rob produced, as usual, several chances of varying difficulty, some spurned and some falling safe. In particular he was alternately passing the outside edge and pushing shorter balls up into the batsmen, and it was the rising ball catching the splice that produced the chances, but he was, on the day, wicketless albeit economical. Meanwhile Jim trundled in and managed to get some movement off the pitch and in the air and took three wickets for not much, and this first-change pair left affairs in a safe place; 88 for 4 after about 28 overs (the Grey's book is not clear on bowlers' spells), and one of those 4 was the dangerous Flynn who in the end let a straight one through.
Time for Edward and Joe to begin the wrapping up as 100 runs were still required by Greys and they were 4 down. Edward proved slightly expensive as he struggled to find his length, though he did take a wicket by cleverly endangering Jim at square leg who decided he ought to catch a ball rather than have it take his head off. 5 down, 5 to get. Joe took two of them, one bowled, one a catch from Tom at point, but that was it wicket-wise and a possible win was morphing into a likely draw. But then Mikey's one over was rather costly, and as the forceful Ashton (47 not out) and Newland (27 not out) got the taste for runs even a draw was becoming less and less likely as Joe and Honse's deliveries were knocked about a bit. In the end these same two batters saw Greys home with an over or two to spare even though Ed and Rob came back right at the thankless end.
Notes: The ball (Newbury) was somewhat bowler-friendly as it seemed to swing a lot (perhaps too much?) and this was something of a swing-bowler's day, with economy possible if sacrificed in the honourable pursuit of inclusion. Mikey's exuberant 77 was the TWCC innings of the day, backed up by Jim and Edward, and Flynn, Ashton and Newland it was who saw Greys home. Regardless of the result the game was played in the good spirit both sides enjoy and a result one way or the other was, perhaps, the best outcome as it allowed both graciousness and magnanimity. It was also nice to meet another Twineham resident who may be (easily?) persuaded to join us for the odd game during the season, and since we generally do play odd games Mark should fit right in.

Scorecard
Greys won the toss and chose to bowl first. Match format; traditional Sunday timed cricket.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Ashton 16; J Simon Bld Flynn 33; T Pearce Bld Sewell; M Pearce Ct (long-on) Bld J Meek 77; T Firth Ct (point) Sewell; E Bunn not out 14; J Panther run out 8; H Karvay not out 2. DNB R Rydon, T Rydon, E Howes. Extras 19 (B7, LB1, W10, NB1) Total 186 for 6 (40 0vers).
Greys Bowling: Ashton 8-2-14-1; Newland 7-1-13-0; Burgess 6-0-38-0; Sewell 9-0-74-2; Flynn 7-2-21-1; J Meek 3-0-15-1.
Greys Innings: Line Ct T Pearce wk Bld T Rydon 11; Flynn Bld J Simon 43; J Meek Bld j Simon 4; Maxwell Bld J Simon 16; Fenton Bld Panther 12; Edwards Ct Simon Bld Bunn 4; Brasher Ct T Rydon Bld Panther 0; Ashton not out 47; Newland not out 27. DNB unrecorded. Extras 20 ( B6, LB2, W9, NB3) Total 189 for 7 (39 overs).
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-1-28-0; T Rydon 7-0-26-1; J Simon 7-0-18-3; R Rydon 6-1-21-0; E Bunn 3-0-25-1; J Panther  5-0-22-2; M Pearce 1-0-17-0; H Karvay 2-0-20-0.
Greys win by 3 wkts.


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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 5th 2019
Streat and Westmeston - we all like a bit of Streat; the friends we see twice a year regular as clockwork, the timeless majesty of the Downs that run across our Wealden Summer; this is just one of several games we enjoy playing in front of some of the most prestigious country houses belonging to Sussex's finest families; Streat itself, Parham House, Twineham.
On the day, the ground was hard, and the wicket - more central than in recent visits - was lighter and dryer than at any time in recent Mays. Streat and Westmeston won the toss and batted first. In our form (and standard) of cricket it is something of an advantage, it seems to us here at the Gazette, to field first as that allows a team a win without having to go through the difficulty of taking 10 wickets in the course of half an afternoon. Batting second a side are in control of either chasing a total, of holding out for an honourable draw, or of losing if that's what floats your boat. All possible results are in the hands of the side batting second, though in the end it comes down to Harvey's in any case, so nothing too serious is at stake unless the pub chills its beer.
Matt and Ed were given the lovely, shiny, glowing, pristine-seamed new ball (my Precioussss) and their performance set the tone and established the pattern of the day's play. Curiously, typically and unfairly neither of these two opening bowlers took a wicket. Curious and unfair? Curious because the wickets of Colin Mansfield and Matt Porter were certainly under threat, and unfair for the same reason as there was no lack of effort from Matt or the usual penetration we've seen from Ed. Typical? Well, the Gazette frequently notes that sometimes the better the bowling, the greater the care and respect that bowling receives. Higher order batters are often more concerned with seeing off the opening bowlers without getting out than with particularly doing anything about scoring runs; such is the subtle balance that is cricket. So it was on this occasion; Matt and Ed each bowled a straight 8 overs, with 4 maidens each, for a combined total of just 27 runs. Matt going for just 9 runs in this spell is truly outstanding, and both could probably have just carried on all afternoon, but Skipper Brock (welcome to Richard for his first game of the season) has a mighty arsenal at his disposal that includes the young firebrand Tom R.
Tom, ever hard-working and fully commited to enjoying his afternoon, charged in and if the Streat and Westmeston batters thought their afternoon was going to get any easier they had another think coming. Rob Saunders, in his second game, came on first change from the Downs End, and, though still a bit stiff early on, it was he who took TWCC's first wicket; the clear-headed Matt Porter missing a good ball of an awkward length and being bowled. Meanwhile Colin Mansfield was continuing with his trademark strong-minded innings, and he was joined by James Porter who, as with his brother, looked every inch a cricketer. However, you can't ignore the primeval force of Tom Rydon and he it was who quickly trapped James Porter LBW for a duck, and the somewhat uneven pace of this Streat wicket then began to manifest itself. Colin had demonstrated that the quality most desired by batters on the day was that of patience, and he continued to exhibit just that as he was joined first by John Hawkins who was run out, sadly for him, on 0, and Terry Garoghan who was clean bowled by Tom as he quickly took his second wicket of the day before being rewarded in the usual fashion by being taken off.
Joe and Honse took up the bowling duties, and both were destined to continue TWCC's excellent day with the ball. Both dropped on to a good length and line and were difficult to play as the slighlty slower-paced deliveries seemed to hold up on this early-season wicket. Joe's bowling, indeed, held up so that a sequence of extremely difficult chances were offered to mid-on where one of our best fielders was repeatedly just unable to cling on to the ball. In the end, however, Colin Mansfield, as he opened up the taps with tea approaching, skied the ball towards Jim at long-on who so totally misjudged a simple catch that he had to resort to a last second one-handed grab that ended, mysteriously, with the ball somehow sticking to the inside of his right hand. The end to a fine innings from Colin whose 41 was hard-won and extremely valuable in what was clearly going to be a low-scoring game. Not many further runs were added as Joe and Honse continued to be difficult to get away. Honse's variations, his guile and wiggly bowling, were a treat to witness and he ended with fine figures indeed of 5 overs, 2 maidens for just 4 runs at a time that the hosts were trying to hit out.
Streat and Westmeston restricted, then, to 94 off, as it happened, 37 overs.
Low-scoring matches can be tricky to win, as some experienced TWCC... err... observers (for a moment I was going to say "fans!") will know. A chasing side in these circumstances requires patience and application, which should, of course, be no problem for TWCC?
In the first over Paul was trapped LBW by a full length ball from Matt Porter's left arm over pacy bowling. It did pitch in line, straightened slightly down the slope and would have hit the stumps, so Umpire Howes (I think it was) gave it out and Paul walked off to face his disappointed fan-base and some tough interviews with the waiting press.
TWCC 0 for 1 - a sign of a tough journey ahead?
Jim, widely regarded as the team Number Two, after a few loose balls to score off found it progressively harder to get the ball away from Porter, though Hawkins' bowling was easier to survive and from which is was possible to safely nudge the odd single. Tony, in for his first game of the season, scored a couple of twos with his customary nonchalence, then was caught...in the gully? At point? He was caught anyway; TWCC rattling through towards their easy target were 2 for 16 but, well, another 79 runs would surely be no problem!
Joe, in at 4, did manage to push the score along a bit, and a nervous and clearly misguided air of calm settled over the ground when no TWCC batter had been out for some minutes on end. But then, in spite of appearing in his own head to be in little trouble, a slower Porter ball did for Jim who went through with a nothing shot and toe-ended it back to the bowler for a simple catch. TWCC 3 for 28 - but only another 67 needed! With all that batting to come! No problemo!
Enter Rob Saunders (surname mentioned to help analysts in years to come) who found it hard to ignore that little red ball hovering in the foreground but not actually... quite... getting to him... and he fell for 3.
TWCC 4 for 39. No problemarooni!
Joe and Matt - they'll bat well together! Joe's looking goo... 5 for 39. No problemaroonioso! Only 56 needed.
And then, believe it or not, as the bowling pressure was relaxed and conditions improved, the Sun came out, the wind dropped, the swallows began to sing and the wagtails pranced and scampered over the outfield and the pattern of play became all crickety and lovely. Matt and Honse started to push the ones and twos from the now less troublesome bowling, indeed there were a couple of boundaries as the score inexorably climbed towards the target total, and then, with his first really agressive stroke, Matt struck a four between gully and point to take TWCC to their second win of the season. Great, mature play from Matt and Honse; lots of twos, lots of singles, no trouble, no need for Ed to wander in and hit the winning runs.
Low scoring matches can be fun, though Streat and Westmeston were about 50 runs short of making it too tough for their visitors. TWCC, however, are more than capable of making any score over 70... 60...50... any score look tricky. There is generally a reason that a side doesn't get many runs, and in the case of Streat it was because TWCC's bowlers ran the day; the opening spells of Matt and Ed, followed up by Tom, Rob, Joe and Honse (plus Brocky's Bonus at the very end) denied the host's batsmen any sort of easy ride. Only Colin's 41 and Matt Porter's 19 really added much to the first innings total, and that was never going to be enough. Important innings from Colin Mansfield for Streat, and from Matt and Honse for TWCC were the batting highlights, but on the day the depth of TWCC's bowling ws the difference between the two sides.
TWCC look forward to seeing Streat at home - though not too soon as there's a whole season to enjoy in the meantime.

Scorecard
Streat and Westmeston won the toss and elected to bat first. Proper village cricket timed format!
S&W Innings: C Mansfield Ct J Simon Bld J Panther 41; M Porter Bld Suanders 19; J Porter LBW T Rydon 0; J Hawkins Run Out (Simon) 0; T Garroghan Bld T Rydon 0; W Baxter not out 8; L Maysey not out 8. DNB; I Anthony, C Marshall, R Griffiths, S Spiegel. Extras 18 (B10,LB2, W4,NB2) Total 94 for 5 (37 overs as it happened).
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-4-9-0; E Howes 8-4-18-0; T Rydon 6-1-20-2; R Saunders 5-0-17-1; J Panther 4-2-8-1; H Karvay 5-2-4-0; R Brock 1-0-6-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW M Porter 0; J Simon Ct & Bld M Porter 11; T Pearce Ct J Porter 4; J Panther Ct & Bld J Porter 17; R Saunders Ct Baxter Bld Maysey 3; M Edwards not out 24; H Karvay not out 31. DNB E Howes, T Rydon, R Brock, E Bunn. Extras 6 (B1, LB2, W3) Total 96 for 5 (30.3 overs).
S&W Bowling: M Porter 7.3-2-16-3; J Hawkins 5-0-17-0; L Maysey 7-1-22-1; J Porter 5-3-9-1; I Anthony 3-0-13-0; S Spiegel 3-0-14-0.
TWCC win by 5 wkts.


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TWCC v Wisley CC April 28th 2019
Sunny, hot, rainy, cold, windy, calm. Grass good to moderate thanks to no rain for weeks, a Friday cut by the Council and a second cut by Edward on Saturday. Wisley's skipper and TWCC's own Skipper Edwards combined to agree to a limited overs format game of 40 overs per side.
Wisley's T Richards had been watching too much IPL and is obviously very good in the first place, and he took TWCC's first over of the season for a cool and somewhat dispiriting 23. That Ed then conceded only a further 4 runs in the next 4 overs is quite something. Tom, opening from the Pavilion End, had somewhat less of an immediate challenge in the form of Swan, and, together with excellent strike-management from Skipper Edwards and the TWCC side, the Richards first over onslaught was stifled very successfully. Tom and Ed finished their opening spells with very good figures indeed with Tom taking his first 2019 wicket. However the next three Wisley batters were all thoroughly capable, and TWCC's bowlers were consistently being deposited in the hedge for the whole of the remaining 40 overs. The ground really was running fast, and once a ball was past a fielder it was generally four. Joe and Matt took over from Ed and Tom to good effect with Matt taking one of the day's rare wickets thanks to a sharp catch by Paul at point. The Gazette should mention the welcome appearance of Rob Saunders whose first spell for TWCC was a welcome blend of pace and movement, and he was rewarded with an LBW. However, as Wisley opened their shoulders the runs began to flow and the total climbed. Jim and Honse, and then the returning Tom, bowled well, though the odd ball was sent to the boundary, the Wisley total cleared the 200 mark and ended, after the full 40 overs, on 212 for 3. Historically anything over 200 is a fine batting total at the Twineham ground, though the conditions were unusually fast for the time of year.
Thanks to Paul for tea - starting us off in fine style complete with CC sandwiches and labels. With a possible further 40 overs to play before it got dark Wisley quickly took to the field as Paul and Jim strapped on their pads and other assorted paraphenalia.
T Richards opened from the Downs End, some pace and the occasional yorker being served up, and Wilson from the Pavilion End contrived to present Paul with his perfect hitting balls as he pocketed 18 runs from his first over, and a further 14 from the second, the roadside hedge, and indeed the road, being his favoured target areas. He calmed down, and was then out to a good in-cutting ball from T Richards that snuck between bat and pad onto his leg stump. Jim ploughed on; the odd four, pushes for 2, quick singles... Oh dear; poor Joe. If the Gazette could offer an unbiased opinion on his run out it would. Joe sent a thick inside edge to square leg, Jim set off shouting "Run" and "Yes" and "Yes Joe" and "Run" as the fielder struggled to get the ball to hand, and for a difficult few moments Jim and Joe discussed this developing situation at the batting crease. Repeated analysis has shown that (a) it was a tight a call for a run, (b) it would have been a run if Joe had set off when the call came, (c) that it was Jim's fault that a run was attempted, (d) Joe's deserved appearance at No. 3 was too short-lived, and (e) Jim would have bought Joe a one-time-offer jug if he'd gone to the pub. Joe had looked very good in the nets and it is sad that he didn't get to bat in this game. (Sorry - Ed).
Jim, chastened though still sporadically suicidal in running terms, was joined by latecomer Ryan who, from the first, batted with confidence and energy. Boundaries galore, 6's galore, lost balls galore it was a galorathon. Never in trouble, pretty much always on strike as Jim's bat nudged the singles, Ryan rocketed to 50. Jim wasn't, as it turned out, ultimately given out by Umpire Panther but only because he was at square leg at the time - but he bat-toe-ended a lobby catch to leg slip off a wide ball down the leg side. Ryan continued his rocketing and, with 10 fours and 6 sixes, found himself with a century in the bank. He retired at that point, leaving TWCC with 42 to get. No problem, obviously. Not for TWCC!
Honse was caught off the bowling of Ramesh, and Edward's slim form was given out LBW having been mistaken for Jim by Umpire Panther. Tom provided a match-securing 21 at the right time, and though he perished before the end, Matt and Ed saw TWCC home.
A few welcome closed-season signings in Rob (great spell and excellent first ball of his TWCC career) and the Greens (Ryan's 100 and his Dad's cheery presence - sad he didn't get to bat or bowl) are good signs for the season. TWCC thank Wisley for making the trip over. It's always good to see them and to share in all that is cricket and we look forward to their visit again next year. The bat, in the hands of players from both sides, was the winner on the day, with Wisley showing the way and Ryan making the hay.

Scorecard
Wisley won the toss and opted to bat first. Agreed format 40 overs/side.
Wisley Innings: T Richard Bld T Rydon 32; L Swan LBW Saunders 16; Ramesh Ct P Hunter Bld Edwards 36; J Snelling not out 37; J Haddow not out 66. Extras 25 (B 13, LB 2, W 7, NB 3). Total 212 for 3 off 40 overs. DNB R Geer, Shiva, Kernigan, J Richards, C Wilson.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 5-1-27-0; T Rydon 7-0-21,1; J Panther 5-0-23-0; M Edwards 8-2-22-1; R Saunders 8-1-53-1; J Simon 5-0-31-0; J Karvay 2-0-13-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld T Richards 38; J Simon Ct J Richards (or Rupert?) Bld Shiva 24; J Panther run out 1; R Green retired 100; J Karvay Ct, Bld Ramesh 3; E Bunn LBW Ramesh 4; T Rydon Ct J Richards Bld Wilson 21; M Edwards not out 3; E Howes not out 2. Extras 14 (B 6, W 8,). Total 213 for 6 (plus 1 retired) off 27 overs . DNB R Saunders, M Green.
Wisley Bowling: T Richards 7-0-32-1; Wilson 5-1-44-1; J Richards 5-0-38-0; R Geer 2-0-30-0; Shiva 3-0-29-1; Ramesh 3-0-16-1; Ellis 1-0-7-0; Swan 2-0-10-0.
TWCC win by ... How do you say it in limited overs cricket? 1 run? 3 remaining wickets?

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TWCC 2018 Season

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2018 Season's Report
PLAYED 14  WON 5 DRAWN 5 LOST 4  CALLED OFF 4 (2017 P 17, W 8, D3, L 6, called off 3)

It’s been a slimmed-down season in the life of TWCC.  2 years ago we scheduled around 22 matches a year.  We took this down partly because of our own struggles filling the team sheet in particular in the holiday period of late July, early August – and partly because other teams were facing difficulties raising teams to play us.  So last year  we scheduled 20 matches (played 17) but this year we dropped to scheduling 18 matches but ended up playing just 14.  Whilst we managed to field full sides on most days, it is – by common consent – too little cricket!  Once we’d toured, we played just one match in July and August.  Two of the matches fell victim to unfortunate rainstorms during an otherwise baking summer – the rest we had  removed from the schedule. It’s encouraging that this is a trend we can reverse.
Our numbers are better.  We are securing a greater number of players we can call on to play occasionally – and we have one or two in the wings who we hope will become more regular – namely Graham Cuthbert and Rob Saunders.  Our cricket continues to be highly competitive and hard fought, yet friendly and richly enjoyable – and that makes people want to play for us.  I’m convinced playing cricket for TWCC is a really good way of spending a Sunday afternoon – and I’m pleased to say that most times, most people get a bat or a bowl, which is crucial for full involvement. So with all this in mind, we will be aiming to increase the number of matches we play this coming season, particularly filling some of the gaps in July and August. 
And what a season it’s been – one of the most memorable in recent history for the number of highly exciting matches going right to the wire.  Greys, Bolney, Jevington, Exiles, Bournemouth, Balcombe – and a number of others highly competitive, with great performances.  A great tour – a really great tour – which marked our 125 anniversary  in suitable style – and a mostly glorious hot summer. 
I’d like to thank Matt for his excellence as vice captain.  He knows the club and the players and has the perfect touch on the tiller when he’s in charge.  I think he felt the strain in September when matches were on but numbers sparse but well done to him for getting teams out and turning out great team performances – not to mention some excellent individual bowling performances.  My thanks also to Joe who took to fixtures secretary like a fish takes to a hook:  it looks fun and attractive at first, but then you can’t escape it.  Well done Joe for taking it on and especially for those late matches you found us – Jevington and Headliners.  Thank you also to Paul for his excellence in keeping us in the black and looking after all things financial and to Jim for his brilliant website and write ups – I think I speak for all of us to say his reports are brilliantly entertaining for us and also for the away teams who also enjoy them.  Thanks also to our President Dave Jones for continuing to look for unlikely ways to finance a new pavilion and to our oldest and most revered player Dave Rogers without whom no tour would be complete. 
Congratulations to Jim for accepting the invitation to step up to opener, and making a huge success of it.  If TWCC had a player of the year, we’d look no further because his performances were magnificent for their `openingness`! We’ve also seen some great individual performances especially with the bat – Paul’s 100 vs Crescent a spectacular example – and some great partnerships – Jim and Rob’s 188 vs Bolney comes to mind.  The season was full of champagne moments – Matt Brock’s 4 to win the match vs Balcombe, the winning draw vs Exiles, beach cricket in Bournemouth….
I am sorry to report that Malcolm Woodall who turned out for us a couple of times has died – my condolences to his family. It was also a year when we lost Roger Hole, formerly the captain of Albourne and Sayers Common, well known to all.
Finally I’d like to say I continue to love captaining the side, I’m loving my cricket as much as I ever have and for that I have you all to thank:  a bunch of guys as diverse as you could ask for, cricket loving, fun loving, piss-taking, belly aching, whinge, whine, gloriously life on the line, one for all and all for one – you’re a great bunch.

Richard Brock – Captain, Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – AND LOWLIGHTS
MAY
Early batting form for Tony as we draw with Streat, an exciting `anyone could win in the last over` draw vs Greys,  a closer defeat than we deserved at Lindfield,  followed by a 20 run win vs Bolney where Ed and Matt bowled us home.
JUNE/JULY
A bit of a hammering vs Jevington though their sportsmanship allowed us to get within 17 runs, a fantastic match vs Exiles which we put down as a winning draw – who can forget Paul’s extraordinary catch running in from the boundary in the last over.  A convincing win vs Unity took us to tour, which was all round brilliant.  Aside from great nights out, we had a last ball win vs Bournemouth CC and the cracking win vs Balcombe from Matt’s 4.  Our only other match in July was a good hiding from a revitalised Headliners team at baking Cuckfield. 
SEPTEMBER
A terrific win at Crescent thanks to Paul’s 100 and his great stand with Tom Firth contributing his fine 47, a cliff-hanging loss v Parham, and finally tight draws against Bolney and Beamers. 

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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 30th 2018
A last sunny Sunday to see the season out, TWCC and the Beamers gathered once more to share the spoils of another encounter. This final fixture is often particularly enjoyable as the two sides are well matched in terms of ability and share an understanding of what cricket is about.
Beamers won the toss and chose to field first. Sadly, Siddo, a regular Beamers stalwart, pulled a calf muscle before the game even began, leaving him short of fun and the visitors short of a fielder not to mention a serious performer with bat and ball.
Skipper Brock, who, in the interests of giving as many players as possible a turn at something generally puts those who are less bowly in at the top of the batting order and vice versa, took the opportunity to mix things up. In TWCC’s case this policy makes less difference to the overall batting performance than many pundits might expect as we can all bat even if we can’t all bowl, so there was little risk and much to be gained by asking Tom Rydon and Joe to strap on the protectives and head out to the middle.
And, to coin one of those awful cross-pollinated knee-jerk phrases from elsewhere, what’s not to like? We know the yoof have good eyes and hand/eye co-ordination from somewhere north of 1990, so there was little to be surprised at in Tom and Joe’s flurry of boundaries and sporty runs. These are the sort of performances it’s easier to produce when there’s time to spend (if not to waste - Ed) in the middle, and it was a joy to see. A certain amount of comfortable lounging began to occur in the pavilion, and conversation began to range freely from not mentioning the Ryder Cup to definitely not mentioning the Ryder Cup, as Jonathan prepared his spread and steeled himself to wrestle with the cling film. A Wodehousian mellow peace and Indian Summer contentment reigned as Capt. Brock, no doubt subject to some sort of Pavlovian response to the comforting sound of rattling crockery, rang for Rowland and suggested an unscheduled tea all round from the comfort of his executive recliner.
Then Joe was out for a strong 21 comprising four 4’s and a lot of productive dashing about - good to see Joe given license with the bat and to have seen him scoring freely - a great start for TWCC; 35 for the first wicket. Ripping off the apron and revealing that he was fully padded up and probably had been since he got up, Jonathan strode to the middle and showed what he was about. He deftly defended using the middle of his bat, watchfully assessed each ball as it came down, was demonstrably completely solid in defence - and then missed one on its way to the stumps. 2018, for a man of Jonathan’s ability, has not, after a good start, been a vintage year for him with the bat. Never mind – at least he’s one of the young ones with plenty of time to shine in seasons to come. And he’s a great glove man.
Matt, as ever, showed he can bat, though Rigby’s slow leggy tennis-ball bounce was his early undoing as he contrived to play a shot to a wide ball down the leg side, take his bat away, then put it back, then take it away again, then turn it round in his hands and lift a dolly catch up from the back of the bat into the keeper’s gloves. One of those strange dismissals...
Tom R, meanwhile, was continuing to demonstrate that he's not just about bowling and fielding. Classic stroke play rose to the surface, the MCC coaching manual had clearly been his bedtime reading for much of his life. Cultured fours, quick singles, all fine stuff, ultimately undone by a catch somewhere, 27 runs his contribution to the TWCC total.
Honse, with a bit of time to bat, and then Graham wearing his new TWCC badges with pride, occupied the middle with clear intent, both producing boundaries and scampering through for singles, but Graham was out (5) caught and Honse was run out (8) with the score needing a bit of pepping up as maidens had too often begun to reward the Beamers’ bowlers.
Enter pepperer Ed – ever a star in the nets – who brought his swinging ways to the fore and upped the general air of intent. A quick-fire 25 was just what TWCC needed as the home side had become a bit bogged down, and then he mistimed (not sure about this; I just made that up – Ed) (but it might be true?) a ball to somewhere and someone caught it somewhere it says here.
Jim, then, quickly, Rob ambled and hobbled respectively to the middle with only one Captain’s instruction ringing in their ears; “Don’t faff about we need 175.” This was quite a tall order as there was not much time to go with just over 100 on the board. Needless to say this target was missed by some margin as one of the two batters in was Rob. Beamers, in the interests of helping their hosts up to something reasonable, had been generously providing balls to keep the TWCC middle order happy, and here was a number 9 with an injured leg – so they left the bowling alone; what could possibly go wrong?
4,6,4,4,4,1,1,6,4,6,3,1,2,4,1,3,6,6,4, 3 that’s what could go wrong. Now, although I had to retake my maths O-level all those years ago and that was when I could count, after several goes at the sum I make this 73 – not 67 as it says in the scorebook. Another instance of a poor batsman getting diddled by the scorers if you can call them scorers. I have altered this in the book, along with the total up by 6 to balance the books. Then I noticed that 23 extras had been summed up to 31... What’s going on? What was TWCC’s actual total? 206? 204? 212? We’ll never know without taking a look at Beamers’ book. Let’s hope the total they were chasing was correct.
In any case, Rob’s innings set the game alight. He played with the confines of the ground, endeavouring with each shot to gauge the drag of the grass or, in five cases, the height of the trees in order to get the boundaries without losing the ball. One six, a towering pull off his legs, was a perfect example of his miserly approach to ball-consumption as, instead of finding a field somewhere near Billingshurst, he contrived to catch the midriff of the poplar tree so that the ball benignly dropped back into the field of play so it could quickly be recycled in his blistering and chanceless innings. I truly believe this shot pleased him more than any other, and there were plenty to choose from.
Jim contributed in a small way by running about like Usain Bolt’s grandfather when he was told and giving Rob the strike when he could, and the 8th wicket partnership either approached or passed the century depending on whether you can add up or not. I can and I make it 103. Beamers could do little to stem the flow, even after they realised they had to deal with a proper batsman in the middle and chose bowlers to match. Brocky’s disappointment was clear to see as his No. 9 ignored his demands for 175 and helped the total over 200 and then some. Not sure how much by, but something like a few runs here or there. Or extras. Or, well, wha’ever.
For me, carrot cake wins the day. Yes, there were coronation chicken sandwiches which normally secure the coveted tea-time No 1 slot, to say nothing of the asstd. ham, cheese, and egg usual suspects, but when cake’s that good all else matters little. However I’m not sure I saw anyone go for a coprolite? But thanks to Jonathan for all the work.
So – something over 200 in the bag, the Beamers bat a bit like TWCC so it was certainly within reach, but TWCC do have a 3-fold youthful blistering pace attack. Matt and Ed lined up their respective off stumps and prepared to open fire, Jonathan changed gloves and hunkered down behind the timbers and the arc of incompetence settled down in the hope that it wouldn’t come to any of them. And for a while it didn’t, but pass the bat it did, pass the stumps it did, pass the boundary not so much, unless you count Matt’s opening loosener which was cut powerfully for 4 by the impressive Rigby. Ed also bowled really well from the Downs End, and both men were noticeably making a full effort, charging in hard and generating a lot of pace. The TWCC home wicket is, really, too bouncy for pace bowling as good length balls often lift over stump height, and deliveries that would catch the top of the stumps need to arrive at the batsman at  half-volley length. However, notwithstanding this caveat/excuse, it was Ed’s fourth over, a wicket maiden, that brought about the second demise of Briggs, the first having ended in a high reprieve. Brocky’s redemption came in the shape of a much more difficult low, hard chance at mid-off. The fast-travelling ball dipped to shin height to Richard’s left, he stuck out a couple of hands, and when the dust settled there it was, stuck fast. One of the best catches of the season so far, and the smile, morphing over the next two hours into a smirk, never left Brocky’s face for the rest of the day and it’s probably still there.
Matt, fruitless on the day, bowled really well as he always does, but as for wickets, that one for Ed was it for the Tornado Twosome. But TWCC have Typhoon Tom!
There’s something about Tom that strikes us here in the Gazette; he’s completely driven by the need to burn calories. He sprints about the place, he chases balls in the field like a collie getting round behind the sheep, he walks by running slowly as if in a dressage competition, and when all this energy finally gets focussed into bowling he charges in hard and truly winds up the pace. Which increases the shame felt by the more unreliable slip fielders... By Jim. He gets his hand to the ball, but, these days, that’s as far as it gets as the ball suddenly seems to have more of Newton’s apple about it than for other fielders. Surprisingly, given how gazelle-like he is in the outfield, Jim seems to find himself in the slip area quite often, but really he shouldn’t be there as Honse, Ed, Matt, Tom and many others will testify. Mid-wicket/mid-on, somewhere deep, that’s his natural position as long as the ball doesn’t come his way in the air. In his defence, and we often see things from his point of view here at the Gazette, he does say that he used to be a good catcher, but we can't deny that his faculties are no longer his strong point.
One wicket for Ed, none for Matt, none for Tom... all this pace and near-misses/drops... Time for (here comes another inexplicable American nonsense) a change up! Change up? Why up?
TWCC’s change, up, down and sideways came from Phil and Joe.
How good it is to have Phil back in the side, plying his wily trade along his own spartan corridor of uncertainty. He did for Rigby, still there on 60 and helping the Beamers towards their target of whatever it was, with a rising ball off a good length just outside the off stump finding the thinnest of edges that Jonathan, standing up, took cleanly in chest-high gloves. Beamers looked as if they might have needed Rigby to stay, but they still had the obvious prowess of Chaffey (another Chaffey?) on their side of the equation, and they only needed around 70 or 80 runs with plenty of time and wickets in hand.
But TWCC had the mercurial Panther – elevated into skipperdom as Skipper Brock had left for an early bath. Some days Joe seems to not easily find his line and length, but on this occasion the true JP showed up. Teasing length, tempting pace; that’s what undoes many batters, and it’s what did for the Beamers, starting with a truly outstanding catch by Matt in the covers. Fielding quite tight in order to pounce on anything like a single, Matt dived full length to his left to cling on to the lowest of catches in one hand. The ball had been struck hard and was heading to the turf, but Matt’s tall frame helped him to go forward and low and there it was, another one of the great catches of the season – two in one game; roughly equal to the number of great drops.
Not content with just one wicket, Joe took another in the next over by clean bowling Blackadder and then again in the next by having Esson caught behind by Jonathan. This brought Rob Nicholls out to the middle, a fine batter down the order, and with Chaffey still there on 53 the visitors’ ambitions still veered towards victory.
Honse replaced Phil for a few overs but at this point Beamers were really going for the runs and, through no fault of his own, the visitors’ total was beginning to rise too fast and so Phil returned as Joe’s partner to see if TWCC could guarantee a draw and maybe snatch a victory.
Six overs to go, Chaffey and Nicholls in the middle, about ten-per-over the required rate for the Beamers, and they were scoring at that rate as, by now TWCC only had 10 fielders to play with (as, indeed, it has to be said, the Beamers had had for the entire match). (Good point – Ed.)
TWCC needed to see the end of Chaffey’s innings as he powered along into the 70’s. And, lo, the scorebook says “Chaffey, Bld Panther, 72.” Bowled Panther; his fourth, a fine match-drawing performance. Phil took a last wicket as the Beamers’ inclination to reach 200-plus fell away and the match ended in a happy draw. Happy because it was a fair result, both teams had had fun unless your name is Siddens, we had seen a fine performance from TWCC’s No 9 (on this evidence he could possibly bat a little higher up the order?), Joe took 4 wickets, others all bowled/batted well, we’d seen some excellent examples of how to catch and all three results had been possible right up until near the end of the game.
The end of play has come in this TWCC’s 125th anniversary year. Now it’s time for Brocky to come up with some play-on-numbers that gives him top spot in something or other at the AGM, so see you all at the Oak.

Scorecard
Beamers won the toss and chose to field first.
TWCC Innings: T Rydon Ct Chaffery Bld Rigby 27; J Panther Ct Briggs Bld Renshaw 21; J Rowland Bld Chaffey 2; M Edwards Ct Wk Bld Rigby 5; H Karvay Run Out 8; G Cuthbert Ct Briggs Bld Eaton 5; E Howes Ct x Bld Eaton 25; J Simon Not Out 15; R Rydon Not Out 73. DNB P Steinke, R Brock. Extras 23 (or 31 depending on many imponderables) (B12, LB1, W6, NB4) Total 204, or 206 or 212 for 7.
Beamers' Bowling: M Renshaw 8-1-32-1; Chaffey 8-3-16-1;S Esson 5-3-5-0; R Rigby 6-3-8-2; Eaton 5-0-45-2; Blackadder 6-0-69-0; Briggs 2-0-18-0.
Beamers' Innings: Rigby Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld P Steinke 60; Briggs Ct Brock Bld Howes 15; Chaffey Bld Panther 72; Riches Ct Edwards Bld Panther 1; Blackadder Bld Panther 4; Esson Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Panther 7; R Nicholls Bld Steinke 14; Richards Not OUt 0; Renshaw Not Out 0. DNB Eaton. Siddons. Extras 18 (B7, LB3, W5, NB3) Total 191 for 7.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 10-0-40-0; E Howes 8-0-20-1; T Rydon 6-0-40-0; P Steinke 8-1-21-2; J Panther 7-1-34-4; H Karvay 3-0-28-0.
Match drawn in the dark.


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TWCC v Bolney CC September 16th 2018
A lovely September day, the ground basking in warm sunshine, expertly cut by Edward in absence of the council – and a number of players suffering from the summer drought.  Not rain, but cricket, something that will be addressed next year.
So TWCC fresh from their last ball defeat at the hands of 9 man Parham, began how they meant to go on – they lost the toss.  Skipper Brock was asked to bat by Bolney, and decided that he and Jim were the ones to open proceedings.    Yet another decision that got away, as he chipped a ball back to Dave Chaffey in the 8th over.  Little were we to know that that was the only TWCC wicket we would see fall during the course of the afternoon.  Rob came in to join the sound and sensible Jim – and he batted, well, soundly and sensibly too.  With a minimum fuss, these two disciplined and talented batsmen stroked the ball around the ground, the scoreboard purring quietly.  It should be said the running was gentle in nature – if not languid – but Rob was coming back from a triple  ligament severance horror and Jim’s somewhat leisurely running  has long been the subject of discussion in this forum.  Anyway, not even tongue in cheek humour should be allowed to draw attention from the enormity of batting that was underway.  Two chanceless innings took the score to 60 after the first hour and continued at a run a minute through the welcome drinks interval and into the last hour.  It was then that the pair started to open up, yet do so without throwing caution to the wind.  Jim passed his 50 with a single, Rob with a 4 – but it was not our swashbuckling Blue who swatted away the game’s first 6, it was Jim.  With half an hour left, the score passed 150 and there was a heated argument on the sidelines about the adherence to that ancient TWCC tradition of not telling the batsmen their score.  Skipper Brock argued they should be told.  Vice Skipper Edwards argued against, and garnered the support of the majority of the feet-uppers in the pavilion.  So they continued.  Rob in fact displayed the remarkable ability to count his own score whilst going along – and was only out by 1.  He also told Jim he was in his 70s – something he helped to pass by with a quick single going for 4 overthrows.   As the last over  began, Rob was graciously trying to get Jim on strike, Jim was powering into the 90s – the score was above 200.  But centuries were not to be, Jim finished on a career best 93 not out, with Rob languishing on 83 not out.  The score was 209-1.  It felt a very secure platform.
Tea was provided mainly by Matt’s nan, and very nice it was too, homemade brownies and lemon drizzle cake, lovely….
And so it was as the clock approached 4pm, we took to the field determined to skittle out Bolney.  But before that we had to sort out one little problem:  who was to keep wicket?  Joe bravely volunteered – we will find out how bravely later.   Matt and Ed opened up, and looked good and fast.  In his second over, Matt flattened the middle stump of one of the openers, followed up in very similar fashion in his third over.  Ed followed up with a sharp ball which resulted in the batsman sending the ball high in the air.  If there was any calling it was quiet – and confused.  Joe’s name rang out but it was Ed who ran forward and completed a caught and bowled.   Bolney 28-3 – which became 28-4 after Ed bowled their number 4 next over.  But Bolney’s 5 and 6 – Elliott and Steve Bowles – settled in and looked secure straight away.  The openers had no joy over the next 6 overs and so Charlie Howes was brought on to see if he could weave through their defence.  He couldn’t.  Tom Rydon looked good, had a hard chance shelled in the slips (Sorry, Ed.) and was bowling fast.  Good job Joe had gloves on…. Oh.  Joe took a fast ball on the finger and rolled around, his face gnarled by the agony which surged through his hand.  He got up, manfully, only to receive another ball, this time on the end of his middle finger, in the same over.  That was it.  As his regularly used finger swelled up with blood under the nail, Joe called it a day and headed for A and E – where he was diagnosed with a fracture.    Matt took over and looked comfortable behind the stumps .
But none of this drama helped take wickets.  Honse was unlucky (sorry, Ed), the skipper had a hard skier dropped but otherwise bowled appallingly, and all the time, Bolney powered on.  With 20 overs left they were on 66-4.  Ten overs later they were on 133-4, following a rather expensive over of 16 by Edward, encouraged by the skipper to `lob it up` - but not that bloody much!!!  Anyway, the process of trying to take 6 wickets suddenly changed to one of not throwing away the match.  Bolney impressively brought the rate down to  below 8 an over with 6 overs left – so the openers were asked to return and save the day.  Which they did.  The scoring rate fell dramatically as Elliott and Bowles struggled to smack Matt and Ed away with the ease they had Richard and Edward.  With the reins tightened, Matt removed Elliott for 86 in the penultimate over and Bolney finished on 186-5 – match drawn.  We retired to the Oak with both teams satisfied. 

Scorecard   
Bolney won the toss and asked TWCC to bowl
TWCC Innings: J Simon Not out 93; R Brock Ct and Bld D Chaffey 6; R Rydon Not out 83. TOTAL 209-1
Fall 21-2
DNB: M Edwards, E Bunn, T Rydon, J Panther,  E Howes, H Karvay, C Howes, P Steinke.
Bolney Bowling: Patton: 8-0-27-0, Madden 5-0-33-0, Chaffey 7-3-16-1, Bowles 10-0-49-0, Lake 2-0-15-0, Garside 4-0-28-0, Clemonson 2-0-16-0, Martin 3-0-22-0.
Bolney Innings: L MartinBld Edwards 8; A Lake Bld Edwards 5; M Garside Ct & Bld Howes 8; B Clemonson Bld Howes 3; B Elliott Bld Edwards 86; S Bowles Not out 52; O Bridge Not out     0. TOTAL  186-5        
Fall: 9-1, 18-2, 28-3, 28-4, 184-5  
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 9-2-30-3, E Howes 10-4-28-2, C Howes 3-0-23-0, T Rydon 4-1-12-0, H Karvay 4-1-13-0, Brock 5-0-39-0, Bunn 3-0-30-0.
Match drawn.


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Parham CC v TWCC September 9th 2018
A breezy cloud-flickering late summer afternoon greeted TWCC for the customary late start over in Parham savannah country. We knew we didn't have 11, but we should have had 9, but where were we all? Eventually, well after time, eight of us arrived, a coin was tossed and Parham chose to field first, partly because we were still short by one Phil and they had a full nine. Nine plays eight - lots of gaps in the field to exploit.
Sadly, the first gap found was between the place where Paul thought a fast ball from left-armer Mark Williams should have been, and the top of the middle stump which is where it was. Unusually the ball had slightly plugged just outside leg, stood up a bit and jagged right, and then lobbed down on to the stumps. This was over No. 3, Paul having taken all the deliveries from Williams whilst Jim plotted a dull course through the less threatening but nonetheless tight bowling from the West End. Paul, and then Tony, manned up to deal with the pace and movement of Williams, who then, sadly for him, pulled up with an injury and he was out of the attack leaving both ends now safe for Jim. A pattern of play developed; Tony hitting runs and Jim was happy to take the odd bigger shot on but otherwise give the strike to Tony to make the most of the gaps in the field in a strong partnership of 76. Eventually a mis-timing occurred (from memory?) and Tony was caught off Forrest who cheered up a bit from that point on. We'd seen a quickfire 60 in true Tony style; fast hands and well-timed blows sending the ball scurrying for the safety of the rabbit holes. Jonathan! He of the careful late shot-making, an honours graduate from The Watchful Batting Academy of Thoughtful Crick... oh. How did that happen? Bowled P. Fraser who continued to present his constant mild-swinging deliveries (in the end for 16 straight overs!) His bowling was quite easy to hit, but also to miss as Matt, too, found out after a couple of great off-drives for four. Meanwhile Jim ploughed on playing the tortoise role to everyone's hares; not everyone's cup of tea, and more adventurous shot-making would be good, but at the same time we were only 8-strong and there was some merit in just staying there, and he was scoring as well as occupying - which brings us on to SCOREGATE (Groan... Not again...).
OK. Picture this; slow lobby bowling from the Parham House End, just the sort of bowling that one winds up to hit with an almighty swoosh of the bat, but it just doesn't get to you and then it rolls under where the bat was at one point in its arc and rolls on to hit the bottom of middle stump. We've all been there. So Jim was very very careful, pointedly placing his bat in line with the direction the ball was eventually going to come from if it was straight, and doing something unspeakable to it if it wasn't. Only on this one occasion he waited and waited for a ball that was straight and then quite gently swung through the line at more or less the right time and there the ball was in the long-on long grass. Indisputedly a 6. But, this 6 does not appear in the scorebook! Nor in Jim's batting analysis, in Mitchell's bowling analysis or, forensics assure me, in the scratch-and-sniff bit on the right-hand side of the scorebook! Come on!!! Where's Ed's sure touch? So, Da-DAHH, what was TWCC's score? Let's leave this for a moment and get on. It's unlikely to matter much in the end.
Joe, swiper of boundaries and runner of quick runs had time to do his thing, and he did for a bit, but then checked his stroke for a ball that, again, took its time to arrive, and he was caught at mid-off I think it was - a quickfire 9. But TWCC didn't really need quickfire so much as occupancy, which is where Jim comes in.
Talking of coming in - here's Mal. He can play. And he did, calmly not over-hitting the ball into the large gaps for fours, Jim giving  him the strike when he could and another fruitful partnership of 33 evolved, but Mal, eventually, fell for the slow bowling of Mitchell and lobbed a catch to mid-off. (Er... they can't all have been to mid-off, these catches, but, well, we're just not going to get too bothered by all that detail stuff here at the Gazette.)
Honse came in, ran three quickies with Jim and then it was time for tea. Jim heroically failed to make much of the last over, and even the last ball was un-troubled on its way through to the keeper but, here at the Gazette, we feel we understand that a certain fatigue had crept into Jim's frame and the power of his mind had become somewhat dulled over the previous two and a half hours, and it's not as if there was much there to start with.
TWCC all done, the last pair at the crease, the scorebook showing 182 for 6. But... was that right? Would it matter? Fine bowling from Williams (as ever), a huge spell of 16 overs from P Fraser, a wicket from the 9 overs of Forrest who clearly gives up his Sunday's with  joy in his heart as he loves the game so much, and all in all, probably quite a reasonable fielding performance considering the runs that the inevitable gaps in the field will yield with only seven outfielders to play with.
Great tea (thanks Parham); once there's coronation chicken sandwiches you can't go wrong - at least not until you're back home near the facilities. Sun out, sitting on the grass, the wind in your ha.. blowing about, tea to drink. That's a Sunday - and not many left now in 2108....
Back onto the field of play. Matt opened the bowling for TWCC in great style, whizzing the ball down, exploiting the variable bounce and stickingstoppiness, a performance that Joe backed up really well with some truly consistent bowling. Matt took two quick wickets, including that of Andy Wales the Parham skipper who normally stays around and scores lots of runs. Andy's departure brought Vander to the crease who came in swinging with great effect. Matt suffered most, and Joe not so much, and Joe finished his spell of tight bowling with his head held high.
Honse time. Here it was, at Parham, that Honse once brought out his full range of wizardry, but this time it somewhat eluded him, though he did get the wicket of the buckle-swashing Humphries in his 5 overs. Mal, he of the calculating bat, came on to see what he'd do with the ball when Matt finished his first spell of 2 for 44 off 10. And what he could do was more than hold up an end in this difficult period for TWCC as Parham's Williams had come in to join Vander in the middle. Two big-hitters in at the same time in a crucial phase of the match. 15 overs to go, TWCC had restricted Parham well to 100 for 3 off 22 overs. With only 8 fielders plus the occasional loaned fielder when circumstances allowed (thank you Parham), this was good bowling and fielding by the visiting side.
However, here we all were, two stroke-makers in the middle, 5.5 runs/over required. And TWCC only needed to take 4 more wickets to win. Could be exciting. Could be tight.
Talking of tight, Jim tried to bowl but another limb fell off, so Matt had come back on and he and Mal saw the game through. Matt took another wicket (Tony caught it somewhere) and Parham needed quite a lot of runs. Ten overs to go, over 6 an over needed. And we had Mal and Matt bowling. But - what's this, lots of 4's from the bat of Williams? Never mind, the Parham No. 6 wasn't finding it easy to score, so we could give the single away and close in when necessary. No problem.
Three overs to go, and Parham still needed 32 to win - this was a fine restrictive bowling and fielding performance from TWCC. No more wickets seemed likely, but a sacrificial run out proved critical in that whilst it took P. Fraser off the field it gave Williams the strike! Oh no! But Mals' bowling well, just 9 off his penultimate over, and Matt's last went for just 6, leaving 17 to get off the last. Exciting, but should be a draw. A four off the first ball, an extra (wide or no ball can't remember) no worries because Mal then bowled four dots! 12 to win off two balls. If Williams could bring that off then he and Parham deserve to win because that's just pretty good. And it was. Williams smote the first ball off a good length and line over Honse at long off, and the next ball went into the field over long on. 12 scored, Parham win by one run off the last ball! No one was too upset because it had been fun.
But - hang on? SCOREGATE!!!! Was the TWCC total 182? Or had Jim been given a four in the book instead of a 6 in which case the TWCC score should have been 184? Or was the 6 simply missed off altogether which makes the TWCC total 188? And forget the triviality of the result; most importantly here at the Gazette we wonder if Jim scored 53, 55 or 59?
Who knows... and once again the importance of accurate book-keeping is clear. It looks like it might have been a draw as it's hard to believe that the total was correct given that it wasn't, but on the day Parham were chasing 183 to win and they did it, and very exciting it was too.

Scorecard
Parham CC won the toss and elceted to field first
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Williams 0; J Simon not out 53*; T Pearce Ct, Bld Forrest 60;
J Rowland Bld P Fraser 0; M Edwards Bld P Fraser 15; J Panther Ct, Bld Mitchell 9; M Davis Ct, Bld Mitchell 21; H Karvay not out 3. Extras 21 (B10,LB1,W4,NB6) Total 182* for 6.
Parham CC Bowling: M Williams 4-2-10-1; P Fraser 16-1-56-2; Forrest 9-2-33-1; Mitchell 7-0-46-2; Humphries 4-1-11-0; J Fraser 2-0-14-0.
Parham CC Innings: A Wales Bld Edwards 16; T Higginson Bld Edwards 3; A Vander Ct Pearce Bld Edwards 62; R Humphries Bld Karvay 27; M Williams not out 62; P Fraser Run Out 0; S Forrest not out 0. DNB J Fraser, J Mitchell. Extras 8 (B1,LB3,W1,NB3) Total 183 for 5.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 14-2-60-3; J Panther 8-0-23-0; H Karvay 5-0-39-1; M Davis 9-2-50-0; J Simon 1-0-7-0.
Parham CC win* by 4 wickets.

* Scoregate...


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Crescent CC v TWCC September 2nd 2018
Horsdean Amphitheatre, historically difficult to find for some of us, home to the pudding wicket and, in recent seasons, monsoons. On this occasion though the game was played on one of those wonderful early September days with warmth in the Sun but a tinge of Autumn unease in the shade lending a tingle of tension to the air. TWCC’s opponents, Crescent CC, are a hospitable and likeable team who enjoy their cricket just as much as TWCC. Good matches often arise, and wins ebb and flow between the well-matched sides on a regular basis.
In the absence of Skipper Brock, TWCC were led by Skipper Edwards who waffled through his excuses about the toss-fudge, but it all seemed like a good idea to him which was fine; TWCC shook out their aches and pains and took to the field.
The first of the problems facing Matt was that TWCC only had 10 players, and it was only through his dogged persistence that we had enough players to take on the fixture at all. It has been some time since any cricket was played by TWCC so those who could make it were especially grateful for his refusal to give up on conscription. Also thanks must go to those who made that special effort to be there, particularly Tom Firth who could have done with some settling-in time as he’d only moved into a new flat the day before. We were also joined by a couple of stalwarts who have graced the side over the years, namely Il Presidente Jones and the legend that is Phil, plus Mal Davis who is new to the Gazette though he may have played for us before. In any case, welcome to him (let’s hope he’s up for more as he clearly wasn’t new to the game) and thanks to all for turning up.
The game: Ed and Matt to open the bowling for TWCC, and a great job they did. TWCC were also pleased to give Paul the gloves, and that role proved to be no problem at all for him.
Ed ran in from the Sea End and had little luck though the fact that he bowled three maidens in his spell of 8 overs for 22 illustrates that there wasn’t much wrong with his efforts. Matt, on the day more fruitful than Ed, ran in especially hard extracting some genuine pace from himself and even from the stodgy wicket, and took 4 for 24 off 10 overs. There was some variable bounce, but there was nothing wrong with the results. As Joe pointed out, full of admiration for Matt’s efforts, “Wow, look; you’ve sent the off stump cartwheeling out of the ground!” And indeed he had. And he proceeded to take a further three wickets in a great spell that reduced the home side’s expectations at an early stage.
Jim, having passed a late fitness inspection in 1994, replaced Ed and soon found a reasonable length and line, and, following on from Ed and Matts excellent work, the score continued to be held in check to the point where, with some canny field placing, the batters appeared to become slightly frustrated. Even though the boundaries were short the scoreboard was only gently ticking over as the overs passed by. Jim took two wickets despite his knees, one of which was a first for him in his entire career, namely a stumping achieved as a result of some excellent work from Paul who took to the gloves like a fish to a fishing net. Matt took himself off just before he became liable, and Joe took over and his one wicket, again involving Paul who took a sharp catch behind, was the last that TWCC were destined to take. From this point the shortness of the boundaries, the proximity to the end of the innings, and the late order capabilities of Newcombe and Hirmanshu combined to cause a certain ruffling of numbers on the scoreboard. TWCC’s performance in the field was excellent throughout, and although Crescent's rate of scoring did climb towards the end, the increase started quite late and from a low point. Newcombe (59 NO) and Hirmanshu (35 NO), batting at 8 and 9 respectively, certainly did the business as the innings reached the end of the 42nd over giving TWCC a total of 161 to chase – very competitive.
As mentioned the Crescent batting highlights came towards the end of their innings, although the opening series of batters showed plenty of ability albeit they faced some really quite tight bowling which limited their scores. 10-man TWCC fielding highlights were spread wide, with plenty of charging about from the youth and some more-or-less directional falling over from higher up the age-scale (although Jonty Jones at cover point skipped about like a 60-year-old). Paul's wicket-keeping was well-nigh faultless, and with the ball keeping as low as it did to only let four byes through (which was a single event) was remarkable. Star of the bowling was undeniably Matt with his 4 for 24, though all played their part particularly Honse, Phil and Mal who had to bowl their overs to set and capable batsmen as the innings closed. How good it was to see Phil back, let's hope his return led to no injuries and that we see him once more as the regular he should be.
Crescent's signature delicious tea was gratefully consumed, although the visitors’ appetite was somewhat compromised as they digested the 161 scored by the home side. That was going to be difficult to overcome...
Paul and Jim padded up first, though Jim needn't have bothered - his only contribution to the TWCC innings being that he made sure Paul got to the middle in one piece. A leg-glance was Jim’s downfall as, instead of a tip-and-run single to fine-leg, he found the thinnest of edges giving a leg-side catch to the keeper. Bustling in at three came Joe, deservedly up the order and who ran well and even played some classic defensive shots albeit after the opportunity to play the actual stroke had passed him by, but on this day his innings wasn’t to last and TWCC were 16 for 2.
Paul needed a proper batter with whom to share a partnership. But this was TWCC. Proper batter? Unlikely, the crowd thought, but there was one lurking modestly at number 4 in the athletic form of Tom Firth. Just as well; nearly 5 runs an over required for the remaining 32 overs – quite a challenge.
But, oh what a joy it is to report on such an excellent period of play; judicious stroke-play even broke out for some balls at a time as the two TWCC scamperers mixed quick runs with boundary hits. And they just kept going. And going. They even survived three overs of the kind of high-altitude leg-spin from Wood to which we often succumb! Paul passed his 50 with 8 fours and a six behind him, while Tom wasn’t shy of forcing the ball to the boundary either, and they kept going. And going.
Crescent’s bowlers, far from being inaccurate, were nonetheless going for lots of singles, a 4 here and there, and even the odd 6 from Paul as the partnership continued to flourish and the TWCC score passed the half-way point to the required total, and then the hundred, and TWCC dared to dream as all they needed to do was to keep going with just a little acceleration. Dangerous thought, to try to hit out and disturb the natural pace of the innings, but Paul and Tom took it in their stride as the bowling side tired and they themselves began to think the visitors might do it. 12 overs left with 62 to win was, however, no mean target, but more quick running brought more quick runs. Could they?
6 overs passed, 6 overs to go, 23 still to get, and Ed made his big mistake. He mentioned that Tom was on 47. How daft was that? Scorer’s curse; Tom played across a straight ball from Gatford and was bowled! Disaster! But what an innings; 7 fours, the rest all singles – what a testament to application as well as skill in keeping the good ball out and scoring when he could. I hope Tom was glad he’d made the effort to travel down; I know the rest of the team were.
Paul was still out there, getting his second wind as the evening progressed and the temperature fell, but TWCC still needed this dratted 23 runs to win. But never fear, Honse’s here. Oh. Never fear Matt’s here... oh; run out. Never mind, let’s call it a sacrifice to give Paul the strike and ask Dave to go in and hit a glorious four all along the ground to the mid-on boundary and push a quick single to give Paul the strike before being stumped off the bowling of Gatford. 5 immense runs in the context of the game from the President.
Crescent weren’t holding back, but Paul was still there, full of beans, with Mal to see TWCC home. Mal duly played out the end of an over to leave Paul on strike for the 38th and last over, TWCC needing just 3 runs for the win...
The field spread once more; just two in on the single. Paul could do nothing with the first ball. Or the second; he played it dead back to the bowler, biding his time. 4 balls left, field unchanged.
Ball three; Paul stroked the ball out to deep mid-off, an easy single, but a real push for two! A fumble, and Paul was back on strike! Three balls left, scores tied! Field all in; stop the single...
What single? Paul must have known he was on 96! A pull for 4! A win! Paul’s 100!!! Jubilation from the TWCC ranks, and with congratulations from the Crescent lads for Paul (and Tom’s) efforts a memorable game came to a close.
What a win. A proper game and a great return to cricket after such a long Summer lay off. A century from Paul, coming in the last over after hours of concentration and application, with a confident patience even as the balls left were running out in the last over. And he had kept wicket too – a real testament to his fitness, especially as Tom and Paul ran 48 singles between them.
It probably doesn’t do to analyse the scorecard too heavily... but it can’t be ignored that Tom and Paul scored 147 of TWCC’s 165 between them, extras chipped in with 12, and Dave and Joe added the other 7. No one else scored anything, though Mal, Ed and Phil no doubt could have if called upon. However, a win’s a win and it may have been because of the length of the truly great 3rd wicket partnership of 123 from Tom and Paul that others were denied something of an opportunity to join in, but, well, it’s all history now, and worthy history at that. A great day’s play, good spirits all round, and on we march to the next game.

Scorecard
No one won the toss and TWCC bowled first.
Crescent Innings: Morris Bld Edwards 19; Eastwood LBW Edwards 7; Kidman Bld Simon 15; Bousfield Bld Edwards 14; Gatford Ct & Bld Edwards 1; Pomfrett Ct P Hunter (Wk) Bld Panther 1; Will St (P Hunter) Bld Simon 3; Newcombe not out 59; Hirmanshu not out 35. DNB Lawson, Wood. Extras 9 (B4, W5) Total 161 for 7 off 42 overs.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-3-22-0; M Edwards 10-3-24-4; J Simon 8-1-18-2; J Panther 5-0-32-1; H Karvay 4-0-23-0; P Steinke 5-0-22-0; M Davis 2-0-17-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 100; J Simon Ct Kidman (Wk) Bld Lawson 0; J Panther Bld Lawson 2; T Firth Bld Gatford 47; H Karvay LBW Gatford 0; M Edwards run out 0; D Jones St (Kidman) Bld Gatford 5, M Davis not out 0. DNB E Howes, P Steinke. Extras 12 (B2, LB1, W9) Total 165 for 6 from 37.4 overs.
Crescent Bowling: Hirmanshu 7-1-33-0; Lawson 7-1-25-2; Wood 3-0-13-0; Newcombe 7-1-32-0; Morris 8.4-1-37-0; Gatford 5-1-22-3.
TWCC win by 4 wickets, or 3 if you think having only 10 players deserves mentioning.

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Headliners v TWCC July 22nd 2018
Well... Another day in the life of TWCC...

Scorecard

TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct McAteer Bld Islam 26; J Simon Bld Riz 37; T Pearce Ct S Medhurst Bld McAteer 53; J Rowland Ct O'Reilly Bld Riz 4; J Panther Bld Reg 15; M Edwards Bld Reg 0; T Rydon Ct S Hollis Bld Riz 9; E Howes Ct S Medhurst Bld Riz 0; G Cuthbert Bld Riz 0; C Howes Not Out 4; R Brock Ct Barnett Bld Reg 13. Extras 25, Total 191 all out (31 overs).
Fall: 1-48; 2-119, 3-136; 4-136; 5;165; 6-166; 7-166; 8-173; 9-177; 10-191.
Headliner's Bowling: Islam 6-0-48-1; Lynch 5-0-29-0; McAteer 5-1-36-1; Riz 8-1-33-5; Reg 6-2-22-3; O'Reilly 2-0-10-0.
Headliner's Innings: Barnett Bld Panther 49; Holles Ct T Rydon Bld C Howes 78; McAteer Bld T Rydon 9; Collins Not Out 35; Lynch Not Out 4. Extras 18 (B2, LB 4, W 4, NB 8) Total 193 for 3.
Fall: 1-100; 2-119; 3-182.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-0-22-0; E Howes 7-0-40-0; T Rydon 8-0-38-1; J Panther 7-0-37-1; R Brock 3-0-16-0; J Simon 3-0-13-0; G Cuthbert 2-0-12-0; C Howes 1-0-6-1.
Headliners win by 7 wickets.

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TWCC tour to Wimborne Minster June 28th-July 1st 2018
125 years ago, in the 1893 cricket season, the cricketers of Twineham CC and those of Wineham CC had concerns about squad numbers and the number of matches they were able to play.  At the end of the season, they got together and the decision was taken to amalgamate.  Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club was born.  Later that year, on Thursday 7th December 1893, members of the Twineham Men’s Club met and were informed of the decision, before celebrating with songs and recitations with Mr  R W McKergow as President and Miss Hunt, with her sister, entertaining the guests with a piano duet.   The members of the two teams met at the Royal Oak that same month and celebrated with much beer and wassailing.
Spool forward 125 years – and the present day club members  were determined to celebrate that decision and their club’s very existence.  The highlight was to be an extended club tour with the destination being Dorset:  and to be more specific – Wimborne Minster.  A four day tour, 14 club members, two games of cricket, two rounds of golf, one big match and – as it turned out – a couple of half decent nights out with plenty of wassailing, though sadly no piano duets.
The weather wasn’t merely set fair:  it was on a 4 day bake.  Even as the cars gathered around Sussex from 8am, temperatures were in the 70s and going up.  Edward, Jim, Matt and Richard set off from Twineham, Tom and Ed from Wineham, Tony, Dave and Mikey from Rottingdean, Matt, Joe and Reese from Brighton.  Rob set off to London promising to meet us for the big match, Tom Firth was already in Dorset, meeting the missus.  The destination was Ferndown golf club (no not `that` Ferndown golf club, the other one…) which Joe had cunningly convinced to accept us at the bargain bucket rate of £15. What could possibly be wrong?  Ed picked up the tour’s first fine by turning up at the other Ferndown Golf Club – wishful thinking.  Beers were sunk before the yard arm passed ten am, handicaps were the subject of considerable controversy and argument before finally we were off.   Or were we?  Hang on, wasn’t this dustbowl the warm up par 3 course?  Joe?  Joe????  “F*** off, what do you expect for £15?” came the explanation.  The tour’s second fine was sealed.
Despite the yardage shortage, we managed to drag the round out for a mind numbing 5 hours before falling onto the balcony of the welcoming clubhouse.  Tom Firth, a tour virgin but clearly aware of the tactic to shamefully understate your ability, walked away as winner, just ahead of Jim.  A quick beer, more harsh words for Joe, then we departed for our hotel.
Just 20 minutes away from the course was the pretty market town of Wimborne Minster, our base for the next 4 days.  Given the divergence of views on last year’s luxury riverside hotel in Oxfordshire, reputations were on the line here.  As we drove into the hotel car park, which accommodated all vehicles, and rooms and beds appeared to match numbers, things looked good.  We arranged to meet in the bar – and things were good!  The hotel was clean, welcoming, had a lovely pub bar, served decent beer and didn’t expel Reese or Joe.  It ticked all the boxes.
The centrepiece of our extra day on tour was set for the evening:  England Vs Belgium in the World Cup.  We made our way to the highly recommended and aptly named Cricketers Arms where the front row of seats facing the big screen was already taken.
We eagerly nabbed the second row and started ordering vast quantities of ale as the pub gradually filled and became increasingly noisy.  A couple of the lads began the first of what would be a series of attempts at dabbling with the local women  - before a sweepstake on the first England goalscorer.  Both events would prove equally fruitless.  Because try as we might, shouting encouragement from the back row, England repeated their tactic which has seen them through so many previous world cups – they didn’t score any goals.   But as things turned out, as Edward pointed out, this was to be interpreted as good news!  So when Belgium scored, there were no tears among the TWCC fans.   Indeed when Rob finally arrived on tour, around half time, it was to find a remarkably chipper bunch.  You wouldn’t believe we’d spent the day on a crap golf course ahead of watching a woeful England display  - we were on tour, the football team manipulated their way into the best half of the draw and we were rocking.  The beer flowed, the shoulders were shrugged and at the end of the match we headed back to our hotel which happily offered to feed us.
There followed the first fines session.  Ed, obviously, turning up at the wrong golf  course.  Joe, for booking the wrong golf course – a mighty fine, a jug of beer.  Rob, a cardinal and unforgiveable sin: turning up late on tour.   At the end of the meal, the bill arrived and Rob did no more than pick up the whole tab.  A great gesture and guess what – his sin was forgiven, especially as he explained why he was late in latin.
So what to do in Wimborne Minster on a quiet Thursday night?  We went out to a `Spoons` and basked in Mikey’s celebrity, with both barmaids recognising our online star.  Tony did his usual trick with the slot machine – racing ahead winning copious amounts of money from a fiver, before pumping it all back.  Joe, Matt, a barmaid, a window and a plaster all became jointly involved in a project which sadly falls within the WGOTSOT guidelines.  It had been a long day, it wasn’t a late night.

The following morning, what do we find?  Edward Bunn at breakfast, in full praise of the hotel.  The food, the rooms, the staff, the location…last year’s critical hotel inspector was awarding 5 stars to the King’s Head.  And yes, breakfast was good.  Full English, eggs Benedict, fruit salad, cereals, pastries….the only thing it didn’t provide was milkshakes, but fortunately Edward found a shop in the pretty market square which managed to double its output and thus keep up with his insatiable demand.  So what to do on a boiling Friday 8 miles from Bournemouth?  It was never in doubt.  Towels were packed, budgies were smuggled…we were on our way to Bournemouth seafront.
OMG:  little did we know what embarrassment awaited as we sauntered towards the end of the rather sparsely facilitated pier.  TWCC’s finest strong arms took on the `knock a can off a shelf` game.  From two yards, Matt Edwards missed with his first two balls.  From 5 attempts, the greatest feat of the TWCC mighty was to remove two of the 5 cans from the shelf.  It was a warm up for the greater humiliation to follow.  The challenge was a simple one.  Hang onto a pole with your feet off the ground for two minutes, win £20. A quiver of excitement ran through the youngsters,  a collective ripple of tanning muscles – the boys couldn’t believe their luck, it was a cash giveaway.  The following is an approximate outline of what happened (rounded to the nearest second)
Matt Edwards:  Stayed on:  1 second
Joe Panther:  Stayed on:  1 second
Mikey Pearce:  stayed on: 1 second
Reese Packham:  Stayed on: 3 seconds
Tony Pearce: Stayed on: 4 seconds
Matt Brock:  Stayed on: 14 seconds
My apologies if any is under or over-represented by a second or so,  it’s from memory, but the story it tells is accurate.  As the young guns of Twineham sloped off, the stallholder could be seen to shed a small tear – never had trading been so profitable, so quickly, so simply.
Next stop the beach.  Bournemouth’s beautiful sandy beach, full of lovelies (once we’d arrived), enough space for a bit of beach cricket with first Tony then Brocky sending tennis balls in  all directions, with young cricketers diving after them.  Particularly impressive was Tony’s `catch behind the back`.  And the sea was wonderful: warm, clean and the perfect place for a game of slip catching, won by Matt Brock. 
We spent about 4 hours by the sea and it was fab:  admiring the sights of Bournemouth – of which there were many – before heading to Harry Ramsden’s for a fish and chip lunch.  As we headed back, some of the boys diverted to crazy golf, whilst Reese and Joe offered to take fans’ selfies during Mikey’s celebrity walk in the town.  Unhappily for the recipients, they flicked the reverse camera on:  so the star-struck youngsters got home to see the gurning mugs of Joe and Reese contaminating their phones.
Back to the hotel, turn round, out to cricket and we arrived at 5.30 at Bournemouth CC `one of the biggest cricket club’s in the country` (BCC website).  And big it was.  Two huge grounds, we were directed to the `second` clubhouse which was large, had a bar, balcony etc.  For the match, BCC pulled together a team of mostly youngsters, peppered with varying degrees of talent, led by Rob Pack, a first team bowler.
The role of skipper for this match had been decided at Harry Ramsdens.  5 put their names forward:  names were put in a hat, pulled out by Dave.   Mikey was to be vice captain but it was Tom Firth whose name was pulled out and who led a team sadly devoid of Reese, who stayed at the hotel as a protest against the voting procedure.  His absence gave Richard a match and happily Jim offered to play for BCC who were one short – so all those who wished had a game on a beautiful hot evening.
Skipper Firth won the toss and opted to bat.  Looking back through the scorebook he saw a shard of light:  Joe’s big weapon!  So Joe it was who went in with Tony to open  the batting against an attack still on cricket’s steep learning curve, but clearly with much potential.
Tony was bowled with the score on 36 while Joe kept thumping the fours.  It was a good start.  Rob limped out to the middle, as close to fitness as we are to a new pavilion.  He smacked a couple of fours but his limited movement meant he was LBW for just 9.  In strode Mikey, a young man so full of batting talent that sometimes he convinces us to believe it.  And this was just such a moment.  Mikey joined Joe in taking the attack to BCC.  His 50 was near flawless – apart from a couple of drops.  As Joe was bowed out for a splendid 28, and Edward for just 1, Tom F joined Mikey and the pair of them powered forward, spraying fours to all areas of the ground.  The score went from 56 to 145 in the 10 overs they were together.  Mikey retired on 50,  Tom was out for 34 but Matt Edwards and Tom Rydon belted a few at the end to leave us on a respectable 158-6.  The BCC bowling was variable, with a couple of the spinners in particular getting great grip and causing real problems. 
Any weaknesses in BCC’s bowling were made up for by their highly competent batting – something that only became obvious after the first over, during which Edward took the two wickets of their openers.  BCC’s strong middle order kicked in and it was the two Brocks who both took a bit of punishment.  But Brock senior got a lucky edge from an appallingly wide ball and Brock junior followed up with a proper wicket, caught and bowled.  Batsmen Markham and Jones, who’d put on more than 50 between them, both out.  But we were far from home and dry.  As their skipper Rob Pack came in, he started to spray the ball at TWCC’s numerous walking wounded, especially Rob, who was to be seen hobbling after the ball to and fro at mid on with painful regularity.  During this period, BCC kept absolutely to the required 8 an over.  At 117-4 from 15 overs, they needed 42 from 5.  The next over – a huge boost.  Joe’s repositioning to mid on led to him catching Rob Pack off Tom Firth the very next ball.  Good overs from Ed and Tom R left BCC needing 20 from the last two overs, then 12 from the last Ed Howes over.  A four and a wide were not a great start – but Ed kept his cool – just – and got through his first 5 balls for 10.  1 for a TWCC win, 2 for a tie, 3 for a BCC win.  A good ball and a scrambled single – we won by one run.  A game played in great spirit and afterwards,  BCC put on beer, burgers and cakes for us, which were most welcome.  We stayed for a good hour enjoying their company, they were a really good bunch and we’d like to thank them very much for their hospitality and spirit – notably Mark Smith who’d offered us the match in the first place.  It was a great tour evening.  

Scorecard  
Friday 29th June 2018
TWCC vs Bournemouth CC
TWCC won the toss and opted to bat
T Pearce               Bowled                 J Palmer               10
J Panther             Stumped              C Smith                 28
R Rydon               LBW                       A Humber           9
M Pearce             Retired                                                 50         
E Bunn                  LBW                       C Smith                 1
T Firth                   Ct C Smith           Bld A Humber    34                         
M Edwards         LBW                       C Smith                 4
T Rydon                Not                        out                         6
TOTAL:  158-6  (20 OVERS)
FALL: 36-1, 46-3, 54-2, 56-5, 146-7, 158-6
DNB:  R Brock, E Howes, M Brock
 
BOURNEMOUTH CRICKET CLUB
N Groves             Ct R Brock            Bld E Bunn           0
A Deem                Bowled                                 E Bunn                  4
J Markham          Ct WK (M Edwards) Bld R Brock 28
O Jones                Ct and Bowled   M Brock               17
J Palmer               Not        out                                         32
R Pack                   Ct  J Panther       Bld T Firth            46
J Gray                    Bowled                                 E Howes               8
C Smith                 Run                        out                         7
TOTAL 157-7 (20 OVERS)
TWCC Bowling: E Bunn 3-0-18-2; E Howes 4-0-32-1; M Brock 2-0-20-1; R Brock 2-0-20-1; M Pearce 2-0-14-0; T Pearce 2-0-23-0; T Rydon 3-0-18-0; T Firth 2-0-20-1.
FALL:  1-0, 2-4, 52-4, 57-3, 118-6, 146-7, 157-6
TWCC WIN BY 1 RUN

We arrived back at the hotel to find Reese in good spirits.  He’d been on his own little spree around Wimborne and discovered a place called The Rising Sun, what he told us was a happening place.  We considered poker and we considered The Rising Sun.  No contest.  As we squeezed inside, the heady mix of sweat, perfume and pheromones, combined with the lively dance music from across the generations with a little bit of World Cuppery thrown in made for a fantastic night.  The shots lined up again and again, the boys – and one or two of the old gits – took the dance floor and it just brilliant fun.  By 1’O clock we were on the road outside, chatting away before the short walk past Wimborne Minster back to the hotel.  A merry bunch.

Saturday morning in Wimborne.  Edward in the milkshake shop, a market in the town centre, the chaps enjoying breakfast.  Golf was lined up for 2pm – so the perfect time for the TWCC tennis tournament.  The tour’s existing champion of many years – Skipper Brock – was under serious threat from Tom `5 racquets` Firth.  Remarkably, two days before Wimbledon, we were offered two excellent grass courts a short walk from the hotel.  Teams:   Tony and Richard, Tom and Tom, Matt B and Ed, Matt E and Reese.  Argumentative umpires:  Mikey and Joe.  It was a baking morning, serving into the sun was tricky, some shed their shirts, others their shoes.  But however it looked, it was competitive.  Edwards clearly miffed with Packham, Panther helping none at all, Mikey central to all  disputes…boys on tour!  The senior Pearce/Brock partnership took a while to get into gear before dispatching Edwards/Packham, whilst Tom and 5 racquets breezed past Matt and Ed and then the argumentative pair of Matt and Reese.  The showdown was saved to the last match.  Tom selected the finest of the 5, TWCC’s youthful youngsters stepping onto court to trounce the old gits.  It was over sooner than anyone believed.  A 3-0 whitewash – and for Tom and Tom - the scalding walk back to the hotel to reflect on where it all went wrong and possibly the need to bring a couple of extra racquets next year.
We set off early to the golf course for lunch – a proper golf course.  Dudsbury, a golf resort with nice everything.  It was baking, France Argentina beckoned and Brock senior shockingly contemplated staying in the clubhouse to watch.  HEFTY FINE ADMINISTERED LATER!  Breaking up the group activities is one of the most heinous crimes on tour and as author of the report, I humbly apologise.
The golf course was lovely.  Long, green and wet.  Rather too wet for some, and lots of balls were lost to the numerous marshes, ponds, lakes, streams etc.  The first two groups raced ahead but the Brock/Brock/Bunn/Rogers group had on its tail a tournament of juniors, and an incredibly annoying twerp in a golf buggy managing them.  Letting them through wasn’t a problem – letting them through and then waiting whilst they lost their balls, faffed around and waited for the ones ahead was.  After 3 and a quarter hours, the group reached the 9th green – and headed to the bar.  The other groups made good time on a lovely course before we headed at various intervals back to the hotel for SHIT SHIRT NIGHT.
SSN is a new concept for tour.  The requirement was to wear what it says on the tin.
Matt Edwards showed a particularly queasy coloured garment, Richard’s bow tie effort plucked from the 80s, Dave’s paisley truly gross, reeking of new Romanticism.  Ed was sent back to his room to find something worse, a particularly poor effort from Edward who wore a shirt he’d already worn on tour a day earlier – but Jim’s was surely worst of all, with the appearance of a pyjama jacket combined with a car rug – really quite ghastly.  Unsurprisingly, as we gathered in the bar of the hotel, our shirts caused more than a little comment from others trying to enjoy their evening.  One particular lady and her partner were so amused that they agreed to be the judges in the SSN competition.  Rob’s faded pink Hawaii shirt received a highly commended, as did Dave’s effort.  The absolute loser was judged to be Edward whose shirt was capable of being worn almost without humiliation – but the winner by a country mile was Jim’s pyjamas.  We sank a lot of beer in that short hour, before buying our judges drinks and heading out to Rim Jim.
RimJim, it should be explained, was Wimborne’s finest Indian restaurant, as well as an amusing concept for someone like Joe.  I’m afraid the tour report here goes a little hazy because the speed of consumption of the Abbott Ale gave the author a `missing hour`.  Safe to say, it was a meal enjoyed by all, especially the team’s vegetarian Matt B who finished Edward’s chicken tikka masala.  The bill payment was confusing but once that was sorted, there was only one place to be:  the Rising Sun.  The fines payments were lined up on the bar and swiftly despatched, along with many other drinks.  Mikey’s only defence against a particularly clingy fan was to insist his girlfriend would be cross – severe loss of street cred I fear.  And whilst the pub didn’t feature the numbers of the night before it did provide one of the greatest tour moments of all time.  Imperilling the WGOTSOT creed, the following story needs to be told.  Joe was chasing a birthday girl, clearly marked by a large badge reading 30 dangling from her chest.  At one stage they seemed close.  Moments later it was all over, Joe had moved on.  As she ran out in tears, concerned club goers followed her out.  What had transpired was that they fell out over something trivial  – and as she tearfully said `I’ve been out with footballers, rugby players – and tonight  “I thought I’d give the fat bloke a chance!”` A new club motto is born.
As we spilled out onto the road at the end of another great evening, it was to find a bare chested Dave swapping his paisley shirt with another clubber who loved what he was wearing.  It was that sort of crazy night, with plenty more incidents falling under the WGOTSOT ruling.
5 days before the tour, Puddletown, the opponents for our second match in Dorset had pulled out.   Richard frantically trawled 3 counties for a new fixture:  Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex.  The only takers were…Balcombe, some 5 miles north of Twineham!  And so it was that on Sunday morning, around 10.30, we checked out from the excellent hotel and headed for our match – in Sussex.  Tony dropped Mikey off at a train station, turning round to rescue his car keys 10 miles later!!  We reached the Half Moon pub in Balcombe – still very much on tour – at around 12.30 – unless like Matt and Joe you went via the M25???  Drinks were ordered and served to the table – individually and with great regularity  – almost as if the attractive young barmaid was being called out again and again….
At 1.40pm we made the 400 yard drive from the pub to the ground down a dusty track.  A new ground to us, despite the proximity to TWCC.  It was small, narrow, but set in a beautiful background of the North Downs, really spectacular.  It has a long modern pavilion made up of sectional modules which housed plenty of room for changing, tea, a bar and even a TV for those enjoying the World Cup.  An excellent venue.  Reese had been asked to be skipper and he was offered the choice to bat or bowl.  He chose to bowl, and we went out for a sweltering long hot afternoon in a timed match of 2 hours 20 minutes and an hour and 20 overs.
Balcombe started briskly.  Tom R and Ed bowled well but the short boundaries and the parched ground were creating quick scoring opportunities.  Balcombe’s number 2, a young Colt called Ollie Hine was particularly impressive, clipping the ball to the onside boundary regularly, and a number of byes also raced to the boundary.  Balcombe were past 50 when Matt Edwards was brought on and took a vital wicket, the opener Ward nicked behind to Reese behind the stumps for 15.  Richard came on the other end and working in tandem with Matt, these two slowed the scoring rate considerably.  Richard got an LBW awarded without question by Joe, who’d been given a chance to be umpire, and then a clean bowled.  With the game back in control, and Balcombe struggling to find the boundaries, the skipper showed his sporting side and called on Edward and Tony to bowl.  This might be seen to have tilted the match back towards Balcombe, as the pair conceded 56 in 7 overs – though in fairness Tony appeared to have got a clear nick from young Mr Hine, which everybody heard but Joe the umpire!  But the young man batted well, before running himself out on 87, dashing to keep strike and make his century.  Finally, it was great to see Jim come off his full run for 3 overs at the end, and working in tandem with Matt Brock, they took a wicket a-piece leaving the final score on 177-6.  On our day, our bowling line up looks really rather fearsome.
Tea was described by Tony as the greatest ever cricket tea!  A quintessential English Cricket Tea, light, bright and delicious.  And so suitably fed and watered, it was the combination of Jim and Richard who led the TWCC batting attack.  Richard departed swiftly but Jim and Tony moving forward purposefully taking the score to 75 before Jim was run out for 28. At 91-2 we were looking good.  Tony retired confidently for an excellent 75. But Balcombe saved two useful bowlers to the end.  Dave made 4, Edward 12 and Reese 12.  145-5, wickets falling...
33 needed, 4 wickets in hand (we had decided that come what may, Tony should not pick up his innings.)  Matt fell without scoring.  Tom helped the score to 174 - 8.  174-9 as Tom R went for 1.  4 to win and the last batsman was Matt Brock, not renowned for his batting greatness.  He faced up – the game would be won or lost on the next few balls.  Crack!  First ball Matt creamed through the covers to the boundary – the day was ours and we raced onto the pitch to congratulate Matt and shake hands with our excellent opponents and hosts.  Another cracking match to add to a season of brilliant finishes.

Scorecard
Sunday 1st July 2018
TWCC vs Balcombe CC
TWCC were given the choice and opted to bowl
BALCOMBE INNINGS
A Ward                 Ct WK (Packham)             Bld M Edwards  15
O Hine                  Run out (Packham)                                          87
G Botting             LBW                                       Bld R Brock         2
M Rawbin            Bowled                 R Brock                                 1
A botting             Ct….                       Bld M Brock                        27
R Mitchell            Bowled                                 J Simon                                 9
A Rewitt               not                         out                                         5
K Mitchell            not                         out                                         1
TOTAL 177- 6
Fall:  51-1, 67-3, 74-4, 139-5, 1692, 176-6
BOWLING:  T Rydon:  5-0-18-0, E Howes 5-0-20-0, M Edwards 6-1-16-1, R Brock 7-1-13-2, E Bunn 4-0-38-0, T Pearce 3-0-18-0, M Brock 3-0-16-1, J Simon 3-0-19-1
TWCC INNINGS
J Simon                 Run                        out                         28
R Brock                 Ct  T Rawbin Bld R Mitchell           9
T Pearce               Retired                                                75
D Rogers              Run                        out                        4
E Bunn                  Bowled                                 M Rawbin            12
R Packham          Ct G Botting        Bld M Rawbin    12
M Edwards         Ct T Rawbin        Bld O Hine           0
T Firth                   Bld O Hine                                           10
T Rydon                Ct A Botting        Bld M Rawbin    1
E Howes               not                         out                         1
M Brock               not                         out                         4
TOTAL:  178-8
Balcombe bowling:  Mitchell 4-2-6-1, M Sargil 4-0-20-0, C Botting 4-0-16-0, A Botting 2-0-25-0, A Trevett 3-0-33-0, G Botting 3-0-26-0, M Rawbin 6-0-20-3, O Hine 4.2-1-11-2
FALL: 11-2, 75-1, 95-4, (137-3), 137-5, 145-7, 160-6, 174-8, 174-9
TWCC win by 1 (2) wicket(s)

As we chatted with Balcombe’s players after and joked among ourselves, it was the perfect end to an absolutely brilliant tour.  To do 4 days was a risk but it paid off – just this once.  We are a very close-knit club, we love each other’s company and we love our tours.  This really was one of the greats.  Great hotel, cracking matches, two great finishes, wonderful weather and most of all a great mix of players.   Fantastic to see Dave back on tour, to see Tom tour for the first time, and for Rob to also come along for the first time.  Everyone adds something to tour, be it an action, a suggestion, an idea, a piece of brilliance or craziness.  And the camaraderie is phenomenal.
Back in 1893, I doubt they toured – but as the records show, they really enjoyed each others` company.  That has not changed 125 years later – and at this club, I’m confident it never will.
Thank you all for touring, you are a fantastic bunch.
Richard Brock
Captain TWCC. 

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TWCC v London Unity June 17th 2018
If cricket were always as exciting as the match against Exiles, half the team would have dropped dead from heart failure some time   It’s not.  Like a well built innings, a cricketing life is filled with moments of high excitement, periods of defining mediocrity, devastating lows balanced by occasional  flashes of inspirational brilliance. So it was we arrived, still pumped, for our match against London Unity, a team who have beaten us regularly in recent years.  Unity called and lost the toss and Skipper Brock opted to field.  The day was overcast and dry, but any logic in the decision was to give Matt and Tom the benefit of the new ball.  Tom – building on the previous week’s performance – started well at the far end, Matt his usual dangerous self from the pavilion end.  And it was Matt who made the first breakthrough, a nick through to Edward in the slips.  Proper cricket.  Matt picked up another snapped up by Jonathan behind the stumps and might have had another had it not have been for a moment of comedic inadequacy by the skipper in dropping a rather straightforward though well hit chance at mid off.  Fortunately that was followed by the champagne moment – a laser guided throw, hard and low from the boundary by Tom Rydon ran out their opening bat who was greedily trying for two.  Things were going well, but in the meantime, Unity were scoring well and fast – up towards 60 after an hour.  Tom chipped in with a fourth wicket but Unity had at the crease two good batsmen, who hit the ball firmly and hard and could have wreaked havoc given the chance.  So the openers were kept going until drinks – ten overs each.  And in his last over, Tom took two wickets, a just reward for his good spell.  At drinks Unity were suddenly 6 down.  Honse came on from the pavilion end and bowled very nicely, tight, on the stumps.  The skipper did the same the other end and the scoring rate slowed to a near complete stop for 5 or 6 overs.  Finally Unity came out of their shells – a six off Richard evidence of such.  Fortunately Jim caught nicely in the gulley off Richard, that was followed next ball by a clean bowled.  The hat-trick ball didn’t happen but then a nick off Unity’s number 10 flew to Tony at slip and he showed he’s still got the lightning reactions of old to snap it up one handed.  10 man Unity all out for 94, 25 minutes before tea.
Tea was good, two home made cakes!  Recipe cards available to all wives/partners.  And so out we went to bat, with an hour and forty minutes plus 20 overs:  time wasn’t going to be a problem.   Unity’s captain, Joe Driver was fast and accurate from the far end  - but Paul and Jim looked very good, Paul pulling well around the corner, Jim’s firm shots through the covers making excellent watching.  They put together a stand of 48 before Jim played a drive firmly back to Joe Driver, but Tony kept up the pace when he joined Paul.  Paul tweaked his hamstring, bravely made it through to 52 poor love, then hobbled off to protect his average.  He left it to Jonathan and Tony to see us home, which they did with style.  The dressing room had none of the effervescence of the previous week, merely a quiet satisfaction of a well earned victory, spiced with whispered unhappiness from the opposition about the skipper keeping the openers on too long.  Well that’s as may be, it was a cricket match against a usually strong opposition, we were out to win and win we did.  The only downside was that 3 players neither batted nor bowled.  That’s very unusual and my apologies to them.  Sometimes the matches dictate events.  Next:  TOUR.      

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to field.
London Unity Innings: J Burke Run out T Rydon 12; M Cockburn Ct Bunn Bld Edwards 11; J Moore Bld T Rydon 3; A Eane Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Edwards 28; J Driver Ct J Simon Bld Brock 16; S Columbine Bld T Rydon 1; R Cachan Ct Karvay Bld T Rydon 0; M Driver Not out 18; J Caulfield Bld Brock 0; J Williams Bld Brock 0. Total: 94 all out.
TWCC bowling: M Edwards 10-2-31-2; T Rydon 10-3-29-3; Karvay 6-2-20-0; R Brock 5.3-2-13-3.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ret’d hurt 52; J Simon Ct & Bld J Driver 14; T Pearce not out 27; J Rowland not out 3.
DNB E Bunn, R Packham, J Panther, H Karvay, T Rydon, M Edwards, R Brock.
FALL: 48-2.
Unity Bowling: Caulfield: 4-0-28-0; J Driver 9.1-2-35-1, Williams 6-0-33-0.
TWCC Win by 9 Wickets.

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TWCC v Xiles June 10th 2018
Sometimes words are not enough to describe extraordinary events – especially in this age of visual stimulation so enjoyed by some of TWCC’s younger members. This is one such occasion. But words are all we have. If it helps, bring to mind one of Joe’s most voluptuous `swipe rights` and you will be in the type of stimulation zone required to appreciate this match. For the first time this season the skipper won the toss on a beautiful afternoon for cricket. He opted to bat, despite slight concerns that his regular opening bowlers Matt and Ed were absent. In keeping with his recent excellent form, Jim was selected to accompany Paul as opener. And he didn’t disappoint, studiously setting about his task of cementing the innings together, leaving what excitement there was to the variety of batsmen occupying the other end. Paul wafted at a wide ball and was caught behind for 4, Reese continued his unhappy recent form with another duck but that brought young George Hunter to the crease for his first TWCC innings of the season. Tall, lean and muscular, George started as he meant to go on. The first ball saw a huge swoosh of the bat, the sound like air passing the blade of a giant wind turbine, sadly uninterrupted by a crack of leather on willow. It took until the 3rd ball for contact to be made, a mere 2, before a six cleared the boundary in brutal fashion. That’s how George plays, and it was how this innings unfolded. That six imperilled the cars, thought to have been safely tucked away at the entrance to the ground.  His second flew far into the neighbouring field.  Finally, after an innings unencumbered by defensive shots, George sent a ball off the edge of the bat high into the air for a catch that ended a brief but important innings of 31, a much needed boost to a flagging total. The next notable contribution came from Edward, who played with attacking verve, up on his toes forcing the ball all around the field, running ones and twos, full of self belief. But with his demise on 36, and that of Graham (who’s Graham ???) Honse came to the wicket and played the innings of his life for a team still short of enough runs to defend. Honse and Jim played sensibly for a team 6 down. They nudged singles, Honse occasionally sweeping the ball handsomely to the boundary. Finally the score passed 100. With 20 minutes until tea, we approached 120, and the boundary-siders began yelling encouraging support along the lines of `step it up`. Jim and Honse did indeed step it up, suddenly finding extra runs and boundaries in an urgent push for added runs. Jim paid the price for this riskier brand of cricket, but his marathon innings of 36 in 2 hours 20 minutes was the backbone of the batting. A late flurry by Tom Rydon and Honse, and the score stood at 158-8.
Tea was excellent, Jim swiftly replacing his batting pads with an apron to good effect. The feeling at tea was that we had enough – comfortably enough. (I blame the bread - Ed.)
Tom and Joe launched the bowling offensive. Tom a little wild, Joe reasonable if not on top form. But Joe it was who made the breakthrough, a smart one handed slip catch from Edward seeing off the opener and then clean bowling the number 3. But this brought to the wicket D Bailey, who teamed up rather nicely with the remaining opener D Hooper – and this pair quickly started piling on the runs. Fours were being sent to all parts of the boundary with consumate ease and it suddenly became obvious that they were taking the match away from TWCC. Paul failed to find the breakthrough despite 2 good overs in a 3 over bowling spell. They had reached 71, with still 20 minutes to go until 20 overs. The skipper brought himself and Honse on to try to slow the scoring rate. It worked, but even so, at 20 overs, Exiles were left requiring 80, just 4 runs an over and 8 wickets left.
The two batsmen were undeniably in charge. They were careful, for example sizing up Paul and Edward, before deciding it was worth attacking them: Paul’s last over went for 15, Edward’s for 16. They played sensibly and with ten overs left, they needed 32 to win – still 8 wickets in hand. In the eyes of some – including the captain – the game was up. It was time for one last roll of the dice. Back on from the far end came Tom Rydon. Having largely ignored the skipper’s request to warm up properly, he required another loosening over. An experimental over from George also failed to breakthrough. The first two balls of Tom’s next over went for  6, 2. The hundred partnership was up. 17 runs required off 7.3 overs. 8 wickets left. Hope was a flickering candle in a hurricane. Then Tom came to the party. A wonder ball clean bowled Bailey for a hard hitting 60. Celebrations were muted, but the skipper decided he’d pick up at the other end. It worked. 2 runs conceded, one clean bowled wicket. Tom’s next over: a fierce maiden, the young Rydon full of adrenaline and confidence. The skipper trundled in for another 2 runs and another batsman bowled. The post wicket huddle at last shimmered with a little bit of belief. 15 still needed, 5 wickets in hand, 5 overs left.  Tom was bowling fast and accurately.  His next over offered just one run and crucially his fifth ball shattered the stumps of the number 7 batsman.  Everything had now changed.  The field was constantly changing to allow a single to the still firing Hooper, now in the 70s. 3 overs left, fielders pumped, the skipper bowled a straight ball to Karthik at number 8 – a big appeal and the finger was up. Every run was crucial. Hooper hooked Tom towards the boundary – Graham dived for it, only for the ball to hit a divot and leap over his prone body and into the hedge. A roar from Xiles players on the boundary. Tom came back, a beauty, edged to Reese, who parried it upwards with lightning reactions and Edward plucked it from the air. 8 wickets down, 6 to win from the last Brock over. 2 off the first ball. 4 from 5. Dot, dot, single. Hooper facing. He launched the skipper high into the air towards deep midwicket. Paul was on the boundary, too far to come. But he raced in, eyes on the ball and then threw himself forward and hung on for a remarkable catch, breathtaking. One ball left, 3 runs for Exiles to win, two to tie, one to draw, one wicket for TWCC to win. Everyone was put on the boundary. We’d come so far in this remarkable match that perhaps the skipper overlooked the hope of victory didn’t even think of close catchers. Stop a boundary! In the event, the last ball was tidy, the batsmen scrambled a single, the match was drawn – but we celebrated it like a win. Tom Rydon crossed a threshold of belief in this match, his bowling filling the team with hope and driving us forward. 7 wickets fell in the last 8 overs, for 15 runs. It was a remarkable finish to a great game, in which everyone played a part. Match Drawn. PHEW.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct WK Bld Luke 4; J Simon Bld Luke 36; R Packham    LBW Bld Luke 0; G Hunter Ct WK Bld Luke    31; T Firth Bld Luke 4; E Bunn WK Bld Karthik 36; G Cuthbert Bld Manda 1; H Karvay Run out 25; T Rydon Not out 10. DNB: J Panther, R Brock. Total 158 for 8.
FALL: 7-1, 8-3, 42-4, 48-5, 97-6, 98-7, 130-2, 158-8.   
Xiles Bowling: Pitt; 10-3-36-0; Luke 10-0-42-5; Manda 9-1-26-1; Karthik 9-3-7-1; Claude 6-0-28-0; other 3-0-18-0.
Xiles Batting: Mick Ct Bunn Bld Panther 4; D Hooper Ct Hunter Bld R Brock 78; Claude Bld Panther 7; D Bailey Bld T Rydon 60; P Stead Bld R Brock 2; Deleep Bld R Brock 0; Hannant Bld T Rydon 2; James LBW Bld R Brock 0; Karthik Ct Bunn Bld T Rydon 0; Pete Not out 0; Luke Not out 1. Total: 157-9
Fall: 18-1, 41-3, 142-4, 146-5, 146-6, 147-7, 148-8, 149-9, 156-2.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 11-1-44-3; J Panther 9-2-23-2; P Hunter 3-2-15-0; R Brock 12-1-32-4; H Karvay 5-1-12-0; Bunn 3-0-22-0; G Hunter 1-0-6-0.
MATCH DRAWN

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Jevington CC v TWCC June 3rd 2018
Many thanks to Joe for arranging this fill-in fixture at late notice, and for providing TWCC with a day which had all the ingredients of a mini tour; a lengthy drive to an unfamiliar ground in the hot sunshine, new breweries to discover, and the prospect of losing to new opponents of unknown pedigree.
Nestling in a verdant bowl in the Downs, Jevington CC’s  ground was set off nicely by a pavilion in which TWCC felt right at home, complete with a similar Business Class toilet complex to rival our own.
The toss was won by the home side, and, with an eye to avoiding fielding in the heat of the day and, no doubt, also to the difficulty that would be experienced by late batters as they faced the low evening sun, they elected to bat first.
Well, never mind; we can bowl, well, most of us anyway... so bowl we did, with the trusty pace pairing of Matt and Ed. Matt, using his experience of running down the hill at Bolney the previous week, found his form straight away, as did Ed who took a wicket (caught Brocky) with his very first ball. A veritable rout! However, the outfield was fast, and although the wicket was set in the middle of a bowl, in every direction the ball ran it appeared, Escher-like, to be rolling downhill, so, although the bowling was tight, once through the infield the ball tended to run all the way for four.
In Shaw, Swansborough, S Fielder and Hobson, not to mention the six-hitting L Page, Jevington had plenty of batting firepower. Not that TWCC were without deterrent counter measures; Matt and Ed both finished with a wicket each, and Honse and Tom R took over from the opening bowlers with great effect; Tom surviving being attacked by a fiercely struck drive and then hanging on to a less life-threatening opportunity for a caught and bowled. Honse gets a sentence or two all to himself, of course, as once again his Eastern mystery flummoxed even the established batters as he dropped on to a good length and line. 8 overs 1 maiden 2 for 17 are great figures given the hitting out that was occurring, and in 2018 his bowling truly seems to have come of age. Rather like Jim’s knees, come to think of it, but the youthful Tom Firth gave us four good overs in the difficult times of aggressive no-holds-barred attack from the energetic Jevingtoners.
However, as Skipper Brock sensed a total building that it would be hard to overtake, it was time for Edward and Richard himself to see out the overs before tea. Both bowled exceptionally well, Edward taking 1 for 11 off four overs ending, indeed, with a maiden, and Brocky starting off his four overs with two wicket maidens, the two wickets in question ending the problematical swashbuckling of S Fielder and S Hobson. After that we only had a monster 6 from Page to enjoy off Richard’s bowling and then it was tea.
Tea; this is a difficult one, for it was not tea that was laid out before us, it was lunch, tea and supper combined. Not for Jevington CC a couple of light sandwiches and a small piece of cake, rather a whole roast ox stuffed with stuffed swan with all the trimmings. Half-time in a Sumo contest and this sort of  repast would be the norm, but it was difficult to do justice to the wonderful offerings when in the midst of a tight game of cricket. But (sigh) we did our best... Thank you Jevington Catering Team!
On with the cricket. It was Matt and Jim who strapped on their gear (extra notch on the belt) to face up to the unknown powers of the Jevington bowling attack. With recent – let’s not mince our words here – catastrophic batting displays, some comfort must be taken from the fact that neither Matt, or even Jim, immediately got out. They did their best on occasion to flap their bats about and lob the ball here and there, but get out they did not. They even scored respectable runs with the odd nice shot, but not getting out in the face of tight, accurate bowling on a pitch of variable bounce, clearly comes at a price, and the price was that after 19 overs they’d only scored at just 2.8 runs per over and the total was a solid, respectable but possibly inadequate 54. Was this 54 a good platform, or had it left too much for the other 9 batters to work with? In hindsight there was a bit of both; to win TWCC would need to score at roughly twice the rate that Matt and Jim had managed, but the bowlers were tired, less threatening bowlers were likely to be tried, and with 9 wickets in hand and with the batters TWCC had, it was an inviting prospect. The Gazette feels it might be worth mentioning here the chosen format; usually Sunday games comprise, in the second innings, 1 hour plus anything up to 20 minutes before a final 20 overs’ countdown begins. For some reason this was shortened to just one hour then 20 overs, which, in the end, proved significant in that more haste was required before the 20 over threshold than was the norm. With three or four more overs before drinks and then a further 20 overs, with, say, another 10-15 runs on the board, that would have made a lot of difference. But, it is what it is, and it has to be admitted that, in spite of early and direct orders from the dug out to get on with it, Matt and Jim’s resilience at the crease was not producing much in the runs column. In their defence it was difficult to both score and survive, but more of that below...
Exit Jim, yorked, then Matt who may have been unlucky trapping the ball under his bat which went through to the keeper as caught, though it may well have been a bump ball. One of those awkward moments; he could hardly overly protest in the face of the umpire’s finger pointing to the sky, but the Gazette don’t believe he was out.
90 or so runs from 18 overs required by TWCC for the win.
Tony and Reese were at the crease. Oh... Tony and Broc... Oh... Tony and Tom Rydon were at the crease – this is what was required; Tom and Tony, upping the rate, putting the fielding side under pressure! Tom, of course, whilst Tony was turning puce, was barely idling as singles were turned into twos and twos into threes, and threes into... oh, ok. Fours were fours and there were plenty of them in the timely partnership of 41 before Tom was caught; but the chase was on with 43 to get and 7 overs or so left! Yes, the sun was directly in the eyes of the batsmen at the Tea End, but we still had Edw... Oh... we still had Joe! Joe and Ton... oh... Joe and Ed! And Joe was turning it on; anything bowled in roughly the direction of his bat seemed to meet with its middle, and the ball found the hedge. This was Joe of the Nuthurst game, the Joe of true eye and firm club. Joe and Ed, and Ed can ba... oh. Tom Firth – he’s a pl... oh. 21 to get, Joe’s batting really well there are still 20 balls left, and Honse can stay wi... Oh.
And there it was. A loss, but not a bad loss; as in the previous week either side could have won, a draw could have been the result, and in the end does the result of a good game matter that much? Sitting in the late sun at the Eight Bells with a pint of Long Man it would be a sad and angry person who begrudged Jevington their victory, for hadn’t we all, in taking part, been equally lucky in our day?
What and who has the Gazette failed to mention this week...? Who knows (but we'll be told later...) There was the low grubbing bounce in the middle, the good bowling of most TWCC and all Jevington players, Edward and Richard’s bowling in the face of innings-end belligerence, Tony’s full steam innings and awareness of runs to be had in his punchy 39, Joe’s fighting spirit and his execution of difficult shots, Tom R’s swift 14 - all written down here.
Anything negative? Matt and Jim did keep the ball out in their opening stand of 56 thus conserving the later batting, but which then demanded of that batting a scoring rate of 5 an over which was as hard later as it had been from the start of the innings. On some days this would be no problem, on this day it was. There were some catches missed, but not many as spectacular as Brocky’s at deep mid-off. Ridicule, of course, rang round the ground like a mocking Mexican wave, but it was no simple chance and I doubt if many would have held on to it.
The game could have gone either way, it went the way it did. Thank you Jevington CC for having us over.

Scorecard
Jevington CC won the toss and chose to bat first. Sunday rules. Jevington 10 men.
Jevington CC Batting: R Fielder Ct R Brock Bld E Howes 0; S Page Ct T Firth Bld M Edwards 5; J Shaw Ct & Bld T Rydon 40; A Swansborough CT J Simon Bld H Karvay 26; M Page Ct E Bunn Bld H Karvay 1; S Fielder Bld R Brock 26; S Hobson LBW Bld R Brock 28; B Taylor LBW E Bunn 0; L Page not out 9; A Fielder run out (M Edwards) 5. Extras 13 (B3, LB1, W3, NB5) Total 153 (39 overs).
Fall: 1/5 - 2/23 - 3/76 - 4/83 - 5/? - 6/134 - 7 139 - 8/139 - 9/153.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-2-21-1; E Howes 6-1-37-1; H Karvay 8-1-17-2; T Rydon 6-1-21-1; T Firth 4-0-23-0; J Simon 1-0-9-0; E Bunn 4-1-11-1; R Brock 4-2-13-2.
TWCC Innings: M Edwards Ct Swansborough (wk) Bld J Shaw 29; J Simon Bld R Fielder 23; T Pearce Bld L Page 39; R Packham Bld J Shaw 0; R Brock Bld S Page 0; T Rydon Ct S Hopson Bld S Fielder 14; E Bunn Bld S Fielder 0; J Panther not out 14; E Howes Bld L Pge 2; T Firth Ct Swansborough (wk) Bld L Page 0; H Karvay LBW S Fielder 0. Extras 15 (B1, LB3, W10, NB1) Total 136 all out (36.4 overs).
Fall: 1/56 - 2/62 - 3/64 - 4/70 - 5/111 - 6/111 - 7/123 - 8/135 - 9/135 - 10/136.
Jevington CC Bowling: S Fielder 11.4-1-47-3; L Page 8-2-26-3; R Fielder 7-1-20-1; J Shaw 6-1-13-2; S Page 4-0-26-1.
Jevington Win by  17 runs.

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 27th 2018
Bolney won the toss on a very hot day, and, happily, from a TWCC hydration point of view, decided they’d bowl first. Open to the home side, therefore, was the option of batting out for a draw should the need arise – a tactic which has met with some success in previous runnings of this local derby as Bolney do have a number of excellent exponents in the art of Boycotting (not a criticism in case the Gazette’s circulation extends up the road to Bolney); it’s all part of this great game. Today’s canvas, however, was broader than either side realised at the beginning of play, and TWCC’s skipper’s failure at the toss was to prove just the first influence he was to have on the day’s play and on the ultimate result.
Here we were living the dream of a Blandings Sunday; the larks high in the sky, Jeeves in the pantry mixing up a gin sling; what could be more pleasant? And so thought first Paul, then Matt E, then Mikey, then Reese, then Edward, then Tom R – what could be nicer than sitting in the pavilion? They followed their inclinations and TWCC were all too soon wondering if the previous week's total of 77 all out might, after all, not prove to have been as bad a score as they thought at the time.
The trouble was that whilst the scoring rate was pretty good, we needed about 24 players in order not to run out of team before tea. Everyone who batted looked as if they could score plenty of runs, and then they got out to straight ones or played with indiscretion. The scorebook shows, with the tally of boundaries against the TWCC batters, that everyone in the team could bat; it’s just that on this occasion they didn’t do so for very long.
Bolney church clock had yet to strike three-o-clock when Jim walked out to the middle, when and where, after a couple more wickets, he was joined by Skipper Brock. There was an hour and a half to go before the scheduled time for tea, and, whilst Richard executed some scoring shots along the way, the decision was necessarily taken to not get out. This unlikely resolve persisted with some success; one maiden over after another, the odd run here and there, Paul could dream about weeding his flower beds, Mikey and Reese even managed to catch up on some much needed sleep. All was at peace as the total climbed, ever so slowly, but pleasingly inexorably, towards the 150.
However, as Chaucer wrote: “But at the laste, as every thing hath ende, She took hir leve, and nedes wolde wende.”
So Brocky did that, out for a patient 43, but only when he and Jim had endured in the blistering heat for an hour and a half and it was time to tip the balance once again towards scoring a few more runs. A quick look at a glossary of terms suggests a “hoik” is “an unrefined shot played to the leg side usually across the line of the ball” and it was this in mind that Richard found his stumps berattled and he was on his way back to the pavilion, just an over or two before tea. Jim survived to the end, sacrificing poor Honse in the greedy pursuit of two runs with just three balls left unbowled, having accumulated 31 runs of the measliest sort.

To balance the report, Bolney’s openers, though clearly successful, were not the least faceable of opponents, and the change bowlers were also fairly straightforward to keep out if scoring runs ceased to be an objective, so lengthy innings were there to be had once the Boycott spirit was invoked. The bowling was, from Paton and Garside in particular, never far away from being a good length and line, but, as long as the luxury of hoiks was forgone, the pace was such that an untroubled dead bat was always an option.
In a 9th wicket partnership of 70 Rich’s 43 and Jim’s 31 were just what was required to give the visitors some sort of a chance from an unfortunate (and unnecessary?) 74 for 8 to a workable 153 all out on the stroke of tea.
Bolney tea – much has been written about the delights of Bolney teas, and rightly so. I could do so again, but on this occasion it would be wrong to highlight this diversion because in the interests of maintaining peak fitness the elite sportsmen of TWCC declined the scones and cream, the delicate sandwiches and hunks of cake, sticking to just lightly milked tea.
So; the Bolney reply. Was the wicket tricky? Would Bolney overhaul a meagre 153? Could TWCC take 10 wickets – something they often fail easily to do?
Oh – here we go – Matt E storming down the hill, Ed rampaging up it, Tom Rydon in the wings; how blessed are TWCC with this youthful briskness! It took all of four balls for Matt to catch the gloves of Steve Bowles and for Reese to take another caught-behind wicket. Proper 12-cylinder cricket.
Bolney then failed to score much or to get out for a while, though the ball was often snicked through the gesticulation of slip-fielders which unfairly robbed the bowlers of wickets and penalised them with runs against. Having seen the method Rob employs in similar circumstances, the two openers decided to just bowl at the stumps and their true reward came their way, though more of this anon.
Bolney, as TWCC know, are no pushovers, and all the time the odd wicket was falling here and there, the run rate was sufficient to overtake TWCC’s somewhat modest total. Joe took the wicket of Adby (30) thanks to a nice low catch in the covers from Ed, and, at drinks with 20 overs to go the required rate was around 5 an over. As the overs ticked down this rate was consistently being achieved, and a Bolney win was ever on the cards. J Hay, in particular, made light of the bowling, and with Garside disdainfully striding down the wicket the home win was definitely on. Enter the Skip’s taunting length and true line from the South End, and Honse from the North End with his mystery bowling and just in the nick of time the run rate climbed as these two took a wicket each. The Bolney win appeared to be slipping away, though it was always possible especially with May still at the crease jocularly flicking fours and sixes hither and thither. Searching for victory, all the more keenly so following on from the Lindfield rout, Brocky demanded second spells from the opening pacers, and did they deliver! With just two or three overs to go (I’m making this up as the book transfer is no help here...) May was cleaned up by Ed for an excellent and combative 31. Bolney might have given up on the win but they were more than capable of holding out for a draw as TWCC still needed 3 wickets to win.
Matt, running in hard once again, bowled Hughes (10) for his fourth wicket and Ed had Moore caught behind and Bolney were 9 down, and the game went into the last over to be bowled by Ed up the hill. Six deliveries for Madden to survive and force a draw – another period of excitement that would not have been there if this had been a limited over match. One wide of the stumps. Reload. A block by Madden – edgy, but a block. Reload. Four balls left or it’s a draw...
You guessed it; fast, full, true, a clatter of stumps and Ed, too, had his fourth wicket in a classic proper game of cricket. Bolney, all out for 133, 20 runs short, with just three balls left in the match. Matt finished with 4 for 33 and Ed 4 for 13!
What an exciting game, and with all three results possible right up to the last very few overs, this was a good game to take part in, whoever it was that ended up winning. Two much-needed innings from Richard and Jim made something other than a loss possible for TWCC, and then two great bowling performances from Matt and Ed secured the victory. Hooray for cricket!

     Postscript
James is missed, not only for the runs he scored, but he was discerning of opportunity in his play, and exuded patience and gravitas at the wicket – a presence that it is going to take the post-Trollope TWCC a little while to learn to do without, but learn they must. Patience appears to be as precious an attribute as is ball-striking ability. Split-second decision-making is the essence of cricket, and, perhaps our default batting thought should more often be to not get out rather than first look for boundaries and work back from there? And, surely, we can all learn to deploy a little patience, so the outlook ought to be perfectly wonderful and rosy indeed.

Scorecard
Bolney CC won the toss and elected to bowl first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Paton Bld Hughes 8; M Edwards Ct Bowles Bld Hughes 17; M Pearce Bld Paton 2; R Packham Bld Paton 14; E Bunn Ct & Bld Hughes 18; T Rydon Bld Hughes 0; J Simon not out 31; J Panther Ct Hay Bld Hughes 0; E Howes Ct Elliott Bd Paton 2; R Brock Bld Hay 43; H Karvay run out 0. Extras 18 (LB2, W11, NB5) Total 153 all out (44.3 overs).
Fall of wickets: 1/17 2/28 3/44 4/50 5/52 6/70 7/70 8/74 9/144 10/153.
Bolney CC Bowling: T Paton 11.3-3-36-3; T Hughes 8-1-41-5; Madden 7-0-32-0; Garside 7-4-12-0; Hay 7-2-11-1; Bowles 4-0-17-0.
Bolney CC Innings: S Bowles Ct Packham (wk) Bld Edwards 2; S Adby Ct Howes Bld Panther 30; J Elliott Bld Edwards 9; D Bridge Bld Edwards 0; R Clemenson Bld Howes 0; J Hay Bld Howes 31; M Garside Bld Karvay 16; T Hughes Bld Edwards 10; J Moore Ct Packham (Wk) Bld Howes 0; T Paton not out 4; M Madden Bld Howes 0. Extras 30 (B10, LB4, W12, NB4) Total 133 all out (39.3 overs).
TWCC win by 20 runs.


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Lindfield v TWCC May 20th 2018
Here at the Gazette we have had a sleepless night trying to put TWCC’s latest game into some sort of bigger context in the hope that this will provide solace, and it has become clear that, amongst other things, Americans are rubbish at billions. A proper billion is 1,000,000,000,000, or a million million. But, over there, where they get excited by big rounders and gob a lot, not to mention electing an orange candy-floss-head for President, they think a billion is 1,000,000,000 or a thousand million. Their reasoning is that “it’s still a mighty big number and is only 999,000,000,000 out so it’s close enough for heaven’s sakes” (note the gratuitous and incorrect extra “s”). And now here we are in the UK, inexplicably driven by wannabe Disneyland lust, having to adopt their stupid system which, as the Editor searches for perspective and having done the conversion, places the Big Bang at about 13,800,000,000 years ago. Matter is miraculous, deep time is unfathomable, the universe is unimaginably big and to overcome the challenge of life at all is so improbable that it is almost an impossibility. And yet here we are. But, as TWCC found themselves thinking on Sunday last, why are we here?
In his bestselling popular book “A brief history of cricket” Richard Dawkins argues that from the Big Bang singularity - from that moment when unimaginable pure energy spontaneously burst into existence - initial forces were simply colossal, but after a few minutes the temperature of the plasma-that-was-all-things dropped to a mere 1,000,000,000 K (or around 12°F as Americans would have it), sub-atomic particles began to combine and matter began to coalesce into, ultimately, though thankfully not exclusively, the Twineham and Wineham Cricket team.
After his team’s last game the Editor of the TWCC Gazette, looking somewhat vacant and dazed, returned late to the office and, searching for deep truths onto which to cling if not for a mere distraction, he decided to hold an impromptu séance. He turned off the lights and spun his bat about on the floor in the East Wing for a bit, and sat down to wait. Sure enough, after a minute or two the temperature suddenly dropped and a mysterious mist descended from the ceiling. Strange rumblings began to be heard emanating from the ether.
The Editor froze on his sofa. What diabolical potent forces had he conjured up from the dark side?
He steeled himself, and spoke in a querulous voice that could hardly be heard in the thick air;
“Is there anyone there?”
These words seemed to provoke a multitude of sibilant whispers, distant at first and which then seemed to come ever closer, when suddenly a manic single mocking laugh rang out loud in the room followed by raucous cackling from left and right, near and far, from on high and from beneath the floorboards.
The Editor had to shout to be heard;
“Who’s there?” he asked the room, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
The whisperings and laughter abruptly ceased, and an awful heavy silence fill the room. A silence that contained no noise at all, but which was full of dread and menace. A prolonged tension developed into which the Editor dared not intrude.
“We’re all here!” The words suddenly appeared to be uttered not more than six inches in front of the Editor’s face (or about 12 miles away in the US). Deep words from a single voice. Solid words. Cumberbatch words.
“All? All who?” asked the Ed.
There was no reply, but - hold; there was breath in the room. An assembly of constant expiration from all around. There was presence.
“Who are you?” The Editor shakily repeated his demand. “Who are... all of you?”
All breath stopped. Then, from across the room a slightly higher-pitched man’s voice said;
“77 isn’t very much, is it?”
There were half-concealed sniggers. Titters. Then outright laughter. More laughter developed fast into outright hysteria.
“Stop! Stop! Please stop!” The Editor was shouting above the howling cacophony. “It was a difficult wicket!”
The laughter rose to a new peak and then rose again, as if it was its own force with intent to render to dust the room and the trembling Editor within. However, gradually, with ebbs and flows, the great tide of mockery began to subside, and the air again became pregnant with anticipation.
The void was filled by a small, accented voice.
“Matter has coalesced into stars, those stars have endured for billions of years and then they have, in turn, exploded in order to create the atoms which all have intricate physical properties that allow you to play your stupid game!” The voice was elderly, but sounded authoritative. “What a waste!”
This was too much for our Editor.
“Oh yes? Who are you, Albert Einstein?”
There was a short pause, then a simple;
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“Yes. Oh.”  Albert wasn’t happy.
There was a silence once again. Then a sad sigh from the right side of the room.
“I’m going to have to rethink all my theories now.”
“Theories, Charles?” asked another voice close by.
“Yes. Life has been developing now for, what -  almost 4 billion years now, and to see –“
“Is that four billion or 12?” asked an American voice from behind the Editor’s head.
“Four billion years,” the Charles voice continued resolutely, “during which time life has progressed from the simplest of bacteria to Twineham and Wineham Cricket team, and you were all out for 77. You’re supposed to be better than that.” It wasn’t an accusation, it was a disappointment.
“12 years? That’s not that long.” The American had decided he’d stick with 12 – it was close enough.
There was a collective sigh of disapproval. The Editor, hoping to share some of the accustions hanging in the room, began to warm to the American. But then he went on; “But 77 isn’t very much either. Is it? Or is it? I dunno.”
“Hey, Feynman!” Another American voice from across the room to the right; “You sure as hell ought to be better at this number-crunching you know. I mean have you forgotten our days playing for Los Alamos?”
“Hey, no way, Bob. Oppenheimer and Feynman, 1 and 2. We racked up billions of runs before that LBW crap.”
“Oh, don’t talk to me about LBW! No one knows what that’s all about! I mean, is there an actual rule? Jesus H...”
“I keep telling you there’s no H!”
A clear voice had spoken. It seemed as if came from inside the Editor’s head. Effortlessly heard the speaker sounded more tired than peeved.
“Oh, Hi JC,” said Feynman, conversationally, brash and completely immune to rank. “You hear about that 77 game? That’s not a lot is it? Err... or is it?”
“Yea, we watched the game, me and my Dad,” said this JC. He spoke a little slowly as if earthly time were of no concern. He sounded a little sad.
“I watched it too.” A new voice. A low voice. A voice of authority. A voice of wisden through the ages.
“Is that you, WG?” Feynman asked. “Don’t tell me you saw it too? Hey, I’d like to hear this from a real pro like you!”
“I did see it, yes.” This new so-called “expert” sounded guarded. Maybe, the Editor hoped, he wasn’t in total agreement with the rest of the crowd now seeming to occupy the Gazette office?
“And...?” prompted Einstein.
“Well. I have to say the pitch was dead. Dead as a Dodo, if you’ll pardon the analogy, Charles.”
“No prob, WG.”
”'No Prob?'” Einstein was shocked, “'No prob?' That doesn’t sound like your style, Charles,”
“I believe everything evolves, Albert. Including language,” Charles countered. “So: no problemo it is! Yo WG, hit me with... nice dreads by the way... OK; Shoot!”
There was the briefest of titters from the American camp, and something of a sigh from JC, but after a pause, WG continued with his calculated assessment of the recent day’s play at Lindfield.
“As I was saying, the wicket was quite disarming, and it was this local knowledge that prompted Lindfield to open with slow bowling. They were confident that the low bounce and the pronounced slope might work to their advantage, and it surely did. It’s not as if Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club don’t have people who can hit the ball, is it? Young Packham, for one, can clearly play, and any of them on another day could have done better than they did.”
“And,” added one of the Americans, Oppenheimer possibly, “Lindfield might well have hit the skids too!”
“True,” confirmed WG, in full match report mode (thank goodness! Ed.). “It was a closer game than the scorecard might indicate. With just 77 to defend the Twineham and Wineham bowlers were up against it and they could ill afford those dropped catches, particularly off young Bunn. Take those early wickets and, well, who knows what might have happened? The visitors did get six wickets and no batsmen from either side ever really looked in on that surface. Indeed there was a hat-trick on at one point when Brock had the ball. And Karvay – well, he did seem to have the ball on a string as they say nowadays. No, a few breaks here and there and it could have gone either way. That’s my assessment”
“It’s nice of you to be so generous with regard to Twineham and Wineham, Mr. Grace,” said this JC bloke, which the Editor thought was nice, until, after a perfect comic pause he went on; “My Dad thought they were crap.”
No one seemed to know how to take this and silence deadened the room once more.
And into this extraordinary gathering of minds, dear readers, into this intimidating conclave of luminaries, into this miasmic fog, your Editor, the Gazette’s own, spoke out clearly and loud;
“Well, It might not have been much to you lot,” he bravely said, “But we did our best.”
There was a moment’s silence. It turned into a little too long a moment. Then a stifled snigger came out from one of the group as someone finally cracked, then the whole room was once more engulfed in hysteria.
“Oh, oh oh... my sides!” Einstein.
“Stop it! It hurts! That’s sick!” Darwin.
“HA HA HA HA HA HA!” Americans.
“Yes, well it is rather amusing!” Grace.
“I don’t see what’s so funny.” Editor.
JC spoke softly, but again his words, although quiet, sounded clear and distinct;
“My Dad and I have thought about this. Hard. We know something has to change, and we know just what we’re going to do about it.”
The room hushed. When JC spoke they all listened. The Editor’s legs turned to jelly, and he found he could hardly breathe.
“We decided...”
“Yes?” asked Einstein, who liked nothing better than a tricky problem. “You have an idea that might help?”
“Yes. We decided...”
“Yes?”
“That next weekend...”
“...next weekend, yes...?”
“What? For Chrissakes shut up Albert”
“We decided that next weekend ... we’d make certain to ... watch something else!”
There was a shocked silence for half a second, and then the whole room erupted once more in raucous laughter, louder than ever.
“Oh... Bloody hell!” the Editor shouted as he got up from the sofa, picked up his bat and swung it around a couple of times in the vain hope he might catch one of his spectral tormentors on the side of the head, stormed out of the room and went upstairs to bed, leaving behind the continuing sound of hysterical, mocking laughter ringing through the fabric of time itself.

No Americans were harmed during the writing of this piece.
The Gazette acknowledges that there are intelligent Americans. Just not enough of them – a bit like us.
Bloody brexit.

Scorecard
Format: 40 overs available per side, draws remain a possibility. No (apparent) limit on number of overs per bowler.
Lindfield won the toss and chose to field first.
TWCC Batting: P Hunter Bld Storer 4; R Packham LBW Bld Storer; T Pearce Bld Stoner 10; T Rydon Ct Wk (Toby) Bld Stoner 7; E Bunn Ct Hewitt Bld Storer 8; J Simon Ct Wk (Toby) Bld Green 0; M Edwards Bld Green 5; H Karvay Bld Jones 2; R Brock Bld Jones 6; E Howes run out 7; O Foulger not out 0. Estras 11 (B2, LB2, W7) Total 77 all out (26.5 overs).
Lindfield bowling: Storer 1-3-34-5; Green 10-3-30-2; Jones 4-1-8-2; Richardson 3-0-5-0.
Lindfield Innings: Fricker Ct Edwards Bld Brock 7; Kaye Bld Brock 11; Hewitt Bld Bunn 11, Toby run out (Edwards); James Bld Howes 8; Osbourne Bld Karvay 17; Parker not out 17; Richardson not out 1. 3 DNB. Extras unrecorded but maths indicates 7 extras. Total 79 for 6.
TWCC Bowling: R Brock 5-0-23-2; E Bunn 7-1-31-1; E Howes 3-0-10-1; M Edwards 1.5-0-9-0; H Karvay 1-0-1-1.
Lindfield win by 4 wickets.
 

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 6th 2018
In these difficult days when everyone's too busy to spend the odd fourteen hours bashing out match reports that no one reads, the Gazette has had to rely on the Associated Press for the comment on this game and on Wisden for the scorecard. AP states "TWCC batted first, scored plenty, but couldn't bowl Streat and Westmeston out."  Somewhat bald (appropriately), compared to the house style, but there you go. Disappointed readers can but hope for better things as they read into the scorecard to see that TWCC batters had a very good day, by and large, with the top 5 scoring 197 runs. Only Reese missed out as he waits for his new season form to catch up with his ability, and Mikey and Tony really came good for the Pearces, with Tony's 73 the highest score in the game and a great omen for the season. Likewise Mikey and Jonathan are clearly ones to watch as the weeks tick by. J Pieters, on debut, opened with Mikey to great effect, and Pieters' 38 with lots of boundaries clearly shows this is a cricketer to be reckoned with.
From Streat's point of view the long spell of 15 overs from Hartfield was impressive, and that of Mansfield at the end helped to keep the score to a mere 231.
Regular Streat & W performers with the bat were present and correct, and TWCC's inability to bowl their opponents out confirms the home side's reputation for being a tough team to beat. Joe's 4 wicket haul was the pick of the bowling, and with 3 maidens in there too he was clarly a handful, Edward and Tom taking the only other wickets to fall, with Tom only coming on for two overs at the end of proceedings.

Scorecard
TWCC won the Toss and batted first. TWCC Captain M Edwards
TWCC Innings: J Pieters Bld Hartfield 38; M Pearce Ct M Wise Bld Hartfield 45; T Pearce Ct x Bld Mansfield 73; R Packham Ct M Wise Bld P Wise 0; J Rowland Bld Mansfield 41; T Rydon Ct M Wise Bld Hartfield 10; M Edwards Bld Mansfield 2; E Bunn not out 5; J Panther not out 0. DNB H Karvay, E Howes. Extras 14 (2B, 10LB, 2W) Total 231 for 7. (40 overs).
Streat and Westmeston bowling: Hartfield 15-1-60-3; M Lee 7-1-51-0; P Wise 7-1-39-1; M Wise 4-0-17-0;  Spiegel 3-0-30-0; Mansfield 4-0-22-3.
Streat and Westmeston innings: C Mansfield Ct & Bld Karvay 22; D Porter Ct & Bld Panther; M Wise Ct. T Pearce Bld Panther 0; C Marshall Ct & BLd Bunn 36; S Barrs Bld Panther 46; P Wise not out 39; B Baxter Bld T Rydon 0; M Lea Bld Panther 2; C Smith not out 1. DNB M Hartfield, S Spiegel. Extras 26 (B 10, LB2, W 12, NB2) Total 187 for 8 (40 overs).
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-1-21-0; J Panther 10-3-37-4; E Howes 5-0-22-0; H Karvay 4-1-9-1; M Pearce 6-0-34-0; E Bunn 6-0-34-1; T Pearce 1-0-12-0; T Rydon 2-0-6-1.
Match drawn. 

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TWCC v Greys May 13th 2018
So much to say, so little inclination for anyone to read it... Such is the lot of the Gazette wordsmiths beating out words as thin as they can go in the heat of the TWCC back office. Between you and me, dear reader, there is a move afoot to double the wages of the entire Gazette creative team. However, whilst the ombudsmen sort this one out, it's time to crack on with the latest report.
Richard lost the toss - or, as Rob pointed out in his glass half full way, Greys won the toss - and chose to bat first. A brief consultation with 221B Baker Street revealed that TWCC should loosen up and prepare to bowl.
Ed Howes opened from the Downs end, and Matt E from the Pavilion End, and though threatening on many occasions, it wasn't until the 10th over that Matt had Flynn caught behind - a proper cricket wicket; fast rising ball, top/outside edge, capably snaffled behind by Reese. Score 33 for 1. Notwithstanding this success, there was a tendency for runs to keep ticking onto the scoreboard, and in particular plenty of twos were taken as the struck ball ran to empty corners of the field and there stopped in the tacky surface.
Rob came on, replacing an economical though unrewarded Ed, and immediately, as one might expect, had everyone in trouble including the slip fielders. Rob bowls not just with pace, but with control, and following the drop in the slips, he controlled one or two short into the higher midriff of the unfortunate Greys batters. No serious injury, we trust, and Rob took the usual way out of just bowling at the stumps. 5 overs, 3 maidens, 5 runs and a wicket - not bad. Better than that; really rather good.
Joe, hoping to build on his four-fer the previous weeks (hang on -I don't have to use the dreadul "x-fer" do I?) ... hoping to build on his four wickets in the previous match, didn't drop onto a good length all the time, and served up the odd six ball (in which he was not alone...) but also took a caught and bowled. Tom R, in a longer spell than against Streat, took two wickets for 28 off 6 overs; figures revealing the trend in the Greys' batters to begin to hit out. Honse again bowled really well, getting the ball to duck into the right handers, and his 2 for 12 off 5 overs was also a fine performance. But a rush of runs there was, and not just, we like to think here at the Gazette, because Jim came on for a couple of overs, but also because Mendis, brought in by Honse's wicket-taking, came in and simply swung across the line to great effect. A true eye, and a smooth swing and there the ball was; in the trees. Ashton, too, for the Greys, added to the flurry, for flurry it undeniably was. Brocky as well as Jim, though he did meet with success in the form of Mendis' wicket, suffered a little at this late rush of activity, but there we go; Greys a very useful-looking 167.
It must be mentioned here that the TWCC over rate was pretty poor. The odd lost ball, certainly, and an invasion of misc. dogs, provide some excuse here, but in two-and-a-half hours Greys are entitled to expect at least a couple more than 37 overs from which to score. However, in the event, it's hard to say what difference this might have made, but it is a point to bear in mind.
Edward and Julia kicked off the home tea season in fine style, with, to my mind, the star being the little ginger shortbread. Thank you to them both.
In the absence of Paul, and with no James for the first whole season for many years, what TWCC needed was three opening batsmen. Edward, our No. 1 batsman, took his guard, surveyed the field, settled in his stance and looked up as the bowler ran in for his first ball. All good, solid, opening batsman stuff so far. But... a slow long-hop, half-pulled off his chest, dollied to mid-wicket. Out. First ball of the match. Unsurprisingly I, too, have been the cause of that same look on Skipper Brock's face... Edward, along with many battters before and yet to come, couldn't believe what he'd done, but in this sometimes cruel game you don't get a second chance and off he trudged. So, second ball of the innings, in comes Rob, who, with Richard, calmed the nerves and settled the game down.
The pitch was a little lively, but true, and this second wicket pair prospered. Of note, and a sight to gladden the eye, were Rob's leg-glances for calm ones and twos, mixed with the occasional heavier blow from both batsmen, including a fine square back-foot drive from Richard for four into the long grass at the foot of the iconic oak(!) and a smooth 6 over long on from Rob off the bowling of Mendis. The running was tight and eager and the score rolled on to 70 before Richard failed to keep down a shot off the bowling of Mendis and he was out caught for 22. Reese clicked into gear with a well-timed solid exploratory block to mid off, and followed this with a soft-handed guide of the ball into the right hand of a diving first slip. Out for 0, the second duck of the day. Matt E faired little better, though he was in for longer before being caught in the midfield, and all the time Rob was continuing on in his calm, reassuringly calculating way. Joined by Tom, with the words "run out" whispering through the crowd, father and son shared a partnership of 13 before Rob, accelerating all the time, failed to clear a 3/4 deep mid-on and was out, caught well, for 53.
A hard 53 to get, with the grass being longer than on many a field thus disadvantaging a player who plays so well along the ground, but a classy example of application and good shot-selection, it was to prove to be the highest score of the day.
Tom R continued on, joined by Tom F (good to see him back) and then Joe.
And here we go; Tom and Joe nearly pulled it off. TWCC were on a total of 100, 67 behind, 68 to win, when Joe joined Tom. Both these players can bat, we know that, but the demand here was edging towards a need to stay in and avoid losing the game rather than to chasing down a win. History doesn't recall (or record, sadly) the time left at this point, but when the two began their partnership TWCC were on 100 for 6. In order to help their cause, understandably, Greys reverted to their opening bowlers but this did them little good as both Tom and Joe, and later on, Ed, have true eyes and nerves and hamstrings of steel and the scoring sped up nicely until under 10 were needed off the last over, and, with Ed being run out after a vital contribution of 8 at the right time, TWCC needed just four off the last ball to win! How cool was that? Luckily it was Joe on strike and not Jim, who togged up in case of wides/no-balls/miracles, and so a boundary was a distinct possibility.
However, it wasn't to be, match drawn and maybe, given the over-rate during the first innings it was the correct result. Tom was eventually bowled for a spirited 24, and Joe survived through with his wicket intact with 25 to his name from, amongst other shots, well-timed clips off his legs once again showing a sign of a good eye.
Greys batted well in the face of some lively bowling and 167 looked like enough for much of the game. Rob and richard set up the TWCC reply, and TWCC did bat deep, with Ed at 9 for goodness' sake, and so an attempt at the total set by Greys was always on, but for long time it looked as if survival might be the order of the day. In the end it was exciting indeed, with all three results possible into the last over. Greys' bowling was consistent throughout, with one of the best bowlers being held back and slowing the home side's reply at just the right time for their cause. And here endeth the first home game of the season.

Scorecard
Greys won the toss and batted first. TWCC Captain R Brock.
Greys Innings: Flynn Ct Packham (Wk) Bld M Edwards 5; Line Bld R Rydon; Brasher Ct & Bld Panther 10; Meek Ct & Bld T Rydon 39; Fenton Bld T Rydon; Edwards Bld H Karvay 2; Ashton not out 20; Gallagher LBW H Karvay 2; Mendis Ct T Rydon Bld R Brock 20; Burgess not out 0. DNB Newland.  Extras 30 (B6,LB2,W18,NB4) Total 167 for 8 (37 overs).
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 5-1-14-0; M Edwards 7-0-25-1; R Rydon 5-3-5-1; J Panther 4-0-30-1; T Rydon 6-0-28-2; H Karvay 5-1-12-2; R Brock 3-0-20-1; J Simon 2-0-22-0.
TWCC Innings: E Bunn Ct, Bld Newland 0; R Brock Ct, Bld Mendis 22; R Rydon Ct Flynn Bld Meek 53; R Packham Ct, Bld Mendis 0; M Edwards Ct Mendis Bld Burgess 0; T Rydon Bld Ashton 24; T Firth Bld Meek 2; J Panther not out 25; E Howes run out (Newland) 8; J Simon not out 0. DNB H Karvay. Extras 28 (B11, LB1, W11,NB3) Total 164 for 8.
Match drawn. 


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TWCC 2017 Season
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Season Review
Richard Brock - Captain
PLAYED 17  WON 8 DRAWN 3 LOST 6  CALLED OFF 3 (2016 P 16, W 7, D2, L7 called off 6)

2017 could hardly have started worse.  The news that Steve had died in January brought our players together for his funeral at Cuckfield.  It was the saddest of occasions. Steve was a central figure in our club.  We mourned for him then, we miss him now. When the season started, we were able – with our friends from Wisley – to remember him with a minute’s applause before the start of the match, with Dave in attendance. And then the season highlight – a chance to celebrate Steve’s life and his love of cricket.  A wonderful TWCC day on 12 August, when former players, members of Steve’s family and friends, and other friends of the club all joined together in beautiful weather to play cricket in a memorial match for Steve.  Dave had bought a young oak tree and together we chose the most suitable place for it – and it was Dave himself who planted it. On that day, Karen added the last soil for the planting and we played cricket in memory of Steve.  It was followed by a barbeque – a wonderful TWCC barbeque with lots of wives, families and friends – made possible by the generosity of some of our own players.  It was simply a wonderful day.  A day when a small club, hurt by what had happened, did what it does best by coming together.  Steve’s plaque was commented on by many of the teams which visited us.  It reads:

`In memory of Steve Rogers. Batsman, wicket-keeper and great friend to all at TWCC. 1962 -2017`

TWCC is the beating heart of traditionalism.  We play friendly cricket because we love it, we enjoy the level of competitiveness it offers, we enjoy the camaraderie of our team mates.  We are all good friends.  If there is a drawback to this, it’s been in introducing new players to our club, perhaps because of the `clubbiness` of it all though more likely because there are so few of us. Put together with the much greater problem in recent seasons of the struggle for players at the level of village and local cricket, it’s a huge challenge – probably the the over-riding threat to our Sunday afternoon sport in the years ahead.
But this season something changed.  This year, more than ever before, more players made it their business to find people who could play for us – normally, in fairness, to make up the numbers – but important nonetheless.  So be it brothers, friends, dads, uncles whatever, it has enabled us to get out teams on all Sundays – bar the last.  It’s the sort of spirit we have and I believe it’s what we will need to continue to do in the years ahead.  We need to pull together and whilst maintaining our core players, we need to embrace those players who may only want - or be able - to play 2 or 3 times a season.   On a number of occasions this year, these players have enabled the rest of us to get our Sunday fix of cricket.  The other notable thing is that a few past players have turned out for us again, frequently enabling us to get games on and occasionally turning in match winning performances. 
The mid season break worked.  We had only 3 games callthis season – Warnham and Rottingdean both pulled out and we couldn’t raise a team the last match of the season vs Brighton Beamers.  And it’s been a pretty good season – won 8, drawn 3 lost 6.  Some really close matches, one or two we should have won but many really good games of cricket.  There have been some fantastic individual performances – especially in batting – but our bowlers too have performed really well, with a good spread of wickets across a number of bowlers.  And it’s been great to welcome Ed Howes to our team – he’s immediately risen to be the top wicket taker but more than that, a great club man.  He’s fitted in extraordinarily well and has become a valued team mate and also a friend.  The tour also presented two really good matches, a couple of great evenings with opposition and amongst ourselves and a really good weekend – aside from the hotel (so I’m told). 
This season, after around 30 seasons with TWCC James announced his retirement from the game.  He’ll be missed, he’s been one of our best and most regular players over all that time, opening the batting every innings and frequently topping the batting averages.  His bowling was also deceptively good in his prime.  And then there’s those catches – a long arm reaching down to pluck from the air a speeding ball that already seemed past him.  We’ve all loved playing with James, he’s got the perfect TWCC attitude, his mischievous chatter has been a highlight of many teas and I speak for all the team when I wish him the happiest of retirements.
I have enjoyed a really good cricket season as your captain.  It remains a great honour and I’m very grateful to have your support.  Sorry for all the crap decisions, but thanks for the very occasional pat on the back moments when I do get it right.  It’s been great to see Matt continue as vice captain and also to see Joe enjoy his tour captaincy.  These two guys remain crucial to the long term future of the club. 
But next year we celebrate the past because TWCC is 125 years old.  I would like us to make the most of this – and have a really special day, probably in the midsummer break. Maybe a single wicket with a few extras and possibly if we can, an extended tour.  And I’m up for any other ideas people have.  I would also like us to get some 125 shirts – our centenary shirts are looking a little threadbare!  We need to mark these occasions because in the 2043 season I may only be playing part time. So let’s have a great season, continue to encourage new players and enjoy what we have because it’s special.


SEASON HIGHLIGHTSAND LOWLIGHTS...

MAY
Thumping victories over Wisley, Streat and Greys, a hattrick for the skipper vs Greys but a big defeat vs Lindfield

JUNE/JULY
Good wins against Parham and Exiles – with a great 97 from Tony, a gut wrenching defeat vs Unity despite 89 from Reese, and our usual high scoring defeat by West Chiltington where Sam Simon scored a whopping 117.  We then had a great tour to Oxfordshire losing the 20/20 but winning the main Sunday match.  On our only other match in July, a storming 126 not out from Mikey Pearce helped us demolish Staplefield.

AUGUST
The wonderful memorial match for Steve put TWCC vs the Presidents XI.  A great match, played of course in a wonderful spirit, with Steve’s family and friends and former players coming along to pay tribute to Steve.  Also in August at Nuthurst was the extraordinary two triple wicket maidens for messrs Bunn and Rydon (R) in our victory.

SEPTEMBER
A narrow loss to Crescent, a rained off half game draw vs Ashurst, defeat by Bolney’s first XI… and a final draw in our last match vs Streat.

Richard Brock – Captain, Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club







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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 24th 2017
TWCC and Streat and Westmeston were, upon arrival at the Twineham Oval, greeted by a degree of mowing hitherto unseen during the entire 2017 season. Just in time, you might think. Skippers Brock and Spiegel wandered to the middle, no longer tripping up over bales of hay (though the molehills can catch you out), to toss. Richard won and...er... Stan lost. TWCC were to bat first.
The search for an opening partner for Paul continues, with Paul given the choice by a skipper clearly full of the end of term feeling. With such an array of batting talent in the TWCC ranks it must have been a difficult challenge for Paul to pick a player out, but in the end he went for someone who happened to be sitting next to him.
Paul 1 and Jim 2, and, oddly, these weren't their ultimate scores, but they did rather make the bowling look a little better than it might have been. But in their defense Frank Brand was, actually, quite nippy though only the odd ball needed playing, and the line and length of Hancock was commendable. So, for a few overs, the plan was to not get out, and then to get out.
With batters galore this modest opening partnership of 42 mattered little, for in at 3 was Tony "The Bat" Pearce and, at 4, Tom "The Batandball" Rydon, and they grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and took the score rollicking along from 48 to 137.
Proper cricket; boundaries that had totally evaded the openers were frequent, and balls were lost and mostly found. Tony, at one point with four successive 4's off the first four balls in an over, couldn't quite see his way through to a jug (unlike Tom... er.... Tom? Was I late?) and was out for 41, but it was the old Tony, the Tony we love, the Tony we generally need so desperately who turned up on this occasion when we didn't need him so badly. And at the other end there was Tom, with his natural gift of standing tall and stroking the ball about as well as forcing through his shots when playing off the front foot. Tom's batting has been a joy to see this season, and he top-scored with 60 - a fine knock, and, hooray! finally Rob got to share an enduring partnership with one of his children, for Rob it was who came in when Tony went in after being out. Watchful to begin with, becoming freer as the occasion demanded and allowed, Rob's class inevitably showed through as even the returning F Brand was grist to his run-mill. Rob's blistering 45, including a monster 6 over the oak tree in the playground, was also remarkable for containing an all-run 3 with Edward! We were all there and saw it, and there it is in the book. A tribute to Edward's re-discovered fitness, as is his batting as a whole which is peaking nicely at the wrong end of a season - so we look forward to 2018. Rob was out on the stroke of tea, and TWCC had a commendable 214 for 5.
There was some issue to do with dual cake-analysis, but both were equally delicious offerings and only proved that Brocky could cook cakes as well as he can the books, and then it was time, from TWCC's point of view, to set about taking 10 wickets.
Ed (H) roared in as usual, and was soon amongst the wickets again, and Honse, too bowled well from the other end. Around this time, in an attempt to cement his position in the batting order by appearing to be even more like Chris Gayle, Jim pulled his hamstring and wobbled off, missing some key fielding moments. Apparently there was a truly astounding catch and another one and another one, or that's what Edward said anyway, and the match was turned away from Streat from hereon in. Ed H and Ed B were both involved in knocking over the Streat openers, and, certainly, the wicket that the Gazette did see was a fast ball from Ed H on a good length that the batsman had to play but couldn't quite get across to, and the thin outside edge flew hard and true into Edward B's chest-high hands.
From this point on Streat and Westmeston were in survival mode, and Graham Cuthbert (nice to see him back) and George Howes (nice to see him for the first time) offered more wicket-taking options for the home side.
And here we do have to talk about a great catch. George Howes put the ball just short of a length and Forster smacked the ball behind gully, to the left of a crouching Ed Howes. Ed dived over and caught a very sharp low catch in two hands - yet another wonderful bit of high-class catching that Ed has graced us with this year.
However, as we have seen in the past and as articulated by Paul, if not fully demonstrated by Jim, if a batter is not trying to score it is actually relatively easy on our artificial wicket to not get out, and this proved to be true in the case of the lower order Streat batsmen. And so it was that Brocky, whose bedtime reading came back to him in the failing light, decided to unleash the Rydons.
Happily no permanent damage was done and, though there was clearly no actual intent to bowl dangerously short from Tom or Rob, the lifting ball did bring wickets; two for Rob in a double-wicket maiden in his first over, and then more for Tom with 3 for 10 in 5 overs including two wicket maidens on the trot. However, in all honesty, the light was, by now, poor and it became difficult to continue with the attack that would bring the last wicket. Maybe it was the right outcome, in the circumstances, that Stan at 11 and the No. 8 Baxter survived and the match was drawn.
It's always good to see Streat and Westmeston - familiar faces and the perfect match for TWCC in terms of either side being as likely to win lose or draw as each other. Now that's a suitably convoluted signature sentence with which to end the Gazette's season, for having totted up at tea how many TWCC players would be available for the last scheduled game, it became clear that this match v Streat and Westmeston would be TWCC's last of the year.
There will be a season's review from our skipper, to whom the Gazette sends its thanks for the work on and off the field that he has done on our behalf. In the meantime your faithful Gazette signs off for 2017, a season of ups and downs, new faces, old faces, lost faces.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter St,  Bld Hawkins 19; J Simon Bld Hawkins 13; T Pearce Ct A Brand Bld Maysey 41; T Rydon Ct F Brand Bld Lea 60; R Rydon Ct F Forster Bld F Brand 45; E Bunn not out 13. Extras 23 (B7, LB5, W9, NB2) Total 214 for 5 (43 overs). Fall: 1/42 - 2/48 - 3/137 - 4/162 - 5/214. DNB R Brock, E Howes, H Karvay; G Howes, G Cuthbert.
S&W Bowling: F Brand 8-0-17-0; Hancock 4-0-17-0; Hawkins 9-1-28-2; Fullerton 9-1-28-0; Forster 3-0-28-0; Maisie 3-0-22-1; Lea 5-0-36-1; A Brand 2-0-25-1.
S&W Innings: C Mansfield Ct & Bld Bunn 7; F Brand Ct Bunn Bld E Howes 8; C Foulerton Ct Bunn Bld E Howes 4; S Forster Ct E Howes Bld G Howes 8; M Lea Ct T Pearce (Wk) Bld R Rydon 21; J Hawkins LBW T Rydon 8; L Maysey Ct Hunter Bld R Rydon 0; W Baxter not out 4; S Hancock Ct Pearce (Wk) Bld T Rydon 0; A Brand Ct Cuthbert Bld T Rydon 0; S Spiegel not out 1. Extras 22 (B2, LB3, W12, NB5) Total 83 for 9 (44 overs). Fall: 1/19 - 2/23 - 3/23 - 4/52 - 5/59 - 6/59 - 7/71 - 8/79 - 9/unrecorded.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 9-4-13-2; H Karvay 4-0-9-0; E Bunn6-3-7-1; G Howes 6-1-14-1; G Cuthbert 4-0-15-0; R Brock 4-0-5-0; R Rydon 3-1-3-2; T Rydon 5-3-10-3; P Hunter 4-3-1-0.
Match drawn.


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TWCC v Bolney CC
September 17th 2017
The end of another cricketing Sunday. It’s mid-September. Two lamps lazily flick on to illuminate a corner of the “Royal Oak” sign and the autumn sun chooses to spend its last efforts on a shallow wooden table, picking out a hunched row of TWCC figures interspersed with unwarranted jugs of Harvey’s. The beer glows a sulphurous deep red in the low rays; suddenly not so much high summer as Halloween.
There is the occasional word, sometimes followed by a laugh, cut short, for the threat of the Gazette promising to be “brutally honest” hangs over the gathering.
“We field well” I say.
A brief, slight murmur. I take this as agreement, and, emboldened, continue;
“And we bowl ok.”
Nothing. Just the rattle of the rising wind in the walnut tree.
“And...” but no words come out. There are no words to say.
Batting is its own examination. Less coursework, more Oxbridge. It demands drilled responses to tough questions that have to be answered without recourse to Google in front of the telly with supper on the go and a drink to hand. Bowlers have second and third chances and can be helped by others along the way, achieving, perhaps, higher marks than they might actually deserve. But the questions on a batting paper need answering in a split-second and to be answered correctly each and every time with no help from well-wishers, and this is why batters are rare. You can tell a batter – there is a test; if you find an unexposed section of a batter and rub gently with a soft cloth, after no more than a few minutes an old gold glow will begin to show through. Try a bit of Silvo, and, soon enough, you will see that beneath the surface all good batters are shiny. They catch the light just so and their quick-wittedness spirals off their tight assured quiffs as they progress through the establishment. Not so with bowlers, who, even with wire wool and Swarfega, show no promise of anything much below the surface. Not for bowlers a quiet word with the Dean who might mention he knows someone in the Foreign Office – “How would it be if you came to dinner and met my friend Askwith? I’ve been keeping an eye on you for him and he feels there’s much to discuss about what you might do after Cambridge?” Take the Editor of the Gazette, for example; yes, he was taken to one side for a quiet word at school, but there was no mention of Oxbridge. “Jim. May I ask you something? Why are you doing English?” And who asked this? The English teacher! Clearly no batter there or dreaming spires on the horizon, but there’s nothing wrong with Colchester Tech. Or Colne University as it probably is now. I doubt it even has a cricket team.
So, good batters are rare, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the ranks of TWCC. We have many who can “hold a bat” as the saying goes, but not many of them seem to hold them for very long, and such was the case in this, the latest match between TWCC and Bolney.
Skipper Brock won the toss and elected for the 10 men of TWCC to field first. Here at the Gazette we’re a little tired of describing how bad the pitch is; many letters have been sent to the Council but no improvement in mowing or de-moling has occurred. It’s almost as if the Council pay little attention to the might that is the TWCC Gazette! Suffice to say the grass was long and the molehills high – more pasture than playing field - and it was into the long grass that we waded out to bowl. What would be a good score? Well, 54, as it turned out, though as the Bolney opening batsmen set about not being out enough, neither side knew how many runs were par. Ed’s bowling, with 13 excellent overs, deserves a special mention and he ended his long spell having taken 3 good wickets from the Downs End. Jonathan, as always right on his game behind the timbers, held on to 2 fine edges, and Ed decided to clean bowl his last victim. Jim, generally unremarkable though happy, trundled off his 7 overs well enough from the Pavilion End before Tom Firth, his last game before academia gathers him in once more, took over, and, after him, Tom Rydon. These last three all wicketless on the day. The Bolney openers were still present and correct for much of this time as Ed's spell continued at the other end, one slightly more correct than the other, and a fine 50 was duly knocked off by Elliott before Honse beguiled him with his quirky line and length and simply bowled him. His partner, left-hander Kingsley Morris, incidentally passed a club record for the number of runs scored in a season on his way to 41. Brocky, following Honse's fine example, decided that bowling better was the way forward, and he, too, took a late wicket. Bolney, at tea, 147 for 6. A good fielding performance, aided by the long grass, so probably a better batting one, with the aforementioned Elliott and his partner Morris doing prolonged damage to the scoreboard up front. A late entrant, down the order, complete with that tell-tale gilt edge; Gilchrist, looked like he would have taken the score by the scruff of its neck and stretched it out further, had tea not go in the way, thank goodness.
And Jonathan’s tea deserves a special mention, for the yielding succulence of the Rowland sandwiches and the lovely carrot cake (for which the credit, apparently, has to go to Tilly H). Once again Coronation Chicken features in a cricket tea – let’s hope it becomes as prevalent as egg and egg.
However, we had to put all these cosy niceties to one side and stir our stumps. Time for yet another trial opening pair of batsmen – a duo with much promise in the opinion of the Gazette. You can’t go wrong with a Rydon, and Tom it was who presented arms and took the opening delivery, watched by Edward at the non-striker’s end. Edward did strike it eventually, for one, and then was caught trying for another one. Edward, out for 1, and Jonathan strode to the middle where he and Tom (R) looked confident and assured. Tom’s calm late glide to third man for a single particularly caught the eye of this old appreciator of finer things batting; what a lovely shot, a great opener’s way to rotate the strike and not get out. Then he was out.
So – Mikey Pearce. Jonathan and Mikey. To quote TWCC’s skipper “Ah... This pair might well see us through to a hundred.” They might have, but they didn’t. The bowling was tight, particularly from the well-grooved and groovy Chaffey, and soon TWCC were less occupied by keeping the score on the board up to date than by altering the number of wickets to have fallen. The only batsman to actually bat was Jonathan, because he’s a batsman with that gentle understated glow of substance. The rest of us didn't bat like batsmen. Is this because we are not batsmen, or did we just not bat on the day? I know the answer to this in my own case, and leave it to others to, maybe, try a dab of Silvo on a quiet evening by the fireside and see if anything comes up bright. Mikey, I think, would buff up nicely, as might some others, but too many of us are maybe not made for higher things.
Bolney’s bowling was all good, the scorebook shows that. What it doesn’t show is the great pace of Gilchrist, which proved the final undoing of the TWCC innings and which wrapped up the game for Bolney.
Once again a single player's innings scored well over half TWCC’s runs, the problem being that on this occasion Jonathan’s contribution was that innings and he scored 28. The rest of us scored 19. Ed can hold his not-out head up high, and Joe can bask in the glory of a golden duck. Poor Joe, pulled up with a knee injury when fielding and therefore not bowling, batting last presumably, again, because of his knee, getting a golden duck, and, just to add salt to his wound, having Mikey to turn to for sympathy.
Who hasn’t had a mention who deserves one? Honse and Richard bowled well, and Brocky’s skippering was, as usual, inclusive and on the ball. Jonathan’s keeping and batting was, as mentioned, top notch, and Ed’s bowling of 3 for 33 off 13 overs deserved more support from his team-mates. Other performances? It’s hard to pick one from so many.
So what next for TWCC? Will we up our game and show some batting form? With just two games left the Gazette looks forward to being able to report on a game in which TWCC are at least competitive and, hopefully at some point, victorious once more. Harvey’s in any circumstances tastes fine, and winning's not the fundamental reason we like to play, but beer would taste even better if we hadn’t just been thrashed.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field first
Bolney Innings: J Elliott Bld Karvay 55; K Morris Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Howes 41; A Lake Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Howes 9; B Clemondson Bld Howes 0; D Bridge Bld Brock 11; M Garside Run Out (Bunn) 11; G Gilchrist Not Out 7; J Moore Not Out 1. Extras unrecorded – a few byes, no balls the odd wide. Total 147 for 6. DNB S Bowles, T Patton, D Chaffey.
Fall: 1/65, 2/83, 3/83, 4/106, 5/137, 6/137.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 13-1-33-3; J Simon 7-1-23-0; T Firth 4-0-31-0; T Rydon 6-0-25-0; R Brock 6-2-15-1; H Karvay 3-0-15-1.
TWCC Innings: T Rydon Ct Garside Bld Patton 7; E Bunn Ct Clemondson Bld Patton 1; J Rowland Ct Patton Bld Bowles 28; M Pearce Ct Gilchrist Bld Patton 1; R Brock LBW Bowles 4; J Simon LBW Bowles 2; T Firth Bld G Gilchrist 0; E Howes Not Out 2; H Karvay Ct Wk Bld G Gilchrist 2; J Panther Ct (Slip) Bld G Gilchrist 0. Extras 6 (B2, LB1, W2, NB1) Total 53 for 9 (all out).
Fall: 1/9, 2/17, 3/20, 4/41, 5/46, 6/46, 7/47, 8/53, 9/53.
Bolney Bowling: T Patton 9-1-28-2;D Chaffey 9-4-8-1; G Gilchrist 4.3-1-5-3; S Bowles 4-1-9-3.
Bolney win by ... it’s confusing this... 3 or 4 wickets? 94 runs? Er... I should know this – perhaps someone could have a quiet word with the Gazette and set me right.

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Ashurst v TWCC September 10th 2017
Gloomy forecast, match on, 30 overs/side agreed in view of the weather, started promptly. Whew - brevity's tough... Especially when there's so much to describe! Firstly, in a line-up of such batting strength (again), in this post-James era it is absolutely clear that TWCC can not be accused of not trying everyone as a partner for Paul. This time, on a stodgy wet wicket surrounded by a stodgy wet outfield, Paul was asked to try his luck with Jim as his opening partner and they found the ball stopping and lifting and the bowling straight. Some progress was made, with Jim finally getting the idea of running between the wickets a bit better, when Paul was out played-on as the overs were passing by with no real scoreboard progress to report. Paul out for 9, which probably rather dented his average, whilst Jim was out for 12 which probably helped with his. Mikey and Matt in at 3 and 4 respectively did up the ante considerably, with two 6's apiece and the score jumped from 2 for 35 to 4 for 71 with 11 overs still to go. Lots more batting to come; Tom Firth, Edward (3 x 4's), Ed, Tom Rydon and Joe all blitzed through, no one finding the wicket easy, but all playing to good effect. Lots of eager running, good ball-striking, wickets falling - it was always just going to be a bit of a dash with the end of the agreed 30 overs looming.
We did have to applaud a reverse paddle from Joe - hats off to him for that - and then the 30 overs were up and we had 116 runs; not enough. Probably the slow start didn't help here (sorry, Ed (not Ed; Editor)), but in the past we have all been out inside 20 overs when we try to force things, so there you go. As the saying goes, it was what it was.
Ashurst bowling was tight to start with - really difficult and pretty impossible to get away at all, don't you agree Paul? - then it became dominated by the slow bowling of Isaac who ended with 3 for 16.
Quick turnaround to avoid as much of the impending rain as we could, and off we went, with Matt  and Ed opening the TWCC bowling attack. The wicket continued to be stoppy and stodgy, but the TWCC firebrands kept the host's openers honest enough, though Isaac did rather seem to make batting look a little less difficult than one might have hoped. A visit to the pavilion for shelter and tea.
The writing was on the weather-man's wall really, but we did go out again in a gap in the rain to see Jim once again fail to find his line-and-length (wet ball) and Richard to find his (different ball? better towell?). Somehow Richard got the unhelpful ball to weave about, and with the length he was bowling, just a bit pace-off, he was very effective ending with great figures which we'll no doubt be regailed with at the end of season... Oh, go on then; 2 for 3 off 3 overs.
A fine innings from Isaac (he of the bowling prowess) of 48 was cut short not by a wicket but by the deluge. We walked off, tried again, and then walked off for good. No result, though independent observers may have felt that the moral victory was Ashurst's. Shame about the rain, which did produce a no-result for the visitors in the face of a likely loss, but which also denied Brocky more wickets, and who knows what might have transpired if the match had continued? There was still bowling to come, and with a wicket here or there the game might have been closer in the end than many pundits felt at the time.
Of note - how good it is to have our group of TWCC lads-of-all-ages charging about and how cheery a team we are. It's just such fun being part of a supportive and humourous bunch. Also the fielding of this incarnation of TWCC is by and large very good.  As far as being of note re. the broader match is concerned, the day was Isaac's with his effective bowling and sure-batted play, and, by extrapolation, were one to have flown over the flooded land later in the day, the team safely gathered together on the moral high ground waving their scorebook to attract the attention of the Wisden helicopter would have been Ashurst. Never be afraid of crazy metaphor, the more mixed the better!

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and batted first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld M 9; J Simon Bld Lee 12; M Pearce Ct, Bld Saunders 21; M Edwards Ct, Bld Isaac 20; T Firth Ct, Bld Isaac 3; E Bunn Ct, Bld Isaac 15; E Howes Run out 10; T Rydon Not out 9; J Panther Not out 9. DNB R Brock. Extras 8 (B3, LB1, W4) Total 116 for 8 (30 overs)
Ashurst bowling: Damu 4-0-9-0; M 4-0-7-1; D Saunders 5-0-21-1; J Lee 4-0-32-1; Murphy 4-0-10-0; Isaac 6-1-16-3; Teddy 3-0-16-0.
Ashurst innings: Isaac Not out 48; Barnard LBW R Brock 8; Damu Bld R Brock 1; M Fischel Not out 8. DNB D Saunders, W Hay, D Fischel, R Murphy, S Glass, E Barnard, J Lee. Extras 4 (B3, LB1) Total 68 for 2 (16 overs)
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 5-0-17-0; E Howes 5-0-14-0; J Simon 3-0-23-0; R Brock 3-0-9-2.
No result. If Mr/Mrs Duckworth or Lewis had been totting things up it's clear that Ashurst would have won the day.

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Crescent CC v TWCC
September 3rd 2017
TWCC's budding young reporter, R Rydon, has yet to get to grips with the house style, suggesting the report should simply read something like "Exciting game, though wet." Afficianados of this kind of Red Bull journalism might like to start their own online news outlet in which the letters used in the headline outnumber those used in the report itself, but we at your Gazette get literally one or two... no, one...well, moving on... message every few years or so which clearly support the "why use one word when three would do" approach so loved by our reader. How else, the clientelle we have long cultivated might ask, are those awkwardly long lunchbreaks in the City to filled, or is the mowing of the lawns at their country estates to be put off until it rains, if not by taking to the armchair with a cup of tea and the latest TWCC Gazette? So, we plough on, doling out words free at the point of use as if there was no tomorrow.
The Gazette's Weather Correspondent, when asked for the definition of rain, said that you have to be able to see drops falling into puddles. This seems a little lightweight, if you ask me, for it might, say, be tipping it down in the Sahara sufficiently hard to spoil a game of cricket, but in the sand there would be no puddles for a century or two so play would have to continue. As, indeed, it did for TWCC's visit to the Horsdean Bowl for the latest match in this up and down season. It was raining when we turned up. It was raining when play started. It rained during tea. It rained after tea, and it was still raining when we all drove home in our opaque cars. Were we downhearted? Well, let's put the weather to one side for a moment and think about the match.
Crescent, with whom TWCC have had some close games in the past, were, according to TWCC's deputised Deputy Captain Pearce, purportedly "under-strength." This is a common-enough opening gambit by an opposition's skipper, to which the usual response from a more experienced campaigner than dDC Pearce might have been something like; "Oh, I know - us too. We've had to draft in a few people who barely know how to hold a bat" which if it came to it would, let's be fair, probably stand up well enough in the High Court. However, rather giving away the high ground in this negotiation at the start, Tony returned to the pavilion with some story about no coin having being involved. He seemed to have been rolled over in a Brexit-like fudge and, we think, might have agreed that TWCC would lose at some point.
TWCC batted first, though "batted" may be too strong a word as TWCC were soon 3 for 10 as the top three batsmen were caught off the bowling of Brown. Gentle catching practice for Crescent. When you have a crisis what you need is a man who is good in one, and that man is often Jonathan who, sure enough, steadied the ship with first a partnership of 29 alongside the solid and capable Tom Firth and then with a partnership of 44 with the Rydon of the Day as Tom powered on with his delayed-start season. Jonathan was eventually out LBW three times in a row to Morgan, more or less walking in the end as Tony's finger was reluctant to move out of his pocket, for a match-winn... er... for 38 valuable runs. If Jonathan played regularly we'd surely stand more chance of losing less badly more often. Anyway, with Tom still standing in the middle it was time for Rob to join his son for some familial bonding in the middle. All Rob has ever wanted is to share a partnership with one of his lovely boys out in the middle of a muddy field in the rain, and today it wasn't going to be Alex as he was already through the system. So, Tom it was to be.
I don't know - maybe Christmases in the Rydon household haven't been up to that much lately, or, perhaps, a birthday's been missed here and there - whatever it was that did it, Tom set off for a quick run, knowing his poor old Dad was struggling with a life-threatening gardening injury, then, after a while, when half way down the track he called "yes." Rob was sitting back on his bad foot and the next thing we knew there was a run out and the second Rydon duck of the day was in the bag. (The Gazette's Creative Team has been somewhat in charge of this wicket as the entire staff were in the toilet at the time all this occurred, but we're prepared to bet this is more or less what happened.)
Matt came in to pick up the pieces (my how TWCC were blessed with talent low down the order) and this he did putting on another 21 with Tom R before Tom fell to the pacey Rahaman. Tom R was finally forced to wander obliquely towards the pavilion to face the music, out for a match-winn... er... a fine 22. Matt E and Ollie kept the ball rolling across the swamp, Matt finally out for a match-w.. er.. for 24 great runs, and Ollie showing how much he's learned with every game. Cricket is still new to Ollie but he was making the regulars look like chumps, playing with a straight bat and waiting on the ball, and 12 runs in these conditions was truly excellent. Jim didn't get in the way too much, and then Ed comes in at 11 would you believe? Matt E at 8, Ed at 11! Crazy, but with the batting lineup TWCC had on the day; Paul, Tony, lots of Rydons, Jonathan, a few Toms an Ed a Matt and an Ollie; well who could argue that TWCC had probably posted a match-winni... er... a reasonable total on the board? Crescent's bowling was pretty tight, by and large, with Brown and Brooks at the start giving nothing away, but once again the host's Skipper was generous where he could be, before wrapping up the TWCC effort just on the stroke of tea-o-clock with the visitors on135 all out.
Great tea - thank you Team Crescent, and it was time to get the oilskins on and for TWCC to take to the field.
Ed and Jim opened, and all went swimmingly, with Ed in particular running in hard, hitting the spot and getting his due reward, while Jim missed the spot and got his. Ed really does bowl well we think here at the Gazette, and his 8 overs 2 for 11 really set the tone. Then Tom R, fresh from his batting successes, replaced Jim to good effect and, well it all went very well. The ball was completely hopeless by this point, and was difficult to bowl with and harder to catch - apparently - but after a while, with Tom R and Matt keeping it tight and taking more wickets, the home side were at 56 for 7, 80 behind, with just 3 wickets required and 17 overs in which to get them for TWCC to take home a win. TWCC bowlers had surely set up a great match-winni... er... TWCC would surely win from here, and there was still plenty of bowling to come for goodness' sake.
Well... There were a couple of match-winning performances, and they came from Crescent's J Gatford and N Hollands. From 56 for 7, and facing the excellent bowling of Matt, Alex and then Rob, they helped the total to rise at just the right rate as the overs passed, until, just after cracking a Rob short ball to square leg for 4, Hollands was out for a very worthy 36 off Alex's bowling to a fine, high, catch taken by Tom Firth blinking up into the rain. A shame for Hollands that he didn't see his innings through to the end of the match. To continue, there had been other catches and stuff; a few good bits of this and that here and there, but, to do the right thing by a mug of tea that has just arrived here in the Gazette office, it's time to get to the end. Gatford was on strike with 3 required off 3 balls, Alex bowling. A scrambled single left the new bat, J Hall, on strike, needing 2 from 2. Field tight in; no runs here! A bye, yes. So Gatford found himself facing Alex, 1 run required, 1 ball left, scores tied! Gatford swung through, connected well as he had all afternoon, if you can call it an afternoon, the ball went through a gap, and he ran through to win the game for Crescent, ending on 45 not out; the innings of the day.
Good game, good game, we all said and, actually, it was. It was wet. And cool, but a close game which could have gone either way.
Impartial analysis would say that TWCC didn't bat well, especially early on, and that Crescent found two players who did. That was it; both sides fielded very well, and bowled ok with a soapy ball, but 135 wasn't enough though at one stage it looked as if it might be. Crescent's two batters, Gatford and Hollands, showed the way and their performances deserved to secure the win for their team.
Spare a thought for Rob; he didn't have a very good day. First of all he was attacked in his garden by a malevolent triffid, then he got cold umpiring, then he was run out by his son for 0, then he was hit for 15 for 0 off four overs late on in the piece, then Jim nicked his bat at the end of the game and put it on eBay while he was in the bath. Oh well, it must be this sort of experience that keeps him coming back for more, that and the desire to enjoy a partnership with his children. Or anyone.

Scorecard
TWCC batted first after a coinless agreement based on rumours of weakness here and there
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct, bld Brown 4; A Rydon ct, Bld Brown 0; T Pearce ct, Bld Brown 3; J Rowland LBW Morgan 38; T Rydon Bld Morgan 22; T Firth ct, Bld Morgan 15; R Rydon Run out! 0; M Edwards Bld Rahaman 24; O Foulger Bld Brooks 12; J Simon Bld Brooks 1; E Howes Not out 4. Extras 12 (B2, W9, NB1) Total 135 all out (41.2 overs).
Fall: 1-4, 2-4, 3-10, 4-39, 5-83, 6- 84, 7-105, 8-125, 9-130, 10-135.
Crescent CC Bowling: Brown 8-1-22-3; Hall 6-3-10-0; Brooks 8.2-1-30-2; Morgan 9-0-39-3; Gatfold 6-0-18-0; Rahaman 4-0-15-0.
Crescent CC Innings: S Wood Bld E Howes 7; B Pomfrett Ct T Rydon Bld J Simon 6; D Morgan Ct M Edwards Bld T Rydon 11; D Rahaman LBW E Howes 10; H Bailey run out (E Howes) 6; J Brooks Bld M Edwards 2; J Gatford not out 45; M Wood Ct A Rydon Bld M Edwards 7; N Hollands Ct T Firth Bld A Rydon 36; J Hall not out 0. DNB M Brown. Extras 6 (B4, W2) Total 136 for 9.
Fall: 1-10,2-14, 3-28, 4-38, 5-47, 6-47, 7-56, 8-133.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-2-11-2; J Simon 6-0-18-1; T Rydon 6-1-23-1; M Edwards 7-0-24-2; A Rydon 7-0-36-1; R Rydon 4-0-20-0.
Crescent CC win by 1 run or 1 wicket or whatever it is.

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Nuthurst CC v TWCC
August 27th 2017
This was an intersting game for a number of reasons, some whimsical, some more stat-fact. First of all, with Walkgate wounds healed, for Nuthurst CC and TWCC this was a re-opening of friendly relations - marked, we at the Gazette are happy to report, by the playing of a proper "friendly" game of cricket as opposed to some sort of limitied overs nonsense. So, yes, interesting because there was little knowledge of either side's squad or of the way a team plays the game or of the wicket. In order; as it turns out the squads were well-matched - a similar mix of ability and age (not that the two are related), the approach to the game was clearly the same for both sides with fun for all playing and fair play carrying more import than any thought about who might be going to win or lose, and the wicket...ah. The wicket. We'll come on to that.
Secondly, for the Gazette staff at least, there was a sense of England past as Nuthurst CC play on what was clearly the old common. This was the sort of once-remote village through which knights of old, traders, monks, drovers and shepherds would have passed on their way between London and the south coast and to and from grazing areas on the Downs. Later, and not really, first Sherlock Homes and then Miss Marple might have travelled to just such a community as Nuthurst when intrigued by an out-of-London quirk, and here are still the leafy gardens surrounding red-brick and stone houses into which we were discouraged from hitting the ball on pain of, first, a deleted score, then fines, followed by prison and ultimately execution at the hands of the Parish Council.
Once all the protective netting around the ground was installed, designed to save local residents from the fun of living next to a cricket ground, Skipper Brock and Nuthurst's Skipper Singh compared notes in the middle and tossed the coin which fell Brocky's way and he decided TWCC would bat first.
No Paul. No James. So a new opening pair of Alex and Edward walked confidently to write the first chapter of this new fixture. The nuthurst skipper, Raggy Singh, opened the bowling downhill from the Don't-hit-it-in-my-garden Cottage End, and he was soon exploiting both his natural pace and the uneven bounce of the wicket. However, notwithstanding Singh's prowess, Alex and Edward looked like nothing so much as competent batsmen as they calmly dealt with everything that came their way, and both found the boundary with ease. The slower bowling of James from the Don't-hit-it-into-the-playground End was an easier proposition to face, but the variable bounce was equally destructive from either end.
It might already be too late, but in case Gazette readers (risking the plural) are thinking of abandoning this lengthening report and, instead, of reaching for the lighter option of their hitherto untouched copy of Ulysses, it is time to up the tempo and to get on with it. Singh was bowling fast and true but Alex and Edward, secure and confident, took TWCC to 29 before Alex played on (inside edge as ball kept low) with 16 runs to his name, and then Edward was caught at slip for 19 which included four 4's - putting his name right up there in the mix.
Talking of confident performances, who did TWCC have coming in at three but John Riley - someone who can score centuries everything being equal, and he did indeed look capable of a long-term innings as he set out his stall for the long haul. However, up popped a ball and his beligerent occupancy, albeit valuable in itself, was over with just 2 to his name. Honse got a lifter, a shame as he had forced the selectors to push him up the order, and TWCC were 51 for 4. Hey ho - TWCC had Rydons to spare.
Rob and Tom settled the dressing roo...er..the barn... as they just did the Rydon thing. Rob, with so many run-scoring options charging around in his head, calmly set about scoring the first 17 of this, his next hundred, when up popped the ball off a full length to catch his glove and he was caught behind. No failure of technique, just one of those things. Nuthurst's skipper, being a friendly chap and all, was minded to help his visitors along to a reasonable score and he took off the bowlers who might have seen TWCC all out for 80, and Tom was finding the boundary regularly, including a perfectly regulated 6 over the long-off boundary that just went far enough but not so far as to bring out an irate cricket-hating resident, amusing though that might have been.
Matt E and then Jim failed to do much, though whilst the Gazette can not now recall how Matt's stumps came to be disturbed, Jim did receive a real grubber. Grub grub grub grubber. Grub grub. Grub. Not that he's bitter or anything, and he has just noticed that he did share a partnership of 19. Talking of Tom's batting, he was still going strong and Jim's wicket falling did at least bring a real batter in to join him in the shape of Skipper Brock. Another period of relative calm descended over the visitors' dug out, even after Raggy Singh brought himself and the other opening bowler James back on as the TWCC score began to look more than useful on this questionable wicket. At some point Tom was out caught in the covers, for a fine 23 with three 4's and a 6 to his name, and this brought TWCC's last man in to join his skipper in the middle.
Would the 10-man visiting side on 92 for 8 be all out for under a hundred? Would someone wearing lady's pants around his knees be able to bat all? The answer is that Joe had come in to show us he could bat.
TWCC had survived until just about tea, and, with the ackowledged assistance of their Skipper's Sunday best approach to this friendly game, Nuthurst were in danger of the game getting away from them. To be clear, at this point the bowling was not generous, but this was nothing to Joe, and to Richard too, of course. Not many high-tarrif shots were played into the off side, but anything remotely straight, of whatever length, was regularly met by Joe who showed a remarkable ability to clip the ball strongly off his pads towards the square-leg boundary. What could go wrong now? the pundits thought, as the total climbed and climbed. Those with long memories, such as exist here in the Gazette offices and in Riley Towers, might have predicted what it was that might possibly go wrong, and so it was that Richard called for a run too many and was run out. However, aggressive running was one of the keys to this last-wicket partnership's success, so it is not for those with bitterness in their hearts to dwell on the past, but to rather get excited about the 62 runs that Richard and Joe did put on as the team total bottomed out at 154 all out. A fine partnership, with Richard ending on 15 with a four in there somewhere, and Joe with 36 not out, only four runs of which were not 4's. What an afternoon in the Nuthurst late summer heat.
As is the way of these TWCC-orientated write-ups, somewhat less effort goes into the reporting of the opposition's individual performances as a desire for balance might demand, so as well as reporting the Nuthurst skipper's fine and generous approach to the game, we must mention that he did also bowl very well as did Grimwood who had 3 wickets in two overs but who was rather a victim of his own success as he was removed to save the game being all over in Nuthurst's favour. Others, too, bowled with some impact, though much of that success was as much to do with the variable bounce as with mastery of line and length.
Tea on the kerbside, Miss Marple's coronation chicken sandwiches and all, and TWCC may have enjoyed them rather more than the home side - though this is nothing so much as a platitude as everyone seemed to be enjoying life.
So, moving on, how would Nuthurst go about the business of scoring more runs than their visitors? Matt and Jim opened up the bowling, Matt with more success than Jim, and after 10 overs Matt had two wickets and Jim none, but the score wasn't too high at 34 for 2. A tailor-made situation for Honse, making his last appearance before his summer retreat, as he can exploit a tight situation as batters try to up the rate. To begin with he was luckless but he did secure a bowled wicket before the end of the game, and if I seem to be rushing somewhat here, it is because there is quite a lot still to come.
Matt was taken off after 7 overs, and it was time for some Rob. How much damage could he do?
Predictably the answer was a lot. Sensibly Rob ignored the array of four slips; he knows better than to rely on catching occurring, so, instead, he simply bowled straight at the stumps. With limited bounce from the Nuthurst dust the full-length balls scudded through and after an over he had 1 for 1. This was the last run scored off his bowling, and after the next over he had 4 for 1 - a triple-wicket maiden. Richard had little choice but to limit the impact of Rob's excellence, and so, returning the spirit-of-the-game generosity of Nuthurst, Rob was taken off with figures of 2 overs, 4 for 1. Time for something less obviously life-threatening, maybe some slow bowling would do the trick - after all one triple-wicket maiden was enough. Edward's first over duly went for six runs, and Nuthurst still had wickets in hand, but his second over was - a triple-wicket maiden! All proper wickets; one stumped with the assistance of a suicidal batter and the glove-work of Alex, the next a good low catch safely gathered in by John in the slips, and the third clean-bowled, Nuthurst all out for 72. Two triple-wicket maidens in one match. It was clear, with the hindsight that only comes after both sides have batted, that with the up and down nature of the wicket the TWCC score of 154 was a good score and was likely to be enough, and whilst the wicket did detract somewhat from a full normal game being played out, it did lead to an exciting day's play.
So TWCC win a good game, a fun game, a cheery game, a shared afternoon of cricketiness and pubbing afterwards. It is to be hoped that TWCC v Nuthurst or Nuthurst v TWCC is seen again in the clubs' respective fixture lists.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first
TWCC Innings: A Rydon bld Singh 16; E Bunn ct (slip) bld James 19; J Riley ct (wk) bld Grimwood 1; H Karvay ct (slip) bld Singh 0; R Rydon ct (wk) bld Grimwood 17; T Rydon ct (cover) bld Furber 23; M Edwards bld Grimwood0; J Simon Bld Furber 2; R Brock run out 15; J Panther not out 36. Extras 19 (B 7, LB 1, W 5, NB 6), total 154 all out (44 overs).
Nuthurst CC Bowling: Singh 10-2-23-2; James 12-2-41-1; Shepherd 5-0-21-0; Grimwood 2-0-5-3; Furber 7-3-12-2; Peckover 4-2-7-0; Prior 4-0-31-0.
Nuthurst Innings: J Willis Ct (wk A Rydon) bld M Edwards 1; S Prior bld M Edwards 10;D Goothan bld R Rydon 29; K Greenwood bld R Rydon 10; H Peckover not out 6; O Prior bld R Rydon 0; R Singh bld R Rydon 0; P Shepherd bld H Karvay 0; J James st (A Rydon) bld E Bunn 2; S Furber ct J Riley (slip) bld E Bunn 0; N Williams bld E Bunn 0. Extras 12 (B 7, LB 4, W 1), total 72 all out.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-2-25-2; J Simon 5-1-11-0; H Karvay 5-0-19-1; R Rydon 2-1-1-4; E Bunn 2-1-6-3.
TWCC win by 82 runs.


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Steve Rogers Memorial Game August 12th 2017
This was the day the club came together, the way it does best, to celebrate Steve’s life. Steve Rogers, our dashing opening batsman, our safe pair of hands behind the stumps, our man in the middle of everything. One of us.  A club member through and through, a player, a tourer, one of the guys who was always there, a great friend to all.  Taken from us in January, this was our chance to pay tribute to him and celebrate his life the way we do, the way he’d have enjoyed:  by playing cricket and eating and drinking with his family and friends.
The day had been some weeks in the planning – led by Dave Jones and of course by Steve’s dad Dave Rogers.  Meetings by necessity had taken place at the Oak – where else – and the day fell into place seamlessly.  We’d invite former players, friends of Steve, his family and our own families.  A competitive match followed by a BBQ.
Earlier that week Dave had bought a sapling, a young oak tree.  We’d agreed a suitable spot would be close to the pavilion – and Dave himself came up and dug the hole and planted it.
The Saturday came and the sun shone.  Of course it did.  This was Steve’s day.  Among the first to arrive were Steve and Karen Taylor, with James and Jonathan – all the way from Wales. Karen is Steve’s sister, Steve played for us in the 90s and James toured with us this year.  Then we were delighted to see Karen, Charlotte, Alex and Francesca, Sheila, Steve’s mum and Tracey, Steve’s other sister. We all know just how much Steve loved his cricket – and it was really special to see his family with us on this day.
Among the former players to join us were Nigel Ingram and John Pearce – legendary bowlers who’d played many times with Steve and Mike Tucker and Mark Newman – great friends of Steve.  Dave Peck, another great friend of Steve also donned his whites.
When all the players were changed into their whites and all friends and family had arrived, we gathered around the young Oak.  Karen said a few words of thanks, put the final spade of soil on the base and unveiled the plaque which the club had commissioned.
Dave Rogers, one of the joint captains of the Presidents/Vice Presidents XI, won the toss and put Richard's Captain's X1 into bat.  A 35 overs match had been agreed, retire at 25.  A good crowd gathered round Edward’s picnic tables and the sun was warm.  A beautiful TWCC day.
The never-before-tested opening pair of John Pearce and Ed Howes walked to the middle – and meted out suitable punishment to Paul `five wides` Hunter before a rusty Matt Brock found his line and John was caught by James Taylor for a stylish 12.  The score was 32.  Sam Simon took over from Paul and after 3 dot balls he bowled first Ed then – first ball – Steve Taylor.  The journey from Wales may not have been quite as long as the walk back to the pavilion.  The score remained stubbornly on 32.  When it moved on it was only to 35 before Mike Tucker was caught neatly behind the stumps by Jonathan from El Presidente Jones, slipping effortlessly back into that easy bowling rhythm.  It brought Tony to the crease at an unfamiliar 6, but he soon restored some respectability to the innings, sharing stands with Andrew Smerdon – Jim’s brother in law – Nigel and Jim himself.  Nothing huge but the score crept through the 50s, 60s and 70s until Jim’s spirited knock of 13 ended on 86.  Not bad for a man 60 years and 3 days old, swishing his bat in front of his admiring family.  Richard came in and helped the score past 100 before Tony had to retire and useful partnerships with Lawrence and then between Mark and Lawrence took TWCC to 143 from our 35 overs.  The wickets had been shared nicely between 6 bowlers, out of a total of 11 P/VP bowlers used including VP Rogers.  Everyone on the TWCC team had also batted – one of the few favourable things that can be said of the batting effort. 
Tea was basic sandwiches and cake because a BBQ was but an innings away.  Then out strode the retiring opener J Trollope to open for the P/VP team, along with non-retiring opener P Hunter.  Neither was in retiring form.  James stroking a series of graceful shots which is his hallmark – while Paul punished wayward bowling – which is his.  Together they put on 29 for the first wicket when Paul was undone by the delightful and ageless combination: Bowled N Ingram, Caught J Pearce.  James powered on to retirement – this innings, this game of cricket.  Any hopes the TWCC team had of breaking through were dealt a firm blow – in fact several firm blows – by the new pair of Jon Rowland and James Taylor.  Their batting was impressive and powerful and the various bowling combinations of Simon, Howes, Woodhams, Pearce, Smerdon, Newman, Brock and Taylor could not force another wicket as both batted out to retirement.  It has to be said however that it was as though John had never been away, he slipped straight back into his groove at the far end and beat the bat countless times.  The same was true of Nigel after he’d shaken off his 10 years of cobwebs – that unmistakable action and those mean figures.  But it was left to another old boy – Mike Tucker – to finally make the second breakthrough as his slow drifters round the wicket floated through Honse’s guard and the stumps rattled.  Sam came in to bat to accompany Jonathan Taylor with the P/VP XI on 142.  He was immediately called back by El Presidente for a strategic team talk.  Next ball he struck for one and the pair tucked their bats under their arms and shook hands.  The match was declared a draw.  A fitting end to a competitive match.
The evening was one of the great TWCC social occasions.  One big family enjoying each others' company, sharing a calm evening alongside Steve's tree with the air full of easy conversation. The sort of evening Steve would have loved.

Scorecard
TWCC President & Vice-President's XI v TWCC Captain's XI
TWCC President and Vice Presidents' X1: Dave Rogers [C], Dave Jones [C],  James Trollope, Dave Peck, Edward Bunn, Paul Hunter, Matt Brock, Honse Karvay, Jonathan Rowland, Sam Simon, James Taylor, Jonathan Taylor.

TWCC Captain's X1: Richard Brock [C], Steve Taylor, Mike Tucker, Lawrence Woodhams, Ed Howes, Nigel Ingram, Mark Newman, John Pearce, Tony Pearce, Andrew Smerdon, Jim Simon.

P/VP won the toss and asked the Captain's X1 to bat.

TWCC Captain's X1 Batting: J Pearce Ct Ja Taylor Bld M Brock    12; E Howes Bld S Simon 15; A Smerdon Ct & Bld E Bunn 5; S Taylor Bld (GD) S Simon 0; M Tucker    Ct WK J Rowland Bld D Jones 2; T Pearce Retired 28; N Ingram Ct P Hunter Bld Jon Taylor 4; J Simon Bld Ja Taylor 13; R Brock Retired 28; L Woodhams Not Out 6; M Newman Not Out 5. TOTAL 143-7 from 35 overs.
Fall: 32-1, 32-2, 32-4, 35-5….62-7, 86-8.
TWCC P/VP's X1 Bowling: P Hunter 3-0-20-0; M Brock 5-0-19-1; S Simon 2-0-9-2; D Jones 4-0-17-1; J Trollope 2-0-10-0; E Bunn 3-1-12-1; Jon Taylor 5-1-15-1; D  Peck 3-0-15-0; Ja Taylor 3-0-8-1; H Karvay 3-1-7-0; D Rogers 1-0-12-0.
TWCC P/VP XI Batting: J Trollope Retired!!! 27; P Hunter Ct J Pearce Bld N Ingram 21; J Rowland Retired 28; James Taylor Retired 28; E Bunn Retired 19; Jo Taylor Not out 13; H Karvay Bld M Tucker 0; S Simon Not Out 1. TOTAL 143 from 29.1 overs.
FALL: 29/2, 142/7.
TWCC Captain's X1 Bowling: J Simon 3-2-10-0; E Howes 3-0-13-0; N Ingram 3-0-11-1; L Woodhams 2-0-20-0; J Pearce 5-0-9-0; A Smerdon 4-0-20-0; M Newman 2-0-12-0; R Brock 3-0-17-0; S Taylor 3-0-12-0; M Tucker 1.1-0-15-1

Match honourably drawn

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TWCC v Staplefield
July 16th 2017
No preamble or flummery, no scene-setting or weather report; let's just plough right on into the land of fantasy and mixed metaphor that is a Gazette report.
Staplefield won the toss and chose to bowl first.
In the continued absence of James and with several other regulars finding Sunday opportunities elsewhere, Edward found himself all padded up and raring to go at No. 2, and, with Paul at No. 1 TWCC settled down to the task of finding out what this incarnation of Staplefield were all about. Both TWCC openers were up to the considerable task of surviving, and scoring off, some excellent pacey swing bowling. Paul's lunging injury was clearly a thing of the past, and Edward seemed to be in control of affairs. However, after 6 overs of good cricket from both teams, trouble reared as did the ball, and soon TWCC were three wickets down, all falling in very similar circumstances; pitched slightly short, the ball was lifting considerably and the top three batters (yes, alas, Tony too) were caught behind. Paul, of the first three TWCC batters, survived longest, and though he, too, fell to a high glove-under-the-chin moment, he left the field with a fine, stabilising, 33 to his name. Of note, to those who care about such things as, indeed, I feel we all do, is the fact that all three of the opening batters, having gloved or minutely edged the ball on the way through to the keeper, walked immediatley and there was no need for the umpire to get involved at all. Which was just as well as the umpire, I have it upon good authority, was not at all certain that any of the three appeals were justified.
So, we come to the main feature of the day's play. Who should walk in at 4, swinging his bat and looking all crickety, but the once-regular and now, sadly, less so TWCC favourite-of-the-crowd Mikey Pearce. Always correct in style and capable, but prone hitherto to lapses in concentration, this was a new Mikey Pearce who bided his time, cared about his wicket, placed his shots for singles, drove the ball to the boundary when he could, took runs when they were there, and blocked the ball when they were not. In short, a batsman was amongst us, and the slightly wobbly TWCC start was looking less catastrophic as the tens of runs rolled by and the scoreboard tins were rattling about in fine style.
The words "middle-order" are often, in TWCC match reports, followed by the word "collapse," but in this report the Gazette is pleased - nay, thrilled - to be able to say that what followed was glorious cricket. Mikey continued to play a truly excellent innings, yes, but it was the partnerships he founded with first Sam and then Matt that lifted the TWCC total out of the dangerous quicksands of 3-for-56, up through the foothills of respectability and on to the high plateau found at 200+. A rarified atmosphere indeed is to be found at these altitudes, but much of the enjoyment was missed by all but the laziest as many were ferreting about in the neighbouring undergrowth looking for balls. Sam carried on his new-found batting form and mixed up some unlikely defensive play with his characteristic strong-arm tactics (three 6's in a total of 37 - I'd love to see Sam and George sharing a partnership!), and Matt, after Sam's demise, carried on the good work of rotating the strike most productlively with Mikey. Matt, too, soon lost balls in the pursuit of an ever-higher total.
Golden times in this promised land indeed backoned, and Jim might have been the man to prosper after Matt was caught behind (one 6 in a total of 22), but, instead, he meekly alllowed a (rare) straight ball to pass gently beneath his bat and onto the stumps. Golden times? Golden duck... By now, however, these petty details mattered little, and Joe, with a couple of bludgeoning fours, and Ed saw the innings to a close with Mikey not out on 126 and with TWCC's total on 254 for 7. That's a heady total, and Mikey's innings was largely responsible for delivering it. There have been some truly excellent innings' this season and this was right up there with the best of them. The bowling, about which little has been written here, was by no means poor and Mikey's pushing on through the overs with plenty of boundaries and the quick running of 2's and singles as well as forceful shots off the full face of the bat allowed the total to build almost as if TWCC were playing proper cricket. Strike rotation was a feature of the TWCC innings; no maidens at all were bowled by Staplefield, and there's nothing like a constant nibbling away into a fielding side's efforts for tiring the bowling and building a total. Over 250! Now there's a fine thing and TWCC settled down to Joe's excellent tea with some appetite and an equally healthy anticipation of having runs to play with.
Staplefield's innings in reply would have to be long and strong, but neither of the visiting side's openers got to grips with the opening two over spells of Matt and Jim. Jim's figures prospered temporarily due to a played-on, but with the thought that much of the batting was tactically being held back by the Staplefield skipper, Matt decided to mix up the bowling attack. Joe and Honse stepped up and both had some success. The removal by an awkwardly bouncing too-close ball from Joe to the Staplefield No. 3 was the first nail in the coffin of the visiting side's ambitons; Maj, fresh from 150 the day before, looked like he meant business, and then he just looked cross when he found himself undone and on his way back to a subdued pavilionful of Staplefield players. Honse, in his first spell of, again, just two overs, removed the opener Bull with Ed's help who took a fine running catch. Joe then took his second wicket and Staplefield were 4 for 14.
Now, however, we were into the meat of Staplefield's batting reply. J Martin and, then, particularly G Russell decided to see what would happen if they swung their bats, and what happened was that the scoreboard began to race along. Matt and Jim, returning, caught the begining of the onslaught, then Sam and Ed bore the brunt of it. Sam was unlucky in clean-bowling the fast-scoring Dray with, yes a full toss, but no, not a no-ball as called by the square leg umpire; it hit the stumps two thirds of the way up having passed the batsman just on the knee-roll of his pads. Enough said. Sam was taken off because he was bowling out of an area in the hedge which made it dangerous for the batsman... and that meant that Honse was brought back on. Be careful what you wish for!
Ed, in the meantime, was gamely charging in and bowling perfectly good balls to batsmen who had their eyes well and truly in. Fours and sixes continued to evade fielders arranged in a row of four and sometimes five men around the cow-corner boundaries, but when Matt caught Russell out and Edward caught out Dray, both, happily in terms of just reward, off Ed's persistent bowling, the game was run. Sad to say, largely due to age, the entire Gazette staff can not remember any details about Matt's catch, but Edward's one-handed grasp of the ball alongside the road hedge whilst at the same time fending off Sam was remarkable. It would have gone for six, but instead the dangerman was out and Edward was grinning from ear to ear for the rest of the day. He probably still is.
Honse it was who did the mopping up with his loopy offerings and changes of pace. The later batters took to pushing at the ball on the rise and giving catching practice and the game was over with about 10 overs to spare and Honse ended on great figures of four for 12 off 4.1 overs!
A fun game, we thought, notable for excellent batting from many, including from three of the Staplefield side, from Paul, Matt and Sam for TWCC, and mostly from Mikey Pearce with his fine century who should now, surely, want to make himself available for more games because he had fun, we had fun, and the rabbits had fun.
Did I not mention the rabbits?

Scorecard
Toss won by Staplefield, who chose to field first. 40:40 format game agreed.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Wk Bld Dray 33; E Bunn Ct Wk Bld Russell 11; T Pearce Ct Wk Bld Russell 4; M Pearce not out 126; S Simon Ct Aiden Bld Paul 37; M Edwards Ct Wk Bld Martin 22; J Simon Bld Humphrey 0; J Panther CT Wk Bld Martin 10; E Howes not out 3. DNB O Foulger, H Karvay. Extras 8 (LB1, W5, NB2)
Total 254 for 7.
Fall: 1/22, 2/28, 3/56, 4/115, 5/217, 6/221, 7/223.
Staplefield Bowling: G Russell 8-0-26-2; D Dray 8-0-40-1; R Hutchins 6-0-52-0; P Bull 8-0-41-1; Martin 6-0-41-2; A Humphrey 4-0-43-1.
Staplefield Innings: J Ellis Bld J Simon 6; R Bull Ct E Howes Bld H Karvay 3; M Raja Ct Wk (T Pearce) Bld J Panther 1; J Martin Ct & Bld S Simon 26; J Gaynor Bld J Panther 0; G Russell Ct M Edwards Bld E Howes 49; P Johnston Ct & Bld Karvay; D Dray Ct E Bunn Bld E Howes 40; A Humphreys Ct J Simon Bld H Karvay 0; C Turner Ct P Hunter Bld H Karvay 0; R Huthings not out 0. Extras 9 (B1, W6, NB2).
Total 135 all out.
Fall: 1/7, 2/8, 3/12, 4/14, 5/80, 6/92, 7/128, 8/129, 9/135, 10/135.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-2-19-0; J Simon 6-0-28-1; J Panther 3-1-15-2; H Karvay 4.1-0-12-4; S Simon 4-0-18-1; E Howes 6-0-43-2.
TWCC win by 119 runs.


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Tour to Oxfordshire June 30th - July 2nd
So the lengthy tradition of TWCC tours which stretches back to Goldenbollocks at Sidmouth in the 1980s and takes in the legendary John Pearce 6 at Arnside, the lesbian in Ibiza, the world’s second fastest white bowler breaking our bail in Lancashire – I could go on – prepared for departure from Sussex on Friday 30th June.  With a fair number of youngsters, the tour was guaranteed a spirited atmosphere – and so it proved. 
Let down badly late on by squad members, the tour was grateful to Tony for his attendance thus denying Jan an Adele concert, and to Ollie for being willing to come to Oxfordshire, drink lots of beer and play golf and cricket.  At the risk of upsetting Adele fans, It’s hard to believe that either really had a difficult decision to make.
So Tony, Ollie, Matt and Joe set off from Brighton, Edward, Honse, Jim and Ed from Twineham, Richard and Matt from Horsham – and James Taylor – an excellent addition - from Wales.  The first impression of Oxfordshire was that it’s too close to London and has too much traffic for its narrow roads.  But the deeper you venture, the more pleasant and less frenetic it becomes.  Though it does seem to have a lot of lycra-clad people determined to do fit-type things in their leisure time.  We were not about to increase those numbers however.
So at some stage, this tour report has to arrive at the hotel.  The Shillingford Bridge Hotel sits in a glorious location on the River Thames. It owns the grassy picnic banks leading down to the water’s edge.  Across the bridge road, is the hotel swimming pool.  Its glossy website makes proud claims that – among its many other attractive features – that this is the number 1 venue for gay weddings in Oxfordshire.  All in all, this looked to be the perfect tour hotel at just £50pppn.    Edward was first to complain.  His room was `Victorian`, too small, poor view, too much else to mention.  Over the weekend, others would take the flame of his dissatisfaction and run with it, until by the time we checked out, we had an inferno of unhappiness.
But TWCC on tour is who we are - and nothing was going to prevent us from having a good time – because it’s what we do.  James was first to arrive, followed an hour later by Tony, then Richard and finally Edward.   Beers were consumed overlooking the Thames, with the sun breaking through the clouds, glinting gently off the green puddle of slime which covered the hotel’s otherwise empty swimming pool. The fines captain Matt B outlined his 10 commandments of the tour -which included gems like no noughts, no dropped catches, no women and no leaving the party early.  Rules – as we will discover – are there to be broken.  Anyway, and all too soon, it was time to head for our first game of cricket at Britwell Salome.  The village was about 15 minutes away – set in pretty countryside.  The clubhouse itself was peppered with several older cricketers, many of whom were enjoying a pint.  The atmosphere was relaxed.  Step forward tour captain Joe Panther who lost the toss and we found ourselves batting in a 20/20 with a grass wicket which had little life so few surprises.  All in all a very pleasant Friday evening.
Unfortunately the scorer used a system which made it difficult to discover whether opening batt Matt Edwards was out second or fourth ball – but the score is not in dispute and the first commandment was broken.  Honse followed for 4, as did James Taylor, and Tony for 12.  27-4 is not good even in a friendly Friday evening 20/20.  Ollie helped a little with 5, Edward with 12 – but at 50-6 off 12 overs, it was not looking good.  Enter the arena Jim, who tends to enjoy his tour batting.  He started sweetly and moved on swiftly, stroking 6 fours off the face of his bat.  He moved on effortlessly to 28 when events took a turn.  The author of this report appears to have a different interpretation of events to most other players – backed only, then quickly denied - by Tony Pearce.  Richard hit the ball firmly to a cover fielder and took off for a run.  Jim - according to the disputed Pearce words was `rocking on his heels` and failed to make it home before the bails were removed in a sharp run out.  However the report must record that all other players – and that is ALL the other players (including the rapidly recanting Tony Pearce) – believed Richard to be at fault for a ridiculous call.  Jim left forlornly on 93-7 – and the record should note that Jim very rarely leaves forlornly so he clearly felt most aggrieved.  But a spirited knock of 11 not out from Skipper Panther helped patch things up, even if Ed and Matt Brock both added to the noughts count, the latter run out straining for a run off the last ball, so out not actually facing a ball.
So we ended with a score of 114 all out.  We changed round quickly as the light started to fade.  Unfortunately despite the efforts of Joe and James Taylor opening the bowling, Britwell Salome dominated the attack.  They had experienced and confident openers, one of whom – Herrington - hit the ball firmly, straight and with great authority and the other who dragged everything from off to the long on boundary.  It was a happy recipe for success which took them past 50 before Jim recovered from the mortification of his batting departure to snap up the first wicket. Ed clean-bowled their number 3 but their next batsman settled in with the stylish Mr Herrington and saw them home comfortably.  Joe’s late and worthwhile throw of the dice – to see if Edward could cajole a wicket - was rather brutally brushed aside and we suffered a defeat in the 18th over by 8 wickets.

Scorecard
TWCC v Britwell Salome 30th June. 20/20 format.
Britwell Salome won the toss and chose to field
TWCC Innings: M Edwards Bld Ali 0; H Harvay Bld Ali 4; T Pearce Ct, Bld Joyner 12; J Taylor Bld Ali 4; O Foulger Bld Joiner 12; E Bunn Ct, Bld Lawrence 12; J Simon run out 28; R Brock Ct, Bld Ball 15; J Panther not out 11; E Howes Ct, Bld Strong 0; M Brock run out 0.
Total 114 all out 20 overs.
Fall 0-1, 5-2, 18-4, 27-5, 42-3, 50-6, 93-7, 101-8, 114-9, 114-10, 114-10.
Britwell Salome bowling: Ali 3-2-4-3; Strong 4-0-22-1; Joyner 3-0-17-2; Lawrence 3-0-6-1; Hussan 4-0-22-0; Ball 3-0-32-1.
Britwell Salome Innings: A Herrington not out 36; N Joyner Ct ?, Bld J Simon 33; A Khushi Bld E Howes 6; Joyner not out 30.
Total enough.
TWCC Bowling: J Panther 3-0-14-0; J Taylor 3-0-10-0; J Simon 2-0-22-1; R Brock 3-0-24-0; E Howes 2.5-0-7-1; E Bunn 3-0-24-0; M Brock 1-0-4-0.
Britwell Salome won by 8 wickets.

The match was played in a great spirit and afterwards, BS laid on chips, pizzas and sandwiches – and if that sounds like a weird combination, it was extremely welcome after 3 hours of cricket.  It was washed down with gallons of really well kept beer from the club’s own bar and the post-match festivities continued until darkness fell.  Our huge thanks to BS for their hospitality – and to James who made the trip for this match and stayed overnight – fantastic effort and great to see him.
We had a fines session:  the 3 noughts paid up, as did Richard for a dropped catch and a double hit for the run out and Joe of course for losing as skipper.  With the business all sorted it was back to the hotel where strangely (for such an allegedly terrible hotel) the bar stayed open, they had no problem with us playing poker as long as we wanted and the night porter was happy to top up drinks as late as we like.  Hmmm….maybe it wasn’t the horror some were determined it was.  So play we did – everyone.  £10 in, big things, little things, rivers, floats, ups and downs. By 1am there were 4 left – Honse, Ollie, Richard and Matt B.  They took the cowards option of splitting the pot and each walking away with a profit from the game.  By 3am all were in bed.  Unfortunately not all were asleep.  Matt B was rooming with Joe who snores at the level of a low flying jet loaded with 54 active pneumatic drills and subsequently Matt slept for minutes rather than hours.
The morning brought early risers and a fresh torrent of criticism of the hotel – despite the fact that it laid on both a continental breakfast, pastries, cereals, fruit and a buffet full English.  This time the complaints centred on the allegation that `the sausages weren’t local`!!!  GAFL!  Anyway, the rugby fans headed off to the nearby town of Wallingford (5 minutes away – far too far, blah blah blah) to watch the Lions take on New Zealand.  This we did on the outside screen of the Town Arms and what a match it was.  The late risers arrived for a pulsating second half – unfortunately missed by Matt B, who was trying to catch up on some missed sleep in the back of a car outside the pub.  A little money was won as the Lions fought to win the game – but far more was lost by those who backed the All Blacks – so that serves them right really.
We were back to the hotel by 11 and in the unremitting tradition of TWCC tours, left again 15 minutes later, with golf clubs on board.  
The course was called Hadden Hill, some 7 miles from the hotel.  Edward nabbed the only available buggy and we set off on a beautiful day from noon.  There was some hard bargaining and frankly some dodgy claims for handicaps.  When Tony, Ollie, Matt and Joe all hit screechingly good shots off the first tee, the rest felt themselves stitched up.  But class will out and that group couldn’t keep their form.  Edward started brightly – belying his 26 handicap – but a wretched back 9 put paid to him, while Jim picked up an already solid game, creamed the back half and scooped the pot.  The course was not the most challenging – a bit up and down, or there and back.  Whether it deserved the `s**t` criticism from Tony is another thing, but it was only £25 for the round which several club members seemed happy with.
After a post-game beer on the balcony with the red kites sweeping low – a wonderful feature of our time in Oxfordshire – it was back to the hotel for just about the only free hour of the tour – and that is why we love touring – it’s non-stop.
By 6.30pm we were on the road again to the faraway town of Wallingford and we had a fantastic team beer – great bantz, great fun, good beer – team spirit at 100%.  Matt B promised a land of milk and honey (WGOTSOT)  but before that it was curry time – another wonderful tour tradition.  We bypassed our first choice of curry house because of the waiting time and went to another quieter one down the road.  And it was a good choice – everything we needed and decent value for money.  Richard was – curiously – given a rousing welcome of `happy birthday` upon entering – not just by the team but by the whole restaurant – not bad for someone who’s birthday was 6 weeks earlier.  Apparently there was a cake at the discarded restaurant!!  At curry’s end, the old gits headed for the hotel, leaving the young guns to fight it out over who should have the best seat in the pub – the one furthest away from the singer, who sounded nothing like Anthony Kiedis (and thus somewhat scuppered the Red Hot Chilli Peppers tribute band ’s pretence).  Another seat also seemed to be in demand with Joe and Honse slugging it out and finally allowing Ed to slip in – but that’s another story.  It was the wee small hours before the vanquished Joe and Honse along with Ollie opted to walk back to the hotel, leaving Matt B and Ed to lord it in a cab.  Ed also fancied a walk a little later so he popped out along the riverbank.
The following morning, breakfast was once again included in the price of the room.  The strawberries were very pleasant, so too the bacon but of course the rest of it was terrible, because that was now the accepted norm from those who’ve never organised a tour before….
We checked out by 10.30 and followed Edward for a bit of boating on the Thames.  Unfortunately Mr Bunn had not booked a boat and - on a riverbank choking with cyclists, sun worshippers and tourists - there was no way we were going to get one. So we headed on to Stokenchurch and had coffee at the world’s greatest hotel – oh if only it had been ours.  The fact that the façade was crumbling, they couldn’t get the coffee orders right, the food started at £9.50 for a sandwich and the background was dominated by the drone of the M40 mattered not. 
We moved over the road where the boys played darts and then we all had a game of killer pool at a local pub – won by Honse.  And Richard took Tony for a tenner when he pinned it to the dartboard in the 3 dart challenge.
Stokenchurch’s ground was literally round the corner – and very pleasant it was too.  A smart clubhouse, a smattering of spectators – all in all, quite a grown-up cricket club.  Geographically this is the highest cricket ground in Buckinghamshire – just atop a hill with spectacular views across the Cotswolds.  The ground itself was something of a shallow bowl – surrounded by high walled homes and gentle sloping banks which kept the heat in the centre of the ground.  And heat there was – the clouds cleared to a clear blue and sunny sky and the temperature shot up to the upper 20s.  And at one point, there were 8 red kites gliding lazily above – the locals said that if you offer them food, you can attract 70 in one go!
Skipper Joe won the toss and opted to bowl in a 35 over match.  We were warned they had a couple of first teamers in including the first team skipper who’d made 44 from 20 balls the previous day – a man made for limited overs cricket.  We strode out determined to finish the tour with a win…
It was a scorched wicket to match the heat of the day.  Ed began bowling down the hill, getting a good pace, whilst Jim came up the hill and found some movement.  After just 10 runs Jim struck, clean bowling their opener.  Ed bowled their number 3 shortly afterwards before Jim had a ball struck back at pace over his head towards the substitute fielder Stokenchurch had sportingly provided us with.  The young man reached out and made an excellent catch and immediately rolled his eyes as if realising what sort of stick he’d get back in his own dressing room.  Nevertheless at 31-3 we were in fine fettle.  However this brought C North – aforementioned first team captain - to the crease and he had a penchant for scoring quickly, and especially enjoyed boundaries.  The bowling he found most desirous was Richard’s.  One over consisted of a clipped six and two bludgeoned fours.  Whether the skipper thought of removing the hapless Brock from the attack is unknown but as so often in this game, fortunes can change in an instant.  The magic moment in this case was provided by the pair of Matts.  Matt Edwards bowled Mr North a ball which he clubbed towards the pavilion – where – thanks to excellent captaincy – there lay in wait Matt Brock, who took a clean catch just inside the boundary and suddenly the match turned.  The score then was 77 – and Brock senior capitalised on his son’s excellence by doing what he does best - scooping up a few outrageously cheap wickets, aided by catches from Jim and Matt E.  Honse joined the party, Matt E added another wicket and it was left to Matt Brock – off his long run – to shatter the stumps of the unfortunate number 11 who may have thought that our sixth bowler would offer little more than dolly-droppers, not the furiously fast ball he actually received.  Stokenchurch had gone from 77-2 to 126 all out.  The door was open – could TWCC walk through it without tripping over their own feet
There should be a meritous mention made here of tea, which was one of the best we have ever been offered.  Smoked salmon rolls, waiter service scones and cream and so much more spread out for us that we were tempted to forget our innings and just eat.  Hopefully somebody will have taken a photo for James.  Many thanks to Stokenchurch for the magnificent spread – or was it normal?  Could it be they eat like that every week?  Envy….
Anyway, Joe was struggling with the batting order – the old TWCC quandary that you want to ensure everyone plays a part – but you also want to get that win.  He opted to put in Tony at number 1 and Richard at no 2.  Time wasn’t an issue, nor overs – it was all about sensible batting.   The pitch was occasionally keeping low but not misbehaving otherwise,  so the pair of them set about their business with steadfast determination.  Tony was unusually restrained, but regularly hit bad balls to the relatively short cover boundary for 4, skilfully finding the gaps between the fielders.  Richard did little else but talk to Tony between overs.  But the combination worked and the pair moved along at 3-4 an over to 50.  The bowling was quite friendly, but when Stokenchurch brought on a young zippy bowler that was enough to see off Richard for 15.  Tony carried on now joined by Matt E who was far more purposeful and between them they raced past 100, Tony taking Matt’s cue to play in the style he most enjoys.  Tony offered to retire and when this was turned down he instead started charging 5 yards down the pitch and so was inevitably caught for a match winning 64.  Matt’s fine knock of 35 came to an end to enable our erstwhile tour skipper to march out to the middle and hit the winning runs – TWCC’s victory by 6 wickets.  We had beaten a team which plays at the highest level in Buckinghamshire!

Scorecard
TWCC VS Stokenchurch CC 2ND JULY 2017. Proper cricket.
TWCC won the toss and opted to field.
Stokenchurch Innings: I Wilton Bld J Simon 5; M Taylor LBW Bld R Brock 31; I Hunt Bld E Howes 7; C Fardell Ct Sub Bld J Simon 2; C North Ct M Brock Bld M Edwards 37; C Taylor Ct M Edwards Bld R Brock    0; S Springett Bld M Edwards 5; S Leppard Ct J Simon Bld R Brock 5; M Leppard Bld M Brock 14; C Lees Bld H Karvay 6; S Avery not out 0.
Fall 10-1, 25-2, 31-3, 77-4, 77-5, 91-6, 104-8, 106-2, 126-10.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 6-0-17-1; J Simon 7-1-28-2; Edwards 5-0-27-2; R Brock 4-1-26-3; Karvay 2-0-17-1; M Brock 1.1-0-3-1.
TWCC Innings: T Pearce Ct A Hunt Bld C Lees 64; R Brock Bld C Fardell 15; M Edwards Bld C Fardell 35; J Panther    not out 5; E Bunn not out 0.
TOTAL 123-3 (29 OVERS)
DNB: J Simon, O Foulger, E Howes, H Karvay, M Brock.
No bowling figures for Stokenchurch
TWCC won by 6 wickets.

Beer was enjoyed at the clubhouse but the distant hum of the motorway reminded us that we had somewhere to be and even tours have to finish at some time. With thanks to our hosts we departed. My thanks to all those who toured – it wouldn’t be possible without you all and it’s part of the heartbeat of our club. A TWCC tradition which must continue. Next year is our 125. Now that sounds like a very special tour....


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West Chiltington & Thakenham CC v TWCC June 25th 2017
Ahh... the glory that is West Chiltington. Or West Chiltington and Thakenham CC as the club is more properly called; home to a suite of capacious tea rooms complete with lace doylies and frilly maids all in a row, a well-stocked bar, multiple changing rooms, an electronic scoreboard, sumptious teas cooked, not just assembled, in a commercial kitchen, and, the holy grail of cricket pavilions - imagine this? - a toilet!!! How the other 99.9% live... Not that the TWCC team should be jealous, for with this high-living come expectations, and we can do without those!
Phil, West Chilt. skipper on the day, good-natured and completely in sync with the nature and conventions of Sunday cricket, was not to blame for the complete superiority of his side. A mismatch of squad, little old TWCC with its minnow resources was up against the top predator in our fixture list. But were we intending to simply bend over and invite a beating? Not a bit of it!
West Chiltington won the toss in this 40 overs/side game and, probably, just as well as it would have been awkward for us to be on our way home before tea, chose to bat first. Also, to explain, West Chiltington had, through arrangement with TWCC's skipper, Matt, provided the visitors with Andy Atkins to get their numbers up to 11, and within moments Andy felt like a regular for us. Big thanks to him for playing for us and to Phil for setting it up.
Ed and Jim opened up the TWCC bowling, and it was soon clear that TWCC were going to find it difficult to contain the exuberant strokeplay of the home side. It was a big ground, but close-mown and hard and any ball struck or glanced, that didn't go direct to a fielder, was a boundary. However, after radars were locked on, Ed and Jim found good areas and the run rate was dragged back quite nicely. Jim dropped a caught and bowled opportunity that could be said to have cost about 60 runs, but the Gazette hasn't got time to dwell on that. Jim did take a wicket as the West Chiltington No. 2 followed a slidey ball just outside the off stump and Tony (keeper for the day) took a sharp one-handed high catch in front of first slip. Matt and Sam took over the bowling and suffered from the fact that the batters were by now well in and balls ran out to the boundary with worrying frequency. Indeed, one of the batsmen was so worried by this phenomena that he took himself off to avoid the issue. The bowling wasn't bad, but the score was becoming rather a worry. "Time for Honse" the crowd called, and on he came for a fine spell. A bit of pace off, some Honse Wobble, and he had, after three overs, figures of 1 for 6 which in the context of the game was remarkable. Tom Firth - and a welcome return for Tom - also impressed with a wicket, but for all the bowlers, notwithstanding the good balls, boundaries were keeping the scoreboard humming along. Wickets helped, but the batting order was clearly packed with talent all the way down and if one young gun fell another popped up and carried on.
There's little to say other than at the 40 over half way point West Chiltington were on 231 for 5. That's a lot of runs.
Which brings us onto tea.
Firstly I have to report that here at The Gazette we have a sacking to report; hoping to pre-empt a directive from a soon-to-be-published Press Complaints Commission's investigation there is now a vacancy in the food-writing section. For here at the Gazette we pride ourselves on our fairness and like to think we retain our readers with honest unbiased reportage, but the section in last week's Gazette which sank to making fun of James' perfectly nice and tasty tea just for the sake of trying to raise a few cheap laughs with uncalled for cruel turns of phrase went beyond an acceptable level of banter and verged on taking advantage of the power of the press. The Editor should have been tougher on his staff and the piece which might well have caused offence should not have made it to publication. The Gazette owes James an apology for stooping low and for mindlessly following the tone of the local gutter press, especially since, as has been said, we actually all had a very nice tea.
Nothing like the tea at West Chiltington though!!!! Wow!! Now that's what I call a tea! Hot dogs, spicy chicken wings, (I'm not making this up!) a rainbow display of sandwiches of every hue, fruits and cakes to delight and tickle the fancy. A Bacchanalian treat indeed.
And so to our batting.
Yes. Well. I think at this point it might be simpler to concentrate on their bowling. It all started so well, with Tony taking it to them as his natural talent made light of the problems others were so soon to face. The score rattled on to 31, and Tony had four 4's and a 6 to his name when disaster struck and he was controversially given out LBW. Oh no! Tony was walking off even though he had been in no trouble and had been scoring more than freely, a disaster eclipsed only by that of seeing Jim walking in at 3. Clearly, the rubberneckers thought, there was something wrong. And they were right of course. Matt did, at least, hold his bat the right way up and managed a fine 6 at some point which was remarkable for what TWCC were facing was pace. Accurate, jiggy-jaggy up-around-your-arm-pit or on-the-stumps pace. No two ways about it, West Chilters were mullering us. Matt fell to a ball only a little less unplayable than the one that snipped off Jim's off bail before he'd begun to think about moving his bat about a bit, and then Reece... And then Tom... And then Ed... from 31 for 0 TWCC were 36 for 6. What was required was a combination of generosity from West Chiltington - and Phil did indeed take off his opening bowlers - and a miracle from TWCC.
And the name of the miracle was Sam, for, verily, it was he who was given the ball to hit and he hitteth it. A lotteth. Lotth and lotth and lotth. George hunter-esque, only I think we might have seen a defensive shot or two. Well, three. Probably. But the miracle involved others too, for it is easy to get out when hitting the ball, and Malcolm, Honse and Andy (not Charlie, who unfortunately missed out on his birthday) stayed in and all contributed in what became a remarkable afternoon's play. As already stated, the bowlers who inflicted the early damage were removed from the fray, and others were found who would give us a bit more of a chance, but that's not to say these were part-time bowlers - not at all. Ben Lucking and M Singh (West Chiltington's 2017 overseas professional) bowled pacy leg spin that turned far and jumped high, and Atkins, Boom, and Tatchell all put the ball on the spot, but when it got there more often than not it met Sam's bat and then the hedge. Yes, Sam did the damage, and got to 50 and beyond, but the other tail-enders contributed mightily; Malcolm with two 4's and Honse also with a cracking off-side boundary. But it was Sam who kept much of the strike and struck it.
Then we were 142 for 9! Oh woe. Would Sam get an extraordinary century? Unlikely, not only because it was just unlikely, but because TWCC were 9 down. Enter Andy, our supply cricketer. What a nice chap he is, and he could bat. Understandably West Chiltington thought they ought to wrap this up in their favour, so on came the opening bowlers again. That would be it, surely? But no. Not so. Andy, with four 4's and some other stuff, helped Sam up to 95. Would he nervously nudge and nurdle to a century? Oh no; a crashing 6 over long-off from the bowling of the opening bowler soon dealt with the nervous 95's. All at the ground cheered, and the home side were cheering the loudest! Not since George Hunter's remarkable innings v Wisley had anyone seen the like. And the 10th wicket partnership didn't stop there; Andy's absorbancy of the real pace man was great to watch, and staying in allowed both him and Sam to push the total on so that a remarkable win for TWCC was suddenly possible. TWCC needed 32 from the last 2 overs, and the opening bowlers were, by now, bowled out. The first ball of the 39th over was, indeed, smashed over square leg for a 6! Game on, but there followed two dots... 26 needed off the last 9 balls. Another 6 required. Big cracking hook to square leg where...oh no!... there lurked a fielder who reached up over his head and pulled in a great catch. Game over, no fairy tale ending, with TWCC on 206 all out, Andy on 23 not out and Sam with 117. A shame, of course, but it felt right. We'd seen a great innings, there were smiles all round, it had been a great catch, and Phil's generosity hadn't been too great from the home side's point of view. Given Tony's early and costly demise (and it is a shame for him and for TWCC's cause that he missed out) TWCC could have been all out for 50, but instead all players from both sides had had fun for a whole afternoon.
A lot of clapping, high fives, handshakes, smiles leading to a beer and the possibility that the minnows might be invited back after all. Thanks to Phil, Andy and West Chiltington &TCC - we hope to see you again next year.

Scorecard
West Chiltington and Thakeham CC won the toss and chose to bat first
WC&TCC Innings: I Haggart Retired 57; A Tatchell Ct wk (T Pearce) Bld J Simon 12; R Taylor Ct J Simon Bld Karvay 76; C Room Bld T Firth 0; M Singh Bld E Howes 40; B Fryer Ct J Simon Bld M Edwards 1; A Kay not out 11; D Abbott not out 22. DNB unrecorded. Extras 16 (B3, LB5, W3, NB5) Total 231 for 5.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 8-0-30-1; J Simon 8-0-30-1; M Edwards 8-0-54-1; S Simon 7-0-52-0; H Karvay 5-0-27-1; T Firth 4-0-30-1.
TWCC Innings: T Pearce LBW R Taylor 23; M Edwards Bld D Abbott 10; J Simon Bld D Abbott 1; R Packham Bld R Taylor 0; T Firth Bld D Abbott 1; E Howes Ct, Bld O Atkins 0; S Simon Ct, Bld Singh 117; M Gasson Ct, Bld Tatchell 12; H Karvay Ct Bld Singh 5; C Howes Bld Lucking 0; A Atkins not out 23. DNB - most of the top order. Extras 14 (B4, LB4, W3, NB3) Total 206 all out.
WC&TCC Bowling: D Abbott 8-3-17-3; R Taylor 7-1-48-2; O Atkins 4-0-22-1; C Room 3-0-33-0; B Lucking 8-1-27-1; A Tatchell 3-0-21-1; M Singh 5.4-0-29-2.
WC&TCC win by 25 runs.

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TWCC v London Unity June 18th 2017
It was with much anticipation that TWCC rolled up to their home ground to take on their old foes on this, the hottest day of the year so far, and London Unity certainly came well prepared for life in the sun with their usual comprehensive range of beverages. Skipper Brock won the toss and, with the possibility that it might have been a concern for the comfort of his team in the hottest part of the day, he opted to bat first. This would mean that to win TWCC would need to score plenty of runs and then take 10 wickets against a side who, certainly in recent times, have proved themselves to be a hard team to beat - a euphemism for saying that the Gazette can find no record of TWCC having beaten them in the past.
So, TWCC batting first. Joe Driver opened up the bowling for Unity with some pacey and temptingly wide deliveries from the Downs End, which Paul dutifully followed and snicked past the close fielders to open his innings in a productive fashion. But the A team of Paul and James was halted in its tracks by a mystery hip/leg-strain which meant that Paul had to hobble off, retired hurt for 18. Richard and James ploughed on, though James' mind was clearly on matters catering, and his lengthy but ultimately unproductive stay at the crease came to an end when he under-edged a too-tight cut through to the keeper. This brought Reese to the middle, who, with Richard in a supportive role, began to prise open a crack in Unity's hitherto tight bowling attack. This was proper cricket: confident nurdling for easy ones and twos rather than the all or nothing approach that sometimes creeps into the TWCC game (or is it just me? Ed.) (That's "Ed." as in Editor, not "Ed" as in Ed), and, soon, with Reese providing boundaries often enough, TWCC began to dominate the game. Great timing was, as ever the hallmark of Reese's innings, and the pavilion settled down to enjoy a bout of real no probs cricket. A hot sunny day, a crowd to please (for The Unity's Barmy Army had shown up in force), who could wish for anything more? This excellent partnership ended with the total on 92 when Richard was caught off the ever reliable Mark Driver. The TWCC skipper was a little frustrated by his own lack of runs, but the point is, as far as the Gazette is concerned, that this was a steady and needed partnership and it is important to recognise the value of rotation of strike and of simply not getting out.
However, yes, in the end Richard was out and Matt Edwards came in to take over from where Richard left off by keeping the scoreboard ticking and allowing Reese the strike. Together this youthful pairing, with Reese flying ever higher, took the total on to 146 at which point, with the threat of tea looming, the batters decided to take it to the bowlers more decisively. Matt was out for a classy 15 having decided it was time to make a few runs, Edward missed the late inswing of Mark Driver and was bowled, Jim was run out, but all the time Reese was still there and was, though mysteriously still tired after his lie-in, really getting stuck in. Then, alas, the innings of the day was over; Reese, hitting out, was caught for 89, just 11 short of a century - a landmark that will surely come soon - a great innings, classy in its patience and pace.
Ed (towering shot over long-off for 4) and Sam (cracking flat-batted flat 6 over, or rather through, long-on) showed the depth of TWCC's batting talent as the innings closed on 170 for 7.
James' tea probably deserves an article all to itself given the hype surrounding this notorious annual event. And, controversially, the Gazette is coming out in full support of the Trollope approach to tea. The Gazette's food writer found, in the slimline brown sandwiches, the very essence of simple flavours that were allowed to speak for themselves. Complexity; a drizzle here and a jus there, is often overplayed but inside the deceptively lightweight Trollope carrier bag there was delight aplenty for the connoisseur - what is an egg sandwich if not two bits of bread with close-tolerance egg in the middle? You want tuna and sweetcorn? No problem - and a recognition of the fact that tuna is an endangered species should not go unnoticed - and it may well be that there isn't the sweetcorn about that there used to be. You want parma ham with mozarella and a dressed rocket and walnut salad sandwich? Go to Italy. This is Britain, or what remains of it, where in these days of austerity one cake is surely enough, for, after all, many these days are counting calories. Not only that, but following a recent survey the venerable Hickstead tea table was shown to have some structural weaknesses, and it is to James' credit that he had the forethought to keep the loading light. It has to be reported that there were some mutterings about quantity (the quality speaks for itself), but The Gazette holds that it is immoral to waste food and James' tea seemed to go round about 35 people with some to spare.
However, gastronomy aside, there was a cricket match to lose. Which, for long enough, TWCC seemed that they might fail to do. Matt Edwards and Ed were the chosen opening pair, and whilst both delivered a troubling ball it was Ed who had the success on this occasion. The first wicket, LBW to a full length ball from Ed, changed the game in an unlikely way as it brought to the middle a batter who not only must have watched and learned from every 20:20 game since the format began, but who also, given his evident energy, unlikely as it may seem might well have secured a slice of James' cake. Mr J Moore threw the bat at anything that came his way, and at plenty that didn't but he connected anyway. This beligerent and effective approach threw Matt off his length and Ed, too, began to suffer. Jim replaced Matt and was soon bowling around the wicket in an attempt to get the ball to swing into this heavy-hitting left-hander and cramp him up a bit. Moore did, indeed, begin to mis-time his swings, and then heaved at one that caught the edge of his bat and the ball skied high over Sam's head at long off. Undaunted by his initial lack of triangulation Sam simply took off and grabbed the ball with both hands high over his head and some feet off the ground; a great catch, and one which allowed TWCC to regain some of the ground lost to the swashbuckler. Ed, still bowling well, took another wicket with a catch to Richard, and Jim took another two and the grass was once again about equal in its greenness whichever side of the fence caught your eye. Sam Simon replaced Ed from the Downs End, and with a hop, skip and a jump he was soon operating on a good length and a stump was duly knocked over. However, The Unity bat deep... Archie Gane and Mark Driver settled into the bowling and saw off a tired Jim and a still sprightly Sam and began to find runs from all-comers. Honse, Joe and Richard bowled well, but the writing was on the wall and it read "Unity are going to win quite easily". And so it proved as, with three or five overs to go, the inadequate 170 was overhauled and it was hot handshakes all round.
As a rule TWCC bowl and field well enough to contain and then attack a side chasing a par score, but we didn't get the par score. There is a worrying trend building; in the last three games more than half the total runs for TWCC have been scored by one player; first Rob at Parham, then Tony against Xiles, and now Reese v Unity. More runs are needed from more players. The loss of Paul didn't help in this game, but TWCC have the players and the talent to get more runs on the board and, with a little more application, the future's fine.
The Unity deserved the win; Joe Driver, with his four overs, was a proper Sunday cricketer in his approach to the game and Mark Driver bowled for ages and then did well to see the Unity home with the bat. On the big plus side for TWCC we were treated to a fine innings from Reese, whose contribution wasn't matched elsewhere in the TWCC innings, and, most importantly, we all played cricket and whatever lies ahead in these troubled times, we can all still do that. More or less.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and batted first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter retired hurt 18; J Trollope Ct wk Bld Columbine 2; R Brock CT, Bld M Driver 14; R Packham Ct Cockburn Bld J Clarke 89; M Edwards Ct Cockburn Bld J Clarke 15; E Bunn Bld M Driver 1; J Simon run out 0; E Howes not out 6; S Simon LBW Bld M Driver 12. DNB J Panther, H Karvay. Extras 11 (LB2, W9) Total 170 for 7.
London Unity Bowling: J Driver 4-0-7-0; S Columbine 7-2-14-1; J Williams 7-0-36-0; M Driver 12-1-48-3; D Page 5-0-48-0; J Clarke 3-0-20-2.
London Unity Innings: J Burke LBW Howes 6; Cockburn Ct R Brock Bld E Howes 14; Moore Ct S Simon Bld J Simon 27; Page Bld S Simon 12; Gane not out 71; Pitcher Bld J Simon 0; J Driver Ct E Howes Bld J Simon 2; M Driver not out 26. Extras 13 (B6, LB4, W3) Total 171 for 6.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 4-1-17-0; E Howes 8-2-29-2; J Simon 9-1-34-3; S Simon 5-0-20-1; J Panther 2-0-17-0; H Karvay 5-0-17-0; R Brock 3-0-24-0.
London Unity win by 4 wickets.

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TWCC v Xiles June 11th 2017
In the absence of either regular captain, Joe Panther stepped up to the mark, taking on not only the on-field captaincy but also the task of raising a side of eleven players. This brought old acquaintances Mark and Malcolm back into the game and also a new player to us, Ed's brother, Charlie. Experience and youth, what could go wrong? Taking his duties seriously, TWCC's debut skipper started off by winning the toss - a knack which Skipper Brock might do well to pick up.
Ed, pride of TWCC, steamed in from the Downs End, but on this occasion the cricket muse was not with him. He was unlucky in that an edge wasn't safely gathered in, but though no batter found him an easy proposition, he was on this occasion slightly expensive and ended a lengthy 10 over spell with a big fat zero in the wickets column. A good job, then, that TWCC had Honse with his Zen wobblies to shore up the attack from the Pavilion End. However Honse, too, was not on the same form as he had shown on his previous outing in Parham. Rather wide and of unsure length, Honse's bowling was not, on this occasion, the way forward, so Joe turned to Jim hoping to regain some control. This, after a loose ball or two, he was able to do, and scoring slowed whereupon Ed, too, at the Downs end, relaxed and bowled more like his old self - a demonstration of the value of the bowlers working well in tandem from both ends. Bowling, at its most successful, is a partnership, and relative freedom at one end rubs off on the batters' and bowler's approach at the other (let's hope the grammar held up there... Ed.). The Xiles' opening batsmen began to get a little frustrated and with that came wickets and a growing understanding that the visitors had not brought perhaps their strongest side. A flurry of wickets and TWCC were on top. Jo, replaced Ed, and although inconsistent at first he soon had three wickets to his name - including finding himself bowling for a hat-trick. We all duly gathered round, but it wasn't to be. Charlie Howes, on his debut, struggled probably because he hadn't played cricket for two years, but he did home in on the stumps and showed he's a cricketer at heart in his three allotted overs. Edward had a couple of overs, during which Jim dropped a square cut cleverly aimed by the batsman straight at his left thumb rather than into the palm of his hands, so he ended his spell wicketless, as did Mark Panther who decided to show us all his variations during his one over. Time for tea - Xiles closed their innings on 169 for 7; a target for TWCC somewhat voluntarily elevated, but about right in the interests of providing a challenge of the right magnitude. The general fielding of TWCC deserves a mention too - compared to many of our opposition the home side's energy and commitment is well above average.
Maybe the slight absence of depth in their batting was going to be explained by the visitors having a side packed with demon bowlers? There was, indeed, plenty of youth about, but the dead bat of James Trollope and flashing blade of Tony Pearce soon had the measure of the Xiles' opening bowlers. James, never in trouble until the moment he decided not to play his natural game, provided the perfect foil for Tony's aggression. It may on the face of it have been, for James, disappointing to have been on single figures when Tony passed 50, but the whole point is that the partnership was working. Tony would maybe be facing at the start of an over, and he was finding boundaries. Then, at some point, there'd be a single, and though James would do what he could to make runs, if he failed to score there Tony would be at the start of the next over to set about the bowling once again. Frustrating for James, and frustration in the end was his undoing, but for TWCC their partnership was pretty much perfect. Tony was, happily not literally, on fire. The match was, even with TWCC's notorious ability to collapse, in the bag by the time Tony was caught off the bowling of Raj (some compensation for his golden duck) on 97 -
fifteen 4's, three 6's - just three runs short of a century. Unsurprisingly this was the match-winning performance for when Tony was out the total was 162 and TWCC only needed eight more for the win. Edward, too, showed that his 2017 form is the real thing, and although Jim, at 4, proved that the bowling was a lot harder to deal with than everyone had thought - it was he who clonked the ball behind square to hit the winning runs.
Xiles generally come with greater strength, but there was little they could do about their total once their higher order batters had fallen, and once Tony had the measure of the visitors' attack there was little they could do with the ball.
A comfortable win for the home side, a great debut skipmanship for Joe, and TWCC here we go!!

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field first.
Xiles innings: Hartley LBW J Simon 42; Hooper Ct Wk (T Pearce) Bld J Simon 17; Williams Bld J Simon 3; Bailey Ct Wk (T Pearce) Bld J Panther 43; Joe Ct & Bld J Simon 6; Bennett LBW J Panther 0; Hannant not out 35; Raj ct Wk (T Pearce) Bld J Panther 0; Hales not out 15. DNB Tony, Williams. Extras 8 (B1, W7) Total 169 for 7.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 10-1-42-0; H Karvay 3-1-24-0; J Simon 12-2-24-4; J Panther 7-0-34-3; C Howes 3-0-18-0; E Bunn 2-0-12-0; M Panther 1-0-14-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld Mick 14; T Pearce Ct, Bld Raj 97; E Bunn not out 22; J Simon not out 5. DNB O Foulger, M Gasson, J Panther, E Howes, M Panther, H Karvay, C Howes. Extras - wait for it... 36 (B10,W23, NB3) Total 173 for 2.
Xiles Bowling: Bailey 5-1-21-0; Joe 5-0-36-0; Tony 6-1-23-0; Mick 6-1-22-1; Hannant 3-0-11-0; Gareth 4-0-28-0; Raj 2.3-0-18-1.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.

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Parham CC v TWCC  June 4th 2017
TWCC once again convened at the distant outpost of Parham, this time to face a slightly depleted Parham CC team. Ever congenial, Parham's skipper Andy and our equally amenable skipper Richard agreed it might be best for TWCC to bat first, and also for TWCC to provide a couple of fielders and even batters for the home side should the need arise. All jolly good proper friendly Sunday cricket stuff.
James, keen to progress further into the game than he managed the previous week, did, indeed successfully weather the brunt of the excellent opening spells of Fraser and Huffer, both who got the ball to deviate from the straight and generally jump about on the quirky Parham wicket, but Reese fared less well, as, indeed, did Matt E. So in came Jim at an unnacustomed, adventurous and early No.4, and he rode his luck for a handy 21 before his inability to move at any reasonable rate between the wickets resulted in his being run out - by Honse! New to the Gazette is Tim Carthew who immediately looked the part, angling his bat down in a way Jim could only dream of. Indeed does dream of. During his time at the crease Tim looked like the proper cricketer he is; untroubled where some others struggled. In the end he was
out for a fine 41 falling to the Speigel-like bowling of Jim Mitchell, but his was a defining and platform-setting contribution indeed.
Moving on, Edward B, carrying on his fine 2017 form, was cruelly undone by a quirk of quantum physics as some dark matter spontaneously materialised outside his leg stump which caused the ball to dive through a transient worm hole and clatter onto the leg stump - it was a bemusing and unfortunate end to his innings. This brought Rob, batting at an unaccustomed No.7 position, to the crease. Parham know Rob well, and seeing him down at seven they must have either thought that we had six more potent players in the squad than Rob, or that our skipper had had a wobbly moment (regular readers may be able to work it out for themselves).
Ed Howes' innings, after Tim's self-destruction, was short and s...hort, which left Honse to share a partnership of 60 with Rob - of which Honse's contribution was a valuable six runs and lots of running. Nine 4's and six 6's later, with 4, 6, 6, 6, 1 to his name off the last over alone, at the end of TWCC's innings Rob tucked his smoking bat under his arm and made for the pavilion on 95 not out. A great knock and a joy to watch - maybe this will convince our Skip to give him a try up the order at 6. 
The Parham bowling was tight and difficult particularly at the start of TWCC's innings, with late swing and movement off the pitch from Fraser. More bowling options would have helped Parham's cause, and effective though Jim Mitchell's style of slow bowling can be, on this occasion although it did bring two wickets it was also expensive. TWCC were 192 at the end of the innings, their somewhat mediocre batting performance masked by Tim's fine 40 and Rob's excellent 95.
Tea on the Parham house lawn (how many of us are privileged to live with a cricket ground at the back of their houses...? Oh...) was the usual occasion of calories and conviviality, but TWCC were itching to make use of the bowling conditions that Parham had so clearly enjoyed. Matt opened the bowling for TWCC, and although his pace was well up, a fuller length might have brought him more rewards in the wickets column. At the other end Honse well-wibble-wobbled the ball about - in, out, slow, low, high - very difficult for the batsmen and he took out Mark Williams who was missed in the Parham bowling attack and whose edge to Edward B at first slip wasn't. Joe, stepping in to help Parham because he didn't get to bat for his own side, didn't get to bat for Parham either being bowled in short order by a jaffa from Honse. A run-out and then Parham were 30 for 4 when Matt Edwards bowled a full-length ball to get rid of Fraser, that brought… Matt Edwards to the crease; TWCC's second offer of a batter to bolster Parham's squad. Matt showed plenty of resilience, though in the end none of the remaining Parham batting line-up had an answer to Ed Howes' full and straight approach to bowling. It was a remarkable spell, with 4 (all bowled) wickets for 24 off 6.1 overs. Ed mopped up again.
Highpoints; Rob's 95, Tim's 40, Ed's four wickets and Honse's ability to move an old ball about both ways and vary his pace so well. Team Manager Brocky did a great job, though without batting or bowling perhaps he's proved his generous and unselfish nature by now and should give himself more of a game next time.

Scorecard
No tossing required
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld Fraser 11; R Packham Bld Fraser 0; M Edwards Ct Mitchell Bld Fraser 1; J Simon Run Out 21; T Carthew Ct Balchin Bld Mitchell 40; E Bunn Bld (well... played on around the corner) Fraser 6; R Rydon Not Out 95; E Howes Ct Huffer Bld Mitchell 0; H Karvay Not Out 6. DNB J Panther, R Brock. Extras 12 (W7, NB1, B2, LB2) Total 192 for 7.
Parham CC Bowling: P Fraser 12-2-45-4; S Huffer 13-2-57-0; S Forrest 8-0-29-0; J Mitchell 7-0-62-2.
Parham CC Innings: A Wales Bld Howes 14; M Williams ct Bunn Bld Karvay 13; J Panther Bld Karvay 0; J Balchin Run Out (?) 4; P Fraser Bld Edwards 0; M Edwards Bld Howes 8; S Forrest Bld Howes 16; S Huffer Not Out 26; J Mitchell Bld Howes 0. Extras 9 (W1, B5, LB3) Total 90 all out.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 5-1-18-1; H Karvay 7-1-19-2; E Howes 6.1-1-24-4; J Panther 4-0-21-0.
TWCC win by winning.


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Bolney CC v TWCC  May 28th 2017
Excellent game at Bolney.
Very good tea (although the Coronation Chicken sandwiches were missing).
James out second ball, everyone had a bat. We were all out far too early and so Bolney seemed to have ages of extra time to bat, even with a rain delay.
Joe bowled out their MCC apprentice in his first over, and then we spent some time chasing leather. It looked like we would lose by nine wickets. Then Honse pulled off a great catch and chipped in with some wickets. They only needed four an over for the last twenty overs and were cruising home until Honse’s straight deliveries bamboozled the batsmen. Boundaries, wickets, run outs all meant they needed 3 off the last over with seven wickets down and Ed steaming in. Another run out off the first ball and the No. 10 couldn’t lay a bat on the remaining five balls.
We enjoyed it so much we all had a beer in their pavilion (and then some more at the Royal Oak).

Scorecard
TWCC Batting: J Trollope Ct 0; M Edwards Bld 34;    J Rowland Bld 7; R Packham Bld 22; R Rydon Ct Wk 53; E Bunn LBW 1; T Edwards Bld 19; J Panther Bld 1; E Howes Bld 8; H Karvay not out 0. Extras 8 (B3, LB3, W2) Total  153 all out.
Bolney CC Bowling: Chaffey 12-2-55-3; Patton 9.2-2-44-5; Morris 4-1-13-0; Bowles 7-0-35-1.
Bolney CC Batting: Bushell Bld Panther 0; Morris Ct Karvay Bld R Rydon 53; Bunce Bld Karvay 68; Charside Ct Panther Bld Karvay 6; Clemesen Bld Howes 5; Briage Bld Karvay 7; Moore Run Out (?) 3; Patton Run Out (?) 0; Madden Not Out 0. DNB Chaffey. Extras 5 (B2, W3) Total 151 for 9.
TWCC Bowling: E Howes 12-3-27-1; J Panther 6-0-24-1; M Edwards 10-2-31-0; R Rydon 8-2-19-1; H Karvay 6-0-32-3; T Edwards 3-0-17-0.
Match an excellent and exciting Draw!


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Lindfield CC v TWCC  May 21st 2017
We were an all star cast – the type of team you would normally pay to appear at your cricket festival. Players had flown in from across the world to congregate on lucky Lindfield.  We had social media stars, rock stars (apologies for the slightly deceitful use of plurals) joining our line up – fitting in as ever they have with our merry group – personifying the old adage of not forgetting your roots.  So it was a strong looking team which descended on this pretty ground in one of Sussex’s loveliest villages.  The skipper turned up late and – with yet more apologies, this time for the confessional nature of this write up – I believe this impacted on the whole strategy.  Because by the time he’d lost his third toss in a row and faffed around getting ready, Reese and Paul had set about the opposition attack with great gusto.  Reese in particular was smacking the ball to all parts of the boundary with dismissive ease.  Paul for once was the support player.  While this mayhem was going on, the batting line up was not yet written.  But seeing the opening pair swatting away the bowling attack, the skipper rashly allowed himself to believe this was to be a walk in Lindfield’s rather pleasant park.  So the batting line up was written to reflect this and to give lower order batsmen their time in the middle.   You can never be too old or too wise to remember that this game specialises in whipping round and biting you on the backside.  And so it came to pass that with Reese’s departure for a high energy, San Miguel infused 37 Mikey strode out and showed the classic pose and elegance which have helped him not one jot acquire his celebrity.  They helped him very little on this occasion too because he scored but 3 before handing over to the next superstar in our line up, Sam Simon.  Showing the well known signs of a hangover from the TWCC’s former players reunion party (Vietnamese branch) which he had but recently enjoyed with Sam Morrison,  the young rock star missed his cue and was clean bowled for 0.  With a talent packed tail sitting impatiently in the sun, it was left to Honse and Joe to move things on.  Joe hit a few powerful and technically adept shots for his 15 but their departure, and that of Paul for a quiet 21 meant that we had gone from a roaring 52 without loss to 63-4.  So what of that tail?  Well two of those very capable of scoring 50s were Ed and Matt – but both failed to shine.  And so it was that with the score on 83-7 we were suddenly the 9th wicket partnership of Edward and Richard.  And this was a good spell.  They played sensibly against some good bowling, especially the young leg spinner who was getting a considerable amount of turn from an otherwise flat pitch.  The score crept up on the cricketometer, having passed the disastrous mark, started rowing back, even reversing through the `poor` zone as these two veterans rode their luck and even played some good shots. By the time Edward was caught for 34 the score was 150 – but with this being an 80 over match, we needed to bat for another 6/7 overs and put on another 30 runs.  Jim was the eleventh man, hampered by a muscle strain which had a curious side effect of causing him to swish madly at a ball on the middle stump but 5 balls into his innings.  We had scored 162.  It was respectable and could have ensured a close match.  Sadly it was not to be.  As soon as the opening batsman removed the bail and knocked it twice into the ground of his crease as his own personal marker, you got the impression he’d batted before.  He wasn’t showy – but he was settling for a big innings.  Matt bowling downhill had a great spell, mean and keen and regularly whistling past the edge of the bat.  Ed found the task of bowling uphill tougher and struggled to find his rhythm.  However, the team is still learning the range of talent this latest acquisition to the TWCC ranks possesses – and catching is most certainly one of them.  Fielding at deep gulley, a catch flew off the bat of the talented young opener who had been showing the sort of form that has apparently brought him to the attention of Sussex CCC.  Ed dived forward, full length and stretching out an arm managed to get his hand under the ball an inch from the ground.  As he rolled over his reward was Jim, Joe Panther, Reese and others piling on top of him. Football celebrations had arrived on a cricket pitch in Lindfield.  The presence on the boundary of Albion’s LEGENDARY former chairman Dick Knight may be thought to have had an impact on the celebrations.   Joe too could not cope with the uphill slope and so Richard brought himself on with what has become a trademark first over:  a terrible ball wide of the wicket, the batsman reaches and is caught – this time in the deep, another fine catch, this one by Joe.  This brought in another more than capable batsman, and the two pushed on towards what was already an inevitable victory.  Sam and Mikey both showed rustiness in their bowling, Edward failed to produce the magic.  But the path to defeat had a spectacular detour – another stupendous catch from Ed, this time at slip, once again full length, this time low down and one handed to his right – one of the best catches seen for years by a TWCC side – and enough to convince Mikey that as far as his bowling is concerned, he’s `not lost it`.
And so it was that we lost by 6 wickets against a good cricketing side.  No shame in that.  Our middle order collapse (8-49) cost us dear as did a couple of run out chances fluffed by the skipper.  On the plus side we took catches we rarely would and our fielding was sharp and tight.  And it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, a pleasant place to enjoy an after-match pint from Lindfield’s very own bar.  On an afternoon dripping with celebrities we may have tasted defeat but we can proudly say Twineham’s Got Talent.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and were asked to bat

TWCC Innings: P HunterLBWBld Steadman 21; R Packham Ct, Bld Green 37; M Pearce Ct, Bld Green 3; J Panther Ct, Bld Steadman 15; S Simon Bld Green 0; H Karvay Ct Wk Bld Green 1; E Bunn Ct, Bld Tanvee 34; E Howes Bld Green 0; M Edwards Bld Tanvee 12; R Brock Not Out 19; J Simon Bld Pedley 6.
TOTAL  162 all out. Fall  52-2, 63-1, 63-3, 63-5, 82-4, 83-6, 83-8, 101-9, 150-7, 162-11.
Lindfield bowling: Pedley 6.5-1-36-1; Green 9-0-30-5; Steadman 5-0-29-2; Tanvee 8-0-21-2; Storer 6-0-46-0.


Lindfield Innings: R Chaudry Ct Howes Bld M Pearce 50; T Chaudry Ct Howes Bld Edwards 25; I Jackson Ct Panther Bld Brock 11; D Frieber Ct Karvay Bld Brock 25; L Lowe Not Out 25; A Pedley Not Out 7.
Total 166-4.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 9-1-21-1; E Howes 6-0-29-0; Panther 3-0-14-0; S Simon 5-0-21-0; Brock 7-0-35-2;Bunn 4-0-15-0; M Pearce 2-0-16-1; Karvay 1-0-14-0.

Lindfield won by 6 wickets.


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TWCC v Greys  May 14th 2017
It was 9.22 on Sunday morning.  A beautiful blue sky, warm sunshine, the grass swaying in the breeze.  But was that a cloud on the horizon…. The phone buzzed signalling a text message - `I’m not going to be able to play today Brocky – sorry` This particular player was also bringing a friend – we were down to 9.
9.23 another buzz.  `Brocky I have gone down with man flu, I’m feeling terrible, Tony`
9.30 Oh Lord, another buzz `I told the wife about cricket at a party. She agreed then but it could change…`
To cut a long story short, it was the 9 man remnants of a once healthy TWCC team who hobbled and wheezed their way to the ground to be told the toss had been lost and they were to field for the next two and a half hours -  a situation exacerbated after two balls when Jonathan twanged his groin.  So with just 4 bowlers available and a very limited number of fielders able to run we were going to need tight bowling and wickets.  Ed bowling from the playground end got great pace and made the all important breakthrough, an edge hobbled – sorry – gobbled up by Jonathan.  At the pavilion end, Joe was bowling into the wind and bowling really well, stifling the batsmen.  Ed’s pace was causing all sorts of problems and he too was very economical.  The two of them kept going for an hour, Ed took a second wicket, Joe’s sharp throw to Jonathan led to a run out and Greys were limited to just 43 runs in that first hour, a remarkable feat with just 9 fielders.  Richard took over from Ed and perhaps undeservedly stole the headlines with a hat-trick comprised of a feathered catch to Jonathan, a caught and bowled and a shouldered snick to John Riley at slip.  Suddenly Greys were 6 down and Twineham continued to keep the pressure on.  Honse bowled a good tight spell and picked up a deserved wicket, Tony took a sharp catch at gulley to give the skipper his fourth wicket.  Mark Panther deserves a special mention because the ball seemed to be following him round the field and he did a great job scampering and retrieving.  We had put down a few catches, but this was one TWCC’s great bowling and fielding efforts with just 4 bowlers used and by the end Greys had been limited to 124-8.
Unfortunately tea was ruined because Richard had failed to check the urn was lit – so whilst the food was OK there was no tea!  By the time the urn offered hot water, tea was provided to mark the break between an hour’s batting and the final 20 overs when play was halted for a few minutes.
The batting order presented another challenge.  Jonathan ruled himself out.  James (groin) was hobbling, Tony agreed to join him as opener only so he could go home to his sick bed as soon as he was out.   And we were but 9…. But the human spirit is a remarkable thing – and James and Tony showed plenty of it.  Playing a type of walking cricket, they picked up where the bowlers had left off:  playing a sensible and responsible game, nothing wild.  Putting their ailments to one side they batted out the first hour and took us almost half way to our target before James was caught.  They’d seen off numerous bouncers, some good spin bowling and adversity.  But John and Ed both followed swiftly and at 68-3 things looked precarious.  However Tony battled on and with useful support from Richard, they put on 46 for the 4th wicket and took us to 11 runs from victory.  But this remarkable match had one more twist.  Tony was out for a magnificent 65 leaving Joe and Honse the responsibility to see us home, with only Mark still left to bat.  But see us home they did and they completed one of TWCC’s finest wins, in the context of available and fit players.  It was a victory of for great teamwork – and I should add that was the same off the pitch too – the players even cleared up and washed up for Richard while he was batting.   We may be a small club, but by jeepers, we can sometimes be quite remarkable and this was just one of those occasions.

Scorecard
Greys won the toss and elected to bat
Greys innings: Line run out (J Panther) 4; Brasher Ct WK (Rowland) Bld Howes 10; Flinn Ct WK (Rowland) Bld R Brock 38; Ashton Ct T Pearce Bld Howes 0; Burgess not out 29; Edwards Ct and Bowled R Brock 0; Dykes Ct Riley Bld Brock 0; McHugh Bld Karvay 10; Gallagher Ct T Pearce Bld R Brock 11; Newland not out 8.
TOTAL 124-8
TWCC BOWLING: Howes 11-3-31-2; Brock 12-2-34-4; Panther 8-1-15-0; Karvay 8-1-39-1.
TWCC INNINGS: J Trollope Ct, Bld McHugh 22; T Pearce Bld Ashton 65; J Riley LBW McHugh 6; E Howes Ct WK Bld McHugh 0; R Brock Bld Ashton 20; H Karvay not out 3; J Panther not out 0.
TOTAL 128 – 5 DNB M Panther, J Rowland
Fall 58-1, 68-3, 68-4, 114-5, 121-2
Greys bowling: Gallagher 7-1-22-0; Newland 8-2-17-0; Dykes 6-0-21-0; McHugh 10-0-29-3; Ashton 5.1-1-19-2.
TWCC win by 3 wickets.

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 7th 2017
As always a TWCC season is still under construction for this most pleasurable of fixtures, held, as it is, at the iconic Streat and Westmeston ground in the first flush of early summer. Feeling confident in his youthful side, Skipper Edwards won the toss and opted to bat. In order to win TWCC would need to both put runs on the board and to take wickets.
So, to bat. James and Pete went in at 1 and 2, and it was reassuring to have James' reassuring opening presence back after he missed the first game of the season. Pete missed out on this occasion, falling to the Spiegel spell, but James and Jonathan (3) weathered both the tight and lengthy spell from Hartfield, and the continued Spiegel challenge from the Posh House End.
Progress was, necessarily, relatively slow. No devil-may-care approach here - pushes for one or even two, the occasional boundary - James and Jonathan were building a fine platform for the long batting line up to capitalise on as the innings progressed. James eventually fell to a simple catch at point that would have been impossible far Matt (substitute fielder) to fail to take. James' steadying innings, characterised by a solid defence and a maximum capitalisation on over-pitched balls included a trademark Trollope 6.
James eventually out for a fine steadying 30 brought Reese in at four, at the beginning of his own 2017 campaign, who looked to accelerate the proceedings, and the hearty smack of well-timed forceful shots began to reverberate around the landscape. Forceful and productive, yes, but also short-lived, as were George Hunter's Tom Firth's offerings.
Jonathan, meanwhile, continued to hold up his end with his usual dedication. When he did engage full power there was a boundary, but the Jonathan style is to push the ball for ones and twos, dissecting an attack rather than over-committing. Classy and cultured, he was out for 42 having ensured that TWCC were going to get enough runs.
With James and Jonathan having set the example it was time for another partnership. Step up Edward and Matt. Edward was skipping about, running quick singles and twos, defending and timing it well and regularly finding the boundary. Matt too, with his classic stance and clarity of thought, dealt with a Streat attack which wasn't varied but was consistently tight. A great partnership of 57 runs, Matt out to Stan for 30 and Edward unbeaten and untroubled for 43; top score of the day. TWCC had an impressive 198 on the board. Enough runs, yes, but now comes the other part.
Glossing over tea - Matt and Jim opened with the ball, and this time the catches stuck for Jim and not for Matt. Jonathan, the man for the gloves when he's with us, held on to a couple of sharp chances, including one off Jim's first ball. With both openers out of the way for 0, TWCC were off - as was Jim with a hamstring injury. Matt continued with no success in the wickets column, but also without much activity in the runs department either. Joe took over from Jim, and all was well with the TWCC campaign: Street and Westmeston were not going to win in spite of two notable points of resistance in the shape of Colin Marshall (44) and Simon Barrs (41). However, in order for TWCC to win, nine wickets needed to be taken by the visiting side. Enter the Eds!
Ed Howell replaced Matt and his direct approach paid off. "Why not just bowl at the stumps" thought Ed, so he did and knocked them over twice. Full yorkers, clean and clinical. Ed is a great new talent for TWCC going forward, with bat and ball.
So… To the other Ed. Hot from his run-fest Edward Bunn brought about the demise of four Street and Westmeston players; a stumping, a caught behind, an outfield catch by James and a clean bowled to finish the match with just a few balls left in which to do it.
A great fielding performance, including a run out from Tom Firth, and TWCC secured a second victory of the season. James' 30 and Jonathan's 42 together with his three catches plus a stumping deserve special mentions, but clearly, with 43 classy runs and four wickets to his name the man of the match award goes to Edward.
Certainly a contender for shot of the day was Stan's late cut to third man late in the day, but the best, most pleasantly crickety shot was, in the opinion of the Editor, Edward's straight-batted clip off his pads behind square leg for four. Proper class and a great boost both for him and for TWCC as they head into what I feel is going to be, with the players we have, a vintage TWCC season.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and batted first
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct M Edwards Bld Forster 30; P Matthews ct, blld S Spiegel 0; J Rowland Bld Forster 42; R Packham Bld Forster 42; G Hunter Bld Brand 12; T Firth Bld Brand 13; E Bunn not out 43; M Edwards Ct, Bld Spiegel 30; E Howes not out 0. DNB J Simon, J Panther. Extras 10 (B3, LB3, W2, NB2) Total 198 for 7.
Streat and Westmeston Bowling: Hartfield 14-1-61-0; S Spiegel 8-0-47-2; Forster 12-1-51-2; Brand 8-1-31-2.
Streat & Westmeston Innings: C Mansfield Ct Rowland (wk) Bld J Simon 0; B Mayston Ct Rowland (wk) Bld J Simon 0; C Marshall Bld E Howe 44; S Barrs not out 41; S Forster St Rowland Bld Bunn 2; Brand Bld Howe 5; B Baxter Run Out (T Firth) 4; R Griffith Ct Rowland (wk) Bld Bunn 1; S Spiegel Ct Trollope Bld Bunn 7; M Hartfield Bld Bunn 2. Extras 3 (W2, NB10 Total 107-ish all out.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 10-3-25-0; J Simon 8-0-18-2;J Panther 6.4-0-27-0; E Howe 9-4-19-2; E Bunn 6-2-16-4.
TWCC win by 3 wickets, or actually, by getting the other side out before they got as many runs as TWCC did.
Injuries: J Simon, P Matthews, J Trollope.

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TWCC v Wisley CC April 30th 2017
Wisley had won the toss and opted to bat first, and it was tough going. The damp hay lying around in the outfield prevented even a well-struck ball from travelling far, and, as the ball softened, it took beefier and beefier hits to even make it as far as the ring of fielders. It was to be a day of pushes for singles, snicks and chances.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves, the match opened with a new dry ball, and this did move about a bit whilst it was fresh, and Matt and Jim did their best with it. Matt found a length that troubled batsmen, keeper and slips alike, and a scuffed leg-glance from opener Richards (O) brought about a swift run out as the batsmen took on a second run when a single would have been a better idea. Matt ran and Jim trundled in for a few overs and the lively early-season wicket duly produced a few knicks some of which were safely gathered in. Matt ended his spell with three wickets to his name for only 14 runs - a great start to his season so, as always, we hope this success continues so that Skipper Brock will be forced to create some new and even more fantastical customised statistics for us to enjoy at the AGM.
Honse, replacing Jim at the Pavilion End, immediately troubled the batters and caused a false stroke that resulted in a fine running catch by Ed Howes in the covers. Not content with his catch, Ed, when he replaced Matt at the Downs End, started his TWCC career with a wicket maiden; a full length, full pace, delivery lightly swiping off the off bail - a connoisseur's wicket.
Meanwhile, from the Wisley perspective, only P. Richards and, to a lesser extent, Kerrigan, scored significant runs, and, as tea loomed, these two began to more regularly find the boundary. Joe's second ball was carted half way up the tall poplar tree at square leg by Richards - the only 6 of the match -  but Joe came back well as he found his form to end with two wickets to his name.
"The worst ball I saw the whole day!" was how wicket-keeper Pearce described Skipper Brock's first ball when Ed was replaced. However it was nonetheless a ball that took a wicket. Yes...the first ball of Brocky's  2017 campaign provoked an unwise swipe from the high-scoring Richards who gave Joe a catch to juggle with at gully. A second edge to Tony and Brocky had two wickets, Wisley were all out for 105 and we had Guinness cake for tea!! How good was that? Always nice to see the Hunter family with or without cake, but better with obviously.
Time to see what TWCC could make of the batting conditions. Wisley, of course, didn't have a nice dry shiny ball with which to bowl, but they made a good fist of the hand they were dealt, and after sixteen overs TWCC had scored but 25 runs - but neither did the newly refurbished scoreboard sport a wind-blown tin in the wickets department. Pete Matthews on his debut for the club, and Paul showed no nerves as they applied themselves to simply being patient in the task of overtaking a low Wisley total. They nudged, blocked, scampered for ones and slowly wore out the opposition which was just what was required as low totals sometimes take some getting. Neither opener was finding it easy to time the ball, whether due to the wet and windy conditions or to early-season rust, but when the first wicket fell the total was 29 and that only left 77 to go. Surely TWCC couldn't lose from here? Well, of course we could - but we didn't. Tony briefly opened his season's account with a characteristically brisk 16 which included two rare 4's, and then Ed, with a four off his fifth ball, and Paul who began to relax and open the throttle, settled the result. Ed didn't see the innings through, and neither did Edward, but Paul did as he and Matt E stayed put. Paul needed three for a season-opening 50 when the scores were tied, and so he hit a four to take TWCC home and him to 51 not out. A fifty in the day's conditions was, we decided after he'd bought a jug of Harveys, worth a hundred so we asked him if he'd buy another one. I can't remember whether or not he did.
A TWCC win, Pete and Ed settled in, we can look forward to Streat next week with some anticipation.

Scorecard
Wisley won the toss and elected to bat.
Wisley Innings: O Richards run out 1; Fletcher Ct E Bunn Bld Edwards 9; Reed Ct Howes Bld Karvay 13; Swan Ct Matthews Bld Edwards 0; Remish Ct Pearce (wk) Bld Edwards 4; P Richards Ct Panther Bld Brock 31; Domingo Bld Howe 0; Kerrigan Bld Panther 18; Snelling Ct Pearce (wk) Bld Brock 3; Frackash not out 7; J Richards Ct Brock Bld Panther 10. Extras 9 (LB1, W6, NB2) 105 all out.
TWCC Bowling: Edwards 8-3-14-3; J Simon 7-1-16-0; Karvay 5-0-23-1; Howes 5-1-16-1; Panther 5.3-1-22-2; R Brock 5-1-13-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 51; P Matthews Bld J Richards 14; T Pearce Ct (wk) Bld Ramesh 16; E Howes Bld Mark 13; E Bunn Ct, Bld Snelling 0; M Edwards not out 3. DNB J Simon, J Panther, J Karvay, R Brock. Extras 13 (B3, LB1, W8, NB1) Total #SCOREBOOKCONTROVERSY 110 for 4.
TWCC win by 6 wickets.

TWCC 2016 Season
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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 1st 2016  
Paul and James played very sensible cricket in the face of particularly excellent bowling from Hartfield at the Downs End. Any team's first game would have a tinge of rustiness in many quarters, and though no lack of competence was visible, there was a calm acceptance of the need to find one's feet about how TWCC's openers chose to deal with some tight and challenging bowling. No thrashing, no worries about "slow starts," just take some time, watch the ball and get into the game. A great start was presented to the TWCC cause by James and Paul; the platform laid down for whatever TWCC wanted to make of the day.
Paul's new bat, one of two making their debuts, appeared to be doing a great job, six 4's winging to the boundary, then he had a bit of a heave at a ball outside leg without connecting, prompting the unhelpful umpire (cough) to point out that it might be a new bat but the same old head was behind the decision-making process. The next ball and Paul thought he wouldn't hit out, that'd show 'em. So instead of playing the natural and effective Hunter game, he played a calm little push out to the leg side, missed a slow droopy delivery and was bowled middle-and- leg. Out for 35 having all but seen off the opening bolwers maybe Paul should have just whacked it and next time I think he probably will.
James meanwhile was still there, taking every advantage of Streat's short boundary by popping the ball to it and often over it, and he was joined by Reese who looked good, timed the ball well and then was out LBW. Rusty maybe, but looks good for the rest of the season.
In strode Matt E. Every inch a cricketer he hit three 4's in his quick innings of 14, eventually out LBW. There was a pattern emerging; watch the straight ones; they're stopping and not getting up on this early-season wicket.
Then to the crease to replace the Vice-Captain the Cap himself strode out. He too meant business as he pushed the ball around in a cultured and thoughtful way; pickng off bad balls and rotating the strike as he could, he accumulated as James continued to score past his 50 and onwards. James was in top form - rather worrying so early in the season - and carried on through to his century. What an innings! No nervous 90's here; ending with 4,4,6,4 he retired on 101 not out to give others a go.
Wielding the second new bat of the day Edward was soon dancing about in the middle taking quick singles, backing up over half way and offering to sprint through; this kind of energetic performance promises much for the rest of Edward's season, but in the end he swung and missed and was out for 9. Jim came in to watch Richard throwing caution to the four winds as he took his innings to 41 not out. Fine runs - well done Skip - and TWCC closed the innings with an impressive 245 for four on the board, off 43 overs.
It is, of course, of some interest to note the bowling performace of Streat and Westmeston, which did have its moments, but perhaps not quite enough of them. The opener Hartfield as mentioned above was the most effective and asked the most questions in his spell, and he was joined at the outset by Millis (younger) who was a bit erratic but on occasion bowled a most difficult ball. Anthony, first change at the House End, found it hard at first to drop into a rhythm but was soon in amongst the wickets bowling some testing off-spin on a good length. Sadly an early-season strain took its toll and he withdrew when he might well have taken more than the two wickets that appear in the analysis. Other bowling was expensive, not helped by the proximity of the boundary nearest the pavilion, and, perhaps also not by the opportunities to score that the bowling offered.
Streat and Westmeston's reply to a truly impressive 245 began well enough, though slowly, as batters Butler and Mansfield defied the best efforts of Matt Edwards and Jim with the ball. Both bowled with good control and it was Matt who, with a golden moment of quality fielding, picked up on the run and threw down the stumps to run out the impressive Mansfield for 29 and thus open the door to expose the rest of the batsmen. Matt duly followed up this excellent fielding with a wicket off his bowling (Honse at mid-on?) and TWCC were begining to move through the game. Skipper Brock had to go and earn some money so Skipper Edwards took over the reins and replaced a wicketless Jim with Kevin Scott who bowled with excellent drift and verve. Matt E also put Matt B on in his own place who was a bit wayward but feisty and good to watch - there's nothing like pace in your side - though on this occasion he was unsuccessful in hitting the stumps, though he did hit quite a lot of other things.
This was all good fun, but Streat were only two wickets down and had well over a hundred on the board and it was quite possible that TWCC's 245 was under threat...
Matt turned to the Bunn and Karvay partnership, and it won TWCC the game. Honse bowled, I think, the best spell of his career; a full ten overs of quality deception, varying his pace and making the most of the conditions. His two wickets for 38 took the middle out of the home side's line up and shifted the momentum in favour of TWCC. One must also mention Honse's fielding; energetic and effective he patrolled the very short Pavilion boundary and saved several fours as he threw himself about, and he also caught well though the scorebook's inadequacies don't tell me exactly how often.
Honse performed well, yes, but the star turn was played by Edward who, bowling from the Downs End much as James did some years ago, began to take wickets with regularity. Dropping onto an effective and troubling length he was offering balls to hit that really weren't quite there and a few catches were duly taken by himself, ??? and a skied one by Reese who took a turn with the wicket-keeping gloves. Ending with 5 for 14 off 8.1 overs it won us the game in the bowling department much as James' century set it up in the batting department. Great figures, though his impressive average was eclipsed, some might argue, by Paul's two overs, one for none!
A TWCC victory to start off the season. The game was won by two particular individual performances, and although the conditions favoured a side bowling in the dark, it was also a fine overall joint effort from a squad that gel well and willingly commit to the job. Thanks too to J Millis for making us up to a side of 11 without whom we would have been 9 after Richard ran away. 

Scorecard
Streat and Westmeston won the toss and chose to field first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Anthony 35; J Trollope Not Out (Retd) 101; R Packham LBW Anthony 8; M Edwards LBW Poynting 14; R Brock Not Out 1; E Bunn Bld Butcher 9; J Simon Not Out 12. DNB K Scott, H Karvay,J Millis, M Brock. Extras 19 (NB 5, W 8, B 6).TWCC 245 for 4 in 43 Overs.
Sreat and Westmeston Bowling: Hartfield 7-3-20-0; H Millis 6-0-39-0; I Anthony 6-0-41-2; D Poynting 100-47-1; M Butcher 9-1-54-1; S Spiegel 4-0-39-0.
Streat and Westmeston Innings: N Butler St. Packham Bld Bunn 55; C Mansfield Run Out Edwards 29; C Poynting Ct x Bld Edwards 1; A Jackson Ct x Bld Bunn 18; H Millis Bld Karvay 7; B Baxter Ct x Bld Karvay 7; D Poynting Ct & Bld Bunn 1; M Butcher LBW Hunter 16; M Hartfield Ct Packham (wkt) Bld Bunn 0; S Spiegel LBW Bunn 1; I Anthony Not Out 0. Extras 35 (NB 8, W 10, LB 3, B 14). Total 169 All Out n 44.1 Overs.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-1-39-1; J Simon 7-3-16-0; K Scott 6-0-16-0; M Brock 3-016-0 H Karvay 10-1-38-2; E Bunn 8.1-2-14-5; P Hunter 2-2-0-1.
TWCC win by 76 runs.

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TWCC v Greys May 8th 2016
The archive reveals an unblemished record in favour of TWCC v Greys - though the fixture itself may be older than the webbery; all TWCC wins with one draw. So there was much at stake for both sides.
Understandably, perhaps, Greys never appear to be totally entranced by TWCC's home facilities - as a glance at their own write-ups will show, but although it is a fixture with no fittings the cricket is usually competetive and played in good spirit. Skipper Brock won the toss and opted to bat first, believing in his team's batting and bowling ability.... Those were his basic mistakes.
TWCC were without Paul Hunter, but with an opening pair comprising James and Jonathan, and with Tony in at three, there was much expectation of a good start. And, indeed, there was a good start - only not one made by TWCC. The visitor's opening bowling was swinging about from both ends and the left-armer from the Downs End was decidedly swift to boot. Better batsmen were able to survive but not score much and then get out, and slightly less than better batsmen were just out. James and Jonathan being proper cricketers survived up to a point, but then they didn't. Tony briefly did more than survive - his natural talent allowing him to score at his usual pace - until he failed to come through an LBW appeal unscathed. It would have been possible to have given him not out (on leg stump and he was a little way down the wicket), but the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps so that's out really, unfortunate though it was.
Reese, at 4, hit two good lumpy fours before edging a swinging ball, Jim stayed at the crease for a long time (for him) and was distinctly unlucky to find the only fielder on the leg side when pulling a shorter ball (though some would think he had already benefitted from plenty of luck having been dropped elsewhere), and was out for nothing much, Edward's new bat is still just as unused, Malcolm looked good then was out... it was not a great looking scorecard; TWCC on 50 for 7. In came Matt Edwards, low down the order for him but he was taking his turn, and he did show some fight and no little ability. The only TWCC batter with any success on the day, he added a very valuable and possibly match-saving 44 runs to the total which ended on 103 all out with only Joe surviving with his head held high having stayed with Matt as he sorted out some runs. Very good Greys bowling; pace from Gallagher, swing and good lines from the other three bowlers and TWCC had little answer.
103 not enough? Well... after a lovely Bunn tea (cakes Julia sandwiches Edward - particularly good egg) the TWCC opening bowling made a good effort to keep the runs down and not let the Greys simply coast to an easy win. Matt and Jim bowled long spells, unusual for TWCC with so many all-rounders in the team, but it did give TWCC a chance to keep the pressure on the visitors as, when Matt finished he had two wickets, Jim one and the total was only 29 off 21 overs. However, it was clear that TWCC's 103 runs were never going to be defendable, and although Brocky generated a caught and bowled in his first over, Greys cruised through with some belligerant hitting from Ashton and Fenton seeing Greys home. Sadly the poor total of 103 didn't allow more of the side to contribute with the ball, but it'll all even out over the season.
Notable performances from Matt E, both with bat and ball, and the TWCC fielding was its usual enthusiastic excellent stuff. Jonathan once again performed excellently behind the timbers, Tony took a sharp slip catch, but the day belonged to Greys who played better than did the home side. It might have been different but it wasn't.


Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld Newlands 9; J Rowland Bld Gallagher 6; T Pearce LBW Bld Sewell 19; R Packham Ct Wkt Bld Newlands; J Simon Ct, Bld Sewell 4; E Bunn Bld Sewell 0; M Woodall Ct Wkt Bld Hoare 3; M Edwards Ct, Bld Hoare 44; R Brock Bld Sewell 4; J Panther Not Out 4; R Smith Ct Wkt Bld Hoare 0. Extras 5 (NB-2; W-3) TWCC 103 all out for 4 in 31 Overs.
Greys Bowling: Gallagher 8-4-19-1; Newlands 6-0-23-3; Sewell 9-2-18-3; Hoare 8-1-38-3.
Greys Innings: Brasher Bld Edwards 10; Line Ct Rowland (Wkt) Bld Edwards 2; Burgess Ct & Bld R Brock 3; Dykes Ct Rowland (Wkt) Bld Simon 1; Ashton Not Out 51; Fenton Not Out 26. Extras 11 (W-7; B-4) Total 105 for 4. DNB Azami, Newland, Gallagher, Hoare, Sewell.
TWCC Bowling: Edwards 11-5-15-2; Simon 10-4-14-1; R Brock 6-1-23-1; M Woodall 1-0-20-0; E Bunn 2-0-13-0; J Trollope 2.2-0-15-0.
Greys win by 7 wkts.

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Lindfield v TWCC May 15th 2016
Lindfield. New fixture - good to meet new people and a good bunch they proved to be. A thriving club set-up, clearly, with, if Sunday's Lindfield team was anything to go by, a great mix of experience and youth. Rather like TWCC in that respect! Skipper Brock won the toss and chose the more likely route to succes of bowling first. Jim bowled long with no wickets (again), Joe opened at the other end and struggled in his first bowling spell of the year (I think?) to settle, and then on came Richard. Skipper Brock. Well... early success came with his wobbly line and temping length, followed by success in the middle of his spell, and then by success as he came to the end with 6 for 51 off 11 overs. 6 wickets!!!! How good is that? Clearly he got the ball to do something apart from appear in the hands of a few catchers as several victims were clean-bowled. I would go on, but he doesn't need pumping up any more, but it was a great spell and one that he will be proud of, no doubt, for a good while if not forever. Other spells brought wickets - it was nice to see James bowl with success again - and Lindfield's Pedley brothers, together with the opener Dan Bulgin, all members of the youth side, performed well and scored good runs. Reese kept wicket very well again and fits the role well, and Joe's fielding in particular, again, was tremendous; well done lads!
Lindfield's bowling opened up against the customary P Hunter/J Trollope combo, and the TWCC batters settled in very well. There was a little movement in the air, and some variation in bounce, but in general the bowling wasn't too threatening (here speaks someone sitting 100 yds away batting down the order!) . Paul began to punish the bowling if runs were on offer, and James was more circumspect but nonetheless affective until the umpire's finger was raised in answer to an LBW appeal. Many thought the ball might have passed over the stumps, but the umpire was adamant that it was a correct decision, and he was in the best position to see.
Reese, at three, is a great prospect for TWCC, and he soon began to middle the ball. There is a certain sound of a sharply hit ball that epitomises solid fast hands and more often than not Reese hits the ball like that and the ball heads for the boundary at speed. Paul upped the rate of scoring as the bowling allowed, and soon was over the 50 mark, and then he was caught out for a fine 61, and in walked another Hunter. Reese was out for a solid 26 and Edward and George set about winning the game. George played as George plays and soon the ball was travelling a long way. A long long way.  4,4,4,6,6,6,6 with a few 1's representing the mishits, and dots representing the times he swished in vain.  Edward offered up a catch in the gully, and then Jim helped George to take TWCC to the target and to a 6 to finish the match on 31 exciting G Hunter runs.
Good performances all round, nice to welcome Ollie in to the side and we hope he can play again, but the day belongs to Paul and George Hunter for 100 runs between them and to Richard Brock for his excellent harvest of 6 wickets. Let's hope we revisit the Lindfield ground in seasons to come, and see how their crop of excellent youngsters develop as we further mature ourselves...

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Lindfield Innings: Dan Bulgin Ct Simon Bld Brock 36; Leon Kayfl Bld Brock 10; John Cooper Bld Brock 7; Ian Jackson Ct P Hunter Bld Brock 7; Jack Cooper Ct Simon Bld Brock 0; Mark Simpson Bld Brock 0; Ross Pedley Ct & Bld Trollope 39; Alex Pedley Ct & Bld P Hunter 21; Tim Richardson Ct x Bld Trollope 0; Ben Thacker not out 11; Rupert Green not out 0. Extras 32 (B-6; LB-4; W-22). Total 165 for 9 off 42 overs.
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 12-2-28-0; J Panther 5-0-19-0; R Brock 11-0-51-6; E Bunn 4-0-14-0; J Trollope 5-0-19-2; P Hunter 5-0-21-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct R Pedley Bld Richardson 61; J Trollope LBW R Green 14; R Packham Ct Green Bld A Pedley 26; G Hunter not out 39; E Bunn Ct A Pedley Bld Kay 1; J Simon not out 6. Extras 19 (NB-3, W-12, B-4). DNB R Brock, O Foulger, J Panther. Total 166 for 4.
TWCC win by 6 wickets, or more relevantly as Paul pointed out, by 11.4 overs.

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 22nd 2016
The pressure of running an International organisation on the scale of Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club - whilst ultimately rewarding - does bring immense stress on those who shoulder the greatest burdens.  This week Jim has handed over the editorial reins to recharge his batteries.  So an early apology for the lack of sardonic humour and dry wit: today's report is less of a flowing drive through the covers, more of a thwack towards cow corner. 
Bolney's ground has an outlook that feels unchanged for many, many years - school, church, broad leaf trees - all ageing gracefully.  One might - unkindly - include the team. It's cricket as it was a century ago: scorers, umpires and an excellent tea all part of the service.  Was that the sigh of a gentle breeze brushing the leaves of a great oak: or was it a sigh of relief emanating from the home dressing room when TWCC turned up with no Rydons for the first time in at least 8 years?  In fact, garnering a team had been a struggle, but with Reese bringing Jack and Fletch and Tom Stace - former Albourne and Sayers Common - agreeing to turn out for us, we were 10. 
The toss was lost in the merest flip of a coin and we were put in in a timed match.  Lacking a natural opening partner, James had to settle for Richard and hope he wouldn't do too much to disturb his impressive run of early season form.  He didn't.  James soon found his fluency against a bowling attack which at one end was accurate and at the other end was a little chaotic.  A young bowler, Jamie Bowles showed a very lively pace but it only occasionally coordinated with his run up - and consequently several no-balls pelted down accompanied by an infusion of wides and byes.  But he had an endearing habit of arguing with Umpire Bunn about his front foot and showed more than enough potential to make one think he'll be impressive in the years to come.  The upshot of this and some other wayward bowling was that James, Extras and Richard put on a 100 partnership: in that order of scoring.  In fact, the opening stand moved on to 140 and had the Twineham historians blowing the dust off ancient tomes for record opening partnerships.  That's when the aforementioned Jamie returned, bowling uphill. His pent up anger with Edward was released in one particularly sharp and short ball - which caught the skipper full pelt on the side of the head.  Much blood and no mirth because for once things looked serious rather than funny - he retired, taking his 33 not out safely to the averages with him.  James moved serenely on - Reese didn't.  George did as George does: 34 including 5 sixes, two of which were really quite enormous, one bouncing on the road and into the churchyard.  James retired on his second hundred of the season - in May! Jim and Tom were both out trying to push the score along - we presume, though there's a lack of evidence to back this up.  A rather handsome flurry from Jack and a less feeble offering than of late from Edward took us to a formidable 237-4. 
Bolney's tea was as irresistible as ever - unhelpful for a team about to bowl.  But Jim bowling downhill with gusto and Joe bowling uphill with guile opened up for us.  As so often, while both bowled well, only one got the rewards - and Joe it was who picked up not one, not two but the first 3 wickets to fall with a good line and a nagging length, taking Bolney to 29-3.  From there they dug in well - and while 8 bowlers were used, it took Tom Stace to break the partnership with his deliciously deceptive left arm spin.  Inspired fielding gave us a dramatic next wicket: Jim with a sharp throw over the stumps and Reese whipping off the bails that broke the partnership. At this stage Bolney were still attacking and in touch, needing around 6 runs an over. James chipped in with a wicket but a series of dropped catches set us back before we took another and that's when Bolney decided the time had come to put up the shutters.  Jim snapped up the defiant Barry Griffin with 2 overs to go and then Tom bowled the number 10 Patton with the last ball of the match.  We drew, or didn't win by one wicket, whatever your view, either way it's the same frustrating result - but we are happy to report that the seemingly serious head injury was improved by a packet of frozen peas and a (small) teaspoon of sympathy.   

SCORECARD

TWCC LOST THE TOSS AND WERE ASKED TO BAT

TWCC Innings: J TROLLOPE RETIRED 101; R BROCK RETIRED HURT 33; R PACKHAM Bld J BOWLES 2; G HUNTER Bld P BUCH 34; J SIMON LBW S BOWLES 0; E BUNN NOT OUT 9; T STACE Bld S BOWLES    0; J COOPER NOT OUT 15; DNB J PANTHER, FLETCH.
TOTAL 237 for 4.                                237-4
Fall: 161/3, 213/4, 213/5, 213/7
BOLNEY Bowling: J Bowles 8-0-45-1 (and a KO); T Paton 7-0-54-0; J Elliott 4-2-7-0; P Buch 6-1-37-1; S Bowles 7-1-33-2; M Garside 6-1-34-0; M Madden 2-0-17-0.

Bolney Innings: N BUSHELL Bld PANTHER 7; J ELLIOT CT, Bld PANTHER 11; C BUNCE CT, Bld PANTHER 0; P BUCH Run Out (SIMON) 35; J BOWLES CT, Bld B STACE 32; S BOWLES CT Simon Bld TROLLOPE 42; M GARSIDE Ct & Bld TROLLOPE 6; J MOORE Not Out 10; B GRIFFIN LBW Bld SIMON 0; T PATTON Bld T STACE 4; M MADDEN Not Out 0.
TOTAL 178 for 9.
FALL  7-1, 11-3, 29-2, 91-5, 106-4, 145-7, 157-6, 164-9, 178-9
BOWLING
J SIMON: 9-1-34-1; J PANTHER 6-1-19-3; J COOPER 5-0-43-0; T STACE 6-2-21-2; HUNTER 3-0-18-0; TROLLOPE 5-0-15-1; BUNN 5-0-25-0; BROCK 3-3-0-0.
Match Drawn.


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West Chiltington v TWCC June 5th 2016
Last year’s match with West Chiltington is already the stuff of legend.  400+ runs, 15 off 1 ball, scorebookgate.  Some parts of the previous year were to be replicated:  the silly yellow hat highlighting cancer research, 400+ runs – and a little taste of controversy.  Of which more later.  The skipper was told that they were playing a number of youngsters, a few old gits – and 2 `overseas` players.  Bruce, their skipper described them as `outstanding`.  The skipper won the toss but acquiesced to their polite hint that they’d like to bat first – in hindsight, this was presumably to give their thoroughbreds a run out.  At that stage, we didn’t know.  Matt got off to a great start, fast and accurate, his good line soon clipped the bails of both openers with barely 30 on the board. The afternoon sun was very warm, but that didn’t matter because the game was under control, runs were hard to come by and all was good with the world.  Joe – from whom we now expect a weekly handful of wickets, was struggling with his line, length and luck – and was replaced after 5 wicketless overs.  Kev came on and by his 3rd over, was looking really very good – decent pace, great line and length – setting up a catch for Jack -  but with two balls left of his 4th over, his hamstring twanged and he had to limp off.  Richard stepped in and without wanting to be wasteful, used one of the 2 remaining balls to get a wicket.  That was OK:  the skipper’s next wicket was not.  Not only was it a  ridiculously wide ball, it also encouraged the batsman to swing and clip it to Jack at backward point.  And the result of that....was to bring Mr Overseas 1 to the crease.  Fortunately, Rob had just begun his spell so a clash of the titans was in prospect: Rob’s pace and accuracy vs Mr Muscles of Farfaraway.  As it turned out, it was rather one sided – and this is not a line I have ever had to write before – Rob got marmelized.   The big lad seemed to enjoy his pace and all the balls were nicely in the off stump slot – so he deposited them regularly and very impressively over long off.   This was OK for a while, as we waited for him to mishit one or another.  But it was clear this chap was quite well out of our league – or would have been had we played a league – any league.  In the end, we were reduced to batting fodder and ball fetchers, and the enjoyment of fielding on a lovely afternoon seeped away with each overhead missile.  When he retired after half or three quarters of an hour, he had 82.  And he was replaced with Overseas no 2.  He was equally impressive, clipping away anyone unfortunate enough to bowl at him.  I don’t know if you’ve seen the film Kes – where the sportsmaster is taking football with a bunch of small boys who don’t want to play.  He picks the ball up on the halfway line, barges through the bemused team, leaving them on the floor injured and defeated – refuses to pass and races into the penalty area and smashes the ball into the net past the hapless keeper Billy before celebrating wildly.  Anyway, West Chiltington reached 246-7 in 36 overs but at least tea was very pleasant, thanks to the Cancer Ladies. Sunshine soothed the soul and in strode James and Matt Edwards to play sensible straight bats and win if they could.  Well James didn’t last the first over before he knicked it behind, Matt and Jonathan also fell as West Chiltington showed the depth of talent of their young players.  But Reese and Rob didn’t just steady the ship – from 31-3 they took the name by the scruff of the neck.  Rob’s classical hitting came with added flight as the sixes flowed and he clawed back his pride which had so savagely been dumped on the wrong side of the boundary.  6 sixes and 7 fours in a fantastic knock – with the more careful Reese, whose pre-batting preparation had been a couple of slugs of cheap wine he won in the raffle.  Finally on 144 Reese was caught – but we were back in the game.  Edward kept the momentum up but the truth is that once Rob holed out for 83, we withered away, finishing on 172 – with Kev unable to bat.    Overseas 1 had bowled - but not outstandingly – and took only 3 wickets.  West Chiltington were pleasant - but an uneasy feeling remained that by slipping in not one but two players so far above Sunday afternoon standards, the game lost a touch of spirit. 

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl first
West Chiltington Innings: Fryer Bld Edwards 20; Lucking Bld  Edwards 0; Tatchell Ct R Rydon Bld Brock 31; Farnes Ct J Cooper Bld Scott 9; Reeves Ct Cooper Bld Brock 11; Nick rtd 82; Atkins LBW Bld Brock 2; Kay Bld Karvay 0; Sanchit Not out 67; Tatchell Not out 1.
Total: 246-7. DNB; Gee.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 9-1-34-2; J Panther 5-0-27-0; K Scott 3.4-0-22-1; R Rydon 5-0-47-0; R Brock 8.2-2-41-3; Karvay 4-0-28-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct WK Bld Farnes 0; M Edwards Ct Tatchell Bld Farnes 11; J Rowland Ct Farnes Bld Gee 8; R Packham Ct Lucking Bld Nick 33; R Rydon Ct Tatchell Bld Nick 83; E Bunn Ct WK Bld Atkins 14; J Cooper Bld Nick 0; R Brock run out 4; Panther Ct WK Bld Lucking 0; H Karvay Not out 2.
Total: 172 all out. DNB: K Scott.
FALL: 5-1, 20-3, 31-2, 144-3, 152-5, 152-7, 161-8, 169-6, 172-9.     
West Chiltington Bowling: Farnes 5-1-15-2; Gee 5-1-21-1; Reeves 4-0-32-0; Lucking 4.2-0-9-1; Tatchell 1-0-17-0; Atkins 4-0-18-0; Nick 2-0-7-3.
West Chiltington won by 84 runs

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TWCC v Rottingdean July 12th 2016
London Unity no game, but Rottingdean stepped in. There's no report because no one could bring themselves to write it as Joe took 5 wickets and we've never heard the end of it, though Rob's 87 would be worth expanding upon.

Scorecard
Not sure who won the toss, but TWCC batted first in an 80 overs fiddle about game.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope ct Kenny Bld G Harris 20; J Rowland Bld S Shepherd 23; T Pearce Ct Shepherd Bld G Harris 16; R Packham St, Bld K Rogers; R Rydon Ct & Bld K Rogers 87; M Edwards St, Bld S Bettsworth; E Bunn Ct & Bld Rogers 6;J Panther Bld Rogers8; T Rydon LBW Rogers 0 (Golden Duck!); J Simon ct, Bld Betsworth 1; R Brock not out 0.
Extras 19 (NB-1, W-3, B-15). Total 207 all out off 40.1 overs.
Rottingdean Bowling: J Blanchard 5-0-24-0; S Shepherd 7-1-29-1; G Harris 6-0-34-2; A Grantham 8-1-42-0; K Rogers 9-0-47-5; C Bettsworth 4.1-0-14-2.
Rottingdean Innings: D Bettsworth Bld Edwards 10; E Swin-Ward Ct Simon Bld T Rydon 38; B Larder Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld Panther 7; K Rogers Ct Bunn Bld Panther 4; S Shepherd Bld R Rydon 27; C Bettsworth Bld R Rydon 5; S Grantham Ct Pearce Bld Panther 0; T Grantham Ct & Bld Panther 0; J Blanchard Bld Panther 4; A Grantham not out 0; G Harris Ct Packham Bld Brock 3. Extras 25 (NB-8, W-7, LB-2, B-8) Total 125 for 10 all out off 31.5 overs.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-0-24-1; J Simon 6-0-31-0; J Panther 9-2-23-5; T Rydon 4-0-31-1; R Rydon 4-3-1-2; R Brock 0.5-0-3-1.
TWCC win by 84 runs.

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TWCCV Malayalee June 19th 2016
Brighton Malaylee was a new fixture – a nice bunch of chaps arrived having fought their way through the clusters of cyclists clogging up the roads in their lycra clad quest to annoy motorists.  Anyway....the skipper lost the toss again and Malaylee opted to bat in a 35 over match.  Tom opened the bowling fast and furious from the far end – so fast in fact that the openers could barely lay a bat on the ball.  And with a good opening spell from Honse at the pavilion end, Malaylee got off to a slow and struggling start.  But despite restricting them to a painfully slow start – under 2 an over it took a change of bowling with Edward replacing Tom to get the wickets falling.  First Edward confounded Sreeban to lob up a catch to Richard – and 9 balls later he took a fine caught and bowled. Malaylee were in trouble – still in their 20s in the 13th over of a limited over match.  The slow pace encouraged the skipper to use all resources at his command – so the next two bowlers were to be James and – for his once a season cameo – Tony.  James was sadly deprived of a wicket in his first over by the unanimous verdict of the team that a stumping was in fact a run out courtesy of fast hands Rowland behind the stumps.   But James did get a legitimate wicket caught by Tony and indeed Mr Pearce also picked up his onefer – on this occasion, onefer 24 runs in 4 overs.  By this time Malaylee’s number 6 Shaji had dug in and was starting to hit the ball well.  A decision to give Reese a try didn’t pay off – and the just as the runs were starting to stack up rather too steadily came the news that rather than 4 over remaining there were in fact still 7 to go.  The skipper brought himself on, only to get a stumped off a poor first ball. Rob took one at the other end and the skipper finished them off next over by bowling the excellent Sharji – all out for 148 – slightly more challenging than had seemed likely at the halfway point.  Tea was – and there is no way around this – poor in the extreme.  The slices of bread with some filling – they don’t deserve the name sandwiches – were almost gone by the time Malaylee went through.  But James wouldn’t know that because he was off buying milk he’d forgotten to bring. Two cakes were OK – topped up by a few cheap chocolate rolls.  Perhaps it was this poor preparation which was to determine that the batsmen peformed merely adequately.  James himself has been having a great season and he held the early innings together with 28 as Jonathan was caught for 7 and then Tony – our revered number 3, he of the golden bat and golden balls – came in and was CLEAN BOWLED FOR A GOLDEN DUCK.  It should be said at this stage that Malaylee had some excellent bowlers – quick, accurate, getting some swing out of the pitch.  Honse looked good before being caught for 8 but Tom meanwhile was building an excellent and aggressive innings of 25.  Reese was caught for 12 leaving us on 107-6 – squeaky bum time as we were just 10 and Loz – next in – was a professed non-batter.  But praise be because Rob was there to guide us home with sensible yet forceful batting and he was partnered by Edward who looked good and solid.  Between them they took us home with 2 wickets and 3 overs to spare.   Malaylee were a pleasure to host, a nice group with a good spirit.  It was a good TWCC victory.

Scorecard
Malayalee won the toss and elected to bat
Malayalee Innigns:
Jey Ct&Bld Pearce 28; Sreeban Ct R Brock Bld Bunn 6; Tipin Ct T Pearce Bld Bunn 3; Joble St Rowland Bld Scott 18; Praveen Ct Pearce Bld Trollope 7; Shaji Bld R Brock 42; Swarup Ct J Rowland (WK) Bld T Rydon 1; Ganga Bld T Rydon 0; Vinu St J Rowland Bld R Brock 16; Boney Ct E Bunn Bld R Rydon 3; Jose Not out 1; Total 148 all out 32.3 overs.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-3-16-2; H Karvay 7-2-11-0; E Bunn 6-0-28-2; Trollope 3-0-17-1; T Pearce 4-0-24-1; R Packham 3-0-15-0; R Brock 1.3-0-7-2; R Rydon 1-0-54-1.
TWCC Innings:
J Trollope Bld Boney 28; J Rowland Ct x Bld Boney 7; T Pearce Bld Boney 0 GOLDEN DUCK; H Karvay    Ct x Bld Vinu 8; T Rydon Bld Sharup 25; R Packham Ct x Bld Shaji 12; R Rydon Not Out 24; E Bunn Not out 13; Total : 149 31 overs.
Fall: 30-2, 30-3, 55-4, 57-1, 100-6, 107-5.     
Malayalee Bowling: Sharup 6-0-17-1; Jose 6-0-31-0; Boney 5-1-13-3; Ganga 4-0-14-0; Vinu 2-0-12-1; Jobie 3-0-20-0; Jey 2-0-11-0; Sheeran 1-0-3-0.
TWCC won by 2 wickets.

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TWCC Tour July 1st to 3rd
Report to follow when someone makes it up.


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TWCC v Wisley CC July 17th 2016
A few weeks away and it was a joy to return to the game of games for the Gazette staff. Skipper Brock was not with us on this occasion, and so the coin was tossed by TWCC's capable Vice-Captain, Matt E. Both teams were missing players who had heavily influenced last season's fixture, Rupert for Wisley and George for TWCC, but the two teams nonetheless faced up to the heat of the day with high expectation of a competetive game in their hearts. The Gazette research team have so far failed to find out who won the toss (surely a toss completed in a record time before the first ball was bowled as both skippers were early arrivers - unlike many of the other players from both teams...) but the result of the ensuing discussion was that TWCC bowled first in a game of 40 overs per side, no draws allowed.
Jim and Tom opened up the TWCC bowling, Jim with an early wicket from a mediocre ball met with a mediocre off-drive which Joe caught at mid off, and Tom with his usual fiery excellent spell. Tom bowled out his eight overs, and Jim just six in order to have a couple for later. Very early on, it is sad to report, there occurred an injury to our Skip, a quad pull for Matt Edwards suffered when making a quick turn in the field, the result of which was that he was unable to bowl which was obviously a big loss to the home side. No Matt, no Richard, a max of 8 overs for an individual bowler... Times might be going to be tough, especially as a youthful and energetic Wisley side looked as if they had a strong batting performance in mind.
The rest of the Wisley innings is characterised by lots of runs being scored, lots of catches falling just safe, a few catches being plain dropped... It didn't add up to a great exhibition of fielding prowess but it did add up to a lot of Wisley runs, particularly for the opener McIntosh with a wonderful 121, and Snelling at 3 with 61, who, after the early wicket, stuck around for a great second wicket partnership capitalising on, it must be said, a slightly stretched bowling attack.
Of note were a number of dropped catches; indeed Jack "Bucket" Cooper - so called because of his ability to hold on to anything, is now re-christened "Liza" in recognition of the holes in his buckets... In defense of his prowess he did hang on to the hardest of his catches, down low between his feet. Catch of the day, however, was truly the most remarkable one I have seen in recent times. Towards the end of the innings the batters were swinging away, and the field was spread. Edward bowling from the Pavilion End was teasing the swingers with his slow pace, and James was hanging about in Cow Corner exhibiting a sort of Sergeant Wilson demeanour - keeping an eye on events with an aloof air and quite glad not to be too involved in the mayhem. Suddenly the ball was hoisted towards him and he had to work out where it was going to fall. Happily it fell exactly where he was standing, but unhappily he calculated that it would land some way to his right. He moved across, away from the catch-site, emitted the obligatory "OOH!" as he missed the ball, but stuck out a left hand at the last moment in a forlorn swipe, and when we all looked the ball was in his hand. Neither side, including James, could work out quite what had happened, but there it was on the replay, in his hand. Extraordinary and brilliant (lucky).
Kevin, Joe, Edward, Honse and James (2 for 17 off 4 overs - very good in the circumstances), and Jim for his last two overs, saw out the 40 overs, and there Wisly were on 250 for 5. Difficult.
Tea, Jim's, lots of filling right to the edges of the bread, with gratefully received help from Kay and Tom. 3 loaves + cakes is enough.
So; the TWCC innings. Look who's doing well again? James it was, who with Matt E as his competent opening partner, saw TWCC through the early overs in an excellent first wicket partnership facing some dangerous bowling. Swing and pace from Domingo and turn and guile from Ramesh were, in turn, hard to get away and hard to read. Tight tight tight. They finished their spells and, as often happens, slightly less tight bowling brings about success as batters see more balls to hit. Matt was caught for 24 after doing a great job, Tony looked fine in a most productive partnership with James until he was out for 24, James (another fine 50) was eventually bowled by a good ball, Reese connected very well with some shorter balls but was then out for 24, Jim did nothing much at 5 as he's better, curiously, when the bowling's less good, and then a wonderful cameo from Tom. Big hits, leg glances, placement, singles - it was all good stuff, ably assisted by Edward who really is heading back to his form of old as he runs twos with alacrity and calls for quick singles not even at the ends of overs. Tom and Edward did add a sparkle towards the end of the day, but the total was always going to be too much for TWCC given the absence of poor bowling from the visitors. Edward chipped one back to the bowler, and Jack looked good for the brief remaining time finishing the innigns with Tom still in command.
A draw, normally an interesting and honourable option for games such as this, was, given the format, not a possibility though it would have led to an exciting finish. As it was the game was over with 20 overs to go, Wisley the deserved vistors.

Scorecard
Wisley Innings: McIntosh Ct T Rydon Bld Trollope 121; TJ Ct Panther Bld Simon 0; Snelling Ct & Bld Kev Scott; T Richards Ct Trollope Bld Bunn 32; Kerigan Not Out 17; Ashwin Ct Buckets Bld Trollope 4; Ramesh Not out 0. Extras 16 (W-5, NB-1, B-7, LB-3)Total 250 for 5. DNB O Richards and some more that didn't get recorded.
TWCC Bowling: Simon 8-0-29-1; T Rydon 8-0-32-0; K Scott 8-0-42-1; Panther 5-0-44-0; Karvay 3-0-33-0; E Bunn 4-0-34-1; Trollope 4-0-17-2.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld TJ 52; M Edwards Ct, Bld T Richards 24; T Pearce Ct, Bld T Richards 16; R Packham Ct, Bld O Richards 16; J Simon Bld O Richards 5; T Rydon Not Out 39; E Bunn Ct&Bld Domingo 26; J Cooper Not Out 10. Extras  14 (W-6, NB-6, B-1, LB-1). Total 202 for 6. DNB J Panther, K Scott, H Karvay.
Wisley Bowloing: Domingo 7-1-25-1; Ramesh 8-1-28-0; O Richards 8-0-46-2; TJ 8-1-35-1; T Richards 6-0-38-2; J Richards 3-0-23-0.
Wisley win (40 overs per side limited over game).

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Warninglid CC v TWCC August 21st 2016
With the return of Skipper Brock from the experimental Bulgarian School of Cricketing Excellence and something approximating sufficient players to engage, TWCC assembled for duty on the windswept heights of Warninglid with gladness in their hearts; cricket was back after rather a lull. Glancing around the ranks of the opposition was a little unnerving however - where was the mix of grandsons and the over 60's? These were young men with girlfriends and everything! Warninglid CC appeared to have an average age some thirty years south that of their visitors - but age isn't everything in sport even if it helps. TWCC were ready to take on all comers.
Jim and Paul opened up the bowling and set the tone for the first part of the Warninlid innings. There was a bit of swing, the wicket was slightly unpredictable and the ball wasn't really coming on to the batters with any great reliability, but in the face of these factors the Warninlid opening pair saw through the early phase well and resolutely kept themselves in play. Switching Jim out of the attack for later Honse took over from the East End and, with similar reasoning, Paul was replaced by President Jones from the Pavilion End. The batters, now well in, began to take the Warninglid total along with more momentum, and so it came to pass that Richard began his excellent spell of bowling. There are times, we all know, when poor bowling realises wickets for which tighter preceding bowling has created the appetite, but in this spell Richard wasn't having any of that. Rejuvinated by his recent sojourn in Eastern Europe, Richard bowled with a tightness and attention to line and length that we rarely see in any of our bowling attack. Rewarded in his first over by clean-bowling one of the well-rooted Warninglid openers, he followed this up by removing the other with the help of a truly excellent stumping from Jonathan behind the timbers. Warninglid were on the slide, and Richard swiftly, in this his first spell, took out two more, one being removed first ball and thus putting the side on the first of three hat-trick alerts. A great spell from our Captain, the individual analysis of which is not possible at this remove because the ball-by-ball scorecard is not available at the Gazette office, but the first four wickets were down to Richard and Warninglid were an unsettled side from this point on. James and Edward plied their trade from the Pavilion End, though on this occasion unsuccessfully, and Jim came back from the East End to finish off what he'd started by taking two wickets in his last over, the first of which was a lovely smart catch by Jonathan standing up and the second of which - the next ball - brought about the second hat-trick alert of the game. Paul provided both a couple of late wickets, the first of which was a slap-it-back-catch-it-if-you-can-because-it-was-hit-quite-hard caught and bowled, and another golden-ducker, thus putting TWCC on their third hat-trick alert of the day! Sadly, reminiscent of Jim's final spell on tour in Dorset, rather than enjoying further success Paul was Mongoosed over his head for two enourmous sixes to finish the innings off with Warninlid posting a creditable 208 total to spoil the taste of TWCC's sandwiches.
208 was plenty to chase, and, as with the Warninglid Innings, the batting conditions took some mastering. However, Paul and James didn't succumb, and, seeing off the opening bowling attack, they settled down to getting out to the second wave - James not having ever, today, truly been as one with the conditions, and Paul having some creditable boundaries to his name. Tony was struggling with a hamstring injury, and hadn't been able to field with his usual flair. Warninglid kindly waived the no-runner rule, and we were treated to a fine dislplay of triangular batting as Richard became Tony's legs. Happily Tony's bat was still operating and somehow he managed to time the ball tremendously well considering he couldn't move his weight through the shot - even managing a six amongst the six fours. Jonathan, rather like James, found the conditions hard to get on top of, and wan't his usual fluent self with the bat and he fell with an atypical 7 runs to his name. In came Edward to sort it out. In spite of having to face the sort of bowling he usually dislikes, Edward smote the ball. He cracked and crushed the ball off his bat. Bludgeoned and blasted; pulls to where the fielders weren't on the mid-wicket and long-on boundary. Eight fours and, yes, two twos amongst the quick singles. A fine innings of 45 in the face of some difficult wet conditions that moved in from the squally West. Jim kept the hope alive for a while until, as usual, he was bowled by an unplayable delivery, but, truly by the thirtieth over the game was run and TWCC were suffering from having allowed too many runs to slide Warninglid's way in their innings. Honse increased the value of his batting capital, and Malcolm made a fine sight walking out to bat without his... er... bat, only to be stumped off his first ball and fail to notice he was out until Dave came out to join him at the crease for the last rites.
Although at the start of their bowling effort the ball was as good as it had been at the end of their own innings, Warninglid's bowlers did have to work with a progressivley wet and slimy ball. The humidity had become light drizzle and then turned into what had to be called rain, and in this regard Warninglid, nonetheless playing with an eye to good form fully in keeping with the finest traditions of the Sunday game, definitely had the worst of the conditions and were the best side on the day.
Warninglid, a fine bunch of happy youth and jolly oponents deserved their victory leaving the visitors the crumb of comfort that is the knowledge that the Royal Oak is our home pub and it is still there serving beer with no strings attached.


Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and bowled first. Match 40 overs limited, max 8 overs/bowler
Warninglid Innings: R Swinscoe St Rowland, Bld Brock 30; M Nasty Bld Brock 26; D Tingley Ct Rowland (wk) Bld Simon 60; C Mackie Bld Brock 2; C Vaughan Bld Brock 0; A Parsons Ct & Bld Hunter 42; D Mackie Bld Simon 0; B Nesbit not out 22; R Hollingham(?) Bld Hunter 0; J Acton not out 12. DNB R Clarke. Extras 14, Total 208 for 9 from 40 overs.
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 8-2-22-2; P Hunter 8-1-39-2; H Karvay 6-0-39-0; D Jones 4-0-25-0; R Brock 8-2-32-4; J Trollope 3-0-22-0; E Bunn 3-0-24-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct, Bld Acton 26; J Trollope Ct, Bld Vaughan 8; T Pearce LBW Nesbit 40; J Rowland St, Bld Clarke 7; E Bunn LBW Clarke 45; J Simon Bld C Mackie 12; H Karvay not out 14; R Brock Bld C Mackie 3; M Gasson St, Bld Clarke 0; D Jones not out 0. Extras 19 (NB-4, W-12, B-3) Total 175 for 9 from 40 overs.
Warninglid Bowling: R Hollingham(?) 5-0-13-0; Vaughan 5-0-26-0; Acton 6-3-11-1; Nesbit 0-0-31-1; D Mackie 3-0-40-0; Clarke 7-0-17-3; C Mackie 6-0-22-2.
Warninglid win by 33 runs.

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Crescent CC v TWCC August 28th 2016
Another struggle for TWCC's newly appointed Match Manager to raise a team, but 10 good men and true duly reported for duty at the Horsdean ground on a squally and intermittently wet August bank holiday Sunday.
TWCC's newly appointed Head of the Coin Response Unit emerged from his summit with the news that his negotiations had gone well and that TWCC would bowl first. Tom Rydon and Jim opened up with their usual dash and trundle respectively, and both settled into trying to understand what mood the Horsdean wicket was in this time. The answer to this was that it was broadly dull with the occasional low bounce on offer. But the capricious nature of the surface had nothing to do with the wickets Tom took in his third over; a double-wicket maiden, both bowled. The rest of his spell was one in which the ball certainly dominated the bat, and he finished his seven over spell with only 12 runs against his name. Jim bowled the occasional good ball, though was more economical than threatening, but with plenty of bowling around for the newly appointed TWCC Bowling Resource Manager to deploy many bowling options remained. Sam Simon, back from his wilderness years, took one ball to learn how to bowl again, and then clean-bowled Crescent's threatening opener with his second. Plenty of pace, the line of left arm over is never easy for batters to cope with, and Sam settled into a lengthy spell. TWCC's newly appointed Fielding Coach can only take the credit for placing TWCC's newly appointed Manager of Recruitment's pick in the shape of Tom Firth at mid-off, who took a catch to give Sam his second wicket as Crescent's left-handed No. 5 pushed at an awkward length ball that lobbed forwards in the air. Crescent were on the wobble as this was clearly another one of their better players.
Tom Firth took over from Jim and struggled to find his length, but he persevered and sure enough got things under control, but with such a bowling battery at his disposal it was soon time for Honse to weave his inter-continental magic and, sure enough, Crescent's No 6 wafted around a straight one and the hosts were another wicket down. They could ill afford to lose another wicket, least of all that of Will who was dogged in defense albeit not that demonstrative in attack, but, when called through for a quick single, he was not quite as quick as James T who oooh'd down to the ball at short fine leg, and ahh'd a throw to the bowler who had plenty of time to convince the umpire at the bowler's end that when the batsman wasn't in his ground and the bails were off this means that a run out has taken place.
TWCC's Match Manager decided it was time for Richard to be brought into the attack, and he proceeded to bowl a very tight line and length. Every Brock ball produced an uncertainty in the batsman about whether or not to use his bat, and several knicks were the result. These fell in gaps around Alex behind the stumps until one, finally, did go to hand which Alex snapped up with his usual casual keeper competence. That left a mere three wickets with Rob's name on them. Given the nod, Rob pulled off his jumper, snicked his Rolls Royce action into "Drive" and treated all comers to another fine display of fast and accurate bowling. TWCC's own Whispering Death plundered the late-order wickets and in just 4.3 overs, two of which were maidens, he had his three wickets for just 5 runs. A treat to watch, and, with Richard's own excellence never letting up TWCC closed the bowling off in great style.
None of the Crescent batters got going, held in check by some good bowling and also by some committed and effective eager fielding from all. Proper cricket.
Proper cricket backed up by a proper tea! What a treat! Needless to say the Gazette editorial staff laid off all but a few micro-sandwiches, but those were juicy and fully up to Hunter-Spec. Moist cakes, scones and jam, even some heated thingies from a hot-plate. A Bolney rival and even, dare I say it, something to get James worried when it's his turn.
132 to win. Surely TWCC, albeit hamstrung by Tony's absence, could manage that? Was TWCC confidence troubled when Paul, capable as ever, was undone by a non-bouncing straight grubber that went underground and then re-emerged to clout the stumps? Not a bit of it. A shame for Paul, of course, but we had plenty in the tank, not least in the shape of JT who kept the ball out from the skiddy Townley et al for long enough to ensure that only a collapse of TWCC proportions could result in a home win for Crescent. But many TWCC players can't help but recall just how well TWCC can make any target look difficult, and a shudder ran through the ranks as Brocky shovelled a simple catch to point and TWCC were 5 for 2. The start of a spiral out of control?
But - we have Rydons!!! Rydon A walked out and proceeded to share a great stand with James that set up the result the TWCC fan was looking for. From 5 for 2 TWCC were in the 90's before Alex failed to survive hitting the ball into the air once to often, having offered up a few chances during his innings, and was out for 46, just four runs short of a parental jug. (Well, maybe I'm casting nasturtiums, but in the Gazette's experience this is one area of progeny-independence that youth seem to be able to ignore.) Sad for Rydon R not to bat with Rydon A, but there was always Rydon T to come. It did at first seem unlikley that Rydon T would be needed, or any other batters at all such was the magnificence of the forward-defensive that bounded solidly up to mid-off all along the ground from Sam's first ball faced. TWCC were safe. Sam the batter had showed up at the same time as Sam the bowler and fielder. The sense of relief in the dug out was palpable. Rob and Sam would see us through. But Sam, presumably now fully warmed up and his eye well and truly in, watched a straight ball with his 20:20 vision pass his cross-bat and hit middle stump. A short innings, but that forward-defensive stroke was truly worth the journey from Londonland.
However TWCC were nearly home, and all Simon J had to do was to run up and down a bit whilst Rydon R sorted out the victory with plenty of 4's and one huge straight well-timed smooth 6 that clattered into the scenery with a fine resounding clack. All that was missing was the sound of breaking glass.
With around ten overs to spare TWCC secured the win that had been made possible not only by James' and Alex's 87 joint runs, but also by a fine bowling performance that ensured the hosts never had enough runs to defend.
Thanks to Crescent for the loan of a fielder in the opening overs, and for sharing in an afternoon's fun, and we look forward to next year. Well we look forward to this year too, of course.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to bat first. 80 overs format, draw a possible result.
Crescent CC Innings: J Morris Bld S Simon 20; L Geary Bld T Rydon 2; M Wood Bld T Rydon 0; J Will run out (Trollope) 26; M Lawson Ct T Firth Bld S Simon 10; B Townley Bld H Karvay 3; D Osborne Bld R Rydon 37; D Morgan Bld R Rydon 1; A Bousfield Ct A Rydon (Wk) Bld R Brock 1; S Wood not out 2; M Brown Bld R Rydon 0. Extras 29 (NB-5, W-11, LB-4, B-9) Total 131 all out off 38.3 overs.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-1-12-2; J Simon 8-2-20-0; S Simon 8-1-22-2; T Firth 3-0-19-0; H Karvay 4-0-19-1; R Brock 4-1-13-1; R Rydon 4.3-2-5-3.
TWCC Innings: P HunterBld Townley 2; J Trollope Ct, Bld Lawson 41; R Brock Ct, Bld Townley 0; A Rydon Ct, Bld Will 46; R Rydon not out 28; S Simon Bld Lawson 0; J Simon not out 4. DNB T Rydon, T Firth, H Karvay. Extras 11 (W-5, LB-1, B-5) Total 132 for 5 off 33 overs.
Crescent CC Bowling: Brown 9-018; Townley 6-2-8-2; Osborne 8-0-36-0; Morgan 4-0-28-0; Will 4-0-30-0; Lawson 2-0-6-2.
TWCC win by 5 wickets.

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Ashurst v TWCC September 4th 2016
Another great effort by the TWCC press gang saw an eleven-strong team take to the field to play their part in this, the latest battle of their 2016 campaign. Ashurst, as mercurial a unit as TWCC's own can be, had laid waste to us last season in the reciprocal engagement, so it was with particular anticipation that TWCC readied themselves for the difficult match-up that they were facing. Skipper Edwards, with us again after an AWOL episode that has yet to be fully explained, won the toss and chose to field first, giving a strong bowling attack the first use of another lovely new ball. TWCC opened the bowling with the big guns; Matt E himself and Tom R, loaded with armour-piercing shells and grape shot respectively. Unsurprisingly, and controversially, it was the grape shot that brought about the first wicket as Tom's, on this occasion, unpredictability surprised Ashurst's No. 2 by asking him to keep out a straight one on a good length, which he failed to do and the edge went through to Alex's gloves where, naturally, it stuck. Tom struggled with... his...natural variation? and became somewhat hazardous. The pitch, in itself a minefield and prone to causing sharp lift off full-length deliveries, had little to do with the reason Tom's spell was brought to a premature end as there was no ground involved with some of his more dangerous balls, unless we refer to the place where the batters sometimes found they'd ended up. However, Tom had a good wicket to his name, and, in spite of the headline no-balls, he had also served up plenty of thoroughly decent delivieries before Jim took over from the Road End. Meanwhile, at the...Other End, Matt was suffering from Good Bowling Syndrome. This is a condition only known to affect the very best bowlers, and sufferers may well be bowling with great effect, but with no luck. "Luck" is sometimes mentioned in this context in that it is often really bad luck that many TWCC players have forgotten how to catch, but here it was more that false shots went to open ground and difficult chances, with little blame attached to the fielders, fell to earth. Fast bowling often makes for hard chances (just ask Rob) and Matt finished his commanding spell without any wickets to his name, though he could have had two or three.
Jim replaced the high-revving Rydon T and settled into presenting his usual lovely half-volleys outside the off stump for the batters to climb into. Jim's opening offers were two such balls and they suffered their inevitable fate as hefty drives ensued; one a screaming four, the next dropped (stopped, Ed) by the bowler, but which served to make a surprise of the third ball which, when it turned up, was on a good length on middle and off and moving away a touch. An edge! Oh no! Another drop in the slips no doubt... But...hang on! It's Rob at second slip!! A  Rob compromised, certainly, by seeing through his new and unusual eve-of-match preparations ... but it was still Rob and, aided by his inclination to fall over anyway, he sagged forward and lay down for a bit having held on to a good low catch in front of his ankles, a position in which he stayed for a well earned breather just a bit longer than he otherwise normally might.
TWCC were, as has often been the case in 2016, pleased to welcome a newcomer to the side; Sam Warren. Sam, an émigrée from the North East, was clearly a bit of a cricketer and under 30 by some margin too! So what does the debut-meister produce but, well, an unbelievable spell of bowling! Sam settled on a good length straight away, having played almost no cricket for years, and wiggled the ball about mostly on and around the stumps - the ones at the far end that is. Notwithstanding that this sort of proper bowling goes rather against the best of TWCC tradition, it is with great pleasure that the Gazette presents to its readers Sam's extraordinary analysis of 6.3 overs, 1 maiden, 5 for 9! Jim and Honse mopped up the other three wickets, but the Samsation restricted an admitedly somewhat different Ashurst side from that of 2015, to a mere 82 all out in just 26.3 overs. And we hadn't even seen TWCC's own Whispering Death, nor, come to that, more than five TWCC bowlers such was the precipitate nature of the, what might have to be called, Ashurst collapse.
In spite of the early end of the innings, the good burghers of Ashurst rustled up an early tea, and before they knew it TWCC were batting to see what sort of a fist they could make of the conditions and of the Ashurst bowling attack. Poyser ran in hard and immediately caused trouble with his pace. Bowling from wide on the crease he hit James on the mid-step in front of middle and leg, but the ball was going down with the line and James survived on a benefit of the doubt decision. Paul, taking the umpire out of it, characteristically walked for an uncharacteristic 0 having gloved a ball off his hips to the keeper, a gesture much appreciated by Ashurst as all, including the umpire, thought it impossible to say if the ball had hit the gloves or the body. One down, no real runs on the board, the pitch throwing up all sorts of bounce off good length deliveries; it was tricky out there. But are TWCC the kind of side to crumble in the face of a low target? Of course they are! Proven many times...
The report could go one of two ways from here on. It would be possible, for instance, to mention Alex Rydon, Tom Firth, Tom Rydon, Matt Edwards and Honse in turn, and to weave some wordy magic around their struggles and successes, for example Alex's square drive off the back foot for four, or Tom Firth's compelling defense, or Tom Rydon's characteristic devil-may-care approach to batting which presented a swift 12 runs to the TWCC cause before he steered the ball slowly onto his own stumps, or our skipper's statuesque 10 with two 4's, or Honse's dogged refusal to get out at the end of proceedings, but to do so would both unnecessarily prolong the report and take the emphasis away from the single towering batting performance of James Trollope. James survived the early onslaught of the Ashurst openers and carried his bat through the innings, engaging his trebuchet-like arms in some demonstrative hitting as the pressure eased when Ashurst gamely spread their bowling around to give each player a stake in the day. A Trollope 6 into the road tied the scores and a single to win saw the game out.
A pleasure to play with a friendly side, it was on this occasion TWCC's turn to go home the victors though, as we all know, the tables can, and do, quickly turn.
This was a game featuring, in spite of his selection, oddly no majesterial performace from Rob with the bat or Rob with the ball, but let's hope he plays better next time. Maybe his mind was on next week when the food critics of Bolney assemble at TWCC's home ground to analyse what people from Wineham consider to be the perfect cricket tea, and, we all agree at the Gazette, there's much to look forward to in that.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss, Matt Edwards Captain opted to bowl first
Ashurst Innings: G Isaacs Bld Warren 29; T Chalmers Ct A Rydon (Wk) Bld T Rydon 13; B Poyser Ct R Rydon Bld J Simon 14; M Barnard Ct T Firth Bld Warren 10; D Saunders Ct Hunter Bld Warren 2; D Fishel LBW Bld J Simon 0; R Redding Bld Simon 0; Pat Middleton ST A Rydon (Wk) Bld Karvay 1; L Tarr Ct Edwards Bld Warren 2; B Saunders not out 2; T Redding Bld Warren 0. Extras must have been 9 (Unrecorded - but there were a few no balls!) Total 82 all out in 26.3 overs.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-1-14-0; T Rydon 5-1-38-1; J Simon 6-2-11-3; S Warren 6.3-1-9-5; H Karvay 2-0-9-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Chalmers (Wk) Bld Poyser 0; J Trollope not out 42; A Rydon Ct Fishel Bld Tarr 7; T Firth Ct, Bld Saunders 3; T Rydon Bld Isaacs 12; M Edwards Ct, Bld Middleton 10; H Karvay not out 1. DNB S Warren, D Firth, J Simon, R Rydon. Extras 3 (NB-1, LB-1, B-1) Total 83 for 5 in 25.5 overs.
Ashurst Bowling: B Poyser 5-2-6-1; L Tarr 4-1-9-1; R Redding 4-0-20-0; D Saunders 3-0-13-1; Isaacs 5-1-12-1; Middleton 3-0-13-1; B Saunders 1.5-0-8-0.
TWCC win by 1 run and 5 wickets - or whatever it should be.

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TWCC v Bolney CC September 11th 2016
Skipper Brock won the toss and elected to field first. Tom Rydon opened from the Downs End with his usual gusto for a five over spell that produced "Oohs" and "Ahhs" in good measure, but no tangible results in the wickets column. Jim opened up from the Pavilion End with his usual mix, and even, on occasion, something a little better. The Bolney openers, clearly capable with the bat, weren't getting away unduly from TWCC's perspective, a situation which continued as Rob Rydon replaced Tom from the Downs End. Rob and Jim toiled away and then Rob caught a good high catch at mid-off off the bat of the left-hander Morris who was, rightly, trying to get some momentum into the Bolney innings. Bolney tried to press on with the overs rather running out and with not many runs on the board and made some not very good running decisions which led to three run-outs in quick succession. Honse, taking over from Jim, bowled with a great change of pace and length and took the only other wicket to fall as Rob took another good catch. Time went by, bowlers changed, and Richard had with no success on this occasion, and neither did Paul though both were bowling well.
Bolney, then, scored 165 for 5, TWCC having restricted the scoring to this below par total with some excellent bowling and tight fielding. It is worth noting that TWCC were only a nine-strong team on this occasion, and to keep the scoring down like this was, on a sunny day with a fast outfield, commendable.
How often has a cricketing side contained four members of the same family? Not often, but on this occasion there were indeed four Rydons playing for TWCC as Rob, Tom and Alex were joined by Louisa in what could be seen as a four-pronged Wineham take-over bid. Louisa, with, I assume, a whip or some other such sort of domestic equipment, had spent the morning supervising the cutting, mixing, spreading and packing of a fine tea that appeared by special delivery at the perfect time and which served to further enhance the all-is-right-with-the-world atmosphere of this sunny clear September afternoon. Being calory-deniers, the entire editorial staff of the Gazette were able to tuck in nontheless as there was much fruitiliciousness to go with the excellent sandwiches and cakes. The bar raised yet again in time for Tony next week. Let's hope he's still friends with his neighbour the headmistress of the Rottingdean School of Catering. Thank you to team Rydon and, particularly to Louisa for all the effort.
So, TWCC needed to bat a bit, which James proceeded to do. There was one cracking square cut for four - the first of many visits to the hedge to look for the ball - but that was it from James on this occasion. Alex Rydon went in to join Paul and that was it; the two of them gelled well and both were studious and selective of shot. The crowd were treated to a second wicket stand of (no exact figures to hand) around 140 calm runs, not much in the way of chances given. Alex began his account with five fours in a row and Paul hit four in a row such was their command. Paul carried his bat, forcing boundaries and pushing probing ones and twos around to rotate the strike, in a fine innings of 58 not out which included 10 fours. Alex, disappointed no doubt to have been out for 96 a few days ago, went better on this occasion but, sadly for all who rather like beer, fell to an uncharacteristically soft shot as, needing just two for his first ever century, he gave short third man a bit of simple catching practice. What a shame, but to have a goal in life is no bad thing.
Rob Rydon, once again not being able to enjoy batting with any of his children, helped Paul to get TWCC over the not very distant line with some overs to spare.
Bolney, short of runs by some margin, bowled well enough, with Dave Chaffey in particular once again being the pick. Bolney chose to share the bowling around their side, a policy which, though commendable, made TWCC's chase all the easier. But the runs still had to be scored, and Paul and Alex did that with aplomb.
TWCC send their thanks to Bolney for sharing such a nice afternoon, and for providing two umpires for the entire game.

Scorecard
Richard Brock won the toss and TWCC elected to field and bowl.
Bolney Innings:  P Buch run out (Karvay) 23; K Morris Ct R Rydon Bld J Simon 34; S Bowles run out (P Hunter) 25; M Garside run out R Rydon) 20; S Adby ct R Rydon Bld Karvay 5; B Clementson not out 10; M Graziand not out 3. Extras 11 (thought there'd be more...) DNB J Moore, P Meader, M Madden, D Chaffey.
Bolney 165 for 5 after 42 overs.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 5-0-16-0; J Simon 11-2-28-1; R Rydon 10-0-36-0; H Karvay 7-1-26-1; R Brock 6-0-26-0; P Hunter 3-0-11-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 58; J Trollope Ct Clementson Bld Madden 5; A Rydon Ct J Moore Bld Buch 98; R Rydon not out 1. Extras 6 (w-6). DNB E Bunn, T Rydon, J Simon, H Karvay, R Brock.
TWCC 167 for 2 (off 26 overs).
Bolney Bowling: Madden 4-0-25-1; Chaffey 4-2-6-0; Meader 4-0-29-0; Morris 4-1-14-0; Bowles 4-0-31-0; Adby 4-0-47-0; Buch 1-1-0-1; Clementson 1-0-14-0.
TWCC win by winning.

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TWCC v Bolney CC September 11th 2016
There’s little so annoying in life to write a full and contemporaneous cricket report only to discover a fortnight later that your ageing laptop has deleted it:  like a good innings, it is a crafted and artistic piece of work – impossible to replicate.  So to those who need words of adulation for their performance in this match my apologies – I can only say that your performance, whilst masterful at the time, may not stand the test of time.
Streat won the toss on a cloudy but mild Sunday:  we were playing the 80 overs combination – and Streat chose to bat against a strong looking TWCC side – indeed so strong that in this weirdest of all seasons, we chose from a squad of 17 available players.  Tom opened up from the far end – speedy but failing to test the batsman often enough.  Jim bowled well from the pavilion end but to no avail.  But when Matt Edwards replaced Tom, we had two quick wickets – real cricket, both caught by Jonathan behind the stumps.  Unfortunately this brought N Green to the wicket – an annoyingly pleasant sort of chap, just the sort of person you don’t want to make lots of runs, because you can’t generate the dislike you can against arrogant or mouthy batters.  So Mr Green settled into his task of gentle destruction of the TWCC bowling.  Whilst Matt – who bowled a really excellent spell and thoroughly deserved his 3 wickets - and skipper Brock chipped away at the other end, he kept going becoming ever more explosive.  It was only when he reached 90 that Honse – who was in the midst of one of his really excellent spells of bowling – finally got him caught by Tony.  Honse went on to take 3 more wickets but the damage had been done:  what looked to be a match where we were in control ended with Streat just 3 short of 200.  Boy were we in need of a good tea.  And in many ways, this is where the story really begins.  Tony Pearce, who the previous year had supplied a glorious tea thanks to contracting out to the next-door pensioner, was denied the opportunity to follow the same route because James had been somewhat critical – which the old lady picked up on Facebook or some such thing.  So Tony (and he claims Jan – which I find hard to believe)  put together a tea lacking in two main areas:  quality and quantity.  Poorly filled sandwiches which actually ran out before both teams had gone through -–perhaps because there were no nibbles to help.  A few packets of crisps and two cakes between two cricket teams!  It was roundly condemned as one of the poorest teas in TWCC history, certainly the first which actually ran out before the first pass.  The openers went out – clearly upset by the experience – and James was caught for just 3, Paul for 12.  It was left to Tony himself to try to make amends and in fairness it was a good innings, a series of fours and a six until he fell caught behind on 41.  By that time we were 81-3 and the game was in the balance.  Jonathan dug in for 22, Matt looked good for his 11 and Jim deserved more back up as he handsomely deposited the ball into the gang of `Simons` who were picnicking on the boundary edge.  But TWCC fell away badly and faced with the option of  the now infamous `ball-tapping` of two years previous against Streat, the team played to win… and lost.   Still, the pub was great – a near full turnout - and it was really good to see Steve and Dave come along at tea - it would have been nice to reward their attendance with either a decent tea or a decent innings but we managed neither.

Scorecard
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to field
Streat Batting: D Christmas Ct Rowland (wk) Bld Edwards    27; M Porter Ct Rowland Bld Edwards 10;N Green Ct Pearce Bld Karvay 90; D Jackson Ct Rowland Bld Edwards 10; D Porter Ct Edwards Bld Brock 5;J Funnell Ct Hunter Bld Brock 12; B Baxter Ct Brock Bld Karvay 3; H Freeman Ct Simon Bld Karvay 0; C Pick Bld Karvay 6;M Hartfield not out 1; S Speigal not out 4. TOTAL 197-9 42 overs.
TWCC BOWLING: T Rydon 5-1-30-0; J Simon 7-1-23-0; M Edwards 11-2-39-3; E Bunn 4-0-22-0; R Brock 7-1-29-2; H Karvay 5-0-27-4; T Firth 3-0-18-0.  
TWCC Batting: P Hunter Ct wk Bld Funnell 12; J Trollope Ct, Bld Harfield 3; T Pearce Ct wk Bld Pick 41; J Rowland Bld Pick 22; H Karvay DNB; M Edwards Ct, Bld Freeman 11; E Bunn Ct wk Bld Freeman 3; J Simon Not out 21; T Rydon Bld Freeman 0; T Firth Bld Freeman 0; R Brock Ct, Bld Spiegal 2. TOTAL 127 all out (29.2 OVERS).
Streat Bowling: M Hartfield 8-1-57-1; Funnell 7-0-44-1; Pick 6-0-19-2; Freeman 7-0-18-4; Spiegal 1.2-0-6-1.
TWCC LOST BY 70 RUNS


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TWWCC v Brighton Beamers September 25th 2016
And so the final match of a testing season arrived and we had 10 players available for the visit of Brighton Beamers.  Beamers limbered up and – speaking as one who knows one – it was clear they were a team who had been together a lot of years.  They don’t play much cricket these days – I believe this was their 4th match of the season – and they happily agreed with our experimental match variant of 35 overs with the chasing team able to claim a draw only if they score at least 2/3 of the score.  We were delighted to have Rob available for this his record turnout in one season as he gradually realises where his future lies – and he went out and made hay in the late season sunshine.  Oh yes, James was the other opener.  Rob’s innings was full of fine shots, one ball deposited in a garden, another in the field.  It was a batting masterclass.  The 50 partnership came up Rob 48, James 1, extras 1.  And the merriment continued past 100 to a mighty first wicket stand of 127 when Rob – by this time on 90, was caught and left the field to hearty applause.  James departed on the same  score for 28 – and Tom Carthew, a useful looking cricketer and friend of Reese made a useful 28.  But it was the return of the prodigal – Reese himself – after a few weeks of childminding and it’s alleged, sulking, that invigorated the end of the innings.  He was in imperious form and hit a fine and rather large six into the field as he powered his way to 50, accompanied at the end by Tony who hit a succession of fine fours.  The score of 241-4 from 35 overs looked more than enough.  We enjoyed a fine tea – for a team still shell shocked from the previous week’s effort.  It was courtesy of a wives’ collective – notably Liz and Fenella - plus friends and it was a triumph, everything a real cricket tea should be and plentiful.  We opened up with Tom and Honse – based on their bowling the previous week.  Neither were able to break through as Beamers started strongly.  Edward was brought on and broke through, though was expensive.  At this stage, Beamers were on course not just to draw but even to overhaul the TWCC score.  But Rob and Richard both bowled tightly and the match swung back our way, though it was clear that a win was unlikely bar a late flurry of wickets.  So the bowling floodgates opened and in the closing overs, every outfield player turned their arm.  But full credit to Beamers they batted well, kept us out and made 199-3.  Match drawn, everyone happy, pub – and a shout once again to Liz and Fenella for a super tea.  On now to the season’s figures….

TWCC WON THE TOSS AND BATTED
TWCC Innings: R Rydon ct Benfield B Siddens 90; J Trollope ct Rigby, Bld Esson 28; H Karvay Stumped B Eaton 1; T Carthew Ct Rigby B Siddens 28; R Packham not out 52; T Pearce not out 29. TOTAL 241-4 (35 OVERS)
Fall: 127/1,127/2, 156/3, 166/4.
Brighton Beamers Bowling
Renshaw 6-2-31-0; Smith 7-2-37-0; Esson 6-3-36-1, Benfield 3-0-21-0; Siddens 5-0-47-2; Eaton 4-0-25-0; Rigby 2-0-30-0; Chafey 2-0-7-0.
Brighton Beamers Innings: N Chafey LBW Bunn 43; R Rigby Bld R Rydon 59; T Hutchison St Rowland (wk) Bld T Pearce 52; R Wolf Pieterson not out 11. TOTAL 199-3 (35 OVERS)
Fall: 66, 112, 177
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-0-32-0; H Karvay 4-0-21-0; Bunn 4-0-38-1; R Rydon 6-0-21-1; Brock 7-1-28-0; J Trollope 3-0-25-0; T Pearce 2-0-13-1; Packham 1-0-5-0; T Carthew 1-0-10-0.
Match Drawn



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TWCC 2015 Season
Brunswick Village v TWCC April 26th 2015
Following a marked absence during most of March and April, the clouds, naturally, gathered over West Sussex in anticipation of the start of the 2015 season, but, happily, they kept their contents largely to themselves as a small force of TWCC players convened beneath the Downs in the salubrious setting that is the ground of St James' Montefiore CC. Depleted in numbers, yes, but not in spirit our TWCC team of 9 rallied around Skipper Pearce and turned in a fine afternoon's work.
Tony agreed to Brunswick Village's suggestion of a limited overs match (35/side, 7 overs max/bowler) and set about losing the toss. TWCC were, happily, put in to bat.
James succumbed early in the cold and damp conditions, during which the Brunswick opening bowlers, Blackman and Wickremesinghe, turned in some good performances with a swinging ball, and I think although they had the new ball the damp conditions soon made this less of a factor than it otherwise might have been. The early departure of James brought Tony to the middle to join Paul H in what proved to be the partnership of the match. Both scored their half centuries (neither of which were duly punished post-match...) and these runs formed the backbone of our offer to the day's play. Tony was out towards the end of our allotted 35 overs, hitting out, for a wonderful 59 (2x6's, 8x4's) and Paul wasn't out at all (1x6, 7x4's) for an unbeaten 69. It wasn't an easy pitch on which to bat as the ball was stopping and sitting up on a variety of lengths, but the outfield was running reasonably well so a well struck ball often ran over the boundary, if, indeed, the outfield was involved at all.
Edward, Jim and Paul C made further small batting contributions in that order, and TWCC ended on a total of 176 for 4. Mention must be made of the third-highest scorer for TWCC, which was the extras column, managing an impressive 30 runs; 1 x no ball, 14 x wides, 5 x leg byes, 10 x byes. These runs proved critical as we shall see, and this early-season rustiness on the part of the bowling side can be said to have significantly affected the match.
Tea was... We had tea. And Brunswick Village very generously gave us a rotating fielder (think Whirling Dervish) to bring our fielding side up to 10 men, which was very kind of them.
So; a good total to bowl to, inroads into which were quickly made by Edward who took the gloves but failed to use them much. Matt E opened from the South Downs End and never looked like anything other than the real thing delivering up impressive pace which the Brunswick batsmen never really dealt with. James, in a smart move from Skipper Pearce, provided the opening batsmen with a challenge of a different sort from the Pavilion End, which broadly went well. Paul H took over from James and Jim from Matt, and the game rolled on in a workmanlike way with the Brunswick openers being a little reluctant to take on quick singles which, together with TWCC's tight(ish - Ed) bowling and sharp fielding, helped TWCC to gain an early upper hand on the run rate.
The opening batting pair for Brunswick of D Blackman and S Pengelly were, nonetheless, sticking around, producing a useful foundation of 42 and 27 runs respectively before the game evolved. After all a low run rate may not have meant much whilst Brunswick still had wickets in hand, and this they did until Paul Chatfield came on to bowl, and, though runs were scored off his bowling, wickets were also taken. He found some movement in the air and clean bowled two batsmen and caught another of his own bowling in a fine 3-wicket 7-over spell. His first wicket brought Arosh Fernandopulle - whose name I relish re-visiting every year - to the crease. We know well Arosh's powers with the bat, and thus began a game of cat and mouse with the strike that, ultimately, bore fruit. Skipper Pearce marshalled his field so as to deny Arosh any real opportunity to score more than a single at a time, and, as the required run-rate rose to above 7/over, Arosh felt the need to push on, moved out of his crease to Edward's bowling, the ball turned away from his lunging bat (so Edwards says) and Paul, now keeping, took off the bails. A real cricket moment.
Brunswick still had wickets in hand, of course, and they did hit out more and more as the required rate rose. Honse came on after his two-year loan to some of the best sides in the U.S. and the Czech Republic, and took a wicket as Jim (oh yes!) ran round the boundary denying a six, and, instead, somehow hanging on to a catch, and the run rate crept up and up to nearer 8 and then 9 per over.
Skipper Pearce had kept some overs back from Matt, and in a masterly piece of strategic thinking, bowled him out first thus ensuring that, by the time Jim and Edward came on to bowl the last three overs, the game was more or less lost to the home side. The batsmen duly hit out, with creditable success, but they ended up 6 runs short in a game that was TWCC's to lose, which we didn't.
A good opener for the season, marked by some good performances, not least that of James who more or less carried his coat through the entire TWCC innings in a marathon stint of  laissez-faire umpiring, and, although we are aware that our side is currently missing some key players to whom our thoughts and good wishes frequently turn, we look forward to the next game.

Scorecard
Brunswick Village won the toss and chose to field.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 69; J Trollope ct Penney bld M Blackman 3; T Pearce bld D Blackman 59; E Bunn bld Burton 3; J Simon ct Burton bld A Wickremesinghe 12; P Chatfield not out 1. DNB: J Panther, M Edwards, H Karvay. Extras 30 (1-nb 14-w 5-lb 10-b). Total 176 for 4.
Brunswick Village Bowling: M Blackman 6-0-18-1; A Wickremesinghe 6-1-29-1; D Green 2-0-23-0; Pengelly 4-0-17-0; Burton 7-0-29-1; A Fernandopulle 4-0-23-0; Barrs 3-0-18-0; D Blackman 3-0-14-1.
Brunswick Village Innings: D Blackman bld Bunn 42; S Pengelly bld Chatfield 27; A Fernandopulle st Hunter bld Bunn 20; A Moroney ct & bld Chatfield 4; P Styles bld Chatfield 0; M Blackman ct Hunter (wk) bld Edwards 14; N Penney not out 18; D Green ct Simon bld Karvay 14; A Wickremesinghe run out 14. DNB: C Burton, K Barrs. Extras 16 (3-nb 10-w 3-b). Total 170 for 7.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-1-15-1; J Trollope 3-0-13-0; P Hunter 5-0-32-0; J Simon 5-0-23-0; P Chatfield 7-0-40-3; E Bunn 6-0-27-2; H Karvay 2-0-16-1.
TWCC win by 6 runs.

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 3rd
A long rainy morning spent waiting for the phone to ring to call the whole thing off was finally over and a miscellany of TWCC players eventually found themselves wandering about in the fog in Streat. With Skipper Brock still recuperating it was, once again, Skipper Pearce who lost the toss and so led his troops into the field.                              
Stan chose to bat first, thus allowing his Streat players unfair access to cups of tea, whilst TWCC set about giving Streat an unassailable total. Jim and Paul Chatfield started it all off, and so began an afternoon of bowlers trying not to fall over in the mud. The general bowling and fielding effort was well-intentioned in the face of inclement conditions, and a number of TWCC players variously distinguised themselves in isolated acts of dedication, but in the end the 101 not out from a powerful and capable Ian Harvey, who, thankfully, retired after securing his century, proved to be the difference between the two sides. With Matt Porter (25) and Pete Davies (37) also contributing to the Streat cause as the overs meandered towards the end of the agreed allocation of 35, the home side eventually finished on 215 for 7. It was a pleasure sharing the field with Dave Jones who bowled a short spell between travels, and similarly good to have Joe Panther turning over his arm and taking a couple of wickets.
So... onto the TWCC innings...
Well... batters were in short supply. James (22, 4 x 4's) and Tony (14, 3 x 4's) opened, because they can bat, and then the rest of us did our best for just about long enough for the pub to open. With TWCC never getting close to the required run rate (sorry - Ed.), Stan didn't make us struggle too much, but, even so, TWCC only managed to score 93 before being all out (9 wickets).
So, Streat comprehensively beat TWCC, and the traditional to-ing and fro-ing of results continue; games, and then seasons, come and go and we get older and no wiser and long may it continue.
Scorecard
Streat and Westmeston won the toss and chose to bat. (35 overs/side, max 7/bowler)
Streat and Westmeston Innings: Ian Harvey not out (retired to be nice) 101; Simon Lea ct Trollope bld J Simon 6; Pat Wise ct & bld E Bunn 8; Matt Porter ct Pearce (wkt) bld J Panther 25; James Porter bld J Panther 5; Pete Davies LBW bld J Simon 37; Carter C-P bld J Simon 3; Danny C-P not out 15; Harry Freeman ct & bld J Simon 1; Mark Hartfield not out 1. DNB Stan Spiegel. Extras 13 (3-b, 2 lb, 5-w, 3-nb) Total 215 for 7.
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 7-1-28-4; P Chatfield 3-0-24-0; E Bunn 5-0-28-1; P Steinke 7-1-41-0; D Jones 3-0-30-0; J Panther 4-0-22-2; J Trollope 3-0-16-0; H Karvay 3-0-21-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope ct M Porter bld H Freeman 22; Tony Pearce LBW bld M Hartfield 14; J Simon ct P Davies bld C Poynting 17; J Panther ct M Porter bld J Porter 18; E Bunn bld S Spiegel 6; P Chatfield ct D Poynting bld C Poynting 5; D Jones run out (P Wise) 2; T Simon bld S Spiegel 2; H Karvay LBW bld S SPiegel 0; P Steinke not out 0. Extras 7 (1-b, 5-w, 1nb). Total 93 all out (9wkts).
Streat and Westmeston Bowling: H Freeman 7-1-24-1; M Hartfield 7-1-30-1; J Porter 4-0-18-1; C Carey-Poyning 6-2-12-2; S Spiegel 2.2-0-7-3.
Streat and Westmeston win by 122 runs.

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TWCC v Greys May 10th 2015
The balmier end of the weather spectrum arrived in time for TWCC's first home game of the season, versus Greys. Skipper Brock lost the toss, and then, still slightly wobbly following a nasty incident abroad, retired from the rest of the game - bar a brief spell of washing up undertaken only after Julia and Kay had done the man's share. Thus, with good sense prevailing, though it was clearly and understandably tough on Richard to sit out a real live game of cricket, Edward stepped into the skipper's shoes and took matters in hand from there.
So; to the game.
TWCC were put into bat and Paul and James started the ball rolling. It didn't look as if the bowling was easy to get away on a slow outfield, particularly bowling of the slower wobbly variety, and the start was a slow one. Paul didn't really get going ... and, actually, looking at the book, it 's apparent that with two exceptions, no-one else did either. The exceptions were a match-winning innings of 75 from James, and a hustling and forceful push at the end from Paul Chatfield. James started slowly, which is no bad thing because he didn't get out, and then, both as his confidence in putting bat to ball grew, and time and partners were running out, he unleased some fierce well-timed blows, many of which ended up in the Green Toilet Complex behind the pavilion. In the end he was out for 75, (6 x 4's, 4 x 6's).
Steve tried, in his characterisitcally ebullient fashion, to get things moving, with some short-lived success, and Matt Edwards looked every inch a batsman as he calmed the pavilion pundits with some classy stroke-play but, in the end, he too was out when he tried to pick up the pace. Jim didn't do much at all, and although Edward's new bat did sound much more solid than it did on debut, he, too, was out, caught, pushing on as we had to do with time running out and thoughts turning to lemon drizzle cake.
Which brought in Paul Chatfield whose bat certainly had no sonic deficiences at all and who hustled about the wicket, pushing runs and generally unsettling the oppostion. Joe and newcomer Twineham resident Barry joined in the frolic and, as wickets fell and the total grew, and Honse and Matt B played their parts, we got to tea in the last available over with Paul C out for an entertaining and important 16 and an encouraging final TWCC total of 143 all out.
Jim's fortunes at the Pavilion end were broadly successful, helped by a fine Trollope catch at point, but it only took Matt Edwards one ball, upon replacing Jim, to line up his sights before taking a wicket with his second. Well, to be honest, the sights were still set a little high, but bowled is bowled in anyone's book. Matt's next four overs were unproductive both in terms of wickets for TWCC and runs for Greys, but his last two overs saw two more wickets fall, one clean bowled and another sharply caught behind by Steve - also playing his first match of the season having recently returned from playing in the West Indies.
The Greys batsmen never really got a stand going and, missing their Aussie star, the writing was on the wall, but what did it say? Did it say "Twineham and Wineham often struggle to take 10 wickets" or was it "look out Greys, we're mad for it?"
Paul H took over from Matt B and kept the pressure on, begining and ending his spell with maidens and taking a wicket in between, and Honse and Joe finished up the match under the careful eye of Skipper Bunn who rather expertly marshalled his forces with aplomb and a firm hand. Honse took a wicket and Joe two, and we never got around to Paul C's bowling but that happens sometimes and that was that - a win for TWCC under Captain Bunn. Pub pub pub. Pub.

Scorecard:
Match played at Twinehem. Greys won the toss and chose to field.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct, bld Southon 8; J Trollope bld Newlands 75; S Rogers ct, bld Southon 3; M Edwards ct, bld Sewell 8; J Simon bld sewell 4; E Bunn ct, bld Newlands 4; P Chatfield ct, bld Malyon 16; J Panther ct, bld Malyon 6; B Adley ct, bld Azami 3; H Karvay ct, bld Malyon 0; M Brock not out 1. Extras 15 (2-b, 11-w, 2-nb) Total 143 all out.
Greys Bowling: Gallagher 8-2-21-0; Southon 7-0-16-2; Sewell 8-0-29-2; B Newlands10-1-22-2; Azami 5-0-43-1; Malyon 2.4-0-11-3.
Greys Innings: Brasher bld Edwards 12; Line ct Trollope bld Simon 3; Malyon bld M Brock 18; Burgess ct Rogers (wkt) bld Edwards 3; Dykes bld M Brock 2; Fenton bld Edwards 13; Newland ct Edwards bld Hunter 5; Sewell ct Hunter bld Panther 3; Gallagher bld Karvay 7; Azami ct M Brock bld Panther 4; Southon not out 6. Extras 34 (12-b, 3-lb, 17-w, 2nb). Total 113 all out.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 11-1-30-2; Simon 7-2-18-1; Edwards 7-0-12-3; Hunter 5-2-13-1; Karvay 4-0-15-1; Panther 2.1-0-11-2.
TWCC win by 30 runs.

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Stanmer Swans (Hadlow Down and Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC May 17th 2015
TWCC have become accustomed to the annual trek to the vestigial tail of the A272, but, although the humps and marshy hollows of the Hadlow Down pitch now come as no surprise, they still deserve respect and are often the cause of a tight and interesting low-scoring match.
The Gazette finds itself slightly at a loss regarding how to refer to the team always known as Moulsecoomb Wanderers, for their website now calls them "Stanmer Swans (incorporating Hadlow Down and Moulsecoomb Wanderers) Cricket Club". The Gazette assumes that there has been a name change and the Gazette will therefore, in true tabloid sporty reporty style, and at some saving of e-ink and possible RSI lawsuits, henceforth refer to TWCC's opponents of the 17th May as the "Swans".
The Swans won the toss and chose to bat first, no doubt putting runs on the board having proved on many occasions to be a sound policy at their home ground. On this occasion, however, it wasn't until some way into their innings that the Swans' scoring rate picked up. Opening with the ball for TWCC Matt Edwards and Honse soon had the Swans slightly behind the game and Honse, though still finding his way so early in the season, tempted Kevin Cooke down the track once too often with the resultant stumping being the first indication of the busy and impressive day Jonathan was about to have behind the timbers. Matt Edwards, as his eight over spell developed, progessively found his range with the ball alternately sticking in the wicket or skidding through (Jonathan again proving to be a natural with the gloves) and homed in on the stumps to bowl the Swans' free-hitting No. 2.
Joe replaced Honse with no tangible success though the batsmen were occasionally troubled, and Matt E was replaced by Matt B. What a trump card! Imagine seeing off the opening bowler, breathing a sigh of relief if you're still there, only to find another opening bowler steaming in at you, and Matt Brock certainly made it count as his second and seventh balls clattered into the stumps. This run of wickets brought the Swans' No. 6 to the crease, who hit the ball hard with bat and head, and the total began to climb. What does Skipper Brock have up his sleeve? Another opening bowler! Tom Rydon ran in hard and bowled very well at a time the Swans were trying to hit out, and his 5-over spell, though wicketless, only went for 11 runs at just the time the Swans' most belligerent hitter was at the crease.
There then began a rather painful series of events, and there is now a need to go and make a nice cup of strong coffee before anything more can be written about it...

Right...

Richard bowled a 3.5 over spell, and took 5 for 6. There; it is written. There shall be no comment on the nature of some of the deliveries involved, the facts are that in his first over he was on a hat-trick, and in his fourth over he had three for no runs in five balls and closed out the innings - the Swans all out for 112. It would be churlish not to congratulate Richard on this spell which is what it was and it will forever be there in the TWCC scorebook. Those present on the day will be only too happy to talk about Richard's success, but the Gazette suggests asking someone other than Richard himself about it as his natural modesty might prevent him from describing events with any degree of accuracy.
A lovely tea, thank you to the Swans' tea monitor, and then to business; 113 to win.
Paul and James began the run chase, and James finished it. Continuing on with his good 2015 form, James, understandably specualtive at first on the unpredictable wicket, opened out as the win was assured, including a lovely high six over the trees, and carried his bat through to the end of play. Paul (17) and Tony (14) also scored well on a dificult pitch, and Jonathan did get in to hit a four, but it was James who won the day ending up on 61 not out.
To the pub! The rather dour New Inn, with something of the more remote sections of Pennine Way about it, was transformed by a cheery TWCC side, Harveys IPA and Mild on tap, though neither was tried in favour of Best. With youth in the side there was also a worrying consumption of "lager" (which bears no relation to anything brewed in Germany or Denmark) but, whether fuelled by real beer or chemical contrivance, a general spell of tour-like camaraderie ensued and soon Richard's spell was but a distant memory.

Scorecard

Match played at Hadlow Down. Swans
won the toss and chose to bat. 
Swans Innings: K Cooke st Rowland bld Karvay 5; D McGowan bld Edwards 22; S Rogers LBW Edwards 7; N Dunn bld M Brock 11; G Smith bld M Brock 2; M Huiton/Hinton/Hunton(?) st Rowland bld R Brock 34; A Fowler ct Edwards bld R Brock 6; S Hilliard st Rowland bld R Brock 0; I Sherlock not out 5; J Mac LBW bld R Brock 0; W Roberts bld R Brock 0; Extras 20 (1-b, 2-lb, 15-w, 2-nb) Total 112 all out.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-2-14-2; H Karvay 5-0-28-1; J Panther 4-0-18-0; M Brock 6-1-25-2; T Rydon 5-1-11-0; J Simon 4-2-5-0; R Brock 4.5-0-6-5.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter bld 17; J Trollope not out 61; T Pearce ct? bld? 14; J Rowland not out 4. DNB H Karvay, T Rydon, J Simon, M Edwards, J Panther, M Brock, R Brock.
Swans Bowling: S Rogers 8.1-0-34-0; McGowan 5-0-22-0; N Dunn 3-0-18-0; Roberts 1-0-13-0; Not Sure 1-0-21-0; Sherlock 1-0-4-1. Extras 14 (3-nb, 8-w, 3-b). Total 114 for 2.
TWCC win by 8 wickets.

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 24th 2015
Skipper Brock, fielding an, on paper, strong TWCC side, won the toss and chose to bat first, thinking, rightly as it turned out, that if we couldn't get 10 wickets with the bowling attack we had, we wouldn't deserve to win. Runs on the board the first order of the day and in went Steve and James to see what they could do. Bolney opened with young pace from the Scoreboard End, but it was the sticky, slower and generally get-yourself-out bowling from J Elliott that proved Steve's undoing. James continued his fine form of 2015, and as long as the nippiness of J Bowles was negotiated, there were plenty of scoring opportunites. Tony, Richard and Rob ensured, with James, that plenty of runs would be on the board by the time tea arrived, so a certain amount of abandon was encouraged in the batting which resulted in both a good final total and a regular fall of wickets. Notable events; James' 43, Tony and Rob scoring freely, Matt's excellent and assured 39, Tom's big six, and 

At this point the Gazette received a visit from  the ASP (Attention Span Police) hit squad, and they pointed at the above opening paragraph as just the sort of thing they were intsructed to eliminate. So we find we are now under a distinct obligation to make the text "more immediate," and anyone with an interest in how different characters meandered through the ebbs and flows of village cricket on a sunny Sunday afternoon now need to make their own inferences from the scorecard below. That's the Big Society for you.
Here's the rest of the write up:

Joe run out ha ha everyone batted tea good bowling drops near misses no scoring no wickets draw.

As an excercise, the ASP insisted I show some of the words that, on reflection, we could all do without; Edward, quick, single, Joe, slow, straight, bat, scone, scoreboard, Matt, Tom, wide, speed, Rob, snick, doh!, unlucky, dogged, dull, drift, snub, Royal Oak.


Scorecard:
Match played at Bolney. TWCC
won the toss and chose to bat. 
TWCC Innings: S Rogers bld J Elliott 2; J Trollope ct Entwhistle bld J Elliott 43; T Pearce ct Entwhistle bld J Elliott 20; R Brock ct B Griffin bld E Entwhistle 9; R Rydon ct J Elliott bld P Meader 27; M Edwards ct Entwhistle bld P Meader 39; J Simon ct J Elliott bld P Meader 16; E Bunn not out 11; J Panther run out 0; T Rydon bld P Meader 12; H Karvay not out 1; Extras 32 (9-b, 4-lb, 14-w, 5-nb) Total 212 for 9.
Bolney Bowling: J Bowles 6-1-32-0; J Elliott 12-2-41-3; E Entwhistle 12-2-58-1; P Meader 9-0-55-4; O Atkins 4-0-13-0.
Bolney Innings: J Moore LBW Panther 52; J Bowles ct S Roger (wk) bld E Bunn 49; G Bignell bld J Simon 12; J Elliott not out 18; R Atkins ct S Rogers (wk) bld Panther 0; S Bowles not out 8. DNB: E Entwhistle, P Meader, B Griffin, O Atkins, M Green.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 5-1-14-0; T Rydon 4-0-26-0; J Trollope 4-0-13-0; R Rydon 7-0-29-0; E Bunn 6-0-23-1; J Simon 7-0-22-1; R Brock 5-0-17-0; H Karvay 2-0-7-0; J Panther 2-0-9-2. Extras 25 (3-nb, 18-w, 4-b). Total 164 for 4.
Match Drawn.

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West Chiltington v TWCC June 7th 2015
To the West! A new fixture for TWCC at West Chiltington, courtesy, we understand, of contact via the Rydons. A wonderful new clubhouse, appointed with every facility - even toilets! Our entire clubhouse would fit in the Away dressing room. This isn't to say that there isn't a touch of Dallas in the overall sweeping vision, but the design matches, no doubt, the scale of operations as the thriving club runs several young sides and who knows how many senior sides, some almost senior enough to take us on in a fair fight. On the day of our visit the whole clubhouse and surrounding territory were a-throng with what we like to think of as spectators, though, as the day was also one in which the village were engaged upon raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care and were using the pavilion as the centre of operations, the numbers of TWCC fans may have been slightly less than we imagined. As part of our day with our new hosts TWCC were pleased to enter into the mood of the day with both the charitable nature of our bowling and by giving £110 for our tea - proceeds to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
At some point we had to come down to Earth and play some of what we like to call cricket. Skipper Brock lost the toss, and the host side said they'd like to bat first, which led to Matt Edwards steaming down the hill with a new Reader in his hands, pushing the ball through with some pace and lift. A great spell, his only wicket coming from a high glove through to Steve who took a sharp catch up round his ear 'oles. With no bad balls and three consecutive maidens it was a fine way to start the game and impress on the batting side that they had a real match on their hands. Tom Rydon, bowling up the hill, took a wicket in his first over and continued to trouble the batsmen with his pace for the rest of his, slightly expensive, spell. Jim replaced Tom and managed to put a plodding brake on the rate of scoring from that end until he didn't when 16 runs came off the last of his allotted eight overs. In the midst of this passage of play Paul Chatfield took a great low tumbling catch running to his right at long-on, which added a welcome gloss to Jim's spell which might otherwise have passed un-noticed.
Matt was taken off after seven overs, thus retaining a useful single over for later, and was replaced by Rob who, visibly fired up by the classy surroundings, ran in hard and bowled as heartily and fast as we've seen from him. Sadly, though, Rob hadn't travelled with his usual matching entourage of elite snick-fielders and several lovely edges were put down. Rob, ever cheerful, smiled his way through this abundance of moral victories and concentrated his good humour fiercely onto the stumps.
The West Chiltington batters were now, at this stage of the innings, begining to really find their range, using their feet to get down the wicket and strike hard for boundaries. Paul Chatfield's bowling, though initally troubling for the batsmen, coincided with this period of scoring abandon, as did all bowlers plying their trade through to the end of the innings. Edward took a well-engineered caught and bowled wicket at the end of his three overs, though much run-scoring was being indulged in by the host side. Matt Edwards' last remaining over, though, only went for 2, and Rob's final bowling effort gave him at least some of the 5-for he should have had (if not 6 - I lost count!) yielding 3 for just 16 in this  second spell of 4 overs. Richard bowled very well to contain the scoring and to take the important wicket of the clearly capable hard-hitting home skipper as Steve, standing up, stuck out a glove to a fine edge. Joe, always worth a try, only went for 15 off his one over, and at the end of the 40 overs, West Chiltington had 222 on the board with 8 wickets down. With bowling excellence from Matt and Rob, and Paul's fine catch being the highlights of the fielding performance, the cricketers went to tea with a mix of emotions; West Chiltington happy in the knowledge that they had scored well, with three key contributions from Taylor, Wyatt and Haggart totalling 163 runs between them (oh Rob... why didn't you get them out?), TWCC excited at the prospect of taking on a proper batting challenge, and Joe pleased at being allowed to sort out his refreshments.
So; on with the game! James and Steve opened the batting, with neither looking to be in any great difficulty. James, having had a look, hit his second scoring stroke for a straight 6, thus setting the tone of the innings, and once again it was James' runs that formed the backbone of the TWCC effort. Steve chose to end his participation early by setting off for a risky second run, risky because hitting the stumps direct from the deep seems to be normal in West Chiltington. This brought Tony to the crease who has the prize for the best sounds of the day as his only 6 wreaked some sort of havoc behind a tall hedge. There were certainly tiles involved. Tony, out too soon, played at a wide delivery and nicked a very thin edge to the keeper for an entertaining 23. James' second or third wind was required when Rob joined him after Tony's exit, and these two continued the chase in a very enertaining way. For much of their innings TWCC were behind in the game, but the outfield was quick and we did bat deep.
James, out in the end for a magnificent 82, once again formed the backbone of the TWCC chase - his runs this year have been invaluable and have allowed a freedom of strokeplay all the way down the order, but he was out, caught, fully opening the throttle as the chase built to a climax. Edward's 2015 form continues to build, and as he added 24 quick runs it became clear that TWCC might get near the 223 required for victory. Paul, Jim and Joe didn't much further the cause; Paul succumbing to a run out and Jim and Joe to the resurgent Monday bowling very well out of the direct Sun; but Tom and Richard did, indeed, get us close enough for some distinct excitement to circulate. In the end, following an extraordinary young man's 6 from Tom as he swatted a high no ball into the trees at backwards square, we needed just 7 off the last over with 9 wickets down. The first and third balls each yielded a single, then the fourth a scrambled 2 which returned Tom to face. 3 to win off 2 balls. Tom swung through the line of the penultimate ball - hard to see anything much at all looking hard into the sun - and he didn't connect as well as he can and the ball lobbed into the hands of grateful Skipper Armstrong at mid-wicket. A West Chiltington victory, albeit a narrow one. Did anyone mind? Not really - a great day at a great venue against a welcoming side, with some personal successes and good captaincy all round that engineered an exciting finish for the abundant crowd who had all gone home.

Scorecard:
Match played at West Chiltington. 40 overs limited over format. West Chiltington won the toss and chose to bat first.
West Chiltington Innings: L Rickman ct S Rogers (wkt) bld Edwards 2; T Wilkinson bld T Rydon 4; R Taylor ct & bld Bunn 72; C Wyatt ct Chatfield bld Simon 32; I Haggart LBW R Rydon 59; M Armstrong ct S Rogers bld R Brock 6; C Room bld R Rydon 4; A Kay bld R Rydon 0; J Trees (Jnr) not out 5; T Monday not out 19. DNB S Hodgson. Extras 13 (w-6, nb-7). Total 222 for 8.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-3-21-1; T Rydon 5-0-42-1; J Simon 8-0-50-1; R Rydon 8-0-28-3; P Chatfield 3-0-23-0; E Bunn 3-0-25-1; R Brock 4-0-25-1; J Panther 1-0-15-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope ct, bld Richman 82; S Rogers run out 7; T Pearce ct wkt, bld Armstrong 23; R Rydon ct, bld Hodgson 27; M Edwards bld Hodgson 0; E Bunn bld Monday 24; P Chatfield run out 0; J Simon bld Monday 4; J Panther bld Monday 0; T Rydon ct Armstrong bld Monday 13; R Brock not out 6. Extras 33 (2-nb, 15-w, lb-5, b-11). Total 219 all out.
West Chiltington Bowling: R Taylor 5-2-6-0; T Monday 7.5-1-19-4; J Trees 4-0-23-0; M Armstrong 8-0-34-1; S Hodgson 8-0-44-2; Jim G 4-0-0-24; L Rickman 2-0-15-1; Wyatt 1-0-19-0.
(The West Chiltington bowling analysis may be incorrect in certain details concerning T Monday and Jim G - but it's a "GGG" (Good Gazette Guess!))
West Chiltington won by 3 runs.

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TWCC v London Unity June 14th 2015
London Unity... We seem not to do so well against them. A look back through the online TWCC archive shows that in the last 7 games we've drawn twice and lost three times (plus 2 rained off) with no wins! How do Unity do this? When you consider that TWCC are such a serious and competent team how come the Unity side has the wood over us?
So it was with all this, from a TWCC point of view, unsatisfactory history behind him that Brocky strode to the middle and decided to at least win the toss. Having done so, and choosing to field first, the Skipper had ensured TWCC of the best chance of controlling the match.
So it was with happiness in his heart that Skipper Brock revelled, nay, basked, in the excellence of the two Matts' opening spells. Charging in hard and bowling with some pace, the batsmen never really stood a chance. Matt E took two wickets and Matt B another and thus it was that the Unity's No's 4 and 5 got in early. They then set about putting some runs on the board.  Messrs Driver (J) and A Gane began to score more freely and thus it fell to Jim and Phil to stem the flow - a feat magniificently achieved by one of them. Jim, on the other hand, saw his first over go for 14, though he did then start to bowl at the feet of the free-swinging Gane and order was restored. Phil's spell, bowled during a critical period of hitting out, of 11 overs 0 for just 19, was a  remarkable return from injury. What a valuable player he is; having someone who is simply so difficult to get away is a great asset to his side. Jim, after a final bad over (there were some good ones in there too - Ed) , was replaced by the skpper with... the skipper, and Richard and Phil now bowling together took us on towards tea. Gane was out to Richard and, with the Unity total only standing at around 100, the time was right for the Captain to introduce other bowlers and to spread the game around. On this occasion this cost a lot of runs, but it was nonetheless the right thing to do, and it often brings wickets too as the batters see boundaries in their eyes and play poor shots (see TWCC innings below...) and the final few overs saw the total reach 172 at tea with Joe Driver falling in the end for a fine 73 to a stumping by Steve off Honse, and Gane, possibly the more destructive of the two on the day, having been out to a dolly catch to Matt E at mid-off (still needs catching!!! - Ed.) off the bowling off Richard for 57. It would have been easy for Richard to bring back the Matts before the final run-fest, but this is a Sunday game and all players need to play, and, besides, the final Unity score shouldn't be beyond us. Should it?
On with the game, for those that could move, which, surprisngly, considering the nature of all the imbibifications, included the Unity catching staff. The Unity also play in full Sunday fun mode, and they were not blind to the fact that their score was somewhat generously enhanced, so the TWCC openers were not asked to face the Messrs Drivers from the off, and, indeed, neither Mark nor Joe bowled a ball during the game.
The scorebook tells the story; all out for 122, all but the final two wickets caught! Hitting on the up to get-yourself-out bowling we got ourselves out. If there is any excuse it might be that this is only the second game we've played on our artificial wicket this season, and the last one was some time ago early on in May, and TWCC batters may have been surprised by the slightly high bounce of the ball off the wicket which does tend a stricken ball to rise up somewhat, but, in all truth, we probably have relied on James too much this season, and on this occasion he failed us so the eventual defeat clearly has to be laid at his door.
Some batting highlights there were; Matt E again looking very good with a 35, Edward's continuing rise of form, and Matt Brock who simply let fly and cheered the crowd with a four and two sixes, one of which may have disturbed the stash in one of the dressing rooms. But it has to be recorded that TWCC lost again to the Unity, all out for 122, 50-odd runs short of the Unity's 172. Some of this is possibly due to the fact that the TWCC team on the day had one opener and ten middle order batsmen, but the conditions were good, the bowling not difficult and we failed we failed we failed... Beer required, which was, on this occasion, particularly fine! Hooray for the restorative that is Harveys!!!

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and Richard Brock elected to field first.
London Unity Innings: J Burke ct Rogers (wkt) bld Edwards 10; M Cockburn bld Edwards 1; A Pitcher bld M Brock 5; J Driver st Rogers bld Karvay 73; A Gane ct Edwards bld R Brock 57; M Driver not out 10. No names for the DNB's. Extras 16 (nb-3, w-9, LB-2,b-2) Total 172 for 5.
TWCC Bowling: Edwards 8-1-20-2; M Brock 8-1-19-1; J Simon 6-2-29-0; P Steinke 11-2-19-0; R Brock 4-0-18-1; P Chatfield 3-0-33-0; H Karvay 2-0-30-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope ct, bld Nutall 5; S Rogers ct, bld Nutall 2; R Brock ct wkt bld Garfield 5; M Edwards ct wkt bld Williams 35; J Simon ct, bld Nutall 14; E Bunn ct, bld Williams 16; P Chatfield ct, bld Williams 1; J Panther ct, bld Williams 7; M Brock ct, bld Clarke 20; H Karvay not out 1; P Steinke bld Clarke 0. Extras 11 (nb-4, w-7) Total 122 all out
London Unity Bowling: J Garfield 8-0-29-1; A Nutall 7-0-40-3; J Williams 8-0-27-4; J Clarke 8-0-24-2.
London Unity won by 5 wickets.

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TWCC v Headliners June 21st 2015
"Total cricket" - that's what we were promised by an ebullient captain when he finally put down Brendon McCullum's autobiography. A wind of change was sweeping through the home dressing room, most noticeable, curiously, just after the match.
The Headliners won the toss and decided to bat first, and TWCC's energised skipper chose to open the his side's bowling attack with Matt Edwards and Joe Panther. Matt didn't settle straight away into his usual smooth and effective rhythm, but he soon came good, of course, and Joe was also producing some tantalisingly good balls that asked the question of the Headliners' opening batsmen (that question being "will this ball be down the leg side again?"). First change was to get Matt Brock on, and he came on with a bang. Committed to bowling as fast as he could he certainly put the wind up the Headliners as much with the deliveries on a full length as with a few accidental no-ball beamers. Matt Edwards, now firing well, took a wicket and was, of course, immediately taken off by Brendon Brock, to be replaced with Jim who bowled very tightly for his four overs, with two maidens for just 2 runs. Matt Brock, a fine four-fer being his reward for a great spell, was removed from the attack as the capabilities of the batters began to falter, and Matt was naturally happy to forgo the opportunity for a five-for and make way for others in the team. But was this individual denial a good thing for the Headliners? No it wasn't! for this change brought the resurgent Phil Steinke into the attack, and he certainly delivered. In two spells, for Brendan Brock was mixing it up well, Phil - back to his best - was repeatedly finding his length and line and causing the ball to rise just on and outside the off-stump. Phil, with the second four-fer in the match, ended with figures of 6-3-6-4 and, as James' tea loomed, the Headliners never recovered their mojo and they ended up all out for 106 in 36.3 overs. Harwood and Proctor scored the majority of the Headliners' runs, neither giving many chnaces before the need for some runs rather forced their hands.
The Gazette would like to excuse its departure from the normally well organised and considered analysis, but a chronological listing of the on-off deployment of the bowling talent by Skipper Brock would make for dull and repetetive reading (and writing) and we don't want too much of that, though clearly some is desirable. Honse, James and Richard himself (ever searching for cheap wickets) also bowled with some effect, a wicket falling to Honse, and, all in all, it was a most effective and miserly TWCC bowling performance, with Matt B and Phil the outstanding pair.
James' tea, often, for some reason, the source of some japery, was, in the opinion of the Gazette's Fine Dining Correspondent, a great relief. Elegant in its simplicity - a few nicely filled sandwiches here and there topped off with some moist cakes - what was there not to like? The egg sandwiches, often offered, sometimes over-fussy, were on this occasion best described as sandwiches with egg in them. Perfect.
The only problem with it being James' tea was that he still had his pinny on when it was time to start the 107 run chase, and so Jim, at last elevated up the batting order as he so richly deserves, manfully stepped in to open with Paul H for just long enough to allow James to get his pads on. Paul, studious in defense and comprehensive in attack, watched Jim's cover drive for 4 with disbelief, and then set about batting with his usual opening partner when Jim was cleaned bowled by a ball that dived in six-iches off a good length and took out his middle stump. James, in spite of being in top form this season, faired little better - the small amount of washing up still to do no doubt preying on his mind - which brought Honse to the crease. Some pundits might be surprised to learn that, just as Norman Wisdom is big in Albania, so is Geoffrey Boycott esteemed in the Czech Republic. Honse, ever the eager student in his blocking classes at school, brought all his resistance to the fore in this, his personal tribute to his national hero. Thus it was that Honse, by protecting Paul from the excellent left arm over bowling of Proctor, kept both his end up and the powder of the rest of the TWCC batting line-up dry.
And it came to pass that Proctor and Foster were both seen off by Honse and Paul. With his job done Honse duly got out to allow Edward in to encourage Paul to run some quick singles and the odd two. As the finishing post approached Paul finally allowed himself to hit out, and, with a match-winning 65 not out (11 fours, 1 six), he saw TWCC home with seven wickets to spare. A great return for Paul - straight in with some serious runs and a good job too.
Total cricket, everyone got some sort of a game with the possible exception of the skipper himself, and the team look forward to Tony winning the single wicket next weekend.

Scorecard
Headliners won the toss and elected to bat first. 40 overs match, max 8 overs per bowler.
Headliners Innings: Barnett bld M Brock 8; F Foster ct Rogers (wkt) bld Steinke 12; Hollis Ct Rogers (wkt) bld Steinke 2; Harwood bld M Brock 35; Palmer ct Bunn bld Steinke 0; Smith ct Rogers (wkt) bld Karvay 0; Proctor ct Panther bld M Brock 26; Reid not out 4; G Foster ct R Brock bld Steinke 0; Talbot bld Edwards 0. Extras 15 (nb-3, w-7, lb-4, b-1). Total 106 all out.
TWCC Bowling: Edwards 6.3-2-18-1; Panther 5-0-23-0; M Brock 7-1-21-4; Simon 4-2-2-0; Karvay 4-0-18-1; P Steinke 6-3-6-4; Trollope 3-0-12-0; R Brock 1-0-2-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter nout out 65; J Simon bld F Foster 4; J Trollope ct, bld F Foster 2; H Karvay ct, bld Penfold 4; E Bunn nout out 10. DNB S Rogers, M Edwards,R Brock, J Panther, M Brock, P Steinke. Extras 24 (w-13, b-11). Total 109 for 3.
Headliners Bowling: F Foster 8-0-39-1; Proctor 8-5-7-0; Penfold 5-0-31-1; G Foster 4-0-15-0; Talbot 0.1-0-4-0.
TWCC win by 7 wickets.

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TWCC Tour to Bournemouth July 3rd - 5th 2015
This was a much anticipated tour: the first for two years, and one in which we were in the happy position of being awash with young testosterone-driven stallions keen to show off their talents in cricket and night clubs alike. Two of the aforementioned, Joe and Matt E, set off early on the Friday, opting to take in a country pub in the New Forest. Edward, Paul, Phil, Jim, Richard, Matt B and Honse set out from Twineham at lunchtime, Dave and Steve from Brighton. It was a lovely warm day and a pleasant two hour trip along the coast brought us to our destination:  Bournemouth’s West Cliff hotel, in the heart of the town’s vibrant kebab district. The rooms were a tribute to the deceptive powers of wide angle photography, but this was a cricket tour and we didn’t need to swing any cats. 
Within minutes of arrival, we gathered on the patio in warm sunshine and in the manner of a 1970s swingers party, the skipper threw the captaincy into a pot, inviting offers for that evening’s action. Three put their names forward: Matt Brock’s name was first out – but the smile left his face when he was told the winner was the last one to be drawn. Joe, too, was disappointed but Matt Edwards` face flushed with delight as the power surge took hold. Seconds later he dismissed the option of pulling the batting order out of a hat as per the last tour. No, skipper Edwards would do things his way and much credit to him for that. 
We departed for the village of Puddletown in good time for a 6pm start for our 20/20 fixture. It was a pretty ground deep in Dorset’s most historical region, with an artificial pitch similar to our own.  It was a beautiful summer’s evening. Matt lost his first toss as Skip and we were put into bat, an exciting-looking combination of Steve and Jim opening up. Well, when we say opening up, we mean opening – because, after 4 overs, we were on 6 - including 4 extras. Our WASP was 30. However Jim then started a remarkable series of fours which pushed the score on considerably. Steve was caught hitting out to mid-wicket for 1 which brought in our new skipper. His first ball was a wide. His next ball was also a wide. However his next ball – and his first legal one – he politely returned to the bowler for a caught-and-bowled and the tour’s first golden duck. At least Edward faced a legal ball as well as two wides before he swept it round into the arms of a grateful backward square leg for 0.  We were 31-3 from 8 overs. However, Jim just kept on swatting the fours, the backbone of the innings, and celebrated an excellent and crucial 50. Dave was run out for 3 and a short time later Jim was caught for 60. 87-5. But the team rallied and from there on, all the batsmen added a few to keep the score ticking over and we finished on a creditable, and defendable, 128-9. 
Leading his team onto the field, the skipper listened carefully to advice from various sources – principally Phil and Edward - and opened with...Phil and Edward.  An inspired choice: both bowled accurately and tightly and they took 3 wickets in the first 5 overs with the score still not on 20- 2 good catches by the skipper and one from Jim. Edward snapped up his third wicket clean bowled and Jim and Joe took over and continued in similarly miserly vein. Puddletown dug in and started to rebuild, slowly but steadily. The next bowling change was to turn the match decisively TWCC’s way. Two wickets from Paul Chatfield’s first excellent over, clean bowling their top scorer A Knight, the other caught by Jim who was having a great match. Matt Brock picked up a wicket courtesy of a good catch - the skipper’s third – and then Chatters got another wicket first ball of his second over, a catch by his bowling partner. The next batsman, C Ascott, punched a catch to Dave Rogers at square leg – but it pinged off his pecs.  Paul’s response was to clean bowl him with his last ball for a fantastic four wicket haul. The skipper and Honse bowled out the remaining overs and Puddletown fell well short on 94-9. A win for TWCC in their first match on tour and for Matt Edwards in his first match as skipper. 

Scorecard
TWCC VS PUDDLETOWN 3rd July 2015 20:20 format
PUDDLETOWN WON THE TOSS AND OPTED TO BOWL
TWCC Innings: S Rogers Ct, Bld A Knight 1; J Simon Ct, Bld L Allen 60; M Edwards Ct & Bld Y Knight 0; E Bunn Ct, Bld Y Knight    0; D Rogers Run Out 3; J Panther Ct Wkt, Bld Clark 7; P Chatfield Ct, Bld L Stevens 8; M Brock Bld Clark 1; H Karvay Bld Clark 1; P Steinke Not Out 7; R Brock Not Out 7. TOTAL 128-9 20 OVERS.
Fall: 19-1, 29-3, 31-4, 78-5, 87-2, 101-7, 113-6, 114-8, 116-9.
Puddletown Bowling - not available.
Puddletown Innings: L Allen Ct M Edwards, Bld E Bunn 5; A Stevens Ct J Simon Bld E Bunn 1; A Barrett Ct M Edwards Bld P Steinke    9; A Fairman Ct M Edwards Bld M Brock 21; J Barrett Bld E Bunn 11; A Knight Bld P Chatfield 27; L Stevens Ct J Simon Bld P Chatfield 5; A Weir Ct M Brock Bld P Chatfield 1; C Ascott Bld P Chatfield 1; Y Knight Not Out 1; C Clarke Not Out 1. TOTAL 94-9 20 OVERS.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke 4-0-14-2; E Bunn 4-0-9-3; J Simon 4-0-32-0; J Panther 3-0-15-0; M Brock 2-0-4-1; P Chatfield 2-0-17-4; Karvay 1-0-5-0; M Edwards 1-0-4-0.
TWCC WON BY 34 RUNS

The home side took us a mile down the road to the epicentre of history: Tolpuddle, where we drank in The Martyrs pub. For those who had discussed the events, here is a brief history: 6 Tolpuddle men formed a friendly society which was judged illegal and in 1834 they were tried, found guilty and transported to Australia. The country rallied: literally – one of England’s first successful political marches and a petition of 800,000 was raised in protest. Four of the six were returned to England in 1836, one more in 1837. It was seen as the birth of the trade union movement and is celebrated worldwide. And here we were assembling – mostly legally – in a Tolpuddle pub.
Puddletown presented us with a commemorative plaque as we sampled the delicious local ale – and the boys drank lager! Fines were duly handed out: Dave Rogers was fined for dropping a catch which deprived Chatters of a possible five-fer – and Paul was fined for failing to get his five-fer. Matt Edwards was invited to take a pound from the pot for his successful captaincy – but then fined £2 for his golden duck. It’s a cruel but necessary tour tradition and few escape the sadistic reaches of the tour committee (of one... Ed.). Only Honse, Phil and the sidelined skipper were judged to have done little enough to merit any kind of mention – glorious or otherwise.
As the evening continued chatting away with the opposition, lightning flashes marked the end of a long humid day. Within minutes, great drops of rain had us scurrying inside the pub and shortly afterwards to the cars. Our thanks to our hosts who made us very welcome and ensured a great evening.
The rain got harder as we headed towards Bournemouth, and, by the time we pulled in to the hotel car park, it was torrential. A good time to stay inside in the bar. The cards came out and Steve won chase the ace as time ticked on past the midnight hour. Outside, the rain was now pouring in rivers down the road and gushing down the hotel steps, flooding the bar patio and threatening to spill over the threshold of the hotel’s reception and flood the whole place. The owner, Manz, leapt fully clothed, full-length, into the 8-inch deep flood with a long screwdriver and proceeded to unblock the drain, getting to his feet with a wide triumphant grin on his face, soaked through from head to toe. At the same time, the rain lessened and the hotel was safe. And a couple of hours later, when a few of the tourists felt the need to feed, the flood had subsided. The visit to Bournemouth’s finest kebab house – some 10 minutes away – gave an insight into the town’s visitor population: mostly young, drunk and on stag or hen weekends. Inevitably there was a queue at the kebab shop but most of us hadn’t eaten since we left Sussex so we waited, we ordered and we ate. By 3.30am we were back at the hotel and needed a long sleep on our 4-foot 6-inch long beds.
The following day we rejected our hotel’s offer of £8 for breakfast, because we saw a poster of what it included. Instead we made our way to a nearby cafe and had a meal of similar standard for £1.50 less. We headed to the golf course at Canford Magna – the River Course – destined to meet Tony and Mikey on the first tee. Buggies were booked – and it turns out these were faster than Tony’s supercharged Range Rover which hit traffic on the M3 so despite leaving at 8.30am, they were not to make it til noon. They announced their arrival with a high-fiving buggython round all the other players before Tony set about trying to convince everyone he should play off 36. Golf was a delightful course alongside the River Stour:  Edward was the true shark, shiny new clubs – unusual for someone who claims not to have played for two years – and the majority of shots pinging pleasantly straight and long. However, Steve, playing with Dave in the fourth grouping, took the honours, though because of Tony’s lateness, betting was minimal and for the most part we ended up still in pocket. After a quick après-golf beer, we made our way back to the hotel.
Now, country pubs are in short supply on Bournemouth seafront. Especially country pubs which ban tattooed youths, don’t require bouncers, have a full range of real ales, flowers round the door and folk music – all of which are required on cricket tour. The boys had mentioned that there was a Wetherspoons just round from Kebab Alley so we made our way there, much to the disgust of the older tourists. The beer was cheap and reasonable, the floor was a little sticky and smelly and the clientele equally so. We stayed for just a short while, happy to see 8pm when we could go back up the hill for our curry. 
We walked in to the restaurant find ourselves seated next to a stag party all dressed in Hawaiian shirts - identical to the one Phil was wearing! Phil proudly took his place at the head of their table to a round of applause from all. The staff were good fun, the poppadoms a little soft but the curry was very good and it was great to be a full tour of 13 all together watching the boys swiping their chosen night’s prey online. Even more fun when Joe connected Mikey’s profile to the local Gaydar network – the offers flooded in to relieve him of his `boy cherry`. Anyway, when we eventually worked our way through the vast numbers of Cobras ordered by Matt Brock, some headed back to the hotel – including Dave and Steve who were to take off at some frightful hour to head for the British Grand Prix - whilst the boys and a few granddad hangers-on went to a town bar: where the boys were let in and the granddads were turned away!!!  We headed back to the hotel to let the boys have their fun – and in traditional WGOTSOT style – we draw the curtain on the night.
The following morning, Wetherspoons was the chosen venue for breakfast – and the planned tennis, beach cricket and beach football were all cancelled in favour of leaving early for a nice country pub in Langton Green. The pub was close to our match destination – a pretty thatched establishment in the heart of a thatched village, reached via a thatched ford. We had slipped back around 200 years. A mostly non-alcoholic lunch for an hour, and off we headed to Pimperne CC. It was reached through a modern housing estate: houses backed on to the pitch, at what looked like a safe distance. Hmm....
Skipper Brock back in charge, he agreed to the home-team’s captain Brian’s suggestion of a 40 overs match, dutifully lost the toss and Pimperne opted to bat. Their opening left-hander was a very good bat and he set about it as he meant to go on, scoring 10 from the first over from Matt E. Matt and Phil rallied, Matt Brock came on with excellent pace and troubled the batsmen but still no breakthrough, as the score swept past 100 in 16 overs. Joe Panther bowled nicely but it was the introduction of Edward’s slow but accurate bowling that got the breakthrough, tempting the left hander to come down the pitch leaving Tony to sweep off the bails. In his second over he took another, LBW; both openers gone. It has to be said some of the TWCC fielding was traditionally `tour Sunday` - overthrows slipped through, boundary pick-ups missed and occasional truculence as fielders were changed regularly to try to both stem the runs but also be in position to pick up wickets. Jim opened his spell well, a maiden and tucking up the batsmen nicely. Pimperne’s numbers 4 and 6 were striking out and putting loose balls away, taking the score past 200. Matt Edwards got his reward in his second spell with a caught and bowled, the skipper took a good catch from Edward, and Matt Brock clean bowled one and had another caught by Jim (not sure about that - Ed.). Paul and Honse had short spells but when Jim came back, changing ends to come from the pavilion end, against the wind, the tour’s champagne moment arrived. A great catch from Paul Chatfield in the deep from the penultimate ball of Jim’s penultimate over was followed by a catch behind by Tony off the next ball. The field came in for the first ball of his next over - no need – Jim clean bowled their number 9 and claimed his hat-trick. It would have been a great end to the innings, but it was not to be. In strolled Pimperne’s number 11: a bearded type, making up the numbers, ambling onto the field without even any pads! Tea beckoned. What we learned during tea was that this was the opening bat for Pimperne’s Saturday team. After a sighter, he despatched Jim for a very large 6, landing on the (fortunately strengthened) conservatory roof of the `safe distance` house beyond the car park. The next went for a shorter 6 – and Jim’s final ball of this most eventful over was an even bigger 6, smashing against the back wall of the same house, inches below the upstairs window. The innings closed, we were in no doubt that score for Pimperne of 297 would take some getting. Tea was a pleasant and ample ploughman’s style selection in a pavilion that doubled up as a nursery school classroom – interrupted only by one of their senior players telling us the affronted householder had complained and urging us not to pepper his house during our batting.
Mikey took this request to heart when he opened the batting with Matt E: refusing to send the ball over the boundary he fell to a stumping after making two singles, something of a contrast to the riches he’d been promising to deliver. Tony made a responsible 19 before being clean bowled, but Matt was playing a masterful innings, sensible running and sending bad balls to the boundary. He got his debut TWCC 50 and well-deserved it was, eventually going on to 65 before he was bowled trying to force the pace. Jim continued his excellent match with a careful 17 before hitting his own wicket and whilst not up with the rate, nor were we collapsing into oblivion. We should mention that Pimperne were not bowling as they might do during a league fixture: it was mostly spin, which was very sporting of them but difficult to get away because the balls weren’t coming onto the bat. Richard came in at 5 and will long remember his 3 fours in a row on his way to 31: but the tail failed to wag and we finished our innings on a creditable 181, losing the match by 115 runs. A good game but I feel our opponents had us where they wanted us for the majority of it.
The village’s two pubs were both newly closed, and, wishing to end our tour in traditional style, we offered our apologies to our very sporting hosts and dashed off to find a pub to down a final pint gathered altogether round a garden table. All agreed it was a great tour and great that we had a full tour party, youngsters and seniors as one. Talk turned to next year and a return to country pub accommodation, close enough to a town for the boys to get a taxi for their nights out. Oxfordshire seemed a popular choice, punting mentioned, despite our notoriety for water-based activities. Our thanks go to Steve for his brilliant work in getting the tour organised -so much to do and done so well – Steve you’re the real tour hero. Well done to all the players, some great performances on the field – Jim, Matt E, Edward, Chatters - great fun off it and simply brilliant to share a tour weekend with a wonderful group of players. 

Scorecard
TWCC VS PIMPERNE  5th July 2015 40 overs match
PIMPERNE WON THE TOSS AND ELECTED TO BAT
Saul St T Pearce, Bld E Bunn 77; Greg LBW Bld E Bunn 32; Wiggers Ct P Chatfield Bld J Simon 7; Kev Ct R Brock Bld E Bunn 51; Joe Ct & Bld M Edwards 21; Fordy Ct T Pearce (wkt) Bld J Simon 50; John Bld M Brock 0; Andy Bld J Simon 0; Billy Ct J Simon (if so I don't remember it but it's possible as I don't remember much - Ed.) Bld M Brock 8; Bryan Not Out 0; Frank Not Out 18. TOTAL 297-9 40 OVERS.
Fall: 111, 120, 142, 201, 269, 270, 270, 275, 279
TWCC BOWLING: M Edwards 8-1-60-1; P Steinke 8-0-33-0; M Brock 8-0-46-2; J Panther 3-0-31-0; E Bunn 4-0-38-3; J Simon 6-1-47-3 (inc hat-trick); P Chatfield 2-0-20-0; H Karvay 1-0-13-0.
TWCC INNINGS: M Pearce     Stumped Bld Kelly 2; M Edwards Bld Franklin 65; T Pearce Bld A Kelly 19; J Simon Hit Wicket Bld Saul 17; R Brock Stumped, Bld B Kelly 31; P Chatfield Ct, Bld Saul 4; E Bunn LBW Bld Noyce 6; J Panther Bld Regan 6; H Karvay Ct, Bld Regan 6; M Brock Ct, Bld Regan 0; P Steinke Not Out 2; TOTAL 181 ALL OUT, 38.1 OVERS.
PIMPERNE WON BY 115 RUNS

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TWCC v Staplefield July 12th 2015
One of those on/off rainy Sunday mornings - the bane of all TWCC catering staff. Telephonic optimism from the Skip came through though, and soon enough there we were, gathered in the pavilion, listening to the rain on the roof of the customarily miasmic Long Room. However the rain blew through to be replaced by a friendly light drizzle, a 35 over per side format was agreed upon, Skipper Brock won the toss and elected to bowl, and there we were strutting our Twineham stuff once again on the field of dreams.
Matt Brock opened from the Downs End. Matt has two sorts of spells - one where he pitches the ball up on a full length and gets lots of batsmen out clean bowled. This wasn't one of those spells, but he did get a wicket as the opening batter fended the ball off his face to square leg where the lithe and athletic member of the Panther dynasty in the form of Mark P. ran in and calmly held on to a catch. Joe P. opened the bowling from the Pavilion End to good effect, though, with the arrival in the middle of Staplefield stalwart G Moreley (correct spelling not guaranteed), the runs began to flow. Joe did take a wicket, albeit at some expense, as he floated a delivery outside the off-stump where the ball was edged high and James, at a trot, clung on to a catch.
News hot in from one of our correspondents is that this batsman, that Joe got out for 0, scored 100 off 45 balls the week before! Thanks Joe and James!!!
The scorecard, moving on, really tells eager readers all the necessary details should they care to look, so suffice to say a lot of us bowled, a lot of the opposition were out, some good catches were held (whilst some perfectly good opportunities for catching glory were spurned by fielders sitting-on-heels-not-moving-in-as-the-bowler-bowls), and, with the exception of a rumbustious 37 from Moreley, not many runs were scored as Staplefield petered out, some overs short of their allotted 35, and an early tea was taken.
Of note in the TWCC fielding performance were a brace of excellent slip catches from Edward (who, through sheer demand, has created a vacancy on the Gazette staff for an Edward Bunn Correspondent - yet to be filled), a debut wicket for Mark Panther, and it is also good to report that James' name has appeared again in the wickets column, twice; one of his victims the hard-hitting Hutchins with big boundaries on his mind every ball.
So, to bat. Joe managed, somehow, to both open the bowling and the batting - a measure of something no doubt - but he was soon back with no runs to is name, the victim of a direct hit before he could complete a quick single. Keen to point out that James, who called the run, was not to blame he magnanamously admitted he could have run faster.
The Staplefield bowling attack was sharp and accurate and runs were almost as hard for the TWCC batters as they had been for the Staplefielders. Almost. James was out early, and in strode the impressive Honse, who doggedly set about frustrating the bowlers as only he can. Honse kept out the straight ones, and then, opening up, he hit two fours and then began to rotate the strike well on his way to a fine and important 15. Richard, sadly injured again and unable to thrill us all with his bowling and catching, was able to concentrate on his batting and hit a couple of fine fours on his way to 8, Matt B also cracked two fours off the pacy Shazad before being bowled by a 12 year old, all of which brought Tony to the crease. And thank goodness for that. Tony, never troubled by anything, glanced and powered his way to a match-winning 30 not out, ably assisted by Edward until he was out for 5, and Matt E - one of our most reliable stalwart batters even though he seems to suffer from pad-kleptomania.
A TWCC win, sufficiently early to swell the Sportsman's coffers at the expense of those of the Royal Oak, and our thanks go to a cheerful Staplefield side, short of runs on this occasion, and who couldn't stop even TWCC scoring enough runs to win - though we all know it could probably have gone another way on another day. Which is why we like cricket.
We look forward to finer weather and Richard's tea.

Scorecard
TWCC V Staplefield 12th July 2015 35 0ver per side limited over format, max 5 overs/bowler
TWCC won the toss and chose to field
Staplefield Innings: A Thilarathnaka ct M Panther bld M Brock 0; S Gull ct Trollope ble J Panther 0; G Moreley bld Karvay 37; J Garside ct Bunn bld Edwards 0; J Gaynor ct Bunn bld Steinke 4; J Ellis bld Steinke 2; D Clarke ct T Pearce (wkt) bld M Panther 6; R Hutchins bld Trollope 15; M Furber not out 2; D Dray LBW Trollope 0; R Bull ct Steinke bld T Pearce 1. 13 extras, Total 80 all out 30.3 overs.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 3-0-3-1; J Panther 2-0-16-1; J Simon 4-2-7-0; M Edwards 5-0-10-1; H Karvay 5-1-12-1; P Steinke 3-1-5-2; M Panther 3-0-13-1; J Rollope 4-0-11-2; E Bunn 1-1-0-0; T Pearce 0.3-0-0-1.
TWCC Innings: J Panther run out 0; J Trollope ct & bld Clarke 4; H Karvay LBW Furber 15; R Brock bld Shazad 8; M Brock bld Clarke 9; T Pearce not out 30; E Bunn bld Moreley 5; M Edwards not out 3. DNB J Simon, M Panther, P Steinke. Extras 7 (w-1, lb-1, b-5) Total 82 for 6.
TWCC win by 4 wickets


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TWCC v Wisley CC July 19th 2015
Driving home from the pub, still dazed but now mildly philosophical after a half of shandy, I switched on the car radio to find Beethoven's 9th on the go. Beethoven. I like a bit of Beethoven. Now there was a bloke who had the same tools, the same palette of available instruments as everyone else, and yet he produced a new and innovative sound forcing the world to move on. Made everyone at the time stand up and think about where they were placed on the convention-spectrum. Still does. He broke boundaries.
Now you see where this is going.
Normal cricketers, who read their Mozart coaching manual at an early age, or maybe even saw Haydn go into bat in his pomp, know the bowlers have a ball to bowl with and the batters a bat to hit it with. That's cricket; bowlers can sort of trundle in on a soggy Sunday in Sussex and, if the ball is sort of on middle stump on a sort of good length, sort of rely on going for one or two an over with an occasional bounday or wicket happening to them when they stray or the batsman makes a small mistake. And batters who keep out the straight ones might be able to push the ball about a bit and end up with a few runs to take to the pub. Ahh... that's cricket - the same old sort of up and down day of jogging about to fiddle a game around and forget work with.
I am jumping ahead, but there is very little to say about the game itself. Who cares about the sunny weather, about the toss, about Wisley batting first and scoring 200 plus thanks largely to Rupert's well-paced and ultimately only semi-destructive innings? Who's interested in a few wickets here and there, Alex's great catch at short cover? What about the mildly amusing runs leaked at third man, or Jim flailing around like an old woman being attacked by bees at mid-off instead of just catching a high lob? Tom got three wickets bowling good and fast - so what? Paul discovered leg breaks. Yeah - who cares? The tea, normally reviewed at some length in our gastroenteritis pull-out centre section, was, yes, it was lovely, produced with evident attention to detail by the gifted wife of a man with a limp, but what's the point of dwelling on that? There are more fish to fry in this newspaper!
What about James' 50? Well, yes, it was another vintage Trollope masterclass of untroubled but skillful jug-evasion. Paul kept the pacy opener at bay with James, and Alex's well-groomed, eye-pleasing but short-lived 14 did help the cause. But are we bovvered? No, the only thing to take away from this match was quite shattering and of another order. Our cricketing world shifted in its orbit and a new age dawned in front of our eyes.
No one is quite sure who, or what, that was going in at number 4 for Twineham and Wineham on Sunday the 19th July 2015. It looked like George Hunter, it smelled like George Hunter, but it was, surely, a manifestation, a victim of blitzkrieg-possession.
At first the person that looked like George batted with some degree of normalcy. Indeed, inexplicably, his first four - off the first ball he faced, naturally - was on the off side! Yes, it was crunched and reached the boundary before anyone could move, but nonetheless there it was; an off drive. His second ball, it is true, was hit to the on side in the air, but it was still only a four! I mean, was this George Hunter? The third ball... Ah - there it was; a huge swing of the bat, mighty fast bat-speed, a skimming and squirming mis-hit for a single. One over negotiated, no harm done, James was still there batting well. George was about to face again. Steve was padded up.
Then it happened.

Well. We saw it, but couldn't believe it. I went to get the family to watch. Word got around. A crowd built. This was different. Extraordinary.
112 off 45 balls. His last 53 came off 17 balls. James was out there with George and soon realised that his role was to see off the last couple of balls if the end of an over was imminent, or to get off strike if he was facing a new over.
The bowlers soon realised their role was to just serve up perfectly good deliveries and to watch the results.
The rest of the TWCC side soon realised their role was to either fetch balls back from the surrounding countryside and adjacent gardens or to dig about in the pavilion for old forgotten balls that were to live again in a blaze of glory as they sailed high over the landscape. We were all witnessing a fundamental force.
Suddenly it was the last ball. I mean, we still needed a couple to win, but we only had one ball left for Wisley to bowl with. George nailed another six, high over the tree in the playground - no one bothered to try and look for it; it didn't matter - for, anyway, this was a new World, a place where time and space would never be the same again. Higg's Boson Land.
So what do we do, now that we live in this post-Armageddon world? Well, we have to return to normal. Get on with real life and pretend it didn't happen. But if Chris Gayle or Brendon McCullum phone up the Skip on a Friday one week and say they might be able to make it, we have to check with George to see if he's available first. I mean, yes, they'd be useful in the field - not playing obviously but in the field over the road - but they would be superfluous cricketing presences.
And what of Ludwig? He was last seen in the back of beat-up ancient Transit with a load of hairy do-badders, a drum kit, a bass and a load of dope. He won't be the same when he comes back.
But you wait 'til you hear Beethoven's 10th!

Scorecard
Not sure who won the toss, but TWCC bowled first but that may have had more to do with Wisley being stuck in a traffic jam or in the pub than with what happened to the coin. 40 overs per side format agreed.
Wisley Innings: M Kerrigan ct A Rydon bld T Rydon 13; R Geer nout out 116; Campbell bld T Rydon 2; Domingo bld J Simon 3; Fletcher st Rogers bld A Rydon 46; Richards bld T Rydon 7; McIntosh not out 7. 4 more Wisley DNB names not recorded. Extras 16 (nb-3,w-9, lb-2, b-2). Total 210 or 202 (the is, again, wrongly made up) for 5.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 8-0-35-3; J Panther 4-0-12-0; J Simon 6-1-9-1; M Edwards 7-1-43-0; P Hunter 4-0-29-1; H Karvay 3-0-23-0; A Rydon 5-0-27-1; E Bunn 3-0-20-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct wkt, bld T Richards 16; J Trollope not out 56; A Rydon ct ble T Richards 14; G Hunter not out 112. DNB S Rogers, E Bunn, J Simon, M Edwards, J Panther, T Rydon, H Karvay.
Extras 12 (nb-3, w-4, b-5). Total 211 or 214 (the book is, again, wrong!!!) for 2.
TWCC win by some runs.

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TWCC v Xiles August 9th 2015
A bright late summer day saw Xiles CC arrive to take part in a jaunty game, and at the same time TWCC welcomed another Dad to the team, this time of the Edwards variety, and rather good he looked too - er... in a cricketing sense I mean... Matt had done a great job of enticing players to join us in in the absence of several TWCC regulars, and we hope the new boys enjoyed their afternoon and would be up for further selection.
Matt Edwards, in charge again, won the toss and elected to bowl first with himself and Joe Panther pairing up for the opening attack. Matt took a few overs to find his range, and Joe the same to lose it, but it was Joe who took the valuable wicket of David Hooper, squaring him up nicely with a ball jumping up off a length which ended in the safe hands of Charlie Baldock - good to see him back again. James Grantham, another new player to the side, replaced Joe from the Downs End and, again, the ball was lifting awkwardly from just short of a good length. Matt Edwards' 7 overs were probing and mean, but he took himself off, wicketless, and threw the ball to Jim, who caught it! Jim and James took the Xiles' innings on nicely, a wicket or two here and there, though no batters were getting on with it - and so it went on. Charlie took two wickets, Honze one with his Eastern sleight-of-hand, and Mark Panther and Jonathan behind the timbers paired up to produce an excellent stumping. Jonathan, again, generally excelled with the gloves and ended his stint with a stumping (or two?) and a catch to his name.
The visitors never really got their scoring rate up, losing wickets each time they made the effort to get going, and tea was taken with Xiles having just 147 on the board - a tribute not only to the TWCC combined bowling attack but also to an all round good effort in the field.
With several regular players absent TWCC's jury-rig batting line up was nonetheless able to see Paul Hunter in at 1, which always helps, and, indeed, proved pivotal on this occasion. He never looked in any trouble, and, together with James Grantham, was able to take 14 runs off Tulley's first over. Karthik on the other hand, and from the other end, bowled with excellent pace and direction going for just 15 runs off his 7 overs. He took only one wicket, that of James G who mysteriously hoiked at a straight one after having looked to be in complete control. James had batted with aplomb up to that point, and his error of judgement was particularly costly given that Jim was due in at 3 (don't worry, Tony's back soon). Paul continued to play his natural game, as did Jim which is why he was out hitting a ball uppishly to cover point - out for 13 - but the scoreboad already showed 67 at this point and TWCC had plenty of batters to come. Indeed in strode Matt Edwards who continued the general trend of scoring runs, and by the time he was out for 21 the game was all but done and dusted. Joe with 6 and Robin with a crunching four came and went and it was to Edwards Senior, Gary, that fell the honour of hitting the winning runs with a slapped four through extra-cover. Paul carried his bat right through the innings and secured the victory with his 69 not out.
Of note, as one looks back on the game, was the fact that, as ever, the better bowlers don't get the wickets, as illustrated by Karthik only taking one wicket, whilst the extraordinary Tim took three in his three over spell, albeit at the cost of 26 runs. A case of Spiegelisation at its most effective. Matt Edwards, likewise, had bowled well without anything appearing in the wickets column.
Next week we see Brocky back in the Captain's chair, and it is to be hoped that he continues the excellent new tradition started so magnificently by Matt of buying everyone a drink after the game - thanks Matt! A big TWCC thank you to Skipper Matt for all his efforts on and off the field.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and Skipper Edwards chose to field first.
Xiles CC Innings: D Hannant bld J Simon 25; D Hooper ct C Baldock bld J Panther 11; Mick ct P Hunter bld J Grantham 25; T Campbell bld H Karvay 24; J Savatt ct M Edwards bld C Baldock 9; L Bassil ct J Rowland (wk) bld C Baldock 0; M Blakeston st J Rowland bld M Panther 24; T Graham not out 14; Karthik not out 4. DNB Tulley. Extras 15 (nb-1,w-13, b-1). Total 147  for 7 recorded. (Bowling plus extras = 150, batsman's total plus extras 151.)
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 7-1-15-0; J Panther 6-1-23-1; J Grantham 6-1-28-1; J Simon 7-2-19-1; C Baldock 5-1-14-2; H Karvay 4-0-12-1; M Panther 2-0-15-1; G Edwards 2-0-9-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 69; J Grantham bld Karthik 19; J Simon ct, bld Luke 13; M Edwards st Hooper bld Tim 21; J Panther st Hooper bld Tim 6; Robin run out 4; G Edwards not out 4. DNB J Rowland, C Baldock, H Karvay, M Panther. Extras 11 (w-8, lb-1, b-2) Total ... 148 or 149 for 5 depending on which bit of the book one looks at.
Xiles Bowling: Tulley 7-0-41-0; Karthik 8-2-29-1; Luke 6-0-34-1; M Ford 2-0-15-0; Tim 3-0-26-3.
TWCC win.

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Warnham CC v TWCC
August 16th 2
TWCC welcomed back a much refreshed Skipper Brock who celebrated his return by winning the toss again, and, again, opting to field first. And why not? At his disposal were a lightly hung-over Matt Brock and an eager Panther. Both bowled well, Matt with good pace and intent, and Joe picked up an edge that went, unmolested on this occasion by stand-in keeper Pearce, straight to John Riley - thank you very much!
Matt and Joe were replaced by Jim and Richard respectively who took 6 wickets between them and generally helped the cause. Jim erred a little to leg, which was unfortunately bowling to a strength of the home side and Robin was, on accasion, asked to run just that little bit too far at fine leg and some excess of unfortunate runs ensued. Richard found a good length and the ball popped up and moved about nicely. Some 6 or 7 wickets
down and Warnham were not looking like they were going to post a large total, but then the pitch was interesting and the ball was moving about so even a low score might have proved to be hard to overtake. Honse and James pitched in, and neither were fodder for the wary Warnham batters, and a mixture of overs from returning Brocks and Panther J saw that Warnham's total remained modest at 150 at the end of 40 overs. TWCC are, I believe, really quite a good fielding side - plenty of catches held and runs saved.
After tea Messrs. Trollope and Brock R strode to the middle to face a brace of Warnham youthful opening bowlers, and, indeed, the quality of the deliveries made scoring really tough. But in the face of some excellent and penetrative bowling neither of TWCC's stalwarts buckled in the least, and the edge was definitely knocked off the bowling attack by a mixture of resolute defence and luck. 13 overs in and although the score was still just 26, the visiting side had lost no wickets and the opening bowlers were off.
Wickets inevitably fell, though incoming batters saw to it that the total continued to march upwards. A stand of 37 between Tony and Reese settled everyone down, and, as the overs ticked by, it seemed not unlikely that this would be a close match in spite of TWCC's slow start as these two began to pile on the runs. Tony scored the only 6 of the match on his way to a characteristically fast 26 and Reese opened out nicely as the end neared, hitting 18 off his last 6 balls before he lost his shape and missed a full toss on the stumps. With the exception of an unfortunate Mark Panther (stumped - was it first ball?), all incoming batters contributed well, in particular, later on, John Riley who ended with 25 runs to his name. Jim managed to take advantage of some slow long-hops, but was run out for 16. In strode Joe, his reverse sweep in his pocket, to join John as the game got critical.
Then suddenly it was the last over; 5 to tie, 6 to win.
A single off the first ball - not enough, and here it all becomes a bit of a blur in the book... hard to piece it together. Two more dots - Joe I think on strike? Then, 4th ball - oh no! John was run out!! TWCC still needed 5 to win.
Never fear - Robin's here! In he went. Looked about him.
Settled.
In rushed the bowler - so hard to hit - but... WHACK! a big on-drive swat from outside the off stump. Oh no - there's a deep long on. Never min...but what's this? A fumble - keep running -  fumble fumble - over the boundary! It was four!
Scores tied, one to win off the last ball.
Mid-pitch conference, Joe and Robin, Robin on strike. There was no doubt what had to happen. Everyone should run!
In comes the bowler.
Bowls.
Robin swishes and knocks the ball close by his feet. Joe is already in at the batter's end so Robin has to sprint hard to the bowler's end. A shy at the stumps - he's got to be out - no, the ball misses - he's in! A run! TWCC 151.
An exciting day's play - lots of good performances on both sides, and either side could have won and deserved to do so.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and Skipper Brock chose to field first. 40 overs limited overs format.
Warnham CC Innings: A Collins ct Riley bld J Panther 4; T Subba Row ct M Brock bld J Simon 13; M Woodhatch ct & bld R Brock; G Medlay ct Trollope bld R Brock 0; J Tarrant not out 26; M Dear bld J Simon; S Edwards LBW J Trollope 25; Murray ct J Panther bld R Brock 0; Heath ct J Trollope bld R Brock 8; Pearce run out 1; Tidy nout out 0. Extras un-recorded! Total 150  for 8.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 8-0-28-0; J Panther 6-0-24-0; J Simon 9-0-39-3; R Brock 8-0-18-4; H Karvay 6-1-19-0; J Trollope 3-0-13-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope bld Tidy 12; R Brock bld Pearce 10; T Pearce ct, bld Tidy 26; R Packham bld Heath 36; M Panther st, bld Tarrant 0; J Riley run out 25; J Simon run out 16; J Panther not out 4; R Smith not out 4. DNB: H Karvay, M Brock. Extras 14 (w-7, lb-3, b-4) Total 151 for 7.
Warnham CC Bowling: Woodhatch 9-0-25-0; H Dear 8-0-17-0; Pearce 7-0-29-1; Tidy 8-3-28-2; Tarrant 5-1-26-1; Heath 3-0-26-0.
TWCC win by 1 run

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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston CC August 23rd 2015
Any match considered in retrospect reduces to a few significant events, all of which, and more, were hotly debated at TWCC HQ in Wineham long into the evening. One of the great pleasures in life is the gathering at the Royal Oak huddled around a jug of Harveys. Analysed through the bottom of a glass the most critical occurences of the day would appear to have been Tony's fault. Much was made of how old Tony is now and how much less he contributes these days. At his door were laid several dropped catches of the sort he never failed to snap up, how he failed to contribute in any meaningful way with his bat - not like the old days, and how poor his general judgement is when wearing an umpire's coat. It was also clearly Tony's fault that Richard won the toss and chose to bat first - the most signifcant of all the day's events. In order to win we would have to take 10 wickets - when was the last time that happened? But, to be fair to Tony, we did have the side to do it with good firepower in the shape of Matt E and Tom R, plus general arm-turning offerings from the rest of the team. And TWCC were fielding a particularly strong batting line up; with Paul, James and Tony our 1,2 and 3, what could possibly go wrong?
Well Paul could be out third ball for a duck. That could happen, Tony.
Then, Tony, you could come in, nurdle a single and then half-hit a shallow lob to Stan at mid-wicket. That could happen.
And, maybe Tony, Jonathan could swan in and run James out. Always a possibility.
To get away from this laboured and over-contrived Tony-bashing which is becoming as dull as it is clearly un-merited, the game could, from 15 for 3 go one of two ways. Firstly we could be all out for under 50, or, of course, Jonathan and Alex could show the oldies how to do it by putting on 132 runs together. Happily they chose the latter option.
Bowlers came and went, Stan happy to give many of his team a go, and Jonathan and Alex pushed the ball about for quick ones and twos as well as ever more frequently crashing the ball to the boundary. Jonathan's 78 not out underlined his prowess as a free-scoring and secure batter. He did hit 8 fours but of almost greater importance was his and Alex's ability to find the ones and twos and rotate the strike thus causing the scoreboard to climb and climb. Alex started carefully, facing 14 balls before scoring even a single and 26 balls before hitting his first boundary, but in not giving his wicket away he ensured he was still there when the opportunities to score became more clear. And score he did, (thirteen 4's and two 6's), before sadly being caught on 96 (it must be recorded that a jug was nonetheless provided by Team Rydon - thanks Rob). A great partnership, no doubt one of TWCC's best, notable not so much for the lost ball-ness - though Alex's latter-stage big hitting did indeed begin to upset the local wildlife - but also for the progressive and competent running exhibited by two like-minded and fit players that kept the scoreboard rolling. Tremendous stuff.

Edward, not out on 14, and Jonathan saw us through to tea.
What was it that Richard said as he digested his decision to bat first? "We need 200 - It's a 200 pitch." He was proved both right and wrong.
Whatever Tony's shortcomings on the pitch he clearly still has the wood over his favourite headmistress who provided him with one of the best teas we've had the fortune to overeat. Plump sandwiches and endless cakery - perfect before going in to field. Right: 10 wickets required.
Not so easily done. Matt and Jim opened the bowling; Matt downwind with the lively end to bowl towards, and Jim bowling into the West wind which should help with any swing. Matt duly had the ball whistling around and bowled out the Streat No. 2, and although Jim failed to find any swing with the old ball there was a miserliness to his spell that was pretty much on target (I thought so - Ed.). In order to win, however, TWCC needed 9 more wickets. Change of bowling. Richard replaced Jim and Tom Rydon came on after Matt's first spell giving the ever more confident Streat batters Porter and Flower a change to absorb. Tom bowled with good pace and got a wicket in his fourth over with Flower lifting the ball to Honse at mid-off, but there wasn't much other sign of enough wickets being taken to aid the TWCC cause. The exit of Flower brought Pat Wise to the crease and, to give Streat new problems, Skipper Brock brought on James, Honse and then Paul to see what could be done about taking the remaining Streat wickets. Unfotunately Wise and Porter decided to forget about getting out and, instead, set about bringing the required run rate down. Lots of runs... By the time - oh look, I could go on, but who reads this stuff anyway? We've all got lives to lead and things to do, not least me as I've got today to plan my motorbike trip around France Germany and Belgium. I could be doing that. You, if, indeed, there is a "you" out there, could just get on. In short, and contrary to Skipper Brocks belief that it was a 200 wicket, it proved to be a 201 wicket and Streat won with two balls to spare. That sounds rather more exciting than it was as the end was more or less inevitable with about 3 overs to go; the required run rate wasn't high and Wise and Saunders weren't having much trouble with the game. Porter and Wise set up a good Streat win, with Pat Wise ending on an excellent 78 not out.
A good match, plucked out of the blue by James and Stan, and thanks go to them. Alex and Jonathan did us proud with their excellent partnership and individual performances, we bowled well in parts and could have strangled the game I suspect had we been minded to, but in true Twineham fashion all players got a game.
Back at the pub, once we'd done with Tony, we set about sorting out the England line up, and we had about as many definitive conclusions as do the England selectors. The Gazette's own analysis is that it's all Brendan McCullum's fault for suddenly making his style of cricket the ideal, both for test and one-day stuff. A test match in this intoxicated way of thinking has become no more than four one-day innings' bolted together. Caught up in the gung-ho NZ series we thought we were fine going along with it and were emerging as a new force on the World stage batting as if we didn't mind getting out. Against the Aussies our commitment to this brand of cricket faltered, and, caught between two stools we had a side made up of batters (Lythe, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Ali) who, whilst suited to a one day game where it doesn't matter so much if you're out, were put in the position of it very much mattering if they were out and they found it impossible to play the long game. Who to pick instead? No idea - but neither am I sure that the county game provides any sort of training ground for the players we need. So, maybe, we should go with it; make a test match like 2 limited overs games? Hales, Cook, Willey, Root, Stokes, Ali, Rashid, Buttler, Wood/Plunkett, Broad, Anderson is the Gazette's offering if this is way test cricket is going, and take out Cook and put Lumb or whoever else is hitting the ball a lot in for the 50 overs/20:20 games. There are many people with more knowledge of the county scene than the Gazette's writing staff, but this is designed to provoke. Maybe our reader should submit his or her team to us and we'll run with it.
Streat won - I said that. And no mention of the weather!

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and Skipper Brock chose to bat first. Normal Sunday gentleman's cricket.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Flower (wk) bld Saunders 0; J Trollope run out 4; T Pearce ct Spiegel bld Hartfield 1; J Rowland not out 78, A Rydon ct, bld Butcher 96; E Bunn not out 14. DNB J Simon, M Edwards, T Rydon, H Karvay, R Brock. Extras 9 (nb-1,w-5, lb-2, b-1) Total 200 for 4.
Streat Bowling: Saunders 9-2-17-1; Hartfield 8-1-26-1; Tagg 5-0-35-0; Freeman 4-0-24-0; D Christmas 4-0-15-0; Butcher 4-0-40-1; Spiegel 4-0-29-0; J Porter 3-0-11-0.
Streat Innings: M Porter ct A Rydon (wk) bld Brock 43; C Mansfield bld M Edwards 16; R Flower ct H Karvay bld T Rydon 26; P Wise not out 78; D Christmas st A Rydon bld Brock 5; C Saunders not out 10. DNB M Butcher, J Porter, H Freeman, G Tagg, M Hartfield. Extras 22 (w-5, lb-3, b-7, nb-7) Total 201 for 4.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 11-2-44-1; J Simon 7-1-15-0; R Brock 9-0-39-2; T Rydon 7-0-33-1; J Trollope 3-0-21-0; H Karvay 2-0-25-0; P Hunter 1-0-9-0.
Streat win.

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Crescent CC v TWCC August 30th 2015
Well... Horsdean.
But before I proceed I have to redress an imbalance regarding the reporting of the recent performances of Joe Panther. He caught a great catch and hit a four in the last match. Or the one before. Or something. The Gazette apologises for this failing and promises to do better.
Crescent. The Crescent skipper won the toss, or, more accurately, our skipper lost the toss, and TWCC were asked to field first. No problem.
Tom R opened from the prosaically-named Dual-Carriageway End, and the tone of the day was set. Runs were not going to be easy to come by at the hands of TWCC's bowling attack as Tom steamed in and bowled two maidens straight not off the bat. Jim opened from the more romatically-named Not The Dual Carriageway End, and was also miserly, and these two frustrated the openers to the extent that an injudicious head-up swipe allowed a straight one through the gate to give Jim his one wicket. The ball, a lovely dark Reader, was, from the very first ball, nothing but a mud-magnet and any airy deviation was out of the question. Indeed Tom found the ball increasingly hard to hold and Jim suddenly found it increasingly hard to stop it being hit for boundaries so on came Joe and Honse. Joe, varying his attack from round to over the wicket, proved hard to get on top of, and the batters began to realise that any sort of score was, perhaps, best achieved by summing lots of singles as much as by big hitting. TWCC's fielding performance, generally reliable and excellent, suffered a little too much from not jumping on the quick singles in saving-one positions on both sides of the wicket.
Honse, concentrating on line, bowled a studied spell - one of the best in his TWCC career. He started with some good fortune as the impressive Gatford, who had taken Jim for 10 in what unsurprisingly proved to be his last over, top-edged a wide and high full-toss to Joe who took another great, or was it stunning? and match-important, catch at point. Of course the ball needed bowling and the excellent catch needed catching excellently, but ultimately Gatford got himself out and Crescent's scoring-potential was limitied from that point onwards. Honse, sizing up the conditions well, opted to concentrate on line and let the pitch provide the variations - an excellent tactic - and was rewarded with another, bowled, wicket later on in his lengthy spell.
Paul replaced Joe and proved to be a problem for both skippers. For Crescent's captain the problem was that he settled onto a line and length that saw the ball repeatedly pass the bat (slip in), and then he found the edge of a victim's bat and Tony took a fine catch behind the timbers. He was economical and threatening and this level of performance didn't falter as his spell lengthened. The problem for Richard was that he still had yet to bowl Rob or himself, and both would be excellent options, but Paul was bowling so well that it was hard to take him off. Luckily someone hit a four off his 7th over which wasn't particularly his fault, but it did provide an excuse for his removal which Richard pounced on and he duly put himself on for a bit of cheap-wicket action.
Here the Gazette must mention the uncharacteristically laboured fielding performance of Rob Rydon. Normally sprightly and energetic in the field he was on this occasion visibly lethargic and incapable throwing the ball. Or was he? The Crescent No.6 clearly thought so as he clipped the ball to the square-leg boundary where Rob was ambling about with his head in the clouds, and he set off for a run - or would that be two? Of course it should be - that chap can't throw!  Two it is..but..what's this? Why is that chap throwing with his right arm? And is that the ball whistling in at head height straight into Tony's gloves by the stumps? Yes it was! Rob's shameless and clearly only semi-transparent skullduggery had paid off which almost eclipsed his dropped catch later in the game.
Edward, curiously expensive but also succesful in wicket-taking terms, had come on for Honse and, although he initially found it hard to drop onto a good line and length, find them both he did and he was rewarded with two quick wickets in his third over. Again, he was quite capable of taking further wickets as Crescent's tail-enders were passing through, but we had yet to see Rob Rydon strut his stuff, so on he came and he predictably made short shrift of the job in hand. Geary, Crescent's No. 5, was still there, and it was he who took the home side's innings on to a total of reasonable proportions. Indeed it was he who quickly spotted a slightly overpitched ball from Rob and hit him straight for a fine six, but Richard and Tony combined well to remove him as tea approached and he began to swat and this left just a few batters to face the music. Richard rolled over Crescent's No. 9, the end was nigh and the end was Rob-shaped. Spurning the need to come in off his long run, he shimmied up in his Rolls Royce fashion, and, taking the un-responsive pitch out of the equation, speared the ball hard and fast at the base of leg stump. Two wickets in no time off consecutive balls emphatically ended the innings on the stroke of tea.
Eight bowler's used, only Reese and James of the available non-gloved side went un-bowled, and both would probably have been as effective as those that did bowl.
TWCC's reply gave James the chance to individually contribute to the game for the first time, a chance he found hard to take in the face of some excellent pace bowling from Crescent's Kidman whose lengthy spell began with six straight maidens. James continued to keep the ball out well and survive in the face of some excellent bowling, but Paul didn't as Kidman found the slightest of edges and was caught behind. This brought Tony to the middle and he and James began to crimp the edges of the crescent-shaped smiles. Tony began his campaign with some forceful shots, and James and he took the score onto 30 before James finally "ooh'd" himself once too often and was bowled by Gatford. On came Rob and thus began the decisive partnership of the match. No histrionics or close calls here. Solid sportmanship of the highest order was on display. Quick ones and twos, an ever-increasing frequency of boundaries without anything being over-hit - all in all a masterful display of cricketingness. Crescent began to lower their heads and the TWCC team thoroughly enjoyed first Rob's and then Tony's 50's. Rob, finally out with just three required to win, was caught behind for 68 (8 fours, 2 sixes), and Tony who remained not out on 51 (6 fours and 2 sixes) totally dominated the game. Reese, padded up for a long time, was eventually required to hit the winning runs which he did with a fine long four over mid-off, and everything in the TWCC garden was rosy.
TWCC skipper Brock was keen to point out that the bowling was the key to winning the game, and to restrict Crescent to 150 was indeed a fine effort and one to which everyone contributed, but in a batting innings containing two half-centuries it is clearly because of these two fine individual performances that the game was secured. Yes, TWCC have a fairly long batting line up, but it is one which has proved fragile on occasion (occasions to be honest), and not to highlight, and celebrate as we did in one of the weirdest pubs in the land, Rob and Tony's dominant performances would be remiss.
Also to make no mention of another demonstration of fine skippering would be remiss. Fine attention to detail in the field coupled with a commendably selfless approach to the game, maybe it is time to suggest that Richard ups himself in the batting order and bowls earlier, not least because he'd have to face the better bowlers and bowl at higher order batters!
Finally there is a rumour that TWCC are going to the dogs - which is no surprise to many.


Scorecard
Crescent CC won the toss and chose to bat first. Normal Sunday Gentleman's cricket with a funky 80 over twist. For more details see Richard Brock.
Crescent Innings: Eastwood bld Simon 8; E Carter bld Karvay 33; J Gatford ct J Panther bld Karvay 12; Matt Wood ct Pearce (wk) bld P Hunter 31; L Geary ct Pearce (wk) bld R Brock 27; M Kidman run out (R Rydon) 3; A Bousfield bld Bunn 0; J Brooks bld R Rydon 4; J Will bld R Brock 4; S Wood not out 0; R Hall bld R Rydon 0. Extras 15 (nb-6,w-4, lb-4, b-1) Total 150 all out.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 6-2-17-0; J Simon 6-1-20-1; J Panther 6-0-22-0; H Karvay 7-0-26-2; P Hunter 7-1-15-1; E Bunn 5-0-26-2; R Rydon 2.2-1-6-2; R Brock 2-0-14-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct wk bld Kidman 0; J Trollope bld Gatford 10; T Pearce not out 51; R Rydon ct wk bld R Hall 67; R Packham 4 not out 4. DNB J Simon, E Bunn, T Rydon, R Brock, J Panther, H Karvay. Extras 13 (w-6, lb-1, b-6) Total 152 for 3.
Crescent Bowling: Kidman 10-6-14-1; R Hall 5-0-28-1; Gatford 10-1-37-1; Will 3-0-33-0; Eastwood 2-0-20-0; S Wood 1.5-0-14-0.
TWCC win by 7 wickets.

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TWCC v Ashurst September 6th 2015
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (all part of a sporting press initiative to up the literary quality and quantity of these pages...Look out for more famous first lines in 2016!) There was a time when we were, without exception, younger. Now, with the passage of time, this has changed. Personally I am not saddened by this fact - without time passing I wouldn't have been lucky enough to have met the people I have met, be semi-retired or known what it felt like to have three sixes hit off the last three balls of one of my best overs. However, if there is a tinge of a negative emotion in my breast when reviewing the youth I see in others, it is probably pure naked jealousy. Such was the case when I saw with frightening clarity the young natural talent deployed against TWCC by Ashurst's team of future stars. Many of the players appeared to be playing with the corner of county contracts sticking provacatively out of the pockets of their, no doubt, amply-filled young trousers, and all in all we were somewhat at a disadvantage throughout. Further humiliation was available for a good wallow when it became clear that the visiting team's captain had messed about with their batting order, and then, when it was our turn to bat, also chose not to give the ball to the real fast men. Boys. Young men. I'm not bitter.
We were beaten rather soundly, as will be clear to anyone with the stomach to look at the match scorecard.
However it would be wrong to say that it wasn't an enjoyable match; Ashurst were and are a pleasure to play against, and the game was played in good humour throughout, indeed, from their point of view, apart from the high nettles in the toilet complex, what was there not to like?
As far as mentioning honourable performances in dispatches goes one must report on the lustful fluency of some of the Ashurst batters, who came in clearly having heard of George Hunter's approach to the game. Many of the TWCC bowlers have no reason to be downhearted (apart from Joe, obviously) as good balls as well as bad went the distance. Even the combined Rydon powerhouse failed to make any indents in the wickets column (though often this is down to the support fielding...). Mention, unfortunately, has to be made of Skipper Brock's 2 wickets, but he deserves full credit for persevering with his admirable policy of inclusive captaincy which never wavered.
The home side's batting was also far from an embarassment, especially in the shape of a fine but rather unsupported innings from James. A 50 in the circumstances is even more valuable than if TWCC had found themselves in a run-fest, though observers at the Oak might not have noticed this fine innings celebrated in the usual fashion. Of further note is the not out from Honse - who better is there to deny opposition's bowlers in tight circumstances - and the active presence of our laser-eyed President who made a most welcome appearance before swanning off to Iberia.
So, with apologies for the late appearance of this report, and for the fact that it was somewhat cobbled together from no more than a few distant painful memories and a couple of photos of the scorecard, it's time to look forward to the last game of the season.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field. Limited 40 overs format.
Ashurst Batting: I Tidley ct Karvay, Bld Simon 18; T Chalmers Bld R Brock 62; S Chimfamhima Bld R Brock 25; B Poyser Not Out 40; J Cassells ct Rowland (wkt) Bld Karvay 12; G Isaacs Not Out 40. Extras 13 (1-nb, 6-w, 6-b). Total 218 for 4 off 40 overs.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 6-0-34-0; J Panther 1-0-13-0; M Edwards 6-0-40-0; J Simon 4-0-25-1; R Rydon 5-0-20-0; R Brock 6-1-20-2; H Karvay 4-0-14-1; K Scott 5-0-25-0; D Jones 3-0-19-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld Poyser 51; J Rowland Ct Chimfamhima Bld Middleton 10; J Simon Ct, Bld Isaacs 12; M Edwards Ct & Bld J Lee 8; R Rydon Ct Cassells Bld J Lee 19; T Rydon Ct Chimfamhima Bld Tidley 6; J Panther Ct Poyser Bld J Lee 2; K Scott Ct, Bld J Lee 1; D Jones Hit Wkt Bld J Lee 1; H Karvay Not Out 0; R Brock Bld J Lee 2. Extras 25 (4-nb, 12-w, 2-lb, 7-b) Total 137 all out.
Ashurst win by 81 runs.

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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 27th 2015
Arriving home after the final drink of the season at the Royal Oak, I began the ritual cleansing ceremony of my cricket bag: 3 pairs of whites, 2 jumpers, 3 shirts, one white trainer (if anyone has the right hand foot, I’d be grateful - it went missing this Sunday), any number of boxes, two tubes of sun tan lotion circa 1998, approximately £3.76, the smell of hard graft and soft green grass – and there, tucked away at the bottom, the TWCC scorebook 1982-4. It was a gift from Edward some time ago, sadly swallowed and forgotten by the insatiable cricket bag. Now history can be a soulful master, but as I turned over the yellowing pages of TWCC’s past, there was much of interest. For example, in the whole scorebook, there are but 2 scores of 50 or more: which I suspect says more about the state of the Twineham grass wicket of the time than the batsmen. The first page shows our opponents, The White Horse of Storrington, recording 7 zeros in their innings of 66. A huge victory for TWCC who made it with 1 wicket to spare! Among the opponents were Canbashers, Thomas Teasers and Hove Nondescripts. Only 2 of our current opponents feature: and one of them, Albourne and Sayers Common, are presently in a state of suspended animation. The other, arguably therefore our worthiest opponents – by dint of longevity – was Moulsecoomb. Opening up for them were Kevin Cook and the Vicar – still! Our scorecard featured none of the present day squad until suddenly, emerging from among the Sutcliffe-Smiths, the Peacocks, the Manleys, the Richardsons – came a young lad quite possibly making his debut on July 3rd 1983 vs Brastead Invicta. The scorebook reads `Eddie Bunn` Bowled for 13 (inc one 6). Interestingly, just a couple of pages earlier, one P Steinke played for Albourne and Sayers Common vs TWCC and finished with figures of 11.4-3-32-7.
Both men were on show for the final match of the season vs Brighton Beamers. One unfit to play, unable to run, stricken by stomach problems – the other waiting for a hernia operation. Tony took over the role of losing the toss with the skipper sleeping in – and soon we were pulling on our batting pads and Paul and James trekked their way through the ankle length grass out to the middle. James’ tenure was short, Paul’s much, much longer. Indeed while Tony came and went for an LBW on the top of the pad, halfway down the wicket, Paul kept swatting the ball to backward square leg with  practised regularity built up from 25 years of practice. Jonathan reminded us of his prowess with a fine 40. When Paul holed out for 70 we were well on the way to a good solid total: but it was an excellent stand of 52 between Edward and Jonathan which powered us towards our total of 180-7.
It was a Hunter tea of old: flags, large cakes, icing and coronation chicken – and the ground was vibrant with chattering wives, visiting players and talk of TWCC going to the dogs. Which normally leads us back onto the field of play: but not this time. The not increasingly regular partnership of Edwards/Panther struck up once again and their openers found runs difficult to come by. More so when Matt claimed an LBW. Reese, our newest member, dared let on that he’d once bowled – so he was brought on to be savaged until he pleaded to be taken off after 3 run-saturated overs. But there was promise..... Jim bowled with his usual elegance: neat, tidy, trimmed round the edges – but it was gradually becoming clear that we couldn’t give away runs to keep them in the game and they wouldn’t give away enough wickets to keep us in it. As they struggled needing 6, then 7, then 8 then 9 an over, it was left to Tony to provide the talking point. He was due to leave early, he clearly had his mind on the champagne and the flat bed of the Dreamliner waiting to sweep him off to Singapore – so that when the ball looped gently towards him at backward square leg,  a ball that was screaming from every stitch of its seam `catch me, catch me` - he opted to take avoiding action and turned and ran. The ball fell on the spot he’d occupied but a few seconds earlier. His excuse was a low sun, but it didn’t seem to get in his eyes as he watched the clock and eagerly made his getaway before the nerve jangling climax. Which there wasn’t. Jonathan showed exceptional glovework in a stumping and a run out, Matt came back on and took a couple of wickets – but really we had batted simply too well. 180 in the long grass was too tough a target and Beamers, who, to their credit, vigorously pursued the total all the way, came up 42 runs short with 3 wickets in hand. A proper cricket result: a draw on a day of warm sunshine as Twineham basked in an Indian summer. And so to the pub: just about bearable on the TWCC table, Harveys beer and laughter providing the necessary warmth. Another season gone, but a night at the dogs and of course the AGM with accompanying season’s figures to look forward to. Bliss indeed....

Scorecard
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct, Bld G Young 70; J Trollope ct Young Bld M Renshaw 1; T Pearce LBW Bld N Chafy 25; J Rowland Bld R Benfield 40; R Packham Ct Eaton Bld G Young 0; E Bunn Ct, Bld Nicholls 22; M Edwards St, Bld Rigby 4; J Simon Not Out 6; J Panther    Not Out 4. TOTAL: 180-7. DNB: R Brock.
Fall: 7-2, 63-3, 102-1, 104-5, 156-6, 166-4, 170-7.
Beamers' Bowling: M Renshaw 6-0-14-1; R Siddon 6-1-31-0; N Chafy 6-2-24-1; G Young 8-1-37-2; A Eaton 4-0-31-0; R Benfield 6-0-24-1; R Nicholls 2-0-6-1; Rigby 2-0-6-1.
Beamers Innings: P Bailey LBW Bld M Edwards 9; R Rigby Ct Bunn Bld R Brock 49; M Moors St Rowland Bld Panther 0; G Blackadder Bld M Edwards 1; R Nicholls Run Out Simon 2; N Chafy Ct R Brock Bld P Hunter 56; R Benfield Ct P Hunter Bld M Edwards 3; G Young Not Out 1; R Siddens Not Out 0. TOTAL: 138-7. DNB: M Renshaw, and...
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards; 11-3-19-3; J Panther 7-1-12-1; R Packham 3-0-34-0; J Simon 5-1-22-0; R Brock 7-0-32-1; P Hunter 5-2-15-1.
Match drawn.

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End of Season Captain's Report Richard Brock
PLAYED 18  WON 10 DRAWN 2 LOST 6
(2014 P 16, W 8, D3, L 5)
My reviews in recent years have inevitably centred on the fragile numbers within the TWCC squad.  Last year it looked much better.  This year I’m delighted to say it’s stronger still.  Joe and Matt E have become firmly embedded within TWCC:  Paul C has played more, the return of our Czech international Honse has been very welcome and latterly Reese has come along and enjoyed his cricket with the promise of much more next season.  Unfortunately we’ve seen far less of Steve  – and we all look forward to his return, fit and well next season.  Phil has had his season curtailed by his hernia.  But generally, we’ve been able to put out full sides most weeks: barring the bizarre two weeks in September when we had 2 and then 3 players available at a time when we normally have a full squad to choose from.  The only disappointment has been that the youth of Twineham and Wineham have not fed through into the reckoning.  That is something I’d like to see and we must work out a way of getting our message across to the villages.  Whatever the quality of our players, it is numbers which are essential to the long term of the club.  But as we stand right now, things look good, but we must keep looking for new members. 
And so to matters on the pitch:  and it’s been a good season with some great highlights.  Head and shoulders above everything was George’s 45 ball 112 not out vs Wisley – a never to be forgotten day by all those lucky enough to witness it (those who didn’t spend most of the afternoon hunting the hedgerows and fields of Twineham for lost balls!) Who can forget the finish at West Chiltington: losing by just 3 runs on a 400+ runs day: even more intriguing when you add in `scorebookgate` .  Tom’s 15 off one legal ball must be a record of some sort!  It was an excellent tour, and because the 20 over match was competitive – and because of Jim’s memorable 60 -I have added this match to the averages.  And then Jim went and got the club’s only hat-trick of the season the following day!  A look at the batting performances show a return to form of James who had a wonderful season and the benefit of having Paul H available to us for more matches.  Meanwhile the bowling shows a really healthy spread of wickets: 7 bowlers getting into double figures.  We are very fortunate having so many players who are genuine all-rounders. On 3 occasions we’ve used 6 bowlers:  for the other 15 matches we’ve used 7 or more.  As you know I have always felt it an essential responsibility for me as captain to ensure everyone has the opportunity to have a real input into the match each Sunday, be it batting or bowling.  I think the figures show that to a very large part that has been the case this season.  Yes it’s cost us:  a more `win at all costs` approach would certainly have spared us a couple of defeats.  But that’s not the point – nobody wants to come along week after week to field all afternoon and not get a bat  So once again this year you will see that every regular player except Tom (and I’m really sorry Tom) has batted in more than half the matches in which they’ve played and – as mentioned – the spread of bowling has been very wide.
My thanks as ever go to every player: it is a big commitment to turn out especially when there are so many other ways of spending a summer Sunday – so my thanks should also extend to wives and girlfriends who also allow that to happen.  And I’m delighted that we’ll get a chance to thank the ladies – and have a damn good time ourselves – when TWCC go to the dogs.
Furthermore we love our annual tour and I think we’ve settled on the perfect venue: a country pub somewhere reasonably close, with a town but a short distance away so the boys can go out and strut their stuff.  Oxford and Cambridge are both favourites to receive an education from TWCC on what a good tour is all about so keep that weekend free:  Friday 1st July – Sunday 3rd July 2016.
And finally thanks from me on a personal note to everyone for being brilliant club members: sure I come to enjoy the cricket, winning is even better, a good individual performance the icing on the cake – rather rare things these days, cakes of that sort...but I love the spirit of the club and the team, the individuality of the players, the way we all gel and enjoy our cricket and our company together: TWCC is truly a `classless society` and it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be your captain.
Thank you all for your support.
Richard Brock, Captain, Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club  

The highlights....and the lowlights.....
Streat inflict our heaviest defeat of the season second game in, but we still win 3 out of the first 4 and go through to June in fine spirit.  Already Paul H and James have hit 50s and the skipper’s clearance of the tail enders at Moulsecoomb gives us our first and only fifer of the season.
 So to a new fixture: West Chiltington.  The team rallies brilliantly to raise £125 for cancer research, a silly yellow hat is awarded to people dropping catches and thus sits on most of the team at one point or another: meanwhile, W Chiltington set about our bowling to score 221.  James’82 and fine back up performances numerous others bring us to the brink of victory only to be thwarted at the last.  Headliners were blown out of the water by 4 wickets each for Phil and Matt Brock and then we went on tour.
Tour was excellent: Bournemouth: and Puddletown, where after winning the 20/20 with Jim’s 60, we drank in the Martyr’s pub, lived history and got caught in a thunderstorm.  Jim’s extraordinary weekend continued with a hat-trick the following day but we were well beaten.  Great tour though. Back to swat Staplefield and then watch George Hunter demolish Wisley by himself with his 45 ball 112 not out (8 fours, 11 sixes).    A brilliant last ball win at Warnham thanks to the magnificent pair of Robin and Joe rounded off a fine mid-summer.
Alex Rydon sadly holed out 4 short of his first ever century vs Streat – and we lost – and while great knocks from Rydon Snr and Tony saw us home at Crescent, unfortunately we failed to put out teams two weeks running in September, got smashed by Ashurst youth and couldn’t quite force the win vs Brighton Beamers.  
DIARY DATE:   TOUR to CAMBRIDGE Friday 1- Sunday 3 July 2016


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TWCC 2014 Season
Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 4th 2014
Welcome to the new season:  regrettably we had to cancel the first game through lack of numbers, though the weather last Sunday was also lousy so maybe fate intervened.  Anyway our season began at Streat and Westmeston, the scene of plenty of good games between the two sides but not a barrelful of great memories for us:  I remember an early declaration with 200 up and getting thumped by 8 wickets, I remember many a man falling to Stan’s grenades, I remember James’ shocking refusal to walk and playing through guilt…..  Anyway we mustered 10 men, including the very welcome return to the fold of Paul Chatfield.  The skipper lost the toss and we were asked to field.  Our young muscular opener Matt Brock proved he’s added not just pace but also accuracy to his bowling during the winter and he clean bowled Streat’s numbers 1 and 3.  At the other end, Paul kept things tight.  But their no 3 Colin Mansfield put up resistance, as so often against us.  He kept his end going as all the bowlers chipped in to a regular fall of wickets.  He was finally run out on 66 to a  `keep a cool head` situation by Paul Hunter.  The only other player to make double figures made it to 24 – so actually when Streat finished with 127 all out, it looked better than it might have been.  Two wickets each for Matt B, Paul, Phil and Edward had set us up to win the match.  Unfortunately this is cricket and nothing ever goes to plan.  When James was out LBW to an straight ball half way up the pads for a golden duck, we took it as a set back.  When his fellow opener Paul was out next over for 2, we were 5-2 and trouble loomed.  But our batting line up looked strong – and so it proved as Jonathan and Tony got to grips with Streat’s attack.  They played good sensible cricket, plenty of quick singles, taking on the bad balls and mindful of Stan.  And their reward was the season’s first 100 partnership before Jonathan was clean bowled four short of his 50.  But Tony powered to his 50 and was ably supported by Paul Chatfield to make it 1 win out of 1 in this new season.

Scorecard
Streat won the toss and elected to bat.
Streat innings: R Mason Bld M Brock 0; C Mansfield  run out (Hunter) 66; J Barrs Bld M Brock 6; P Davidson Ct J Rowland Bld P Steinke 24; P Wise St S Rogers Bld J Trollope 0; N Wise Bld P Steinke 3; S Forster Bld P Hunter 2; M Porter Ct J Rowland Bld E Bunn 5; N Tombleson Bld P Hunter 3; S Spiegal Ct S Rogers Bld E Bunn 5; J Porter not out 4.
TOTAL 127 ALL OUT
TWCC BOWLING: M Brock 8-3-14-2; P Hunter 12-2-31-2; R Brock 3-0-18-0; P Steinke 8-3-15-2; J Trollope 5-0-34-1; E Bunn 4.1 – 2-10-2.
TWCC INNINGS: J Trollope LBW Bld M Tombleson 0; P Hunter LBW Bld S Forster 2; T Pearcenot out 56; J Rowland Bld M Porter 46; P Chatfield not Out 14.
TOTAL 131-3.
FALL: 3-1, 5-2, 105-4
DNB; S Rogers, E Bunn, M Brock, P Stainke, R Brock.
Streat Bowling: Tombleson 6-0-28-1; S Forster 5-1-16-1; P Wise 4-0-19-0; S Spiegal 2-0-22-0; P Davidson 4-0-9-0; M Porter 4.4-1-24-1.
TWCC WON BY 6 WICKETS

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TWCC v Greys May 11th 2014
Welcome to a sunny but chilly and positively windy day at Twineham as we turn up for our first home match of 2014 to discover the grass long, the cut grass still there and that the builder who has done sterling work rebuilding the pavilion had actually left the remains of the walls of the old pavilion behind, all over the floor. So while the pavilion looked good with a new wall, a new coat of paint and a new roof, it was spoilt by all the rubble strewn around.
Anyway onto the cricket. It was a strong TWCC side that turned out. Skipper Brock, keen to listen to Brighton fail to get to Wembley from 5pm onwards, won the toss and chose to field. Out to bat came a familiar figure: an Australian named Covill who has scored so many runs against us it makes the scoreboard tremble. He’s been back with the sheep for a couple of years but has now returned to civilization and he was clearly determined to pick up where he left off by bashing our bowlers all over the place. He and their skipper got off to a bit of a flyer – with Paul and Richard’s early overs loose.  But when Mr Covill came rushing down the wicket to the skipper, he was beaten by the sheer pace – or the misdirection – of the delivery which skimmed off his pads and onto the wicket.  Clean bowled it says in the book, and a big wicket on 49. But their skipper Biff Line continued to play well as did their number 3 until Paul Chatfield came on to bowl his first overs for TWCC for some 6-7 years.  He’d spent the week preparing, going through the motions, getting in the swing, and in his first over he clean bowled the number 3. Another useful stand was broken and the door swung open for a spate of wickets, led by Paul C. In just 6 overs he took 4 wickets - one a rare catch from Phil - and when he limped off at the end of his spell he was a happy man, if a slightly injured one.  Much as in the previous week the wicket-fest continued, and again it was fun in the sun for all the bowlers. Phil and James also picked up wickets as Greys slowly made their way to 123-8, failing to hit sufficient boundaries. The call went out to Edward to have a bowl. His first over was good. His second was sensational. The first three balls went for just a single before their number 8 wafted at a ball outside off and spooned it to James who leapt like a salmon to pluck it from the air. The next delivery Edward put in a mighty shot for LBW – and deliciously, the finger went up. The time was 4.30. The last ball of the innings was a hatrick ball. The field closed in. The warning went up:  drop a catch and you have Edward to deal with. He stepped up and their number 11, a Mr Southon, put his foot firmly down and swung through the ball. It went straight: straight towards Edward himself. And, joy of joys, he took it at waist height for only the second hatrick of his career. Great celebrations followed as the team left the field having bowled out a team once again in the 120s: 123 to be precise. Paul’s tea was full of flags and cakes which – erm – weighed heavily. And then, with the wind getting up and the chilliness factor rising, Paul and James went out to open our reply. And what batting it was; boundaries everywhere, which Greys had failed to achieve. Even a 6 for Paul. 50, then 100 came and went, and the partnership was unbroken as the final run was struck with James not out 47 and Paul not out 71. A comprehensive 10 wicket victory was ours – and Edward is ready to take 4 from 4 with his first ball in his next match.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field.
Greys Innings: Covill Bld R Brock 25; Line St S Rogers Bld Trollope 45; Malyon Bld Chatfield 17; BurgessBld Chatfield 2; Fenton Ct Bunn Bld Chatfield 0; Day Ct Steinke Bld Chatfield 4; Gallagher LBW Bld Steinke 5; Newland ct Trollope Bld Bunn 7; Sewell not out 5; Hoare LBW Bld Bunn 0; Southon Ct and Bld Bunn 0.
TOTAL 123 all out. Fall: 49, 72, 76, 78, 87, 108, 110, 123, 123, 123.
TWCC Bowling: P Hunter 8-0-27-0; R Brock 9-1-35-1; Chatfield 6-0-19-4; P Steinke 9-3-16-1; J Trollope 5-0-12-1; E Bunn 2-0-63; Pearce 1-0-3-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope not out 47; P Hunter not out 71.
TOTAL 124-0
DNB: T Pearce, S Rogers, J Simon, E Bunn, D Rogers, R Brock, P Steinke, P Chatfield.
Greys Bowling: Day 7-2-20-0; Hoare 6-0-26-0; Sewell 3-0-35-0; Newland 2-0-20-0; Gallagher 1.3-0-10-0; Southon 1-0-11-0
TWCC WON BY 10 WICKETS

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TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers May 18th 2014
The day was warm and sunny: summer had arrived in beautiful Sussex. We were 10, bolstered from nine by a celebrity visit of Mikey in between globe-trotting and impregnating half the women of London. Richard won the toss and to the annoyance of most of the team, opted for the same formula which had brought victories in the first two games: bowling first. Opening bowling pair Matthew and Paul toiled hard but unsuccessfully as Moulsecoomb made hay in the sun: literally, as the ball was forced through the cut piles of grass on the outfield (our thanks to the council?). The opening bats powered past 50, 60 and even 70 before the skipper opted to bring on James to slow things down a bit. And in his first over it worked as he had their no 1 caught. (I’d love to tell you by whom, JIM but due to the inadequacies of the person copying over the book and struggling with  the not terribly difficult job of filling in the catches, I don’t have that information to hand!!!!) Phil then came on and made his mark, scything into their middle order with 2 wickets in a miserly spell. The match started to come back our way as the rate slowed and the wickets fell. A fantastic slip catch by Tony was another highlight, leaping high into the air for a one handed catch off a left hander. Good tight bowling continued to the end, aided by some excellent work behind the stumps by stand-in keeper Jim, and after being in trouble at 132-2, we did well to get them 168-8 at tea. Tea was provided by James. It was adequate, though lacked variety. So a decent score to chase down and Paul didn’t look comfortable. A couple of decent shouts for edges and then another strong shout. Umpire Brock Junior heard a noise, raised a finger and Paul was on his way. Word filtered out from the pavilion that he was not happy, hadn’t touched it. But this is cricket, and you accept what you’re given. Tony came and went in a flurry, Mikey the same without the flurry but Jim had a splendid knock of 19 and provided some necessary stability to take us onto 84. But we were still 85 runs short with just 5 wickets left as the 20 overs came up. James was our rock and onto him we clung. Edward joined him and together they put on a crucial stand of 50 before Edward was caught for 22. 36 runs required: time for the skipper to step up. Two balls later, it was time for Paul Chatfield to step up, with Richard meekly LBW on his second ball. Nervousness was evident on the field and off it, among the watching batsmen. Being young and silly, Matthew’s way of soothing his nerves was to kick a ball around. Unfortunately, he booted it rather hard at Paul, still simmering about that questionable decision – by Matthew. `F*** off you f***ing idiot` :  Paul’s anger was vented like a Kalashnikov at the hapless boy. The tension on the pitch was momentarily less than that off it. (I missed all this - Ed. But I've put it through... Don't ask me why - all I can think is that the Gazette's standards are getting more and more tabloid.) Paul stuck his head back into the scorebook, testily. Back on the pitch Paul Chatfield hit one of the finest sixes seen on the ground, back over the bowlers head to take us to the brink of victory. His not out 11 was crucial in support of James and the two of them brought us home, unhappily secured by two wides. But it was James’s magnificent 70 not out that was the innings that brought us victory, a great chase. So that’s played 3 won 3, a good start to the new season. 

The catches have all gone to pot. I caught two, one off James and one off Matt. I stumped one off Edward's bowling. Tony caught one in the slips off Richard, James, I think, caught another one on the stretch at gully, and Paul took a tough high and long one at cow corner but I can't remember off whos bowling... Edwards?
Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field
Moulsecoomb innings: Kris Ct Wk (Simon) Bld Trollope 34; Pete Bld Steinke 50; David Bld Steinke 7; Zac Ct Hunter Bld Trollope 2; George Ct Trollope Bld R Brock 7; Morgan Ct T Pearce Bld R Brock 7; Simon not 0ut 7; Terry ct Wk (Simon) Bld M Brock 7; Joe St Wk (Simon) Bld Bunn 5; Doug not out 1; TOTAL 168-8.
DNB: S Bassam
Fall: 77, 84, 132, 139, 141, 150, 156, 161.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 11-2-49-1; P Hunter 5-1-15-0; Chatfield 3-0-24-0; P Steinke 10-0-31-2; J Trollope 5-0-22-2; R Brock 5-0-15-2;  E Bunn 2-0-11-2.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct? Bld ??? 3; J Trollope not out 70; T Pearce Ct, Bld Doug 14; M Pearce Bld Doug 1; J Simon  Bld McGowan 19; E Bunn Bld McGowan    22; R Brock LBW    Bld Zac 0; P Chatfield  not out 11; TOTAL 170-6.
DNB: P Steinke, M Brock.
Moulsecoomb Bowling: Pearson 4-0-17-0; Terry 6-0-14-0; Doug 5-0-19-2; McGowan 10-0-24-2; Morgan 2-0-16-0; Radmore 6-0-28-0; Zac 4-0-15-1.
TWCC WON BY 3 WICKETS

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 25th 2014
An unpromising Bank Holiday weekend’s weather forecast was proved wrong as the sun shone in the village of Bolney, with a chilly breeze requiring a sleeveless jumper for all but the hardiest. For the third time running the skipper won the toss and elected to bowl: something the Bolney skipper would also have opted for – so he said. It was a deliciously youthful opening pair: Matt Brock and Tom Rydon both racing in, showing off the extra pace each had gathered during the winter. And Tom was the first to strike: a rising ball popped up round the corner to the waiting Brock senior. Next Matt Brock struck in his 4th over: clean bowling numbers 3 and 4 in consecutive balls to leave a hat-trick ball. Unhappily this didn’t happen: but two balls later another fell and Matthew had a triple wicket maiden. 3 overs later Tom forced an uppish drive from opener Barry Griffin and Matt turned catcher: Bolney were in disarray at 19-5. There followed a good stand between 6 and 7: Bowles and Moore, which neither Phil, James nor Edward could crack. Finally it was left to the skipper, as some commiseration for being hit around the field, to capture Steve Bowles on 42: interestingly caught by Tom. 6 wickets down and only the Brocks and Rydons in the `how out` and `bowled` columns. Rob came on and kept that going: hitting one of their players with a bouncer and apologising profusely before finally getting a wicket in his 6th over, by which time Bolney had struggled to 91-7. Alex Rydon at the other end picked up another – before Matt was reintroduced to try to finish things up before tea. And blow me down, that’s just what he did: the last two wickets, both LBW, in four balls: the benefits of bowling straight brought Matt the first five-for of the season – and what figures: 7.5 overs, 5 maidens, 5 for 5. Anyone will do well to better those all season. He was duly thrust to the front to lead the team off five minutes before the allotted time where we enjoyed a wonderful Bolney tea in the pleasant sunshine, contemplating 98 for victory.    How easy and straightforward is this game of cricket! And a look at the book shows a complete bowling/catching line up of Brocks and Rydons. (Mind you they did comprise 50% of the team.) James and Steve opened the batting, Steve out for 3: 20-1, not a problem. James out for a good 25, 30-2, not a problem. A useful stand between Alex and Jim, 55-2, over halfway there, the sun still shining – I love this game. Alex out on 55 for an excellent and cultured 18 was an annoyance, Jim four runs later was a tremor. But Rob’s wicket on 63 was an ominous rumble. 35 runs short, 5 wickets down and a team of just 10. However Edward’s excellent early season form continued as he played a most mature and sensible innings, curbing every sprinting instinct in his body, to limit himself to run only a series of singles and thus inch towards the target with diligence. Tom fell quickly, Richard’s horribly thrown away wicket on 89 brought in Matt:  with just Phil left after that. But Edward took Matt under his protective wing and the two of them brought TWCC to victory by two wickets, with Edward at last unleashing the might with a 4 for victory. A triumphant day and every one of us down the pub, Edward showing off his toy helicopter in-between buying a jug for his hat-trick two weeks previously, a jug for Matt: a great day, four out of four, bring on Parham.
Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field
Bolney innings: B Griffin Ct M Brock Bld T Rydon 1; J Bushell Ct R Brock Bld T Rydon 0; Bushell Snr Bld M Brock 10; C Bunce Bld M Brock 0; J Flower Ct R Brock Bld M Brock 0; S Bowles Ct T Rydon Bld R Brock 42; J Moore not out 28; D Bridge Bld R Rydon 7; R Atkins Bld A Rydon 1; J Elliott LBW Bld M Brock 2; O Atkins LBW Bld M Brock 0; TOTAL 97 all out. 42.5 overs.
Fall: 3-2, 15-3, 15-4, 15-5, 18-1, 81-6, 91-8, 94-9, 97-10, 97-11.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 7.5-5-5-5; T Rydon 4.1-1-14-2; E Bunn 5.5-1-10-0; P Steinke 8-2-15-0;  J Trollope 4-2-10-0; R Brock 5-1-25-1; R Rydon 6-3-6-1; A Rydon 2-0-11-1.
TWCC innings: J Trollope Bld J Flower 25; S Rogers Bld J Elliott 3; A Rydon Ct C Bunce Bld T Elliott 18; J Simon Ct Bushell Snr Bld S Bowles 5; R Rydon LBW Bld J Elliott 7; E Bunn not out 24; R Brock Ct S Bowles Bld J Elliott 11; T Rydon LBW Bld S Bowles 1; M Brock not out 1. TOTAL 99-7. 32.5 overs.   
DNB: P Steinke
Bolney Bowling: J Flower 10-4-19-1; J Elliott 16-3-49-4; S Bowles 6.5-0-28-2.
TWCC WON BY 2 WICKETS

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Parham CC v TWCC June 1st 2014
A quick report, drawn up from distant memories and a quick glance at the scorebook.
Richard won the toss, and elected to bowl. Looking at the analysis, no TWCC bowlers made much of an impact and Parham scored steadily throughout their innings. James, together with Tom Rydon, opened the attack. P Vander in particular managed to continue at some length, scoring 92 before being caught by Alex off the bowling of Richard. After tea TWCC made significant inroads into Parham's total, with James, Tony, and Alex all scoring good solid runs at just the right rate in the teeth of good bowling. Or, perhaps, maybe at just not quite the right rate as TWCC's supporting batsmen froze a little in the face of the reappearance of the Parham opening bowlers towards the end of the allotted overs, and runs dried up. Into the final over, and TWCC, from memory, needed about 4 or so to win, which we didn't get. Parham's bowlers were quick, though not particularly helped by the keeper standing up, which by and large he did well, but which led to a lot of byes - 15 in all, which, when added to the other extras, totalled a not insignificant 24! A draw therefore, TWCC fininshing one run behind the Parham score. Almost a tie - which would have been exciting. Mind you, it was quite exciting as it was.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field.
Parham Innings: P Vander ct A Rydon Bld R Brock 92; M Williams Ct. S Rogers(wk) Bld Trollope 0; S Brooks Ct E Bunn Bld P Steinke 39; A Wales Ct J Trollope Bld A Rydon 16; s Trott Ct E Bunn Bld R Brock 14; P Fraser Not Out 2; C Moody Not Out 3. Extras unrecoreded. Total 182 for 5. DNB S Forrest, J Forrest, J Mitchell.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 6-1-19-0; J Trollope 6-0-17-1; P Steinke 11-3-36-1; E Bunn 6-0-36-0; P Chatfield 6-0-33-0; R Brock 5-0-19-2; A Rydon 4-0-13-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct, Bld Mitchell 42; S Rogers Bld Williams 10; T Pearce Bld Trott 48; A Rydon Bld Trott 33; E Bunn Bld Trott 9; J Simon Ct, Bld Williams 9; P Chatfield Run Out 1; R Brock Not Out 3. Extras 24. Total 181 for 7. DNB T Rydon, P Chatfield.
Match drawn.


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TWCC v London Unity June 15th 2014
I could pretend I’m in a terrible hurry and am therefore forced to make this report extremely brief: but I’m not. The fact is that such an abjectly average performance doesn’t deserve to use up any more computer memory than is strictly necessary. So here we go.
It was a warm but overcast afternoon: perfect for swing bowling. London Unity, a nice bunch of chaps, mostly regurgitated from the 1960s hippie generation, turned up, won the toss, put us in and – as convention dictates – provided the match ball. This ball, put in the hands of their extremely effective swing bowlers and carefully nurtured throughout, combined nicely with our ineptness with the bat to dictate the afternoon’s events. Steve and James got us off to a good start: playing sensibly and reaching 45 before James was clean bowled. After that... we cannot call it a middle order collapse: it was the whole team house of cards met hurricane Unity, with a tidal wave thrown in for good measure. The next four wickets fell for 0. Paul Chatfield and David Rogers showed some resistance, but everyone else failed to cope with a ball that swung wildly in the air, skilfully dealt by their bowlers. And so it was that 45-0 became an astonishing 48-6 and became 65 all out. Credit to Dave Rogers in particular for dogged defence that helped eat up almost 30 overs. Tea was very pleasant, despite the circumstances: tasty tuna sandwiches and a tray bake chocolate sponge by Kay, with Jim soaking up the credit. And so to the field. Mercifully briefly. Matthew clean bowled two early wickets for a glimpse of hope, a couple of other catching possibilities flew but not to hand – and their "all guns blazing" numbers 2 and 4 bludgeoned their way to victory. As Roy Hodgson might say `time to move on`.

Scorecard
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings
J Trollope Bld M Driver 18; S Rogers Bld J Driver 21; R Brock Ct wkt Bld M Driver 0; J Simon Ct, Bld J Driver 0; T Rydon Bld M Driver 0; M Edwards Bld M Driver 0; P Chatfield Bld T Roberts 9; D Rogers not out 3; J Panther LBW T Roberts 0; M Brock Bld T Roberts 3; P Steinke Bld T Roberts 1.
TOTAL 65 All Out (29.4 overs)   
London Unity Bowling: Collombine 5-0-26-0; J Driver 10-3-28-2; M Driver 9-6-4-4; T Roberts 4.4-2-5-4; J Clarke 1-1-0-0.
London Unity Innings
M Viles Bld M Brock 8;J Moore not out 25; A Gane Bld M Brock 4; T Roberts not out 29.
TOTAL 68 for 2 (12.4 overs)
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 5-0-23-2; M Edwards 4-0-17-0; P Steinke 2-0-10-0; R Brock 1.4-0-18-0.
London Unity WON BY 8 WICKETS.

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TWCC v Headliners June 22nd 2014
`I have never seen a catch like that: I thought he’d do well just to stop it` S Warne (Steph Warne, a local pensioner who happened to be walking her dog). The scars of the previous week’s destruction were still fresh, still seeping pus across the pages of the scorebook. So we needed a big performance to let the world know that TWCC was back: and mercifully, whilst it wasn’t huge, it was sufficient. The day was made for cricket: warm, sunny and delicious with the outfield properly cut for once. Richard lost the toss and we were asked to bowl: Matt and Tom worked well together with Tom taking the glory and making his dad very proud when their number two put up a catch and it was Rob who took it: the first time Rob had taken a catch from’s Tom’s bowling – aaah. Then to prove it wasn’t a fluke, he did it again for the number 1. And when Tom also encouraged the number four to tickle it behind to Steve, he was 3 wickets up and Headliners were 3 down for 30. Unfortunately both Tom and Matthew were suffering the leaden-footedness and butter-fingeredness of the slip cordon, who, refusing to make catches – including actually lifting a foot to avoid the ball – also refused to chase after the ball, time and again preferring to stand and watch it, or discuss who it was who actually should have caught it, rather than chase it. Sources inside the TWCB suggest that a full enquiry is going on into recent failures in the slips, with a view to a shake-up. Anyway after Tom’s spectacular opening spell, Headliners put together a good stand of 64. Archie McDonald came on for his full TWCC debut – he bowled well, showed a great deal of promise - but found Rob’s munificence restricted to those sharing the same surname, thus a dropped catch denying him his first TWCC wicket. Even more culpable was Matthew Brock, too deep in sulk to make the catch that would have given Archie his breakthrough. It took Phil to finally break through and Rob later clean bowled their number 5 who’s accrued 43. By this time Headliners were on 118 and still  with time on their side. But with the two who had put on the big stand out of the way, there was clearly an opportunity for some cheap wickets and so the skipper of course brought himself on. The first was caught reluctantly by his recalcitrant son, the second prettily removed the off bail but the third....OMG, the third. Their batsman, Ritchie, got hold the the ball good and proper and slog swept it towards the pavilion, like an exocet. Edward was there but it was going far wide of him. Until...he leapt athletically, leaving 25 years and 10 stones behind him, to not just get a hand to the ball, not just to stop the ball but to actually pluck it from the air and pull off one of the finest catches ever seen at TWCC. Think Banks/Pele and you’ll be close. It was remarkable – all the more so for the shenanigans behind the wicket but an hour earlier. And so it was that we got Headliners 8 wickets down for 151 at tea. And what a tea it was: Mrs Rogers laid out a spread worthy of Edward’s catch, enjoyed by all. James and Steve went in and frighteningly reminiscent of the previous week, their stand took them to the early 40s before James was caught. But in came Tony and the next few overs were rather bloody, as Headliners weakness in the bowling line up was somewhat painfully exposed as Tony very quickly clocked up 53 including 3 sixes and 5 fours. When he holed out, the score was 119 and we were well on our way. Archie had a bat and confirmed that we have an excellent new prospect in our ranks – as a bowler! Edward made a few and Rob took us home with a couple of big hits –including one which matched an earlier one of Tony’s that bounced off our shiny new roof: but Steve it was who was the mainstay of the innings, letting the bat throwers have their moment whilst he batted sensibly all through the innings: Geoffrey Boycott would have been very proud. So a good day, a comfortable win by 6 wickets in the end with just 26 overs bowled - a roof battered but unbowed, an incredible number of lost balls – but a good day’s cricket, nice to see Tom put his dad in his place with an excellent spell of aggressive bowling and especially nice to welcome Archie to the team, someone we hope will stay with us.

Scorecard
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bowl
Headliners Innings: Barnett Ct R Rydon Bld T Rydon 16; Smith Ct R Rydon Bld T Rydon    1; Collins Bld P Steinke 27; Hollis Ct S Rogers (wk) Bld T Rydon 0; Neale Bld R Rydon 43; Wright Ct M Brock Bld R Brock    16; Pearson Bld    R Brock 1; Ritchie Ct Bunn (OMG) Bld R Brock 0; Harwood not out 6; Pareich not out 13; TOTAL 151-8 (39 overs).
Fall: 24,25,30,94, 118, 125, 125, 126.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 9-0-31-0; T Rydon 9-0-38-3; P Steinke 7-0-31-1; A McDonald 4-0-26-0; R Brock 6-2-13-3; R Rydon 5-1-10-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct Bld Ritchie    27; S Rogers not out 37; T Pearce ct, Bld Barnett 53; A McDonald Bld Harwood 0; E Bunn ct WK Bld Ritchie 14; R Rydon not out 8; TOTAL 152-4 (26.3 overs).  
Fall: 44-1, 119-3, 120-4, 142-5
DNB: D Rogers, T Rydon, M Brock, P Steinke, R Brock.
Headliners' Bowling: Ritchie 8-0-31-2; Pareich 2-0-21-0; Neale 6-0-22-0; Hollis 3-0-22-0; Harwood 4-0-31-1; Barnett  3-0-12-1; Pearson 0.3-0-10-0.
TWCC WON BY 6 WICKETS.

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Staplefield v TWCC July 13th 2014
Our first match for 3 weeks: and boy did it show. After winning the toss – one of those tosses a captain secretly hopes to lose as a good excuse for later failings – Richard decided to bowl. We were 10 and there were clear deficiencies: mainly in batting and bowling, but in fact it was the fielding which was to be most visibly lacking. Matthew and his father opened up the bowling and fair’s fair, did a good containing job. Matthew had their number one dropped – and dropped again – and dropped again. He then ran him out except the umpire decided the yard plus margin was too tight and the batsman got the benefit of the lack of doubt. Finally Richard got him but then a good stand developed helped by some frankly rather underwhelming TWCC fielding on a hot day on the beautiful village common. On numerous occasions fielders preferred to stare rather than chase, catching remained abysmal and it turned into a real slog. James and Edward offered 3 overs for 37 runs, but there was an encouraging spell for young Archie McDonald. But numbers 1 and 3 put on more than a hundred and we wilted. Finally Matthew returned to take 3 wickets but the damage was done. It was a good day for a nice long tea. But we had to return to the fray. The aforementioned umpire turned bowler and took the first 3 wickets to go with good tight mostly yorker length bowling. In the meantime Richard and James had a misunderstanding which led to James being run out, which was a shame because he was settling in on 20. Edward offered some decent defence for 23 – other than that it was really an opportunity for all the middle and late order batsmen to practice their defensive shots: which they did reasonably well and we lasted until 8 overs from the close before what had long seemed inevitable happened, and we were all out: the score – 81. Worst of all – just 3 in the pub for one of the finest pubs we visit – clearly the world cup final had more pull.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bowl
Staplefield Innings:
Jake Ct S Rogers Bld R Brock 2; Amela Bld P Chatfield 29; Majid Bld M Brock 85; M Shrubb Bld M Brock 38; Jules not out 0; Harvey Bld M Brock 0; James G not out 20; TOTAL 201-5 (43 overs).
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 14-2-48-3; R Brock 8-2-22-1; P Steinke 8-2-20-0; P Chatfield 5-0-23-1; E Bunn 2-0-18-0; J Trollope 1-0-19-0; A McDonald 5-0-45-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Run Out 20; J Riley Bld Bull 5; S Rogers Ct Wkt Bld Bull 2; R Brock Bld Bull 5; E Bunn ct, Bld Clarke jnr 23; P Chatfield Ct,  Bld Hutchence 3; D Rogers Bld Clarke Jnr 1; A McDonald Bld Clarke snr 0; M Brock Run out 1; TOTAL 81 all out (31 overs).  
Fall: 15-2, 34-3, 43-1, 45-4, 61-6, 69-7,76-5, 77-9, 81-8
Staplefield Bowling: R Bull 10-1-23-3; Hutchence 10-1-34-1; Clarke Snr 6-3-6-1; Clarke jnr 5-2-5-2.
STAPLEFIELD WON BY 112 RUNS


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TWCC v Wisley July 20th 2014
An input of much needed youth brought the average age of the TWCC side down from approx 60 to closer to 25: and on a steamingly hot day at Twineham that was very helpful. In fact, I should say how delighted we are to have more youngsters coming through the ranks: it’s great for them to enjoy their cricket among some wise old heads, and it’s good for the future of the team. So welcome to Will Reeves-Perrin and Charlie Baldock, both local lads, nice lads too – and both very good prospects. We hope they will continue to enjoy many games for TWCC. Our opposition were our friends from Wisley – a good bunch of lads who we’ve played for many years. In fact we had 12 players turn up: which meant a rotation during fielding – much welcomed by the older members – and the skipper opted to sit out the batting, thus depriving TWCC of an extra 0.75 runs based on his current average. Matt Edwards and Tom opened the bowling really well: good, pacy tight bowling and they picked up a wicket a piece, including Charlie’s first catch for Twineham. The field was alive with calls of `well done Buddy` - which is very much the happening cry in youth cricket, and whilst it left a few of the older members somewhat perplexed, it was noticeable that the youthful enthusiasm did spread throughout the team, especially in terms of chasing down in the field and encouraging bowlers and fielders: all very welcome. Unfortunately it did little to improve our catching, so shocking the previous week. Again, a couple of very catchable chances were shelled. But the bowling continued to be tight, the new lads Will and Charlie both bowled really well and Will took a couple of wickets, including that of T Richards, who played excellently for his 72. It was also good to see Jim turn his arm over again – and pick up the final wicket to fall. After two and a half gruelling hours in the heat, Wisley made 153: a fair score but certainly one which gave us hope: after all, we had our superstar no 3 Tony Pearce back – what could possibly go wrong? The answer to that question might indeed have been found at tea? It wasn't that it was poor. It wasn’t even disappointing. Perhaps uninspired is the right word - workmanlike maybe? Short on the always popular tuna sandwiches, piled with the always less popular cheese and pickle, plenty of cake but little imagination. Still, the only consolation was that none of this mediocrity would be shown in Tony’s batting, would it? James and Steve got us off to a solid start, reaching 30 before James was involved in his second run out in consecutive weeks, sending Steve back, replicating his own downfall of the previous week. Out marched Tony – a frisson of excitement went through the large crowd as we settled back to enjoy our swashbuckling big hitter take the game away from Wisley. His first ball was sensibly dabbed in front of him. The second however, he allowed to gently float onto the surface of his £450 MegaDrive and he obligingly angled the expensive face to guide the ball to second slip, where it was gratefully snapped up. 2 wickets in 3 balls and Tony back to finish the washing up. Will came in and showed great promise: another swashbuckler, but this one achieving something. He chanced his luck on a couple of occasions but hit one six splendidly out of the ground and over the road – so it was a shame when his innings was ended on 18. Once again in a good season with the bat, Edward held things together – putting on a sound stand with Tom, who also batted really well. Things looked up: the 100 came up, we were still in the match. But Edward and Tom went within two overs, and inspiring and very responsible late innings of for Joe and 6 for Charlie took us within a sniff of victory - but we fell short 5 overs from safety when Phil’s defence crumbled to a caught and bowled. A good game, a better performance that the last two, and great to have youth in the team: now we need to turn all that around into winning.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bowl
Wisley Batting: O Richards Ct C Baldock Bld M Edwards 4; A Fletcher Bld T Rydon    10; J Snelling C T Rydon Bld W Reeves-Perrin 3; T Richards Ct S Rogers Bld W Reeves-Perrin 72; J Snelling St S Rogers Bld J Trollope 13; M Kerrigan Not Out 25; D Evans LBW Bld J Simon 0; R Greer Not Out 13. TOTAL 153-6(38 overs)
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 6-2-7-1; T Rydon 7-1-25-1; P Steinke 6-0-26-0; C Baldock  6-1-13-1; R Brock 4-1-10-0; W Reeves-Perrin 4-1-16-2; J Trollope 2-0-9-1; J Simon 3-0-20-1.
TWCC Batting: J Trollope Run Out 20; S Rogers Ct Wkt Bld Bull 2; T Pearce Ct O Richards    0; W Reeves-Perrin Bld Barrance    18; E Bunn ct, Bld O Richards 18; J Simon Ct, Bld O Richards 0; T Rydon Ct Mark Bld Tim 14; M Edwards Bld O Richards 0; J Panther Ct R Greer 8; C Baldock Not Out 8; P Steinke Ct& Bld    Tim 0. TOTAL 123 all out (33.3 overs).
WISLEY WON BY 30 RUNS


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Henfield CC v TWCC July 27th 2014
On an unenviable run of 3 defeats on the trot, TWCC arrived at the pretty ground of Henfield, unmissable situated on the main road into the town. One of Sussex’s oldest clubs, there have been some close matches in recent years between our two teams. It was another hot afternoon, and Henfield’s ground is a bowl, so when Richard won the toss he opted to bat. The team looked good to bowl, but not so strong in batting. Henfield’s skipper said they were strong – and what was good to see was how many youngsters there were on both teams. James and Steve made an excellent start, James pinging off fours across the parched grass. They made 53 before James was clean bowled. After that, everyone went in and made a good effort and Henfield sportingly put out a range of bowlers. We battled our way to 130, particularly notable was 16 by Charlie. So we finished about 25 minutes before our allotted time. It was about 60 runs short of what the skipper thought we needed: but we were short of two top end batsmen. So the total we did put up was a great effort. An excellent tea and out we went, determined to give it our all. We saw while batting that the pitch offered something to the pace bowlers: so Matthew Brock and Tom were asked to open up for us, and they gave us a fine start: each got an early wicket feathered behind to Steve’s safe gloves: and Henfield were 9-2. The door was pushed open an inch. However, Henfield’s number 4, T. Pain, lived up to his name by coming in determined to end the match as quickly as possible. A series of destructive shots, mostly 4s with a couple of sixes for good measure – and more than solid support from Henfield’s no 2 S Peacock – swung the game decisively back to Henfield in a rather dramatic blitz. The skipper turned to Jim and Matt Edwards. Jim, after a few months' lay off, showed last week he was ready, and slipped straight into the groove with his excellent swing bowling, immediately slowing down the onslaught, before applying paracetamol to the Pain with a perfect LBW. The stand had been 84 in less than 8 overs - but when Matt then followed to get Mr Peacock out to a Joe Panther catch, Henfield stood at 109-4. Still unlikely but our tails were up – and TWCC were fielding with excellence – chasing every ball down, firm throws, no silly mistakes – a team determined to give it their all. This was exemplified by the next two wickets – a good catch running behind him from Matt Brock off Jim – and then a superb "cool head" run out from Charlie, picking up and sending the ball in to Matt Edwards to take the bails off. And suddenly it was 111-6. In the post wicket huddles, the self belief was there. And when Matt Edwards made a good safe catch to give Jim another wicket, it was 116-7. Some late resistance from their number 8 put Henfield back in the driving seat, and another good catch from Matt Brock off Matt Edwards brought the score to 126-8. Unfortunately it was not to be – a couple of solid 4s finished the match – but this TWCC side should be very proud of themselves. They batted as well as could have been hoped, and in field they were magnificent: no catches put down, barely a misfield, and a great attitude, plenty of encouragement and a sense of self belief and a team determined to win: it made it quite intimidating for Henfield’s batsmen towards the end – and brought us within a whisker of an unlikely victory. Two narrow defeats in the past two weeks: our record this season is W 5 D 1 L 4: it’s a welcome season of enrichment  and adjustment, but I have no doubt that this is a team of great promise and spirit.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bat
TWCC batting: J Trollope Bld G Stewart 37; S Rogers Bld S Seaton 9; R Brock Ct, Bld T Pain 21; J Simon Bld B Ward 11; W Reeves-Perrin Ct, Bld T Pain 2; T Rydon Bld Mercer 4; J Panther Bld H Stewart 2; M Edwards Ct Seaton Bld Mehta 7; C Baldock Ct Seaton Bld H Stewart 16; M Brock Bld H Stewart 0; P Steinke Not Out 2. TOTAL 130 all out (40.5 overs)
Henfield Bowling: Mehta 11-1-38-1; 8-1-33-1; 6-1-15-1; Ward 6-1-13-1; 3-0-8-2; B Mercer 1-0-8-1; H Stewart 6-1-12-3.
FALL: 53-1, 61-2, 87-4, 94-5, 96-3, 102-6, 103-7, 115-8, 119-10, 130-9  
HENFIELD BATTING: A Scott Ct S Rogers Bld M Brock 1; S Peacock Ct J Panther Bld M Edwards 45; S Dale Ct S Rogers Bld T Rydon 0; T Pain LBW Bld J Simon 52; H Stewart Ct M Brock Bld J Simon 4; E Cleary    Run Out (Baldock) 0; P Ward Ct M Edwards Bld J Simon 5; J Seaton Not Out 11; B Mercer Ct M Brock Bld M Edwards 0; G Stewart Not Out 8. TOTAL 134-8 (17.5 OVERS)
TWCC BOWLING: M Brock 4-0-36-1; T Rydon 4-0-37-1; J Simon 5-0-27-3; J Trollope 1-0-15-0; M Edwards 3.5-1-19-2.
HENFIELD WON BY 2 WICKETS

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TWCC v Xiles August 10th 2014
As late as 12.00 on the day of TWCC's latest game Hurricane Bertha was still sheeting torrents of water down across the TWCC home ground. Some of us, morbidly glued to satelite images of the lingering storm, began to doubt the wisdom of saying it was on. But our Skip stood firm and sent endless "Yes - turn up!" texts to the doubters, and, sure enough, there we were at 2.00, basking in bright sunshine and looking forward to a full-length game of cricket.
Xiles were only 10 men, and so were we, so an evenly depopulated game ensued, begining with Xiles winning the toss and asking TWCC to bat first. Maybe they'd heard of our inability to take 10 wickets, but possibly had forgotten we only needed nine of them?
TWCC, with Paul and Jonathan returned to the fold, opened with Paul and Richard, who gave us a slow but solid foundation. Paul's long lay-off meant that he wasn't in full flow for a long time, but when he found his first boundary to take his tally to 20, finally overcoming the still-slow outfield, he was off. Then he was out.
Brocky's opening gambit went well, if you like that sort of thing, and it was with some sense of a good job well done when he was eventually caught behind for 16. The opening pair had lived with and seen off the wet outfield which had meant that, for these first overs, the ball didn't roll at all well towards the boundary and that the visitors were able to set a close field which limited the scoring opportunities. The Xiles opening bowlers were also quite a force, with Delap and Darshan bowling extended spells of often rapid balls, preventing much in the way of early scoring for the TWCC openers.
These two departures brought Tony and Jonathan to the middle, and the Pavilion Pundits sat back and enjoyed the show. Tony, characteristically flamboyant, took only two deliveries before hitting his first four, but we'll forgive him for this slow start as he went on to hit 66 with only 16 those runs not being boundaries. Jonathan, ever selective in his choice of precise shots, produced the innings of the day with a productive and extended innings of 74 not out. The outfield was drying out rapidly and Jonathan and Tony took TWCC to over 200, which doesn't happen as often as it should on our small ground. Charlie, in at No. 5, was unlucky to take an LBW blow - was this a golden duck? - and Joe and then Jim went in for a little while to join Jonathan who batted through to tea. TWCC ended on 213 for 5; Tony and Jonathan responsible for 140 of the lovely runs.
The tea was definitley one for those who like a fat and juicy sandwich, made with difficult-to-find (in my experience) unobtrusive yet contributory bread, and, though I didn't partake myself, equally welcome cakey stuff. Thank you, Jonathan, for persevering with the tea construction when, at the time, any glance outside would have seen the trees being shaken about in a gale of rain-filled wind.
So, tea taken, TWCC took to the field, and so began a memorable spell from Matt Brock from the Downs End. There also began a spell of sorts from Jim at the Pavilion End, in the hope that he might use the mighty cross wind to some advantage in the form a bit of lateral movement. Nothing came of this, so Matt Edwards came on to do the job properly, and the two Matts began to make inroads into the Xiles batters. One batsman of note, who could have stayed to offer some chance of approaching the home team's total, Plum from Oz, was brilliantly caught by Charlie, who seems to have a great pair of hands on him, in the gully off a rising ball from Matt Brock. Proper cricketer losing his wicket to a bit of proper cricket.
There followed nothing of note from the Xiles batsmen in terms of any attempt to win the game, perhaps unsurprising in the face of the TWCC total. The balance of their team was maybe behind their skipper's decision to field first as they had more chance of surviving for a draw than of scoring a defendable total if they batted first? What did follow was a great five-for for Matt Brock, which headline-readers might rightly surmise contained a magnificent hat-trick! How rare and memorable is a hat-trick? Pretty rare, though I feel Matt might get a few more in his burgeoning career. And pretty memorable too, judging by his father's endless repetition of a lucky five minutes sometime last century.
The end of the game was exciting, in its own way, but TWCC were to be disappointed in their efforts to take the last wicket, even with the impressive Joe Panther taking the ball for a couple of overs. The Xiles survived very well, a process sadly begun about fifteen minutes after the start of their innings, and not even a rampant pair of returning Matts could get through before stumps in the gloom of, it must be said, an early Autumn evening.
Were we downhearted? No; Matt had five wickets and a hat-trick to his name, we hadn't all been out and TWCC had scored over 200 runs. And how nice to sit around at the Oak afterwards, with crystal-clear Harveys in the jug, partaking of the social side of the game to some considerable extent.

Scorecard
Xiles won the toss and decided to field first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW bld Delap 20; R Brock Ct Wk Bld Darshan 16; T Pearce Ct, Bld David 66; J Rowland Not out 74; C Baldock LBW David 0; J Panther Ct, Bld David 9; J Simon Not Out 5; Extras 22. TWCC 213 for 5. DNB M Edwards, M Brock, P Steinke.
Xiles Bowling: Tulley 9-0-38-0; Delap 10-0-39-1; Darshan 10-0-37-1; Mat 5-0-22-0; Paul 2-0-27-0; David 6-0-33-3.
Xiles Innings: Hannans Ct, Bld Steinke 9; Plum Ct Baldock Bld M Brock 10; Tulley Ct Rowland (Wk) Bld M Brock 0; Campbell Bld M Brock 0; Hooper Bld M Brock 6; Ed Bld Edwards 2; Paul Bld Baldock 8; Tim Not out 16; Darshan Bld M Brock 4; Delap Not Out 23. Xiles 80-ish (no total or extras copied over...) for 8.
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 16-6-35-5; J Simon 2-1-7-0; M Edwards 11-3-21-1; P Steinke 5-0-10-1; C Baldock 3-0-9-1; J Panther 2-1-3-0; R Brock 2-1-7-0.
Match Drawn.

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TWCC v Henfield August 24th 2014
First of all the Gazette needs to explain why TWCC played Henfield again when we should have been playing Warninglid. Warninglid failed to produce a side on August bank holiday weekend, so the net was cast and, with some effort from the backroom boys, TWCC hosted a game with Henfield instead. Hooray for, and thanks to, James/Tony/anyone else involved for getting us a game.
With Skipper Brock toying with sharks in Sharm el-Sheikh, the lot of losing the toss fell to Skipper Pearce, whose good fortune was that Henfield elected to bat first, thus making all results possible without TWCC having to take 10 wickets. In a happy and positive mood, TWCC players, many in the fine flush of middle age, shook off any stiffness of limb and set about bowling to the remarkably young Henfield side. Skipper Pearce opted, in his choice of opening bowlers, for a blend of vigourous youth in Tom Rydon from the Downs End, and something else from Jim at the other. Tom's opening over produced a wicket (a happy knack of his) as the Henfield No. 1 served up a bit of catching practice to Jonathan in the covers. Tom continued with excellent economy for three overs, but then, as the Henfield batters really settled in, the run-rate began to climb and, though this attacking play produced a few chances for Tom, none resulted in further wickets. Jim, at the Downs End, started off in moderate form, and then neglected to bowl any worse as the overs ticked by, and Skipper Pearce found that Jim was still bowling at drinks, when a tired long-hop indicated the way forward. Rydon Senior, taking the Downs End from Tom, bowled with his usual fire, and the usual snicks and edges produced the usual oohs and arrs as third man and fine leg repeatedly failed to stop a series of unfortunate boundaries. 8 overs for 33 doesn't sound like Rob, and, indeed it isn't, for if we take off all the boundaries scored from repeated lucky fine contacts, we'd be seeing about 6 runs against his name. 

After drinks, Phil came on from the Pavilion End and showed us how to do it, removing the two set and prolific Henfield batsmen; first Hodgkin, caught by sleight-of-hand by Edward in the slips who, in the blink of an eye, weighed up a long chase to third man against catching it - and chose the latter; and then H Stewart, by bringing out an attacking drive from a ball just too short of a driving length, which skied up a straightforward catch to Jim at point. A third wicket followed for Phil and one for Edward as they bowled through to tea. Henfield, admirably captained by A. Scott, sent in a few of their capable future stars before Scott came in himself and pushed the total up to 188 for 7.
Rob, in charge of a faltering gas supply, selflessly fended off all the credit for a wonderful tea, and the game resumed with a strong TWCC batting side needing 189 to win. James and Steve, heading up the strength, faced a barrage of tight proper bowling arriving at some pace, and, though Steve succumbed to a good straight ball of full length, James went on to score 63 of the finest. Tony, in at 3, also took to the bowling, and his customary quick scoring was heading jugwards when James called for a run that was not available given the excellent fielding standards on show from Henfield. A true and fast arm and Tony was run out at the keeper's end for 44. This brought the ever-reliable Jonathan to the crease, where he stayed (still not out in 2014 I believe though I'm not bothering to check) to end on 47 not out. Edward, in at 5, was rather preoccupied by a horsey dinner (lasagne anyone?) and forgot to bat, which left Rob to join Jonathan for what proved to be a tighter finish than we all thought might be the case. The trouble was... it was getting darker, the bowling was getting tighter and faster, and the runs had rather dried up. Time for Rob, we all thought, and it was, but Rob chose to wait until the second to last ball before bothering to hit the winning runs; a straight 4 smacked back over the bowler's head.
This was a good game. Good containing bowling, good catches, good running(!), good batting and, for TWCC, a good result. The Gazette would like to highlight the uplifting attitude of the Henfield team and, particularly, their skipper, had to the game. Youngsters were given the ball never mind the score, they were encouraged in the field without too much in the way of buddying, they were given a bat and supported throughout. In particular Jordan, bowling left arm round, showed tremendous ability and he was unlucky not to get a wicket. In the end TWCC won the game, but Henfield could equally well have won it, and I don't think it would have mattered too much either way.
The Gazette would also like to record the first appearance of Robin Smith in the TWCC ranks. Robin didn't get to contribute an indivivual performace, but we look forward to the occasion when he does.
The usual bonhomie at the Oak followed, and James's jug is still behind the bar. In a modest queue with all the others.


Scorecard
Henfield CC won the toss and elected to bat first
Henfield Innings: H Chick Ct Rowland, Bld T Rydon, 0; K Akehurst Bld  Simon 1; D Hodgkin Ct Bunn Bld Steinke 60; D King Bld Simon 4; H Stewart Ct Simon Bld Steinke 76; Cleary Ct & Bld Bunn 2; E.M. Bld Steinke 0; Smith not out 8; Scott not out 23. Extras 16. Total 188 for 7.
TWCC Bowling: T Rydon 7-2-53-1; Simon 11-1-40-2; R Rydon 8-1-33-0; Steinke 8-1-28-3; Bunn 4-0-26-1.
TWCC Innings: Trollope run out 63; S Rogers Bld Chick 1; Pearce run out 44; Rowland not out 47; Bunn Bld G Stewart 0; R Rydon not out 9. Extras 26. Total 192 for 4. DNB Simon, R Smith, T Rydon, D Rogers, P Steinke.
Henfield CC Bowling: G Stewart 14-1-44-1; H Chick 6-0-26-1; J Smith 5-1-20-0; H Rogers 6-0-48-0; A Scott 11-0-32-0.
TWCC win by 6 wkts.

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Crescent CC v TWCC August 31st 2014
The ground, situated in such pleasant and convenient surroundings, saw a TWCC side convene comprising even more irregular players than usual to witness Skipper Pearce, in what many Health and Safety pundits now regard as likely to be his last game in charge (more later), win the toss and opt to put the youthful Crescent side in to bat first. A good decision that retained an element of control of outcome in the context of his own side being a rather unknown quantity. Talking of which Jim came on to bowl from the Yamuna River End, from where he bowled for a long time. A long long time - inevitable given the depth of available bowling at Tony's disposal. Phil opened from the South End and, together with Jim, kept the lid on Crescent's scoring to some degree if you ignore the sixes. Then Tony put himself on.
Charlie replaced Jim after 14 overs of slightly dull endeavour, and took three wickets. He also ran out the Crescent opener with a direct throw onto the stumps from mid-off, and charged in from the long-off boundary to take a really very good running catch off a skied ball. Charlie's the man.
The Gazette staff could spend time describing in detail all the incidents of the Crescent innings, but life is busier than that allows. Well, not my life, obviously, but I'm thinking of the readership. In short Jim bowled a long spell and took a couple of wickets and should have had at least five more, Phil opened and then came back at the end taking two wickets, Charlie took three - all bowled, Tony bowled someone out and Edward bowled too. The wicket was a pudding, no life at all, the occasional ball, cross-seam, stood up as it stopped, and it nibbled about a bit but not a lot. Batting wasn't easy, but Crescent had a side chock-full of young and able cricketers, and TWCC were right to feel good about keeping theCrescent total down to 177 for 9.
Dave and Steve Rogers opened the batting - nice for Dave to get to bat with young Steve - and Shot of the Day Nomination No.1 was Dave's on-drive for four. Between them Dave and Steve soaked up much of the early Crescent pressure, and after their wickets fell (Steve bowled, Dave caught) James and Tony continued to make an attempt on the 178 needed for a victory.
But it wasn't easy and it wasn't to be. James, in at 3, stayed at the crease to the end, taking his indivicual score to 50 off the last ball of the game, and Tony scoring a typically beligerant 31 (including 5 fours and a six) was out to a ball that stayed low and came in from outside the line of off stump.
With Tony's wicket there began the long business of survival - or was there another way? Mulling over his options in a one-man-huddle, Skipper Pearce came up with a master plan!
How about, he posited, putting Will Bunn (Will Bunn! - good to see him again) and Tom Simon (and Tom!) in up the order with instructions to just go for it. Hit out! Trust your eyes and whack it about! A good ruse, actually, as neither Will nor Tom would be likely to survive at the end of an innings if mere survival was by then the order of the day, but a quick 40 or so between them might see TWCC get to within striking distance with some overs to go. A plan!
Sadly, when Robin was out for 6, and Edward for 2, the Crescent skipper decided that it was time to put his strike bowler on; someone we'd not yet seen, just as Tony implemented his wily scheme. The hitherto unseen bowler proved to be rather quick. Will faced two balls before being caught (so at least he hit the ball), and Tom walked out to the middle, took a rough guard, got hit full on the heel by a first ball fast yorker, was given out LBW and had to be helped off the pitch by a relay of sympathetic onlookers. At this point some began to question the skipper's wisdom of messing about with the order and the Health and Safety Executive have been informed. To be fair Tony did come up with a positive angle after the complete failure of his plan, which was that at least no regualar TWCC players had been in the firing line and got hurt. Ice on foot, this wasn't much consolation to Tom, who then confined his activities to hopping up at the end of each over on scoreboard duty. One by one Tom lowered the number of remaining overs, Charlie kept the Crescent bowlers at bay for some time but succumbing in the end to an outbreak of very good off-spin, and then Jim just about survived with James soaking up the real pressure, and suddenly the match was over and was a draw.
Tony's homework includes quite a lot of revision about the LBW rules and 500 lines "I must not make rash and dangerous decisions."  His spell of captaincy has been much enjoyed by keen students of the game, and Skipper Brock returns next week to pick up the pieces.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Crescent Innings: T Garoghan Run Out (Baldock) 29; M Kidman Ct Wkt (Rogers) Bld J Simon 2; J Gatford (Jnr) Ct Baldock Bld J Simon 67; S Bolland Bld Pearce 5; Mirk Wood Bld Steinke 27; S Ford Bld Baldock 0; M(a) Wood Bld Baldock 6; M Lawson Bld Baldock 13; J Brooks Ct Pearce Bld Steinke 15; J Gatford not out 2. Total 177 for 9. DNB S Wood.
TWCC
Bowling: Simon 14-3-38-2; P Steinke 11-2-55-2; E Bunn 4-1-23-0; T Pearce 5-0-29-1; C Baldock 7.1-0-36-3.
TWCC Innings
: S Rogers Bld Brooks 5; D Rogers Ct, Bld (Unrecorded - their No.2 bowler) 5; J Trollope not out 50; T Pearce Bld Bolland 31; Robin Bld Wood 6; E Bunn Ct, Bld Lawson 2; W Bunn Ct, Bld Kidman 0; T Simon LBW Bld Kidman 0; C Baldock Bld M(i) Wood 2; J Simon not out 5. Extras 23. Total 126 for 8. DNB P Steinke.
Crescent Bowling: Brooks 6-1-14-1; No.2 7-0-30-1; Wood 7-1-15-1; Bolland 4-1-11-1; Lawson 3-1-5-1; Kidman 5-2-6-2; Ford 3-0-13-0; M Wood 2-0-12-0; M(i) Wood 3-0-11-0; Gatford 1-0-6-0.
Match drawn.

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TWCC v Bolney CC September 14th 2014
With the Indian summer showing no signs of letting go, it was a fine day that saw our friends from Bolney visit us once again at the Twineham ground, and Skipper Brock opted to bat first when the coin fell his way. TWCC had a good strong side out, including recent signing Archie McDonald who, together with Matt Edwards and Tom Rydon, contributed to bringing the home side's average age down to within reasonable parameters.
Paul and Steve opened the batting to some effect, but just not very much of one. Bolney's opening bowlers, comprising a certain Mr. Chaffey and Mr. Madden, kept the lid on things quite well until a wicket each brought Messrs Pearce T and Rydon R to the crease. The Editor of the Gazette didn't see much of this partnership as he spent most of it in adjacent fields looking for the ball, but it realised 99 runs before Tony was eventually out for 44. What a partnership! With two big hitters at the crease it was possible for them to push the good balls for one in the knowledge that any bad balls would still be punished by whoever was then facing - a difficult enough state of affairs for a defending captain with a full team who has to defend both the 1's and 4's, but it also has to be reported that Bolney took to the field with just ten men. Rob got through to his 50 in his usual chanceless and well-managed way at about a run a ball, and then opened out - stepping down the wicket to all-comers and repeatedly driving through the line of the ball to despatch it boundary-wards.
With not a gap in the field left un-punished,  Rob pounded through to his hundred in a total of 85 balls, going on to score 108 before leaving his crease once too often. By that time, Archie having been and gone, Richard had joined him to provide the means to keep the strike turning to make the most of Rob's fine form, and Richard powered on to a fine 29 not out at tea, with his team on 199 for 5.
There was another, non-cricketing, occurence worthy of note that has to be reported; during Tony and Rob's partnership, it wasn't just cricket balls that were flying over the boundary. What a sight! Apparently we saw something like all the surviving air-worthy Lancaster bombers in flight. What a shame that Edward, our in-house plane-spotter, wasn't about to witness the visitation. It was, of course, mostly a happy sighting, but it also felt that, although these are machines of yesteryear kept alive by goodwill and worthy thoughts, we were nonetheless seeing formidable weapons of war - shadows of a darker time.
On to happier things; Bolney's innings. Skipper Brock's approach was to first soften up the opposition in the form of his tea, and to then unleash the full force of Tony Pearce's bowling on the already struggling visitors. After two overs the Pearce experiment was deemed not to have worked on this occasion and it was time to concentrate purely on the pace of Matt Edwards and Tom Rydon. Matt and Tom had 8 overs each and they made them count! Tom (4 wkts) and Matt (5 wkts) produced exceptional spells of bowling. Absolutley irresistable, backed up (apart from one notable dropped chance in the slips that would have given Tom his 5-for), by some equally exceptional catching. Matt E, in particular, fielding at second slip, hung on to a reaction-catch at throat height that only a few people would have found possible to defend themselves from, let alone hang on to. Tony and Edward take some remarkable slip catches, and this was right up there with the best of those, coming, as it did, at some considerable pace from the arm of Rydon T.
Bolney, whose batsmen we know well and who are amongst the best we face, were unable to answer the TWCC pace pair on this day, and Matt and Tom were soon bowling at the lower order. There was, it must be reported, some marked dissent within the TWCC camp concerning the chosen approach to the game once the Bolney side was reeling at 6 wickets down for 30-odd runs, but the bowlers themselves can only be congratulated on being so good on the day. Archie and Phil replaced Matt and Tom, and soon Archie had his first wicket for TWCC, clean bowling the Bolney No. 8 to seal the victory. Another great prospect, Archie is very welcome into the ranks - fully local and ready to be part of our side, we hope, for years to come.
So, a game, really, of four individual performances! Rob and Tony scored 152 of our 199 runs, and Matt and Tom took 9 wickets. No side could easily overcome performances like these, and we look forward to meeting Bolney as we surely will on a day when we will probably struggle and they won't. A TWCC win, some great individual performances; Rob a glorious hundred as he looks forward to fully concentrating on TWCC with the remainder of his career, Tony - another power-score, Tom with 4 for 24 and Matt, a full 5-for at the cost of just 10 runs. Remarkable.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to bat first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Chaffey Bld Madden 4; S Rogers Ct Bunce (wkt) Bld Chaffey 3; T Pearce Ct Griffin Bld Elliott 44; R Rydon St Bunce Bld Bowles 108; A McDonald Ct Madden Bld Bowles 3; R Brock not out 29; J Simon not out 4. Extras 8. Total 199 for 5. DNB M Edwards, T Rydon, D Rogers, P Steinke.
Bolney Bowling: D Chaffey 14-1-56-1; M Madden 6-0-31-1; J Elliott 10-0-65-1; S Bowles 8-0-43-2.
Bolney CC Innings: J Moore Bld Edwards 2; D Chaffey Ct S Rogers (wkt) Bld Edwards 16; C Bunce Ct Edwards Bld T Rydon 0; J Elliott Bld (hit wkt) Bld T Rydon 0; N Bushell LBW Bld Edwards 13; N Ridgway Ct Hunter Bld T Rydon 1; S Bowles Ct Simon Bld T Rydon 0; D Breading Bld McDonald 11; M Madden Ct S Rogers (wkt) Bld Edwards 0; D Ridgway Bld Edwards 0; B Griffin not out 1. Extras 6. Total 50 all out.
TWCC Bowling: M Edwards 8-1-10-5; T Pearce 2-1-8-0; T Rydon 8-1-24-4; P Steinke 2-1-1-0; A McDonald 2.1-0-5-1.
TWCC win by 149 runs.

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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston September 21st 2014
Unbeknown to us, it was to be the last match of the season. The grass was long thanks to a negligent council, but the weather was warm – very warm for September. Skipper Brock lost the toss and TWCC were asked to bowl by a team which rarely bats poorly.... After Jim’s early wicket, we struggled as Streat’s 2 Christmas and 3 Green batted freely, despite boundaries being in short supply because of the grass.  Throughout wickets were hard to come by: 5 bowlers each took 1 wicket, including Archie getting his first TWCC wicket. Phil was particularly miserly but the score moved on unerringly until it passed 200 and finally came to rest at tea at 212-5: probably worth 240 on a cut field. We needed a good start to take on this mighty total – but lost James on 4 and Steve on 24. Tony went in and determinedly started hitting 4s and 6s: but when he was caught at slip for 24 we were 49-3, soon 50-4 and 55-5. Our tail was not as long as we’d have liked because Joe couldn’t bat: (a bit cruel, Rich! Ed.) and the total seemed unassailable. Dave Rogers joined Richard and together they slowed the pace – effectively killing off the match. Over after gruelling over passed, maidens came and went, an occasional single an oasis in a run desert.  Dave’s 2 runs off 88 balls define the difficulty the batsmen faced:  Stan’s grenades the only relief against otherwise accurate and tidy bowling.  But without doubt, the shutters went up and went up early. Perhaps the batsmen fell into a defensive stupor: or perhaps the impossibility of the task made no other option feasible. But one thing is certain - it was up to Streat to get them out and to their great credit, Streat pushed hard with minimal complaint, despite the dead-batting – or "ball tapping" – going on.  In the end, Dave was given LBW for 2 in what was undoubtedly a crucial match-saving innings. Matt came in and had a swish before the match closed with TWCC on 82 from 44 overs. Not an ideal match on which to finish the season, but that’s cricket.

TWCC lost the toss and were asked to field
Sreat Innings: N Buttler Bld J Simon 10; D Christmas St S Rogers, Bld R Brock 43; N Green Ct Edwards B Steinke    53; P Davison Not Out 49; W Hawkins Ct Panther Bld McDonald 27; H Freeman Ct & Bld Panther 7; J Hawkins not out 5; TOTAL 212-5 39 overs.
TWCC BOWLING: M Edwards 8-0-34-0; J Simon 7-0-28-1; R Brock 8-1-44-1; A McDonald 5-0-62-1; P Steinke 9-0-25-1; J Panther 2-0-13-1.  
TWCC Innings: J Trollope LBW Bld Hartfield 3; S Rogers ct Green, Bld C Hawkins 13; T Pearce Ct Green, Bld Hartfield 24; R Brock Not Out 23; J Simon Bld Hartfield 0; E Bunn Ct, Bld Hawkins 3; D Rogers LBW Bld Christmas 2; M Edwards Not Out 3; TOTAL 82-6 (44 OVERS). DNB: A McDonald, P Steinke, J Panther (injured).
Streat Bowling: M Hartfield 7-0-29-3; C Hawkins 8-1-24-2; J Porter 7-3-7-0; S Speigal 6-2-5-0; H Freeman 3-2-1-0; J Hawkins 4-2-2-0; D Christmas 5-3-2-1; W Hawkins 3—1-3-0; P Davison 1-0-4-0.
FALL:  4-1, 24-2, 49-3, 50-5, 55-6, 74-7.    
MATCH DRAWN


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TWCC 2013 Season
TWCC v Brunswick Village April 28th 2013
Welcome 2013, a new season, great things expected, a fight to get more players but most importantly, some fine cricket in prospect.  And my, wasn’t that the way of things?  To have such quality unleashed so early in the season can only make us lick our collective lips with what’s to come.  So the details….
An ailing skipper walked slowly out to the middle, in the process forgetting to explain to the opposition’s captain the bit about a declaration (should it come to it), and proceeded to lose the toss.  Great start - and they put us in too.  However, as the sun shone but weakly, being huddled in and around the pavilion seemed like a better option than being asked to battle against a chilly wind out in the open. Steve found it hard to shake off the winter break and went early, as Brunswick’s opening pair found pace and length.  But James and Tony settled in and gradually got on top of the bowling.  A slow start; 17 off 10 overs, soon developed into an invigorating stand: 90 off 20, 140 off 25 – all the way through to 178 off 28.3.  By this time Brunswick were digging deep into their bowling line-up and Tony in particular was giving it with both barrels. His extraordinary knock included 8 fours and 8 sixes as he powered to 3 figures. James was more measured, but it was heartening to see him in such excellent form as he found his feet and then batted confidently to 71.  This second wicket stand put 176 runs into the TWCC coffers.  It was while Tony was peppering the surrounding fields - and our newest player Howard Adams was manfully fetching every ball he hit – that the omission of the declaration bit of the welcome came to the fore.  We were fast approaching 200 with half an hour left.  However when James was caught, and Tony limped off with `protectingmyaverageitis` on 109, a more sedentary style returned, coinciding with the return of the opening bowlers.  Matt Steinke, Jonathan, Howard and Dave Jones all had time in the middle, which was good news.  We finished on 209-4 from just 35 overs.
After Mrs Pearce’s excellent tea (contract is still available Jan….) we led off with the young gun and the wise old head. Matt Brock, who has bulked out over the winter, sped in ferociously from the far end, bowling with venom and the accuracy that often deserted him last season.  He had a played-on with his third ball, another clean bowled in his second over and another bowled in his fourth over. Meanwhile Dave Jones tempted their number 3 to feather a ball to gulley where Howard took it well and Jonesy then had another victim clean bowled.  In the meantime, Matthew’s great spell continued with a well taken catch in the covers by Jonathan and a wisp of an edge for a caught behind for 2 in 2 balls and his second fifer for TWCC.  Well done the young gun.  Suddenly Brunswick were 13-5.  Howard joined the party with two wickets and though he didn’t get a wicket, it was great to see Phil turn his arm over for 5 overs.  Brunswick’s only meaningful stand came courtesy of numbers 10 and 11; the overs ticked away and the score passed 50, but the home side’s fiunal secret weapon was James who finally broke the stand and Brunswick were all out for 54, a win by 155 runs for TWCC.
Many thanks to all those who turned out, especially Howard, formerly a Streat league player who now lives in Staplefield and really enjoyed his day with us and is promising to turn out reasonably regularly, and of course to Dave Jones, who broke his retirement on the first opportunity!!
 
Brunswick Village won the toss and elected to bowl
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct Nunn  Bld J Stevens    71 (72); S Rogers Bld Gretton 1 (15); T Pearce     Retired hurt 109; J Rowland Ct, Bld J Stevens 2 (5); M Steinke not out 4 (11); H Adams Bld Stevens 0; D Jones not out 2 (5). Fall: 2-2, 178-1, 202-4, 204-6.
DNB:  D Rogers, M Brock, P Steinke, R Brock
Total 209-4  (35 OVERS)
Brunswick Village Bowling: J Stevens 10-3-31-3; R Tomsett 7-2-22-0; Green 6-0-44-0; Shreeve 3-0-23-0; Funell 3-0-27-0; Barrs 3-0-30-0; Caplin 3-0-21-1.

Brunswick Village Innings: J Foreman Bld M Brock 0; J Marlow    Ct Adams, Bld Jones 3    ; C Nunn Bld M Brock 4; J Funnell Bld  M Brock 1; G Shreeves Bd Jones    0; Stevens Ct Rowland, Bld M Brock 8; L Maysey Ct S Rogers, Bld M Brock 4; K Barrs Ct S Rogers, Bld Adams 2; S Caplin     Ct Rowland, Bld Adams 2; D Green     LBW Bld Trollope 13; R Tomsett not out 7.
Total 54 ALL OUT  (29.2 overs).
TWCC Bowling:  M Brock 10-3-21-5; D Jones 6-4-4-2; H Adams 7-3-10-2; P Steinke 5-1-8-0; Trollope 1.2-2-1

TWCC win by 155 runs

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC
May 5th 2013

T`was  a chilly day tucked in behind the Downs away at Streat: but the ground looked as inviting as ever, and, though the skipper lost the toss, the result of us being put in was not a bad one. James, back to good form, and Steve, not in any sort of form, opened up and Steve departed soon after for 10. Suddenly a triumvirate of Rydons appeared in the order: celebrated by both mother of, and grandmother of. Had they stayed they’d have seen a fine contribution from all three in bat and field: but there was a touch of glory-hunting about the Rydon supporters and they stayed only to see each member of their family bat: then they buggered off. As it happened the Rydon 3 all batted very well: except Rob got out for 49! The Rydon 2 departed without witnessing a fine contribution from the final pair of Howard and Phil. The lower/middle order decided not to play at all, preferring to unnecessarily bolster Stan Speigal’s wicket-taking record. Howard and Phil however put on a stand of 26 and gave us a very respectable 171 for 8.  
Good early breakthroughs followed a very decent tea. Opening for us, Jim struck twice, Phil once and we were well on top, hunting for victory. But Colin Mansfield, so often our nemesis, got his eye in and proved difficult to shift and Streat started to work their way back into the game. But after a couple of ineffective overs, Rob found his mark and skittled out 3 batsmen in the next 3 overs, and, when friendly defector Howard Adams, once of that parish, now ours, took the all-important wicket of Mansfield, it was left to James to scoop the glorious final wicket and victory by 71 runs was ours.

TWCC innings: J Trollope Ct Forster, Bld Church 25 (42); S Rogers Ct Mansfield, Bld Berrick 10 (35); A Rydon Ct J Porter, Bld Berrick 24 (24); R Rydon Ct, Bld J Stevens 49 (53); T Rydon Bld Church, 11 (18); E Bunn Ct Mansfield, Bld Spiegal   5 (12); J Simon run out 5 (12); M Steinke Ct M Porter, Bld Speigal 0 (3); H Adams    not out 22 (20); P Steinke    not out 12 (9)
TOTAL 209-4  (35 OVERS)
Fall: 22-2, 55-3, 83-1,105-5, 129-4,135-6,135-8, 145-7  .
DNB:  R Brock
S&W Bowling: Berrick 11-2-34-2; Forster 8-1-22-0; Porter 1-0-14-0; Mansfield 7-0-34-0; Church 10-0-36-3; Speigal 6-0-24-2
Streat innings: Mayston Bld P Steinke 6; McKenna LBW J Simon 0; C Mansfield    Ct T Rydon, Bld Adams 52; Dillon Bld J Simon 0; Church Bld R Rydon 23; Porter Bld R Rydon 0; Forster Bld R Rydon 0; Berrick Ct A Rydon, B Adams    11; J Porter Ct T Rydon, B Trollope 0; S Speigal not out 0
TOTAL 100 ALL OUT  (29.2 overs)
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 6-1-19-2; P Steinke, 6-1-13-1; T Rydon 4-0-23-0; R Rydon 5-0-14-3; H Adams 5-1-11-2; Trollope 3.2-0-12-1
TWCC win by 71 runs

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TWCC v Mouselcoomb Wanderers May 12th 2013
After a week lost to rain and player shortages, it was good to get back on the cricket field to take on our old foes from Moulsecoomb. The skipper lost the toss but was asked to bat, something which had produced two wins out of two so far this season. Did Moulsecoomb know what they were letting themselves in for??? They did after Mikey and James got the 50 up, and they did even more when Tony replaced Mikey and imposed himself on the game in the manner that perhaps only he can. Eight 4's and four 6's rattled off the expensive lump of willow as he powered to 80. John Riley chipped in with 16 and Edward and Richard walked 9 runs to leave a respectable – and we thought unobtainable – 188-4.
But Moulsecoomb have not been playing us for years without being able to show their mettle. After Phil and Howard failed to breakthrough with the ball Moulsecoomb hadwickets intact but were behind the run rate. In an attempt to keep the game alive the unusual bowling combination of M Pearce and J Trollope was introduced. The run rate increased – rapidly - but two wickets were indeed snapped up as the batsmen raced down the track to feast on the balls being lobbed at them. Mikey then had two more batsmen out to catches from Edward and Howard, but, by this time, the required rate was around 5.5 an over and with the no 3 batsman Radmal well in and starting to hit boundaries easily, a decision had to be taken: push on recklessly for an unlikely victory, or hunker down for the draw. So it was our new Wineham signing of Jonathan Bodansky, he of the Hambledon sweater, who came to our rescue. Having been callously overlooked for batting, he showed his impressive cricketing heritage with a fine – and mercifully mean - spell of bowling, the perfect counter-balance to Richard who was trying hard to lose the match with a very ordinary first spell of the season at the other end. With 18 required off the last 2 overs, a draw looked certain. But Radmal’s 6 off the hapless skipper's penultimate over of the game pushed the balance Moulsecoomb’s way. As Radmal faced up, with 9 required and just 4 balls to go, Jonathan bowled the bravest ball seen at Twineham for many a long year. A floated slower ball, against a man sniffing victory on 63. It floated its way past the swish of the bat and removed his bails. Brilliant! Moulsecoomb still had a shout, needing 6 off the last 2 and 5 from the final ball, but they finished 3 short and a draw was a great result celebrated by both teams.
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and batted
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct Cook bld Durral 24;M Pearce ct Hunton Bld Durral 32; T Pearce Bld Lizdee 80; J Riley Ct, Bld LIzdee 16; R Brock not out 5; E Bunn not out 4. TOTAL 180-4. DNB: H Adams, M Gasson, P Steinke.
Fall:  13-2,  136-1, 175-3, 177-4.
Moulsecoomb bowling: Codery 6-0-26-0; Smyth 6-1-24-0; Radmal 9-0-41-0; Durral 7-0-33-2; Lizdee 5-0-35-2; McGowan 4-0-13-0.
Moulsecoomb Innings: K Cooke St T Pearce Bld M Pearce 39; Codery ST T Pearce Bld Trollope 17; Radmal Bld Bodansky 63; Hutton Ct Bunn Bld M Pearce 17; Swander t Adams Bld M Pearce 23; Smyth run out (Adams) 12; Durral    run out    0; Dowler not out 1; Mytone not out 2. TOTAL 185 - 7.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke 6-1-12-0; H Adams 8-0-23-0; Trollope 7-0-22-1; M Pearce 9-0-60-3; Bodansky 8-0-32-1; R Brock 3-0-18-0.
Moulsecoomb won by 3 wickets

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 26th 2013
TWCC vs Bolney, 26th May 2013
A beautiful and hot day in Bolney TWCC won the toss and the skipper opted to bat - influenced by the weather, but also by recent results against Bolney, who have not put out strong sides. Paul and James opened up steadily, Rob came in – the nemesis of Bolney – and cracked a quick 54.  John Riley added a nice 33 but little else shone apart from a nice 14 by Tom Rydon. A well fought 174, surely defendable??  The game was tight: wickets were hard to come by. Paul got the initial breakthrough, but then Phil and Rob bowled really well – and with the game so fascinatingly poised, the skipper was disinclined to take his foot off the neck of the batting side.  Wickets were coming steadily, but a good 6th wicket stand was crucial to Bolney. Two late wickets brought fresh hope, and it was a great finish; TWCC standing round the bat, pressure on, but Bolney had enough overs in hand (a total of 46 available) while Twineham had been all out 8 minutes before their time and therefore only batted for 37 overs. So Bolney squeezed home in a good exciting game. (I seem to remember this game with less fondness, suffering a broken toe...ed.)
SCORECARD:
TWCC won the toss and elected to bat.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld A Bennett 18; J Trollope Ct S Bowles, Bld J Bowles 14; A Rydon Ct S Bowles Bld J Bowles 0; R Rydon Ct Tyler Bld A Bennett 54; J Riley Ct D Tyler Bld  N Ridgway 33; R Brock Bld A Benett 0; E Bunn LBW A Bennett 0; T Rydon Ct J Moore Bld Adby 14; J Simon Bld A Bennett 10; D Rogers Ct A Bennett Bld Adby    3; P Steinke not out ? TOTAL 174 all out (37.3 overs).
Fall: 33-1, 38-3, 50-2, 131-4, 147-6, 147-5, 147-7, 163-9, 173-8, 174-10
Bolney Bowling: A Bennett 19-8-57-5; J Bowles 7-0-36-2; M Madden 5-0-35-0; J Collins 2-0-22-0; N Ridgway 3-1-13-1; S Adby 1.3-0-2-2.
Bolney  Innings: J Moore Ct A Rydon Bld P Steinke 22; D Tyler Bld P Hunter 6; S Broster    Bld P Steinke 31; S Bowles Ct A Rydon Bld R Rydon 10; S Adby Bld R Rydon 0; J Collins Bowled R Rydon 18; N Ridgway Bld P Steinke 60; A Bennett not out 31; M Madden run out 0; J Bowles    not out    0; TOTAL 177-8.
TWCC Bowling: P Hunter 11-1-37-1; P Steinke 22.5-7-56-3; R Rydon 12-1-56-3.
Bolney won by 2 wickets


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Parham Park v TWCC June 2nd 2013
TWCC vs Parham Park, 2nd June 2013
A controversial decision to bat first by the skipper after winning the toss - based on a strong batting line up and a belief that if we could get early breakthroughs in the Parham batting order, we could bowl them out!  Hmmmm…. Our strong batting line up then displayed its strength; 7 batsmen got in - but also its frailty: none went on to make a big score. Parham did have an excellent opening bowler who seemed to get faster as the afternoon went on, and he bowled for most of it! A good, if slow start, from Paul and James was thrown away by disappointing middle order performances before Edward and Matt Steinke dragged us back to a respectable 139 all out. Unfortunately the hoped for early breakthrough never happened: instead there was a late breakthrough, just one more after that, both thanks to fine bowling by Matt who had an excellent game: and then a series of fine hits and balls not going to fielders – and the ongoing problem this season, injuries. Phil completed just one over, we had a long line up of people wanting to field in the slips…. it was one of those days:  probably the wrong call to bat first, but a nice day out in the country.
SCORECARD: 
TWCC won the toss and decided to bat. By "TWCC" I mean Richard.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Wales Bld Trott 18; J Trollope Ct WK Bld Trott 23; T Pearce Bld Trott    0; J Riley Ct, Bld Huffer 10; S Rogers run Out 17; J Simon Bld Trott 0; R Brock    Bldd Jones 19; E Bunn not out 18; M Steinke Ct Robinson Bld Mitchell 15;P Steinke run out 2. TOTAL 139 all out (45 overs).
DNS (show!)  M Pearce
Fall: 43-1, 47-3, 54-2, 60-4, 62-6, 97-5, 103-7, 137-9, 139-10
Parham Bowling: S Trott 16-3-26-4; B Meaden 9-4-23-0; B Huffer 5-1-12-1; S Fraser 8-2-18-0; N Jones 6-0-21-1; J Mitchell 3-0-19-1. 
Parham Park Innings: Vander LBW Bld M Steinke 22; Robinson Bldd M Steinke 44; Nettleton    nut out 45; Huffer not out 14. TOTAL 143-2
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 6-1-19-0; P Steinke 1-0-4-0; M Steinke 11-2-38-2; P Hunter 4-0-19-0; J Trollope 2-0-20-0; T Pearce 2-0-14-0; J Riley 2-0-17-0.
Parham won by 8 wickets


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TWCC v London Unity June 16th
Perhaps we should start off with the injury list: or maybe not because that would be too depressing. Safe to say it left us without Phil and Tony unable to run: throw in a bit of Father’s Day and we were a newish line up. It was welcome to Bob Gates, welcome back to Jonathan Bodansky and George for the first time this season. Matt S bowled well but unluckily as Unity started very slowly. Newboy Bob got a couple of vital early breakthroughs and with an hour gone, Unity had scored barely beyond 30. Matt Brock and Jonathan kept the pressure on and the wickets coming: 3 wickets for Matt.  But despite all this we couldn’t quite bowl them out and by the end they’d reached a respectable 142-9. Very gettable. A tea of finger rolls from the skipper went down spectacularly badly (well, they had to be used, they were already a day old from the previous night’s BBQ), but spirits were high that a victory was nigh. Unfortunately nobody had told James who made just 6 from an otherwise revitalised season. And it went downhill from there! No scores of real note until we persuaded Tony to go in at 8 with a runner. He scored 27 and saw out enough overs to allow Jonathan – with a feisty 15 – and Matt S to hang on for a poor draw. 
SCORECARD
London Unity won the toss and elected to bat
J Driver: Ct M Brock Bld Gates 10: Burke LBW Bld M Steinke 12; Cockburn    Ct Trollope Bld Bodansky 2; M Driver Ct M Steinke Bld M Brock 8; Roberts Bld M Brock 14; Wilks Ct Gates Bld M Brock 5; Murray Ct R Brock Bld Gates 15; Williams    Bld Gates 22; Columbine    not out    5; Clarke not out 1. TOTAL 142-9.
Fall: 24, 26, 37, 37, 84, 95, 99, 123, 139
TWCC Bowling
M Steinke: 9-5-13-0; B Gates 9-0-32-3; J Bodansky 5-1-8-1; M Brock 11-0-54-3; J Trollope 5-0-21-1; M Pearce 1-0-12-0.
TWCC Batting: J Trollope Ct,  Bld Driver 6; R Brock Ct, Bld M Driver 12; M Pearce Ct, Bld Driver 8; G Hunter Ct, Bld Driver 0; B Gates Ct, Bld Colombine 8; E Bunn Bld Roberts 1; J Bodansky not out 15; T Pearce Bld Roberts 27; M Steinke not out 0. TOTAL 83-7
DNB: D Rogers, M Brock
Bowling: Columbine 9-0-25-1; J Driver 10-0-9-3; T Roberts 9-2-26-2; M Driver 7-1-16-1; Wilkes 2-1-1-0; Williams 2-1-2-0; Clarke 1-1-0-0.
MATCH DRAWN


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TWCC v Headliners June 23rd
The entry for this game comes with just the bare facts, and not all of them.
Not sure who won the toss.
TWCC Batting
P Hunter Bld Holden 75; D Rogers Bld Richie 6; Rob Rydon Ct, Bld Neale 25; J Trollope run out 13; J Rowland not out 62; S Rogers not out 20. TOTAL 210-4.
DNB: J Riley, R Rydon, A Fiedosiuk, D Jones, P Steinke.
Headliners' Bowling
Proctor 7-0-13-0; Carter 5-2-18-0; Richie 7-0-55-1; Pharek 2-0-19-0; Neale 7-1-40-1; Holden 4-0-36-1; Parkinson 3-0-27-0.
Headliners' Batting
Barnett Ct S Rogers Bld P Steinke 5; Collins Ct Gates Bld D Jones 37; Holden not out 51; Neale ct R Rydon Bld Jones 3; Norbury LBW Bld Jones 0; Warlow Ct Trollope Bld P Hunter 2; Pareky run out 4; Ritchie Ct P Steinke Bld Jones 1; Proctor Bld Riley 1; Carter LBW Bld Riley 2; Parkinson Bld Hunter 8. TOTAL  127 ALL OUT
TWCC Bowling: B Gates 5-1-16-0; P Steinke 7-2-12-1; A Fiedosiuk 3-0-28-0; R Rydon 5-0-12-0; D Jones 7-0-28-4; P Hunter 4.4-0-19-2; J Riley 2-0-1—2.
TWCC WIN BY 83 RUNS


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Poynings v TWCC June 30th
No write up, presumably Richard not involved as Edward bowled.
POYNINGS INNINGS: Z Donovan LBW Bld D Jones 57; S Jenner LBW Bld Bodansky 1; A Edwards Ct, Bld Bodansky    1; A Barnes not out 78; M Cutress Ct W Brookes (sub) Bld Bunn 66; GWT Bld Bunn 3; W Brookes not out 19; A Brennan Bld Bunn 0.
TOTAL 250-6. DNB A Brookes
TWCC BOWLING: M Steinke 7-1-32-0; J Bodansky 8-1-36-2; J Trollope 2-0-20-0; P Steinke8=0=30-0;  D Jones 8-0-74-1; J Riley 2-0-15-0.
TWCC INNINGS: J Trollope Ct W Taylor Bld Edwards 146; S Rogers    LBW Bld Zanovan 8; J Riley Bld Zanovan    5; J Bodansky Ct WK Bld M Cuttress 6; M Steinke    not out 43; D Rogers not out 0.
TOTAL  226-5. DNB: P Steinke, D Jones.
Fall: 25-2, 54-3, 77-4, 82-5, 225-1. 
POYNINGS BOWLING:  Edwards 8-0-57-1; Zanovan 8-2-21-2; M Cutress 8-2-13-2; M Prodger 8-0-39-0; S Jenner 3-0-37-0; Wallace-Taylor 4-0-27-0; Brennan 1-0-24-0 .
POYNINGS WON 40 0VERS MATCH BY 24 RUNS


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TWCC Tour 5th, 6th, 7th July
Tour report goes in unedited. The Gazette accepts no responsibility for the grammar or punctuation.
NEW ALRESFORD, HAMPSHIRE: 5-6-7 JULY 2013
In keeping with our recent policy of touring close to home, Hampshire was to be our venue:  we were ten:  five boys:  Mikey, Matt Edwards, Joe, Alex and Matt Brock – and five old gits:  Richard, Steve, Tony, Phil and Edward.  We met at the Swan Hotel in New Alresford, on a beautiful afternoon:  beers were taken before the game and a new system of batting selection was opted for for the 20/20:  all the names were put in a glass and the names pulled out in batting order.  Tichborne Park was the venue:  beautiful and huge ground, with covers!  We were the walking wounded even before the match:  the queue for the behind the bat positions started with Edward (weight), and went on to Tony (hamstring), Joe (knee), Phil (age), Mikey (laziness).  Tichborne lost the toss but Richard asked them to bat:  for a small club they have a remarkable selection to choose from including a very strong league first team, two other teams and a women’s and youth section.  Three of their team came from their women’s section  of which more later.  The skipper was swayed by his vice captain’s advice to take out the slips, who were in for the first two balls, and opt to save runs because it was clear Tichborne were on the attack.  Balls 4 and 5 from Matthew’s opening over then flew into the vacant slip area!  The batsman who benefitted went on to make 64 and dominate the innings.  Phil bowled nicely for a couple of wickets, Richard was on a hatrick, and a couple of wickets for `Stan` Bunn saw them reach 150 for the loss of 7 wickets.  The uniquely chosen batting order had put the 3 party animals in at 1, 2 and 3.  Matt survived 2 balls, Mikey was out first ball:  whilst Joe made it to the second over before being bowled by the first ball from one of Richborne’s women cricketers!  Only the second such TWCC cricketer in history to be out to a woman, and the first ever to be clean bowled  (the other was Tony Pearce, but he was caught).  Tony and Steve then made unbelievably hard work of more bowling from 2 other women and the odd guy, each reaching 43 off endless overs, before allowing Phil a bit of a thrash:  he and Alex saw us home on 100-6:  but in a 20/20 match that’s a loss. 
So it was a swift drink at the clubhouse:  and rushing back to the hotel in time for supper before the 10pm deadline:  we cleared them out of ribeyes!  Some of the rest of the evening falls into the `what goes on tour, stays on tour` category -   suffice to say  the boys fell out and Mikey got told off by his dad.  And so it was, a relatively early night, ready for a big day ahead.
The breakfast was a delight:  a very full, full English setting up a morning’s beer and rugby at South Winchester golf club, where Steve had booked us front row seats for the Lions match.  Bookmaker Pearce offered the odds:  and as the Lions swept Australia aside, the Brocks took Tony for a few quid and Alex won the score forecast.  We decided to hire buggies to help us round the course on a sweltering afternoon:  but the round still took 5 and a half hours.  Matthew destroyed a rubbish bin and the side of another buggie with his driving.  The boys and Phil walked it:  Joe joined Richard and Matthew’s buggy, so Richard hung off the side:  only to get thrown off as Matthew slammed on the brakes:  very funny!!!!  We arrived back to see a grotesque sight:  an over 60s masked ball at the golf club:  with one wrinklie in a cat mask approaching men with and saying `meow`!  We could not get out of there fast enough.  
That evening, the boys left in a cab for the delights of Winchester, on its busiest night of the year, a music weekend festival.  The rest of us went for a curry to the local Bangladeshi restaurant:  which was delicious.   Then Tony, Steve, Matthew and Richard headed into Winchester to join the boys.  At the end of an eventful evening, we met up with four street pastors, who forgave us all our sins and got back to the hotel in the early hours.
Sunday started with another fantastic breakfast:  then it was on to tennis.  Four teams:  and the winners,  in a 3 way tie, Joe and Matt, the Pearces and the Brocks!  Edward went to catch a train but it didn’t turn up, or it left early or something like that. 
And so it was onto the cricket:  after checking out of the hotel which provided great service and good value, we were on our way to Fair Oak, north of Eastleigh.  We were lucky the team was still there:  they thought the game was due to start at 1pm, whereas we turned up for a 2pm start.  Anyway, it was another huge ground:  you could barely see the pitch from the boundary:  and more covers.  Another club with a number of teams:  but a nice bunch as it turned out, very friendly and welcoming.  Richard won the toss and was encouraged, strongly, by the team to bat on a baking afternoon.  Mikey and Steve opened and Mikey was immediately in great form, stroking balls to the boundary with aplomb.  The next four batsmen, Tony, Richard, Matt and Edward (golden duck) added very little:  it was left to Joe and Phil to add a bit of respectability to supplement Mikey’s magnificent 64.  They let Edward back for a second go because we only had 10:  and he did better! We made it to 140 all out, in the 38th over of a 40 over match.
A very pleasant tea in a pristeen new clubhouse was followed by some very solid batting from Fair Oak.  But we fought hard, and though some of the fielding was – frankly – ludicrously poor with fielders letting the ball run away before thinking about running after it;  Phil took 3 quick wickets to bring us within reach of bowling them out.  Unfortunately we simply didn’t have enough runs on the board and they reached their target in the 25th over, with 3 wickets in hand.   But it did feel close from 125 onwards.  Tony bowled a good spell:  and Joe picked up his first TWCC wicket to get us closer still.  Highlights:  apart from Mikey’s batting, which was full of style:  Tony’s catch at gulley which defied age and injury as he sprung to pluck it from the air one handed.  Also their batsmen who took advantage of the aforementioned fielding, and ran six runs whilst we sauntered to retrieve a ball in the vast outfield:  only to discover it had just about crossed the boundary!  No credit to us but it was very funny.  And Phil’s hatrick ball:  which was close, but wasn’t quite. 
After a welcome pint in the local pub with the opposition, we headed for home:  reaching Sussex at about the same time as we’d normally finish at Twineham.  It was a great tour, eventful, some of which can’t be mentioned in a tour report, but a great TWCC tour, and our thanks go to Steve for organising it.

SCORECARD TWCC V FAIR OAK
TWCC won the toss and batted
TWCC Innings: M Pearce    Ct,  Bld Rennison 64; S Rogers    Bld J Salmon 6; T Pearce Ct,  Bld Salmon 4; R Brock Bowled Salmon 0; M Edwards    LBW Bld Scutts    9; E Bunn Bld (1st ball) 0; J Panther Bld White    19; A Rogers Stumped, Bld Scutts 1; P Steinke Ct, Bld Salmon 17; M Brock Ct, Bld White 4; E Bunn not out 12.
TOTAL 140 ALL OUT (38 OVERS)
Fair Oak Bowling: M Hunt 6-0-20-0; Plowman 5-1-26-0; White 4-0-23-0; Salmon 6-1-10-4; Bass 4-0-19-0; Scutts 7-1-18-3; Hide 3-2-2-0; Rennison 2-0-5-1; S White 3-0-18-2.
Fair Oak Innings: Hyde Bld Edwards 16; Showgrave Ct T Pearce, Bld M Brock 9; J Bass Bld Phil Steinke 35; A Bass    Ct M Pearce, Bld T Pearce 41; R Goodyear Ct Edwards Bld P Steinke 15; J Salmon    not out    18; M Hunt Bowled (?)Steinke 0; J Plowman Ct M Brock Bld J Panther 4.
TOTAL 147-7 
TWCC Bowling: M Brock 6-1-47-1; M Edwards 5-1-27-1; M Pearce 1-0-12-0;P Steinke 7-1-34-3; T Pearce 6-1-19-1; J Panther .3-0-3-1
Fair Oak won by 3 wickets


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TWCC v Staplefield July 14th
As the summer set in, Staplefield were the visitors to our humble abode.  They seemed to like it too:  they took root at our wicket and moved in, whilst not moving on.  The two Matts kept `James E and Asbo` nice and quiet and took the openers – a father catching for son for Matt B.  Jim and Phil then took over bowling at `Jools and Shrubby` and still the pace was slow – really slow – and to cut a long story short, two and a half hours later and with the help of `Jon, Ant and Dom` they had reached 104 for 8 wickets.  Tea was a joyful occasion, spirits bright, we could almost taste victory. 
However – soon we were to choke.  None of the first 5 made it to double figures and at 38-5, we were in big trouble.  However, Steve came to our rescue with a battling 41:  and with Edward also making useful runs, they delivered us to the brink of victory:  89-6.  What could possibly go wrong….Well in a word: everything.  Loss of nerve affected Jim, and far more culpably the skipper, who was guiding us home and advising first Phil and then Matthew not to hit out, keep calm and pick off singles – when he had a terrible swipe, two runs from victory and an inspired catch was taken by a delighted Staplefield fielder.  It was a great game but a gutting defeat. We’d been ASBO’
No Scorecard avaialable. I wonder why?

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TWCC v Wisley July 21st
A joy to welcome our old friends from Wisley: on a hot and sunny afternoon in Twineham. Wisley won the toss and opted to bowl and it was the legendary opening partnership of Dave and James to start off for us.  Dave backed out early to make way for two fine stands: one between James and Jonathan R, and then Jonathan took it on with John Riley. Edward and Matt S joined in the runfest as we powered our way to 235-5. Wisley were struggling. Put in the field, wickets were hard to come by: Matt and Matt worked hard for just one wicket. Phil and Tom each bagged one but it was James and Jonathan B who each took a pair who opened the prospect of victory. But the ten men of Wisley held out and so we went to the pub and drank beer.
TWCC INNINGS: J Trollope Ct ??? Bld Newman 53; D Rogers    Ct Newman Bld Crispin 6; J Rowland ct wkt Bld J Richards 72; J Riley Ct Crispian Bld Crispin 44; M Steinke Not out 15; E Bunn not out 28.
TOTAL 225-5 (41 overs).
DNB: T Rydon, J Bodansky, M Brock, P Steinke, R Brock, P Steinke, D Jones.
Fall: 32-2, 78-1, 147-3, 172-5, 235-4.
Wisley Bowling: J Richards 11-3-23-1; Crispin 10-2-42-2; O Richards 5-1-32-0; T Richards 6-0-46-0; Newman 3-0-34-1; Kerigan 6-0-42-0.
Wisley Innings: Kerrigan Ct Rowland Bld  M Brock 9; T Richards Ct J Rowland Bld T Rydon    54; McCarty Ct M Steinke bld Trollope 34; J Snelling Bld P Steinke 6; Newman Bld J Bodansky 13; Leggett    Hit Wicket Bld Bodansky 4; O Richards not out 16; K Adanki St Riley  Bld Trollope 9.
TOTAL 170-7.
TWCC BOWLING: M Brock 12-1-36-1; M Steinke 7-1-33-0; P Steinke 5-1-14-1; T Rydon 3-0-14-1; E Bunn 2-0-10-0; Trollope 7-1-23-2;  J Bodansky 4-0-30-2.
MATCH DRAWN



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TWCC v Henfield July 28th
Grim forebodings swept the county as Henfield’s visit to TWCC approached. A friend of a son’s mate who went to Hurst told his teacher’s colleague who mentioned something that was overheard in the courtyard and made its way to Phil that Henfield were coming to avenge last year’s batting festival. They started off well: they won the toss! After a slow start, when they were kept in check brilliantly by Paul and Matthew, and Paul it was who scythed through the top of the batting with 3 wickets, backed up with fine catching. Phil took 3 more: it was carnage: and Mikey came to the party later with a couple of wickets too. But M Rutherford made a half century setting up a reasonable total of 144 all out on the stroke of tea. It was very gettable, but the good start never happen as Steve was bowled for just 2. However then a great stand of 68 between Paul - having an outstanding game - (33) and Tony (32) took us halfway home. But then the rot set in: aided it must be said by excellent tight bowling. So the next big stand didn’t happen. The middle order all found their feet then lost their wickets. Before we knew it the chase for glory turned into a fight for survival. When Matthew was out, we were 20 runs short against still good bowling. Their last bowlers figures of 9-4-7-1 showed that our efforts to win simply ground to a halt: and then our attempt to shut up shop lasted two and a half overs: 3 balls from the end, when Phil inexplicably left a ball to allow it to hit the middle stump unhindered. The match was lost, our 12 months of glory disappeared and we were continuing our run of despair in 2013.
Henfield won the toss and elected to bat
HENFIELD INNINGS: A White Bld P Hunter 11; C Griffiths Ct S Rogers Bld P Hunter    0; B Mercer Ct P Hunter Bld P Steinke 13; F Stanley Bld P Hunter 1; P Pheasant Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 10; M Rutherford not out 53; S Welby Ct J Riley Bld M Pearce 4; M Colgatge Bld P Steinke 3; M Pye Run out 5; S Griffiths Run out 1; W Lees Ct R Brock Bld M Brock 22.
TOTAL 144 ALL OUT (43.2 OVERS).
TWCC BOWLING: M Brock 8-3-19-1; P Hunter 6-1-14-3; P Steinke 10-3-22-3; R Brock 8-0-30-0; M Pearce 5-0-31-2; J Trollope 4-0-21-0.
TWCC INNINGS: P Hunter    Ct ??  Bld Pye 33; S Rogers Bld Griffiths 2; T Pearce Bld Pye 32; G Hunter Bld Rutherford 3; J Trollope    Bld Pye    8; J Riley LBW Bld Lees    12; J Rowland Ct ?? Bld Pheasant 11; M Pearce Ct ??? Bld Pheasant 11; M Brock Ct Wkt Bld Pheasant 0; P Steinke Bled Pheasant 3; R Brock not out 2.
TOTAL 131 ALL OUT
Fall:  7-2, 75-3, 81-1, 82-4, 104-5, 104-6, 123-8, 123-9, 131-10
HENFIELD BOWLING: Pheasant 11-2-33-4; Griffiths 4-0-29-1; Colgate 2-0-10-0; Pye 8-1-28-3; Rutherford 3-0-19-1; Lees 9-4-7-1.
TWCC lost by 13 runs


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Warnham v TWCC August 4th
It is a regrettable fact that some matches this season have suffered from a rather brief write up: brought on by the sloth of the matchday reporter, leaving the match reports to pile up for weeks. This however is an exception: mainly because the author remembers the match rather well! We pulled together 9 men for a match against Warnham – new opponents – and in view of our numbers, we agreed on 35 overs per side. The skipper won the toss and elected to bat on a beautiful day, at a lovely ground surrounded by trees and a good outfield. Richard pushed himself up to open with Paul: and against good accurate bowling Paul bowed out on 3. Tony came in and continued his somewhat mediocre mid-season form (by his own extraordinarily high standards) before Steve joined Richard and took the score into 3 figures. Richard got his first 50 in many seasons and finally bowed out on 76, his highest score for the club, in 25 years!!!  It was – by any standards – an excellent innings with 9 fours and he could have gone on to achieve….well – he didn’t! Steve and Matt Edwards took things on and we finished on a creditable 157-6. Warnham are a good team and their openers powered to 50 before Phil broke the partnership. Their number 3 – D Smith – was a batsman of some quality. He made an easy 50 before retiring. Matthew Brock and Matt Edwards both bowled with some ferocity on a good wicket. We were behind the rate but not that far. The skipper, relishing the day, came on and took a wicket with his first ball and then a good catch from his son. Matt E mopped up another at which point the retired no 3 returned and saw them home. It was an excellent game, good sporting opponents who gave us a fielder throughout and in the end only a narrow victory for Warnham.
TWCC INNINGS: P Hunter Bld J Dear 3; R Brock Bld J Dear 76; T Pearce Ct Parker Bld D Smith 15; S Rogers    not out    24; G Hunter Bld J Dear 0; M Edwards Bld S Collins 12; M Brock not out 0.
DNB D Rogers, P Steinke
TOTAL 157-5 (35 overs)
Fall: 18-1, 71-3, 126-2, 132-5, 157-6,
Warnham Bowling: J Dear 10-1-26-3; M Dear 4-0-23-0; D Smith 7-1-21-1; T Tarrant 4-0-24-0; M George 4-0-14-0; M Dear 3-0-19-2; Collins 3-0-19-2
WARNHAM INNINGS: M Parker Bld R Brock 54; S Collins St S Rogers Bld P Steinke 17; D Smith not out 51; Bailey Ct R Brock Bld M Brock 0; G May Ct G Hunter Bld R Brock 18; H Dear Ct E Bunn Bld M Brock 1; Matt G    Bld M Edwards 0; I Javiant not out 6.
TOTAL 161 -6  (33 OVERS)
TWCC BOWLING: M Brock 8-1-27-2; P Hunter 3-0-26-0; M Pearce 5-1-13-0; P Steinke 7-1-17-1; M Edwards 6-0-30-1; R Brock 3-1-18-2; D Rogers 1-0-2-0
TWCC lost by 4 wickets


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TWCC v Warninglid August 25th
After a gap of 2 weeks: once when we couldn’t raise a team, once when we couldn’t find opposition: we welcomed Warninglid to our humble abode. And this was a great game: a strong opposition, in batting and in the field, a really hard competitive match but played in a great spirit. And it was a very youthful TWCC team: a joy for the captain who suddenly had young cricketers able to run after the ball, full of vigour and energy. Warninglid started well, strong attacking batsmen, giving the young openers Matt E and Tom good competition. But dad knows best: and Rob came on to get a wicket with his first ball, well taken at fly slip by Matt E. But still the resistance continued. We thought we had it when Dave Jones took a stunning catch off Matt Brock, but it was a no-ball! Hard to tell who was most disappointed, bowler or catcher. But Dave was not to be denied. Brought on he showed he was every bit the match of Rob as he took a wicket with his first ball: courtesy of Rob’s catch. And the unbeatable combination of Jones/Rydon gave him his second wicket, as TWCC made inroads into Warninglid’s batsmen. But still they came, good bats all. Two wickets from Tom – finding his feet after a slippery opening spell - helped but still they powered their way to 194-6. The tea was something to behold. The Rydon family pulled out all the stops and most of the fruit in Mid Sussex to produce a show-stopper, without doubt the season’s best, setting new standards for teas yet to come. The Red Arrows flypast missed tea by minutes, but the thought was there!  Clearly 194 would be a difficult target.  Richard put himself in to open with James, and it paid off:  keeping up with the rate and a stand of 44 before James lofted one on 29. Tony also lost his head on just 17: so it was left to Rob to come in and push on as Richard put down anchor and eventually bowed out on 28. So as the family watched (having done the washing up), Rob and young Alex piled on the runs, taking us to within 38 runs of victory. Rob was then caught but Alex played a blindingly mature innings and with good support from Matt E saw us home on a day of almost 400 runs in beautiful weather: a really good victory against a competitive but very sporting side. A really good day’s cricket, and at last, TWCC back on the winning side.   
WARNINGLID INNINGS: A Vaughan Ct M Edwards Bld R Rydon 19; J Reilly Ct M Pearce    Bld R Brock 63; M Nastys Ct R Rydon Bld D Jones 24; C VaughanCt R Rydon    Bld D Jones 5; D Tingley Ct M Pearce Bld T Rydon 24; M Cocker Bld T Rydon 1; A Parsons not out 16; E Patton not out 4.
TOTAL 194-8
Fall: 45-1, 88-3, 109-4, 156-5, rest not noted…..
TWCC BOWLING: M Edwards 5-0-22-0; T Rydon 7-0-35-2; P Steinke 5-0-25-0; R Rydon 6-1-15-1; M Brock 6-1-22-0; D Jones 4-0-29-2; R Brock 4-0-30-1
TWCCINNINGS: J Trollope    Ct Hopkins Bld J Patton 29; R Brock Ct Nastys Bld E Patton 28; T Pearce    Ct Acton Bld E Patton 17; R Rydon Ct E Patton Bld D Tingley 56; A Rydon    Not out 39; M Pearce Bld Pratt 1; M Edwards not out 6.
TOTAL 197-5 (37.4 OVERS)
Fall:  43-1, 75-3, 109-2, 157-4, 165-6
WARNINGLID BOWLING: C Pratt 10.4-0-46-1; J Acton 9-0-25-1; T Hopkinson 6-0-38-0; E Patton 6-0-37-2; D Tingley 3-0-24-1; H Cocker 4-0-24-0
TWCC won by 5 wickets


And, remarkably, that was it for 2013 - rain and cancellations put paid to the season! Roll on 2014

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TWCC 2012 Season
TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers May 20th 2012
Welcome to a new season: and at last we’re under way after 3 weeks of disastrous weather. The outfield bore witness to the torrential downpours: it was cut but cut long and piles of grass were everywhere. But it was dry and that’s the main thing. Those of sound memory will recall that last year’s home match with Moulsecoomb turned in almost 500 runs. No chance of that this year with the silage piled up on the outfield. Richard won the season’s first toss and elected to bowl: a canny combination of hoping the outfield would continue to dry, hoping to use the cloud cover for the bowlers and forgetting what he usually did after winning the toss last season. So Matt led the way from the Downs end and Jim at the Pavilion end. But wickets were not easy to come by, any more than were runs.  The openers batted well, thwarted by the long outfield and thus restricted to below 60 in the first hour. In that time Jim made the only breakthrough; a catch taken by Matt at short square leg. Matt himself missed a hard caught and bowled, and it took Paul to show him how to do it as he came on and snapped up the other opener. Still Moulsecoomb batted well, with great solidity, but suffering a dearth of boundaries because the ball simply didn’t reach as it ploughed through the long grass. Richard took the only other wicket to fall and Moulsecoomb’s total of 142 actually represented something close to 200 in normal conditions. So a good score on which to ponder as we enjoyed the tea Moulsecoomb themselves provided, left over from their Saturday team’s abandoned match.  
Paul and James opened up for us:  briefly. James’s innings lasted 4 balls when he was given LBW to the pacey Ganesh, coming in from the Downs End. But Paul and Tony then put together a useful stand of 53 before Paul was bowled. Edward didn’t hang around, he scored 3, when Richard went in to witness Tony’s gay abandon, knocking sixes over into the cow field. He can’t say he wasn’t warned: another big shot was dropped on the boundary, but he proceeded to hoik yet another in the same direction and this time the fielder held onto it. So 56 for 4, and a few concerned looks crossed Twineham faces. But Andrew, Jim’s brother-in-law who flew 30 hours from Australia just to make this match, was pushed up the order to help him stay awake, and he dug in with Richard to push the score along. Between them they had at least 6 catches dropped but they continued to prod and push and added 51 for the 5th wicket, before Andrew departed on 137, with TWCC just 6 runs short of victory. And six wickets in hand. So no worries there then…..Erm.  Well actually…… Moulsecoomb brought back Ganesh and, including Andrew’s wicket, he took 3 wickets in 3 overs for just 1 run – and even that was a wide. Those to fall were Sam Trench, a friend of Sam Simon’s who had earlier showed remarkable prowess in the field, and Matthew who had earlier bowled well. But neither could stand up to Mr Ganesh and In the midst of the carnage Richard also was finally caught and Jim followed him as Sherwin at the other end posted two wicket maidens. We were down to our last pair: and one of those was Matt who had strained his back bowling. But having wisely been refused permission to go home, and instead being introduced to the healing properties of Deep Heat, he was shoved out to do his best. Moulsecoomb were now alive with self-belief: four runs to get, and the previous five wickets had gone for just 2 runs. TWCC were on 139 for 9 with Matt and Honse needing to save the day.  It was a collapse worthy of `the good old days` but thankfully Honse added a single and Matt had enough movement restored to divert the ball to leg for a single and then the precious final two runs. The whoops that went up from the pavilion told the story: the great escape from an immensely large self-dug hole.

SCORECARD
TWCC won the toss and bowled
Moulsecoomb Innings: M Hunton C&B P Hunter 37; C Pullen Ct M Steinke Bld J Simon 20; K Radnall not out 34; D Sherwin Bld R Brock 20; P Longman not out 16.
TOTAL 142-3 41 overs
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 8-1-20-0; J Simon 9-1-31-1; P Hunter 6-0-20-1; M Brock 7-0-24-0; H Karvay 4-1-12-0; R Brock 4-1-13-1; A Smerdon 3-0-21-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Radmore 20; J Trollope LBW B Ganesh 0; T Pearce Ct, Bld Bowen 53; E Bunn Ct, Bld Bowen 3; R Brock Ct Longman Bld Sherwin 22; A Smerdon Ct Gibson, Bld Ganesh 20; S Trench Ct Hunton Bld Ganesh 0; J Simon Bld Sherwin 0; H Karvay not out 1; M Brock Bld Ganesh 0; M Steinke not out 3.
Total 143-9 35.3 overs.
Fall: 1-1, 54-2, 86-3, 86-3, 137-6, 137-5, 138-8, 138-10.
TWCC won by 1 wkt.

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Bolney CC v TWCC May 27th 2012
A beautiful, sunny, energy-sapping afternoon beckoned as we arrived at Bolney: thus the temptation was to bat first and leave the running to our hosts, who appeared to have a few younger players in their ranks. And as the coin fell favourably and glistened on the straw coloured pitch, such temptation was mighty appealing  to the skipper who is not averse to enjoying the luxuries provided by Bolney, which include two match umpires and scorers, and thus the opportunity to simply chat and watch the cricket! But the call of duty over-rode these frivolous distractions: we bowl well and chase well. Thus TWCC applied the sun cream and took to the field. Ten men, with our eleventh, Rob, held up by some half an hour by a fracas at the golf club. Matt and Jim opened the bowling and in that first 55 minutes they effectively won us the match. They didn’t get a wicket: but the stranglehold they applied through excellence in line and length was such that at the end of their 17 overs, with almost an hour gone of the two and a half hour innings, Bolney were 32-0. Backed up by fine fielding, Dave Rogers in particular constantly cutting out singles to square leg, the miserly pair conceded just 3 fours. If Bolney hoped to take advantage of our first change bowling attack they were in for a disappointment: Rob had arrived and set about his work bowling downhill and took a wicket with his second ball. Two more followed in his spell and Bolney failed to make up the lost ground, with Rob and Richard also keeping things tight. James was brought on and carved open the lower middle order with his off spin, taking four wickets in four overs including two clean bowled, a sharp stumping by Steve and an LBW.  And with Honse also keeping a tight line, time ran out for Bolney with 8 wickets down and just 107 on the board.
So Bolney’s excellent tea tasted even better and was certainly well deserved, especially because most of the fielding had been done by ten men: Rob’s arrival had been followed swiftly by Paul’s departure from the field, a pulled calf muscle caused by chasing a ball: this from our cycling friend who has, quote; "never been fitter!" So Paul was put at number 11 with Steve and James opening. James' innings was an improvement on last week when he was LBW for 0. This week he was LBW for 2, but his contribution to the match had already been crucial with his 4 wickets. George Hunter was next in and the fun began, with George not the sort of lad to hang around aimlessly. His first shot took an edge and sky rocketed straight up, and was dropped. He followed this with two big fours and a huge 6 - swatted over fine leg from well above his head - before finally being caught on 19, with TWCC already on 49. Dave came and went with the score still on 49, but Rob, and soon Edward, steered us home safely in the 18th over with 6 wickets in hand. The Harveys best at the Eight Bells tasted mighty fine after an impressive win. 

SCORECARD
TWCC won the toss and opted to bowl
Bolney Innings: J Moore    Bld J Trollope 39; D Tyler LBW Bld R Rydon 9; S Bowles Ct S Rogers Bld R Rydon 17; N Ridgway Bld R Rydon 0; M Swaine Bld R Brock 2; J Little St S Rogers Bld J Trollope 16; B Griffin not out 10; D Flower LBW Bld J Trollope 0; J Little Bld J Trollope 4; M Madden not out 0. TOTAL 107-8, 41 overs.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 9-1-13-0; J Simon 8-2-18-0; R Brock 8-0-27-1; R Rydon 8-2-21-3; J Trollope 4-0-6-4; H Karvay 4-0-15-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope LBW Bld M Madden 0; S Rogers Ct J Flower Bld J Little 19; G Hunter Ct M Swaine Bld M Maddden 19; D Rogers LBW  Bld D Flower 0; R Rydon    not out    30; E Bunn not out 19. TOTAL 108-4, 17.5 overs. DNB: J Simon, M Steinke, H Karvay, R Brock, P Hunter.
Bolney Bowling: D Flower 4-0-18-0; M Madden 5-0-34-2; Jake Little 5-0-18-1; Josh Little 3.5-0-31-1.
Fall: 16-1, 49-3, 49-4, 76-2.
TWCC win by 6 wickets.   

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Parham Park v TWCC June 3rd 2012
Diamond Jubilee Sunday: and whilst millions thronged to line the Thames to see the Royal flotilla in pouring rain, little were they to know where the true excitement lay: forty miles to the South at Parham Park. Bypassed by the rainclouds, with occasional outbreaks of sunshine, it was a game that would ebb and sway more than any of the hundreds of boats taking the Royal salute. The pitch was green, damp and definitely one on which to have a bowl. We ("We?" Ed.) lost the toss and sure enough we were put in: and Steve and James looked solid enough for the first six overs against two bowlers with good pace: but runs were clearly going to be hard to come by. Ground shots pulled up indecently short of the boundary: indeed only 3 of our players were destined to reach the rope. Steve’s departure, clean bowled by S Huffer for 6, was the start of an unhappily frequent early procession back to the pavilion. He was followed by Tony, caught and bowled for just 6, playing through early as the ball held up. 16-2. James followed one run later, another early season LBW for him and when young Alexander Rydon’s impressive defence was undone by the same bowler, we were 22-4 and the first hour was almost up. Honse’s stout rearguard lasted 26 balls, but it offered neither a run nor eventually sufficient defence to prevent Mr Huffer taking his 5th wicket, with the score on 28. Edward and Jim succeeded in making some progress: indeed Jim’s ten (plus a leg bye) in one over added 25% to our score, rocketing us from 31 to 42 at the end of the 24th over! Back at the pavilion, the order was rapidly being changed: Rob, nestling anonymously at ten, was shoved up to go in at 8, and he took over when Jim was caught and bowled to the slow spin of Jones for 13. The following five dot balls were really the last that Parham will have enjoyed of their bowling. In the remaining 18 overs of the innings Rob cut loose, superbly controlled but determinedly fierce and intent on getting us out of our mess. Which he did. Edward stayed with him for a stand of 53, Dave Rogers played an invaluable role holding up one end for a stand of 48: and it was nice that for the last over, father and son Tom held centre stage together as we moved to 147-8, with Rob on a remarkable 88 not out, including 9 fours and 5 sixes. The game had turned on its head and I suspect Parham wondered quite what had happened in that last extraordinary hour. Tea was most enjoyable and not only because it was an extremely handsome spread!
So it was over to the bowlers to get to work on a drying pitch. Tom Rydon earned his opening call up by taking a wicket clean bowled in the first over, a great start. But after that the game swung again as Parham put together a strong partnership bringing them to the last 20 overs needing 90 odd. Jim had a the number 3 caught behind by Steve, and James clean bowled their number 4: but this brought in the talented left handed bat Williams, who has already scored 2 centuries this early season. He and Andy Wales, the number 2, pushed on keenly and with 8 overs left, their target was 54. Once again it was Rydon to the rescue: not dad this time, but youngest son Alexander. He clean bowled Wales and got Williams caught in the deep by an excellent sliding catch from Edward. Game on. Meanwhile, Richard took two wickets in two balls from his penultimate over, one an outstanding catch from Steve. We went into his last over needing two wickets. The fourth ball was gloved to Tony at slip: leaving one man, two balls to face. The last ball popped up off the bat but flew forward, between the waiting silly mid ons and offs, to safety. An excellent match, what Sunday afternoons are all about: every team member played a big part, it was played in great spirit and could not have been closer: long live Queen, country, cricket and TWCC!!!

SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: J Trollope LBW Bld S Huffer 4 (30); S Rogers Bld S Huffer 6 (12); T Pearce Ct & Bld S Huffer 6 (6); H Karvay LBW Bld S Huffer 0 (26); A Rydon Bld S Huffer 2 (15); E Bunn LBW Bld D Huffer 17 (41); J Simon Ct & Bld N Jones 13 (11); R Rydon not out 88 (63); D Rogers run out 2 (17); T Rydon not out 1 (3); R Brock DNB.
TOTAL 147-8. Fall: 10-2, 16-3, 17-1, 22-5, 28-4, 44-7, 97-6, 145-9.
PARHAM BOWLING
S Huffer 14-3-26-5; M Williams 7-2-9-0; T Meader 10-2-43-0; N Jones 5-0-22-1; D Huffer 5-0-19-1; J Mitchell 2-0-21-0.
PARHAM Innings: A Wales    Bld A Rydon 66; B Huffer Bld R Rydon 0; E Roffey Ct S Rogers Bld J Simon 22; G Bolton Bld J Trollope 1; N Williams Ct Bunn Bld A Rydon 23; S Huffer Ct S Rogers Bld Brock 6; N Jones Ct R Rydon Bld Brock 0; P Meader not out 4; J Mitchell Ct T Pearce Bld Brock 0; J Coleman not out 0.
TOTAL 132–8
TWCC BOWLING
T Rydon 6-0-35-1; E Bunn 3-0-13-0; J Simon 9-3-14-1; R Rydon 6-3-7-0; H Karvay 3-0-14-0; J Trollope 3-0-11-1; A Rydon 4-0-21-2; R Brock 4-2-14-3.
Match Drawn

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TWCC v Xiles June 10th 1012
As I sit here surveying the water-stained scorebook, the joints still creaking, listening to 5 Live talking about West Sussex having had 60mm of rain in the past 24 hours,a month’s worth in a day and of flooding on the road between Henfield and Upper Beeding - some 5 miles from where we yesterday stood out for 150 minutes in the cold, unrelenting rain - I am left to wonder `why?` Why did we do it? How did we allow things to go so far? Never before have we played in such appalling weather and hopefully never will again. I have also just received Jim’s photos of the ground under water this morning and I am now convinced that there must have been a catastrophic and collective loss of commonsense.  (I seem to remember that there was a distinct lobby whose mantra was "Let's Go Home." Ed.) But it was all worth it because we remain undefeated this season and the TWCC juggernaut that was slow to roll is now moving ahead smoothly, with our traditionally superior early season form ensuring that once again, we have entered June undefeated in 2012.
So let’s try to explain how things came about. Jim was voicing his concern in the morning: the water table at the ground was still high, one area of the outfield was borderline; but the morning was dry. We turned up and the cloud was high, the Downs were clear. There was no reason not to play cricket if we decided to completely ignore the weather forecast, which we did. Richard won the toss and decided to bowl, but from the moment their opening batsmen strode out a light drizzle started. It was the sort of stuff we’ve played through many times. Jim bowled well from the pavilion end but Matt struggled with his footing from the far end and bowled just 4 overs. Edward replaced him and got the breakthrough; a looped catch caught by Tony who made the 5 yards he had to cover look like an army assault course – still suffering he claimed, from the football match he’d played 10 days earlier!! The rain then started to fall more heavily and unremittingly, but not quite hammering down which would have taken us off. So we continued to bowl: Phil turned his frozen shoulder to start the thawing process and of course got a wicket. Richard got a couple of wickets, but their opening bat Hooper hung around, building an innings in the most testing of conditions. The ball was holding up in the wet and boundaries were very rare; they were scoring at little more than two an over. We got through most of the two and a half hours with everyone getting a bowl, two good runouts from Matt and Honse before the innings was wrapped up five minutes early by the clean straight bowling of newcomer John Riley, who picked up two wickets in 3 balls. Xiles all out for 107. Tea was very very welcome.
The rain starting falling more heavily during the interval but credit to Xiles, they went out to field without complaint. James’ attempt to influence the umpire, Phil, by warning him off the LBWs which have caused his first 3 departures this season, failed; Phil gave him out LBW for 1! After that Tony came in and decided it was all or nothing: and whichever way it was, it was going to be quick. He struck a hugely impressive 89 including 6 sixes and 9 fours and took us to the brink of victory before he holed out. The target was met in the 19th over and we were thankfully done shortly after 6pm. Many thanks to everyone on the team for sticking with it, well done also to Xiles. The weather forecast for the rest of June is for lots of rain: next time, we’ll stay at home.

SCORECARD
TWCC won the toss and opted to bowl
Xiles Innings: Hannant Ct T Pearce Bld Bunn 12; Hooper Ct J Simon Bld Trollope 52; Blakeston run out (M Steinke) 0; Kumar Bld P Steinke 4; Petche Bld Brock 2; Hales Ct Trollope bld Brock 7; Leslie run out (Karvay) 2; Chidwick Bld J Riley 2; Tulley Bld J Riley 0; Wilcox not out ?
TOTAL 107 all out, 40.3 overs.
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 8-1-18-0, M Steinke 4-0-17-0, E Bunn 4-0-5-1, P Steinke 3-1-6-1, R Brock 9-1-16-2, J Trollope 4-1-17-0, H Karvay 4-0-13-0, J Riley 2.3-0-8-2, T Pearce 2-0-7-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope LBW Bld Tulley    1; S Rogers not out 11; T Pearce Ct ??? Bld Blakestone 89; J Riley not out 1.
TOTAL 108-2, 18.1 OVERS.
DNB: R Brock, E Bunn, J Simon, M Steinke, H Karvay, P Steinke
Xiles Bowling: Leslie 5-1-33-0, Tulley 5-1-15-1, Chidwick 3-0-27-0, Wilcox 4-0-25-0, Blakestone 1.1-0-2-1
Fall: 1-1, 104-3.
TWCC win by 7 wickets.

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Henfield v TWCC July 1st
Who would have guessed when we turned up to the picturesque ground at Henfield that history would soon be folding us in its bosom.  We were an unusual team for Twineham:  we had youngsters for a start.  Peter and James Raward are both youthful and local and therefore of great interest to us.  Mikey also slipped almost unnoticed into the changing room for his first outing this season (I’m not sure if there’s a writing style that defines sarcasm). Richard lost the toss on a green wicket which had survived another week’s inclement weather and was asked to bat. James overcame his LBW nightmares and opted instead to get out early to a catch. Tony came in, his £450 Murray Goodwin plank still warm from its 89 the previous week. All I can say about the innings is that he picked up exactly where he left off the previous week: with a four. That was followed by 13 more 4s and 6 sixes as he and Mikey took the score from a struggling 51-2 onto 180, when his bruising and battering flurry finally ended with a sharp stumping.  Mikey succumbed to LBW after celebrating his 50, Edward got a golden duck! Enter John Riley, another recent recruit we’re hoping will nail his colours to our nonexistent flagpole: he took up the running with 58 and was joined by the aforementioned Peter Raward who batted with incredible technique and power. Together this pair drove the score past two hundred, deep into declaration territory and beyond to the realms of unreasonable scoring expectations. It was a captain’s dilemma. To welcome aboard two players of such quality, keen to allow both to reach their 50s: yet by doing so meant effectively killing off the match for the opposition. Anyway, the batting was quite glorious and as we powered past 300 the record books beckoned, so we played out the innings. John scored 58 with 2 sixes and 8 fours, Peter 66 with 4 sixes and 9 fours and a new TWCC record score of 327 was posted for the loss of 9 wickets. Henfield’s quiet grumbles were understandable, but such is the need to attract and keep good cricketers that, occasionally, the future needs to be paid greater attention than the present. Anyway, as the Marquis de Sade discovered, pleasure and pain are inextricably linked: so for all the fun we had whilst batting, we were made to pay when in the field with Mr Hills, the number two bat, skilfully defying all our bowling efforts almost until the last. By the time he was out, for 14, there were not enough balls left to take the remaining wickets. Credit should go to their opener and their number 3 who put in attacking performances but with one end closed down, we were hamstrung, and some rather ropey catching didn’t help. The match was drawn, but let the bells ring out that we have a new record score and the nice electronic scoreboard at Henfield proves it.

SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct R Wadey Bld Mehta 6; S Rogers Ct T Hills Bld Mehta 15; T Pearce St T Hills Bld Scott 108; M Pearce LBW Bld Scott 50; E Bunn Bld Scott 0; J Riley LBW Bld Mehta 58; P Raward Ct T Hills Bld Mehta 66; D Jones Bld Mehta 0; J Raward not out 6; H Karvay run out 0;
TOTAL 327-9
DNB:  R Brock
Fall: 16-1, 51-2, 180-3, 180-4, 193-5, 297-7, 297-8, 326-6, 327-10.
My apologies to Henfield, we don’t have their bowling figures, which I’m sure looked good for messrs Scott and Mehta.

Henfield Innings: C Scott Ct J Trollope    Bld J Raward 31; T Hills Ct P Raward Bld J Riley 14; C Griffiths Ct P Raward Bld D Jones 49; R Wadey not out 16; J Henderson not out 1. 
TOTAL 124-3.
TWCC Bowling: J Trollope 5-1-19-0; M Pearce 3-1-10-0; J Raward 5-3-12-1; R Brock 6-2-11-0; H Karvay 5-1-30-0; P Raward 4-1-8-0; T Pearce 2-0-6-0; D Jones 6-1-18-1; J Riley 2-1-4-1.
Match Drawn.

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TWCC tour to Kent July 6th to 8th
T’was an odd start for a tour:  the golf party departing from The Castle at Hickstead consisted of just 3 people:  Steve, Honse and Edward.  The rest were recovering from work or actually working.  Hence it was just 3 who took on the incessant rain to battle their way round a modern golf course of Kent, or should that be Kentish golf course, and allow Steve the privilege of winning, whilst all the time believing that the chance of cricket that afternoon were nil.  However, the late arrivals set off from Sussex with the windows and sunroofs open as the skies cleared.  After meeting unexpectedly in a motorway service area, Tony led Richard in a big circle along some of Kent’s narrowest lanes, blaming the satnav for his own directional inadequacies.  Finally we met up traditionally: at a pub near the ground, where Tony, Mikey, Matt Edwards, Matthew and Richard joined the party.  One pint in the Kings Head and one grumpy landlord later and we arrived in glorious sunshine at East Sutton, to find Jonathan waiting for us.  We were 9 and we were ready for cricket.  The ground was huge, in lovely open countryside and completely flat.  In traditional tour style, we were offered the choice rather than a toss, and we opted to bat: the belief being that if we struggled, at least we’d be in the pub quicker.  And struggle we did:  Matt and Mikey showed a peculiar reluctance to run singles, each scoring 2 fours each and no more, despite the  forceful urging to them to damn well run.  The indolent pair departed to leave Jonathan to score a notable single:  notable because it’s all he did score.  It was left to the unlikely combination of Honse and Tony to put us on track:  Honse with an excellent 19, Tony with an even more excellent 103 not out, his second successive century, and this in a 20/20!   Several balls were lost as Kent’s countryside was peppered:   7 sixes and 10 fours give an idea of the brutality of it.  But it wasn’t without blemish as a resentful Edward and the scorebook attest.  Matthew Brock came in at 8 with a useful 10, shaming the slothful openers and we finished on a magnificent 182 – 7 on a beautiful summer evening.   East Sutton started their reply in fine form:  for the first five overs they were up with the rate with some hard hitting, though Matt Edwards finally got rid of both openers.  But the tour’s secret weapon, unleashed for the first time since Devon, turned the match.  That weapon was the bowling arm of one Edward Bunn:  two wickets from 3 overs.  Eight of the nine team members bowled:  and most of it was very tidy, preventing East Sutton from breaking away again.  3 catches from Matthew Brock helped and by the end of their 20 overs, they had reached 120-9, a victory for TWCC by 62 runs.

 

SCOREBOARD

TWCC opted to bat

 

M Edwards                              Bowled Biddle              8

M Pearce                                 Ct ?  Bowled Skinner               8

J Rowland                                Ct Bowled Jeramy                    1

H Karvay                                 Bowled Biddle              19

T Pearce                                  Not out                                    103

S Rogers                                  Run Out (Trajett)                      4

E Bunn                         Run out (by T Pearce)              0        

M Brock                                  Bowled Mitchell                       10      

R Brock                                   Not Out                                   8

                                                                        TOTAL          182-7

 

 

 

East Sutton

 

F Kember                                Ct M Brock     Bowled M Edwards     37

B Cox                                      Bowled M Edwards                             15

R Kember                                Bowled R Brock                                  0

B Tragett                                  Ct Rowland, B Bunn                             4

L Mitchell                                 Ct M Brock, B Bunn                            11

 H Stainer                                 Ct M Brock, B M Pearce                     1

C Keay                                    Run out (M Brock)                               10

B Wren                                    Bowled T Pearce                                  2

A Biddle                                   Not out                                                22

V Arnold                                  Not out                                                2

J Knott

                                                                                    TOTAL   120-9

 

TWCC Bowling

M Brockl 2-0-21-0, M Edwards 4-0-28-2, R Brock  2-0-16-1,E Bunn 3-0-7-2,

 H Karvay 3-0-6-1, J Rowland 3-0-15-0, M Pearce 2-0-13-1, T Pearce 1-0-6-1. 

 

TWCC won by 62 runs.

 

We spent an affable hour with our opponents in the Queens Head, immediately next door the less well populated and aforementioned Kings Head before racing breakneck through the lanes of Kent to our hotel, which appeared on the surface to be far too good for us:  nice rooms, a pleasant welcome, pool, darts and good beers: everything we dream of and can’t usually afford. It was a quiet evening, a few enjoyed a meal in the nearby Chinese restaurant.  There was nothing more of note and we went to bed.

 

Breakfast was similarly quiet.

 

Mid morning, some of the squad played tennis, with the handpicked left/right duo of Tony and Jonathan avoiding the children and non-players to scoop the glory!   Arriving back at the hotel, we were joined by the late risers and our numbers were boosted by the arrival Dave Jones and Paul from Sussex and Steve and James Taylor from Wales: and good it was to see them all. Pints were sunk ready for the next match and we headed towards the village of Borden with warnings of rain within the hour from Mr Happy Hunter.  Borden’s ground was smallish, especially behind the stumps, but pleasant and bowl shaped.  Again the choice was offered and thinking another such batfest would be out of the question, Richard opted to field first.  We were 13 but that would be too many for the ground, so Mikey and Tony sat out first in a rotation of fielders whilst the idea of drawing lots for batting seemed foolishly risky so Brock and Brock volunteered to miss out on the batting. Matthew made the breakthrough having an opener caught by Matt: and James Taylor shook off the travelling cobwebs with the second wicket.  But a strong stand developed between Borden’s opener Millen and their no 4 Sharp.  It was the turn of Dave Jones to take centre stage.  He took 4 wickets, 2 clean bowled and cleared out Borden’s middle order.  We lost just 10 minutes to rain (added back) and with plenty of sensible and tight bowling, we restricted Borden to 177-7, an excellent effort.  The tea should have a paragraph all to itself.  Clearly a huge effort had been made by Borden and our thanks to them and especially the bevy of wonderful wives who went to an enormous effort on our behalf.  It was a spread the like of which we’ve never seen before.  Sandwiches, pork pies, pasties, salads, cold meats, pasta, fruit, cakes upon cakes:  a feast of epic proportions.  Could that tea be to blame for Paul’s 5 before being clean bowled?  I don’t know, but the result was that Tony came in and picked up where he left off less than 24 hours before.  Borden’s `Stan` failed to weave a magic spell but it was their previously competent left hand pace bowler Higgins who suffered most.  He was hit for three sixes on the trot by a rampant Pearce, each one requiring an agonising delay whilst the ball was searched for, declared lost and a new one found.  During each search Mr Higgins wilted not a little but enormously: so much so that by the time the last couple of balls were brutally clubbed for four for 30 from the over, he was but a broken man, incapable of emotion.  As Tony powered past 50 and 60 a third successive century beckoned.  But it was not to be:  his enthusiasm went beyond the bounds and he danced down the wicket to be stumped by approximately 8 yards, on 67.  He would later blame the spikes he was wearing for his downfall, which sounds somewhat incredulous and worthy of a tour fine.  An altogether more sensible batsman in the form of Jonathan took over:  and with others playing bit parts, we got home comfortably to win by 4 wickets.  Mr Higgins did not recover.

  

SCOREBOARD

TWCC asked Borden to bat

 

Millen                           Bowled D Jones                                               87

Harwood                      Ct M Edwards, B M Brock                              4

Sanders                        Ct M Edwards B J Taylor                                 10

Sharp                           Ct J Taylor       B Jones                                    45

Sutton                          Ct M Pearce    B Jones                                    2        

Jacques                        Not out                                                            13      

P Noakes                     Bowled R Brock                                              4

C Rose                         Bowled Jones                                                   0

A Harwood                  Not out                                                            3

C Higgins                   

D Hargreaves                         

                                                                                    TOTAL   177-7

 

TWCC Bowling

J Taylor 7-0-22-1, M Brock 7-1-33-1, H Karvay 6-0-22-0, S Taylor 5-0-13-0, M Edwards 4-0-24-0, D Jones 7-0-41-4m R Brock  4-0-1631. 

 

P Hunter                                   Bowled  Higgins                       5

S Rogers                                  Ct A Harwood, B Hollands      12

T Pearce                                  St , B Hollands             67

J Rowland                                Not out                                    44

M Pearce                                 Bowled Harwood                     3

E Bunn                         Bowled Millen              14

M Edwards                              Bowled Millen              2        

J Taylor                                    Not out                                    11      

                                                                        TOTAL          178-6

Fall:  5-1, 36-2, 103-3, 123-5, 162-6, 164-7

 

Borden bowling

Hollands 7-0-46-2, Higgins 6-0-55-1, C Rose 5-0-30-0, T Harwood 6-0-13-1, Millen 4.1-1-12-2, Sharp 1-0-7-0.

TWCC won by 4 wickets.

 

The Saturday night was a traditional tour night.  We had a few beers with the opposition at their local, before heading back to our delightful accommodation and heading straight for the bar.  Soon the team was involved in a cut-throat game of killer on the dartboard to be followed straight afterwards by killer on the pool table.  Time was getting on and there was a move by the Welsh contingent for the local chippie whereas the rest went with tradition and headed for the local curry house, with Edward on dangerous form relaying his stories of staff at Indian restaurants he’s known over the years.  We all met up back at the hotel around midnight and the poker started:  Honse, the shark, crashed out, and as the rest gradually blew their chips, it was down to the eventual winner to scoop the reward:  but unfortunately there was quite a bit of beer swilling around down throats, on the carpet, elsewhere: and thus the author can’t remember who won, but it wasn’t Tony which is the main thing!

The following morning, after another delicious full English breakfast and a good old natter, we settled up with the hotel, headed to Harrietsham:  and continued straight through it, into more Kentish lanes, following brown signs to a lovely country pub.  Typically when you follow brown signs, the pub will be horrendously expensive and so it proved.  But boys being boys, the youngsters needed refuelling:  it had been well over an hour since their huge breakfasts.  So the boys tucked into full roasts, while the rest of us put down a couple of pints sat around the inglenook fireplace, with the fire providing much needed warmth on a cold grey day.  Half way through the session, the heavens opened:  and the rain continued for the next hour.  What could James have been thinking as he made his way through the deluge to join the tour for the match at Harrietsham?   Well, by the time we got to the ground, the sun was out and it was really warm: but the pitch was saturated.  Much tutting, pursing of lips, shakes of the head: it didn’t look good.  But then somebody realised that the reason the strip was under water was because it was so closely cut:  so they cut another strip and it was game on.  The teams agreed a 25 over match: and TWCC opted to bat, given our confidence from our previous two matches.  And it looked like a good decision.  Against a good bowling attack, Paul and James put on 44 for the first wicket:  though rather slowly.  In fact, very slowly.  It took them 11 overs of a 25 over match to get there.  In hindsight however, it was a very reasonable effort because most others found the pace of the attack too hot to handle.  In traditional tour style, the battling line up was reshaped so everyone got a bat: and that helped not one jot!  Apart from Paul’s 43, only Tony got into double figures:  aside from extras which accounted for 28 of our final total of 109-8.  Not our finest hour.  And then it started raining.  We took to the field in the rain which became heavier and heavier:  the only blessing was that Harrietsham’s opener wasn’t hanging around.  He finished on 88 not out as we struggled with the conditions and the `endoftouritis`.  The match finished with TWCC defeated by 8 wickets and sopping wet into the bargain.

 

 

 

 

 

SCOREBOARD

TWCC opted to bat

 

J Trollope                                 Ct  B Khan                               6

P Hunter                                   Ct  B  Mohan                           43

S Taylor                                   Bowled Wilson             2

D Jones                                    Bowled Khan                           2

T Pearce                                  Bowled Thomas                       19

M Brock                                  Bowled Mohan             1

J Taylor                                    Not out                                    9

J Karvay                                  Bowled Mohan             1

E Bunn                         Bowled Thomas                       2

S Rogers                                  Not out                                    1        

                                                                        Extras               28

                                                                        TOTAL          178-6

Fall:  44-1, 47-3, 55-4, 85-2, 90-5, 92-6, 101-8, 106

 

Harrietsham bowling

Puthoor 5-0-8-1 Ahmed 4-1-8-0, Khan 5-0-25-2, Wilson 4-0-30-1, Thomas 4-0-11-2, Mohan 3-0-16-3.

 

HARRIETSHAM

 

Puthoor                                    not out                          88

Hutchinson                               LBW B R Brock                      16

Smith                                        Bowled J Taylor                       3

Mohan                                     not out                                      2

 

                                                                                    TOTAL   113-2

 

TWCC Bowling

M Edwards 3-0-19-0, M Brock 2-0-19-0, J Trollope 2-0-33-0, R Brock 4-0-31-1 J Taylor 2-0-6-1, E Bunn 0.2-0-5-0.

 

Harrietsham won by 8 wickets

 

 
After the match, a couple of cars went to the local social club for a quick pint with the opposition: and then we were off, a gloriously brief whip round the M25 and home in an hour.  How welcome was that at the end of a tour weekend.  It was great fun as ever, brilliant to get in 3 games, well done to Steve for organising it, and well done for all club members for supporting it .

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TWCC v Wisley July 22nd
After yet another week lost to rain, our favourite opponents made the trip down from Wisley to our humble HQ:  determined to play cricket, come what may.  Neither team were at full strength, so a 9 a side, 35 over match was agreed.  Richard won the toss and opted to bat, knowing that even in his 9 he had a number of match winning big hitters!!!  With 50 on the board, everything in the world looked good.  James and Steve were showing good composure and moving along at a gentle pace. Unfortunately the shout went up from the skipper to `move things along a bit` or wordsd to that effect.  Steve took that as `race down the wicket recklessly and get stumped`.   Unfortunately, his demise led to a TWCC middle order collapse.  How can that be I hear you ask, when the great Tony Pearce was next into bat?  Well, the great Tony Pearce was clean bowled second ball, the first time this season he has completely and utterly and ruinously failed and let down his team with scant regard to the match or his team-mates.  So we therefore have to forgive him I suppose.  Anyway what happened next is best put in figures:  the next 5 batsmen to go in and out scored:  1,1,0,0.  It was only a spirited stand by Jim and Richard at the end which got us to 116-8 and still in with a chance.  However, this Wisley team has a couple of new players: including the son of Big John, who has played against us for many a year.  His son is a very solid bat: and though there were a couple of catches put down, the opener Kerrigan and young Richards stayed put at the crease.  However, they were falling behind the rate:  but when pace gave way to spin, they took advantage and started smacking the boundaries.  In the end, with both protecting their wickets, Wisley finished as deserved victors by 8 wickets.

 

Scoreboard

TWCC won the toss and opted to bat

 

J Trollope                                 Bowled Gear                            41

S Rogers                                  St WK, B Kumar                     19

T Pearce                                  Bowled Kumar             0

D Rogers                                  Ct  Bowled Kumar                   1

J Riley                                      Bowled Abbey             1

M Brock                                  Bowled Abbey             0

J Simon                                    not out                                      22

D Jones                                    Bowled Gear                            0

R Brock                                   Ct  B Gear                               13

                                                            TOTAL          116-8

 

Fall:  50-2, 50-3, 55-4, 63-4, 76-5, 83-6, 85-8, 116-9

 

Bowling:  J Richards 4-1-10-0, Kerrigan 7-1-31-0, Kumar 7-1-11-3, Abbey 4-0-16-2, J Richards 5-0-29-0.

 

Wisley

 

M Kerrigan                                          Not out                                                49

G Snelling                                             St S Rogers B R Brock                        9

T Richards                                            Not out                                                49

                                                                                    TOTAL   117-1

 

TWCC Bowling

J Simon: 7-1-10=-0. D Jones 7-2-14-0, R Brock 6-0-21-0, M Brock 6-0-24-0, Trollope  4-0-21-0. J Riley 2-0-21-0. 

 
Wisley won by 8 wickets

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TWCC v Henfield July 29th
If anyone finds Richard Brock hanging by his bollocks from the posts at Horsham Rugby Club, could they please cut him down…..

 Well now, before writing this match report, the author should declare an interest:  he was central to one of the noteworthy events of the afternoon.  However, he has taken soundings to ensure he enbraces the various interpretations of what occurred and has written what he has no doubt is a very fair appraisal of events!

So we turned up on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  Henfield won the toss and asked us to bat.  James, showing a return to form in recent weeks, and Steve led off for us:  but against an ordinary bowling attack, Steve snicked a ball to the keeper on just 14.  Tony Pearce, struggling for mid season form after his glorious early season innings, once again failed to impress.  A four and a six seemed to show him back to his best: then he was caught.  It brought to the wicket John Riley, cementing his place in the TWCC middle order after a number of impressive performances, including of course 58 vs Henfield but a month ago.  John clearly had a taste for the bowling:  and was soon into a brilliant, hard hitting, clubbing innings.  With James showing finesse and occasional ruthlessness at the other end, the two of them shared a wonderful stand of 122 against the hapless Henfield, who, let us not forget, were on the wrong end of TWCC’s record 327 earlier this same month.  Finally James made his first, long overdue 50 of the season:  only to fall to a catch immediately.  The skipper came in at 5, in what can be called a support role for the still rampant Riley.  John despatched 16 fours to the boundary and a six over it:  he was untroubled.  However – and this is where, er, one needs to understand the events that followed….Henfield found a fast bowler who was brought on from the far end and proved more threatening than anything that had gone before.  And, er,as Richard prepared to face this bowler, he got a shout from the clubhouse:  John was on 98.  In an outstanding example of quite incredible selflessness and leadership, he decided to put down the anchor and face out the over from this bowler who threatened John’s bid for a century.  The fact that he couldn’t get close to any of the balls is neither here nor there.  He saw off the first five balls, putting his life on the line for his colleague, a man to whom he owes so much for the rugby coaching of his son, not a man he would ever seek to deny anything, quite the opposite…..  Anyway, er, the last ball of the over whizzed down, and caught the edge of his bat.  It flew to point – maybe very slightly backward point – who was standing close in.  His job done, Richard relaxed.  Unfortunately that relaxation was shattered by a single, rather quiet `yes` from the far end: and before he realised what was happening, John was halfway down the pitch on a suicide run that belonged to something out of `Tora, Tora, Tora`.  With the ball safely in the hands of point, instinct kicked in and before he could think through the various scenarios, Richard shouted to John `no`.  John screeched to a halt, turned tail but was unfortunately beaten back to the stumps by the throw and was run out.  How anyone in the dressing room could utter the sort of comments that were being passed around later is beyond  comprehension.  The skipper was accused of protecting his average:  how could anyone accuse him of such, especially when his average is only 17.84 so far this season, (a rise of 2.38 on last year).  He was told in no uncertain terms he should have sacrificed his wicket:  but that is to fail to understand the game of cricket.  There’s no I in Twineham…..Through all this dressing room banter, John thankfully remained quiet and tranquil.  Shell shocked you might say.  But he must be congratulated on an excellent innings, and really another couple of runs is neither here nor there, because we play a team game.   He recovered the following day to send a series of text messages to Richard explaining how he was getting over it, saying the pain was subsiding etc.  He was also looking forward to welcoming him to the Rugby club on training night!!!  So all’s well that ends well and that puts that to bed.  It was, as Sir Ian of Botham might say, a cricketing incident.  Anyway, a few balls later the rain fell, Richard finished on 12 not out which should help his average, the rain came down, swamped the pitch so we had tea and went home.


  

Scoreboard


TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat

 

J Trollope                                 Ct  Bowled Anderson               50

S Rogers                                  Ct WK, B Colber                     19

T Pearce                                  Ct  Bowled Woodward            12

J Riley                                      Ran himself out             98

R Brock                                   Not out                                    12

E Bunn                                     Not out                                    2

                                                            TOTAL          214-4

 

Fall:  24-2, 44-3, 166-1, 207-4,


DNB:  D Rogers, J Karvay, D Jones, M Brock

 

Bowling:  W Coldeer 8-0-32-1, Woodward 6-2-16-1, Hill 6-1-28-0, Law 7-0-32-0, Anderson 4-0-36-1, Sealy 3-0-26-0, Pederson 3-0-11-0, Hodkins 2.5 -0-17-0.

 
Match called off due to rain.  Please note, this match report has been drafted by a firm of lawyers and any alteration to its content will result in immediate legal action.

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Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC August 5th 2012
At last, summer dawned in Sussex and we arrived at A&SC to find the ground bathed in sunshine, a well rolled pitch showing cracks through lack of rain and a blazing afternoon ahead.  Well quite warm anyway. After some disastrous peformances here in previous years:  who can forget the 53 all out – we needed a good win to break that curse and also the post-tour blues.  Richard lost the toss and we were put out to bowl for two and a half hours.  The opening pair of Matt Brock and Honse each took a wicket, with Steve taking the first of two catches and a stumping, proving once again what a valuable asset he is behind the timbers.  There were reasonable stands by A&SC:  their opening bat Kingscott made an excellent 74 and he was at the heart of their innings, and his cover drives despatched a number of bowlers to the boundary.  But we gradually whittled away the wickets:  an excellent run out by Peter Raward proving the value of youth in the side, this reiterated by the 3 wickets taken by Matt Brock.  But Albourne survived and finished on 156-9:  there was particularly good and tight bowling in the second half which kept that score down, including a fine 7 over spell by Edward, going for less than 3 an over and getting a wicket.  It was also excellent to see Phil on the sidelines, bored with Sunday afternoons without cricket so coming along to support the team.  With a pitch that was keeping a little low it looked to be a challenging target: and so it was to prove.  The contrasting – in every way – pairing of Mikey and Steve opened:  Mikey made 2!  Steve and Tony then shared an excellent stand of 51 before the legspinner Howe took the first of what was to be 5 wickets bowling good length balls with movement in the air.  Steve was clean bowled, Tony came back into form with 53 before he fell to an outstanding diving catch just inside the boundary.  Peter oozed class for his 28 and he and shared good stands first with Tony and then Richard, who’d put himself in at 5 because he’d wimped out of bowling.  But – credit where it’s due – his 35 not out secured the last third of the innings and we came out victors by 4 wickets with less than 4 overs to go.  A good win and a lovely afternoon’s cricket.   

 

Scoreboard

TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bowl

 

A&SC

C Kingscott                  Ct R Brock Bowled M Pearce 74

H Coughlan                  St S Rogers Bowled H Karvay 2

W Poole                       Ct S Rogers, bowled M Brock 4

T Stace                        Run out (P Raward)                              1

Ardum                          Ct S Rogers Bowled D Jones               23

Toby                            Ct P Raward Bowled D Jones              0

John                             Ct R Brock Bowled E Bunn                  4

R Hole                         Not out                                                22

P Howe                        Bowled M Brock                                 2

P Saunders                   Bowled M Brock                                 0

M Stace                       not out                                      1

TOTAL 156-9 (41 OVERS)  

 

Bowling: M Brock 9-0-27-3, J Karvay 6-1-11-0, D Jones 7-0-14-2, P Raward 4-0-29-0, R Brock 1-0-6-0, E Bunn 7-0-20-1, M Pearce 7-0-40-0.

TWCC

 

S Rogers                                  Bowled Howe                          8

M Pearce                                 Ct and Bowled John                 2

T Pearce                                  Ct Coughlan Bowled Howe      53

P Raward                                 Bowled Howe                          28

R Brock                                   Not out                                    35

E Bunn                                     Bowled Howe                          4

M Gasson                                Bowled Howe                          0

D Rogers                                  Not Out                                   0

                                                            TOTAL          159-6

 

Fall:  10-2, 61-1, 97-3, 121-4, 143-6,146-7

DNB:  D Jones, J Karvay, M Brock

 

Bowling:  Saunders 9-2-33-0, John 4-0-24-1, P Howe 13.2-1-61-5, T Stace 8-0-29-0.

TWCC win by 4 wickets

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Warninglid v TWCC August 26th 2012
A swashbuckling last wicket stand by Warninglid was threatening what should have been a straight forward Twineham victory when Cripps, who was doing most of the swashing, sent up a steepler to Mikey at deep long off. Why Mikey chose that moment to preen his hair and adjust his trousers, we will never know but the Rottingdean rascal collapsed in an ungainly heap as the ball dribbled over the boundary. That stroke moved Cripps on to 80 - quite an achievement as he came in at number 10 (as a late replacement) and the rest of his team had mustered only 36.

 In a devastating spell, Honse had ripped the guts out of their innings with 4 for 16 but with the opposition now only 29 behind, this limited over contest was far from won. But then, just as we were beginning to suspect that Cripps was KP in disguise, Rob Rydon speared a Yorker into his middle Stump to complete another good day in the field for the ‘Rydon three’. Alex keeping wicket expertly having made 24 runs as an opener; Tom taking a wicket and scoring 18 (although when your correspondent asked if he was enjoying himself, he replied ‘no not really’); and Rob dismissing their two most dangerous batters.

Earlier Warninglid had caught magnificently. Rob, Tony and Matt all fell to fine reaction efforts after a few decent blows while James was snaffled by a 64-year-old who somehow managed to catch up with a ball skied over his shoulder. It was James’ second knock of the day having been involved in a collision with their opening bowler’s car on the way to the ground. But that’s another, more painful, story.

TWCC
Rob caught Riley bowled Dark 13
Alex caught Pratt bowled Cocker 24
Tony caught and bowled Nastys  27
James caught Tarr bowled Cocker 3
Mikey bowled Nastys 3
Edward caught and bowled Tingley 29
Matt caught Riley bowled Cocker 10
Tom caught Nastys bowled Tingley 18
Phil not out 10
Honse not out 5
Extras 17
Total 169 for 8

Warninglid
Tingley ct Rob bowled Matt 3
Reilly  bowled Honse 12
Cocker ct and bowled Honse 3
Nastys bowled Rydon R 1
Graham bowled Rydon T 0
Mlik bowled Honse 0
Tarr bowled Honse  0
Vaughan ct Rob bowled Dave 5
Pratt ct Matt bowled Edward 2
Cripps bowled Rydon 80
Dark not out 12
Extras 22
140 all out
 
Bowling
Matt                       1 wicket for 18 off 7
Honse                     4 for 16 off 8
Rob                         2 for 3 off 4.1
Tom                         1 for 4 off 2
Edward                     1 for 11 off 3
Dave                          1 for 38 off 5
James                        0 for 29 off 5

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TWCC v Crescent September 2nd 2012
Match drawn: TWCC 170 for 7 (42 overs) Crescent 161 for 5 (40 overs) 
This was Jim’s match. He hit 41 quick runs to give our total some respectability and then bowled tightly for 14 overs to prevent Crescent from overtaking it. Without him we would have lost: with him we could even have won had he taken a couple of chances - one to dismiss their opener Garoghan who carried his bat. In contrast the Twineham top 3 all fell cheaply in rather turgid fashion having failed to overcome both the bowling and the ankle high grass. Thankfully, Steve (26) batted with spirit and Peter (21) with style, paving the way for a whirlwind knock by George (10 including a huge 6) and then a game-saving partnership between Jim and Mark (31) whose touch grew more sure as his innings progressed. There was just time for Phil to repeat his Steinke scoop of the previous week to bring our total to 170 which Dave Jones assured stand-in skipper James was more than enough.
When, therefore, the Crescent opening pair reached 69 for 0, with some excellent running between the wickets, there were a few long faces. They would have grown longer had not Honse held on to a fine running effort off Dave who bowled a teasing mixture of wicket balls and wides to take 3 for 22. George also made them work hard for their runs but it was Jim’s long spell, aided by some youthful fielding from George and Peter, which really pegged them back.  With the game still in the balance James Rayward was given the responsibility of the penultimate over which he completed nervelessly. Ten were needed off the last but niggardly Jim only conceded a single. 

Twineham

Paul Hunter ct & bowled Baglan 11

Dave Rogers stumped Baglan 2

James Trollope ct x bld Burgess 10

Steve Rogers bowled M Wood 26

Peter Rayward LBW Burgess 21

George Hunter Bld Burgess 10

Jim Simon LBW Wood 41

Mark Rayward Not out 31

Phil Steinke not out 1

 
170 for 7 with 17 extras

 

Crescent

Garoghan  not out 55

Kidman ct Honse bld Jones 32

Holland stumped Jones 0

M Wood ct Phil bld Jones 7

Corter ct ? bld G Hunter 14

Dent lbw Simon 11

Burgess not out 11

 

TWCC Bowling

H Karvay 6 overs 0 for 27

P Hunter 7 overs 0 for 31

D Jones    7 overs  3 for 22

J Simon 14 overs 1 for 43

G Hunter 5 overs 1 for 19
Rayward 1 over 8 for 0

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TWCC v Ashurst September 9th 2012
Was this the last true summer day of the season?  We will find out over the next three weeks, but it was a beautiful afternoon.  The author's late arrival, meant news of the toss is unavailable: though his lateness, coupled with the paucity of players, may well have dictated TWCC as having to bat first.  Because we were but 9, taking on a team,

who, when they can put out a team, normally play well on their own unique pitch and beat us.  35 overs a side was to be the form:  Paul and James led off and Paul put his heart into it:  literally.  Smacked on the chest by a rising ball, it fell (rather than pinged) and trickled onto the stumps.  And that is but one example of what this

troublesome strip was to offer during the afternoon.  Effort balls flew up at the batsmen, many others stayed low:  it was not going to be a pitch for long innings.  It would be easy to say that young George Hunter realised this and therefore played with spectacular abandon as a result:  but in fact, George simply played as he normally does:  with spectacular abandon.  But this was something special.  going in when

the score was just 6, he scored a 37 ball 79!  The 50 was positively sedate:  28 balls!  After that he opened his shoulder including 3 sixes  from successive balls.  It was wonderful entertainment, 6 sices and 8 fours.  He teased the fielders who teetered on the edge of the boundary to see the balls perfectly weighted to cross the rope.  He threatened the main window of the clubhouse, missing it by 3 inches - the mark is

there to prove it.  And in hindsight, what we realised at the time came to pass:  it was the innings that decided the match.   The best statistic is undoubtedly the one that reads that George and James shared a stand of 60.  George 60, James 0.  When James was caught, Steve came in and buoyed by George's efforts, played some excellent

attacking strokes himself.  Inevitably George's masterpiece had to end on a pitch where no two balls bounced the same, so he was finally clean bowled.  However by this time we were already into the 80s in just the 10th over.  Steve took things on further and we were into the 140s:  and really excellent and valuable innings` by the two Daves brought us up to 168 when the innings finally closed in the 29th over:  an

excellent score with just 9 in the team.    Tea was very pleasant and we predicted it would be close.  So it would prove.  Matt Brock opened up with a fine spell of aggressive fast bowling, not afraid to use his pace to send down plenty of bouncers and make the most of the pitch.  It paid off:  his first wicket came after their opener had been forced to duck and dive after a couple of superb bouncers:  he tried to reply

by swatting the next ball away but only sent it gently to midwicket.  Two balls later it was a fine ball `in the corridor` for a nick behind and Ashurst were in difficulty. Brock the elder took over from the younger took a further couple of wickets:  including a safe catch from James who had inspiringly moved himself to gully just the ball before.  But Ashurst had batsmen who would come out full of aggressive shots and the match swung one way and another between great shots and vital wickets.  Dave Jones, in a really good spell of tight bowling, took two wickets, but Ashurst were closing in on the score.  Just 28 needed off 7 overs, 3wickets left.  James brought himself on.  Their number 9, Levon, who had been clubbing it hard and long and was threatening to win them the game, swatted James high towards deep midwicket.  Waiting on the boundary was Paul.  With rainclouds overhead, seeing the ball

was difficult:  but he ran forward and plucked the ball out of the air for a great and vital catch.  Two balls later, a similar shot, but this time Paul arrowed a return in for James to remove the bails for a memorable run out: t`was like we were 21 again.   It was left to Richard to take the last wicket and TWCC won an exciting game by 22 runs.  It was a wonderful team effort, everyone played a part and for nine men, a victory against the odds.   

 

TWCC vs Ashurst

P Hunter                                   Bowled Gretton                        1

J Trollope                                 Ct  Bowled Anderson               1

G Hunter                                  Bowled Johnson                       79

S Rogers                                  Bowled Harvard                       35

R Brock                                   Bowled Havard                        10

D Rogers                                  Not out                                    11

M Brock                                  Bowled Havard                        11

P Steinke                                  Bowled Levoy                          2
D Jones                                    Bowled Levoy                          9

TOTAL                        168  (29 OVERS)

 

Fall:  6-1, 66-2, 105-3, 145-4, 150-5, 150-7, 157-8.

 

Bowling:  Irvine: 5-1-34-0, Gretton 7-0-35-2, Johnson 2-0-22-1, Levoy 8-2-32-2, Havard 7-3-14-3.

 

Ashurst 

Fischer                                     Ct S Rogers, Bld G Hunter       34

Harrison                                   Ct Trollope Bld M Brock         8

A Ware                                    C S Rogers Bld M Brock         0

N Smith                                    Bowled  R Brock                     14

J Johnson                                 Ct Trollope Bld R Brock          5

S Dod                                      Ct S Rogers Bld Jones  1

J Johnson                                 Bowled Jones                           21

M Irwin                                    not out                          23

L Levon                                   Ct P Hunter, Bld Trollope         21

M Hayward                              Run out (P Hunter)                   0

S Gretton                                 Bowled R Brock                      0

                                                            TOTAL 146 ALL OUT


Bowling:  M Brock 7-1-25-2, Trollope 5-0-27-1, 5-0-16-0, R Brock 5.3-0-36-3, 5-0-21-2, G Hunter 3-0-21-1.

TWCC win by 22 runs

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TWCC v Bolney CC September 16th 2012
A smile crept over the face of J Bowles, Bolney's youngest player; `Their fast bowler’s not here!.` The inference was clear enough: without our feared pace bowler, Bolney believed we were fodder. Unfortunately for the young man, he clearly hadn’t seen that our fast bowler was indeed there. He opened from the far end, beard flying, spittle spraying at the effort of it all, the Dave Jones of old. Jim opened at the pavilion end after a toss won by the skipper. We (I?) wanted to give ourselves the opportunity to win the match, and felt that TWCC's best chance of that was to bat second. Bolney made a gentle start. Gentle to the point of somnambulance. After the first hour they’d scored just 34. Jim finally got his reward in the second half of his marathon 15 over stint with 3 wickets: it was as good an opening spell as Twineham has seen this year. Richard’s favoured wicket-taking balls, and, indeed, wide and hittable outside the off got the next two wickets, and he then threw down the stumps to run out the aforementioned J Bowles, who didn’t have a chance to enjoy batting without Rob because he was called on a suicide run. Bolney finally awoke in the guise of messrs Rogway and Chaffey who put on 41 in the last 7 overs to give a respectable score of 142 – 7. In fact, they rather ran riot in those final overs, with Tony and James taking most of the punishment. At tea there was more to digest than just sandwiches: Dave Jones announced that this would be his last ever game for TWCC. The time had come to do more fishing! Shock reverberated around the ground. But there was still a match to play. James soon made amends for giving away so many runs with a solid opening: rather more solid than Steve who departed for 0. Tony and James then added 69 for the second wicket and Tony continued to a joyous 84 even after James left him including 10 fours and 5 sixes, all written up by Bolney’s travelling scorers, who are neat, accurate and patient, everything one requires in a good scorer. Our retiring veteran came out at 5 for what he insisted would be his final innings. It was – in so many ways – a fitting finale to a glorious career; he lasted 3 balls and made 0. Anyway, when Tony’s bat-flailing came to an end, caught behind the stumps, we were still 21 runs short and Bolney had introduced their two fastest bowlers. Edward didn’t help much, in and out for 1. With just 10 in the team the end of our batting line up was in sight: but the reassuring figure of Dave Rogers strode out. He guided us home for the second week running, painstakingly grinding out the singles with Richard to cross the threshold. Victory was ours with 3 overs to spare.

Scorecard
Bolney lost the toss and were asked to bat.
Bolney Innings: J Collins Ct S Rogers Bld J Simon 23; C Bunce Ct T Pearce Bld J Simon 19; S Adby Bld J Simon 10; S Bowles Ct J Trollope Bld R Brock 0; M Swaine    Ct T Pearce Bld R Brock    5; N Ridgway Ct R Brock    Bld T Pearce 39; J Bowles Run out (R Brock) 2; D Chaffey Not out 27; M Madden Not out 5. TOTAL 142-7 (43 OVERS).
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 15-3-26-3; D Jones 8-0-21-0; R Brock 9-2-19-2; H Karvay 7-0-39-0; J Trollope 2-0-19-0; T Pearce 2-0-15-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld J Collins 28; S Rogers Ct J Collins Bld S Bowles 0; T Pearce Ct C Bunce Bld M Swaine 84; H Karvay Bld D Chaffey 4; D Jones    LBW Bld M Swaine 0; R Brock Not out 15; E Bunn Ct J Collins Bld M Swaine 1; D Rogers Not out 2. TOTAL 143-6 (37.2 OVERS)
DNB: J Simon, P Steinke
Fall:  7-2, 76-1, 99-4, 121-5, 122-3, 126-7.
Bolney Bowling: J Bowles 5-0-25-0; S Bowles 7-1-28-1; M Madden 4-0-15-0; D Chaffey 5-2-20-1; J Collins 10-1-37-1; M Swaine 6.2-1-12-3.
TWCC won by 3 wickets


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T
WCC 2011 Season
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TWCC v Brunswick Village April 24th 2011
Richard won the toss and decided to put his side through fielding in the heat, which is what anyone would have done I suspect. Matt and Jim opened the bowling, with Matt struggling to find his length and being swiped for a few fours. Jim took a wicket in his first over and although his performance went slowly downhill from that point, with Rob having replaced Matt Brunswick were unable to really get going with any freedom. Indeed, they put up several chances so that TWCC could get in some useful dropping practice. Rob, steaming in from the Downs End, had several sitters put down and, in the end, had to hit the stumps and produce a caught-and-bowled in order to trouble the wickets column at all. Richard, replacing Jim, produced a cunning blend of 4-balls and pearlers, and also a lovely flighted wide full-toss that provoked a suicidal smack to Matt in the gully who clung on to a great reaction catch. Fernandopulle and Hawthorn were putting on some useful runs as the grassy outfield proved to be surprisingly quick; good shots would run for four. Uncharacteristically Fernandopulle's innings was far from chanceless, maybe some early season rustiness, and he was put down off both Jim and, more often, Rob, and Fernandopulle looked as if he might be allowed to lead a charmed life through to whatever score he chose. Rob eventually removed Hawthorn for 36, and Jim contrived a freaky mis-field/run-out direct hit to remove Fernadopulle thus denying him the chance to further embarrass us in the field. The run out was certainly a key moment in the game, for after Fernandopulle was out for 42 the game turned once more TWCC's way and some control was regained. Honse and Matthew Brock bowled well at a time when the visitors were hitting out, Honse tying them down with some accurate bowling and Matthew, though being a little expensive, was also successful ending up with 2 wickets to his name. Tom Rydon sprinted in, expending more energy with every ball than anyone else did in the entire afternoon, and frequently threatened to expose weaknesses in the slips (though Jim had, by then, been moved on). The visitors, in spite of appearing to be being tied down somewhat, did, with Funnell and Green scoring 29 and 22 respectively, push the final visitor's score up to a slightly worrying 195 for 7.
The first tea of the season went down well, and Paul and James strode to the wicket full of cake and with nothing but heavy scoring and being out LBW in their minds. Paul's second ball from J Funnell swung back onto his foot and though unhappy to have had to give Paul out, umpire Jim felt that it was the correct decision and still does, though Paul thought a bit of bat had been involved. A very different start to the year for Paul who in this same fixture dominated with a century, which is a shame for him after a long winter, and TWCC were on 0 for 1, an ominous start.
The LBW brought Rob to the crease, and there began Richard's afternoon of pad-occupancy in the pavilion. James and Rob, survived both fast swing and temptation in the form of dob, and soon the score board began to tick over. And over. And over. The bowling was good and relatively tight, but the combined discipline and concentration shown by James and Rob were a real treat to witness.
At drinks, with 20 overs to go, TWCC needed about 100 to win, with only one wicket down; a good position after a start that could have heralded a TWCC problem innings. Selective heavy striking and restrained pushes for simple singles propelled TWCC towards the winning total. James and Rob loosened up as the total drew nearer, and some mighty blows meant that TWCC's stock of spare balls is already down to just one for the rest of the season. Hedges were cleared, spare balls were being dispatched, found, sent back and lost again.
Thanks must go to the weather for allowing such a pleasant match early in the season, and to Brunswick Village for their friendly sporting attitude to the game. A good fixture, this one, with our two evenly-matched sides always making for a good game. Off to the Royal Oak then; Rob's jug and Paul's thoughts of what might have been. It was also pleasant change to be joined by James who rarely joins the beer-driven post-mortems but who presumably persuaded himself this time so that he could do a bit of glory-basking.
Statistically minded observers are interested in the partnerhip of 166 - is that a TWCC record? Have all the required runs in a second innings ever been scored in a single partnership? Will Paul ever speak to Jim again? Has anyone ever worn a set of pads in the pavilion for as long as Brocky now has? Be sure not to miss next week's Gazette! Streat and Westmeston - another good one - let's hope the weather holds...

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field first.
Brunswick Village Innings: S Mulford bld J Simon 5; C Hawthorn bld R Rydon 36; A Fernandopulle run out 42; C Burton ct & bld R Rydon 32; K Bradley ct & bld M Brock 20; L Maysey ct M Steinke bld R Brock 3; A Wickremesingh (apologies if not spelled correctly) LBW bld M Brock 29; J Funnell not out 22. DNB D Green, G Funnell, K Barrs.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 3-0-23-0; J Simon 8-1-38-1; R Rydon 8-2-27-2; R Brock 6-1-28-1; J Karvey 4-0-15-0; M Brock 5-0-34-2; T Rydon 4-0-23-0.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW bld Funnell 0; J Trollope not out 75; R Rydon not out 115. DNB R Brock, E Bunn, J Simon, A Rydon, M Steinke, J Karvey, T Rydon, M Brock.
TWCC win by 9 wickets.

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC May 1st 2011
No Richard, so Skipper Simon and Stan Spiegel discussed life in general in the middle for a bit, then Stan flipped a coin, Jim called heads, and, Lo! It was heads. TWCC bowling first.
Matt, finding his form now that his fishing had worn off, opened from the North End, and immediately had the batters paying his balls the respect they deserved. Soon the crack of ball on stumps was heard and Matt had his first wicket of the season, clean bowled. In a surprise move Jim had opened with Honse from the Downs end, and his alternative mid-European style soon provided chances and fours in equal measure. He was unlucky not to have taken a wicket, though he did have a catch taken (yes; caught!) (In someone's hands!) off a high no-ball. As the Honse magic began to wear off Jim put Phil on, newly accupunctured, and he was soon back to his old form and Tony, fending off bouncing balls in the field at deepish cover point, was finally presented with one that got to him before bouncing, and he caught it! Phil's first wicket of the year.
Streat and Westmeston began to be tied down, and only limited runs were being scored, but neither was anything much happening, so Jim took Matt off and put Paul on to "make something happen." What happened was a cracking four through mid-off, but, gradually, the line and length began to be within normal parameters, and Paul, too, was containing. Contain, contain... So it went on. Time for another change. With a side devoid of left-handers, Jim thought James' off-breaks from the Downs End would present no easy fours if a shorter ball occurred, but that there was every chance of the slope and uneven bounce producing wickets. And thus began one of those spells that only come along rarely, when the arm is golden and the batters obliging. Balls were missed, and Steve, responsible for a large part of James' success, made two stumpings and took a sharp catch behind the stumps. In total James caused the downfall of six Streat players, including that great rarity; a hat-trick! So many wickets fell, and so quickly, that Stan had to run and find his batting gear in his car! Some other people bowled, Mikey taking the final wicket in what would have been the last over before tea, and Streat were all out for 151.
So, how good a score was 151? How tricky the wicket? Did Streat and Westmeston have a James Trollope up their sleeve?
In a nutshell the answers to these questions were, in order, not very good, not very and no. Paul and James opened, as is there wont, though I might suggest that we vary this modestly in order to give the likes of Steve, Edward and Mikey a bat before they stop bothering to turn up. James, mind in the skies after his heady performance, "only" managed 14, which brought Tony to the crease to join Paul who was already heading towards a big score. There appeared to be nothing in the wicket but I suspect that this was an illusion and that our two Knights of the Willow were simply seeing a big ball and hitting it hard in the general direction of the hedge. Paul rattled past his 50 on his way to 77 not-out (10 fours, 2 sixes), and Tony, ever accelerating as the winning total neared, reached an eventual 47 not-out (7 fours (he reached 28 with all fours before bothering with anything else) and an all-run five and 2 sixes), clearing the pavilion and losing the ball for a final six to win the match.
Pub pub pub beer jug chat laugh cheese and onion Stan beer beer guffaw milk (odd but true...) pub laugh and there you go; cricket at its best.
TWCC stride on, no-one gets a bat beyond No. 3, Dave didn't get a bowl (sorry Dave), and we hope to see LBW's amongst the top order again soon.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and chose to field first.
Streat and Westmeston Innings: S Barrs St Rogers Bld Trollope 48; C Mansfield Bld M Steinke 9; S Forster Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 34; B Baxter Ct Karvay Bld Trollope 11; R Spurr run out 11; R Baxter Ct Rogers (wkt) Bld Trollope 1; P Davison Ct Simon Bld M Pearce 11; P Wise St Rogers Bld Trollope 4; R Church LBW Trollope 0; M Tombleson Bld Trollope 0; S Spiegel not out 0.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 10-2-27-1; H Karvay 5-0-15-0; P Steinke 9-2-21-1; P Hunter 8-0-37-0; J Trollope 7-1-25-6; J Simon 4-0-18-0; M Pearce 1-0-2-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter not out 77; J Trollope Bld Tombleson 14; T Pearce not out 47. DNB S Rogers, E Bunn, M Pearce, D Jones, J Simon, H Karvay, M Steinke, P Steinke.
Streat and Westmeston Bowling; M Tombleson 6-0-43-1; R Baxter 3-0-24-0; R Church 3-0-15-0; P Davison 2-0-24-0; P Wise -1-0-16-0; S Forster 1-0-11-0; S Spiegel 1-0-10-0.
TWCC win by 9 wickets
.

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TWCC v Greys May 8th 2011
Already this year the hard pressed TWCC archivists have been working frantically trying to keep up with back to back 9 wicket victories, 6 wicket hauls, hat-tricks and the like.  This day was to throw another cracker on the fire of Twineham cricket:  when was the last time 19 wickets fell in a home match?  Whilst the record keepers shuffle off to blow the dust off fraying scorebooks, here are the details of a fine afternoon’s cricket.
We came into the match on the back of two victories with few players having had very much to do so far this season.  Only 4 players had actually batted in the first two matches, and it was clear that we needed to get more people some good cricket, which generally means a bat!  So rather than go for the cut-throat manoeuvre of bowling first, Richard decided that a winning toss would mean we would bat.  As it was he lost but they put us in:  perfect. 
Steve opened with Paul and they faced good tight opening bowling.  Steve looked a little ring-rusty but they kept the scoreboard moving along until Paul was bowled on 13.  Tony came to the wicket and went on to dominate proceedings as he so often does.  Steve’s well ground out innings ended on 24, and the rest came and went as bit parts to the Tony Pearce show, with 14 fours and 3 sixes.  But happily everybody had a bat, some lovely shots from Matt and a great cut from Honse.  Only Matthew Brock failed to face a ball as we eked out every run to finish on 207-9, this despite a 5 wicket haul in just two overs from Line.  After another delicious tea from Hannah Brock, Matt and Jim set about the Grey’s openers, with – remarkably – the original match ball, found numerous times despite Tony’s attempts to lose it in the fields.  And Jim made great use of the shine to move it around, whilst Matt’s pace had the openers playing and missing.  Eventually Jim claimed the controversial first wicket:  an LBW which the umpire gave, the batsman contested and the fielders shrugged unknowingly:  it had to stand because there was no unanimity that it struck the bat first.   Anyway that brought in a chap well known to us here in Twineham:  a small Australian called Covill who is a fine bat, but also – refreshingly – a modest, pleasant and thoroughly sporting fellow.  He took the bowlers to task, sparing no bad balls and rather a large number of good ones.  James couldn’t repeat the magic of last week though did get the other opener with a catch at midwicket while Honse continues his remarkable upward learning curve of bowling.  Because of Mr Covill the game was still there to be won by either side as the 20 overs came up:  they needed around 6 an over with plenty of wickets in hand.  The decisive bowling change came – and not for the first time – with Phil who took a wicket in his first over, caught quite brilliantly in the slips by Edward. An early contender for catch of the season, he got those great fingers beneath it an inch from the grass.  Another exceptional catch from Jim, diving forward to scoop another ball up got Honse his wicket.  Finally the skipper felt the need for some early season cheap wickets, one eye as ever on those figures.  It turned out to be a decisive first over:  two wickets came from it and suddenly victory appeared possible.  But what were we going to do about `him`.  The field was an ever-changing organism, moving in and out as the batsmen crossed or the last ball of the over loomed.    And finally it paid dividends:  with great credit to the spirit of the game, Covill kept going for the win when others might have shut up shop:  and launched into one shot which flew high, high into the air around deep midwicket.  Matt sprinted towards it, needing luck to make the ground let alone take the catch.  But take it he did, a brilliant running catch on a day of great catches.  One wicket to go and a number 11 who liked to play his shots.  He teased the field twice before deciding on a suicidal run, and whilst the two batsmen stopped in the middle of the pitch, Edward calmly threw the ball in and the bails were removed. A great day’s cricket, another win, everybody involved, a happy club.  For now..... 

Scorecard
Greys won the toss and chose to bowl first
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct Bld Southon 13; S Rogers Ct Bld Line 24; T Pearce Bld Line 113; J Simon Ct Bld Line 5; E Bunn    Ct Bld Line 8; J Trollope Ct Bld Azari 15; M Steinke Bld Partridge 14; J Karvay    Ct Bld Hoare 7; R Brock    Ct Covill Bld Line 0; M Brock not out 0; P Steinke not out 0.
TOTAL  207-9 (42 OVERS)
Greys Bowling; Hoare: 8.3.21.1; Day 8-1-24-0; Sewell 11-0-57-3; Azami 7-0-57-0; Partridge 4-0-28-1; Covill 2-0-15-0; Line 2-1-2-5.
Fall:  22, 107, 120, 164, 173, 200, 201, 207, 207
Greys Innings: Brasher Ct R Brock Bld Trollope 25; Line LBW Bld J Simon 2; Covill Ct M Steinke Bld R Brock 88; Fenton Ct J Simon Bld J Karvay 0; Gallagher Ct E Bunn Bld P Steinke 16; Burgess Ct P Hunter Bld P Steinke 12; Day Bld R Brock 1; Partridge Ct wkt S Rogers Bld R Brock 0; Sewell not out    2; Hoare Ct J Trollope Bld P Steinke 0; Azami run out (Bunn) 1.
TOTAL: approx 160 all out (scorebook didn’t show final total) (37 OVERS)

TWCC Bowling
M Steinke  7-2-35-0; J Simon 6-1-15-1; J Trollope 6-0-34-1; J Karvay 5-1-29-1; P Steinke 7-0-18-3; M Brock 3-0-18-0; R Brock 3-0-6-3.
TWCC won by 47 runs (until we hear differently)

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TWCC v Moulsecoomb May15th 2011
Would you like your game cooked or overcooked sir.....? In-keeping with our exciting and attack minded approach so far this season, Richard strode out to the middle to win the toss and bat, put up a big score and them scuttle Moulsecoomb for 100.  Unfortunately he lost the toss, but Moulsecoomb obliged by putting us in.
Steve set off in great style, clubbing big fours around the ground.  James was his more thoughtful self, building up his concentration over a period of time, digging in.  So when Steve’s 21 came to an end with a wild swing, he had 5 fours to his name, and a bloodied ear where he turned his back on a bouncer but forgot to duck.  Mikey’s stay was short – full of style but little substance – but when Tony came in at 4, the scoring rate failed to accelerate as we might have hoped.  Some helpful advice from the pavilion during drinks `get a bloody move on` helped Tony find his focus:  he soon powered past James’ score, beating him to 50 and again set about trying to lose balls into the neighbouring field.  The fun lasted for 51 balls and brought Tony 79 and suddenly we were looking at a very big score.  Moulsecoomb helped this by bringing on Shane Lightly whose bowling contribution was 55 runs and one wicket in 4 overs.  When Tony eventually holed out to Mr Lightly, Edward joined James and they continued to make excellent progress. Only the reluctant urn – as it turned out fortunately - prevented us from an early declaration: and we finished on a massive 242 for 3, James unable to use the last 4 balls to move from 94 to his century, despite massive air shots.
The bowling attack started well:  Matt was bowling fast and straight and took 2 wickets in his spell, though Mikey, Honse, Joe Panther  and Tony all drew blanks.  Joe was expensive but his overs threw up a couple of chances which we dropped, whilst the Moulsecoomb batsmen (both called Branford) continued to attack our total. But was it one over too many? His fourth over cost 19 and left them needing 105 from the last 20 overs, with the numbers 3 and 4 hitting hard and making us pay for dropped catches. The match had definitely changed: we needed wickets to keep control and were in danger of letting it slip away. Who ya gonna call in a situation like that? Phil of course: and he gave us the wicket we needed on the 9th ball of his spell. A stand of 117 was broken though they still needed only 5 an over, which soon slipped down to just 4 an over. A dropped catch led to a runout by Richard a couple of overs later: but all the time their number 4 T Branford was in, the match looked likely to go Moulsecoomb’s way. Four overs to go, 20 needed: Richard was bowling from the pavilion end: an LBW shout and Kevin Cooke, Moulsecoomb stalwart for many years and the umpire at the time slowly raised his finger, giving Mr Branford out on 96!  Moulsecoomb simply didn’t have the heavy-hitting required to get the rest of the runs: and the match ended with them on 237-6, 6 short of victory and a draw it was.

Scorecard
TWCC lost the toss and batted
TWCC Innings: S Rogers Bld Gibson 21;J Trollope not out 94;M Pearce Ct& Bld Gibson 6; T Pearce Ct Bld S. Lightly 79E Bunn not out 32; TOTAL 242-3
Fall:  34-2, 40-3, (rest not recorded) DNB: H Karvay, J Panther, D Jones, M Steinke, R Brock, P Steinke.
Moulsecoomb bowling: D McGowan 15-3-61-0; J Gibson 11-1-55-2; D Sherwin 6-1-20-0; S Branford 4-0-36-0; S Lightly 4-0-55-1.
Moulsecoomb Innings: M Hunston Ct S Rogers (wk) Bld M Steinke 0; K Cooke Ct Trollope Bld M Steinke 32; S Branford LBW Bld P Steinke 66; T Branford LBW Bld R Brock 96; D Sherwin run out (R Brock) 11; P Langhorn not out 11; S Lightly Ct M Pearce  Bld R Brock 6; A Fowler not out 1.
TOTAL   237-6
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 7-4-25-2; M Pearce 4-0-27-0; J Panther 4-0-63-0; H Karvay6-1-35-0; T Pearce 2-0-21-0; R Brock 9-0-40-2; P Steinke 7-0-32-1.
Match Drawn


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Bolney v TWCC May 22nd 2011
Traditionally TWCC manage to embarrass themselves with forlorn under-achievement when playing Bolney.  Last season's 72 all out comes to mind.  So it was that we checked with Mrs Rydon months in advance to ensure Wineham's finest would be available for us:  and how happy that he was, because boy did we need him.  After winning the toss and opting to continue our great batting of late, our top four managed 17 runs between them as we slipped from a comfortable 6 without loss to 29-4. But then the first of two crucial stands, both involving Rob, turned the game our way. 18 from Edward in a stand of 49 clawed us back into contention, then a flourishing and flouncy 56 from Mikey with a free flowing Rob added another 97.  We were in the game, and the pity is Rob was caught on 91.  Jo Panther's 12 from 3 balls helped put the total higher still and by the time Phil was bowled from the penultimate ball of the last over, we'd reached 210, a truly defendable score, and more like our true selves.  A lovely tea supplied as ever by Bolney and then off to work.  Bolney reached 39 in just 7 overs thanks to JMS Flower spanking hard driven fours.  But we kept our cool and after a couple of maidens, Mr Flower became impatient and drove Matt for a towering shot to long off where Richard nervously danced around before taking the catch - a very big wicket!   And it became synonymous with the day:  a day when all the catches were held.  Rob re-entered the fray this time as bowler:  and took 3 wickets, sharp catches to Steve and Richard.  Phil took 2 great  catches and Tony 3 as the Bolney resistance crumbled at one end:  two wickets for James, one for Honse, one for Matt.  Whilst the opener, J Moore, refused to budge all innings and finished not out on 34, at the other end no Bolney batsman after Flower made double figures:  in fact 6 made noughts.  So who can blame the skipper for bringing himself on at the end of this carnage for a quick 3 wickets in 11 balls for 1 run:  he has his figures to think about!!!   He took the last two wickets in two balls leaving a hat-trick open when the opportunity presents!  Bolney were skittled out for just 81, with overs to spare:  clearly not their strongest side, but a day to remember for both teams.  And remarkably, another 20 wickets match!

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bat
TWCC Innings:J Trollope    Ct B Griffin Bld JMS Flower 4; S Rogers    LBW JMS Flower 10; T Pearce Ct Flower Bld Madden 1; R Brock Bld Madden 2; R Rydon Ct J Gathern Bld JMS Flower 91; E Bunn Ct Matthews Bld D Flower 18; M Pearce Run out 56; J Panther Bld S Matthews 12; M Steinke Bld JMS Flower 3; H Karvay not out 0; P Steinke Bld JMS Flower 0. TOTAL 210 All Out.
Bolney Bowling: James Flower 13.5-2-39-5; M Madden 8-2-30-2; D Flower 7-0-44-1; S Bowles7-0-54-0; Matthews 5-0-39-1.
Fall:  6-1, 19-2, 20-3, 29-4, 78-6, 175-5, 188-8, 210-7, 210-9, 210-10.
Bolney Innings: J  Moore not out 34; JMS Flower Ct R Brock Bld M Steinke 27; D Tyler Ct WK S Rogers Bld Rydon 1; J Gathern Bld Rydon 0; S Bowles Ct P Steinke Bld Trollope 4; D Bridge Ct T Pearce Bld Trollope    0; B Griffin Ct R Brock Bld Rydon 4; D Flower Ct T Pearce Bld H Karvay 0; S Matthews Bld R Brock 0; M Madden Ct P Steinke Bld R Brock 0; J Flower Ct T Pearce Bld R Brock 0. TOTAL 81 All Out.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke    6-1-21-1; P Steinke 7-1-22-0;R Rydon 6-5-4-3; J Trollope 4-1-17-2; M Pearce 2-0-11-0; H Karvay 3-2-1-1; R Brock 1.5-0-1-3.
Fall:  39-1, 46-2, 46-3, 59-4, 59-5, 68-6, 73-7, 80-8, 81-9, 81-10.
TWCC win by 129 runs.

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TWCC v Xiles May 29th 2011
We gathered in the dressing room on this grey and breezy day to hear Richard announce to those members of the team who were not aware the terrible news that Jonathan’s son Angus had lost his fight for life. Our thoughts and our sympathy go out to Jonathan and Liz. We signed a card of condolence that was sent to their home. We look forward to welcoming Jonathan back when he feels the time is right. 
With that awful news broken, we took to the field. TWCC were looking to go into June undefeated, so confidence was high. 7 fifties and 2 centuries were already secured in the first 5 games, so we sought to build on that against Xiles of Brighton. Richard won the toss and with this form, he felt he had to bat: but he opened with Mikey (to stop his whining) and Steve and between them they put on 36, with Mikey looking in fine form and very correct. After Steve was caught for 7, Tony came in but never go to grips with an attack which was generally accurate though not totally threatening. So Tony departed for just 12, a rare failure. In came James, and he set about his task like the James of old: perhaps one should say the revitalised James, since he is having a stunning season. A slow start, getting to grips with the bowling and the pace of the pitch, punishing the bad balls: everything that has made him the supreme batsman he is today. Matt kept him company for a long time: in fact their stand was 76, of which Matt as the junior partner scored 7 before he was run out. But it was great experience for him and James continued on with Edward, Joe and eventually Jim before he claimed his century in the last over before tea with one of two towering sixes, to go with his 16 fours. It was an excellent innings, built steadily but with the runs piled on at the end helping the score to reach 94-6. It meant Richard had the option once again of being able to set up an attacking field for the openers, Matt and Jim. Unfortunately, this was to be one of those days where the catches didn’t stick. Matt had a chance put down – a routine catch to Mikey at third slip. Steve let a difficult low chance slip, even Edward shelled one off Richard later in the innings. These chances were to cost us. We didn’t pick up a wicket with either opener, and only when Phil replaced Matt did we get the breakthrough, a catch at a well placed fly slip. Richard bowled the other opener and Mikey weighed in with a brilliantly casual run out from the covers. But the wickets came only occasionally, not the flurry we needed. Only when James came on on this his finest day did they tumble: he took 3 wickets, though the term `assisted suicide` comes to mind because two were heaves to deep square leg and one was stumped. Anyway the numbers 7 and 8 showed fortitude and – in fairness – a willingness to keep going for their shots: but by this time Xiles were way behind. They actually finished on 174-6. A quiet draw.
 
Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and opted to bat
TWCC Innings: M Pearce Bld Miller 35; S Rogers Ct?? Bld Miller 7; T Pearce Ct ??? Bld Wilcox 12 J Trollope not out 103; M Steinke Run out 7; E Bunn Bld Weston 3; J Panther Bld Miller 3; J Simon Not out 2.
TOTAL 194-6 DNB: D Rogers, R Brock, P Steinke.
Bowling: (40 overs) Leslie 7-1-22-0; Miller 11-1-57-3; Wilcox 9-2-30-0; Chigwin 6-0-24-0; Hooper 3-0-19-0; Weston 4-0-38-0. Fall: 36-2, 50-1, 62-3, 129-5, 155-5, 168-7.
Xiles Innings: Hooper Bld R Brock 34; Hannant Ct T Pearce Bld  P Steinke 30; Blakeston run out (M Pearce) 0; Cambell Ct Bunn Bld Trollope 21; Petche Ct Bunn Bld Trollope 4; Stead St Rogers (wk) Bld Trollope 13; Leslie not out 29; Chidwick not out 33.
TOTAL 174-6
Bowling: M Steinke 8-1-38-0; J Simon 9-3-12-0; P Steinke 7-3-11-1; R Brock 9-0-49-1; J Trollope 6-0-28-3; M Pearce 2-0-20-0; D Rogers 1-0-12-0.
Match Drawn

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Parham Park v TWCC June 5th 2011
Following last year’s successful first fixture with Parham Park, we were invited back to this gloriously-set cricket ground. We still had to use the tradesman’s entrance so that neither the house owners nor members of the public would be shocked by Mikey’s "three quarters of the way down his arse" skinny jeans, though Dave Rogers flew the flag by turning up at the house entrance, whilst the rest of us gathered at the back!  It was grey and gloomy, rain was in the air. Literally. And by the time the toss was lost and we were asked to bowl, the threat of rain became a reality. Still we settled down to our job with the irregular opening pair of Jim and Honse, and very well they did. They kept a tight line on a slow pitch which offered a little to seam, and they broke through the opening pair with barely 20 on the board. It came as a result of a fantastic running catch in the rain from Joe Panther from Honse’s bowling and was just the break we were after. Honse also accounted for the other opener with a good LBW shout, which brought to the wicket Mr Williams, known to Phil to be a good all-round player. But the rain was not making the pitch easy and so it was that with just 2 to his name, he was rapped on his pad by Jim and the finger went up. Williams, a young man with obvious talent but little good grace, was initially incredulous and unmoving, his `advice` to the umpire as he stormed off was heard by most of those present, his bat flew in one direction and his gloves in the other before he’d left the field of play. Back with cricket, Phil then chipped in with the first of two clean-bowled wickets, but then the rain came down harder and we took an early (excellent) tea. During the interval, with Parham on 79-4, the skies cleared somewhat and we picked up where we left off; tight bowling, rather laboured fielding from the over thirty's, but excellent catching, as demonstrated by James’s elastic arm catch off Joe, and Honse’s diving catch from Mikey’s medium-pacers. The 9th wicket went down at 130 when Parham called it a day. Excellent bowling all round, with 3 wickets for Mikey, 2 for Phil and Honse and one a piece for Joe and Jim. Boundaries had been hard to get because of the rain and long, harsh grass in the outfield, so it was a score that was not too far below par.
We turned straight round, because the rain was starting to fall quite heavily again. Steve fell early but Tony and James forged ahead, and began making light work of the total we faced, moving at 5 an over, despite the accurate and pacy bowling threat posed by the newly returned and more cheerful Williams. They reached 77 before James was bowled, well on the way to our target. Richard moved himself up the order – because he can – but then began to justify the move as he cracked off a couple of boundaries and kept the score moving briskly. Tony was unusually clean-bowled on 49, but Edward came in as the rain continued and the game was safely put to bed with 8 overs to spare.
A good all-round performance in testing conditions, with the meanness of the bowlers and the excellence of the catches being the deciding factors.
Our thanks to Parham for sharing in our hardiness in the face of rain, and for their hospitality.

Scorecard
Parham Park  won the toss and elected to bat.
Parham Park Innings: Wales Ct Panther Bld Karvay 12; B Huffe LBW Bld Karvay 21; Vander  Bld P Steinke 15; Williams LBW Bld Simon 2; MoodySt S Rogers Bld Panther 36; Bolton Bld P Steinke 17; Fraser Ct Karvay Bld M Pearce 6; Brooks Bld M Pearce 1; Ferret Ct Trollope Bld M Pearce 2; Jones not out  7; TOTAL 130-9  (40 overs).
DNB: Mitchell.
Bowling: J Simon 10-3-20-1; H Karvay 7-1-26-2; M Pearce 10-1-31-3; P Steinke 9-1-25-2; E Bunn 6-0-25-0, J Panther 2-0-13-1.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld 46 (56); S Rogers Bld 0 (2); T Pearce Bld 49 (45); R Brock not out 34 (35); E Bunn not out 11 (19).
TOTAL   131-3 (27 overs) DNB: M Pearce, J Panther, J Simon, H Karvay, D Rogers, P Steinke.
Fall:  2-10, 1-77, 3-91
Bowling:  Morris 7-0-31-1; Frasier 3-0-19-0; Williams 5-1-15-0; Mitchell 5-0-24-1; Moody 4-0-17-1; Vander 2-0-9-0; Jones 1-0-5-0.
TWCC WON BY 7 WICKETS

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TWCC v Headliners June 19th 2011
Toss lost, and TWCC were put in to bat. And it was not hard to see why as the Headliners this year came complete with Proctor, a left-arm swing-bowler of some pace. Good enough, it proved, even to take out first Dave Rogers and then Jim! It took the dogged resistance of Honse and a dampening ball to dull the edge of this penetrating bowler's blade. Fast in-swinging yorkers. Killer blows, raining in from the Downs end along with the rain. However, eventually the squalls subsided (poetic license here; it wasn't raining (though it had been)) and, as the metaphorical clouds lifted, TWCC could look forward to brighter times ahead. Then Paul was out. The third clean-bowled wicket to fall to Proctor and only 38 minutes into the game. Honse, managing better than many to put his bat in the way of the ball, defied the excellence of the bowling, from both ends actually, and managed to rotate the strike to James, which was lucky for Honse as it was James who was facing Paul "Trigger" Hunter as the first LBW appeal rang round the ground. James out for 3. Then in at No. 6 came Wineham lad, Rob Rydon, and after a brief ship-steadying phase his well-schooled talent soon began to fully exert itself. Having seen off the opening bowler who did the damage, Honse was out; LBW to Bryant and Hunter working in combination at the Pavilion End (it may not have been Paul, actually, but who cares?) for a creditable 9, and to the crease strode the lengthy figure of Matt Steinke. Matt joined Rob with the score at 55 for 4 and there followed a lovely purple patch with Rob commanding proceedings and Matt keeping his end up with some glances and pulls to rotate the strike. Rob began to really open up as the fielding side began to tire, and fours and sixes were soon the order of the day as he powered to a mighty 89 not out. Matt, on 34, finally made way for Steve Rogers who manfully batted out the final over without scoring anything at all, and TWCC found that, thanks particularly to Rob, but also to a belligerent and effective Matt, they were able to look another Brock tea full in the face on 195 for 6.
Jonathan and Liz came along for their share of the tea, and I hope they know how pleased their friends at the club were to see them.
Richard opened with Jim and Matthew Brock, neither of whom did any real damage apart from to their figures, and soon wisely decided to get Phil and James going. Phil, of course, had the visitors in some trouble, but it was James' confident looping deliveries that began the Headliners' slide, taking 2 for 20 off seven overs. Richard took off a luckless Phil and thought he'd give Rob a go with the ball.
Bowling fast and true it wasn't long before he picked out Jim at fourth slip, after which sad incident he again thought it best to concentrate on the stumps. Swinging the ball both ways, varying his length, and generally steaming in with the wind behind him, the full ball dipping in to the right-hander was soon clattering into the wickets at regular intervals. Largely unplayable, much, the Editor feels, like Proctor's deliveries at the start of the TWCC innings. Richard, from the Pavilion End, also bowled with great effect into the wind getting the ball to swing away from the right-handers and it was he who took the ninth wicket to fall to finish off the game; nine wickets were enough following the unfortunate injury sustained by a Headliner as he ran in to bowl and who could take no further part in the game.
It was, however, Rob's spell that ensured the win, and he ended with figures of 5 wickets for 8 runs off 7 overs. This, together with scoring 89 not out was such a conspicuously impressive performance that it was no surprise when the TWCC Development Board insisted on Rob providing a urine sample. Not to test, but to drink.

Scorecard
Headliners won the toss and decided to field first.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Bld Proctor 14; D Rogers Bld Proctor 0; J Simon Bld Proctor 6; H Karvay LBW Bryant 9; J Trollope LBW Bryant 3; R Rydon not out 89; M Steinke caught, Bld Talbot 34; S Rogers not out 0. Extras 39.  Total 195 for 6. DNB M Brock, R Brock, P Steinke.
Headliners Bowling: Proctor 8-1-17-3; Bryant 11-3-31-2; Frasier 8-1-40-0; Furbright 5-0-35-0; Boardman 4-0-35-0; J Pearson 5-1-9-0; Hollins 0.2-0-0-0; Talbot 0.4-0-7-0.
Headliners' Innings: M Pearson ct Brydon Bld Trollope 15; Boardman Bld Trollope 22; Neal Ct. M Steinke Bld R Brock 11; Norbury Bld Rydon 11; J Pearson Bld Rydon 0; Bryant Bld Rydon 3; Proctor Bld Rydon 5; Fraser Bld Rydon 0; Talbot Bld Rydon 0; Birthwight not out 0. Extras 3. Total 71 for 9 (all out). Retired hurt and DNB Hollis.
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 5-2-10-0; M Brock 5-0-19-0; Trollope 7-1-20-2; P Steinke 4-0-10-0; Rydon 7-3-8-5; R Brock 4.3-3-1-2.
TWCC win by 124 runs.

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Poynings v TWCC June 26th 2011
Momentous events unfolded on this sun-baked afternoon on the Poynings ground tucked away on the lower slopes of the famous South Downs.  We had just 10, and were up against a team who have frequently taken our scalp over the years.  So the omens were not good and worsened rapidly:  firstly we were told it would be a 40/40 winner takes all:  then we lost the toss and were asked to bowl in temperatures approaching 30c and a pitch which was soft and spongy, offering little to the bowler. Opening with Jim and Mikey, it was immediately clear that the sapping slowness of the pitch would reward only full length and accurate bowling: and that it would be hard to get the ball away, thus a low scoring match seemed likely.  Jim bowled well down the hill, but Mikey struggled to cope uphill with the pitch, its pace, its slope – even its width!!  After just one over – which as it turned out contributed almost 10% of Poynings` eventual total – Mikey was taken off.  Richard brought himself on and immediately found a good line and length, clean bowling their number 2 in his first over.  He repeated the trick with the other opener 2 overs later: and then tempted the number 4 to slice a drive to Mikey in the covers, who picked up a good catch leaping forward to leave Poynings in trouble at 24-3.  A change of bowlers brought Phil down the hill and young Matthew Brock presciently replacing his father. And that’s when a good start became “momentous.” Matthew bowled the next 6 overs near faultlessly. Bowling with good pace, he found perfect full-length balls and a tight off-stump line – and stuck to what proved a winning formula. The first batsman to try to get him away was their no 5, the famously named Knott. He hit a low straight ball to Phil standing next to the bowler at mid-on, who snapped it up inches from the ground.  Whilst Phil continued to bowl tightly at the other end and the runs dried up, 2 overs later Matthew had the dangerous number 3 batsman Jones LBW.  The very next ball he clean-bowled batsman 6, Noms for 2.  The hat-trick didn’t happen but with six wickets down, the only name in the bowler’s column was Brock!  In his fourth over Matthew secured another LBW, this time the number 8 Fowler. Begging to be kept on to try for his first ever fifer, he bowled a beauty on the off stump, caught the edge straight to James at gulley. Who shelled it! Heartbreak…. Despite his tiredness, he came back to bowl another and got another edge from number 9 Brennan: it flew low to Tony at first slip who brilliantly caught it one-handed. Matthew fell to his knees and at the age of 14 years and 159 days, he got his first fifer in competitive cricket. The TWCC archivists are now working hard to establish whether he enters the record books as the youngest `fifer achiever` in TWCC’s recent history: particular attention is being given to the record of one S Simon, once of this parish. Anyway, it was a brilliant effort and his 6 overs had cost only 21 runs. With 8 “Bowled Brock”’s (wow! That's a grammatical challenge! I give up, and give in. Ed.) in the book it was down to Phil to restore order and he neatly bowled their number 10 whilst they were still only in their 70s. And Jim broke a fruitful last stand by getting his first wicket with Poynings all out for 96 from 32.3 overs. As Matthew led the team off to an excellent tea, we knew we would still have to bat well with the sun beating down on us still. Steve and James however started briskly and we moved into the 40s without loss. However James fell for just 17 perhaps partly due to sunstroke, and then came the wobble. Tony was caught on the boundary, hooking, and Dave was clean bowled. And when Steve fell for 40 to a brilliant salmon like catch from one of the oldest players on the field and Jo Panther was bowled, we were still 20+ short of our target. However Jim came in with one of those swishing cameos which are his trademark: a six and a couple of fours – and we were home by 4 wickets (allowing for our 10 men). What a day. One Matthew will never forget, nor his father, and of course also the day when TWCC’s unbeaten run stretched into July!

Scorecard
Poynings won the toss and elected to bat.
POYNINGS INNINGS: T Rapley Bld R Brock 16; S Jenner Bld R Brock 0; A Jones LBW Bld M Brock 24; W Brooks    Ct M Pearce Bld R Brock 10; P Knott Ct P Steinke Bld M Brock 0; G Noms Bld M Brock 0; R Purdew    LBW Bld J Simon 2; K Fowler LBW     Bld M Brock 4; A Brennan Ct T Pearce Bld M Brock 0; L Noms     Bld P Steinke    12; S Latham Not out 11.
TOTAL 96 (17 EXTRAS)
TWCC Bowling: J Simon 7.3-0-26-1; M Pearce 1-0-9-0; R Brock 8-2-13-3; P Steinke 8-3-6-1; M Brock 6-1-21-5; J Panther 1-0-11-0; J Trollope 1-0-5-0.
TWCC INNINGS: J Trollope    Ct Brookes Bld Knott 17; S Rogers Ct Rapley  Bld Brookes 40; T Pearce Ct Latham Bld Brookes    15; D Rogers Bld Latham 0; J Panther Bld Brooks 2; J Simon not out 15; M Pearce not out 2. DNB: M Brock, P Steinke, R Brock (10 men).
TOTAL 98 – 5
Poynings Bowling: L Norris 4-13; K Fowler 4-22; P Knott 5-0-19-1; S Latham 7-0-27-1; W Brooks 3-1-13-3.
TWCC won by 4 wickets

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Wisley v TWCC July 3rd
Like a fine wine, the TWCC squad seems to improve with age: a greater maturity, a rich and personable quality afforded by a perfect blend and the fermentation of ingredients over many years. Even a distinctive aroma!! Much can be said of its constituent parts too, each of which is capable of delivering extraordinary results, week after week. This week, the laurel wreath of glory was to fall firmly onto the sun-burnished bonce of P Steinke. The squad travelled to Wisley to attempt to defend an unbeaten record stretching into July for the second time in three years. We were not helped by a number of our finest batsmen being unable to make the trip: James, Paul and Edward amongst them. However we rounded up 11 of Sussex’s finest and reached Wisley, one of our longest-standing and most pleasant fixtures, in good time. Unhappily for Wisley,it seems RHS Wisley are failing to put the care required into their pitch and outfield, and it shows. What is usually an excellent ground looked in need of much attention. The pitch wasn’t properly cut and the outfield was alive with weeds and there were lots of large holes, dangerous on a cricket field. We wish the Wisley chaps well as they try to persuade the RHS to continue to respect and look after their ground and put aside any schemes to do away with it. Cricket is, after all, as perfect a way of spending a Sunday afternoon as looking round ornate gardens. (Controversial! I can't think of a worse way of spending an afternoon than looking at a garden. Ed.) Anyway, the coin was tossed and came to rest nestling in the deep green grass on the strip.  We lost again, and were asked to bat. The readership won’t be surprised to learn that there was strong lobbying to put Mikey in as opener; from Mikey himself. But it seemed a reasonable shout and Mikey and Steve strode out to begin their task.  Unfortunately, what the lobbyist failed to mention, aside from the promise of plentiful runs and fine style, was the danger of an early exit: and this is exactly what happened, Mikey clean bowled for 4. An unlikely number 3 in the shape of Richard helped, in a rather small way, the score onto 36 before he was LBW for 7. Already the pitch was showing variable bounce and one of their players predicted that 100 would be a good score to beat. But Tony took on the bowling and with Steve playing well yet again, they took the score up to 63 before Steve was given run out by umpire Mikey, despite seeming to be safely home. Tony went for 24, eleven runs later and a cluster of wickets fell for the next 9 runs, leaving us at a dangerous 83-7.  However Jo Panther sprang to the rescue with a spirited and responsible 22 and the Twineham tail wagged long enough to take us to 115 all out. An excellent tea helped us not one jot prepare for our stint in the field, but with determined accuracy required, Richard opted for the father son combination of Matt and Phil to open the bowling. Thus started the second week running of astonishing bowling by a father son double-act. Matt took the first wicket LBW with just 1 run on the board before handing over the baton to his dad: who refused to give it back! Phil delivered a stunning performance, using the bounce, the movement and his field to remarkable effect as he took the next 5 wickets for just 7 runs to leave Wisley in desperate straits on 31-6. Two were clean bowled and three caught with varying degrees of brilliance by Tony at first slip. At the other end, Matt enjoyed no luck whatsoever, having 3 catches dropped, the most glaring being a simple chip to Richard at extra cover, from the opener Kerrigan, the only batsman really offering much resistance.  Honse, Mikey and Matt Brock then bowled well but without success as we attempted to wrap up tha game. The skipper brought himself on and took a couple of wickets including partially making amends by bowling the aforementioned Kerrigan:  but with just 6 of the 20 overs remaining, the only person to turn to to seal the win was – again - Phil.  And sure enough, in his first over back, he got their skipper off the gloves – an excellent walk by the way – and finally a looped catch to Malcolm, guesting for us and sealing our win. Phil’s astounding figures were 11 overs, 8 maidens, 7 for 7. It was a brilliant performance, making excellent use of the pitch and the conditions, and backed up well by the rest of the team on a hot but ultimately victorious 20 wicket afternoon in Surrey. 
Scorecard
Wisley won the toss and elected to field
TWCC Innings: S Rogers    run out 28; M Pearce Bld Prasad    4; R Brock LBW  Bld Kumar 7; T Pearce Bld Prasad 24; D Rogers Bld Ahmed 3; M Steinke Ble J Richards 1; H Karvay    Bld J Richards 4; J Panther Ct J Richards Bld J Richards Jnr 22; M Gasson Bld J Richards Jnr 5; M Brock    Ct J Richards Bld?? 2; P Steinke not out 0. Extras 15 TOTAL 115 all out (41.1 OVERS).
Fall:  7-2, 36-3, 63-1, 74-4, 77-6, 83-7, 83-5, 98-9, 115-10, 115-8
WISLEY Bowling: Prasad 13-5-28-2, Kumar 9-0-26-2, Ahmed 7-0-30-1, J Richards 8-2-14-3, Richards Jnr 4.1-2-11-2.   
WISLEY Innings: M Kerrigan Bld R Brock 30; O Bunce LBW Bld M Steinke 0; M Dickson Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 17; I Pollock Bld P Steinke 0; J Richards Bled P Steinke 7; P Hijesinghe Ct T Pearce  Bld P Steinke    0; Ahmad Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 0; L Swann  not out 7;J Richards  Bld R Brock 0; J Snelling Ct S Rogers Bld P Steinke 1; S Kumar Ct M Gasson Bld P Steinke 0. Extras 6.TOTAL: 68 all out (37 OVERS).
Fall:  1-2, 18-3, 18-4, 31-5, 31-6, 31-7, 63-1, 63-9, 68-10, 68-8. 
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 9-4-22-1, P Steinke 11-8-7-7, J Karvey 4-0-10, M Pearce 5-1-13-0, M Brock 5-0-11-0, R Brock 3-2-1-2.
TWCC WIN BY 47 runs.


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Tintern CC v TWCC July 10th 2011
TWCC went into the match unbeaten this season, and so it turns out did Tintern.  The teams, it is fair to say, whilst both heading in the same direction, plot different routes to reach their destination.  Tintern’s is a more happy go lucky, devil may care approach, TWCC’s is more careful and cautious.  Richard lost the toss and was asked to bowl in a 12 a side match, our numbers boosted by Steve and James Taylor.
With Matt and Jim opening, what looked a dodgy pitch soon proved to be so. It is used as a football pitch in the winter and understandably therefore, the cricket pitch (which doubles as the centre spot) was of variable bounce. Jim’s first wicket was an LBW, a good early strike: but the next pair piled on the runs with heavy-handed batting, sending the balls to the boundaries. But Jim stuck to his line and got another LBW on 40, and with a run out at the same score, we seemed on course to limit their scoring flurry. Unfortunately they were all of the same mind: score lots of runs quickly and brutally. And whilst Matt eventually got an LBW after catches were, as usual, dropped from his bowling, it was Phil  who quelled their run rate with an excellent spell conceding just 19 runs and picking up a wicket. James Taylor picked up two caught and bowled wickets, though also took a bit of a pasting by his team mates eager to show him what they could do to his bowling. Steve Taylor, who dropped a towering catch to the delight of those same team mates, picked 2 wickets – including that of his other son Jonathan, who had batted steadily and sensibly for 27. Finally the final wicket fell with just 32 overs bowled but a challenging score posted of 157. We knew we were missing top batsmen and we would all have to bat well and have luck from the pitch. And it all started out rather well: Mikey and Steve started very slowly but steadily and reached 37 before Mikey’s stylish looking knock ended on 20. Tony also started slowly, but then seemed to climb the summit with four 4s in a row. Regrettably, that was almost that: two more scoring strokes and he went pulling for another boundary. On 72-2, it looked good – but a glance down the batting line up gave cause for concern. And that was doubly so when Steve was bowled for 25 and we were 92-3 with Richard and Matt in. Now with due credit to both of them: they are no-one’s first choice as match winning batsmen. And frankly that’s how it panned out: but not courtesy of muscular fast bowling. No, what did for us was the gentle, very gentle left arm slow bowling of one O Ellis. He took 6 wickets with our batsmen all believing they could get him away. Batsmen fell by the wayside rapidly, only James Taylor putting up resistance and for a time, had us believing that we could win. But a questionable umpiring decision by Richard sent him back to the pavilion, with him insisting the ball had hit no part of his glove or bat so couldn’t be given a catch. Steve Taylor’s response to the baying fielders as he took to the field was: a golden duck. And when Honse was run out for our fourth nought, we were done on 128. Soundly beaten by a strong group of players who took the game to us from the outset.

Scorecard
Tintern won the toss and chose to bat.
Tintern Innings: O Ellis    LBW J Simon 1; D Havells run out 13; G Reynolds LBW J Simon 24; S Hayward LBW M Steinke    18; S Williams Bld J Simon 12; D Reynolds Ct and Bld J Taylor 31; P Seabury Ct and Bld J Taylor    12; Jn Taylor Ct??? Bld S Taylor 27; I Ellis Ct J Simon Bld H Karvay 0; M Evans Ct S Taylor Bld P Steinke 7; S Jennings Bld S Taylor 1; H Ellis not out 2. TOTAL 157 all out.
Fall: 6, 40, 40, 52, 82, 109, 116, 127, 150, 154.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke; 8-0-48-1; J Simon 7-0-32-3; P Steinke 8-1-19-1; J Taylor 3-0-22-2; H Karvay 3-0-20-1; S Taylor 2-0-20-2; M Pearce 1-0-2-0.
TWCC Innings: S Rogers Bld O Ellis 25; M Pearce    Ct and Bld G Reynolds 20; T Pearce Ct P Seabury Bld C Jennings 25; R Brock Bld C Jennings 6; M Steinke     Bld O Ellis 0; J Panther Bld C Jennings    0; J Taylor Ct,  Bld O Ellis 22; J Simon Bld O Ellis 1; D Rogers Bld O Ellis 2; S Taylor Bld O Ellis 0; H Karvay run out 0; P Steinke not out 2.TOTAL 128 all out
Tintern Bowling: I Ellis 8-1-27-0; S Williams 8-0-18-0; G Reynolds 6-0-29-0; C Jennings 8-0-22-3; O Ellis 8-1-11-6; H Ellis 2-0-16-0.
Tintern won by 29 runs.

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Henfield v TWCC July 24th
Writing this two weeks after the event there is little to report that's different to the Sayers Common game (above). A slightly different cast of players, but the scorecard below reveals a similar tale of woe. In brief, because I want to go and do something else this fine morning, Henfield put themselves in to bat, which they proceeded to do, but when it was our turn we didn't. Also, when we bowled we did it with little penetration, but when they bowled they managed to penetrate on frequent occasions.
Henfield played better than us, but in all other respects our visit to Henfield was enjoyable as we were, as always, made welcome and shown every courtesy of the game. It would be nice to visit this fine old club with a stronger side than we seem to manage at this time of year, when we might get closer, at least, to making a match of it. Any highlights? Well... not much in the bowling to report, and in the batting department James and Richard did start off well with James managing a score in the 30's, Mikey, as always, looked good (and was good) batting, and I believe he might well have managed to resist for much longer if he'd not started running out of partners, but that was about it.
Let's thank Henfield for the game and leave it at that.

Scorecard
Henfield CC won the toss and elected to bat
Henfield Innings: CC: N Colgate LBW R Brock 34; T Furder Ct T Pearce (wkt) bld R Brock 24; C Griffiths not out 68; M Willis ct T Pearce (wkt) bld P Steinke 0; T Paine not out 44. DNB: J Howick, T Hills, D Silverson, C Howick, J Thomson, c Keulder. Extras don’t know as not recorded. Total 190 or so (total not entered into book!)
TWCC Bowling: J simon 9-1-55-0; M Brock 10-1-38-0; R Brock 8-0-38-2; P Steinke 11-3-21-1; M Pearce 4-0-29-0; J Trollope 1-0-10-0.
TWCC innings: J Trollope LBW J Howick 36; R Brock ct wkt bld C Howick 10; T Pearce ct N Colgate 1; M Gasson ret hurt 0; M Pearce LBW Silverson 18; J Simon ct M Willis bld C Keulder 11; J Panther bld J Howick 0; M Brock bld J Howick 4; G Cuthbert bld J Howick 0; P Steinke not out 0. Extras 10. Total 89 for 9 (all out).
Henfield CC Bowling: C Howick 9-1-22-1; J Thomson 7-2-28-0; C Keulder 7-3-17-2; J Howick 7-3-17-4; D Silverson 1-0-4-1.
Henfield CC win by (approx.) 101 runs.

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Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC July 31st
A depeleted but nonetheless cheery TWCC turned up at Sayers Common. Looking around our dressing room before the game there were many new faces to greet, including that of Steve Rogers who, it transpired, had a black eye as a result of attempting to rearrange things at home. Tony, too, though physically unscathed, had caught a cold in the shop in the Sussex County Ground shop, so he was unlikely to be able to perform at his best. We were joined by old friends in the form of Ian Irvine and Tom Simon, and by new boy Matt Edwards, another friend of the Pearce's, who, with youth on his side, nearly brought the average age of this feisty TWCC squad down to something around 50.
Out on the pitch the Albourne and Sayers Common (heretoforward referred to as A&SC) looked somewhat jaunty. There's no accounting for this as we hadn't yet batted. Tom Stace, captaining the A&SC team, won the toss and, possibly without even knowing how well we'd played against Henfield on the previous week, elected to bat first.
Dave Jones, new ball in hand, launched into his familiar capering run up, and delivered the first of many fine overs of line and length bowling, but although the batters didn't manage to get on top, he was nonetheless unrewarded in wickets in his 7 over spell. Jim managed to find a bit of movement and some sort of accuracy, and A&SC were soon sending in their No. 5. Matt Edwards, replacing Jim, took a good wicket, but was also a touch expensive, whereas Phil, of course, who had replaced Dave, was reliably sewing up an end, which he continued to do through to the end of the match ending up with 3 for 41 0ff 13 overs. As Matt Edwards became a bit wayward and costly, Jim, in a master-stroke of decision-making, brought Mikey Pearce in to tighten things up again. Poor Mikey is struggling with his bowling. I'll leave it at that. In the face of a spiralling total Jim put himself back on and, with Phil, saw the bowling through to the end. 144 all out. On a normal Sunday this would have been about right, but on normal Sundays we sometimes have more batters in our side.
Tea, talk of betting again, and back out to begin, and what a great start TWCC made. Dave and Steve Rogers scampered about; Dave calling for quick ones and twos. Busy cricket. Hooray! We were in with a chance! Then the wickets began to fall, and, in all honesty, they never stopped. Highlights of our batting were Steve and Dave's calling and running, Steve's overall resistance, Ian's fine drive for four, Mikey's seeming easiness at the crease, Tony's runs coming in at £19.00 per run, and Tom scoring his first runs for TWCC. However, in all truth it was a sorry display, with A&SC pushing for the most convincing victory they could engineer; the excellent opening bowlers were only taken off when TWCC's No.'s 8 and 9 were at the crease with the total on 44, and A&SC cruised to an easy win. Maybe, with TWCC's batting line up including so few reliable batsmen, and when only one them bats reliably, it is unreasonable to expect more than that we have a nice afternoon out. But we all got a game and enjoyed the afternoon, and we look forward to the next game when fortunes may change.

Scorecard
Albourne and Sayers Common won the toss and elected to bat
A&SC  Innings: H Coughlan bld Simon 0; C Kingscott ct Panther bld P Steinke 26; M Clare LBW Simon 6; J Webb bld Simon 22; W Pauls bld M Edwards 0; T Stace ct Irvine bld M Pearce 33; M Stace ct &  bld P Steinke 18; M Widdowson run out (Simon) 14; N Davis bld P Steinke 0; R Saunders not out 7; P Black bld Simon 0. Extras 18 TOTAL 144 all out (39.2 OVERS).
Fall:  0-1, 14-3, 51-4, 51-5, 70-2, 104-6, 130-7, 130-9, 142-8, 144-11.
TWCC Bowling: D Jones 7-2-19-0; J Simon  13.2-4-42-4; P Steinke 13-2-41-3; M Edwards 5-2-22-1; M Pearce 1-0-20-1. 
TWCC Innings: S Rogers bld Saunders 15; D Rogers bld Widdowson 4; M Pearce bld R Saunders 1; I Irvine bld Widdowson 5; T Pearce ct ? bld R saunders 5; M Edwards bld R. Saunders 1; J Panther ct ? bld R Saunders 1; T Simon ct & bld Davies 3; J Simon bld R Saunders 4; D Jones ct ? bld Davies 5; P Steinke not out 5. Extras 9.TOTAL: 60 all out (32 OVERS).
Fall:  12-2, 13-3, 21-4, 35-5, 37-6, 44-7, 44-1, 46-9, 53-8, 60-10.
A&SC Bowling: M Widdowson 10-1-15-2; R Saunders 11-0-24-6; M Clare 4-1-5-0; Davies 7-1-7-2..
Albourne and Sayers Common win by 84 runs.

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Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC August 7th 2011
It was a warm but cloudy afternoon in far away Hadlow Down which was to go down in Czech cricket history:  TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat:  Steve blasted out of the blocks with a quickfire 17, Paul scored only in even numbers (6,4,4,2,2,4) for his 22, Richard got altitude sickness going in at 3 whilst Jim and Matt simply went in and took the bowling apart on what was an occasionally unpredictable pitch.  Eventually after a fine spell of handsome hitting, Jim stood on the threshold of his half century:  only to get a knick behind and out for 47.  Matt kept going for an excellent 36 not out and with a good all round batting performance we reached 197-5.  The very Rev Andrew Fowler and Kevin Cook opened for them: and whilst Andrew went on to make an excellent 38, only one other batsman got into double figures: and it was all because of Honse! His fantastic seven overs opening spell left him with figures of 5 wickets for just 6 runs. When Honse had finished, the other bowlers came and cleared up, including a memorable wicket for Dave Rogers, made just minutes after he’d taken an awesome catch driven firmly – very firmly – into his midriff.  All in all a good day, the batting was respectable, the catching near perfect and Honse absolutely perfect!
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and batted
P Hunter Bld Smythe 22; S Rogers Ct Wkt, Bld Dimmock 17; R Brock Ct, Bld Smythe    16; J Simon Ct Wkt Bld Bowen 47; J Panther Ct, Bld Setters 1; M Steinke    Not out 36; M Brock Bld Bowen 8. TOTAL 197-5.
Fall: 17-2, 89-1, 93-3, 109-5, 189-4. DNB:  I Irvine, J Karvay, D Rogers, P Steinke.
Bowling: Dev 8-3-29-0; Livey 7-0-36-0; Dimmock 6-1-18-1; Mayne 1-0-17-0; Smythe 7-2-19-2; Setters 6-0-43-1; Bowen 4-0-25-2.
Moulsecoomb Innings
A Fowler Bld P Steinke 38; K Cooke Ct I Irvine Bld J Karvay 4; Setters Ct & Bld J Karvay 0; Shepherd Ct Rogers Bld J Karvay 2; Dev Ct R Brock Bld J Karvay 8; Mayne Bld J Karvay 0; Trury Ct R Brock Bld D Rogers 4; Smythe Bld M Steinke 16; J Bowen Ct & Bld R Brock 2; Dimmock Bld M Steinke    2; Liversey not out ??
TOTAL 87 all out.
TWCC Bowling
M Brock 5-0-47-0; J Karvay 7-4-6-5; P Steinke 8-4-5-1; D Rogers 1-0-7-1; M Steinke 7.2-2-15-2; R Brock 3-2-4-1.
TWCC won by 109 runs

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Warninglid v TWCC August 14th 2011
Report by Dave Jones
On a bright Sunday afternoon TWCC gathered at the Pavilion to admire a youthful, and quite threatening, bunch of the pride of Warninglid. Their average age looked about 25. As Phil surveyed his 9 fine men he couldn’t help but compare the two sides. His player’s average age was more like 48!
Undaunted, TWCC took to the field with the good news that Phil had managed to recruit an extra player from his old club of Albourne & Sayers Common,  whose game had (luckily for us) been cancelled. Phil lost the toss and was asked to bowl, and he opted to start with the unusual combination of Dave Jones and Honse (who the previous week had taken 5 wickets for the first time).
However, Honse soon found that the Twineham artificial wicket was a different length to that on the balmy uplands of Hadlow Down, and after 3 overs of Honse’s new full-toss style, Phil had decided that discretion was the better part of valour and replaced Honse with himself.
At this time the score was 38 for none and things did not look good with a complete array of those young, expert batsmen awaiting. Within minutes the whole scene was changed when swing, bounce and swerve unexpectantly entered the scene, and when Dave J was replaced after 16 overs Warninglid found themselves around 52 for 4. Dave took 2 wickets in his spell and then Phil really got going. By the time he came off he’d cleaned bowled 5 Warninglid batsmen, and with Matt bowling really well too, and gaining a couple more wickets, the opposition found themselves on 95-9. Step forward Edward Bunn. With a quite brilliant slower ball he removed the last Warninglid batsman and TWCC strode confidently, but  almost disbelievingly, to the Pavilion.
With half an hour still to tea, David Rogers and son Steve advanced to the wicket to start the TWCC innings on the way to that winning target of 96. David absolutely refused to wear helmet, thigh pads or a suit of armour when it was pointed out that the 6ft 4ins 18 year old pace bowler was opening the bowling! His first ball moved a foot across the wicket at about 85 miles an hour and hit Steve on the pad ominously near to his leg stump. Only a brilliant decision by umpire Dave J, who had spotted that this ball was going to miss by at least half a millimetre, saved Steve. A brilliant cameo of seven overs followed as David and Steve played stoically and soundly until tea and advanced the score to 24.
Twineham and Wineham rested in the sun and basked in the glory of their achievements so far, as they munched Phil’s tea with the bird’s singing, and all was well with the world.
This euphoria lasted until the second ball of the resumption of play when David returned to the Pavilion after his stumps had been splayed by the young spinner Warninglid had introduced after teatime. Nevermind, step forward Tony Pearce, he of the £290 bat! (£290??? I undervalued his runs at Albourne and Sayers Common by £100. Ed.) After two failures with the most expensive piece of wood seen since Chippendale departed Wineham, surely it couldn’t fail again.
However, Tony wasn’t the player to worry about, yet.  Steve who had played sensibly and well up to this point, decided he would then hit the left hand spinner bowling from the Pavilion end into the field in the direction of Hickstead, but instead put the ball gently into the hands of the fielder at Mid Wicket.
Enter Edward. Surely he would do the job. Edward then repeated the same shot as Steve with exactly the same result and thoughts started to turn a little queasy in the minds of the remaining TWCC batsmen.
Honse appeared at the wicket and, along with a few attacking shots from Tony, they advanced the score rather well until Honse fell after an unbelievable stroke of bad luck. He cracked the spinner with great gusto into the back of the 6ft 4in 18 year old fast bowler, from which it flew through the air into the hands of the wicket-keeper. Not Honse’s match this one! With the score now roughly 55 for 4 things looked a little more comfortable and surely Tony and our guest bat Mark would go on and give us a comfortable victory. Then that lump of wood did it again! Another top edge from a cross bat shot and Tony departed caught. This bat has more red marks on its edge and back than on the front! If we assume a scoring rate of £1 per run, this lump of crud should pay Tony back sometime during the 2014 season. I personally think it should be burnt straight away and be made to form part of the Twineham and Wineham ashes.
Still, not to be downcast, the innings proceeded with Mark, our new hero, hitting some strong shots off the 6ft 4in 18-year paceman who had ominously returned, badly bruised, from nowhere. With Matt also managing some lusty blows the TWCC score began to climb again. Mark, obviously trying to earn an enormous transfer fee with add-ons from Sayers Common, then hit one attacking shot too many and was unfortunately also caught.  As Ian strode nervously to face the music, the 18 year old, who by now had seemingly recovered very well from his bruising and was determined to make someone pay, pawed the ground at the Downs end.  Ian initially kept him out well and it was left to Matt to crack a couple of good shots for boundaries until he too tried one attacking shot too many and also departed the field. On came Dave J, with a slightly nervous tick which had appeared out of nowhere as he watched this mayhem, and somehow he managed to miss the ball in a beautifully stylish way and yet still stay in.
The 6ft 4in 18 year old (we get the picture, Ed.)  then delivered an unplayable ball to Ian which moved a foot across the wicket and ripped out his leg stump before Ian had worked out which direction it was coming from.  Captain Phil then entered the play as last man with the score around 82 for 8. Phil wasn’t going to give this one up and resolute play followed from the Captain. No way was he going to take five wickets and lose this one. Keeping the 6ft 4in 18 year old (...) out brilliantly and scoring a couple of fours off the other bowler, and with Dave J trembling nervously but somehow managing to stay out there, the score was suddenly 93 for 8.  Phil reasoned that the opportunity for the win lay in clobbering the bowler who was not the 6ft 4ins 18 year old (I'm sure he has a name, Ed) to the boundary for the winning runs. This he proceeded to do. The ball flew like an arrow to the boundary and Phil finished his first run and stood to watch as his lovely shot gave us victory. However, the ball then proceeded to act like a golf ball and span back and stopped 2 inches from the boundary. Dave J, reasoning that 2 runs would at least tie the game and give us a moral victory, what with our 10 men, had not assumed the ball was over the boundary and he found himself sprinting like a gazelle for the first run and doing a Usain Bolt for the second, only to find himself standing with Phil at one end as the return to the bowler was then thrown to the wicketkeeper at the other end to run Phil out and give Warninglid victory by 2 runs!
At the Castle this stunning defeat was slightly eased by the drinking of many pints of Guinness, that appropriately for the day, was off, in the company of a good bunch of the Warninglid victors. Discussion finally turned to Tony’s bat and it was decided that if you meet Murray Goodwin in a sports shop, tell him to keep his opinions to himself and ****** off!

Report II by Phil Steike
With Richard and Jim being unavailable Phil stood in as captain against Warninglid. Having started the week with the prospect of a full team, Phil ended with just 9 on match day. He mangaged to get Mark Stace from Albourne and Sayers Common to get TWCC up to 10 for the day.
Warninglid won the toss and decided to bat first on a reasonable sunny day. Phil asked Dave Jones and Honse to open the bowling. Dave bowled a good line and length while Honse didn’t bowl as well as he did at Hadlow Down, and Matt Nastys took a liking to his bowling, hitting him for a 2 sixes and a couple of fours while Dave was bowling well. Honse finally came off after bowling 2 overs for 21 runs and Phil put himself on at the Pavilion End and managed to slow the scoring rate down again. He also managed to get WICKETS! 5 in all, all clean bowled, in a spell of 5 for 26 off 12 overs. Dave was still plugging away from the Downs End and he ended with the excellent figures of 2 for 26 off 8 overs. Matt Steinke replaced Dave and, bowling with good pace and accuracy, picked up a couple of wickets; 2 for 20 off 6 overs. Edward came on for Matt and finished the visitors’ innings off with figures of 1 for 2 off 3 balls. Job done; Warninglid 95 all out off just 28 overs and 3 balls.
So it was over to the TWCC batsmen to go out and win the game. Dave and Steve Rogers, the tried and tested family pairing, started off well, and the home side were 24 for no loss at tea. But is wasn’t going to be a stroll in the park, and, at the resumption of play, spin came on to play a part. Dave was first out, being tempted to have a heave; bowled for 3. Then Steve had a go and was caught for 16. Tony and Edward soon followed, Tony hitting a nice couple of 6’s before, again, being caught. Honse was unlucky as he hit a palyer and the bowler caught the rebound. So, back came the distinctly lively 6’5” 16 year old Jamie Hutchings, and he had Mark Stace caught at mid off for 13 after playing some good shots, he bounced out Matt Steinke for 14 (another good knock) and bowling Ian Irvine for 6. In came Phil, with TWCC needing 6 to win. Soon it was down to just 2 to win! Phil, who thought he’d scored the winning runs as he hit the ball towards the boundary, managed to get himself run out by ball-watching as a bit of excellent fielding resulted in both batsmen, Dave Jones and Phil, suddenly being together at the Pavilion End… A comedy run out. Game lost by 1 run. If only we had had 11 players we might have won this one!
Scorecard
Warninglid won the toss and elected to bat.
Warninglid Innings: D Tingley Bld P Steinke 20; M Nastys Ct Karvay, Bld D Jones 23; C Rayner Bld P Steinke 9; T Rayner Bld P Steinke 1; A Ridgewell Ct S Rogers Bld D Jones 4; A Parsons Bld P Steinke 3; M Church LBW Bld M Steinke 10; C Malik Cld P Steinke 2; C Vaughan Bld M Steinke 2; C Gallie Bld E Bunn 10; J Hutchings not out 8.
TOTAL 95
TWCC Bowling: D Jones:  8-0-28-2; J Karvay 2-0-21-0; P Steinke 12-5-26-5; M Steinke 6-1-20-2; E Bunn 0.3-0-2-1.
TWCC Innings: S Rogers Ct Gallis Bld Parsons 16; D Rogers Bld T Raynor 3; T Pearce Ct..... Bld Parsons 19; E Bunn  Ct Gallie Bld Parsons 1; J Karvay  Ct and Bld Raynor 6; M Stace Ct.....Bld Hutchens 13; M Stainke  Ct......Bld Hutchins 14; I Irvine Bld Hutchins 6; D Jones not out 0; P Steinke Run out 4
TOTAL 94
Fall:  24, 24, 26, 51, 53, 71, 86, 89
Warninglid Bowling: J Hutchens  7-1-22-3; M Church 3-1-8-0; Parsons 12-0-36-3; T Raynor 10-5-16-2; C Raynor 2-0-6-0.
TWCC lost by 1 run!

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Partridge Green v TWCC August 21st 2011
The first visit for most TWCC cricketers to Partridge Green’s ground, and what a lovely afternoon for cricket.  The sun shone, the large `crown green` square was extremely well kept and the pitch looked perfect for batting.  Hence the perplexed looks when the captain revealed he’d won the toss and opted to bowl!  The thinking was – for there was some thinking involved – that we were not strong in batting, and given that they’d opted for a 40 overs match, we felt our bowlers could keep their batsmen in check and give us a fighting chance.  So we took to the field, picnickers looked on disinterestedly, and we set about our task.  The father son combo of Phil and Matt Steinke shared an effectively stifling opening spell though failed to make a breakthrough.  But PG were scoring at less than 4 an over.  Eyebrows were then raised as James was introduced into the miserly attack:  but he took a wicket just 3 balls in.  He continued to bowl well, along with Matt Edwards at the other end.  In fact none of the bowling was bad at all:  the problem was that as we gradually made inroads into their order, they seemed to get more potent.  So with just the last 10 overs to come, their batsmen were smacking the ball with such violence that it fair raced to hide in the foliage that surrounded the ground.  A sprinkling of wickets amongst the bowlers was boosted by good catches:  an excellent reach at first slip by Matt S and an impressively taken exocet at long on by Richard.  It meant PG just crept past 5 an over to finish on 206-8.  Gettable:  but we would need Tony’s bat to make a considerable return on his investment (see previous reports for the preamb£e). Dave Rogers and James revived an opening partnership not seen for some time:  and they loved the reunion.  Dave smashing 4s and James keeping up with him.  Unfortunately both fell on 42, but they appeared to have passed the baton to safe hands when the Pearces briskly got into their stride.  However, Tony’s bat curse struck again:  (yes, it’s official, the bat is cursed) when he was clean bowled on 18.  Richard struck up a good partnership with Mikey (and you only have to ask the girls of South Wales to know how difficult that is to do) before Mikey holed out for a top score of 27.  At 130 – 4 we were still well in the game, though the asking rate was up to 6 an over.  However, Richard was bowled by a good off-spinner (so he says Ed), and we went rapidly downhill from there, eventually bowled out for 156.  But be in no doubt:  this was a good performance by a TWCC team short of at least two regular batsmen: we stood up to a battering in the field, with only occasional whingeing by our schoolboy element, our top six all got amongst the runs and we were still in with a shout up to the last few overs.  Partridge Green were good opponents:  plenty of youth and muscle and that’s good for us:  and it was an enjoyable fixture.
SCORECARD
TWCC won the toss and chose to bowl
Partridge Green Innings
J Tarratt LBW  Bld Trollope 13; B Dumbrill Bld J Karvay    48; M Hellever    Ct M Steinke Bld Trollope 18; I White Bld R Brock 21; S Garman Ct M Steinke Bld R Brock    21; G Adlam Ct M Edwards Bld R Brock 10; O Odway Bld M Steinke 21; D Smith not out 6; C Adlam Ct R Brock Bld P Steinke 24; TOTAL 206-8 (40 overs).
DNB: T White, C Hand.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke  8-4-15-1, M Steinke 8-1-42-1, J Trollope 5-0-27-2, M Edwards 5-0-22-0, M Brock 6-0-35-0, H Karvay 2-0-10-1, R Brock 8-1-30-3.
TWCC Innings
J Trollope Ct, Bld G Adlam 20; D Rogers Ct, Bld C Hand 17; T Pearce Bld S Garman 18; M Pearce Ct, Bld Dumbrill 27; R Brock Bld C Adlam 23; M Steinke LBW Bld Dumbrill 14; M Brock Bld C Adlam 0; I Irvine Ct Bld Gough 3; J Karvay Bld Dumbrill    7; M Edwards not out 5; P Steinke Bld Dumbrill 4.
TOTAL 131-3 (37 overs) Fall: 42-2, 42-1,71-3, 113-4, 130-5, 135-7, 139-6, 143-8, 152-9, 156-11.
BOWLING: C Hand 8-2-24-1; D Smith 3-0-10-0; G Adlam 6-1-23-1;  S Garman 5-1-27-1; T White 3-0-26-1; C Adlam 6-0-24-2; Dumbrill 6-2-19-4.
PARTRIDGE GREEN WON BY 50 RUNS

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TWCC v Crescent August 28th 2011
The mid season blues (in results terms) which have swept through the club since the tour have been understandable in some ways, given the struggle for players we’ve been finding during the summer due to holidays/Hicksteads etc.  But here was our chance to reclaim our victory crown, with a strong batting side and opponents we beat handsomely last season.  Hmmmmm.......  We lost the toss and were asked to bat. A good, though slowish, start was made by Paul and James, opening together for the first time since May.  When they reached 54 Paul holed out for 29, leaving the stage open for Dave Jones to bed in and put up a good score.  Unfortunately Paul also left Dave at the mercy of James, who ran him out with a suicidal dash for just 2. 64-2. James fell on his own sword with the score unmoved so it was left to Tony to try to get `that bat` to work with Edward accompanying him.  Progress continued to be painfully slow: it could be argued that the best thing Tony’s bat did for the first half hour was knock the stumps in more firmly. However after encouraging shouts from the the boundary to `get a bloody move on` Tony exploded into life, aiming sixes towards the pavilion in answer to his critics.  In fact, such was his vigour, he hit 3 sixes in a row before racing down the wicket for more glory only to be stumped for 72.  By this time Edward had already departed the other end for 19 and with the loss of those two, scoring pretty much dried up, certainly not helped by a golden duck by Steve Rogers!  But with a healthy 174 on the board, and a slow, unmowed outfield, TWCC feasted at tea with quiet confidence.
Crescent started well: the opening bowling combination of Honse and Phil were unable to break through early on and it took Dave Jones to get the wicket with a good caught and bowled. Phil finally got his man and then another to put us back in the driving seat.  But some determined middle order hitting swung the game the other way again.  Matthew Brock’s wicket helped but with 15 overs left, they only needed 3.5 per over.  Unfortunately, Richard somewhat recklessly kept himself on for a long spell and got severely dealt with.  Bringing back Phil stopped the run torrent but the damage had been done and TWCC fell short by two wickets in the penultimate over.  Disappointing in the extreme and if the finger were to be pointed at the captain for inflexible bowling changes, that would be fair.  On the brighter side, the day should be marked for one moment of history, when Dave Jones took his second catch in the same match: now when’s the last time that happened??
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct, Bld Brown 29; J Trollope Ct, Bld Lawson 30; D Jones run out 2; T Pearce Stumped, bld Woods 72; E Bunn Ct, Bld S Wood    19; M Brock Ct, Bld Woods 1; S Rogers Bld Woods 0; D Rogers Ct & Bld Jeffery 3; J Karvay not out 0; R Brock not out 1.
TOTAL 174-8
Fall: 54-1, 64-3,64-2, 124-5, 125-6, 125-7, rest not recorded
DNB: P Steinke
Bowling: Brown 11-2-36-1; S Wood 7-2-23-0; Lawson 9-1-33-1; M Wood 5-0-30-3; Jeffery 4-0-13-1.
Crescent Innings: Gatford Ct & Bld D Jones 36; Caroghan    Ct Karvay Bld R Brock 37; Jenkins Bld P Steinke    1; Pomfrett Bld P Steinke 0; S Wynard Bld M Brock 13; Burgess Ct D Jones, Bld R Brock 17; Lawson Bld R Brock 14; M Wood    not out 15; Jeffery Bld P Steinke 25; Brown not out 0.
TOTAL 175 – 8
TWCC Bowling: J Karvay 5-0-31-0 P Steinke 13-1-32-3 D Jones 6-1-23-1; M Brock 6-0-28-1; R Brock 9.4-0-52-3.
Crescent win by 2 wickets

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TWCC v Bolney CC September 11th
Having humbled – it’s not too strong a word –  Bolney at our meeting earlier this season, when we won by 129 runs, the onus was on us to put in another good performance against our traditionally strong neighbours.  After a weekend lost to rain, it was an unexpectedly warm afternoon when Richard lost the toss and TWCC were put in.  Dave Rogers and Paul began in quiet style – Dave somewhat quieter than Paul.  We know this because some clever dick started doing the ballcount and it was maintained to the end, when Paul worked out our slowest and most dashing players.  Of which more later.  Safe to say, Dave’s 6 from 47 balls was never going to see him top the scoring rate:  but in fairness, he lasted longer at the crease than Paul who offered a leading edge catch back to the bowler for 19 with the score on 28.  James was also `in` when he got out for 17, another leading edge.  And still Dave remained.  Finally, when he’d seen enough dot balls, he raced down the pitch and was promptly stumped.  A lesson there:  `slow is smooth, smooth is fast`  (copyright US Navy Seals!) 
Anyway with Dave’s departure and the score on 56-3 there came the mouth-watering combination of Tony and Rob at the crease together.  For a few minutes the cricket became exciting, with Tony in the unusual position of playing second fiddle.
And these two put on 46 before Tony too raced down the pitch to be stumped for 21.  Rob also surrendered early on just 29, then Steve too on 16. Everyone was getting in, but none going on, finding the slow bowling of Bowles difficult and frustrating.  (which Bowles I hear you say, for there were 3 of them Bowleing.  Truth is I don’t know, but between them they got 5 wickets).  Only Jim got to grips with the attack, showing a fine touch which has been shining through his batting during the second half of the season.  He stayed until the end when we finished on 173-8, slightly below what the `expert commentators` had hoped for whilst  sitting on the boundary.   And what of those scoring rates:  well top by a mile was Rob with a strike rate of 145 per 100 balls.  Equal second were Tony and Richard with a round 100:  then a glut of others around the 50-80 mark.  Frankly it tells us little we didn’t know but as with so much in the scorebook it has a fascination all the same.
We will avoid tea:  as so many apparently did, feeling that the previous week’s sandwiches reheated in the afternoon sunshine were some sort of public health hazard. 
So to Bolney’s innings.  It became clear soon – perhaps as early as the second over – that they would not be challenging for victory.   Rob and Paul had them pinned down, with Paul getting the breakthrough.  That brought to the crease C Bunce, who was determined to leave with a result of sorts.  So he effectively closed his end down, and our bowlers were unable to do anything about it.  Phil struck thrice at the other end, Jim clean bowled another, Matthew Brock stopped a lengthy and dangerous stand of 3 developing further by removing an off stump, and another wicket the same over brought hope of victory.  But we couldn’t unlock the other end, and whilst 7 bowlers tried their luck, it was only when we reverted back to Rob that we stood on the threshold of victory with the 9th wicket going down.  But Mr Bunce and Barry Griffin their skipper bravely saw out Rob’s bouncers in the fading light and the game finally juddered to a halt with Bolney failing to make 50 in 1 and ¼ hours and 20 overs.  Their strike rates were not recorded.
Match drawn:  Rob’s figures summing up the second innings:  12 overs, 10 maidens, 2 runs, 1 wicket.
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct & Bld J Gathern 19; D Rogers St, Bld S Bowles    6; J Trollope Ct & Bld Gathern 17; T Pearce St, Bld S Bowles 21;R Rydon    Ct J Gathern, Bld P Bowles 29; S Rogers Ct Matthews, Bld R Bowles 16; J Simon not out 34; M Brock Ct Griffin, Bld J Bowles 2; D Jones Ct R Bowles, Bld J Flower 6;R Brock not out 3.
TOTAL 173-8, 46 overs. DNB:  P Steinke
Bolney Bowling: J Gathern  12-0-36-2; M Madden 7-2-23-0; S Bowles 11-1-39-2; R Bowles 8-0-37-2; J Flower 5-0-13-1; J Bowles Jnr: 3-0-14-1.
Fall:  28-1, 54-3, 56-2, 102-4, 103, 139, 148, 167.
Bolney Innings: J  Moore Ct wk S Rogers, Bld P Hunter 0; S Matthews St S Rogers, B P Steinke 2; C Bunce not out 18; R Bowles Bld P Steinke 4; S Bowles Bld P Steinke 1; D Bridge Bld J Simon 0; M Madden Bld M Brock 0; J Bowles Ct Rydon Bld M Brock 0; J Gathern Ct P Steinke Bld D Jones 3; J Flower Ct & Bld Rydon 5; B Griffin not out 0
TOTAL: 49-9
TWCC Bowling: P Hunter 5-1-7-1; R Rydon 12-10-2-1; P Steinke 10-4-10-3; J Simon 5-2-7-1; J Trollope 3-0-7-0; M Brock 4-1-5-2; D Jones 3-2-5-1.
Match Drawn

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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston September 18th
Report to follow

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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 25th
On a day when neither Richard nor Jim were about, it was down to Phil to lose the toss against Brighton Beamers, and TWCC were put in to bat.  After a slow start Paul decided to save James the trouble and ran himself out, and although steady progress was the order of the day runs were generally hard to come by as the Beamers were bowling well. At the half way stage TWCC were on 80 for 1 thinking that somewhere around 175 would be a good score, when Tony, swinging his high-poundage bat, decided it was time to open up. 6's and 4's spoiled some of the Beamer's bowlers figures and he, together with contributions from James and Jonathan, took the score on to 206 for 4 at tea. Tony was eventually stumped after one too many advances, on 141, and Jonathan ended up not out on 26.
After a good tea dished up by the Hunters it was down to the TWCC bowlers to make inroads into the Beamers' batsmen. Phil decided to open the bowling with Matt and Paul hoping Paul would have some residual anger to draw on, but he couldn't find the length and line he was looking for - it wasn't Paul's day, but he made a brilliant tea! Matt was bowling well but Phil had to make a few decisions, and he replaced Paul with James who slowed the batsmen down to a degree and Phil decided to bring himself on from the Downs End where he immediately had Ben Rigby, coring at 7 an over, dropped  when wickets needed to be taken. After 3 overs Phil decided to take himself off and Bring Honse on, but that ploy didn't work as Honse went for 21 off 2 overs. Phil took James off and returned to the fray himself and had success in removing Andrews to a brilliant running catch by Ed Bunn. By this time Beamers needed 47 off 15 overs and it was looking bad for TWCC. Ed Bunn replaced Honse but went for 14 runs in his first over. Things were definitely looking bad for Twineham. Phil, still going steady at the Pavilion End, had the dangerous Howie LBW for 5 (after his 100 plus last year), but the tide was turned on 165 for 2 when Matt pulled off a stunning catch to get rid of Ben Rigby for 112. The match changed! From 165 for 2 the Beamers fell to 167 for 8! Phil and Ed had 8 overs to remove the final wicket, but it was played out very well by the Beamers tail-enders for a draw. Ed finished with 8-3-22-4, Phil 13-3-22-4.
A good game in the end, whcih at one point TWCC could easily have lost. (And easily won! Ed.)
And that's it for the season!
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter run out 1; J Trollope ct, bld Chaffey 23; T Pearce st, bld R Rigby 141; S Rogers ct kpr, bld Andrews 0; J Rowland not out 26; E Bunn not out 2. Extras 15, Total 206 for 4. DNB M Steinke, D Rogers, J Karvey, P Steinke, T Simon.
Brighton Beamers Bowling: Musset 7-0-18-0; Nicholls 5-0-17-0; Hewie 10-1-38-0; Chaffey 7-0-16-1; Williams 4-0-41-0; D Andrews 6-0-18-1; Eaton 3-0-43-0; (x?) Rigby 2-0-14-1.
Brighton Beamers Innings: R Rigby LBW M Steinke 7; B Rigby ct M Steinke bld E Bunn 112; D Andrews ct E Bunn bld P Steinke 39; B Hewie LBW  P Steinke 5; F Rigby bld P Steinke 0; N Chaffey ct T Pearce bld E Bunn 0;
R Nicholls ct M Steinke bld P Steinke 0; J Richards st Rogers bld E Bunn 0; A Williams ct P Hunter bld E Bunn 0; R Musset not out 1; A Eaton not out 0. Extras 3. Total un recorded but somewhere around 168 for 9.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 8-1-21-1; P Hunter 8-0-50-0; P Steinke 13-3-22-4; J Trollope 4-0-29-0; J Karvey 2-0-21-0; E Bunn 8-3-22-4.
Match drawn.



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TWCC 2010 Season
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TWCC v Brunswick Village
 
April 25th 2010
As a warm April sun beamed down on the newly-painted pavilion that had been lovingly restored just seven days earlier - restored that is apart from some structurally threatening cracks which will need seeing to at some point in the next thirty years or so - the team of 2010 assembled ready for the off.  In keeping with a policy of inclusion and dependability there were no new faces in the TWCC line up, though the competition for places remains as fierce as ever; those available on Sunday are always in with a very good shout.
Skipper Brock took to the field for his first duty of the season, and once he'd lost the toss and been asked to bat, he left it to the others to make a similarly inadequate start, but in fact it all began rather well as  Paul and James added 36 for the first wicket before James was run out by a combination of poor calling (Paul) and lazy running (James).  It was a shame because James was showing signs of his 2008 form, but it was a sharp throw from mid on which got him. Tony's determination to knock the slow bowling of Fernandopulle out of the ground saw him stumped for just 14 and was followed by a middle-order collapse of the type for which TWCC has rightly become renowned around the grounds of Sussex. The next 5 wickets fell for just 28 runs; mostly irresponsible slashes and dashes down the wicket - and it was only Paul who was continuing to show the way to bat which averted a catastrophe. When Matt came out to join him, there was still almost an hour left and we were 96-6, but Matt stepped up to the role asked of him brilliantly, and the two of them not only used all the time but piled on the runs with Paul making a magnificent 104 not out and Matt unbeaten on 28 as the score rose to 204 from our two and a half hours. The stand between Matt and Paul was an unbroken 85 for the 8th wicket.
Brunswick started their reply brightly, smashing Richard for 6 over a garden and into the shed. The skipper tried to argue he was unused to opening the innings, but his two potential openers were both tired from their batting, bless `em.  Anyway, Phil made the breakthrough from the other end with two quick wickets, one of which was a stunning low catch at slip by Tony. Richard got the big tonking opener caught magnificently by Jonathan - when a few doubted he would make the running catch required. But in at 4 was their Sri Lankan who had taken 4 wickets and also we knew, from past experience, could bat a bit. In truth he never looked completely comfortable during his 47 and he holed out from Mikey's medium pacers.
Mikey was bowling well with his leg spin too and picked up 3 wickets before they went on the defensive. Honse was brought on for the last 10 overs and took 2 excellent wickets, including a second stunning running catch from Jonathan, during whose sprint James could be heard to say "he certainly won't get that."
Career best figures of 16-2 for Honse, but we were unable to despatch their numbers 8 and 9 and the game finished a draw, with Brunswick on 150 for 8.
 
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and batted
J Trollope Run out 15; P Hunter Not out 104; T Pearce Stumped Bld Fernandopulle 14; J Rowland Stumped Bld Fernandopulle 0; S Rogers Bld Fernandopulle 2; M Pearce Bld M Funnell 1; G Hunter Bld  Fernandopulle 4;
R Brock Bld Funnell  9; M Steinke Not Out 28.
DNB:  H Karvay, P Steinke
Extras: 21
TOTAL: 204 - 7
FALL:  36-1, 66-3, 66-4, 84-5, 89-6, 94-7, 119-8
Bowling: D Green 7-1-24-0; Asanga 6-2-7-0; Fernandopulle 11-2-55-4; Tapleton 4-0-26-0; Funnell 9-1-34-2;
Barrs 6-0-39-0.
 
Brunswick Village
S Mulford Ct J Rowland Bld R Brock 21; S Pengully: Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 14; K Ahmed Stumped S Rogers Bld P Steinke 2; A Fernandopulle Ct S Rogers  Bld M Pearce 47; J Funnell St S Rogers Bld M Pearce 34; J Holloway Bld M Pearce 6; N Penney Ct????  Bld J Karvay 10; W Stapleton Ct J Rowland B Karvay 0; A Wickrenesinghe not out 2;
D Green Not out 6.
TOTAL 150-8
Bowling: P Steinke 12-2-26-2; R Brock 9-1-37-1; M Pearce 11-0-50-3; M Steinke 4-0-14-0; J Karvay  4-0-16-2.
 
MATCH DRAWN

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TWCC v Greys
May 9th 2010
The Greys, always welcome visitors, brought their eponymous weather with them and it was a shivery pair of teams that watched with almost total disinterest as the captains braved the open ground of the middle to share a toss. Skipper Brock confused everyone, including himself, by winning the toss and TWCC fielded first.
Phil and Jim opened the bowling, to moderate effect – one wicket and not many runs coming off the first ten overs or so. The fall of the first wicket brought No. 3 man Covill to the crease, all the way from Australia, who soon established that he had lost none of his skill over the winter months. Tight bowling was the order of the day, which Phil continued to supply. Jim’s failing eyesight resulted in him splitting the top of a finger which enabled Richard to put himself on from the North End where he operated to considerable effect, removing three batsmen and cleverly leaving Covill for the other bowlers to deal with.
There are some who maintain that Richard’s wickets sometimes rely on other people to do the catching for him, and this was certainly true in the case of TWCC Catching Incident 2010 No. 3.
TWCC Catching Incident 2010 No.’s 1 and 2 occurred in the Brunswick Village game (Tony’s low slip-catch and Jonathan’s sprint to clasp onto a ball that all thought was going to fall safe), but Edward’s entry at No. 3 possibly eclipsed even these.
Covill continued to provide plenty of resistance as others fell, and then was joined by Day who began to be as much trouble as anyone. Covill, as he opened up towards the end of the innings’ allotted time, eventually holed out for 60 to wide fine leg, and Day, last man to go, was caught at long off for 48. Greys all out for 148.
The initial TWCC response was placed in the hands of James and Jonathan presenting a left-hand right-hand awkwardness to the Greys opening pair, but annoyingly the bowlers failed to find this at all difficult to overcome as they were tight and both got some movement in the air and off the pitch. (It must have been because my finger hurt that I failed to notice any such deviations when I was bowling…)
James and Jonathan, however, knuckled down and manfully kept the ball out. Runs were scarce it was true, but, crucially, all wickets remained intact and as the Greys’ bowling began to loosen its grip, and later as the openers were replaced, so were James and Jonathan able to open up and the runs began to flow. Jonathan’s exemplary patience held good as he began to move into the ball and force boundaries as well as pushing for ones and twos; the ball never in the air or his wicket at risk through lack of concentration. James, meanwhile, set about swinging his long arms right through the ball and runs began to accumulate at some rate. With 100 passed and the game beyond Greys’ ability to save it, Jonathan surrendered for 27 and James, a little later, for a splendid 84, and TWCC were able to relax and enjoy watching Honse and George bat. With Honse appearing to be happy to keep the ball out and save the game, and George trying to score at least 20 with every shot, this was a most entertaining episode possibly eclipsed only by Tony deciding to dress up in flares and a Tweedledum tank-top.
The odd wicket fell before TWCC comfortably passed the Greys’ total, but before this account closes the Gazette has to mention one further incident which occurred shortly before Edward, batting with Tony, hit the winning runs. Tony, on the last ball of what proved to be the penultimate over, pushed a ball back up the wicket to deep mid-on for a comfortable single with TWCC needing just four more to win. With no fielder in sight, and with the risk of having both to run and to not be on strike looming, Edward’s miraculous skills surfaced once more as he bent down and neatly fielded the ball. Tony was most of the way down the wicket having set off for a trouble-free run, and had to turn and walk back whilst Edward handed the ball to a bemused Greys bowler. In the absence of a Greys appeal for Edward’s handling of the ball Edward duly faced the next over and hit the winning few measly runs that clearly meant so much to him.
A win in the cold - comfortable in the end - but had James and Jonathan not resisted so well and for so long at the start; had they lost patience and succumbed; we might easily have been 20 for four and facing the prospect of watching Tony's flashy gear for even longer.
A very pleasant Harvey's moment ensued in the pub, shared by a gracious Greys side with whom we shared memories of previous tours, whilst also resolving to keep hold of our own glasses on the next one.

TWCC won the toss and elected to field
Greys batting: Brasher Ct Bunn Bld Brock 10; Lime Ct Brock Bld Simon 6; Covill Ct Simon Bld M Pearce 60; Gallagher Ct Bunn Bld Brock 9; Fenton Run Out (Brock) 0; Burbridge Ct G Hunter Bld Brock 1; Dais Ct M Pearce Bld T Pearce 48; Partridge Ct S Rogers (wk) Bld Trollope 2; Sowell Ct  Rowland Bld M Pearce 1; Hoare LBW Bld Trollope 1; Azami Not out 3.
TOTAL 148
TWCC bowling: J Simon 9-2-36-1; P Steinke 13-1-32-0; R Brock 7-1-26-3; M Pearce 6-1-21-2; J Trollope 3-1-11-2; H Karvay 1-0-8-0; T Pearce .2-0-3-1.
TWCC batting: J Trollope Ct, Bld Fenton 84 (11x4's, 2x6's); J Rowland Bld Partridge 27; H Karvay Bld Partidge 2; G Hunter Bld Partridge 7; T Pearce Not out 14; E Bunn Not out 8.
DNB:  S Rogers, M Pearce, J Simon, R Brock, P Steinke.  
Fall:  109-2, 115-1, 124-4,
Greys Bowling: Hoare: 8-3-15-0; Day 6-3-7-0; Azami 7-0-43-1; Sowell 5-0-41-0; Partridge 5.1-0-21-3; Fenton 5-1-16-1.
TWCC won by 6 wickets
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TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers
 
May 16th
From the moment the announcement was made of Twineham’s opening bowler from the Pavilion end, this was never going to be an easy report to write.  It became six times more difficult during the next couple of hours.  Not that it wasn’t a great match and a pleasure to report on of course.  It’s just how to try to maintain an equilibrium within individual team members, when one already has a cricketing ego the size of a small planet, and that same player happened to play a starring role on Sunday.  Nonetheless, we will try.
It was cold: really cold, early March cold when the skipper, hungover, hoping desperately to lose the toss and be asked to bat, lost the toss and was asked to bat.  Tony initiated the new ball counting system in the scorebook, so we could discover the strike rates of our craftsmen.  In the event it was all very encouraging.  James’ resurgent form continued. After seeing himself in gently, he steadily increased the run rate, and with Steve going along nicely at the other end, the two of them took the score past 60 in the first hour. One extraordinary shot sent the ball into the highest branches of the roadside oak:  where it rattled around like a pinball before falling into the path of a speeding car.  It took Matt and Honse upwards of 15 minutes to find the ball because it had been knocked some 100 yards down the road by the car.  And when they did eventually retrieve it, they also had to fend off the car driver who had returned and brought with her dire threats of legal action, had the ball damaged her car.  (it didn’t, but her car damaged the ball so maybe we should send her a legal missive).  Anyway,  Steve was eventually bowled for 37 with the score on 91, by one of two tricky spin bowlers Moulsecoomb had introduced.  But they continued to send down enough loose stuff for James to power his way to 72 (11 4s, 2 6s into the same tree) before he was caught on 72. Tony meanwhile had continued the slaughter and his continued to the end of the innings for an absorbing 72 not out, despite an increasingly reckless attitude towards the end.  (13 4s, 1 6)  Jonathan and Edward also batted, Jon to some effect (11) Edward to very little (1).  But 200 came and went and we finished on a mighty 233 for just 4 wickets.
Thus the task was to use this platform to get them out:  which we knew from previous experience would be tough.  Matt opened from the South Downs end and the skipper decided to throw a simba among the pigeons by opening with Mikey’s leg spin from the pavilion end.  It was a move which brought immediate results:  in his first over Mikey bowled their opener and this was the preamble for greater things.  With Matt sending down some great deliveries from the other end, narrowly missing the edge time and again, Mikey made intelligent use of the conditions and the batsmen’s predicament by giving the ball plenty of air.  His next wicket was the other opener:  smartly stumped by Steve.  Then as they sought to hit him out of the attack, he took two more wickets in the spell, one bowled, one caught.  But a barren 4 overs saw him removed from the attack, to let his dad and James try to get the sixth wicket, which was holding us up.  Eventually, with options and overs running out,  Richard brought Mikey back and himself on:  and with Mikey’s first over back he took his fifth wicket of the innings, high celebrations and the game was back on.   Richard then picked up their number 5, caught for 46:  and the game was back on.  Another wicket for Richard took the tally to 8, 2 wickets needed from the last Mikey over.  The field closed in, with a ring of fielders halfway for the mis-hit.   His second ball was a mis-hit,  James was in the ring and underneath it but inexplicably managed to run in a circle and miss it.  And so it was that on the penultimate ball, Mikey claimed the 9th wicket, his sixth:  their scorebook records it as a catch, the umpire said it was LBW.  Either way, it meant huge pressure on the last man for the last ball as the whole Twineham side were within 10 yards of the bat.  But it was kept out successfully and the match was drawn.  It was a highly exciting finish, but in truth it was a match we should have won and won easily.  Mikey, whilst a hero in the eyes of so many for his bowling performance which was quite excellent, was also guilty of an appalling fielding lapse during the fifth wicket stand by not even running for a catch which almost stubbed his toe when it landed!  But we won’t be hard on the boy: it was his day, a fine display of leg-spin bowling and membership to the TWCC fifers club, plus a joy to see James continue his excellent form and a great game of cricket. 
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and batted
TWCC Innings; J Trollope Ct, Bld Gibson 72; S RogersBld Bowen 37; T Pearce Not out 74; J Rowland Ct, Bld Gibson 11; E Bunn Bld Gibson 1; J Simon Not out 0. DNB: M Pearce, M Steinke, R Brock, H Karvay, P Steinke.
TOTAL 233-4
Bowling: D Sherwin 10-0-28-0; Woods 5-0-26-0; J Bowen 7-0-34-1; Radnell 4-0-34-0; Simmonds 4-0-24-0; J Gibson 7-0-56-3; T Bradford 3-0-27-0.
Moulsecoomb Innings; K Radman St S Rogers Bld M Pearce 4; T Branford Bowled M Pearce 2; M Munton Bld M Pearce 5; C Dartnell  Ct T Pearce, Bld M Pearce 12; P Smyth Ct M Steinke, Bld R Brock 46; P Langman Ct E Bunn, Bld M Steinke 1; Sherwin Ct Brock  Bld M Pearce 35; M Dummock not out 6; J Gibson LBW  Bld Brock 1; J Bowen LBW Bld M Pearce 0; Woods not out    0.
TOTAL 122-9 
Bowling; M Steinke 10-4-17-1; M Pearce    16-2-44-6; P Steinke 4-0-4-0; J Trollope    5-0-30-0; T Pearce    2-0-7-0; R Brock; 5-0-11-2.
Match Drawn
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Bolney CC v TWCC
May 23rd 2010
Even a casual observer of Sussex cricket is probably aware that a side of any pedigree is likely to give TWCC a good game. It would take only a slight further awareness to see through this euphemism and, for “good game” to read “thrashing.” However, when, at 14.12-o-clock-hundred-hours TWCC, in the spirited form of James Trollope and Steve Rogers, took to the field willow in hand such negative thoughts were far from our minds. Indeed TWCC’s recent results against our great local rivals from up the hill make relatively good reading from the Twineham point of view, and much was expected of this encounter.
James’ form continued from where he left off in his last innings, and Steve didn’t hold back either and after just three overs we had 23 on the board. A total of 314 was on!
However, as the Bolney opening bowlers began to capitalise on the help the slightly awkward sloping wicket offered, the rate of scoring fell back and the occasional wicket began to creep in. James, caught behind (I think…) for a valuable but, possibly for him, unfulfilling 20, was the first to go, and as K. Tyler’s wicket-tally accrued so TWCC’s expectations began, inversely, to fade. A lone beacon of TWCC hope remained in the reddening form of Tony, swashbuckling in the sweltering heat, as he alternately nurdled and smote the ball on his way to 57 before his heroic effort terminated in an unlikely toe-end edge to the keeper.
But, as a grand total began to look impossible to all, in the subtle and generous way epitomised by our lovely Sunday game, the pedal was lifted off the metal by the Bolney skipper and some runs settled gratefully into the TWCC run-bank. Matt’s straight six, played with a horizontal bat off a shorter delivery, will live almost as long in the memory as the 40-minute whinge that followed Mikey’s return to the pavilion after he was out for a duck. Of some note is that in the TWCC total of 161 for 7, extras contributed a sobering of 43! However, with 161 on the board we were able, at least, to enjoy what must be the best tea in the game to the full, or in the case of Edward and Mikey, to excess.
To save a lot of work here in the Gazette office it would be tempting to simply end by saying that Bolney had little difficulty in getting the runs. This approach would, however, be to unfairly gloss over the excellence of the innings of C. Bunce, not-out for a chanceless 88 at the end of the game, and also some good bowling, particularly from Phil who, in 12 straight overs bowling up the hill into the slope, came away with figures of 6 maidens, 1 for 23. Fielding was also generally tight, but the runs still flowed too freely, particularly from the bat of Bunce, and, supported by Newington, it was with little difficulty that Bolney crossed the line on 164 for 4. TWCC did have the opportunity to try and play for a draw when, with 20 overs to go, Bolney still needed over 5 an over to win, and we could maybe have tried a more miserly approach, but Skipper Brock, ably antagonised by all the other skippers, chose to press for wickets and, in the end Bolney cruised home with their batting engines purring at only a little over an idle.
A deserved Bolney win; when bowling they used the various slopes of their wicket better than did TWCC, and when batting they needed only a little patience to wait for deliveries to go after with a degree of safety. TWCC must look to the re-match on September the 12th for their chance of revenge.


Scorecard
TWCC (I think) won the toss and chose to bat.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct C Bunce bld K Tyler 20; S Rogers Ct. D Bridge Bld K Tyler 6; T Pearce Ct C Bunce Bld D Flower 57; M Pearce Ct James Flower Bld K Tyler 0; E Bunn LBW Bld K Tyler 0; R Brock Bld James Flower 1; J Simon Bld inexplicably James Flower 10; M Steinke not out 20; J Karvey not out 4. DNB M Brock, P Steinke.
Bowling: D Maher 9-1-42-0; K Tyler 15-2-52-4; James Flower 9-2-14-2; D Flower 5-0-29-1; J Flower 3-0-16-0.
Bolney Innings: B Griffin Ct T Pearce Bld P Steinke 10; J Moore Bld M Pearce 21; C Bunce not out 88; L Newington LBW Bld E Bunn 31; D Tyler Bld M Brock 0; J Flower not out 5. DNB D Maher, K Tyler, D Bridge, D Flower, John Flower.
Bowling: M Steinke 9-1-30-0; P Steinke 12-6-23-1; J Simon 3-1-11-0; M Pearce 6-1-28-1; R Brock 6-0-39-0; M Brock 3-0-14-1; E Bunn 2.2-0-15-1.
Bolney win by 6 wickets
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Parham Park v TWCC May 30th 2010
Following the cancellation of the single wicket, which had TWCC members running for cover, we searched hard for a new match:  and found it at Parham Park.  Fortunately it was close to the Rydon family estate, so we were delighted to have a proud father with his two sons debuting for the club:  Tom and Alex, plus a few additional biased spectators.
Parham Park is a large private house and park, which ordinary people (cricketers and Rydons apart) pay to visit.  But we were given the route through the back gate and though some struggled to find it, the team eventually assembled on a windswept pitch set in impossibly beautiful scenery at the base of the South Downs with surrounding woodland and the imposing Parham House.
Though the sun regularly pushed through the clouds, the dominant factor was the wind which had shaped the nearby pines like bent old men and blew straight up the pitch offering succour to those bowling from the `lake end` but a more challenging experience for those bowling from the `house end`.  Neither of which worried us initially because having won the toss the skipper elected to bat against a team we have not – in recent history at least – faced before.  With no natural partner for James, Mikey was deputed to open.  And he did well, the two of them building a sound if unexciting foundation to the innings on a sound if unexciting pitch.
They reached 40 before the first wicket fell, when Mikey skied an ordinary delivery. Tony came in and within minutes injected the previously missing urgency.  Though the bowling was tidy and the pitch slow, Tony was soon belting fours and sixes around, leaving James to scamper his ones and twos.
In a short space of time Tony had his 50, including 20 from 1 over, and with some abandon he holed out to deep midwicket.
James meanwhile also discovered that there were sixes in his locker and hit a couple of fine driven shots over long on before being caught for 46.  The bowling continued to be well controlled by the home team on a pitch that they clearly knew well.  But Edward scored a hearty 21 and Rydons came and went endlessly, cheered on by the family, who’d strolled/quadded down after Sunday lunch. And after 2 hours 23 minutes, the team declared on 193-7.  No one was out bowled, all but one were catches.   `That should be more than enough` said one of the opposition’s all knowing players as he looked at the scorebook, over-ruling the small band of TWCC doom-mongers who were urging the batting to continue.   After a pleasant country tea we took to the field, determined to make best use of the three extra overs our declaration had given us.  Unfortunately neither Matt with the wind at his back, nor Jim could make the early breakthrough.   It wasn’t until Rob took over from Matt that  wickets at last fell:  two in one over of his opening five over spell, his pace, assisted by the wind, making him a challenging prospect.  Phil chipped in after that with a wicket caught by Matt and James also picked up a wicket:  but the opposition had a number of capable and experienced batsmen whom we struggled to dislodge, despite trying 8 bowlers in short spells.  When the ball did go in the air it fell between fielders, Tom Rydon twice came close:  both with no-balls – and his brother Alex also bowled a fine over showing great technique.  But it was not to be:  whilst Parham never threatened the total, TWCC failed to fully master the slow pitch.  So a draw prevailed with Parham reaching 118 for 5 wickets.   It was an enjoyable day’s cricket, a great location and nice to face a new team who play the game in similar spirit to ourselves.   And nice to play in a rural location with a loo and hot showers (something to do with soakaways???)  Boy are they in for a shock if they come to our place for a re-match!

SCORECARD: PARHAM PARK VS TWCC 30TH MAY 2010
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct, Bld Hutter 46; M Pearce Ct, Bld Fraser 22; T Pearce Ct, Bld Richmond 58; R Rydon Ct, Bld Forest 14; E Bunn Ct, Bld ??? 21; J Simon Ct, Bld Hutter 4; T Rydon St, Bld Mitchell 1; M Steinke Not out 7; A Rydon Not out 3. DNB R. Brock, P Steinke.
TOTAL   193-7 (40 overs).
Fall:  2-39, 3-127, 1-156, 4-157, 6-166, 5-183, 7-189
Bowling: Forest  5-0-8-0, Jones 5-1-15-0, Hutter 12-1-29-2, Fraser 5-0-42-1, Richmond 4-0-53-1, Mitchell 3-0-12-1, Unknown 1-0-6-1.
 
Parham Park Innings: Wales Bld R Rydon 66; Jones Bowled R Rydon 3; Hutter Bld R Rydon 0; Moody Bld P Steinke 10; Fraser Ct M Steinke, Bld Trollope 0; Bolton  Not out 26; Brooks not out 1.
TOTAL  118-5
Bowling: M Steinke: 5-0-8-0, J Simon 4-3-1-0, R Rydon 8-4-9-3, P Steinke 5-1-14-1, J Trollope 5-0-22-1, M Pearce 9-2-30-0, T Rydon 4-0-26-0, 1-0-3-0.
MATCH DRAWN
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TWCC v Xiles June 6th 2010
Summer days like this were made for cricket.  Despite ominous warnings from the meteorologists (and we all know how useless they are – see Staplefield Anorak website) – the sun beamed through broken high cloud and a gentle breeze whispering through the oaks enabled the Twineham ground to audibly sigh in the pleasurable warmth.  Then the workmen arrived: Jim, Jonathan and Paul, the men wot `can do`.  Within minutes, the roof was fixed, the padlocks working, the wood cut to mend the door.  Hurrah, the future of the clubhouse is guaranteed for another great tranche of time. 
And so to the cricket:  Xiles turned up with 9 men, promising 1 to arrive later.  They won the toss and elected to field, enabling us to magnanimously offer them an extra fielder.  In truth, the bowling was not the toughest we will face this season by a long way.  But it’s all very well being thrown the ingredients, it takes a craftsman to make something of them.  And Paul had already proved he is a craftsman:  soon he was to show that roofs are not his only speciality.  While James struggled to get his timing, ending up with 14 including 12 singles, Paul was middling the ball in a fashion I’ve never seen from him before.  One six over the road into the field was the biggest hit he’d ever hit and the first wicket fell at 67, meaning Paul reached his 50 shortly after Jonathan came to the wicket.  After that the two of them continued the slaughter culminating in an event even the longest serving TWCC members have long yearned for yet never witnessed. The bowler was Fergus from the Pavilion end, and it was the last ball of his third over.  Paul revved up with a four and a two before steadying himself for the assault on the moaner’s dam, the object which has so long taunted Twineham batsmen.  (and Wineham batsmen – Rob).  Paul levelled his horizon and steadied himself.  With perfect timing, he launched a huge hit straight back over the bowler’s head.  It bounced just inside the boundary and in Barnes Wallace style, vaulted the hedge and a few seconds later a crash rang round the ground:  the greenhouse had been breached, a full 3 panes.
We have since had confirmation that the last time the greenhouse was smashed was 30 years ago.  The club was forced to pay reparations of £9 for the glass:  fitted by Paul himself.  Anyway, Paul was eventually dismissed for 97 consisting of 11 4’s and 5 6’s.  But wait….!   A recount between his dismissal and the close of the innings saw his score adjusted to 101 (since verified) – so he’s now the happy owner of 2 x 2010 innings and 2 centuries!  Richard and Jonathan pushed on before the skipper declared 14 minutes early on 199-2.  An early breakthrough for Jim, caught by Honse got our spirits up, but the pitch wasn’t helping seamers and the batsmen didn’t seem intent on pushing on, so Mikey was brought on.  For the second time this season, the young maestro had a big impact, taking 5 wickets in two spells, whilst other bowlers struggled to take wickets.  We were gradually getting through them, and whilst they were always in touch with the rate, they never genuinely looked like they would make it, even though their skipper stayed in for the whole innings on 84 not out at the close.  He was crucially dropped by Paul in the deep on one of the few occasions he did go for the big hit, and a couple of other drops might have changed things:  but once again, our seam attack failed to penetrate on an unhelpful wicket.  So it was congratulations to Mikey who once again got a five-for and to Paul:  but for the rest of us it was a frustrating draw.  Xiles finished on 166-7 from 49 overs.

SCORECARD
TWCC Lost the toss and were asked to bat
Twineham Innings: J Trollope Bld Ben 14; P Hunter  Ct,  Bld Tom 101; J Rowland not out 40; R Brock not out 16, Total: 199-2.
DNB:  E Bunn, S Rogers, J Simon, H Karvay, M Pearce, M Steinke, P Steinke.
Xiles Bowling:  Pete 4-0-15-0; Matt 4-0-22-0; Ian 7-0-26-0;Fergus 4-0-31-0; Ben 4-1-33-1; Tom 5-0-46-1; Colin 4-0-21-0
Xiles Innings: Matt Ct H Karvay, Bld J Simon 7; David not out 84; Ben Ct Trollope, Bld M Pearce 0; Fergus Ct S Rogers, Bld M Pearce 1;
Tom Ct Bunn, Bld Brock 43; Ian Bld M Pearce 2; Julian LBW Bld M Pearce 1; Paul not out 0; Pete Ct & Bld M Pearce 9; Colin ??? Total: 166-7
TWCC BOWLING: M Steinke 4-2-7-0, J Simon 4-1-6-1; M Pearce 14-1-55-5; P Steinke 8-4-6-0; H Karvay 4-0-13-0; J Trollope 4-0-14-0;
E Bunn 3-0-15-0; R Brock 7-0-35-1; P Hunter 1-1-0-0.
MATCH DRAWN

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TWCC v London Unity June 13th 2010
 We’ve had close matches in the past with London Unity so it surprised no-one that this one should go most, if not all, the way.  Unfortunately the result went against us but it was a good day’s cricket, reminding us of some welcome Twineham strengths and exposing some well known weaknesses.
Richard lost the toss and was asked to bat, which, these days, isn’t a bad thing because Paul is in the form of his life.  So the trusted partnership of Paul and James strode to the wicket and the innings began.  James struggled and was out without scoring with the score on just 9.  But Tony and Paul struck up a partnership worth 66 with Paul continuing to lead the way.  Tony was bowled for 24 by the impressive Mark Driver who was getting plenty of swing on the ball.   There followed a series of wannabe performances by batsmen not quite getting their legs under the table in the midst of which we finally lost Paul for 79, caught after being dropped a couple of times.  But when all the bits and pieces were put together, it was a respectable 161-8 from 41 overs bowled.  Paul’s average this season has now dropped dramatically to 140!!
The match was there to be won:  the ball had been kept in excellent condition, very shiny on one side, so it was up to us to make the best of it.  We did so with Matt getting an early wicket, their opener playing a good delivery onto his stumps.  The dangerous J Driver was next to fall after an adventurous shot-filled innings.  He scored 27 before Steve took a smart catch low down from Jim.  Jim then turned fielder extraordinaire with the best piece of fielding seen at Twineham for many a long year.  Having wandered into the unenviable position of short leg, he snapped up a forward defensive push and in one motion threw down the stumps before the batsman could rock back in his crease.  It was instinctive, split second and quite brilliant – 3 wickets down, tails up.  That became 4 down when Phil took a wicket with his first ball.  But then a stand developed and try as we might, we couldn’t break through, until finally a ball which threatened to loop over James in the gulley, found itself in his hand thanks to a mighty leap and yell, reminiscent of him in his prime.  By the start of 20 overs, Unity were facing a run rate of 4.5.  At 10 overs, they were up to 6+ an over, but a strong stand had developed.  Eventually, with what he’d hoped would be sufficient runs to play with, the skipper asked Mikey to step up:  which he did with a good first over and a breakthrough wicket; a stumping.  However, Unity are a good solid team of all rounders and their batting continued to impress even at 7 and 8.  A series of fielding blunders didn’t help:  catches went down regularly and blunted our chances and eventually Unity reached the total with 4 wickets and 11 balls to spare.  But a good close game, enjoyed by all.

SCORECARD: TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: P Hunter Ct,   Bld Driver 79; J Trollope Ct, Bld Roberts 0; T Pearce Bld Driver 24; J Rowland Ct WK, Bld Driver 14; S Rogers LBW, Bld Driver 5; E Bunn Bld Driver16; J Simon  Ct,  Bld Driver 6; M Pearce Bld Driver 1; M Steinke not out 1; R Brock not out 1; DNB P Steinke.    
TOTAL 161 – 8  (41 overs) Fall:  9-2, 75-3, 116-4, 124-1, 130-5, 156-7, 158-8, 159-6
Bowling: Roberts 7-2-24-1, S Colombine 8-1-30-0, M Driver 14-2-33-6, Patel 6-0-45-0, J Driver 6-0-19-1.
London Unity Innings: J Driver Ct S Rogers (WK), Bld J Simon 27; S Alsamironi Bowled M Steinke 1; R Bachan Ct J Trollope,  Bld P Steinke 17; N Dunlea run out (J Simon) 1;
J Smith Bld P Steinke 20; T Roberts  St S Rogers, B M Pearce 44; M Murray not out 16; M Driver not out 14.
TOTAL:  165 – 6
Bowling: M Steinke 11-1-39-1, J Simon 6-0-27-1, R Brock 8-1-39-0, P Steinke 8-2-18-2, M Pearce 4-0-34-1
TWCC LOST BY 4 WICKETS
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TWCC v Headliners
June 20th 2010
The Headliners, representing some of the finest of the fourth estate in Mid Sussex, arrived at Twineham ready to dole out a few pithy one-liners against a TWCC side still reeling from last week’s defeat.  And in truth, the story was there to be written:  Tony had called off on the morning due to his daughter going into labour (what possible use would be at her bedside?) and, with a couple of other absences, this was not the strongest team we have put out this season.  However, having lost the toss we were asked to bowl and at last Matt’s luck appeared to have changed.  He bowled a good tight opening spell, right on the money, and the catches that were offered finally stuck for him:  first to Jim in the slips, then to Honse in midwicket.  That, plus a clean bowled, created the first of many memorable headlines that afternoon:  HACKS HACKED OFF AT 17-3.  It became clear that this was an afternoon to explore the depth of the pool of the TWCC bowling talent:  Honse bowled 3 good overs with Matt reciprocating with a catch, Matthew Brock showed once again that he is developing real talent, bowling 6 overs for 15 runs including a clean bowled wicket.  He also took his first TWCC catch:  a good take from Phil, who showed no qualms in clearing out a 12 year old first ball.  And so it was that it was down to the skipper to come in to improve his figures by taking the last wicket with his first ball and interestingly, to set up a family hatrick.  Matthew’s last  ball took a wicket, Richard’s one and only ball took a wicket*. So Headliners struggled to 97 all out, a sound 55 from their opener Pearson the backbone of their score.  With plenty of time in hand, and the chaps buoyed by the news that the team has a new grandfather and uncle (congratulations to the Pearce clan), it was time for a bit of upside down batting.  So we opened with Honse and Matt Steinke.  Matt found the pressure too much and was clean bowled with the score on 6, but Honse hung around grimly until a rather ambitious call from Uncle Mikey put him rather angrily back in the pavilion. 
Then the future of TWCC really did shine:  Mikey and Matthew Brock shared a chanceless partnership of 49 to steer us home.  Mikey’s last shot bagged him his first TWCC 50 – double celebrations for him – whilst Matthew had never before scored a run for the side,  yet after scoring a 4 with his first ball he never looked back and ended on 18 not out.  So victory was ours by a comfortable 8 wickets on a glorious afternoon in the Sussex countryside.

SCORECARD:
Headliner's Innings: J Boardman Ct J Simon Bld M Steinke 5; M Pearson  Bld R Brock  55; R Bryant Ct Karvay Bld M Steinke 1; S Chambers Bld M Steinke 0; I Cowell Ct M Steinke Bld Karvay 16; M Brazier Run Out (G Hunter/S Rogers) 2; N Wallis Hit wicket  Bld P Steinke 2; A Cowell Ct M Brock  Bld P Steinke 0; J Parkinson  Bld M Brock 7; B Talbot Bld R Brock 0. TOTAL 97 (30.1 OVERS).
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 7-2-15-3; J Simon 6-0-19-0; H Karvay 3-0-21-1; P Steinke 6-3-5-2; M Brock 6-2-15-1; G Hunter 2-0-22-0; R Brock 0.1 –0 -0-1.
TWCC Innings: H Karvay Run Out (M Pearce!) 10; M Steinke Bld Bryant 4; M Pearce Not Out 50;  M Brock Not Out 18. Did not bat:  G Hunter, J Simon, J Trollope, S Rogers, P Steinke, R Brock. TOTAL 98 - 4 (25 OVERS).
Fall:  6-2, 49-1. 
Headliner's Bowling: Bryant 6-2-10-1; Brazier 5-2-3-0; Boardman 1-0-10-0; Talbot 4-0-22-0; Parkinson 4-0-26-0; Chambers 3-0-15-0; A Cowell 2-1-2-0.
TWCC won by 8 wickets. 
*Regulars to this website might be interested to know that the Brocks` quest for a family hatrick was concluded on Tuesday night, when Richard turned out for Horsham Rugby Club in a cup match vs Warnham.  His first ball was knicked behind and taken by the keeper!
  
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TWCC v Preston Park July 4th 2010
After the cancellation of the Wisley game, we once again ventured onto the Sussex Fixture Bureau for opponents: and this time it was Preston Park from Brighton who answered the `medium weak` call. They turned up early, mostly young, muscular and keen; a worrying prospect. Richard won the toss and meekly offered to bowl at them. However Matt was in inspired form, making full use of the strong breeze at his back from the far end, bowling the perfect line again and again. We faced very different resistance from both openers: one swashbuckling, one defensive – but eventually the swashbuckler swung once too often, getting a thick edge to a cleverly positioned James at fly slip who took a simple catch. 26-1. Another reasonable stand took them to 49 before James positioned himself cleverly for the number 3’s shot of choice: mid wicket. Another good ball from Matt and another catch for James. Matt’s spell was his finest bowling for a couple of seasons, fast and accurate. Neither Jim nor Phil could break through, but Richard came on replacing Jim against the wind and took a couple of useful wickets; a catch which Edward seemed reluctant to take, despite it heading straight down his throat, and a clean-bowled middle stump. All the time, the bowling had been very tight and the scoring was kept down. Matthew Brock replaced his father against the wind and bowled another fine spell, two nicks put down before he clean-bowled their number 6 batsman. Preston Park crept over 100 with 5 wickets down: but a couple of bruising batsmen came in determined to do or die. And they did – for a while at least. Honse and Mikey’s bowling bore the brunt of their stroke-play as they put on 60 in 6 overs. Eventually Mikey got a couple of wickets and we took a couple of sharp run outs: but they still finished on 186-9, a score which surprised anyone who’d checked the ambling scoreboard only minutes earlier. TWCC had their work cut out: and we only had 10 in the team, far from our strongest batting side.
Mikey and James opened, though Mikey opened in name only, giving up his wicket for just 1 run. James did little better, making 9. But Tony and Richard built a sensible partnership of 63 against good openers, when Tony, on 51, galloped down the track and effectively yorked himself 4 yards from the crease. Richard left soon afterwards to an excellent catch at backward square leg – leaving the stage to Edward and Jim. There followed a masterclass in `taking it to the opposition`. Both guys were on the top of their form as they saw off a variety of bowling, including the return of the openers. Edward was actually outscored: he hit 5 fours in his 30, but Jim whacked 9 fours in his 45. Both not out and they took us home safely with some 3 overs to spare. An excellent performance from them and from the whole team: on paper it wasn’t our strongest side but everyone dug deep, everyone played a big part and it was a great result against a good competitive opposition – who were also a very pleasant and sporting bunch.

Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to field.
Preston Park innings: Dave L Ct E Bunn Bld R Brock 16; Rich K Ct J Trollope Bld M Steinke 22; PJ Ct J Trollope Bld M Steinke 11; Ed D Bld R Brock 10;
Ryan P Bld M Pearce 28; Breed Bld M Brock 18; Sunny Ct and Bld M Pearce 39; Dave G Run out 26; Cal Run out 1; Dean not out 0; Rob not out 0. TOTAL 186-9, 41 Overs. Fall: 26, 49, 61, 61, 102, 142, 173, 185, 186
Bowling: M Steinke 10-5-21-2; J Simon 7-2-36-0; R Brock 6-1-13-2; P Steinke 8-0-28-0; M Brock 4-0-21-1; M Pearce 3-0-35-2; H Karvay 3-0-25-0.
TWCC innings: J Trollope Ct, Bld Sunny 9; M Pearce Ct Groombridge 1; T Pearce Bld PJ 51; R Brock Ct Sunny, Bld Kihn 22; E Bunn not out 30; J Simon Not out 45.
TOTAL 189-4. Fall: 14-2, 34-1, 97-3, 114-4
DNB: M Steinke, P Steinke, M Brock, H Karvay,
Bowling: Sunny 13-4-40-1, Groombridge 12.1-1-43-1, O Toole 3-0-24-1, Kihn 7-0-23-1, PJ 5-0-29-0.
TWCC won by 6 wickets
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Staplefield v TWCC July 11th 2010
Staplefield is such a beautiful village, home to two of our own players and former home to two others. It has two pubs and is dominated by a vast triangular common, in the middle of which sits a well tended cricket square.  And this is where we found ourselves on Sunday, hoping for a victory to complement last week’s sterling effort.   The dressing room was abuzz with excitement as Steve handed out next week’s Tour Agenda, but that was soon dampened by the skipper who lost the toss and had to break the news that we were to field for two and a half hours in the hot July sunshine. And it has to be reported that there was a certain lazy summer lethargy afflicting our two openers, Jim and Matt.  Neither was getting much help from the dried out pitch, and both seemed happy to amble in languorously offering only limited threat – and in fairness limited scoring opportunities - to an opening pair who should have been seen off.  (the website editor is invited to open a comments column for all those who have a view, contrary or otherwise, to this interpretation of events!!) A different course was called for:  so Mikey was offered the opportunity to add to his extraordinary tally of wickets this season.  And the young leg spinner didn’t disappoint, taking a wicket in his first over, an excellent catch taken in the deep by Honse with the score on 18. By the end of his spell, Mikey had taken 3 wickets, the 3 top order batsmen, including an excellent quick handed stumping by Steve.  Phil’s tough season continued:  once again he was very tight but the wickets didn’t come.  So the skipper again turned to youth and Matthew Brock was asked to come downhill to aid his already impressive pace.  Second ball and he got his man:  an attempted drive flew high and furious above first slip where Edward launched himself stunningly at full stretch to snatch it from the air one handed.  Opinion is divided about how it compares to his mighty catch earlier in the season:  I believe it was better.  So, unsurprisingly, does Matthew!  Later in his 5 over spell, the boy wonder took a second wicket, this one clean bowled.  For a 13 year old, Matthew is showing great promise, with good pace and technique.   In just four matches, he has already pushed himself into the top 5 wicket takers this season!   A good stand of 52 for the 6th wicket, including a mighty 6 off Richard, saw Staplefield heading towards a reasonable score:  and by the time Richard and Edward snaffled themselves a wicket each, the home side had reached 171-7.   Jonathan and James opened up and it soon became clear that Jonathan felt very much at home in Staplefield:  literally.  Against bowling that can only be described as friendly, he launched a blizzard of shots including 12 4s and a 6 and powered his way to 79 before being caught out at long off.  He was given good support by Steve (23) in a stand of 70, and Edward (38 no).  So it was that what might have been a testing target was reached with 9 overs to spare against a fairly weak Staplefield team, plenty of time for everyone to get home and see the Spanish beat the violent Dutch in the World Cup Final.  Next up is a tour:  the  team will meet up on Friday morning with golf clubs, tennis racquets and cards to head to Dorchester, Thomas Hardy country.  `And yet to every bad there is a worse`  wrote the great man,  a phrase which may be apposite.  As might `Some folk want their luck buttered` .  A full tour report will follow.  But first here’s the scorecard, with a regrettable use of first names for the third match out of 4!!!

SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to field
Staplefield Batting: Brian Ct H Karvay Bld M Pearce 11; Pete St S Rogers Bld M Pearce 15; Sam LBW Bld M Pearce 25; Simon Bld M Brock 15; Nobby Ct E Bunn Bld M Brock 10; James Ct M Steinke Bld E Bunn 13; Yule Bld R Brock 35; James E not out 19; James G not out 10. TOTAL 171-7 (39 overs) .
Fall: 18, 45, 54, 74, 88, 140, 146.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 5-3-5-0; J Simon 4-2-12-0; M Pearce 9-0-51-3; P Steinke 7-2-10-0; M Brock 5-1-19-2; H Karvay 2-0-17-0; R Brock 5-0-11-2; E Bunn 3-0-14-1.

TWCC Batting: J Trollope Ct  Phil  Bld Simmons 12; J Rowland Ct, Bld Nobby 79; S Rogers Bld Brian 23; R Brock Ct, Bld Nobby 8; E Bunn not out 38; J Simon Bld Nobby 0; M Pearce not out 0. DNB: M Steinke, M Brock, H Karvay, P Steinke. TOTAL 172-5 (28 overs)
Fall: 36/1, 106/3, 123/4, 159/2, 160/6
Staplefield Bowling: Simmons 8-0-28-1; Phil 7-0-47-0; Nobby 7-0-38-3; Brian 5-0-33-1; D Clarke 1.5-0-19-0.
TWCC WIN BY 5 WICKETS

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Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC August 1st 2010
Perhaps the greatest challenge we faced on this day was raising a team in the first place!  The previous week, we had to pull out of our fixture with Henfield, which is an awful thing to do, simply because we didn’t have enough players.  This week, Jonathan rode to the rescue by throwing cricket into the middle of his family get-together so we had Jonathan, brother James and his son Nick – a fine sprinkling of Rowlands.  Add to that Jo Panther – the name of the year award – invited along by Mikey and we had more than enough players – literally!!  12 in fact, the result of an easy to make email blunder involving Pearce Jnr using Pearce snr’s email:  `tis to be hoped he hasn’t also got his betting account details? Anyway, aware that the pitch is notoriously unreliable, Richard won the toss and opted to bat, to at least get something on the board for our bowlers to play with. And whilst Jonathan was an early victim of the variable bounce, the rest of the top order seemed to enjoy the slow pace and cope quite easily with the up and down nature of the well worn pitch. The fact that the boundaries were reasonably short and the outfield very fast meant that the runs started to pile up rather speedily, especially when Tony pressed on, clearly very much enjoying his batting at the moment, after an excellent tour. One moment the skipper was umpiring and hoping to scrape 120: minutes later the 100 was up and we were still powering on. Steve’s good innings ended 33 from 48 balls and another Rowland – James (brother) came in to prove that he too can bat a bit. He hit a swift 36 from 23 balls (yes we did ball counting this week). But not for the first time for this club, Tony was the star of the show – `blessed are we to have him` should become the club mantra - as he delivered 4’s and 6’s all over the shop, offering the bowlers no place to hide. Eventually, with 3 sixes and 12 fours to his name, he stood on 94 (not that we told him that) and went for a big hoik over midwicket, only to hole out to Roger Hole, standing right on the boundary rope. Two yards either side would have been a brilliant century. But by this time we were on 181 for just 3 wickets. A declaration was talked about:  but with four guests in the team, plus Dave Jones` first appearance of the season, it seemed only right that as many as possible should get a bat: so we carried on until tea, by which time we had made our third highest tally of the season, 227 for 7 wickets, notable also for an excellent knock by the in-form Jim at the death.
As usual Albourne provided an excellent tea, enjoyed in warm sunshine: and the rest of the Rowland family also tucked into their own big picnic from the grandstand, which means all Rowlands had a good day out.
So we knew what we had to do: we knew the pitch would play up and we had plenty of runs to play with. Richard put in a very attacking field from the start, with two slips, gully, point and silly mid on and off. Phil chose his end and we were away. Unfortunately the ball had been badly battered by the hardness of the pitch and there was no shine available, so Phil kept a steady line and length, finding occasional bounce whilst Richard struggled at the other end to find much of anything (a touch negative? - Ed.). Nick Rowland (nephew) bowled tidily after Richard but it fell to Phil to find something. He bowled their opener for 16 hard fought runs, and then in one magical over, he brought us right into the match. That over went W, dot, W, W, dot, dot.  A smart catch by Tony in the slips, a bowled off his pads and a brilliant catch by Jonathan at silly mid on and the game was transformed. Unfortunately the upshot of Phil’s efforts was to send Albourne scurrying for safety. An already poor scoring rate all but dried up as they withdrew, and even the massive gaps afforded by the attacking fields were rarely risked. Phil finished an excellent spell, Mikey bowled a comic first over before changing ends and getting decent spin, finally encouraging a couple of batsmen to have a go, resulting in two stumpings. But the rest of the match petered out rather, with Albourne making just 107 for the loss of 6 wickets, and TWCC not having the strength of bowling required to get them out. The talk afterwards in the TWCC dressing room was of experimenting with the `two-thirds` system, whereby a chasing team has to get two thirds of the score to claim a draw, or lose. It is something we will try later this season. On a brighter note the ball-counting system, which Jim determinedly started, went well:  it fluctuated slightly when the book was passed around as batsmen and umpires came and went, but it records that 208 balls were recorded of 231 bowled, which is very worthwhile.  What does it show?  What do you think!  It shows Tony scores enormously quickly, so does Jim and the rest of us don’t. However it is interesting and should be continued if at all possible.
 
SCORECARD
TWCC won the toss and batted.
TWCC Innings: S Rogers CT, Bld Saunder 33 (48); J Rowland Ct Keeper, Bld Stace 4 (6); T Pearce Ct R Hole, Bld Healey 94 (59); Ja Rowland Ct,  Bld Widowson 36 (23); M Pearce Ct, Bld Widowson 14 (27); J Panther Bld Healey 5 (5); D Jones Bld Healey 3 (13); I Irvine not out 6 (13); J Simon not out 21 (14).
TOTAL 227-7  (37 OVERS). Fall:  6-2, 83-1, 150-4, 181-3, 189-6, 199-5, 199-7
DNB:  N Rowland, P Steinke. 12th man: R Brock.
Albourne and Sayers Common Bowling: N Stace 7-0-50-1; Saunders 7-1-38-1; Healy 12-2-75-2; Widowsen    11-2-53-2.

Albourne and Sayers Common Innings: H Coughlan Ct J Rowland, Bld P Steinke    11; C Bowman Bld P Steinke 16; D Nicon Bld P Steinke 2; C Kingscott    Ct T Pearce, Bld P Steinke 0; D Bridgman not out 47; R Hole St S Rogers, Bld M Pearce 14; N Stace St S Rogers, Bld M Pearce 0; M Stace not out 10.
TOTAL 107-6  (38 overs) .
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke 13-2-22-4; R Brock 6-1-15-0; N Rowland 3-2-1-0; M Pearce 8-1-36-2; Ja Rowland 4-2-21-0; D Jones 4-0-13-0.
Match Drawn

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Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC 8th August 2010
Following TWCC recent victory over our rivals Albourne and Sayers common the team made the journey to Hadlow down in confident sprits, to play a moulsecoomb side that we had already destroyed early on in the season. As it being august many of our regulars were away so we drafted in Malcolm Gasson for his annually fixture and our newest recruit Joe Panther who impressed last week and earned himself a recall to the side. So to the cricket Richard Brock are inspiration skipper (can I open the batting next week please) won the toss and elected to bowl a wise choice judging by the state of the wicket and its reputation of being a mine field. Phil and Matt Steinke opened the bowling and cause problems from the off, Phil bowling a tight line and length removed the opener and number 3 for little runs and Matt bowling down the hill was bowling well and getting good bounce and was rewarded with a wicket putting Moulsecoomb in trouble at 36 for 3. The Phil and Matt combo continued to bowl well and were unlucky not to get anymore wickets. Matt who finished with figures of 10 over’s 37 runs and 1 wicket was replaced by Richard after his comical first over which should have gone for plenty more runs than it did Richard found his line and broke the partnership that was forming Dave Rogers a brilliant catch to remove the dangerous batsman. Phil finished his excellent spell with figures of 12 over’s 29 runs and 2 wickets was replaced by Mikey the young and exciting leg spinner his first over beat the bat multiple times and troubled the batsmen and was unlucky not to get a wicket but it appeared Richard Brock had the luck on his as he got two wickets in two balls the latter being a well judged catch from Joe panther which had Richard dreaming of that elusive 5 wicket hall. Mikey after two more excellent over’s was replaced by Matthew Brock who bowled with pace and accuracy at the death to bog the batsman down and got two wickets one was a classy catch from a classy Man Malcolm Gasson who seemed to make the difficult chance look very easy but this day truly did belong to his dad Richard Brock who picked up another wicket which brought his total up to 4 can he do is there time as tea was fast approaching there was only time for one more over it was all or nothing  can Richard finally earn a  place in the prestigious 5 wicket club. Richards’s confidence was high but he soon got brought down to earth when he was cracked away for four but the next ball he bowled was a beauty which swung away and got the faintest of edges through to the ever reliable Keeper Steve he done it he sank to his knees in Joy after 22 years of cricket finally a five wicket hall. The bowlers all performed well and kept Moulescoomb to 140 for 9.
The TWCC boys sat down for tea confident of chancing the runs down and we started well hones are overseas pro and Steve made easy work of the Moulsecoomb attack and made 28 before hones was bowled for 4. That brought Mikey to the chance and second ball he got an absolute Jaffer which he did well to even hit unfortunately it went straight to a fielder who pulled of a great catch to get rid of the danger man. We were in trouble now at 28 for 2 but things became even worse when Steve who was looking in great nick played on leaving Twinham 28 for 3. We had two new batsmen at the crease Tony peace and Malcolm Gasson and from the off both looked in good touch and building a good partnership both playing there shots including a lovely cover drive from Malcolm for four runs together these to were seeing Twinham home before Malcolm holed out for a good 11 which brought Joe Panther to the crease. He continued Malcolm’s good work and also played some nice shots to help support Tony who was batting well and making easy work of the bowling. Jo finally went for one to many big shots and was caught in two mines weather to go forward or back and lob any easy catch to the bowler for 14. At this stage Twinham were easing home with Tony continuing to score and brought up his 50. Matt Brock batted well for his 7 before being bowled, this brought Dave Rogers to the crease needing just 3 to win he played a beautiful cover drive to win us the game. All in all it was a good performance and a deserved win.
 By Mikey never doing it again

SCORECARD
TWCC won the toss and batted
Moulsecomb Innings: A Fowler Ct. S Rogers Bld P Steinke 5; P Smith Ct Panther Bld R Brock 41; N Hammond Ct D Rogers Bld P Steinke 8; P Lansman Ct R Brock Bld M Steinke 1; W Harris Ct S Rogers Bld R Brock 22; R Cantrum Bld R Brock 6; S Liversie LBW Bld M Brock 9; J Nottage LBW Bld R Brock 9; D McGowan Ct Gasson Bld M Brock 16; J Gibson Ct S Rogers Bld R Brock 12; J Bowen not out 0. Total 140/10.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 10-2-37-1; P Steinke 12-2-29-2; R Brock 11.2-0-41-5; M Pearce 4-0-7-0; M Brock 5-1-12-2.
TWCC Innings: S Rogers Bld D McGowan 20 (21); H Karvay Bld Nottage 4(21); M Pearce Ct (unknown) Bld Nottage 0(2); M Gasson Ct Liversie Bld D McGowan 11(24); T Pearce not out 57 (36); J Panther Ct & Bld P Smith 14(26); M Brock Bld J Hammond 7(8); D Rogers not out 5(4). Total 144/6
Moulsecombe Bowling: J Hammond 6-0-32-1; J Nottage 5-3-8-2; D McGowan 4-0-29-2; J Gibson 4-0-21-0; J Bowen 5-1-16-0; P Smith 3-0-26-1.
TWCC win by 4 wickets

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Warninglid v TWCC August 15th 2010
Warninglid normally provide stiff opposition for us, and it is always a pleasure to travel to their ground. This year was no different, with the pitch looking ominously green after recent rain.
Your reporter arrived half an hour late for the start, and arrived to see 44 runs already on the board and only eight overs bowled. Unfortunately Warninglid were the batting side. Their openers, Forster and Parsons, had got off to a quick start demonstrating the advantages of youth combined with ability.
This seemed to have demoralised Matt and Mikey who were quickly replaced by the always reliable Phil, and Paul who bowled with his usual accuracy (unfortunately). Eventually wickets began to fall, Mikey Pearce taking a sharp catch at midwicket off Phil. When their number three, Beal, was run out by an accurate throw to the bowler from Matt, we sensed that we were stemming the tide, and for a few overs thought we might be on top (83-5). The fielding was tight, with Joe Panther as athletic in the field as his name would suggest. Unfortunately each wicket brought a younger and just as devastating hitter to the wicket. It seemed that with only Phil bowling a tight line we would be hoping for catches to remove the batsmen. The catches came, but also went, with several opportunities missed. At least Matt, Tony and Ian all managed to show how it should be done, and Paul helped his figures with a caught and bowled as he experimented, but not for long, with a new bowling action.
Honse came on to bowl a few overs at the end of the innings and was unlucky not to take a wicket in a good spell (though it does show a wicket to Honse's namne in the analysis - Ed). We were short of bowlers today, and it showed in the Warninglid score, 188 for 7.
The tea is always good at Warninglid, but maybe the cake was to blame for the lack of foot movement that followed. Paul returned to opening the batting after an absence of a couple of months. He may as well have stayed away for all the good the opening partnership was with he and Steve both returning to the clubhouse in the first eight balls.
The bowling was sharp, and a bit quicker that stand-in no 3 Ian Irvine was used to. In fact he’s not really used to any bowling at all. He and Tony held the fort for a few overs, pinching runs when they could, but wickets fell quickly leaving Tony playing occasional strokes and the score on 20 for 5.
It looked like a club record might fall but none of the older members of the team could remember (or perhaps not wanted to be associated with) any particularly low totals.
George managed a few swashbuckling shots, but never found last season’s eye and timing and his demise excruciatingly inevitable. It then fell to Matt and Dave Rogers to see us out through the remaining 15 overs. It was the sort of cricket that we have come to dread, but it provided a tight finish after Matt was given LBW to a rising ball that hit him on the nose, while he was on tiptoes. Honse took over the task with aplomb and saw out 39 balls without scoring. Dave Rogers eventually succumbed, scoring 3 off 39 balls, with just three balls to go. Phil saw the over out, as we all knew he would.
Tony, who scored 40 from 53 balls, was the only batsman who ever looked comfortable on a damp wicket with variable bounce. Warninglid were a strong team and it was sad that we could not provide better opposition for them.

Scorecard
Warninglid Innings: Forster ct M Pearce bld P Steinke 30; Parsons bld P Steinke 32; Beal run out 9; Ridgewell c&bld P Hunter; Nastys ct M Steinke bld P Hunter (?); Cripps ct T Pearce bld P Hunter 58; Malik not out 13; T Raynor ct Irvine bld Karvay 18; C Raynor not out 1; TOTAL 188-7
Fall: 1-63; 2-69; 3-73; 4-83; 5-127; 6-159; 7-187.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 5-0-22-0;  M Pearce 4-0-32-0;  P Steinke 12-3-37-2;  P Hunter 15-1-73-3;  J Karvay 4-0-26-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter ct Malik bld Pratt 0;  S Rogers ct wkt bld Woodroffe 0; T Pearce ct cover bld C Raynor 40;  Irvine ct wkt bld Pratt 1;  M Pearce ct mid-off b Pratt 4; J Panther bld C Raynor 0; G Hunter bld C Raynor 17; M Steinke lbw T Raynor 0; D Rogers ct slip b Pratt 3; J Karvay not out 0;  P Steinke not out 0.  TOTAL 83-9. Fall 1-1; 2-1; 3-9; 4-15; 5-20; 6-72;7-72; 8-73; 9-82.
Warninglid bowling Pratt 9-2-13-4;  Woodroffe 5-2-7-1;  C Raynor 9-1-23-3;  Malik 5-0-30-0; T Raynor 6-4-2-1; Nastys 1-1-0-0; Ridgewell 1-1-0-0; Parsons 1-0-1-0.
Match drawn

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TWCC v Crescent
August 29th 2010
Another of Brighton’s many homeless teams of travellers found their way to Twineham to enjoy a day out in the country:  and they were of course afforded the usual warm welcome and hospitality:  they were asked to bat first on a cold windy cloudy afternoon after Richard won the toss.  Matt and Jim both bowled excellently to keep the score down:  though neither of the openers seemed to want to score very fast anyway.  Had the skipper not explained the rules of two and a half hours play?  By the drinks interval halfway through, they were barely in the 40s, with Matt and Jim bowling consistently good balls for 25 overs.  Richard decided to keep the pressure on by introducing our meanest bowler, Phil, who was immediately despatched for a couple of sixes by an opener who had previously been reluctant to risk even a single.  Still, Phil was to have his revenge as eventually the stand was broken thanks to a good catch from George and then an excellent run out.  Phil took the following 3 wickets, including a memorable skied catch taken by Dave Jones (can we double check that please!!!!) and a useful looking middle order were gone!  The rest didn’t look too much trouble though they did use all the time before finishing on 111 which already looked way way too short.  Four wickets for Phil before being taken off by an unsympathetic captain.
Paul went out to lead the way home but suffered an LBW from umpire Jones which Paul seemed not to believe was completely correct.
"Could U Not Tell," he seemed to mutter whilst removing his kit.  Anyway Richard was urged to go in by the team after missing on a bat for a few weeks:  and he enjoyed his moment.
Richard and James worked well together accumulating a partnership of over 50 before James was stumped by the clever off spinner, who then took 3 further wickets but couldn’t prevent Jonesy and Jonathan bringing TWCC home comfortably by 5 wickets.

Scorecard: TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl.
Crescent Innings: D Morgan Ct G Hunter Bld P Steinke 40; J Gowers Run out 25; B Pomfrett Ct S Rogers Bld P Steinke 8; J Gatford jnr     Ct D Jones Bld P Steinke 7; Lang St S Rogers Bld P Steinke 2; J Stringer Bold P Hunter 0; A Malby not out 9; M Watts Ct M Steinke Bld D Jones 8; J Gatford not out 4. TOTAL 107 – 7.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 12-5-21-0; J Simon 11-6-12-0; P Hunter 6-0-16-1; P Steinke     9-0-41-4; R Brock 1-0-7-0; H Karvay 3-0-12-0; D Jones 2-0-7-1.
TWCC Innings: P Hunter LBW Gatford Snr 16 (15); J Trollope St Bld S Wood 26 (61); R Brock Ct, Bld S Wood 38 (58); S Rogers Ct  Bld S Wood 8 (14); D Jones not out 8 (20); G Hunter Bld S Wood 0 (2); J Rowland not out 7 (13). TOTAL 233-4
Fall:  33, 80, 92, 97, (rest not recorded). DNB: M Steinke, J Simon, H Karvay, P Steinke.
Crescent Bowling: Gatford Jnr 8-0-33-0, Gatford Snr 9-3-18-1, S Wood 8.4-0-39-4, M Watts 7-2-22-0.
TWCC won by 5 wickets.
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TWCC v East Brighton
September 4th 2010
A small crisis on the player availability front meant we started with 9 players against another Brighton team, found at the last minute after Ashurst pulled out.  But Tony promised to turn up for the last hour of the first innings:  and fortunately we were asked to bat from a lost toss, but it was a side with an unlikely middle order.  Still Paul and James made a useful start, putting on an impressive 50.  So far so good.  However James then fell to LBW and a mini collapse of the non existent middle order followed.  Richard and Edward both disappeared swiftly, non quite as swiftly as Matt who joined the Primary club at last.  So suddenly we were still in the 50s but 3 wickets down, and then 4 as Paul left his son to fend for himself.  George had strict captain’s orders not to swing the bat recklessly but to bat sensibly and wait for Tony to arrive and save us.  For four balls George did exactly that.  Then followed as exciting a period of batting as has ever been seen at this ground, certainly in our generation.  The following 32 balls were hit for 78 including 8 sixes and 6 fours.  Most of the sixes went into the field where Paul sensibly stationed himself for the duration of this remarkable innings.   It was George’s highest ever score and it got us out of a hole.  When he was finally caught we were looking much better at 160 for 6, with George having been helped by sensible `give it to George` batting by Honse.   Jim raised himself from his sick bed to wander out and see how we were doing:  just in time to hear a call from Tony that he was delayed.  So Jim put his whites on and kept them at bay before Tony finally arrived for the last 15 minutes to give us a rousing finish:  and he promptly ran Jim out!  An exciting innings in every way, finishing on 175 all out, ten minutes short. 
They had a very good opener who moved onto 40 without a problem, but Matt and Paul nibbled away and took two wickets at the other end and finally the dangerman for 40.  Or so we thought!  Bring on the Australian.  Hamley was his name and he looked untroubled by anything we could sling at him.  Arriving at number 5, we thought our job was nearly done but he did very little wrong except a late skier which landed in space.  A brilliant and spirited late spell by the up and coming combination of Honse and Matthew Brock gave us a sniff once again with 3 late wickets:  but the Australian saw them home, finishing on 97 not out.  Shame that.  A good effort, a nice bunch of chaps – but we cannot have too much hope with 9 players and no middle order, and it was to East Brighton’s credit that they gave one or two of their part time bowlers a chance to ensure the match went the distance.

Scorecard: TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC Innings: J TrollopeLBW B Hanley 22 (40); P Hunter Ct, Bld Harris 37 (52); R Brock Bld Hanley 0 (4); M Steinke Bld Harris 0 (1); E Bunn Ct, Bld Wookey 7 (9); G Hunter Ct, Bld Squires78 (36); H Karvay Ct, Bld Squires 6 (16); M Brock Ct, Bld Squires 1 (3); P Steinke Ct Wk, Bld Collins 1(9); J Simon run out 7 (10); T Pearce     not out 4 (1). TOTAL 175 all out
East Brighton Bowling: Harris11-4-28-2, G Coe 6-0-28-0, Hanley 5-1-11-2, S Wood (?) S Haig 2-0-37-0, Wookey4-0-30-1, Squires 5-2-27-3, Collins 3-0-9-1.
East Brighton Innings: S Coe    Ct ??? Bld M Steinke 40; A Bastable    Bld M Steinke    2; A Blaunt Ct J Trollope Bld P Hunter 8; S PageCt E B unn Bld R Brock 2; P Hamley not out    Bld M Brock 21; S Wookey Ct R Brock Bld M Brock 2; A Squires    Bld H Karvay     0; T Coe not out 5. TOTAL 178 – 7.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 7-0-47-2; P Hunter 6-0-31-1; R Brock     7-0-22-1; P Steinke    7-0-23-0; J Trollope 2-0-22-0; M Brock 4-0-17-2; H Karvay 3-0-15-1.
TWCC lost by 3 wickets

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TWCC v Bolney September 12th 2010
Well - TWCC's most dispiriting batting performance deserves as little space as was used in their scoring column; what a waste of a perfect early Autumn day.  Suffice to say TWCC went into the match missing Paul, Tony, Jonathan and Mikey, each of whom can regularly score 50s, and George who regularly can't but occasionally does.  It was left to the rest of us to make up for that, and, frankly, with one exception we didn’t do very well.  In fact it was fairly dismal, as the scorecard demonstrates, with only Jim getting into double figures as we staggered to 72 all out.  And that was without Bolney bringing out their hot-shot bowlers; almost from the off, Barry, Bolney's skipper, resisted deploying his full arsenal as TWCC's slow-motion capitulation appeared to happen with almost no help from outside forces. We restored some small pride with our bowling - Matt in particular bowled well for his two wickets - and we made them work for their runs, but in all honesty we weren't bowling at their hot-shot batsmen either. As soon as Flower came in to put us all out of our misery the few runs required were quickly smacked off a crisp bat and it was all over.
A humbling performance, and a shame for us all that we didn't offer much of a game to our visitors from the North. The Bolney throttle was never opened by more than a crack and their better players, who we like to see play, never got a chance to perform.
Quote of the day; Bolney's Captain, Barry, on winning the toss; "We often don't get you out so we'll bowl first."
Bolney won by 6 wickets, and TWCC's dismal September form of recent times goes on.

Scorecard: TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Bld Flower 6 (30); S Rogers LBW Bld Tyler 1 10); R Brock Ct Wkt Bld Tyler 1 (8); J Simon Ct&Bld Newington 15 (33); E Bunn Ct Newington Bld J Flower 8 (19);  M Steinke Bld J Flower 0 (4); I Irvine Bld Ridgeway 6 (26); D Jones Bld D Flower 2 (14); H Karvay not out 6 (18); M Brock Bld Ridgeway 0 (2); P Steinke Bld Ridgeway 1 (2). TOTAL 72 all out.
Bolney bowling: Tyler 10-1-25-2, J Flower 10-3-14-3, D Flower 6-0-11-1, L Newington 4-1-7-1, Ridgeway 3.2-0-4-3, Griffin 1-0-6-0.
Bolney Innigs: N Ridgeway Ct&Bld M Steinke 2; D Bridge Bld M Steinke 9; J  Moore not out 24; S Bowles Ct M Steinke Bld R Brock 9; J Flower not out 25. TOTAL 75 – 4.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 10-4-20-2; P Steinke 8-2-16-1; M Brock 4-0-18-0; R Brock 3.2-2-11-1; H Karvay 1-0-8-0.
TWCC lost by 6 wickets.


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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston September 19th 2010
Mid-week forecasts promised a particularly uncomfortable period of on-off sandwich-preparation for Sunday, but, ultimately, catering fears were groundless and TWCC welcomed their old friends from Streat and Westmeston to a bright and cheerful Twineham ground.
Acting Captain Jim won the toss and asked Streat to bat first. Fairly crucial, Jim believed, to win the toss, until Stan said that he would have batted first anyway, but at least, were a home victory to be a possibility (an outcome in much doubt given recent form), TWCC wouldn’t have to take ten wickets!
Phil and Jim opened the bowling attack, and, together, kept the scoring subdued quite successfully, though predictably Phil took wickets and Jim didn’t. TWCC were without Matt and Richard and Paul, but all the time Streat weren’t getting away it seemed prudent not to rock the boat so these two bowled long spells. Edward replaced Jim as he flagged, and immediately took a wicket, LBW, and continued to mix it up well during his 7 over spell. Honse replaced Phil and, despite some good balls, began to be hit about by the visitor’s No. 3, Simon Barrs. Dave Jones, replacing Honse, showed that with experience comes guile, and he bowled to the close with great success and relative economy. What was called for at the other end was some testing leg-spin from Love-Monkey-Pearce, as Streat, with wickets in hand, would surely attempt to hit out and would get themselves into trouble. I still maintain the theory was good, but the trouble was that, what with all Mikey’s recent larnin’ and his inner debates about the relative merits of Laura and her friend that he’s really interested in even though he’s been encouraging Laura just to get to know her friend, he had completely forgotten how to bowl. One over was enough, but he was given a second to prove he shouldn’t have been bowling at all, and it was left to James to manfully take the final over at some cost to his long-term statistical analysis.
Streat batted well and their innings closed, at tea, on a total of 171 for 4. In spite of not scoring fast at the start they had, in Simon Barrs backed up by Leach and Hawkins, players who took advantage of the elephant-in-the-room issue that was TWCC’s catching ability. Several simple drops that, had they been held, would naturally have altered the game considerably. Most, if not all the visitors, were given extra lives that TWCC could ill afford. There was also a comical missed run-out where Jim picked the ball up neatly, and who, with both batsmen at the same end of the wicket, then threw the ball backwards… it doesn’t bear thinking about, and I wouldn’t were it not for the fact that the episode haunts the editorial team here at the Gazette.
So, with a total to overhaul that was, perhaps, some twenty runs or so above par for the Autumn Twineham ground, TWCC required a good, quick and solid start, and, thankfully, this is what happened. James began to find a spot of form, and Steve took the game to the Streat openers with great gusto. James was the first to go, for an excellent 30, and then Steve, with an audible groan, chipped a long-hop outside the off stump out to point for a simple catch. Steve’s timing and powerful stroke play gave TWCC 44 most valuable runs with which to start the afternoon’s campaign.
Tony didn’t really get going, worried, no doubt, about whether Mikey's actually noticed he's at school yet and, possibly about whether Laura or her friend are in Debrett’s, but Mikey and Edward, in a fourth-wicket partnership worth at least 50 but which, with Edwards particular style of aggressive running, realised just 38 took TWCC well on the way to matching the Streat total.
It was far from plain sailing, however, as wickets fell, and TWCC still needed 23 runs with just three overs left. Jim managed a few off Stan’s last over, and then Dave Jones, with Edward still managing affairs, strode to the middle to see what he could do. Plenty of scurrying about left Dave facing the opening bowler for the last over, and, with the scores level and just three balls to go, Dave missed the ball and suddenly Edward was at his end shouting to him to run for the bye. Edward had run a quick single! Clearly Streat didn’t expect this either and Dave got home at the bowler’s end. TWCC had won with two balls to spare.
Thanks must go to Stan and the Streat team for a fun afternoon’s play, and credit must also go to Hawkins who bowled particularly well from the Pavilion End. Also, in young Pat Wise, Streat have a great young prospect who will surely plague us in the years to come.
Of further note is the fact that Stan Spiegel has, following this game, taken 998 wickets in his Streat career. A truly remarkable milestone of 1,000 wickets beckons and might well have been reached in this game. He will have to wait, however, but all Twineham and Wineham CC wish him well and congratulate him on his 1,000th wicket whenever it falls, as it surely will.

Scorecard: TWCC won the toss and elected to bowl.
Streat Innings: Mansfield Ct. Bunn Bld P. Steinke 3; Leach LBW Bunn 38; S Barrs not-out 73; Mayston Ct Karvay Bld P Steinke 0; Hawkins Bld Jones 35; Baxter not –out 8.
TWCC Bowling: P Steinke 15-5-36-2; J Simon 11-5-29-0; E Bunn 7-1-25-1; H Karvay 4-0-27-0; M Pearce 2-0-19-0; D Jones 3-0-16-1; J Trollope 1-0-13-0.
TWCC Innings: J Trollope Ct, Bld Hawkins 30; S Rogers Ct, Bld P. Wise 44; T Pearce Ct, Bld P. Wise 4; E Bunn not out 38; M Gasson St, Bld Hawkins 2; J Simon Bld Hawkins 8; D Jones not out 2. DNB J Karvay, D Rogers, P Steinke.
TWCC win by 4 wickets.

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TWCC v Brighton Beamers September 26th
Brighton Beamers, a jovial bunch of nomadic cricketers from Brighton, arrived at our sun-soaked ground for what we were not to know would be the final match of the 2010 season.  Paul made a rare appearance for us and so with that in mind, it seemed a good idea to bat and set them a target, which we duly did having won the toss.  The backbone of the innings came after the early departure of James for 4 with the score on 18.  Paul was then joined by a violent Tony Pearce who set about the bowling with such vehemence that the ball-counting scorer couldn’t keep up.  However we did manage to record that in a magnificent 111 he scored sixteen 4’s and four 6’s.  He was somewhat gung-ho towards the end, which delighted the waiting batsmen, all anxious for a final hoorah to see out the season.  But the Beamers’ catchers were not on form and so Tony lived to fight on and on until at last a catch was taken.  Tony’s innings should also not be allowed to overshadow Paul’s excellent 50, nor the knocks  of Steve and Jim who made merry if rather more briefly before the urn boiled, a good time to call off the teams 10 minutes early on 228-3 with the second wicket stand between Paul and Tony having been worth 172.
After tea Matt opened up beautifully to a very attacking field including 3 slips, gully, silly point and leg slip.  Finding lift and movement in the pitch that the Beamers bowlers hadn’t, Matt had them playing and missing immediately.  In the first over he had one knick drop just short of the slips and another put down at leg slip:  but four balls into his second over he got the wicket he deserved, well caught by Mikey at third slip.  With Mikey opening at the Pavilion End in an effort to bamboozle the batsmen and not let them settle, the tide was in our favour: Matt’s best spell of the season, and showing the level he can reach when he’s 100% on his game, gave him a return of 3 early wickets, the next two clean bowled.  Mikey picked up one, as did Jim, but the wickets dried up as their number 6 batsman B Hewie got into his stride.  From 50-5 they got to 97-6 and that was it for the wickets!   Regrettably dropped a couple of times, Hewie went on to make 106 not out and, together with help from TWCC’s non-catchers, this prevented us from winning the match comfortably.  Despite his innings, we were never in any danger of losing the match, though we did ensure they thought they could still win it! Hence it was a day when everyone but the injured Paul and Steve got a bowl, but we didn’t catch well enough to take proffered wickets, and nor could we tempt them into quite enough self-destruction. The scorebook doesn’t offer a figure on the number of dropped catches, but it was plenty! (Guilty! –Ed.)
And so a draw it was, and both teams put goodly numbers of players in the pub to bring to a close a fine season.
Next the AGM and the statistics.  Already they’ve been done: and one or two of the table toppers will certainly surprise. Don’t forget to book your seats: Sunday 24th October 7pm at the Royal Oak.  
 
Scorecard
TWCC won the toss and elected to bat.
TWCC INNINGS: P Hunter Ct. Bld Hewie 65; J Trollope Ct wkt, Bld Tongue 4; T Pearce Ct, Bld Rigby 111; S Rogers not out 14; J Simon not out 15; DNB M Pearce, R Brock, D Rogers, M Steinke, H Karvay, P Steinke.
TOTAL 28-3 (35 OVERS). Fall: 18, 190, 197.  
Beamers’ Bowling: Tongue 6-0-23-1, Siddens 7-0-26-0, Hewie 8-0-56-1, Easton 4-0-41-0, Nicholls 6-0-49-0, Rigby 4-0-25-1.
BRIGHTON BEAMERS' INNINGS: P Bailey Ct M Pearce, Bld M Steinke 4; R Rigby Bld M Steinke 7; J Riches Bld M Steinke 0; B Rigby Ct S Rogers, Bld J Simon 20; I Cowell Ct H Karvay, Bld M Pearce 6; M Brazier not out 106; N Wallis Bld P Steinke 16;  A Cowell not out 30;
TOTAL 205-6 (42 OVERS). Fall:  8-1, 11-3, 19-2, 26-5, 50-4, 96-7.
TWCC Bowling: M Steinke 11-1-35-3; M Pearce 8-0-42-1; J Simon 5-0-12-1; H Karvay 4-0-25-0; P Steinke 3-1-8-1; R Brock 4-0-26-0; J Trollope 4-0-18-0; D Rogers 1-0-19-0; T Pearce 2-0-11-0.
Match Drawn

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TWCC 2009 Season

TWCC v Brunswick Village 
April 26th 2009
Thinning hair, creaking joints, expanding paunches but a remarkably sleek outfield: and so the 2009 season began.
Would this be the year when sons outscored fathers? When Twineham and Wineham clung on to most of their chances?
On the evidence of this performance the answer must be in the double-negative but it was an enjoyable opener with more than 400 runs slogged, nicked and nurdled. And there was the odd classy shot too.
Captaining in the absence of Richard, Tony decided to bat and the opening pair of James (41) and Rob (56) put on 90 with the former much less fluent than the Oxford blue whose pick-up shot over the pavilion and scorching back foot six towards the A23 will live in the memory.
Tony muscled his way to 59 with good support from Jonathon (29) and Twineham pushed the total to above 200.
Edward, who unluckily nabbed a golden duck, provided a wholesome tea which should have set us up for a tigerish performance in the field. Unfortunately the ball proved as slippery as the big man’s ham and cold slaw sandwiches and we contrived to drop at least 6 decent chances, 5 off Ferandpaul, the wristy Sri Lankan, who has toyed with our bowling
attack in seasons past.
The fact that we managed to dismiss 8 Brunswickians was due almost entirely to Rob (5-28) who was struggling manfully to hide his light under a bushel. Nobody succeeded in combating his speed and accuracy as he knocked over the timbers with a precision which was sadly lacking in an otherwise limp attack.
James and Mikey were regularly smote into the adjoining fields and, besides Rob, only Dave Jones (1-23) remained relatively unpasteurised.
As Brunswick powered towards our total we all watched in despair as Ferandpaul (92) flicked what looked like another certain 6 towards the leg side boundary when Rob appeared out of nowhere to pluck it from the sky.
Our hopes of victory were raised, very briefly, when Jonathon bowled one of their tailenders in the final over but Brunswick resisted his 3 remaining wobblers and we ended up two wickets short.
Well done Rob. And thanks to everybody else for turning up!

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC  May 3rd 2009
Well this was shaping up to be a rather ordinary `fighting draw` type match report, with an `unpleasant incident` as the central theme  – until the last 4 overs, when events took a fairly extraordinary turn. ...
TWCC went into the match at Streat with an under-strength side, with injuries and lack of availability accounting for half of the regular team (Edward was still traumatised by his golden duck the week before).   Richard walked out to the middle for his first captaincy duty of the new season – and became somewhat confused and bamboozled by Stan’s (their captain) explanation of their new playing system – so he ignored it and hoped that Streat would bat for their normal 2 ½ hours, to 4.30pm.  Matt and Paul opened for us on the furthest pitch on this beautiful ground – on offer was a very short boundary down the hill so the field was set to guard that boundary.  The two of them bowled well but without much success and Streat headed towards 50 at a reasonable pace before Matt finally broke through with a low edge, smartly caught by Steve.  Richard replaced Paul and bowled well – straight anyway!  The runs dried up and Streat lost a couple of wickets trying to push on: a good run out by Ian Irvine – who kindly came along with Paul to turn out for us – and then a nick to slip off the skipper.  We then allowed the exhausted Matt to catch his breath – and a succession of less regular bowlers did well coming up the hill, including Honsa and George Hunter,  whilst James kept them tied down at the other end and eventually snaffled a wicket.  4.30 came and went and it turned out the playing system the skipper didn’t understand enabled Streat to bat until they felt they had enough.   Matthew Brock bowled really well down the hill, keeping them in check as they tried to push on and it was eventually 4.45 when Richard took the 5th wicket that the declaration was made. Three chances had been shelled but it was an excellent performance to keep them to 183-5 after 2 ¾ hours in the field. 

Paul and James opened for us – but oh dearie dearie me.   In the third over, James appeared to get a touch on a leg-side ball, smartly taken by the keeper.  A big appeal was refused because the umpire (the skipper)  couldn’t be sure it was bat and not pad – and James refused to walk.  He then batted  recklessly, confirming his guilt.  In his `second innings`, his first ball went for 6, and two balls later another enormous swing and the ball hit middle stump.  The averages committee will have to sit to decide whether 2 `outs` should go in James’s figures.  Meanwhile his case file grows ever thicker!  Tony -152 in last year’s fixture – came and went for just 5: we were 17-2.  But that enabled Steve and Paul to get their heads down and the two of t hem put on 61 for the next wicket, before Paul was LBW for 22.  Steve and George Hunter then shared an important stand, before Steve was bowled.  We were on 94-4, 14 overs were left but we were short of recognised batsmen.  George continued to play inspired cricket until he fell to one of Stan Spiegal’s famous dolly droppers.  He lobbed a catch to Honsa – who fielded for both sides as well as then going on to Brighton to breakdance til the early hours!  Richard and Matt then played cautious cricket and a draw seemed certain, with 56 needed from the last 4 overs.   Then Matt broke free the reins of caution.  He hit two consecutive 4’s, a 2 and a 3.  14 off the over, 42 needed from 3.  Streat brought back their opener but he too took a pasting – 19 off the following over, including a 6 by Matt.   23 needed from 2.  5 came from the next 4 balls before Matt was caught in the covers.  The batsmen crossed when the ball was in the air and Richa rd got a 6 from the last ball leaving new boy Ian facing, with 11 needed from the last over.  He played the first ball back, smacked a brilliant 4 from the second and patted the third back.  Then two wides, as Streat strained too hard.  5 needed from 2.  The next ball Ian squirted to backward square and raced for 2 runs.  And the final ball was hit firmly in the same place – 3 runs and victory!  It was a great day’s cricket, Streat should be credited for their sportsmanship in all areas.  Everyone played an important part and a makeshift Twineham team did a fantastic job.
 

SCORECARD
Streat and Westmeston vs TWCC at Streat
TWCC won the toss and elected to field
S Barrs Ct S Rogers (WK) Bowled M Steinke  30
B Mayston Ct R Brock    Bowled Trollope          58                               
D J Singh Run Out (I Irvine)                                     5
G Christmas Ct T Pearce   Bowled R Brock        4
M Bell  Not out                                                        40
G Hall LBW   Bowled R Brock                              24
TOTAL:  183 – 5 DEC
 
BOWLING
M Steinke                                  15-2-46-1
P Hunter                                     7-0-33-0
R Brock                                            9.1 -3-18-2
T Pearce                                      3-0-24-0
G Hunter                                    3-0 -12-0
J Trollope                                    4-1-14-1
H Karvay                                     2-0-12-0
M Brock                                      3-0-18-0
 
TWCC Innings
P Hunter LBW   B Christmas                    22
J Trollope Bowled Walter                            9
T Pearce LBW Bowled Walter                   5
S Rogers Bowled Davison                       35
G Hunter  Ct H Karvay Bowled Spiegal  21
R B rock  Not Out                                      27
M Steinke  Ct S Spiegal  Bowled Bell    33
I Irvine Not out                                               7
TOTAL  185 – 6 
Did not bat:  H Karvay, G Cuthbert, M Brock
 
BOWLING
Walter                         9-0-29-2
D Christmas           11-1-44-0
G Christmas           5-0-28-1
Davison                                       7-0-17-1
S Spiegal                 6-0-26-1                 
DJ Singh                  3-2-1-0
Bell                                3-1-25-1
 
TWCC WON BY 4 WICKETS


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TWCC v Greys May 10th 2009
The one that got away...........
A lovely early summer day at Twineham and the pitch looked a picture.  It had been well cut and the grass removed – beautiful.  A stiff breeze complemented the sunshine and all was well with the world.  Then their number 3 came in.....
Skipper Brock lost the toss and they opted to bat.  Paul bowled well to pick up one of their openers early thanks to a lovely slip catch from Tony, for the second week running.  That brought in their Aussie  number 3 Mr Covill, who scored a century against us last year.  Huh, we weren’t going to let t hat happen again were we....?  He had barely got into his stride when Matt strayed down leg, he whipped it round the corner, straight to into Paul’s safe hands, he caught it, they made 90 which we knocked off easily and drank copious amounts of beer in the pub.  
Sorry, that was the script before Paul altered it.  It now reads `He had barely got into his stride when Matt strayed down leg, he whipped it round the corner, straight into Paul’s hands and he dropped it`.  There followed a rather long afternoon in the field, gathering balls out of hedges for said no 3 to deposit there again.  With credit to the bowlers, we tied up the other end pretty well, good bowling particularly from Dave Jones and Mikey.  But we never saw another chink of light from Mr Covill who went on to make an excellent 143 not out.  It was full of skilled and classic shots, he was not a tonker and he was also a pleasant and unassuming chap, who gave credit where it was due to the bowlers.  Mikey bowled some lovely leg spin and deservedly picked up two wickets as we gradually picked off batsmen at the o ther end – but at the end of our 2 ½ hours in the field, we were exhausted and the match was probably already beyond us, with 232-6 on the board, one of the highest scores here in recent years.  But as we do, we picked ourselves up and threw ourselves into the fray.  Paul started well, but was caught trying to push the score along.  James, possibly still traumatised by the events of his innings the week before, was unnaturally cautious, failing to master bowling which was tidy but not especially threatening.  In fact he scored 13, all in singles, most unlike our usually dominant opener.  But the match became a contest all the time Tony was at the wicket:  he took the fight to Greys, including one superb over of 4-4-4 -6-dot-dot.   Jonathan came and gave him valuable support and also unleashed some great shots in his 22 – and the mammoth total came into view with 118 needed off the last 20 overs.  Unfortunately when Tony was bowled on 76, none of Jonathan, Steve, Edward nor Matt were able to keep up with an ever growing run rate – and with 12 overs to go and 100 to get, Richard came in determined to salvage a draw.  This we did, with the assistance of Mikey and Dave Jones – whose admirable restraint for that last over deserves a paragraph all of its own – how he would have liked to have had a go at those balls but instead he let them all go and saw us home.  So it was a battling draw, a match dominated by one man’s great innings and one man’s slippery fingers (there but for the grace of God.....)

SCORECARD
Greys
Brasher   Ct T Pearce, Bowled Hunter      5
Line:  Ct Karvey  Bowled Brock                  23
Covill:   ;          Not out            143
Burgess  Ct E Bunn Bowled M Pearce    15
Fenton     Ct T Pearce  Bowled Brock    0
Burbridge   Bowled M Pearce         1
Day    Not Out                 40
TOTAL:  232 – 5  (42 OVERS)

BOWLING
M Steinke  7-0-49-0, P Hunter  5-2-18-1, R Brock 10-1-37-2, D Jones 6-1-24-0, M Pearce 8-0-47-2, J Rowland 2-0-29-0, E Bunn 4-0-26-0

TWCC
P Hunter    Ct   Bowled Southon       22
J Trollope            Ct    Bowled Azari    13
T Pearce              Bowled Line        76
J Rowland    Ct   Bowled Line        22
S Rogers    Ct   Bowled Line        0
E Bunn         Ct   Bowled Line        6
M Steinke    Bowled Partridge    2
M Pearce    Ct  Bowled Hoare    8

R Brock        Not out            7
D Jones     20Not out            0
TOTAL  157-8   (42 OVERS)
Did not bat:  H Karvey
Bowling: 
Day:  6-1-12-0, Southon 5-0-29-1, Azari 6-0-39-1, Hoare 10-0-46-1, Line 5-3-8-4, Partridge 5-1-15-1, Brasher 3-0-6-0.

MATCH DRAWN

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Bolney v TWCC May 24th 2009
Bolney is not our happiest hunting ground.  Matches have frequently been tortuous, usually with us hanging on for a laboured draw or managing to implode whilst batting.  So even though we were unbeaten this season, confidence and optimism were in short supply as our under-strength team gathered at Bolney’s handsome looking ground.   Richard won the toss and elected to field, opening with an attacking field to the bowling combination of himself and Phil, happily returning to the team, his back alleged to have benefited from a session of faith healing!  And hallelulah – what a return!  His first six overs were all maidens, in an opening spell of 12 overs for just 14 runs.  At the other end, the skipper was also reasonably tight, apart from a couple of balls which squirted through the slips – and the result was that after an hour, Bolney’s openers were still there but the score was just 38-0.  Mikey Pearce came on and made a breakthrough in his third over, a good stumping by Steve as the openers finally tried to go after the bowling.    Dave Jones succeeded Phil down the hill and soon put paid to their young number 3, who will be a very impressive cricketer when he’s older than 12.  However the result of that was to bring in a Mr J Flower, who is already an impressive cricketer.  I am told his hundred came from 45 balls.  It included 7 6’s and 10 4’s. Among those who took some rather harsh treatment were Mikey (15 off one over) and Jonathan (29 off 2).  But no bowler was spared as he ruthlessly sprayed the ball round the field and though he was dropped 3 times, none of them were easy chances.   As he trickled a single to complete an unbeaten century, the Bolney skipper unexpectedly declared, fifteen minutes early and with the score on just 165.
After a fine tea by the ladies of Bolney – featuring scones and cream, salmon sandwiches and home made cakes – a new opening combination took to the field.  It was something of a forced decision – Tony, Mikey and their cousin Rhys Packham who came to play for us all had to leave by 6.45pm – so they took 3 of the first four batting positions.   Mikey was clearly keenest to leave:  he scored just 3 before being caught at square leg from what he felt was a bump ball.  Many agreed with him, but Dave Jones didn’t and he was umpire.    James didn’t last much longer – Twineham’s towering opener still struggling for form early in the season - and at 24-2 the task looked as steep as the Bolney slope.  However, Tony was determined that he wouldn’t be told by his wife what time he had to leave cricket, so he dug in, gradually got into his stride – and an hour and a half later, he was still there, an essential foundation innings with the middle order giving him valuable support.  Rhys showed good technique for his 17 – not bad after 5 years without cricket – Jonathan 14.  Tony was eventually bowled by a fast delivery by J Flower – yes him again – but not until he'd scored 80 with 14 4’s and 2 6’s and guided us to 140-5 with 15 overs still available.  George, Jonsa and Dave Jones managed just 2 runs between them – but at the other end Steve Rogers steadily kept the score moving and with 4.2 overs left, he looped up a ball from the leading edge of his bat into the only unguarded patch of grass left on the square.  Victory! 
It was a good battling performance from an under-strength team on a hot day in the field. Particular credit to Phil for a really tight spell of bowling but most of all to Tony for a match-winning innings.  Next week; Ashurst, where we continue to struggle in the 40/40 format. 
I might see if those faith healers are available for the whole team!



SCORECARD – BOLNEY INNINGS
J Moore Bowled D Jones 30
S Adby St Rogers, B M Pearce 16
M Danes Bowled D Jones 12
J Flower Not out 100
D Tyler Not out 2
TOTAL  165-3 Declared

BOWLING
P Steinke 12-6-14-0
R Brock 9-0-26-0
M Pearce 7-2-33-1
D Jones 9-2-39-2
J Karvey 2-0-13-0
J Rowland 2-0-29-0
J Trollope 1-0-6-0
TWCC INNINGS
J Trollope Ct S Adby B M English 10
M Pearce C Standing B M English 3
T Pearce Bowled J Flower 80   
R Packham Bowled S Bowles     17
J Rowland Ct Bennett B Standing 14
S Rogers Not out 14
G Hunter Bowled Standing 0
J Karvey Ct Danes B J Flower 1
D Jones Bowled J Flower 1
R Brock Not out 0
Did not bat:  P Steinke
TOTAL  166 -8
TWCC WIN BY 2 WICKETS

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Ashusrt v TWCC May 31st 2009
ASHURST VS TWCC 31st May 2009 – at Ashurst
The best display of fielding seen in recent years by a TWCC team led to one of those matches where no-one would know the winner until the last ball had been bowled.....
We came to Ashurst undefeated so far this season – but it’s not been a good ground for us in recent years, we’ve struggled to adapt our `time and overs` game to the limited 40 overs matches Ashurst favour.  So new tactics were needed.  We looked strong so the skipper decided he would bat first if he won the toss.  He lost the toss and was asked to....bat first!  Unfortunately neither of the openers made an impact:  Steve departed in the third over for 0, James’ run of poor form continued as he recorded just 5.  But they merely cleared the stage for the performances ahead.  `Goldenballs` Pearce, the man who can currently do no wrong, once again put in an exciting boundary-laden display and, along with Rob, the team’s sole Wineham representative, they put on 64 for the next wicket in quick time before Tony was caught behind for 48.  Rob was then joined by Edward – the `old Edward` - the one who used to put fear into the hearts of teams across the county.  After a gentle start, Edward started belting the ball like he used to – and he and Rob put on a rapid 52 together before Rob was caught behind just for 42.  Edward carried on despite a lack of support from the middle order and the score crept up to a formidable 195 – 8 from the 40 overs.   Edward’s invaluable 58 not out included 7 fours and 2 sixes – his first 50 for 2 seasons.  Then, as Ashurst took to the middle, came the most important spell of the match.  Matt and Jim both bowled magnificently.  Both kept the ball straight and on a length and gave the opening batsmen no room for their shots.  Backed up by some fantastic work in the field by every player – James’s superb one handed stop at point was typical -  Ashurst were made to work hard for every run, with Jim picking up a wicket.  Jim and Matt bowled out their allotted 8 overs each and Ashurst barely got to 60.  The pressure was on.  The skipper was then able to introduce Rob and Phil – not a bad change in anyone’s book.   These two continued the great work but, by this time, the number 3 Kennett got the message that things had to step up a pace.  It was a great contest:  Rob and Phil were bowling tremendously well, backed up by the keenest of fielding, but Kennett was good and frequently took on even good balls and sent them flying over the rope.   He was keeping Ashurst in the game.    Phil got their number 4 to hit to long on where Edward ran in and slid to take the catch – brilliant.  The skipper then introduced young Mikey Pearce to the attack.  His medium paced was soon jettisoned in favour of his leg spin: and that did the damage.  The first of two catches down at deep long on by the skipper from Mikey’s bowling put Mr Kennett back in the pavilion.  But Ashurst kept sending in big hitters and so the skipper decided there were a few cheap wickets on offer and brought himself on.  It worked, as his averages will testify.  Three quick wickets, a hatrick ball which went for a wide – but still Ashurst were close.  They needed 13 to win, 12 to tie, from the last over – which was Richard’s.  The full toss – ball 3 - going for 6 didn’t help – nor did the last ball, another full toss.  Happily though, the batsman obligingly put this one just short of the boundary into the safe hands of Matt – game over, a victory by 6 runs.  A great game, all catches held, fielders racing around like we used to before we got old – and the great start to the season continues.    
SCORECARD
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat
TWCC INNINGS
J Trollope Ct Wkt B Turrell 5, S Rogers Ct Wkt B Turrell 0, T Pearce Ct Wkt B Mitchell 48, R Rydon Ct Wkt B Pickford 42, E Bunn Not out 58, R Brock Bowled Pickford 0, J Simon Bowled Syred 9, M Pearce Stumped B Syred 6, M Steinke Bowled Pickford 0, J Karvey not out 1,P Steinke DNB.
TOTAL: 195-8 40 OVERS
Fall: 1) 4-2, 2) 22-1, 3)86-3, 4)138-4, 5) 138-6, 6) 161-7, 7) 182-8, 8) 184-9

ASHURT INNINGS
D Fischel Ct Bunn B P Steinke 26, L Harrold B J Simon 3, D Kennett Ct Brock B M Pearce 90, T Pickford B Brock 22, C Duffett B Brock 5, L Mitchell     Ct M Steinke B Brock 0, T Syrgo Ct M Steinke B Brock 32, S Duffett Not out 0, S Gretton     Ct Brock B M Pearce x, B Terrell x, T Holman DNB
TOTAL 189-8 40 OVERS 

BOWLING M Steinke 8-3-22-0, J Simon 8-1-31-1, R Rydon 7-0-18-0, P Steinke    8-0-38-0, M Pearce 5-0-41-2, R Brock 4-0-26-4.
TWCC won by 6 runs

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TWCC v London Unity June 14th
A hot summer afternoon at Twineham, little breeze – woe betide those bowling first.....
Skipper Brock lost the toss but they didn’t know what to do – so they offered him the choice and the choice was - bat.  And it was a very good opening standing between James and Paul, both men getting in, finding their bearings, looking good – then getting out in the same over for 18 and 24!   Tony, the man who cannot fail, then effortlessly moved on to the brink of another well deserved 50 before he was inexplicably bowled on 49.  Edward made double figures – just – before being caught in the deep but Jim kept up his good recent form for 22 of which the first five scoring shots were 4s.  There was then an excellent and `feelgood` stand between two of the club’s future stars (we hope) – Mikey Pearce played a stylish 34 not out and George Hunter an exciting 21 including two enormous 6's.  Every batsman who was out made double figures and as the score headed towards 180 Richard decreed he would declare to give us an extra 15 minutes bowling at Unity.  Unfortunately – the urn wasn’t ready!!!  So we batted on ‘til tea and past 200.  Would those 15 minutes matter – surely not?  They went in to bat and it soon became obvious they weren’t going to come close.  Matt and Paul toiled away opening and each took a wicket, but it was hard work trying to encourage them to come out of their shells.  Wickets gradually fell, 8 bowlers were used with particular credit to our spinners James and Mikey, who worked in tandem and picked up six wickets between them – four for Mikey which he won’t let us forget.  The last of those four was the 5th ball of the penultimate over which left them 9 wickets down.  But their skipper proved to be the rock of stability throughout their innings and saw off the last over to finish 46 not out in a score of 141-9.  It was not as exciting as that score might suggest, we could have done with a few extra overs bowling at their number 11.  Can this week’s tea person please put the urn on good and early....

SCORECARD
TWCC
P Hunter Ct  Wkt Bowled Taylor 24, J Trollope Bowled Taylor 18, T Pearce Bowled J Smith 49, E Bunn Ct Bowled Roberts 10, J Simon Ct Bowled Smith 22, M Pearce Not Out 34, G Hunter Ct & bowled Liddle 21, R Brock Not out    9
TOTAL  205-6 (40 OVERS)
Did not bat:   M Steinke, H Karvey, P Steinke

London Unity
J Driver Ct Trollope, Bowled M Steinke 13, D Adey Bowled M Pearce 31, N Adams St G Hunter (wkt) B Trollope 11, T Roberts Bowled P Hunter 2, A Pitcher Ct J Karvey  Bowled P Steinke 3, M Murray Ct Bunn Bowled J Trollope 8, M Driver Ct wkt (G Hunter) Bowled M Pearce 9, J Williams Not out 46, J Smith Bowled M Pearce 8, P Liddell Ct & bowled M Pearce 0, J Taylor Not out 0
TOTAL 141-9(43 OVERS)
BOWLING: M Steinke 6-2-1-19, P Hunter 5-0-1-25, P Steinke 6-2-1-20, J Trollope 7-0-2-18, M Pearce 11-3-4-20, R Brock 3-0-0-12, J Simon 3-1-0-13, T Pearce 2-0-6-0
MATCH DRAWN

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TWCC v Headliners
 
June 21st
This was a new fixture, or at least a match reinstated after a gap of some years versus a team that used to represent the Mid Sussex Times, and now includes a few extra hacks from around the area.  We won the toss and batted against this unknown quantity.  In the event, it was another very strong Twineham batting performance against some admittedly weak bowling.  James made 27, Paul 39, Jonathan will be kicking himself for missing out with just 18, even Richard made 26 whilst a mightly last wicket stand between Mikey and Edward earned the latter a half century, whilst Mikey missed out by just 2 runs before tea.  Every batsman scored double figures.  Unfortunately our bowlers couldn’t match the heights of the batsmen:  after an early breakthrough for Jim which left them 0-1, the next wicket didn’t fall until 72, then 73 then 142.  Play was slow, the skipper tried to buy, cajole, spin wickets – but nothing really worked.  A succession of bowlers each picked up one wicket but with their number 3 Holden scoring 91 – whilst never looking completely comfortable – time ran out.  We tried but didn’t come particularly close to getting them all out, despite giving them plenty of opportunity to hit out and get caught.  All in all, it was a disappointing draw. 

TWCC INNINGS
J Trollope Ct, Bowled Boardman 27, P Hunter Ct, Bowled Bryant    39, J Rowland Ct, Bowled Brown 18, R Brock Ct, Bowled Boardman, 26, E Bunn Not out 51, M Pearce Not Out 48.
TOTAL   229 - 4   (43 OVERS)
Did not bat: J Simon, G Hunter, M Steinke, D Jones, P Steinke.
BOWLING
Bryant 12-5-27-1, Pearson 6-0-34-0, Boardman 10-0-55-2, Brown 5-0-31-1, Talbot 5-0-42-0, Wells 2-0-13-0, Holden 3-0-25-0.
 
HEADLINERS INNINGS
Ashpool Ct G Hunter (wkt), Bowled P Steinke 15, Boardman Ct Bunn Bowled Simon 0, Holden  Ct Hunter Bowled Jones 91, Francis Ct, Bowled Trollope 0, Brown Run Out 33, Pearson Not Out 39, Wells Bowled P Hunter 5, Bryant Not Out 13.
TOTAL 196-6    (42 OVERS)
BOWLING
J Simon 5-1-8-1, M Steinke 9-2-23-0, J Trollope 6-0-40-1, P Steinke 5-1-19-1, M Pearce 3-0-23-0, P Hunter 7-0-43-1, D Jones 5-0-28-1, R Brock 2-0-14-0.
Match Drawn
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TWCC v Poynings
June 28th
Our matches v Poynings are frequently tight:  none more so than this one on a hot but overcast and humid day.  After failing to bowl sides out in the past couple of matches, the skipper banked on keeping the side’s excellent recent batting run going:  so on winning the toss he elected to bowl.  It felt like the day for swing and seam bowlers – the skipper mentioned it would be a good day for Phil – now there’s a man who knows his cricket!!    With Paul and Jim struggling to break the opening partnership, though keeping the scoring in check, Phil came on – and the nature of the match changed.  Phil was straight into his stride as ever and his first wicket was a beauty, a fantastic slip catch from Tony when the ball seemed almost past him.  That raised the spirits and suddenly the wickets started to tumble. Richard’s first over offered three catches – all dropped – but then young George Hunter spent the rest of the innings showing the old gits how to catch properly.  An excellent catch off a firm straight drive helped Richard unseat the second opener – and then he took up a position at mid-on and cleanly caught three more off Phil’s bowling.  Steve took a couple of smart catches behind the stumps as Poynings middle order collapsed.  The skipper gave Matthew Brock a chance to turn his arm towards the end but both he and Mikey were caned as a couple of hard hitting batsmen came in down the order.  By the close the score had rattled up to 192-9, which would be formidable.  The superb combination of Phil – 64-6 – and George – 4 catches – had given us a chance.  A good start was essential – we were chasing around 5.5 an over to win.  James and Paul put on a solid 28 before James was caught for just 9.  Paul however batted on brilliantly.  He would have expected Tony to have stayed with him for longer on present form but he was caught when their fastest bowler, Cuttress, came on.  Jonathan then went out and Paul and Jonathan had a fine stand, keeping up with the rate before Paul departed just after getting his 50.  Steve and Jim missed out but young Mikey Pearce maintained his growing reputation with the bat with a well worked 16.  But the rate was starting to creep up as Jonathan battled on.  However capping a brilliant day, George went in with order to `go for it` - and didn’t he just!  Two sixes in a quickfire 20 brought the match within reach.  With 5 overs to go we needed 51.  When George was caught, we needed 13 from 11 balls.  Jonathan and Richard scrambled to the point of  requiring 3 to win from the last ball – but managed just 2 and the match was tied.  A great game, very exciting at the end and memorable in particular for stunning personal performances from Phil and George.

POYNINGS INNINGS
K Fowler Ct T Pearce, Bowled P Steinke 23, S Jenner Ct G Hunter Bowled R Brock 35, J Cuttress Ct J Simon Bowled P Steinke 8, C Ranger Ct G Hunter Bowled P Steinke 4, G Norris Bowled P Steinke 8, T Fry Ct S Rogers (wkt) Bowled R Brock 1, S Latham Ct S Rogers Bowled M Pearce 25, W Brooks    Ct G Hunter Bowled P Steinke 12, G Wallace Ct G Hunter Bowled P Steinke 40, L Lowin Not Out 16 A Beal Not out     9.
TOTAL 192-9 (40 OVERS)
BOWLING
P Hunter 6-1-17-0, J Simon 5-0-21-0, P Steinke 14-1-64-6, R Brock 11-1-39-2, M Brock 2-0-27-0, M Pearce     2-0-23-1.
 
TWCC INNINGS
J Trollope Ct Bowled Fry 9, P Hunter Bowled Norris 51, T Pearce     Ct bowled Cuttress 10, J Rowland Not Out 52, S Rogers Bowled Norris 0, J Simon Ct Bowled Norris 7, M Pearce Ct Bowled Cuttress 16, G Hunter Ct B Beale 20, R Brock Not Out 3.
TOTAL   192 - 7   (43 OVERS)
Did not bat:  P Steinke, M Brock
BOWLING
Beale 5-1-18-1, Fry 5-2-13-1, Fowler 4-0-17-0, Cuttress 11-1-42-2, Latham 3-0-14-0, Ranger 3-0-13-0, Norris     4-0-27-3, Taylor 8-0-36-0.
Match Tied!
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Wisley v TWCC
July 5th 2009
I think I can say, without contradiction, that Wisley are our favourite opponents, being a nice bunch of chaps – even though they also top the sledging league with plenty of comments flying around to help the batsmen along.  And so it was that it was our turn to go to them:  which is a shame:  cos if they’d come to us they would have avoided the accident induced traffic jam on the M25, which sorted out the smartarses from the rest (Paul `well I listened to the radio and simply avoided the M25` Hunter and Edward `I set off at 12.00 and there was no accident then` Bunn).  So by the time the imperfectios turned up, it was 2.45 and the skipper’s first job was to be hurried into the middle for the toss.  Which he won, and elected to field in the hot and dry conditions and with a brown very fast outfield.  Despite Wisley’s excellent record of just one defeat so far this season, it didn’t take the opening bowlers long to get results.  Matt and Paul both bowled well on a green pitch which offered good bounce and plenty of swing.  Matt struck first – a well deserved wicket after a recent barren spell and a nice edge into Edward’s ample midriff.  After we found the ball again, Paul then took a couple of wickets, both bowled, as Wisley started to totter.  Dave Jones accelerated this with two more wickets.   Tony had been placed at deep mid on with the lofted drive in mind – and he safely took the two chances that came his way.  So good figures for Dave:  4-0-20-2, whilst Phil also joined in thanks to a great catch by Honse at mid on.  Honse then came on for a bowl and it was a really excellent spell – the figures bear it out, 5 overs for just 13 runs.  Wisley dug in at the end and,  whilst Tony picked up another catch in the deep from Mikey, it was still a surprise to see that they’d got to 158 when they never really broke free. 
So it was a good score to chase and we were without a couple of our batsmen.  In James’s absence, Richard was persuaded to put himself in as opener (having offered it to a couple of people to no avail).  He and Paul stayed together until the score reached 16 when Paul was LBW to one which swung in and kept low.  He made 12 of the 16 – and there were also extras!  Tony then came in with what the captain considered to be an irresponsible and gung ho attitude, blasting fours and sixes all over the place, with Rupert’s bowling getting  particularly harsh treatment.  He got his 50 but also his comeuppance when, on 61,  he reached for the worst ball of the day and chipped it to gully off the toe of his bat.  The aforementioned captain was, by this time, threatening to burst into double figures.   Mikey then followed his father in turn and temperament by splaying balls to the boundary with merry abandon.  So it was that with some 11 overs still to go, we reached our target for the loss of just two wickets, the hare(s) and the tortoise worked harmoniously and Twineham’s season of invincibility stretches into July.

SCORECARD
WISLEY INNINGS
Bunce Ct E Bunn Bowled M Steinke 1; J Richards Bowled P Hunter 26; Fletcher Bowled P Hunter 8; Reed Ct T Pearce B Jones 5; R Geer Ct T Pearce B Jones 14; O Richards Ct T Pearce B M Pearce 41; Evans Ct Karvey B P Steinke 4; L Swan Retired hurt 15; Snelling Not Out 14; Wilson Bowled R Brock 1; Kumar Not out 0.
TOTAL: 158–8 (44 OVERS)
TWCC BOWLING: M Steinke 10-2-30-1; P Hunter 6-0-29-2; D Jones 4-0-20-2; P Steinke 6-2-12-1; J Karvey 5-0-13-0; M Pearce 6-0-20-1; E Bunn 2-0-9-0;  R Brock 5-2-5-1

TWCC INNINGS
P Hunter LBW Bowled Wilson 12; R Brock Not out 37; T Pearce Ct J Richards B Kumar 61; M Pearce Not Out 37.
TOTAL 162-2 (28 OVERS)
Did not bat: E Bunn, G Hunter, O Bunn, M Steinke, D Jones, H Karvey, P Steinke
WISLEY BOWLING: Wilson 8-2-25-1; O Richards 6-2-39-0; Geer 5-0-47-0; Kumar 6-0-25-1; Reid 1-0-8-0; T Richards 2-0-5-0.
TWCC WIN BY 8 WICKETS
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Henfield v TWCC
July 26th 2009

A short report as it's now August and nearly lunchtime.
Henfield batted first and, although kept quiet for much of their innings, got away a bit at the end to reach 163 fo 5. Pick of the bowlers Phil and Richard, who kept Henfield in their place until the onslaught at the end when even Jim started to be hit about.
TWCC replied with Paul.
All out for 133 the match remained alive all the time Paul was in, and then he wasn't, out for 48; once again the only TWCC scorer of note at Henfield.
The first loss of the season then, but, as always, the game was enjoyable and congratulations must go to Henfield for knocking us out of our stride.

SCORECARD
HENFIELD INNINGS

T Hills ct P Hunter bld Simon 10; E Silverson Ct S Rogers bld Brock 25; W Culver Ct T Pearce; N Colgate bld P Steinke 12; C Griffith not out 51; S Ridley ct T Pearce bld P Steinke 1; H Plumstead not out 32.
TOTAL: 163 for 5
TWCC BOWLING: P Hunter 8-0-25-0; J Simon 10-4-37-1; P Steinke 13-3-44-2; R Brock 11-4-41-2; J Trollope 1-0-12-0
TWCC INNINGS
P Hunter ct Griffith bld Eason 48; J Trollope bld Harrison 0; T Pearce ct Silverson bld Hadwick 5; S Rogers LBW Harrison 7; G Hunter bld Fieldsend 12; D Jones ct Eason bld Plumstead11; J Simon ct Colgate bld Fieldsend 9; R Brock LBW bld Plumstead 19; G Cuthbert ct Hill bld Fieldsend 0; P Steinke not out 8.
WISLEY BOWLING: Howick 6-1-32-1; Harrison 7-4-16-2; Eason 8-0-33-1; Fieldsend 9.5-4-23-3; Plumstead 4-2-15-2.
Henfield win.

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TWCC v X-iles
August 2nd 2009
TWCC welcomed a new side to their comely home ground; X-iles, haling from the environs of Brighton, a sprightly teamful of equally middle-aged lovers of the game, the visitors won the toss and fielded first. Both sides were only able to raise 9-a-side which promised to make an interesting and unconventional game, and TWCC were only able to raise Jim as skipper which added another variable into the mix.
Paul opened once again, predominently used the middle of his bat as he accumulated runs in the face of some tight and testing bowling. Mikey, happy opening until he was out for rather early for less than 1 run, was then followed by Steve, and Paul and he steadied the ship as several overs passed without great incident. Then TWCC had a mini-collapse as 5 further wickets fell until Jim and Matt wandered in with 50 mins still to last out with only one spare wicket in the bank - and they surprised everyone by putting together a steadily prolific partnership, Jim with 30 and Matt overtaking him with 43, both not out. Generous bolwer rotation from the visiting skipper allowed TWCC to reach 168 for 6.
The X-iles reply began slowly as they faced the Steinke duo; Phil with the wind at his back and Matt accurate in spite of bowling into it. Phil took 2 for 6 whilst Matt was unlucky as is often the case, but this Steinke attack virtually stopped any thought of the visitors going for the runs after just the first 14 overs. Time for Mikey to throw up his wobblies and then for Edward to work away replacing Phil as TWCC needed the visitors to make some shots. Sure enough this did the trick, though Mikey, who bowled well for an extended spell, took no wickets, whilst Edward, bowling with his customary variety, took 4 for 30 off his 10 overs. On with Honse, an occasional bolwer though I think he'll be used much more often soon enough, and he took a wicket with his very first ball, and he it was who finished the game off with a run out, leaving the visitors on 94 for 8 (all out).
A new team, brimful of cheerful players, the X-iles will be welcome should the fixtures fall that way, and TWCC are back on track.

SCORECARD
TWCC INNINGS
P Hunter Ct Bld Ben 45; M Pearce bld Johnny 0; S Rogers bld Hooper 15; E Bunn bld Hooper 0; H "New Bat" Karvey Ct Hooper bld Matt 4; G Hunter Ct wkt bld Ian 1; J Simon not out 30; M Steinke not out 43. Did not bat P Steinke.
X-ILES BOWLING; Johnny 7-0-34-1; Collin 7-1-30-0; Matt 7-0-25-0; Hooper 6-1-10-2; Ben 4-0-23-1; Ian 6-2-13-1; Julian 2-0-14-0; Jono 1-0-9-0.
X-ILES INNINGS
Matt B ct Bunn bld P Steinke; David Hooper Ct S Rogers bld P Steinke 6; Julian Ct M Pearce bld Bunn 9; Ben R Ct Karvey bld Bunn 27; Ian M Ct P Hunter bld Bunn 18; Jamie H Ct Simon bld Bunn 4; Colin C Ct P Hunter bld Karvey 8; David Han not out 7; Johnny run out Karvey 1.
TWCC BOWLING; P Steinke 8-1-6-2; M Steinke 7-2-14-0; M Pearce 10-0-35-0; E Bunn 10-1-30-4; H Karvey 2-1-1-1; P Hunter 1-0-5-0.
TWCC win
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TWCC v Moulsecoomb Wanderers August 9th 2009
For the second week Skipper Brock was away and Jim tossed in the middle. With James, Paul, George, Jonathan, Richard, Edward and both Daves all away enjoying the sun (apart from Paul and George who were away enjoying the fog), and with only nine in the team there was little chance of taking all 10 of the visitors' wickets, so Jim chose to field first. Wayne, the ever gracious Moulsecoomb captain, kindly provided TWCC with a 10th man to help, and even gave us someone who could field rather well! Thanks Wayne, and thanks Michael for all your efforts.
The Steinkes once again opened the bowling and provided their usual good start. Aware of the need to contain that was likely to come later in the Moulsecoomb innings, Phil was replaced early by Scott Simpkins who bowled with plenty of fire until his knee gave up. On with Honse who had impressed the temporary skipper the previous week with his lively deliveries pushed down just outside the off-stump, and he proceeded to bowl something else entirely; much slower but still not to be trifled with. A quick field-adjustment followed and all was well as Jonse (is that right?) bowled 5 overs for 31 runs. Matt was replaced by young Jim who continued to impress his captain enourmously with his interpretation of what good bowling was all about, a freak delivery even claiming a wicket as dangerman Kevin Cooke was out for a golden duck. Phil, meanwhile, available for a second spell, shut down one end, taking two wickets during his total of 9 overs for 24 runs. Mikey also chipped in to substantial effect with 3 wickets off 3 good overs for 36 runs. He bowled 6 overs in total; hence the 36 runs... Jim manfully returned for the last over of frivolity, and though he provided a few dots for the scorebook, couldn't prevent the Wanderers climbing to 178 for 7. In the context of available players this was heralded by all present to be a creditable fielding performance.
Our opening batsmen were feeling pretty good about themselves (both on holiday) so Steve and Tony gallantly took up the challenge and didn't disappoint as they took the edge off the Moulsecoomb opening attack with some resilient defence and the occasional boundary. Tony was the first to fall, out for 15, having taken on the pace and lift of the Moulsecoomb opener and placed some square cuts firmly into the roadside hedge. Scott was rather quickly in and out though looked good for the brief time he was in the middle, which brought Mikey to the crease. Steve and Mikey then played one of the most impressive partnerships to have graced the Twineham ground in recent years. Responsible steering for singles, holding back of follow-throughs to keep the ball down, quick running (I know! Mikey!!) and bad-balls-for-four-ing all featured in a stand that saw off the visiting openers and got through most of the Moulsecoomb bowling options as well. It was just like watching real cricket. Their partnership - Steve eventually out for 56 - was a joy to watch. Jonse went in at 5 to join Mikey, but, although capable of keeping the score moving, Jonse found the ball hard to get away which rather slowed the rate of scoring. Mikey, pushing on as a result, was eventually out for a very good 34, to be replaced by Jim. By then the rate of scoring needed to win from the last 7 or so overs, combined with the fact that TWCC would have been all out at the fall of the eighth wicket, was just a bit too great. Jim (21 not out) and Jonse (9) tried to continue the good work of Mikey and Steve, but the rate required kept climbing as the strike sometimes failed to rotate. Matt still in the pavilion has to go down as a captain's error as he and Jim may have been able to get near the Moulsecoomb total, but eventually forty runs were needed off the last two or three overs; Match Drawn, TWCC 149 for 4.
Skippers thanks go to Malcolm and Scott who allowed us to play at all, to Michael for fielding so well for the opposition, and to Wayne for doing his best to keep the game alive for as long as was reasonably practical.
Skippers apologies go to Matt for not letting him loose with the bat.
Full side and full captaincy skills return next week.

SCORECARD
MOULSECOOMB INNINGS
A Fowler bld M Pearce 38; J Hammond run out 58; K Cooke bld Simon 0; R Iliffe not out 44; P Longman bld P Steinke 26; R H-Turner St Rogers bld M Pearce 1; J Rowder bld P Steinke 0; P Brown ct P Steinke bld M Pearce 0; T Nottage lbw bld M Steinke 0; W Waring not out 1.
TWCC BOWLING: P Steinke 9-1-24-2; M Steinke 10-1-26-1; S Simpkins 5-0-31-0; J Simon 8-0-34-1; J Karvey 5-0-19-0; M Pearce 6-0-36-3.
TWCC INNINGS
S Rogers ct, bld Iliffe 56; T Pearce lbw bld Hammond 15; S Simpkins ct, bld Hudson 0; M Pearce ct, bld Iliffe 34; J Karvey not out 9; J Simon not out 21. Did not bat; M Steinke, Malcolm, P Steinke.
MOULSECOOMB BOWLING: J Hammond 7-4-15-1; M Hudson 6-0-16-1;Nottage 6-0-29-0; K Cooke 6-1-26-0; (not sure of name) 6-1-15-0; Iliffe 8-0-28-1; Rowder 1-0-11-0; Fowler 1-0-4-0.
Match Drawn.
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TWCC v Warninglid August 16th 2009
After two weeks in which Jim did brilliantly simply to get the games on – and to achieve a win and a draw to boot – there was at least the luxury of an 11 a side game vs Warninglid.  Again this was thanks to hard work during the week,  recruiting 2 players from Albourne (Nick and Toby) and another Nick, a friend of Mikey’s (not a friend of the flower shop variety).
Skipper Brock, a holiday returnee, won the toss and put Warninglid in.  Their opening pair looked good and confident:  they put 30 on the board before Jim broke through, clean bowling their number 2.  Matt bowled well but as so often this season didn’t reap the rewards.  Later, somewhat ruefully, he mused into his cider that he’s now had 13 catches dropped from his bowling this season.  It’s sad for him and his figures – but not quite as sad as keep ing a running count!!  (sorry Matt).  Anyway, Nick Stace, opening bowler for Albourne and Sayers Common came on first change and took a wicket with his 3rd ball – sign him up – whilst Phil bowled tightly at the other end and picked up a wicket.  Warninglid continued to build steadily, but the leg spin of Nick Francis, Mikey’s friend and Mikey himself took 2 wickets apiece towards the end of the innings.  But Mikey, being Mikey, decided to taunt a couple of their batsmen, one of whom was their opening bowler, and consequently he spent tea in a mild state of panic following a threat to aim a bouncer or two at his head!   Anyway the total of 156-9 looked a bit short, but we were a couple of regular batsmen short, so it was all to play for.  In the absence of any regular openers, and with Mikey too scared, Jim stepped up to open – only to step down again two balls later, clean bowled without bothering the scorers.   However Tony came in and suddenly all was right with the world. 
The sun shone, the fours flowed majestically and we were on the way.   Disappointingly, James again failed to go on to a big score (19) (sounds like quite a respectable score to me... Ed.) but Nick Francis went in and his classical style along with Tony’s punishing strokes pushed the score along rapidly and we were 117-3 by the time Tony raced down the wicket to smack one and was stumped for 68.  So it was over to Mikey to put his fear behind him, show his mettle and prove that no-one could put the frighteners on him.  Anyway, when he was bowled 5 balls later for a chicken, sorry I mean a duck, Matt Steinke came in and with Nick and latterly Toby, helped guide us home.  A good win and pretty comprehensive, with 9 overs in hand.
 
SCORECARD
Warninglid
L Jewell Bowled N Stace 20; M Nastys Bowled J Simon 18; R Green Ct M Steinke Bowled P Steinke  8; J Dowell Ct and bowled N Francis 30; I Halsey Bowled N Francis 27; W Bridges Ct T Pearce (wkt) Bowled M Pearce 3; C Malik Ct T Pearce (wkt) Bowled R Brock 10; S Hildreth Not out 12; K Pamment Run out 12; G Whittaker Bowled M Pearce 1; N Rogers Not out 0. TOTAL: 156 – 9 (42 OVERS).
BOWLING
M Steinke  8-0-29-0; J Simon 8-0-26-1; N Stace  5-1-19-1; P Steinke 6-1-17-1; N Francis 5-1-30-2; M Pearce 3-0-16-2; R Brock 7-1-19-1.
 
TWCC
J Trollope Ct slip, Bowled Green 19; J Simon Bowled Rogers 0; T Pearce Stumped Bowled Pamment 68; N Francis Bowled Rogers 34; M Pearce Bowled Pamment 0; M Steinke Not Out 11; T New Not out 1.
TOTAL  159-5   (32 OVERS)
Did not bat:   R Brock, H Karvey, N Stace, P Steinke
Fall:  7-2, 74-1, 117-3, 117-5, 150-4
 
Warninglid bowling
Hildreth  9-2-28-0; Rogers 4-0-18-1; Whitaker 3-0-17-0; Green 5-1-27-1; Pamment 6-0-31-2; Halsey 3-2-8-0; Jewell 1-0-7-0; Dowell 2-0-2-0-11-1.
TWCC WON BY 5 WICKETS
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Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC
September 6th 2009
The Gazette staff are tonight feeling weary and have a headache so the write up of TWCC's latest match may not dwell for long on the decision of the home side's skipper to bat first, thus making a victory possible only if they bowled TWCC out. Nor will there be much effort spent on detailing Matt's continuing lack of luck with the ball, or much discussion of Paul's heart rate as he bowled four perfectly good overs that left his captain so unimpressed. The catches dropped or missed off Phil (not that there were that many that I could actually list) will barely feature, though the headache dwindles as the Gazette writing pool think of Jim's magnificent spell... However, there is still sufficient residual pain in the temples to get on with quickly mentioning that the best bowling figures belong to skipper Brock, who selflessly held himself back until the better batsmen had been removed by his harder-working team-mates; figures of 3 for 17 off 7 overs. Edward also ran in well and took the key wicket of Albourne and Sayers Common's top scorer.
Albourne and Sayers Common only had two batters that caused much grief to the visitors; Bridgeman (or Bridesman) being the only player on either side to get over 50. Other significant contributions were from Bowman (23) and Howe (14).The home side all out for 115. Potentially competetive on that wicket!
James and Paul took on the pitch and the Albourne and Sayers Common opening attack, and both looked comfortable unti they were out - James LBW for 8, and Paul LBW for 17. Enter our match-winning duo; Jonathan (28) and That Boy Mikey Pearce who effectively saw us home with a perfectly paced 42 before sacrificing his maiden club 50, in order to give his Dad a bat, by running himself out in grand style. Mikey and Jonathan's partnership saw off the opening attack and weathered both the good and the bad bowling to leave Tony just a few runs to get. Edward, in after Tony, had just a few runs to get, which he did with Steve and Jim helping out in rather unconvincing style. Well; certainly Jim wasn't convincing anyone.
The talking points of the day? The main feature of the game was the wicket which was particularly helpful to the bowlers and distinctly unhelpful to the batsmen. Mikey's continuing form impressed all, especially Mikey, and, with Jonathan going in at three I think TWCC under Brock have found a really valuable top order; with Tony floating about anywhere from 3 to 5 there would be few sides who could cope with such depth of talent. The Home side's deployment of their bowling attack seemed, to the visitors, to be a little too helpful, with Toby going for 29 off three overs before J Webb coming on and making life difficult, along with Nick Stace's good work, to the end. Had TWCC needed those 29 runs as the visiting side's batters were running out, the result, who knows? may have been quite different.
TWCC win by 4 wickets.

Innings of Albourne and Sayers Common
Coughlan Bld Simon 9; Bowman Bld Simon 23; Bridesman/Bridgeman LBW Bunn 52; Kinscot Bld Brock 9; Howe Bld Brock 14;
Mew Ct Trollope Bld Brock 4; M Stace not out 4. DNB: Widdowson, T Stace, Webb, N Stace.
Bowling: M Steinke 7-2-20-0; P Hunter 4-2-4-0; J Simon 7-0-19-2; P Steinke 8-2-17-0; J Trollope 4-0-18-0; R Brock 7-2-17-3;
E Bunn 6-0-26-1.
Innings of TWCC
J Trollope LBW bld Widdowson 8; P Hunter LBW Bld N Stace 1; J Rowland Bld J Webb 28; M Pearce run out unnecessarily 42;
T Pearce Bld T Stace 8; E Bunn not out 14; S Rogers LBW Bld T Stace 4; J Simon nout out 2. DNB M Steinke, R Brock, P Steinke.
Bowling: M Widdowson 9-0-27-1; N Stace 7-0-17-1; T Stace 9-0-33-2; T Mew 3-0-29-0; J Webb 4-0-20-1.
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TWCC v Bolney
September 13th 2009
We have an Archive Failure... The match report has gone - vanished into the ether. The bare facts are that TWCC, batting first, managed to score sufficient runs to deny Bolney a win, and Bolney nearly got out enough to give TWCC a victory. A lot of almosts; it was a draw.
Close scrutiny of the facts that appear below will allow connoiseurs of the game to form an accurate picture of the game.

Innings of TWCC
J Trollope ct M Swain bld Bennett 16; S Rogers ct, bld Collins 72; J Rowland run out 4; M Pearce run out 2; T Pearce ct M Swain bld Maher 62; E Bunn not out 28; G Hunter not out 5. DNB M Steinke, J Simon, H Karvey, P Steinke.
Bowling: A Bennett 8-1-36-1; M English 5-1-12-0; S Bowles 10-2-37-0; M Swain 6-1-19-0; D Maher 9-0-46-1; J Moore 2-0-29-0; J Collins 5-0-29-1.
Innings of Bolney
M Swain bld P Steinke 10; M Dawes run  out 4; D Hamilton ct G Hunter bld M Pearce 56; J Collins ct E Bunn bld J Simon 50; S Bowles ct J Trollope bld M Pearce 22; G Standing ct G Hunter bld J Simon 6; D Maher LBW bld P Steinke; D Tyler bld J Simon 8; A Bennett not out 14; M English not out 1. DNB J Moore.
Bowling: P Steinke 13-3-62-2; M Steinke 7-4-20-0; E Bunn 4-0-34-0; M Pearce 8-0-42-2; J Simon 9-3-21-3.
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TWCC v Streat and Westmeston
September 20th 2009
Not for the first time this season was our match with Streat and Westmeston a curiosity (in the eyes of the author at any rate). This time, our crime was a little less subtle even than James’s  well documented tickle to leg earlier in the season. This time our cheating was blatantly transparent though completely unintentional. But most curious was how a team can bowl so ordinarily but then bat so extraordinarily.  
Skipper Brock won the toss on a bright but overcast afternoon and elected to bat.  We were short of Sussex’s finest batsman, Tony Pearce, and Edward, but still had plenty available to us (talent and numbers!!!). 
Paul and James started off and shared a good stand of 20 for the first wicket against bowling which was not overly threatening. Paul and James shared a good first stand before Paul was run out, which led to another fruitful partnership between James and Rob.  When Rob fell newcomer Mark Pascoe continued in similar vein. Skipper Brock, believing that Streat would bat as they had bowled, opted for an early declaration when the 200 was reached – 203 in fact, giving TWCC an extra ten minutes to bowl at them.
Taking the field in the second innings meant going for wickets: so an attacking field consisted of 3 slips, gully, point, short cover, mid on, mid off, midwicket, square leg, keeper and obviously bowler. `Hang on, that’s 12` - came the shout from their umpire. Much counting and re-counting and it was true:  we had 12 men! Skipper Brock – for it was his fault – departed to do the washing up and go over the numbers – `one extra Dave` was the official excuse, while the Streat openers began spiritedly attacking their considerable target. Paul later offered to be the 12th man and made way to go home and attend to the children. Richard came back on and provided one of the few highlights of the two and a half hours in the field with a good catch from a steepling shot. Other than that our bowlers were put to the sword by an excellent batting display by Streat’s numbers 1 (108 no) and 3 (72 no).  It could all have been different if a couple of catches had been held, most notably a miss in the slips when Barrs was on 5.  (Rob is fallible – shock!).  But the batsmen rarely seemed troubled, always kept the target in sight and won with 9 balls to spare. It could be argued that a challenging target ensured a good game but equally it could be argued that we should have batted out to 220+. Anyway, the upshot was our second defeat of the season.

Innings of TWCC
J Trollope bld G Christmas 68; P Hunter run out 31; R Rydon ct, bld D Christmas 42; M Pascoe not out 40; M Steinke nout out 6; dnb not sure
Bowling: Forder 7-0-28-0; G Christmas 8-1-34-1; D Christmas 9-0-45-1; Mansfield 5-0-26-0; Bars 5-0-28-0; S Spiegel 4-0-38-0.
Innings of Streat and Westmeston
S Barrs not out 108; R Mayston ct Brock bld P Steinke 17; C Mansfield not out 72. DNB R Spurr, G Christmas, S Forrester, D Christmas, C Marshall, R Dillon, R Griffiths, S Spiegel.
Bowling: M Steinke 7-2-19-2; P Steinke 11-2-39-1; R Rydon 10-1-22-0; R Brock 5.2-0-38-0; M Pearce 6-0-39-0; M Pascoe 4-0-24-0;
D Jones 3-0-022-0.
Streat and Westmeston won by a lot.
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TWCC v Brighton Beamers
September 27th 2009
Despite the close of the season being almost upon us, Skipper Brock looked at his overfull team sheet, magnanimously stepped aside to reward other loyal players a game,  and unfortunatley missed out on a really good day's play.
Jim, winning the toss as acting skipper, felt that with such a strong side he would bat first as it would be more fun to chase wickets than runs.
Opening with the formidable bowling pair of Jeremy Cave and Rob Nicholls, the Beamers weren't going to surrender runs; rather the reverse as TWCC were soon 16 for 1 with Hunter P back in the pavilion after an almost unheard of duck. James and Tony took up the challenge and took us to 40 before Tony was out to a tremendous delivery that he could simply not do anything about; ducking in at pace from a line just outside the off stump he was unlucky to be out for 18, bowled by an impressive Cave who continued for too long as far as TWCC were concerned. Steve faired no better, but James, standing tall, successfully progressed the TWCC cause with his customary display of fine debonair batting. Mikey Pearce, in at 5, also applied himself most effectively, and James and he put on 49 runs in a very useful partnership before James was out for 42 and Mikey for 36, both exemplifying their excellent end of season performances - and, as we shall see, providing an invaluable contribution of all-too-scarce runs.
The Beamers' attack continued with Jeremy Cave bowling his pacy tight line and, with Hewie replacing Rob Nicholls' characteristically impressive but, on this occasion, wicketless, spell the visitors were giving nothing away and TWCC's batsmen were not able to get the scoreboard spinning at all. Hewie's accurate bowling; jagging in at the stumps from wide of the crease, and on occasion moving away from the right-hander, was hard to score off, and Jeremy Cave's figures of 5 for 30 off 13 overs speak for themselves.
TWCC, however, had the luxury of a very long batting line up which could have been shuffled about into more or less any order. The home side still had Rob at 6(!) and Edward at 7(!)  to go in and score in the last half hour or so, and they both took up the challenge. Rob, aware of the need for quick runs, was caught at square leg for a swift 25, and Edward, although his ambition was contained by tight close-of-innings bowling, ended with 21 not out. TWCC went to tea with a score of 158 for 7. Possibly not enough runs, and certainly fewer than Jim had expected when deciding to bat first.

Tea, lovingly prepared, apparently, by Kay (Steve - there was a butterscotch element to the brownie cement), was consumed in glorious Autumn sunshine; the light wasn't go to be a problem on this occasion, and the Beamers started their innings full of hope that the modest total would be overhauled with relative ease. However, these two sides are well matched - possibly, over the years, this is the fixture that provides the most close finishes - and if TWCC were only able to score 158, who knows, maybe Brighton Beamers would find the going equally tough?
Opening with Rob and Matt Jim was in no mood to give the visiting side an easy time of it. Rob "Whispering Death" Rydon soon had the stumps spread wide and his two early wickets were a great TWCC response to the keen bowling that the Beamers had been able to deploy. Sensing Matt's time was yet to come, and with Rob's extended spell tying up the scoring from his end, Jim replaced Matt with Mikey Pearce; the intention being that the batsmen would take undue risks and suffer the consequences against some slower deliveries. This was the connoiseur's phase of the game; Rob continually threatening to take an edge and Mikey giving the ball plenty of air, but it has to be said that the Beamer's discipline was exemplary, only one wicket falling to Mikey due to a great low catch by Tony in the slips, and Rob being denied further wickets by some really competent batting.  And the Beamers' total began to climb.
In the hope that the visitors would see the removal of Rob from the attack as another reason to take risks they had previously denied themselves, Jim replaced Rob with Phil, who is not, as we all know, a bowler to be taken lightly. And, sure enough, Phil's control and deceptive pace soon brought results with an ultimately decisive spell of bowling. Mikey, whilst still providing the occasional chance, began to have runs scored from his bowling, and so Jim put himself on in an attempt to keep the Beamers from scoring too many before Phil could get them out. And, miraculously, this is what happened; every over or so Phil would take a wicket, and the Beamers, although enjoying the odd boundary, were unable to get the rate down below about 5 per over at any time. Gradually the rate required rose as the overs ticked down, and, with just a few overs to go Phil took a couple of quick wickets even as the Beamers shut down for a draw. Honse bowled a tight maiden over but, with no attmept now being made to hit the ball, Jim took the ball for the last over with the Beamers 9 wickets down. A fairy tale end to the season as the luckless last Beamer nicked the ball as it passed by just on or outside his off stump, and Steve lunged forward to take a good low catch that won the game with just two balls left.
What a good game; tight as always with the Beamers led by sporting-but-competetive Frank Rigby; a low total to defend, disciplined and controlled batting and bowling from both sides - this was a thorougly crickety cricket match. All home players contributed towards the win, not least the batters scoring runs in the first place, but in the end the decisive performance came from Rob with his early wickets and long spell and, then, particularly, from Phil  with his 4 for 28 off 12 overs, which put TWCC in a position to win. Defending just 158 on our small ground is a thoroughly good performance and, if this does prove to be the last game of the season (the forecast is less favourable for next weekend), it will be a fine memory to take us through to 2010.

Innings of TWCC
P Hunter ct Wkt bld Cave 0; J Trollope bld B Rigby 42; T Pearce bld Cave 18; S Rogers Ct gully bld Cave 4; M Pearce bld Hewie 36; R Rydon ct sq leg bld Cave 25; E Bunn not out 21; M Steinke ct wkt 2; J Simon not out 1. DNB H Karvey, P Steinke.
Bowling: Cave 13-1-30-5; R Nicholls 7-2-25-0; Hewie 14-2-39-1; Eaton 3-0-26-0; B Rigby 4-0-27-1; F Rigby 2-0-8-0.
Innings of Brighton Beamers
S Brett bld Rydon 1; J Richter ct T Pearce bld M pearce 15; B Rigby bld Rydon 0; N Clarke ct P Hunter bld P Steinke 33; J Cave bld P Steinke 25; B Hewie run out 11; R Nicholls bld P Steinke 13; F Rigby bld P Steinke 6; R Nixon LBW bld M Steinke 1; A Eaton ct S Rogers bld J Simon 0; J Richards not out 0.
Bowling: R Rydon11-2-17-2; M Steinke 7-1-15-1; M Pearce 8-1-28-1; P Steinke 12-2-28-4; J Simon 5-0-13-1; H Karvey 1-1-0-0.
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TWCC v Partridge Green
October 4th 2009
October dawned, and still they played cricket.  This time vs new opponents – Partridge Green; those who enjoy the finer things of cricketing life such as a grass pitch, a toilet, a pavilion etc. – but even these fine folk were not ready for our demographically challenged young motor mouth and his views on the peasantry.
TWCC lost the toss and were asked to bat.  TWCC got off to a steady start – good to see James return to form with some fine hitting and a return of his glorious on drive.  Just a few weeks too late!  Anyway he and Paul saw us to 43 before Paul fell to a great catch by Eely at cover point, and James powered on with Jonathan to 112 to lay a great foundation.
James made 42, Jonathan 45 and then the rest really chased the runs hard.  Richard fell to a run-out, Mikey played some glorious shots in his 39, proving that however uncomfortable he is mixing with us common people (see above), he is a rapidly improving player and, if we can find some gaffa tape for his mouth, we're glad he's with us.
Tea came with TWCC on 193-6, but, in spite of this relatively high total, it was clear that Partridge Green were not going to settle for less than Mikey on a plate – or victory.  Matt and Jim each took out an opener but at 95-2 they looked good for a win.  But a flurry of wickets for Phil and Richard pegged them back to 128-6.  However then they brought on a man who hit sixes for fun – and that, together with a horrible number of dropped catches (again) cost us the game.
It was close, it was fun, it would be nice to keep them on the card and all in all it was a good game to end the season, and it was nice to see Mikey make a panto appearance even before he’s on the set!!
 
Innings of TWCC
J Trollope Ct Wkt B Eely 42; P Hunter Ct Eely B Garman 24; J Rowland Ct B White45; R Brock run out 11; M Pearce Ct wkt B Wyatt 39; G Hunter B Wyatt 11; J Simon not out 1; J Karvey not out 1. Total 193-6.
Fall:  43-2, 112-1, 122-3, 176-5, 180-4, 192-7.
Bowling: T Laker 10-3-37-0; S Garman 7-0-23-1; A Eely 9-2-25-1; Dumbrill 5-0-31-0; White 3-0-19-1; Newman 3-0-24-0; Wyatt 4-0-20-2.
Innings of Partridge Green
Garman ct G Hunter B M Steinke 31; Dumbrill ct G Hunter B Simon 3; A Eely B Brock 40; Wyatt B P Steinke 10; Britton Ct wkt (Rowland) B P Steinke 2; White Ct M Pearce B Brock 8; Newman not out 42; Bone Ct P Hunter B Karvay  5; Woolgar not out 35. Total 194-7
Bowling: M Steinke 8-1-33-1; J Simon 8-1-16-1; R Brock 7-1-42-2; P Steinke 7.4-1-6-2; M Pearce 5-0-25-0; H Karvay 1-0-21-1; P Hunter 3-0-21-0.
Partridge Green won by 3 wickets.
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TWCC 2009 Season review      Played 18: Won 8: Drawn 6: Tied 1: Lost 3
Well you can see the write up to the matches on the TWCC website:  so I won’t go through every match:  in fact I will mention only 2. The tied match vs Poynings which was very exciting and the win against Brighton Beamers which we won with a wicket in the last over, which is always a good way to win a match!
We made it until late into July until we conceded our first defeat:  and then we managed to lose 2 of the last 3 matches of the season.  That said, I did enjoy our new fixture against Partridge Green and I hope we can play them again – ideally home and away. 
All in all an excellent season, mostly clement weather despite it being a poor summer generally.  The records show – and I’ve been through a few recently – that it’s possibly the most successful season ever, certainly in terms of results.
It’s been fantastic to see Mikey and George really make their mark on the team – both are shaping up to be excellent players and also club members:  each brings a dash of something to the club which adds to the alchemy forming a great club with great team spirit.
Finally, this year – thanks particularly to Dave Rogers, Dave Jones and Richard Sutcliffe Smith – I have been able to obtain the records of every season since and including 1988, which is handily the date when many of our current members joined.  So it is in effect, a record of TWCC recent history and personal career figures for every existing member of the club.  It’s been a long trawl through a lot of scorebooks and faded end of season reports:  and remarkably, the only records I couldn’t find were bowling for 2001 and 2002:  so I’ve estimated those drawing on the figures for the two years either side.
The figures won’t be perfect, it’s impossible:  some may recall an outstanding performance which isn’t noted:  if that is the case, I apologise but I have done all I can to get every set of figures possible and record everything faithfully.  It has filled many train journeys to and from London!!
Hopefully it’s give you something to muse upon, and also as a team, give us all a little something to celebrate when a batsman reaches a landmark target or a bowler takes a landmark number of wickets.  If nothing else, it’ll keep us going for 5 minutes at the AGM.
Finally I’ve greatly enjoyed the season personally and thank you to all for your support, friendship and advice as ever.
Richard.
Richard Brock, TWCC Captain 2009
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TWCC 2009 Statistics

BATTING  (5 innings to qualify)
                                Matches        Innings        NO’s *      HS        Runs         Average       
Edward Bunn             13                   8               4             58*        178             44.5       
Tony Pearce              13                 13               0             80          502             38.61
Jonathan Rowland      8                    8               2             52*        227             37.83
Richard Brock           13                  10               6             37*       139             34.75   
Paul Hunter                12                  12              0             51         335             27.91
Mikey Pearce            15                  14              3            48*        305              27.72
Matt Steinke              16                    7              3             43           97              24.25
James Trollope         16                 15               0             68         327               21.8   
Steve Rogers            13                  11              1             72         207             20.75
Jim Simon                 12                  10              5             30*        102              20.4
George Hunter          10                   8                1            21           91                 13   
Honse                        13                   5                3            9*            16                   8


UNDER 5 INNINGS
Rob Rydon                  4                    4               0            165         56                41.25
N Francis                     1                    1              0              34          34                34
R Packham                 1                    1               0             17          17                 17   
Phil Steinke              14                    1               0               8            8                    8
Dave Jones                7                    3               1             11          12                   6
Dave Rogers             2                      -                -              -                -                   -
Matthew Brock           3                    0                -                -              -                   -
Graham Cuthbert       2                    1               0               0             0                   -
M Pasoce                   1                    1               0             40*          40                  -
Ollie Bunn                   1                     -                -                -               -                  -

BOWLING  (20 overs + 5 matches to qualify)
                                  Matches      Overs      Maidens    Wickets    Runs    Average    Best       
Richard Brock              13            100.3         15                19         297        15.63      26-4   
Phil Steinke                  14            142            28                 25         416       16.64      64-6
Jim Simon                    12               76             8                 12          239       19.91      21-3
Mikey Pearce               15              89              6                 19         446        23.47     20-4   
Edward Bunn                13              29              1                  6         149        24.83     30-4   
Dave Jones                    7               32              3                  6         156        26         20-2
James Trollope            15               26             1                   4         128        32         18-2   
Paul Hunter                   12              52              5                  5          220        44         29-2
Matt Steinke                 16             127           25                  6          422       70.33    15-1
Under 20 overs or 5 matches
Rob Rydon                    4                39             5                  7            85         12.14      28-5
Honse Karvey            13                 18            2                   2           79          39.5        2-1   
Jonathan Rowland        8                  6             -                   1           72          72          14-1
Tony Pearce                13                 5             0                  0            31             -             -
Matthew Brock              3                 5             0                   0           85              -         18-0

(Sorry for the wiggly lines; it doesn't transfer into this software. It was either wonky or lots and lots of time....)
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TWCC 2008 Season
TWCC v Brunswick Village April 27th 2008

The first match of the season and Brunswick were the opponents.  An hour long downpour just before the start meant the grass was wet, the pitch would be unresponsive.  We won the toss: and elected to field first.  Matt opened with a good, occasionally erratic, spell from the playground end and was unlucky not to take a wicket in a long spell.  10 overs, 0 for 29***CHECK***.  Paul, opening at the other end, took the first wicket with a cleverly thought out slower ball.  He then handed over to Richard who demonstrated what the word erratic really means.  In a 6 over spell, he bowled 17 wides – including four on the trot!  Curiously his final figures made rather good reading:  6-0-3-24.  His first wicket was thanks to a quite brilliant running catch in the deep by George Hunter, truly earning his TWCC stripes.  Wickets continued to fall with regularity but so did the number of wides bowled.  Phil had an excellent spell ending with impressive figures of ....****CHECK****. – and mention should also be made of Tony Pearce who made three excellent catches in the slips, none of them easy.  But by the end Brunswick hung on to score 143-9 – **CHECK*** of which an unbelievable 46 – yes 46 – were wides. 

Steve and Paul opened and Steve fell early to an excellent catch leaving us 4-1.  Tony and Paul then took us to ....****CHECK****.  before Tony fell for 15.  Richard put himself up to 4 in the order and he and Paul pushed the score into the 90s ....****CHECK****. before he fell to yet another good catch for 19. The word collapse is said by some to be synonymous with Twineham – this wasn’t one of the great collapses but it wasn’t good.  There followed a procession of batsmen failing to make a big impact:  Mikey (SCORE) fell on his sword during a run out mix up with Paul, Jonathan (SCORE) showed great promise with some big hits but he too holed out – and the senior section of Rogers and Jones struggled to chalk up anything above singles.  In the middle of the mayhem, Paul too was caught for an excellent 59.  The required rate rose from 2 an over to 8 needed from the last over with the father and son combo of Matt and Phil at the crease.   Matt hit a two then a mighty blow sent the ball scuttling towards the boundary, where an eager fielder dived full length to stop a certain four and effectively save the match.  It came down to the last ball:  two required to tie, three to win:  Matt connected but not well enough and Phil was run out trying to make the second run.      TWCC finished on 142-9 – the match drawn.  A reasonable start to the season, a match we should have won easily had it not been for that appalling - and probably record breaking for TWCC – number of wides.  We put it down to the close season cobwebs, a windy day and cloud cover – and move on.

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Streat v TWCC May 4th 2008
On a cloudy, humid day at the base of the Downs Twineham played Streat. Phil Steinke was captain for the day, and lost the toss as usual. But, in the end, it was a good toss to lose as Twineham were put in to bat.
On a slow batting strip James soon got into stride after a couple of LBW appeals were turned down. Hitting four boundaries Steve and James put on 30 for the first wicket before Steve edged one to Steve Hancock. However, James carried on, making 24 before deciding to come down the wicket to Stan and getting stumped.
Then entered the Pearce boys, Tony and Mikey, who put on 107 for the 3rd wicket, in which Tony scored 80 plus, hitting the bowling to all parts of the ground, hitting 6's off every other ball. Streat didn't have much idea how to get Tony out, with  Steve Hancock bowling 6 overs for 61 against him. Mikey played his part, of course, in the 107 stand, playing well against Stan Spiegel, but who was out in the end for 21. Another 60+ partnership between Tony and Jonathan put Twineham in a good position for winning the game. A few more 6's and Tony was out, stumped, for a brilliant 153. Meanwhile Jonathan made a quick-fire 31 not out. Edward came and went for a single, but by then the damage was done; 264 for 5 off 39 overs.
After the tea interval Twineham came out to field, with Nigel opening the bowling from the Manor End, and Matt from the Downs End. Nigel soon had Streat in trouble removing the dangerous Simon Barrs and Steve Hancock for ducks, and J Bovill for 2 who decided to come out without batting gloves and was persuaded to go back and get a pair. Matt played his part by removing A Barret with a low catch to James. Nigel, having figures of 3 for 13 off 9 overs, and Matt 1 for 6 off 8 overs. Then entered James to bowl from the Downs end, who, first ball, had Bob Mayston (former Kent player) out to a brilliant running catch at long on by Ollie Bunn. At this stage Streat were 24 for 7. Phil bowled from the Manor End and didn't trouble the batsmen often, and decided to give Mikey Pearce a bowl before being carried off with a hamstring problem. Mikey soon got in the rhythm by removing Bob Griffiths. M Bleson and Stan Spiegel who was brilliantly caught by the much improved Honse. In the end it was a good win for Twineham by 192 runs.

And a second report:
With uncharacteristic ruthlessness Twineham annihilated a sorry looking Streat. A record-breaking 150 by Tony Pearce thoroughly demoralised the opposition and fantastic catches by Ollie Bunn and Honse capped a stirring display.
Never mind that Streat's bowling was friendly and their batsmen, to say the least, obliging, games like this still have to be won.
Pearce senior made full use of a short boundary, swiping and smashing until he went a dangerous shade of puce, while Pearce Junior played with textbook correctness collecting one's and two's to his fathers fours and sixes.
Well before tea the total looked way beyond Streat's capabilities and so it proved as Nigel and Matt took early wickets, and James and Mikey tweaked out the rest. Strangely, Richard's technical acumen was hardly missed as Phil changed the bowlers cannily until pulling a hamstring when the game was all but won. Ollie's wonder catch came as a former kent county batsman was deceived by James's flight. Ollie raced in from the boundary and plucked it from the sky.
Honse, who appears to be made of rubber, caught the winning catch (destined for Matthew until he slipped) flinging himself forwards to hold on just inches from the ground. A few minutes later and the heavens opened. Five catches, a run out and no dropped chances; all that pre-season training had really payed off. And Tony has generously offered to buy the beers for the rest of the season.

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TWCCv Greys May 11th 2008
A hot sunny day for the game against Greys, a good day for batting as the match, and two men in particular, would prove.  TWCC lost the toss and were asked to field.  We spent the next two hours admiring their Australian opener Covill stack up a chanceless century before he got greedy and was stumped for 109, trying to knock James into New South Wales. In the meantime, Dave Rogers took a stunning diving catch to get rid of their other opener, but it was one of those days where the ball avoided the fielders. Our bowlers toiled well for little reward, mostly going for at least five an over.  But Matt Steinke, Dave Jones and Edward all picked up a wicket with James getting 2-29 at the end. 
A good reply by our openers:  Steve and James put on 61 before Steve was bowled for 30, but the foundation was laid.  Enter Tony Pearce, he of the 152 last week. It was very soon clear he was determined to continue from last week.  James was caught for 34 with the score at 71-2 - and the next wicket fell at 210!!!  A curious but unselfish innings from Edward with 19 singles in the scorebook before he got any other score.  He was bowled eventually for 35 (23 singles, 3 4s)  but by that time another magnificent century by Tony had got us to the brink of victory.  His superb innings consisted of 11 4s and 6 6s and ensured victory by 7 wickets with ten balls to spare.  Tony was 103 not out. So another excellent team performance, congratulations to all, the undefeated TWCC march on.

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TWCC v Moulscombe Wanderers May 11th 2008
New skipper Richard Brock led the way to another Twineham and Wineham victory on a bright and breezy Sunday when Moulscombe made the journey across country to take on the might of New Twineham. Our over-rated team of investigative reporters have failed to find out who won the toss, but Moulscombe were first to bat and TWCC's most successful captain for a season put the new ball in the hands of Matt Steinke and Jim.  Matt troubled the Moulscombe openers for his entire spell, picking up an overdue wicket towards the end of a fine performance, ending with figures of  9 overs 1 for 10. Jim, meanwhile, stiffening up before our eyes, managed a whole spell with no wides and very little else, unless you're a connoseur of 6's and other bold strokes. All was not lost for the ageing Jim, however, as he did manage to dismiss both Moulsecoomb openers. One, S. Branford with a slower ball to present a catch to Steve-of-the-gloves, and then, with lightning reflexes (getting out of the way), by diverting a heavily driven ball onto the stumps at the bowler's end to run out a suitably upset Kevin Cooke. On came the Skipper from the Pavilion End and with his very first ball he provoked a sluggishly mis-hit drive that was caught at mid-on, and then, with Steve standing up, managed to engineer a stumping with his third ball. Next over, another catch and Brock senior's spell was over with the heart torn out of Moulsecombes upper-middle order. The Editor asked Richard if he'd like to write the match report, which he was initially keen to do, but then realised that there would have an element of modesty attached to the reporting of his own spell and he quickly declined. Thus it falls to the Gazette's staff reporter to be modest for him; it was quite a good spell: 2 overs, 3 for 0.
Moving on; TWCC kept up the offensive with Jonathan (6 overs 1 for 17), Ollie (4 overs 0 for 15) and Mikey, bowling with his usual bravado, ending with 4 overs 2 for 6. Now we come to a welcome - to Rob who wandered over from
Wineham Lane - and most welcome he is too. Although it has never been a pre-requisite for TWCC newcomers to have done so, all the signs are that he played cricket before andRob's impressive bowling (2 overs, 0 for 1) augers well for the continuing health of the side. Unlucky with a couple of flukey run-outs Moulscombe ended their innings ahead of schedule all out for 73.
Twineham opened before tea with James and Steve, who moved through to tea in the face of some agressive and high quality bowling from Danny Sherwin, moving the ball away at pace. James's innings, characterised by a classy understanding of what he was about; stroking rather than hitting, only came to an end when he cut a bit loose and was caught at point for 13. Steve, who initially faced less of Danny Sherwin's deliveries than did James,  was also out for 13 which included two fours, and between them Twineham had moved substantially towards their target so that the outcome of the match, by the time TWCC's openers had played their part, was already decided. Jonathan, confident and able, top scored with 17 and eventually fell to another generation of Brock (1 over 1 for 7) and Jim added to the total and Ollie came in at the end to see the home side... home.
Twineham and Wineham march on, and although the run of luck was not with Moulscombe I think it fair to say that the better side on the day won the match.
Given the shortened nature of the match it was a shame for the local fans that they didn't see Tony, Edward, Rob and others wielding the willow, and only seven(!) TWCC players bowled, but a win's a win, and a convincing win's a good win and will only fuel the competetive fire of all when these two well-matched sides face each other again on August 10th. There was strength of batting and bowling never tested in this game, but of note, and noted, was the excellent wicket-keeping of Steve who made light of all chances, including the Brock stumping, and who took 2 (I think) catches with no fuss or demonstrance of any kind. No football team can ever challenge for a league title without a class goalkeeper, and in the same way no cricketing side can hope to achieve success if their keeper isn't up to scratch. Well done Steve.

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Bolney v TWCC May May 25th 2008
An undefeated TWCC arrived at the picturesque ground of Bolney, a venue where in recent years they’ve had little reward and occasionally fractious encounters – one might speculate whether those two facts are in any way connected.  The skipper won the toss and elected to field on an afternoon promising a bit of swing.  And so it was that the first controversial move was to open with Nigel and Jim – a tactic which paid dividends with Nigel coming downhill unlucky not to nick a couple of edges but bowling a good tight spell, and Jim using the conditions uphill to take a couple of good wickets, including their opener for a duck and their number three three balls later, for two wicket maidens in a spell of 21-2.  The pressure was kept up on the batting side when Matt replaced Nigel down the hill and put in an excellent spell taking 4 wickets for 37 runs.  It was a reward not just for that day but for some recent spells when Matt has bowled well but not got the wickets he’s deserved.  Wickets fell regularly and only a late stand of 37 for the 6th wicket got Bolney towards a reasonable score, when they hit out at the spinning combo of James and Mikey.  Fortunately when Mikey was getting the treatment his dad stepped in:  by stumping the batsman who was trying to slog him onto the A23.  It capped an excellent display behind the stumps for Tony, adding to two earlier catches.  Bolney finished on 164-8, setting an achievable target.  However, it soon became clear it would not be achieved.  Mikey spent a long time getting not many and was out for 5, Tony took a short time getting even fewer and was out for 4 – whilst James just took a long time.  We made 53 in an hour and ten minutes, unable to get good tight bowling away.  James eventually made 27, Nigel fell for 12 – but then, in came Edward.  No, not that one – not the one that scored 19 in singles – the other one, the `old Edward`.  He set about the bowling and made a quickfire 41 – scoring more boundaries than singles – and suddenly the chase was back on.  When he departed we were 98-5, needing 66 from the remaining 12 overs.  Unfortunately, we were not up to the job.  Jim made 2, Richard a shameful golden duck and William a swashbuckling 0 – though had he have hit one of the many he went for, it would most certainly have landed in Brighton.  It was left to the last three batsmen to form a rearguard defence – and what a superb job they did.  Dave Rogers and Matt lasted 8 overs, whilst Bolney tried to buy them,  bounce them and blast them out with a variety of bowling, including bringing back the pacy opener towards the end.  But these two stalwarts held firm until the match was almost safe – when Matt was eventually bowled by said opener.  Enter the fray Honsa.  With one ball which if missed would lose us the game he faced up like an American baseball player.  The ball was good, fast and on the stumps in failing light – but not before Honsa’s magnificent bat came down firmly on it and the match was drawn.  We have ourselves a new young hero, to go with our older hero Dave.  So the run continues, it was a really plucky performance by those last three batters, good to see Edward back in the groove and a very good display in the field.

SCORES
BOLNEY INNINGS
HIMAL:  CT AND BOWLED M STEINKE  39
S ADBY:  LBW      SIMON  0
I ROBINSON:  CT T PEARCE, B SIMON:  0
S BOWLES   LBW  B BROCK 16
P MARSHALL   CT T PEARCE  B M STEINKE 30
J MCDOWALL  B   M STEINKE 4
A BENNETT CT T PEARCE  B M STEINKE 8
B GRIFFIN   NOT OUT 21
G STANDING   ST T PEARCE  B M PEARCE  31
M ENGLISH NOT OUT 3
TOTAL 164
 
BOWLING
N INGRAM: 8-2-0-0
J SIMON:  6-2-21-2
R BROCK  11-2-36-1
M STEINKE  11-2-37-4
J TROLLOPE  5-1-25-0
M PEARCE  4-0-24-1
 
TWCC INNINGS
J TROLLOPE:  CT  ROBINSON  B HIMAL  27
M PEARCE  CT HIMAL B ENGLIS 5
T PEARCE CT MARSHAL B A BENNETT 4
N INGRAM  BOWLED HIMAL 12
E BUNN BOWLED HIMAL  41
J SIMON BOWLED ROBINSON 2
R BROCK BOWLED HIMAL 0
W BUNN  BOWLED HIMAL 0
D ROGERS  NOT OUT 1
M STEINKE BOWLED ROBINSON 4
HONSA   NOT OUT 0
    
TOTAL 109   MATCH DRAWN

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Ashurst v TWCC June 1st 2008
And so to Ashurst, where a strong (on paper and only on paper) TWCC XI lost the toss and were asked to field.  The pitch had had a lot of rain and was quite soggy:  and given it's reputation for low balls anyway, we were hoping for a good tight performance in the field.  And this we had - for a while.  Nigel and Jim worked hard in the opening spell: Nigel's figures in particular were excellent:  6-2-8-3.  Then Rob Rydon - our newest acquisition, who spotted our advert in the pages of `Twineham Today` under the `New players wanted for a desperate cricket team` column – came on a bowled very well, fast, tight, difficult to get away.  With Matt Steinke at the other end also bowling well it was a very good period of intensive cricket.  However, we are all there to play cricket so the skipper controversially extended the bowling circle to include himself, Jonathan and Dave Jones.  This with a batsman starting to enjoy himself and get to grips with the conditions.  Result:  less appealing bowling figures, a batsman finally out for 74 and a total about 30 more than it should have been.  They finished on  156-9.  That said, the only point of setting an achievable target is to come somewhere near striking distance – and we failed.  Abjectly.   With such riches in our batting line-up, everyone seemed to subconsciously leave it to the next man.  So when Jim, snatching at the opportunity to open with James (“isn’t there anyone else”) fell for just 2, and our early season but fast fading hero Tony was also bowled for 9, it was left to our new champion Rob to bail us out.... 
Anyway moving on.  After Rob’s 2, others to fail were Edward (7), Jonathan (1) Nigel and Dave J – scorer untroubled – in fact only Matt with an unbeaten 22 and James with 29 offered any resistance.  We finished on 89-8, a valiant last stand of 32 between Matt and Dave Rogers – but because it was a 40 over game, it has to be chalked down as a defeat.  It’s nice to see it wasn’t a traditional Twineham collapse however – just a steady torrent of wickets.  And we had our revenge by creating such mayhem in their scorebook that their victory will have been indecipherable!
SCORECARD
Ashurst
C Adams Ct Trollope B Ingram 1
D Fischell Ct Bunn B Jones 41
Pickford  Dt Brock  B Ingram 11
Kennett  Ct Rydon, B Simon 74
Mitchell:  Bowled Brock 1
Duffett  Bowled Brock 0
Harrod  LBW  Rydon 9
Holman  LBW  Ingram 0
S Duffett  not out 7
T Syred  run out 2
B Turrell  not out 0
TOTAL 156-9
 
 
 
BOWLING
Ingram 6-2-8-3
Simon  7-1-28-1
Rydon  8-2-14-1
M Steinke  8-2-32-0
Rowland 3-0-22-0
Jones  4-0-29-1
Brock  4-1-20-2
 
TWCC
Trollope  Bowled Kennett 29
Simon:  Bowled Duffett 2
T Pearce  Bowled Duffett 9
Rydon:  LBW Turrell 2
Bunn: Bowled Duffett 7
Rowland Ct...  Bowled Mitchell 1
Ingram  LBW Kennett 0
Jones  Ct  Bowled Syred 0
M Steinke not out 22
D Rogers not out 5
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Single Wicket Competition June 8th 2008

Anyway, away from the pressures of the big league games, we staged the single wicket competition.  The big names were all there and let us know it.  “Are we the only three to have each won it four times” said James loudly to Tony and Edward.  Curiously, James was a little less loud when beaten in the first round by the magnificent Honsa.  But his true spirit returned later when another of the fallen champions, Edward generously suggested that the plate final should feature George Hunter and Matthew Brock, two youngsters who had turned up.  James promptly rejected the idea, demanded that he should play Edward in a plate semi final and then take on the winning boy in a final.  And so it was and George narrowly missed out in the final.  We all pass on our hearty congratulations to James.

Meanwhile, the punters took the bookies to the cleaners.  A great deal of clever money had been piled on Matt Steinke at the start of the day:  and Matt powered his way to the final where he took on Tony.  It was an excellent final, with Tony eventually requiring 2 to win and 1 to tie off the last ball:  but Matt bowled it well and Tony couldn’t get a bat on it.  So a new name on the trophy, and just rewards for a young man whose cricket is getting better and better. 

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TWCC v London Unity June 15th 2008

And so it was, back to business and London Unity.  This time the TWCC team looked as bad on paper as it normally does in the flesh – and it wasn’t long before it set out to prove that.  Apart from James’s excellent innings of 69, holding together an assorted shambles of batting, only Richard also managed double figures:  the second time running TWCC has had only 2 batsmen in double figures.  So it’s not hard to see where the problem lies at the moment. Anyway we got to 104 all out, just 10 minutes before tea.

Unity started well getting to 56 before losing a wicket.  Then came the fightback – and quite magnificent it was too, Twineham showing their finest battling qualities.  It came with the bowling change:  the recuperated Phil at one end, newcomer Jasper Middleton at the other.  Together these two kept things very tight and with that pressure came wickets.  Phil finished with a quite superb 7-29, Jasper played an equally valuable part with 28-2.  After that first stand, wickets fell at regular intervals until at the start of the last over, Unity were on 99-9.  We needed 1 wicket to win, they needed 6 runs.  It went dot, two, dot.  Then a cross batted slash connected well and the ball raced to the long on boundary.  A great end to a great game, shame they won and not us.  But real excellence in the field, super bowling, catches taken all over the place, single stopping fielding – and a very exciting match. 

 

SCORECARD

J Trollope  Ct Williams B Clark 69

S Rogers  Ct B Colombine 0

D Rogers Ct B J Clark 3

O Bunn: Bowled Driver 1

Honsa Ct B Williams 4

P Steinke not out 3

TOTAL 104 ALL OUT

 

 

 

LONDON UNITY

J Driver ct E Bunn Bowled P Steinke

D Adey  Ct S Rogers B Middleton 32

Sammurgh  Ct and Bowled P Steinke 1

Gare:  Ct S Rogers Bowled P Steinke 14

Murray Ct Honsa Bowled P Steinke 0

J Williams not out 6

J Roberts Bowled Middleton 7

M Driver Ct Middleton Bowled P Steinke 13

Colmbries Ct D Rogers Bowled P Steinke  3

J Clarke Ct Middleton Bowled P Steinke 0

J Williams not out 3

TOTAL 105 – 9

 

BOWLING

M Steinke  10-3-38-0

R Brock 5-2-10-0

J Middleton 12-2-28-2

P Steinke 15-5-29-7
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Suffolk Tour June 20th-22nd

From Twineham came eight men strong and true

Heading East bearing bats and clubs

They would meet the 3 where the sky was blue

And plentiful were the pubs

 

Golf first, at Earls Colne, was their game

Standards of each did vary

Some were poor, others most tame

But old Codgers was quite the contrary

 

Take the game by the scruff of the neck did he

Seeing off the young pretenders

And by the time we had pints on the 19th tee

Pounds up was the ancient defender

 

The game it did change for the time had arrived

To dispatch to the village of Twinstead

Similar to ours, their name derived

But their players young and virile not old and overfed

 

The toss it was lost and we took to the field

Fours and sixes to the trees they did crash

To all ends of the field, and the pink ball did yield

To a watery grave, Hunter’s splash

 

It was 20/20 in spirit and score

Our fielders fought for each bye

The accompanying theme, as each batsman hit four

Was a blaring tune on the hi fi

 

At 158 they were done, thought us sunk

They returned to their dressing room confident

But they reckoned without Hunter, the man who’d been dunked

A point to prove, he’d show what he meant

 

He opened the innings, waited not for the spinning

`I’ll teach `em to put me in the pond`

A quickfire 24, a chance of us winning

But his luck, with his honesty, did abscond.

 

Launching into their task with courage and clout

Rogers and Pearce too took on the bowlers

By the time they were out we were in with a shout

50 up and bring on Rowlers

 

He missed out on the golf and fielded but half

But Jon was soon in the fray

1 six, 7 fours, but we had to laugh

When the ladies, their runs did delay

14 needed from the last over

Surely nothing could make our mood bitter

How wrong we were, did we soon discover

Two balls to go and enter `the pinch hitter` ©

 

Two sixes to win – defeat was portended

Batsman Jones chose a mysterious tactic

No big heave him, he meekly defended

Like his bat was made of plastic

Back at the pub, who would be blamed

Fines and recrimination

Hunter was caned, the skipper was shamed

So too Jones for his vacillation

 

The evening wore on, the ale on the go

And tour traditions ever more

The farting, the smarting, the sincerity did flow

And the poker went on `til 4

 

Saturday morning, grey, not hot

And Pearce adjourned to go betting

Joined by Jones and Brock, they lost the lot

Whilst the rest were barmaid-checking

 

A pretty village Bures, on the border of two counties

But strong at cricket, victors last year

Defeated, hung over, Twineham expected no bounties

Toss won, we took to the field in fear

 

An early run out, but then it seemed to go wrong

The catches they would not stick

From the tennis court end Nigel and Phil held strong

From the river, a quite terrible mix

 

To detail all the catches we did spill

Would be an exercise in humiliation

So Hunter, Brock, Simon, Rowland et al

Can wince from this very publication

 

Another missed catch had an unfortunate end

More serious than at first we did see

Vinnie’s twisted back put our new found friend,

In Jim’s van heading for Worthing A and E

 

The score we would chase, 191, seemed quite high

`Til Paul and Steve put on 50, good cricket

And when Tony joined Paul our hopes reached the sky

They shared a century stand for the next wicket

 

And so it continued, four followed four

An occasional six thrown in

Before we knew it we needed no more

We’d managed our first Suffolk win

 

With 11 overs still spare, we’d left Bures bereft

To the Swan for footy and glee

But we were only an 8, Jim’s ambulance had left

We raised a glass to our missing three

 

The evening was a flurry of cards, beer and curry

Four hit the table and Nigel the jackpot

With no match on Sunday there was no need to worry

We left in the morning non-stop

 

And so it was, a rundown of our tour

Another memorable one – and a win too!

In previous years we’ve had red lights and more

But this time the red lights turned blue.

  

So who were the stars, who had the woes

Who would we remember for ever and a day

The truth is we toured with 11 heroes

Bent on tradition, the TWCC way.

 

OUR PLAYERS

There was Phil, mean bowling, his shades so cool

The skipper, the fall guy and always the fool

Dave Jones – great tourist but defender of the six

And Steve: got runs and safe behind the sticks

Paul:  batting hero, but what did we spy?

The ball in the pond - sincerely - he did lie

Tony, down on the betting but runs in a hurry

Nigel put the wind up them, especially post curry

Jonathan – a colossus with the bat, but at running a bit gay

And Jim, batting good, but similar running to `J`!

Dave Rogers: still the team heartbeat after 300 years on tour

And Vinnie: enjoyed his company – erm....next year for more?

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Poynings v TWCC June 29th
After the away weekend to Suffolk, we returned to our beloved Sussex – and the Poynings ground nestled in the Sussex Downs.  In recent years this has not been a happy hunting ground for TWCC:  frequently the most enjoyable part of the afternoon has been the drink in the Royal Oak afterwards.  Would this be any different, bearing in mind we were a scratch team of just 10, including a mate of Richard’s who has never played the game since school???
The skipper lost the toss and we were asked to take the field, on a warm but windy day.  The wind would obviously help the bowlers if they could master it – but what about that sloping pitch?  An  opening attack of Jim and Phil bowled exceptionally well kept them pegged right back, and took wickets at regular intervals.  Their figures deserve special mention:  Phil 11-3-16-2 and Jim 9-3-16-2.  With bowlers far from abundant, it was always clear that they would be in for long spells – but these two made the most of it and gave us a great start.  Unfortunately the scorebook doesn’t record the stands but at one point Poynings were no more than 40-5.  They were also scoring very slowly thanks to some excellent work in the field, interrupted only occasionally by Graham’s (Richard’s friend) inadequately soled trainers and James (nobody’s friend after this performance) outrageous dive after the ball had long since passed between his legs.  On the fielding front, special mention should be made of Steve who, with Tony at slip, managed to let go byes and catches constantly for the first 6 overs, then stood up for the rest of the match and was quite brilliant, frequently threatening stumpings,  keeping the batsmen firmly in the crease and whipping the bails off for two runouts from throws by Jim and Tony.   So Jim and Phil took care of four top order wickets.  After Phil we introduced Mo, a friend of Phil and clearly a very classy off spinner, ex Haywards Heath.  He and Richard took three wickets during the next spell:  the difference being that Richard didn’t take any of the three!!  The skipper wisely took himself off to avoid further damage to his averages – rather too late – and asked Mikey to bowl his medium pacers.  It was a masterful performance from the young gobby one.  Frequently passing the edge of the bat he finished with excellent figures of 3-0-3-1, fully deserving the praise he heaped on himself.  And so it was at 4.50pm Poynings were bowled out by a hardworking TWCC for just 123. 
However, we all know how hard we can make even a moderate chase for ourselves – and when James was clean bowled for 3, we gave a collective gulp.  But fellow opener Steve and Tony steered us back on course and past the 50 mark before Tony was caught.  Enter the skipper:  no bat for him on tour, understandably given the fact he is crap, but on this occasion he rose above the rather low standard of bowling being offered.  He and Steve put on runs and then the once-a-year-bloom  Graeme Flower showed he’d lost nothing of his batting panache, including smacking a six and losing the ball.   It was Graeme who hit the winning runs and TWCC were victors by 7 wickets. 
So two on the trot and considering the way the team was hauled together, a great result.

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TWCC v Wisley June 6th 2008

Wimbledon men’s finals day is always a day to look forward to at TWCC:  because it heralds our match against our old friends from Wisley.  Many a hard fought game has been played with the spirited Wisley team over the years and always finishing with a well earned pint.  So what would this year bring?  Rain!!!  And more rain.  By 12.30 more than half the team and the opposition had called in asking if the match was on.  But given that the outfield was bone dry and the pitch artificial, plus a weather report that it would blow over by 3pm we bravely gathered, only for Edward to threaten to go home five times in the first fifteen minutes.  Eventually, the clouds parted, the sun came out and we agreed to a 30 over match.

 

The skipper won the toss and elected to bat – the tactics being simply that we didn’t want to field in the wet!!  James`s indifferent season continued – he made just 7 – and it was welcome back to Paul – though we didn’t expect to welcome him back that quickly – he made 2!  Then the batting marvel of the season continued his astonishing run of form.  Tony provided the stability for the middle order to pile on the runs at more than 5 an over, assisted by Jonathan and Steve – and Edward batted too.  Tony was eventually out for 78 before Mikey and Richard chipped in with useful 20s to take us to 171-7 from our 30 overs.     

 

So Wisley faced five and a half an over – and they started well, their first three batsmen all making good scores, despite good tight bowling by Matt and Jasper.  It  looked like it would go to the wire in terms of the run chase, not wickets.  With a maximum 6 overs per player, Phil was deliberately kept back for the final overs.  Paul and James bowled the middle overs, quite respectfully – but extraordinarily the first four bowlers all failed to get wickets, the only two to fall going to run outs. 

 

Enter Phil.  His first three overs were really tight, just ten runs scored and two wickets.  The pressure suddenly piled onto Wisley who were falling behind the rate.   

Enter Richard.  His first three overs cost rather more (problems with the scorebook make it impossible to verify the exact total but around the 20 mark is likely).  So whilst Phil edged Wisley out, Richard did his best to keep them in it.  However, during this tug of war, Rupert came to the wicket.  We know Rupert well from years gone by and he can be ruthlessly destructive.  Phil bowled another great over, only singles coming from it.  As Richard stepped up for his penultimate over Wisley were up above ten an over.  By the end of it, Wisley were favourites!  Rupert smashed 17 off the over and the skipper disconsolately asked Paul to bowl his last over. 

 

However, what drama was to unfold and an over from Phil which was to turn the match.  He took two wickets in the first four balls of his last over to turn the match on its head.  Wisley then scored seven runs from the last two deliveries to leave them now requiring seven to win from the last over.  Richard thought better of putting Paul up as the scapegoat and took the last over himself.  The first ball clean bowled Rupert.  Suddenly it was game on.  A dot, a single and a wide left them requiring five to win from 3 balls.  The 4th legal ball clean bowled their number 8 and the 5th clean bowled their number 10.  One ball to go, five needed to win, four to tie, everyone on the boundary.  In the event, Wisley`s most senior player walked to the wicket and played a shot reminiscent of Dave Jones` when he required the first of two sixes on tour – it was defensively knocked down the wicket.  TWCC won by four runs in a highly dramatic and exciting game and much fun was had by all at the Royal Oak at the end of a fantastic day’s cricket. 

 

SCORECARD

TWCC INNINGS

 

J Trollope                                 Ct Bowled Kumar            7

P Hunter                                   Bowled Kumar  2

T Pearce                                  Ct  Bowled Woods            78

J Rowland                                Ct    Bowled Geer            15

E Bunn                         Bowled   Reed                5

S Rogers                                  Bowled Reed                10

M Pearce                                 Not Out                  20

R Brock                                   Bowled Haddow            21

J Middleton                              Not Out                  5

TOTAL   171-7   (30 OVERS)

 

BOWLING

Wilson              6-0-12-0

Kumar              6-0-39-2

Geer                 5-1-17-1

Alister              4-0-29-0

N Reed            4-0-25-2

Woods             4-0-34-1

Haddow            1-0-7-1

 

 

WISLEY INNINGS

Haddow                       Bowled P Steinke            68

Swan                            Run Out                  22

Fletcher                        Run out                        30

Snelling             Bowled P Steinke            0

Grist                             Bowled P Steinke            5

Geer                             Bowled Brock               24

Snelling             Bowled P Steinke                      0

Reed                            Bowled Brock               0         

 Calvin                          Not out                        1

Kumar                          Bowled  Brock   0 (GD)

Woods                         Not out                         1

 

TOTAL 167-9   (30 OVERS) 

 

 

TWCC BOWLING

M Steinke                    6-1-26-0

Middleton                     6-0-19-0

Hunter                          4-0-27-0

Trollope                       3-0-25-0

Brock                           6-0-40-3

P Steinke                      5-0-22-4

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Staplefield v TWCC July 13th 2008

A rampant TWCC side took to the field once more, this time away to Staplefield, hoping to continue their impressive mid-season resurgence. Somewhat daunting was the sight of a posse of lively 20 year old sporty types leaping about in Staplefield colours, bandying balls about with, it has to be said, gay abandon. Confidently including, in the face of this virulent display, no less than three of our younger youngsters in the TWCC mix, skipper Brock strode to the middle and lost the toss.
TWCC, fielding, began well and both Matt and Jim contained the top order effectively, unselfishly preparing the way  for Phil and Richard to come on and take all their wickets. Not that this report need trouble itself with any other bowling performance than that of Phil, who, once again, was rewarded for his tight and skillful work with the ball, getting it to duck back in to the right-handers as they increasingly swished across the line in their eagerness to see the score advance at all. Once satiated, Phil was replaced by Ollie, George having come on for Richard, and this move allowed Staplefield creep up to a total of 108 all out.
The slightly early tea, notable for some particularly nice egg mayonnaise sandwiches, was soon inside our proud TWCC bellies, and the reply began. Only two notable performances; first of all James, who carefully negotiated his way through the opening spell and then, playing the anchor role, went on to a match-winning 41 before surrendering his wicket in a lapse of concentration, and Edward, seeing off the fast boys with confidence, and who, predictably, fell to the slow bowling of Peterson, but not before advancing the cause by 24 runs. 
Shots of the day? Two-fold; James's straight six off the faster bowler - picked up early and fully swung through to bounce on the road; a truly big 6, and Edward's four through the covers, not played off the back foot really, but hit through the line of the ball as he moved forwards, the rising ball crunched off the middle of the bat and leaving no chance as it traveled, all along the ground, to the cover boundary.
Man of the Match? No contest; Phil, setting up another victory as he has so often this season. Did our recent dip coincide with Phil's injury-absence? I think it might have... 

SCORECARD Staplefield won the toss and elected to bat
Staplefield Innings
A Morris bowled R Brock 51; L Cooper ct. and bowled M Steinke 0; P Clarke bowled J Simon 2; D Cooper bowled M Steinke 2; I Godsmark bowled P Steinke 5; P Sweet bowled P Steinke 22; P Doran bowled P Steinke 2; P Bradbury ct. and bowled P Steinke 5; A Stabile not out 2; M Onions bowled P Steinke 0; P Peterson run out 2.
TOTAL  108
ALL OUT
Bowling: M Steinke 8-1-18-2; J Simon 8-2-21-1; R Brock 7-0-34-1; P Steinke 8-0-21-5; G Hunter 2.3-0-9-0; O Bunn 1-0-1-0.

TWCC innings
J Trollope ct B Peterson 41; J Rowland bowled Onions 4; T Pearce st slip  bowled Cooper 6; E Bunn ct wk bowled Peterson 24; M Brock bowled Peterson 1; O Bunn not out 6; G Hunter ct wk  bowled Peterson 0; R Brock ct and bowled Dougal 9; J Simon not out for a magnificent and untroubled 4.
Did not bat:  M Steinke, P Steinke
Fall of wickets: 18-(2), 34-(3), 84-(4), 87-(5),87-(1), 105-(7)
 TOTAL   109-7 
Bowling: Onions 4-0-20-1; Stabile 4-1-9-0; Cooper 4-0-13-1; `Ghost` 4-0-13-0; Peterson 5-0-18-4; Clarke 5-1-13-0; D Cooper 2.5-0-13-0; Dougal 1-1-0-1.
TWCC win by 3 wickets
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TWCC v Southern Cross and Hornblowers
July 20th
Southern Hornblowers were the opponents this week: they arrived at Twineham undefeated so far this year.  Would this match have a sting in the tail: well yes, thanks mainly to the presence of a wasps nest in the teacup cupboard.  In truth, this nest was spotted two weeks ago but in the true laissez-faire spirit of the club, we left it hoping it would go away.  It didn't: in fact this week it was twice the size; almost as big as a football.  After Steve's brave efforts to grab some teacups left him with two stings, we decided it had to be dealt with.  So Paul went home to get some spray, the skipper went out and lost the toss as usual - and the match started with TWCC in the field.  Jim opened from the pavilion end, and with Phil's stunning form so far this season, he opened at the far end.  And lo and behold, he took a wicket with his first ball, their opener getting a touch of glove through to Steve behind the stump s.  It felt like a day when the ball would swing:  and so it proved.  These two both bowled beautifully, had the batsmen in all sorts of trouble and took out the openers early.  Indeed were it not for dropped catches by Tony and Richard off their number 3 Skutt that would have been three early wickets.  It was a struggle for the batsmen, but just in case they were in any doubt, Mikey the Mouth helpfully screeched `he's hit it at last` and was immediately disciplined by first slip (dad) and cover (skipper).  The change of bowling led to spells for Paul, whose slow ball was decidedly not the best idea, and Mikey and Dave Jones who both made the most of the opportunity.  Mikey bowled very well, making the most of the swing and picking up three wickets.  Dave bowled more variably - as the four and sixes from Mr Skutt will testify - but he got the important balls right - the ones just before he was due to be taken off, and he had his revenge by getting Mr Skutt's wicket.  Jonathan came in for a rare bowling appearance and took a couple of late wickets, much to the delight of his wife, who turned another page in the Sunday Times.  So they were bowled out at 4.35pm and with the tea urn barely warm we took to the field to knock up a quick 20 runs before tea.  Our innings was dominated by a splendid knock of 82 not out by Paul `the slogger` according to one fielder, including a beautifully middled six into the oak tree at the far end of the ground.  George helped his dad for a while, and Mikey also had an innings as it became clear we would get home quite easily.  After another sledging outbreak centreing on Mikey, the close-in fielders had their moment when his bails flew and he trudged off.  But we were home by 7 wickets, great batting by Paul and good bowling all round.  

SHB won the toss and elected to bat.
SC & H INNINGS
Clifford Bowled Simon 4; Linn Ct Rogers B P Steinke 0; Skutt Ct Rogers, B Jones 61, Ghasemi Ct and Bowled 21, Barclay Ct Simon Bowled M Pearce 8; Wild  Bowled M Pearce 0; Pither Ct S Rogers Bowled Jones 12; Linn not out 2; Burke Bowled Rowland 2; Shreeves Bowled M Pearce 0; Jake Ct T Pearce B Rowland 0.
TOTAL   119 ALL OUT
Fall:  2, 10, 60, 77, 81,k 102, 112, 116 118. 119.
TWCC BOWLING
J Simon 8-2-21-1; P Steinke 12-2-29-2; P Hunter 4-0-21-0; M Pearce 6-1-15-3; D Jones 4-0-30-2; J Rowland 1.4-0-2-2. 
TWCC INNINGS
P Hunter Not Out 82; J Trollope Ct x Bowled Pither 20; G Hunter Ct x  Bowled Clifford 4; M Pearce Bowled Burke 8; J Rowland Not Out 0.
TOTAL 121-3
FALL:  83, 91, 117
SC & H BOWLING
Shrieves  4-0-21-0; Ghasemi 4-0-24-0; Linn 2-0-20-0; Skutt 1-0-14-0; Pither 3-1-16-1; Clifford 1-0-12-1; Burke 1-0-5-1
TWCC win by 7 wickets

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TWCC v Henfield July 27th

So the triumphant TWCC marched on to a home fixture v Henfield.  Surely the recent excellent run couldn’t continue through another tough match?  Erm, no it couldn’t.  The clue was in the preparation:  we could only muster 10 players, two of those were boys and another team member was a guy Richard plays football with.  So bad omens:  worsened by the crash of the wasps nest.  Phil had come in during the week to finish off the blighters who’d taken root in our teacup cupboard.  We arrived to find the nest had disintegrated on the floor, a few stragglers were clinging onto life whilst most of their friends had suffered in the Hunter/Steinke genocide.  So the cupboard was moved outside, the skipper continued his unhappy habit of losing the toss and on the hottest afternoon for cricket so far this year, we went into the field.   Well, for the first hour or so, we were smacked around by the shot-making opener Eason and patted around by the gentler Griffiths.   They rode their luck but the result was the same:  they were into the 70’s, having seen off Paul and Phil before Richard finally feathered the off bail from Mr Eason’s stumps.  The run rate then slowed dramatically and James – sparingly used so far this year – got his line and length to keep them reasonably quiet.  Indeed he picked up two quick wickets too, catches to George – an outstanding take on the boundary - and Richard, and what was at one stage looking like a 200 plus target was starting to come down.  Jonathan bowled well from the pavilion end but the sensation was young Matthew Brock.  Brought on by his dad at the far end, Matthew (11) bowled an excellent five over spell at the end of the innings when the batsmen were trying to pile on the runs.  Only a tough dropped chance from Paul prevented the young maestro from getting his first wicket for TWCC – but even so, it was a superb spell of bowling and showed great promise for the future.   Henfield finished on 181-4, their opener had batted through and it was a tough two and a half hours in the field.  The reply could hardly have started worse.  Paul was clean bowled from the fourth bal l.  But there followed an excellent and spirited innings from the increasingly impressive Jonathan.  James stayed with him until the score was 39 when he was bowled – but then Jonathan and Steve turned up the heat with quick and dominant scoring to take us to 89.  There Jonathan gave the merest whiff of a touch to the keeper but sportingly walked (a lesson to us all, James.)  20 overs kicked in and we were left requiring 97 to win, but looking dangerously frail in the tail.  Steve fell next – though Graeme Flower, again a welcome addition and someone we hope to attract back on a more regular basis, took a six as his first scoring shot.  Regrettably it was almost his last.  Another single and he was gone.  This left the skipper at one end – never a good start in a defensive fight – and George at the other.  Rather like his father, George looked to the leg side once too often and was bowled around his legs.  Next in was Graham, Richard’s football playing mate.  After he was shown which side of the bat to use, he kept out a couple of balls until th e skipper remarkably and utterly stupidly called him through for a bye from the final ball of the over.  For a young man called G Scott the next over will stay with him for ever.  It went dot, dot, dot, bowled, bowled, caught.  His hatrick finished the match and we had lost by 63 runs.  Many congratulations to him, and actually congratulations to all those who turned out for TWCC on this day.  It was very hot, very hard and with a much weakened team, it could have been far worse than it actually was. 

SCORE CARD
Henfield won the toss and elected to bat
HENFIELD INNINGS
S Eason Bowled R Brock 53; C Griffiths Not Out 83; T Hills Ct R Brock B Trollope 2; L Knott Ct G Hunter B Trollope 4; J Wake Bowled Rowland 26; R Wadey Not Out 10; TOTAL 181-4.
TWCC BOWLING
P Hunter 5-1-29-0; P Steinke  7-2-19-0; R Brock 10-1-38-1; J Trollope 9-1-33-2; J Rowland 5-0-24-1; M Brock 5-0-33-0; G Hunter 1-0-10-0.

TWCC INNINGS
J Trollope Bowled Thomson 16; P Hunter Bowled Howick 1; J Rowland Ct wkt bowled Silverson 43; S Rogers Ct Silverson Bowled Scott 22; G Flower Bowled Silverson 7; R Brock Not out 6; G Hunter Bowled Silverson 10; G Cuthbert Bowled Scott 1; M Brock Bowled Scott 0; P Steinke          Ct Wkt B Scott 0.
TOTAL   118 ALL OUT
Fall   2-2, 39-1, 89-3, 101-4, 103-5, 117-7, 118-8, 118-9, 118-10.
HENFIELD BOWLING

J Howick 8-0-46-1; J Thomson 6-1-23-1; D Silverson 7-3-17-3; G Scott 6-0-21-4.
Henfield win by 63 runs

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TWCC v President's XI August 3rd
A wet day, with an on/off morning in which to make sandwiches. Tuna, mayonnaise, a dash of mango chutney, with mustard-and-oil-dressed lettuce marbled through the mixture seemed, to me, to be the best of them.
TWCC batted first in a 40 over match and found the outfield nice and quick for a change. Several good performances to report, Paul (30), Matt (36), Edward (31) all added significantly to the total, plus a remarkable 10 not-out at the close of the innings from our swashbuckling, devil-may-care, inspirational and dashing skipper. What an example to us all he was as he selflessly risked all in his attempt to keep the Twineham worm climbing to the very end. What a 10 runs those were, and we were lucky to have them as it was clearly all a bit close with three wickets in hand and two balls left. 211 for 7. Dave Jones, playing for the President's XI, bowled particularly well, and for a lot of overs; ending with figures of 15 overs, 3 for 77 - not a flattering run-tally, but TWCC were hitting out all innings, and the 15 overs contained plenty of good stuff and some plucky hits off the middle stump.
The rain settled in after tea, and President Sutcliffe-Smith sent in Mikey Pearce and Dave Rogers (both guesting for the opposition) to open, giving Skipper Brock the splendid opportunity to pit the younger versus the older Pearce. With somewhat too much glee Tony claimed the wicket of his own son as he got a ball to lift off a length, presenting the simplest of caught and bowled chances. Plenty to re-live in the Pearce household for a week or three.
A rather subdued reply, with no really serious attempt to reach the total, followed as it was clear the weather was going to stop us all in our tracks. The game was kept going until opening time, with Tim Peacock himself carrying his bat through to the pub, top scoring on 13. At stumps the President's XI reply was 33 for 3 after 16 overs. Paul bowled well with figures of 2 overs, 2 for 7 and that was about it.

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Moulsecoomb Wanderers v TWCC August 10th
TWCC made the trip to Hadlow Down once more, not looking forward to the variable conditions, only to return home with that warm feeling that comes from thoroughly winning. Not that we play to win at all costs, but there seemed little point in avoiding a win once it became an option.
To the plot; skipper Brock had carelessly booked his hols and left his side in the tender care of last season's skipper; not a happy thought, and with unburdened abandon Jim won the toss and put Moulsecoomb in to bat.
"We've had the edge on Moulsecoomb over the last few meetings," he explained, "and we're sometimes a bit wobbly chasing. Put runs on the board and I think any total can be a bit of a challenge for those batting second at Hadlow Down." And so it proved.
Unfettered by the pressure of having to score runs, Paul and Mikey didn't; both succumbing to balls that kept low - the usual Hadlow Down issue.
In came first Tony, and then Jonathan, to take the match over and do the first of the two jobs;  score lots of runs. Tony, although admitting to not really feeling in, did score prolifically against some difficult bowling. The ball continued to keep low, but this didn't stop Tony cracking three 6's and seven 4's in his 73 before wandering about once to often, looking a bit dazed by then, and being stumped.
Jonathan, playing with great care and watchful attention to every delivery, took the bowling for five 6's and seven 4's in his total of 79 not out. Skipper Simon, umpiring for the latter stages of the match, was captivated by Jonathan's innings; "What was particularly impressive was that, even at the end of the innings, Jonathan was, when presented with a potentially difficult delivery, i.e. straight, still watching it all the way onto his bat and giving every ball the care it deserved." Moulsecoomb did bring on the openers again for quite a spell at the end of the innings in order to try and stop the run chase, and it did work. The scoring slowed right down and TWCC were held to under 200; 189 for 3. Plenty of batting unused in the pavilion, but scoring was difficult at the end, although Steve's pull for a single to square leg boundary showed what might have been possible if Tony had got out earlier. Mind you, if Steve had been able to read his map a bit better he might have been higher up the or
Tea was taken with Phil smoldering about how few overs Moulsecoomb had bowled at us (34) thus denying us runs, but little did he know what was in store for him. Seeing the ball keeping low from Pavilion End, Jim put Phil on to open knowing that of us all he is the man who will bowl it straight. In his second over the first of his many wickets fell to him, the ball keeping low and hitting the stumps. These weren't bad balls made good by the wicket being weird; these were straight and slightly swinging balls making batsmen play down the wrong line, and then, if the ball kept a little low, sneaking around and under the bat. In order to take the wickets the balls had to be good, and they were. Nigel took a wicket and Matt was unlucky bowling well for no reward, whilst Phil wheeled away claiming 5 in his first spell. Once sated Phil was taken off and replaced by Mikey who bowled the odd good ball and a good number of odd balls, and then George who whistled a few past the off stump and who had a catch dropped on the square leg boundary. But we had a match to win as the available overs lessened, and so Paul came on to take two wickets for 13, and Phil returned first to claim his 6th wicket, and then to wrap the game up with just one over to spare by taking his 7th. 7 for 14 off 10.1 overs - remarkable. The runs that Tony and Jonathan scored ensured we faced  a Moulsecoomb side who barely ever tried to go for the runs, but unless we took the 10 wickets a win would not have resulted, so it is to Phil we owe the victory. And to the skipper of course, for asking him to open from the end he didn't want to bowl from.
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Warninglid v TWCC August 17th
Skipper Simon once again won the toss and chose to field against a strong Warninglid side. Matt and Phil opened once again and Phil was quickly into the wickets as usual. Matt, on the other hand, was less successful as the Warninglid batters picked up perfectly good balls and began to find the boundarys. Matt, taken off in order to offer a different approach was replaced by Dave Jones who rolled in over after over of testing deliveries that somehow didn't take wickets. Dave got the ball to jump and swing, and although he was unlucky he did help, with Phil, to hinder the runaway scoring. TWCC began to grab back a bit of the initiative as the early flurry was halted.
Phil completed his spell (11 overs, 1 maiden, 2 for 48) and was replaced by James as it appeared that the slower ball was likely to test the batters most, and so it proved as James' most loopwrthy deliveries asked the most questions. Inevitably, with tolerances lower with slower bowling, there was still the odd boundary, but overall the switch to the slower bowling was successful. Honse produced a good stop and a quick throw to run out one of their stronger batters. Dave, finishing strongly with figures of 10 overs, 1 maiden 0 for 39, was replaced by Edward who continued to present most problems with the slower ball which occasionaly found Dave's spot on the pitch that caused the ball to lift, and he had a lengthy spell ending with figures of 7 overs, 1 maiden, 0 for 30. James, (6 overs, 0 maidens 1 for 37), was replaced by Matt as he came on for his second spell and, bowling to the end, bowled tight and true, his 9 overs, 0 maidens 2 for 53 figures looking worse than they should as a result of his earlier spell. Jim came on to turn his arm over for just an over and a bit taking a wicket with the last ball at a cost of 9 runs. Warninglid ended on 216 for 7 at tea. Quite a target for TWCC without Richard, Paul, Jonathan, Steve or Nigel, though with a willing enough squad of eager players.
TWCC opened their innings with James, newly refreshed from an overnight return from holiday having had very little sleep, and Mikey, up all night scanning the seamier side of the internet, but who, nonetheless, managed to get us off to a secure albeit less flourishsome start than Warninglid's openers. Mikey, after doing the hard yards, succumbed to temptation and was bowled for 15, which included 2 fours. James stayed around very well and anchored the innings, accelerating the scoring as he was joined by a succession of partners. First up was Tony, eyes firmly on a win, as he set about the bowling in grand style. 5 fours and 2 big sixes in his 35 an indication of the hitting. Tony was in the middle for quite a while, all the time with James contributing as well. Tony, eventually out caught, was passed on his way out... in... by Edward  and he, too, began to set about things. By now the Warninglidders had also decided the slower deliveries were the harder to score off, but Edward did his best to prove them wrong. More big hits, and then he was out, going for his second 6, for 11. Our efforts proved to have been spent as Dave Rogers out for 0, Jim for 1, Ollie for 3 all made quick entrances and exits. It was now a matter of survival in the gloom of an overcast evening, and we had good lads still in reserve to do it. First Honse, who had clearly been taught good technique by Phil in the nets, parried in front of his stumps with a distinct inter-continental doggedness. He seemed to have a better grasp of the basics than his skipper, but in the end he was out caught as he tried to score. Dave Jones fenced well for a good period, and then he, too, fell, leaving us with Matt and Phil to keep the Warninglid wolves from our door. Which they did! Matt, who as we know, bats well and deserves a place much higher up the order than a lowly No. 10, clearly found being reined in a bit frustrating, but TWCC needed someone of his calibre there and there he was. With Phil, and with a co-operative Warninglid skipper, we saw out the day for a dishonourable draw. TWCC 128 for 9.
We see the return of our true skipper for the next match, and none too soon.

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TWCC 2007 Season

Brunswick Village v TWCC April 29th 2007
The captain surprised himself by winning the toss - wasting a valuable toss-win as, upon declaring that TWCC would field first, he learned that the opposition's captain would have batted anyway. How this whole toss thing pans out over the season we shall just have to wait and see.
Taking the field with no Phil or Mat was an issue, but Nigel certainly turned up big-time, and his potent opening spell set the tone for the match; 3 for 29 in 7 overs. At the other end Richard kept it tight and beat the bat regularly, and took 1 for 24 off 6 overs; an LBW decision from the opposition's umpire - an indication of the fair spirit in which the match was played throughout.
Reeling a little, Brunswick Village got down to their No. 5 batsman in double-quick time. Dave Jones, replacing Richard, varied his line to some degree, but nonetheless took two for 45 during a lenghty eight over spell. There is a risk that these figures flatter not, but, and it is a big but, by this time we were all enjoying the wonderful strokeplay of Mr. Rosh (?) Fernandopulle who took runs off all the TWCC bowlers throughout his wonderful innings of 108 not out.
Jim took over from Nigel, and bowled one of his best deliveires first ball, but who, going downhill from that point, ended up with figures of  5 overs none for 26.
The captain, feeling that some variety and lift from just short of a length might just be the thing to stop the young Sri Lankan in his tracks, replaced himself with Edward who bowled well, in two containing spells totalling 8 overs, at a time when Brunswick were scoring freely, ending with 46 for 1. James' short spell failed to produce the wicket that it might well have, and also failed to be recorded accurately in our scorebook, (or maybe James went through the book with an eraser?), and the stats may be lost for all time. The book says 2 overs none for 23, but the Editor recalls a longer spell than this? Nigel returned to the fray, and took a further wicket to end with figures of 11 overs, 1 maiden, 4 wickets for 51.
An overview of the Brunswick innings shows a domination by Mr Fernandopulle and, although there were contributions elsewhere; a 35 and a 24; there were no other significant scores and, for the loss of 8 wickets, Brunswick Village ended up setting a target of 220. The outfield was fast and difficult, as TWCC found, (Richard suffered a painful ankle injury when chasing a ball over the lumpy outfield, which stopped him taking part any further in the game), but 220 to chase, whilst it wouldn't be easy, was never a total too far.
TWCC's skipper hoped for an innings based on a solid foundation, and James and Dave Rogers opened in TWCC's reply and provided just that. The best part of an hour's play followed with no loss of wicket; James accumulating runs by waiting for the opportunities and then connecting with great effect, and Dave doing his given job of keeping the bowlers out as the Brunswick bowlers worked through their fresh phase. With the bowlers tiring a little, the score had moved on to 74 for no wicket - a proper, crickety platform, when Dave, now opening up, was caught at gully. James' innings really set the tone of TWCC's reply; solid, chanceless as I recall; he having scored the bulk of the runs in the opening hour.
Now, with a platform from which to begin an attempt at the total, Twineham were poised to see what they could do about overtaking Brunswick. Dave and James' opening job done of ensuring that TWCC really shouldn't lose the game, a license to go for it was created, and, with a team chock full of serious strikers lined up ready to indulge, the chase began in earnest.
First up was Steve who, with his usual energetic clean-hitting, raced to a quick 17 in no time, and who, with James continuing to press on, began to indicate that the win was on. Steve's innings comprised one single and four fours - TWCC were off - and Edward replaced Steve at 121 for 2; 100 to get!
All this time James had been keeping his end up, but, just approaching a marvellous opening century he suffered an on-target delivery which escaped his radar and which tickled the top of his off stump casuing his downfall on 95; 4 sixes and 13 fours! How about that; straight out of the box at the start of a new season! The creator of the perfect platform for the team, and the scorer of more or less half the team's required runs - an innings of distinction and one which augers very well for him and for the team for the oncoming season.
No exact figures available, but I think at the point James left the field, TWCC probably needed about 10 runs an over, but, with the draw secured, Twineham were now able to capitalise on having moved Tony down the order a bit. 100 to get in ten overs or so; who would one want at the crease? Edward and Tony fit the bill! And they didn't disappoint as they set about the Brunswick bowling in marvellous style. Edward hit seven fours in his innings of 34, particularly strong pulling to leg, and the required rate dropped like a stone. Tony began his neat, cleverly paced innings with a straight six, and didn't look back as he waited for the scoring balls and pounced. Joined by Nigel upon Edward's demise, the terrible twosome powered on and Brunswick weren't able to stem the flow of runs and it became clear that a good win was around the corner. Nigel, 20 not out, with a huge straight six and two fours, together with Tony, simply took the game away from Brunswick who had, by now, brought on both their opening bowlers in the deepening gloom, but it was all to no avail as TWCC overtook their total with an over and a half to spare. Tony's batting at No. 5 - well down the order for him - did mean that he wasn't able to be at the crease for as long as might have been optimum, but, free to revel in his natural free-scoring batsmanship, he plundered 42 runs in no time, including 2 sixes and  6 fours. Not out at the end, and coming up with the goods when asked, it was a very promising and encouraging start to his season.
All six batsmen produced the goods, from laying foundations to scoring heavily as the opportunity to do so with abandon arrived, and TWCC can be proud of their performance at the start of the new season.
An overview of the day must highlight the success of several individuals. Whilst all bowlers bowled well in difficult circumstances as the Brunswick star batsman played so well, Nigel's opening spell was the most commendable as he rolled over the top of the order and put Brunswick on the back foot. No other bowler really had the Brunswick batsmen regularly worried, though wickets did obviously fall to good and less good balls as always.
A target in the 200's was an impressive one to reach, and the batsmen were the real stars of the show, as detailed above. Edward's opening innings indicates this might be another vintage Bunn year, and Steve and Dave were reliable as always and helped us to the win. Man of the match is not easy; Tony's cool and fast 42 scored when asked to produce was a highlight and who knows what he might have scored had he batted lower down, but Man of the Match comes down to two players; Nigel for his penetrative and succesful bowling and his blistering presence at the crease at the end of our succesful run-chase is one, and James' impressive 95 which naturally puts him in the frame. A rare sharing of the spoils then; one can't imagine what total TWCC might have had to chase had Nigel not bowled so well, and his sealing of the game at the end was a wonderful contribution, and James' innings was clearly the main reason we were in a position to win at all. Men of the Match; James and Nigel.
On to Streat where the editor hopes not to get Stanned again, and on into the season with a win under our belts and individual and team confidence high! 

Brunswick certainly played their part in a friendly and sporting fixture, a proper Sunday match, complete with the right result! Congratulations Twineham and Wineham.

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Streat and Westmeston v TWCC   May 6th 2007
With a dodgy forecast having dogged the week, it was with some trepidation that the TWCC team drove to Streat's wonderful ground, nestled in heart of the rain corridor just North of the Downs. The mists were reeling across the hills, full of wet intent, and the unseasonably high recent temperatures a forgotten anomaly.
Undaunted, the TWCC team went through the usual pre-match routine of changing as slowly as possible and of not being ready to play until we were a round fifteen minutes late. Notwithstanding this lengthy opportunity to lose the toss, the captain mysteriously made one of the few correct calls of the day, and chose to field first.
TWCC's bowling attack opened with the Steinke duo, Matt operating downhill and into the wind from the House End, and Phil coming up the slope with the wind behind. Of the two it was Phil who caused most problems, taking an early wicket leaving Streat at one point on 6 for 1. Matt seemed to struggle slightly with the conditions, and was maybe a little short of match practice as this was his first game, and he was temporarily removed from the attack.
Phil and Jim then continued in partnership for the next 16 overs; Phil always on the money and Jim bowling his usual mixture. Dave Christmas, on his way to scoring 96 and other Streat batsmen were getting seriously set and were on their way to a large total.
Edward, using his varying pace very effectively, came on from the Downs End to replace Phil, and, using the slope of the wicket to his advantage, bowled an excellent eight over spell, taking one wicket for 35 runs; not un-economical in the context of the pattern of play as the batsmen were now hitting out at every opportunity.
One or two odd deliveries from Jim appeared to trouble the batsmen at the wicket, but increasingly more did the same for the batsmen waiting to come in as they had to keep looking for the ball in the field behind the pavilion. With wickets in hand the Streat batsmen began to take advantage of poor and less poor balls alike and by the time Jim saw the light he had figures of 8 overs, 1 for 47 - not a pretty sight, and he thought it time for someone else to be as expensive.

The captain's thoughts turned then to the bowling might of Pearce T. Not many pundits would have thought of this particular master-stroke, and it was a captain's decision that would have been effective had the boundarys been just a bit further away from the batsmen. Several skied shots had the bad form to go all the way into the hedge, just evading fielders on the boundary, and Tony's short spell, effective in producing chances, closed after 3 overs and 19 runs had been scored.
By now the Streat players were in the last half hour of their available time and much hitting occurred. Dave Jones replaced Tony and he took a wicket in his five overs at a cost of 39 runs at a time when the batters were simply hitting out. Matt returned to the attack, finding his form very creditably in the different conditions from the Downs End, ending with very good figures of a total of 8 overs for 23. With the clock ambling very slowly towards tea, it was a reluctant Phil who took the ball for the last over - reluctant as the figures from his fine earlier spell were in jeopardy. However, more faith was justified as his clever tactic of bowling towards the stumps brought him another wicket and he closed with figures of 11 overs, 2 for 39.
An overview of the Streat innings must not only pay tribute to the batting of M Brook (36) and R Spurr (33), and particularly to Dave Christmas' 96, but also to the condition of the outfield and the Twineham fielders. This was not one of TWCC's liveliest fielding performances, and, with a particulrly short boundary up towards the pavilion not helping, Streat ended with a total of 213 for 5. Twineham's bowling would have benefitted from the penetration offered by Nigel, and the additional variety that Richard Brock and even the odd Hunter might have provided.
Twineham's run chase, again over 200, began with Richard being a victim of the only ball in the whole day that did anything unusual. Admittedly from the Downs End where there did appear to be a little bit more offered by the pitch, the ball lifted off a good length and all Richard could do was fend the ball to the waiting slips. An unlucky and unwelcome early dismissal, it is to be hoped that at least, by not unduly stressing his injured ankle over a more prolonged innings, by being out so quickly Richard might at least have hastened an early return to full fitness.
There now ensued Twineham's purple patch. Without hurry, James and Tony began to accumulate runs in much the same craftsmanlike fashion as they had individually on the previous Sunday. Using leg glances off the full face of the bat, fine cuts, full-bladed drives off front and back foot they soon spread the field and were able to push for the ones and twos as well as take advantage of the looser deliveries by scoring boundaries.

Both batsmen's timing is already in mid-season knick, and James' 65 included one all-run 5, 8 fours and lots of gently pushed singles. Tony, eventually out for 87, struck one 6, and 13 fours. Both innings' of great class they took Twineham to a fine victory, needing only modest assistance from Matt in at No.4 (10), with Edward (11) and Steve (8) not out at the end with plenty of time to spare. James and Tony impressed again with their cultured gentle stroking of the ball into the gaps in the field that their agression had opened up, and with their bigger hitting when the opportunity arose. Their prolonged scoring, admired from an increasingly relaxed pavilion, simply took the game away from Streat.
Stan Spiegel, acting skipper, (who also took 3 for 38 off 6 overs) had thought at tea that they were maybe forty runs short, and with the outfield fast, the boundary on one side very short, and Twineham's known potential he was proved correct. As Stan pointed out, the wicket, outfield and proximity to a short boundary, together with some rather poor fielding, allowed a total of 428 runs for 9 to be scored, quite a total for a Sunday afternoon of cricket.
Another fine TWCC victory in which more than 200 runs were required and it does seem as if TWCC's batting is in good, confident form, and we still look forward to the return of Paul up the sharp end of the order. Thanks to the performances of our strong batters our middle and sometimes lengthy tail have yet to find out how resilient we are in 2007, and that will be interesting when we are called upon to score runs lower down the order.
James, in opening and then seeing us through to a strong position scoring 65 runs, and Phil in bowling so well, both helped more than most in securing another victory, but one can't ignore Tony's bowling, and it is for this, and possibly also for his 87 runs that Tony is this week's Man of the Match.

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Twineham and Wineham v. Moulescomb Wanderers    May 20th 2007

Who was it that said; "Cricket's a young man's game?" Well here at the Gazette office we haven't got a clue, but whoever it was must have been at TWCC's home match against a particularly mobile and energetic Moulescomb team on Sunday.
This week, even more so than on previous occasions, the Gazette is somewhat running on empty and so the Editorial Team are planning a different and hopefully less laborious (for all) write-up this week.
So; the card!
TWCC's skipper mysteriously won the toss and TWCC were batting first again.
Moulescomb Innings
J Harrison bowled Ingram 0
K Cooke Caught Hunter P. Bowled Steinke M. 4
T Sharpe Bowled Steinke P 42
T Bramford Caught Bunn E. Bowled Ingram 17
G Brighty Caught Steinke P. Bowled Steinke M. 8
S Griffiths Caught Rogers S. Bowled Brock 4
S Bramford Bowled Brock 24
P Langman Caught Trollope Bowled Ingram 20
M Green Not out
D Sherwin Dropped Simon Bowled Steinke P. 9
D Sherwin Bowled Steinke P. 9
J Bowen Not out
Extras 9
Moulescomb 140 for 9

TWCC Bowling
Nigel Ingram 10 overs 3 for 26
Matt Steinke 8 overs 2 for 21
Paul Hunter 0.2 overs 0 for 2 (injured)
Jim Simon 6 overs 0 for 24
Richard Brock 6 overs 2 for 21
Edward Bunn 4 overs 0 for 28
P Steinke 6 overs 2 maidens 2 for 14

TWCC Innings
J Trollope Caught Griffiths Bowled Sharpe 11
D Rogers Run Out 1
S Rogers Bowled Sherwin 11
E Bunn LBW Bowled Sharpe 9
J Simon Bowled Harrison 0
R Brock Caught Sharpe Bowled Bowen 8
N Ingram Caught Griffiths Bowled Bowen 18
G Hunter Caught Bowen Bowled Not Sure 3
M Steinke Not out 2
P Steinke Not out 0
P Hunter DNB (injured)
Extras a few
TWCC about 70 for 8

Moulescomb Bowling
G Brighty 5 overs 0 for 12
D Sherwin 5 1 for 14
T Sharpe 7 overs 2 maidens 2 for 6
J Harrison 6 overs, 1 maiden 1 for 16
J Bowen 6 overs 1 maiden 1 for 16
M Green 5 overs 0 for 11
(These figures may be wrong - well; are wrong as more wickets fell than this. Apologies to Moulescombe for any misrepresentations!)

These figures tell most of the sorry story, though, as always there's a little more to it.
It did all start out rather promisingly, with Nigel and Matt's familiar opening burst producing early wickets; we couldn't have asked for more and Twineham's bouncy fielding was an improvement on recent performances; having the Hunters back in the side certainly helped here. Then the first bowling change brought on an unfortunate injury to young hopeful Paul Hunter who succumbed to a painful tweak whilst running up to bowl. He took no further part in the game and didn't even get to the pub! Simon J was a disappointment again, bowling about one good ball in ten, but Edward did bowl well, with his usual mixture of temptation and variation of pace, and was unlucky on several occasions not to get a wicket. Richard, and then Phil produced the goods again from the Downs End, taking four wickets between them. The bowling and fielding performance was far from unsatisfactory, and conceding 140 with just ten men in the field for much of the time was commendable. The warning signs were there, however, for not only was Paul injured but was clear that the outfield was very slow. Seasoned pundits were heard to mutter that the Moulescomb total of 140 began could be a bit of a challenge.
Before I begin a description of the Twineham reply I think it's only right to point out that many of the team were really quite good at cricket once. I think many of them may even have managed it twice, and the odd person is still in good nick. But, against Moulescomb, faced with an opening quartet of really rather good bowlers, TWCC were found a little wanting. One highlight of the Twineham innings was Dave's offside dab behind gully for two, of which he managed to complete one and three-quarters. His was the first of many downfalls we suffered largely on account of playing against such a youthful side; a quick move to the ball, a fast release and Dave was run out for 1. Not a happy start. James and Steve steadied the ship in the face of really very good agressive swing bowling of not inconsiderate pace. Steve tickled one too many,
and soon a few of us had finished our game for the week. James' undobted batting skills allowed him to stay at the crease for a while, but the quality of the bowling prevented him from scoring many runs before being out to one of many very good deliveries. Edward and Richard did show that they could bat, and kept their wickets alive for some time, but it wasn't possible to get on top of the bowling at all. Once the game was safe Moulescomb brought on less testing bowlers and a brief revival duly occurred as Nigel had a go at seeing if we could approach the 141 needed, but he, too, fell and soon it was up to George and Matt to save the game. George deserves special mention for his stout defence in the face of quite severe pressure - he together with Matt, and then Phil, saved the game for Twineham and Wineham as Moulescomb, in failing light, allowed us to bat out to the end. Kevin, the Moulescomb skipper, is to be congratulated on his sportsmanship as we all know that he had four bolwlers in his arsenal each of whom could have wrapped up the game in the failing light, but he allowed us a chance to hold out against gentle pace.
A low-scoring match, with no real highlights, and the low-light of Paul being injured and not being able to enjoy his first match of the year. A draw, but a very losing draw, and the honours certainly go to Moulescomb. 
Man of the match? Well, not an individual this week; more a state of being. Youth  - Moulescomb's youth in the form of bendy fielders and lithe pacy bowlers, and TWCC youth embodied in George who batted so well and who saved the game; these are the abiding memories of the day.

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 Single Wicket 2007  June10th 2007
A steamy Sunday afternoon found us thrashing around in pursuit of the ever-elusive single wicket trophy. As usual we first had to make up all the rules, and then argue about them, and Tony had to sort out the book, but eventually we decided to just get on with it. First- round casualties, almost relieved, trotted out their usual denial of ever having been interested in winning in the first place, and we meandered through the afternoon. More of us fell by the wayside, the plate progressed.  The Plate final was an all Steinke affair, with Matt emerging the victor as Phil threw the edge of his bat at a ball outside the off stump, and Mikey held on to the catch thus cementing his grip on the catching fund.
Onto the final: Richard v. Matt Smith. Matt, a friend of Mikey's, a first-time player with TWCC, and clearly a good cricketer, bowled first and Richard saw his two overs through. It would be good here if the Editor could recall how many runs Richard scored, but, to be honest, by now the afternoon's cricket had all merged into a bit of a blur and I haven't a clue. Brocky, playing well all afternoon, had managed to score plentifully and bowl straight all afternoon, so it was no surprise that he found Matt's stumps with a plain good ball and won the honours of the day.

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Twineham and Wineham v. Poynings July 1st 2007
Another Sunday dogged by dodgy weather found TWCC playing host to Poynings; generally one of our more hotly contested local derbys. Doubting Thomas's were ... doubtful ... that there would be a game at all in the face of high winds and heavy squalls, but the weather cleared out, blue sky appeared, and Jim lost the toss; normal service resumed.
Poynings chose to bat first, and TWCC were pleased to welcome back fun-seeker Ingram to the squad, and he duly steamed in and rattled the opposition's timbers, whilst opening at the Downs End, Phil also hit top form straight away, and TWCC were off to a flying start having Poynings in some trouble at not many for quite a lot of wickets. Nigel came off when it was clear that it was time to ease up a bit on some younger Poynings players, thus being denied more wickets as he was certainly on song. He came on for an odd over or two at the end of the Poynings innings, and had figures of 7 overs, 2 maidens, 2 for 13; welcome back Nigel - we've missed you, and you certainly had more wickets in you had you stayed on. Phil's equally impressive spell, with the strong wind behind him, bowled his overs straight off, ending up with figures of 9 overs, 2 maidens, 2 for 13. No wonder Poynings were in trouble. Replacing Nigel, Dave Jones found his bearings bowling into the wind, and then delivered 7 overs, 3 maidens, 2 for 11! Great bowling, keeping it straight and true and Poynings couldn't get it away. James, bowling from the Downs End, alternately looped and sped up his deliveries, and looked good for his 5 overs, 1 maiden, 1 for 8. Where were Poynings going to get their runs from? Well; it became clear that Poynings had held back a pair of their more productive hitters and now TWCC were facing the prospect of more runs than we first thought being scored. Richard, again bowled well (7 overs, 2 maidens, 1 for 18; excellent figures), and, less successful (a common pattern) Jim (7 overs, 0 maidens 0 for 21) took on these quality batters, and the score got up towards the 90's. Paul replaced Richard and wrapped up the Poynings innings with figures of 2.5 overs, 0 maidens, 1 for 9. Poynings all out for 99. On the face of it a very good TWCC fileding performance, although the lively pitch certainly helped the bowlers.
However experienced Twineham fans will recall situations in which their team foundered when chasing modest totals.
Twineham had a good batting line up, however, and faced the challenge head on. James and Tony opened the batting and in no time we had 20 or so on the board.
However, this was a bit of a false dawn... James, having opened up with a fine four, was bowled for 10 by R Brookes (7 overs 4 maidens, 2 for 7) and our decline had begun. Tony followed soon after for just 6 and Twineham suddelnly didn't find the going easy at all. And so began the long slow death of our ambition; runs dried up as we did no more than survive. But, and this was still a crucial factor, survive we did in the form of new boy Jonathan Rowland who weathered some shortand lively balls with great fortitude and resolve as he absorbed tough bowling, falling eventually for 12 runs - our top scoring batter. Steve Rogers also stayed the course, and our No.'s 3 and 4 batsmen suffered some agressive and tight bowling as a series of maiden overs stopped us in our tracks. Eventually Steve fell to a really tremendous catch in the slips (a habit of his that it would be good to kick) for just 2 runs, but that figure alone is no indication of the importance of what he achieved by staying at the crease and keeping our powder dry with plenty of good batting to come. Nigel was next in, but he fell for 0 as the Poynings bowling relentlessly wore us down. Not many changes of bowling during this period; their first 3 bowlers between them delivered 12 maidens in 27 overs, taking 4 wickets for 30 runs; long spells that set up a possible Poynings win. However, our hopes were high as in-form Hunter P. strode out to the middle. Surely, barring a freak accident, Paul would see us through to what was still an achievalbe total. The freak accident in question involved Paul swiping at a really wide ball down the leg side which hit his bat twice and lobbed up for a simple catch behind. Out for 3 runs Paul's demise was unfortunate and it looked like it would prove decisive as, though Brocky and Jim flurried a few runs, as far as the result was concerned; that was it; Twineham all out for 59.
The Gazette must report the contribution made by TWCC newcomers Jonathan and Ian who fielded well and went in at No. 8 and who sportingly joined in Twineham's collapse.
In retrospect the low score achieved by Poynings was not only a reflection of the fine Twineham bowling performance, but also of the difficult conditions facing both sides. Poynings, justifiably keen on victory, kept the bowling tight and only let up a little at the end when the result was assured. Although it would be easy to simply sigh and blame this defeat on "another Twineham collapse" I think that the conditions coupled with tight Poynings bowling are greater factors than any shortcomings in what was, after all, a Twineham squad full of batting, as illustrated by the fact that Nigel, Paul (batting well down the order) and Richard went in at 5, 6 and 7.
Congratulations to Poynings who, in the nip and tuck of our local rivalry, came out on top.

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Twineham and Wineham v. Southern Cross and Hornblowers  July 22nd 2007
Looking back through the scorebook it appears as if Twineham have lost their way. We have to go back to June 17th to find the last TWCC victory, and since then have, in spite of several very good individual performances, not put it all together as a team and the results have been very disappointing. The latest match v. Southern Cross and Hornblowers was typical of recent form - a seemingly presentable bowling and fielding effort, but a poor batting display in the face of some good bowling.
Playing in warm sunshine TWCC skipper (at least for the moment), having lost the toss, was asked to field first - a good sign as this has, historically, been our route to past success. Nigel and Phil duly delivered an impressive opening burst which constrained the Southern Cross and Hornblower's openers, Nigel finishing with 6 overs, 2 maidens 0 for 6. Phil continued on a little longer from the Downs End; 10 overs 3 maidens 0 for 16. It's not often that neither Phil nor Nigel take wickets, but though the batters were finding it difficult to keep the ball down and chances were flying about off both bowlers, the ball was falling safe and narrow escapes were the order of the day. But, neither were the visitors finding it easy to get the ball away for runs.
Richard replaced Nigel at the Pavilion End and was soon in amongst the wickets; his slightly slower-than-Nigel pace encouraging  the batsmen to have more of a go at scoring, but, at the same time, offering more in the way of opportunity to the bowler. Richard's spell was a long one; 12 overs, 1 maiden 3 for 50 and it included a significant period of play characterised by some really competent batting from the No. 3 and 4 batsmen as they came to the crease. The SCH batters; skipper Shutt and thorn-in-our-side Fernandopulle are clearly talented players. The first of these to fall was Fernandopulle who was playing the ball around very nicely and hitting the ball hard and true, though even he had trouble in keeping the ball down off our quite bouncy wicket. He fell to an extraordinary catch - James, running round to his right at extra cover, doing well to even get near a ball that was hit hard and was dipping low, stuck out a palm below knee level and, when he looked, the ball was stuck in his grasp. James himself looked surprised to find the ball in his posession, but it was nothing short of a great catch and one which dismissed Fernandopulle who, otherwise, might have gone on to score a great many more runs than his 28.
Jim, meanwhile, came on at the Downs End to no particular effect, and took himself off after 4 overs (0 maidens 0 for 26!) and James came on to bowl to see if the rate of scoring could be attenuated by the ball being presented in a slower (and no doubt generally tighter) fashion. His spell was effective, and he took 2 for 27 off 7 overs, which included bowling to the very end of the innings when the visitors were scoring really heavily.
Following Richard's excellent spell, and, with James having kept the rate down with his spin, SCH were around 110 with 20 minutes to go, Mikey Pearce came on to close the innings from the Pavilion End. Immediately causing problems his swinging deliveries foxed the opposition, and, though bowling at a time when the opposition were hitting out at everything, he still delivered a really creditable spell of bowling. The figures are unflattering (4 overs, 0 maidens, 1 for 22) because of the period of play in which he was bowling, but he had the batters in trouble many times and was on the button for an LBW decision. A very good prospect for us in the future.
SCH's - 152 for 8, including a great catch and a sharp run-out from Nigel. Ghesemi, not out 45 scoring heavily at the close of the innings.
So; the Twineham and Wineham reply...
James and Steve opened the batting, and were immediatley struggling with the lively pace of Ghesemi and the the swinging deliveries from Shrieves. Much in the way that Nigel didn't get wickets, Ghesemi, in spite of having good pace also failed to strike in this spell. The lively bounce of our wicket doesn't actually help the faster bowlers that much - the ball that is on line and full enough to hit the stumps is relatively easy to play as it is has to be at a comfortable distance from the batsmen in order to not bounce over the stumps. Anything short isn't a threat to the wickets, and anything wide is often left to pass by as it's always rising and best left alone. I don't think our livley wicket, in spite of looking good as it appears fast and zippy, does any favours to the faster bowlers. Contrast with Shrieves; must slower and getting swing and movement off the pitch, he offered more of a chance to hit the ball because of his lower pace, but the swing in the air was significant and Steve, having cracked a wider one for four through extra cover, got one that swung out and then nipped back several inches to take the top of middle stump. An unplayable ball and he was unlucky to have got the only ball in that spell that nipped back. James stuck at it, and, joined by Tony at No. 3 our two main batsmen of the day set about
taking the sting out of the opposition. Survival was the order of the day as there weren't that many runs to get, and there was plenty of time. James, having weathered the storm for a creditable period and shown great patience, unfortunately followed another swinging ball from Shrieves and presented gully with a straightforward catch and was out for 2. Tony was joined by Nigel and together they set about making inroads into the SCH's total. The opening bowlers, having clearly kept us in check, were replaced after seven overs each, by Clifford and Shutt who offered more in the way of opportunity to score, and Tony and Nigel made hay while the Sun shone. Tony, eventaully out for 33 (2 sixes, 2 fours) and Nigel (top score of 37, 4 fours) made the total of 153 to win look possible, with some big hitting and quick running for ones and twos. Richard, in at 5, also found the bowling to his liking, and he joined in the runfest scoring 29 (3 fours) before proceedings were somewhat brought to a halt by the re-introduction of Shrieves and Ghesemi into the attack. The opening bowlers soon had us on the run again, and we very quickly capitulated in the face of the tighter and difficult bowling, ending on 119 all out. George, in at No.6 was unfortunately run out taking a quick single, Jim had a truly unplayable world-class delivery that started on leg stump and took the top of the off stump, Dave fell to Ghesemi's pace, Mikey hit the ball well and true, but fell to a loopy ball from Rowen in his one over, and the only survivor was Matthew Brock who showed us all how it's done - is this his first innings for us? - as he strode out to the wicket and faced the music with some fortitude.
So - on paper another defeat, but with signs of hope. Again, several of our players did all that could be asked of them, James's catch was a great moment, three of our batsmen scored some runs and Mikey's bowling promises much. Much more than Jim's anyway.

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Henfield v.Twineham and Wineham  July 29th 2007

Twineham's Summer Horribilis rolls on with yet another close game ending in defeat. The match is somewhat painful to go into in any great depth, and, just in case readers are in doubt about the TWCC skipper's ability to win anything; he lost the toss as well and Henfield chose to bat.
With Nigel only driving a 12 litre Toyota V16 48 valve quad-cam mid-front-back-engined alloy everything Supra-Doopra he was the best part of an hour late, and so Twineham opened with Matt Smith who steamed in down the hill and served up quite a zingy spell that immediately showed what the wicket had in store for all players; the ball stopped, started and generally deviated in ways that bowlers can generally only dream of. It was hard to get the ball away, as players have found on many wickets this season (including, oddly, on our artificial pitch), and it was clearly going to be another low-scoring and difficult game. Phil opened at the Pavilion End and soon settled into his usual excellent rhythm; tight and difficult to get away as always. Matt, 6 overs, 2 maidens 0 for 10, was replaced by Nigel whilst the ball was still new, and he and Phil continued for some time, nibbling away at the Henfiled side with the odd wicket here and there, and generally doing an excellent job of keeping the home side's innings in check. Phil ended with figures of 13 overs, 5 maidens 2 for 20; the two wickets being those of the opening batsmen, including that of Ian Torkington, who was, perhaps mercifully, dropped early on, and for whom this was his last game for Henfiled after 35 years of playing for the club. An early exit would have been unfortunate which is why we dropped the catch.
Jim repalced Phil and, finding the pitch distinctly favourable he bowled better than of late, ending with figures of 7 overs, 1 maiden(!!!) 0 for 13. As Henfield were not finding it at all easy to score, the bowling wasn't tampered with too much, and Nigel bowled a lengthy spell of 12 overs 4 maidens, 3 for 28 - another excellent performance. Paul took over from Nigel, and with the slope favouring his natural action he soon caused trouble, taking 2 wickets in his four over spell, for 13 runs. These wickets, together with one form Mikey Pearce who had just one over when Jim came off, kept the score down as the batsman were unable to get anything going in the final passage of the Henfield innings. Mikey's over built on the short spell he had on the previous week, with figures of 1 over 1 for 2 - a caught and bowled - we at the Gazette are looking forward to seeing how he does with a longer opportunity to get into trouble.
Ominous signs, then, for any side looking to overhaul 94 on a sticky wicket, but even Twineham and Wineham's hopes were high as the players sat down to tea and joined in the applause as Ian Torkington was presented with his long-service awards.
An assured tread to the middle signalled adequate steel and resolve in the bosom of Paul and James, and, for a while all looked well as both opening batsmen scored off the odd poor ball and TWCC benefitted from some early, and atypical, wayward bowling. In no time there was 31 on the board, which was more or less a third of the way to the required total, but Henfield had an ace up their sleeve in the youthful form of Jack Parsons who, using the slope and the conditions to his advantage, was soon causing problems with his classy off-spin.  James was the first of many to succumb, and he was bowled by a turner for a valuable 16, which included 3 fours. Paul was, however, on his way too and TWCC still looked good for a win as we had plenty of batting to come. Next in; Matt Smith, looking good as always as he got forward and didn't look too troubled by the conditions. Unfortunately Matt was the victim of a run-out which is always sad to report, especially when it involves an in-form batsman of such promise. However, out for an untimely 0 Matt was all too soon back in the pavilion, frustrated but honest in his assesment of how he had thought the fielder didn't have the ball in hand when he did. Even then it was a direct hit or he would have been home. In at No. 4; Scott Simkins - playing his first game for Twineham, and who should probably have been given a bowl. Starting well, with a three, Scott soon also fell early, and this was the start of the rather predictable slide. However,
manning his Twineham and Wineham Swingometer, James was continuosly monitoring  the prospects of his side, and it still leaned distinctly towards a Twineham victory as Twineham had plenty of batting lurking higher up the order. But first Mikey, then Dave Rogers, then 
Steve, then Jim, then George, then Nigel and lastly Phil all played their part, scoring 11 runs between them. Paul, on the other hand, with 47 runs already in the bank, (1 six, 6 fours), and who clearly found it all a bit easier than everyone else, rather let the side down by getting out when, surely, it wouldn't have been too much to ask for him to have scored just another six runs to see his side home? The Gazette have emplyed a statistician on this; the other ten batsmen would have had to have trebled their contribution in order to see Twineham home. Paul, on the other hand, only needed a 12% increase in his score to secure the victory. The crowd were, I'm afraid, quite dissapointed by Paul's lack of commitment and team spirit.
Apart from Paul, the main fly in the Twineham ointment was, of course, Jack Parsons, who ended with figures of 15 overs, 6 maidens 5 for 24 and who won the match for the home team. Jack is clearly already a fine bowler, varying his length and pace in subtle ways. When a batsman found the shorter balls easy to pull to leg, Jack pitched them up onto a fuller length, and when a batsman found the ball that climbed up from short of a length to be threatening; Jack bowled it that bit shorter again. Remarkable figures and clearly Jack was the difference between the sides.
Another loss for the Gazette's adopted team. A better loss than some, and an enjoyable game, but still a loss. But the longer TWCC go without a win, the more likely is the next victory - that's how we choose to look at it in the office.

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Moulescombe Wanderers v Twineham and Wineham August 12th 2007

Phil went out to the wicket to toss the coin, looked at the sky, noticed the clouds disappearing, had a look at the wicket, won the toss and decided to bat to the horror of the batsmen who gave him a long stare as in previous seasons TWCC had been put into bat and lost both games. Things didn't go to plan as Richard Brock was bowled by Ty Bradford for an unlucky 3. However Steve Rogers and Tony Pearce steadied the ship putting on 98 for the second wicket. Having played well against some agressive bowling from Danny Sherwin and Ty Bradford, a change of bowling brought the end of Steve's innings as a slow full toss from Wayne Harris forced an error and he was caught and bowled.
It was the turn of
Edward Bunn to put some runs on the board which included 2 sixes and three fours in one over. He soon reached 50 when he was stumped going down the wicket for a big hit. Meanwhile Tony was on his way to a hundred - finally out for 120, which included 6 sixes and 16 fours! Twineham closed on 254 for 5.

When Twineham came out to field Phil opened with Nigel and himself and Nigel was soon amongst the wickets as Andy Flower was brilliantly caught by Tony for 5. Phil had a tidy spell of 7 overs 0 for 16 - oddly for him not amongst the wickets and he couldn't find the edges. He took himself off and on came Dave Jones for a spell of 4 overs, 37 for 0 - quite expensive but it was clearly a high-scoring period of the game. Nigel, however, was kept on, finally getting his second wicket (caught behind) and ending with figures of 16 overs, 2 for 77. Moulescombe 48 for 2, but after that the home side eased away, putting on over a hundred for the fourth wicket. Other bowlers chanced their arm, and Edward took the only other wicket to fall, and, whilst the game's climax was exciting, with Moulescomb needing 29 to win off the last over the match ended in a draw.
Nigel's long and productive spell was clearly most valuable, but the man of the match has to be Tony Pearce whose 120 and superb catch stands out.

TWCC
S Rogers ct and bowled Harris 33
R Brock bowled T Bradford 3
T Pearce bowled T Bradford 120
E Bunn Stumped, bowled Harris 50
R Turner bowled S Bradford 7
P Langman not out 4
N Ingram not out10
O Bunn
DNB
D Jones
DNB
P Steinke
DNB

254 for 5

Bowling
D Sherwin 7 overs, 3 maidens 0 for 36
T Bradford 8 overs, 0 maidens 2 for 63
S Bradford 8 overs, 1 maiden 1 for 32
J Bowen 5 overs, 0 maidens 0 for 42
W Harris 7 overs, 0 maidens 2 for 55
Smyth 3 overs, 0 maidens 0 for 22

Moulescombe
A Fowler ct Pearce bowled Ingram 5
S Bradford bowled E Bunn 83
T Bradford Ct Wkt S Rogers bowled Ingram 8
K Redmall not out 87
P Browder not out 35

233 for 3

Bowling
N Ingram 16 overs, 1 maiden 2 for 77
P Steinke 7 overs, 2 maidens 0 for 16
D Jones 4 overs 0 maidens 37 for 0
E Bunn 6 overs 0 maidens 1 for 41
R Brock 6 overs 0 maidens 0 for 50

Match Drawn

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 Twineham and Wineham v. Warninglid August 19th 2007

Paul, again, was the top scorer with 27 good runs against difficult bowling. Brocky chipped in with a useful 15, surviving much of the better bowling long enough to capitalise on the easier offerings later on in the innings, and Phil, batting at the end scored 18 not out. One other performance from a Twineham batter caught the eye and that was from Mikey Pearce, who opened and faced all the tough bowling and kept it out really well. He has to consider himself unlucky to have met such difficult bowling in his first innings at No. 2. He frustrated the bowling and stayed at the crease looking comfortable fending off the short stuff and going forward if the bowling was more on a length. A natural opener.
After having a difficult time of it, against pacey, accurate bowling, and then being offered some less penetrating bowling towards the end, TWCC were all out for 110.
Warninglid, with plenty of youth on their side knocked off the runs with little difficulty, Wright not out 70, and Cripps not out 20, the only wicket falling to Paul (who also had two dropped catches by out of form Jim) getting a ball to lift a little more than usual and taking an edge for Tony to take behind.

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 Twineham and Wineham v. Worthing Foresters  September 2nd 2007

With an afternoon of fine weather in the offing, TWCC arrived at their home ground full of anticipation for turning the corner of their season. Still short of a few key players, however, and facing a team whom they had not played before, there was still room for enough uncertainty in the air to keep the doubters happy. The TWCC skipper won the toss and chose to field first.
Nigel, full of fire and bowling really quite fast, soon brought about some bruising in the hands of Twineham's reserve reserve wicket-keeper as the ball beat the bat, and sometimes the head, of the Worthing Foresters' opening batsmen. Edward, for he it was with the keeper's gloves, soon called for the inners to be unearthed from the club bag. Matt, opening from the Downs End, bowled a really tight spell of 7 overs, 2 maidens, 0 for 7. The Foresters were not getting away, and soon Nigel had one of the opening batsmen chopping the ball down on to his stumps as he tried to force a shot away. The Foresters then took an unlikely decision to send in a small personage which rather forced the Twineham skipper to take Nigel off before his time. However, who stepped up to the mark? Young Mr. Mikey Pearce, Twinehams newest star, who made the ball swing about and took 2 wickets for 8 in his 4 over spell. Matt came off and was replaced by Phil who bowled a fine 10 over spell (1 for 30) and there began a rather repetetive period of the game as the small Forester, whilst not getting out but batting well, didn't really get the ball away and his occupancy of the crease might be said to have cost the visitors some runs. At the other end was another youngster, though late rather than early teens I should imagine, who was accumulating runs at a rate that surprised; suddenly he was being applauded for a 50, and then, without the fielding side having made any particular errors, his 100! It's still not clear quite where all these runs came from - perhaps it was because not many were being scored by anyone else that they were inconspicuous.
The Foresters score might well have grown rather rapidly after the Foresters' diminutive No 3 was out, were it not for a fine catch at deep square leg by tearaway-fielder Dave Jones. Scarfield, who clearly looked like a good batsman held back in true Sunday cricket fashion, and who timed the ball well, swung at a ball off his toes from Richard. Dave clung on in the deep to a dipping, hard-struck ball; the icing on the cake as he had fielded conspicuously well all day, dashing about and out-sprinting a few of the youngsters. In any case, had Scarfield not been removed for just 6 I feel sure that the total would have exceeded the 158 they scored by some margin. Nigel, upon the demise of the smallest Forester, was brought back to good effect and he closed the innings with figures of 10 overs, 2 maidens 1 for 30. Others bowled, including a spell from Sam Morrison that, unfortunately caused a strain - the first of many minor injuries of the day that afflicted the Twineham team.
At tea the sides were led off by a not-out Wyatt, who, with 101 to his name, scored two-thirds of the visitor's runs; Foresters 158 for 6.

Well... Batting... Or, rather, more bowling from another young side that, once again, made our batting look a little strained. However, James and Mikey did keep the score going and survived well in a partnership of 21 at the top of the innings. James, the first to go, scored some good, forceful boundaries before failing to keep a square-cut down and being caught at point; out for 13 (2 fours). Mikey and Richard (in at 3) also stayed together well in a partnership of 20. Mikey, I think, may have succumbed to a lessening of concentration - clearly able to survive he tried to score once too often in the end and followed a ball that lifted high and which he could have left alone. However this is not to criticise his ability and skill with the bat as he, once again, showed more of his well-schooled and disciplined batting, only failing on one occasion which happened to get him out. He scored 13 but was, more importantly, batting during two partnerships that put on a total of 41 runs against bowling that might best be described as substantial.
Edward, exhibitng many of the symptoms which the ECCB manual describes as "being knackered" (from his acrobatics behind the timbers), did put bat to ball and stroked and struck the ball with his customary mix of brain and brawn, bowled in the end for 13; a popular score. Matt; biggest 6 of the season to long on, out for 10, Nigel; not only scored runs but had them, played the highest-scoring innings of the TWCC side of 29 (5 fours) - good to see his batting coming on-song. Jim; flattered to deceive again - a couple of good shots, even the odd defensive keep-out, but surrendering too soon by making a half-volley into a yorker; bowled again. Dave; well, I won't say. Sam Morrison - injured - survived to the end. Enter Phil, enjoying some of the slower bowling that appears to be a rarity these days, swashbuckled his way to 20 not out, 3 fours and a six! Irrespressible, and surely a position lower in the order is required to stop that average building.
So; the game trundled to a quite exciting draw. For a long time the total was within reach, then it wasn't and it was a matter of survival. Ollie was all padded up with nowhere to go, which is a shame as he enjoys playing and being part of the team,
and he could well have had the most important role of all to play if asked to survive the final over. Talking of which a clerical error (aka the TWCC Club President), managed to endager the draw by giving the opposition an extra over above the 20 in which to bowl us out. Happily no damage done and no explanations required!
A draw, which in the context of the rest of TWCC's season, must be regarded as a bit of an upturn.

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 Albourne and Sayers Common v TWCC  September 9th 2007
Winning the toss again, Skipper Simon didn't hesitate to put Albourne and Sayers Common in to bat; the pitch looked very poor - lots of grass and where there wasn't grass there were holes.
Sure enough the ball alternately got up and stayed low; particularly lively from Nigel who was again unlucky in that his 8 overs (3 maidens 0 for 11) brought no wickets. Bowling at Nigel's pace the ball has to be pitched right up into half-volley country if the ball is to threaten the stumps, whilst pitching the ball short of a length causes it to fly about and it takes a good player to get an edge under those circumstances. And a good fielder to catch the result of any edges, come to that. Matt was, perhaps, even less lucky as he did find the edge of the opening player's bats several times, though no chances were taken, and he finished having bowled 8 overs, 1 maiden, 0 for 14.
On with Richard and Jim who capitalised on Nigel and Matt's tight opening spells by offering a little more and allowing the batsmen a chance to hit or miss and get out. Richard bowled a sure line as always and was soon amongst the wickets, bowling 11 overs, 2 maidens, 2 for 32. Jim, wayward as always, and who has a habit of bowling his best delivery first ball and going downhill from there, managed to get a wicket in his short spell of 6 overs, 3 maidens, 1 for 16. Time for Phil to settle things down and, in a spell of zippy and accurate bowling, (7 overs, 1 maiden, 3 for 19), he was there until the end and, taking wickets, stopped Albourne scoring in the critical closing period of their innings. Replacing Richard on came Mikey "Golden Arm" Pearce who didn't disappoint his growing army of fans by taking a wicket in his first over, and then another in his second; 2 overs, 1 maiden, 2 for 2! Surely he should have replaced Richard earlier? Mikey's first wicket was that of their top-scorer, Hole, whose eyes lit up at the prospect of the ball gently arriving in the region of his bat, only to find that he had played all round it and his stumps were awry. Then wickets tumbled as tea approached and Albourne tried to hit out, but Phil and Mikey are not the bowlers to take liberties with and their innings ended on 103 for 8. Another good Twineham fielding performance; economy in the bowling backed up by some excellent fielding - Tony's clutching dive to save four runs off Jim's bowling a highlight, particularly for Jim. Steve behind the timbers, relishing the new gloves, kept really well and kept byes to a minimum off a difficult wicket. Standing up to Phil his swinging arms revelaed, once they stopped, the ball safely nestling in the soft folds of new rubber. Others too, of course, all helped to keep the runs down, and, who knew at that stage how important each run was going to be?
Tea and team photo, though sadly missing the Daves and other assorted offspring, and on with the TWCC reply.
Only 104 to win? One of the strongest line-ups of the season? A doddle.
Out strode James and Paul (see photo's), confidence oozing from every pore as they knew that there was no pressure - for behind them in the order was the pride of Twineham, batting down to number 10, with Jim at 11. "If one of us still there at the end we'll win" said Paul... 
Blimey - I've just looked at the scorebook and seen a "0" next to James's name! I didn't realise that - no wonder Albourne were so full of it when he was out. And out he was, probably twice, as he uncharacteristically cross-batted himself pulling at two too-low balls that were on the stumps. The second one was given and he walked back slightly shame-faced and no doubt annoyed with himself at having played a bad shot and having had his glory curtailed. In these situations I think it helps to be a bowler. As James is too, come to think of it, though his captain seems to have forgotten that fact.
Enter Tony at 1 for 2. He left at 2 for 19, with 3 straight fours to his name; strong on the off and smacked square into the undergrowth, caught... somewhere can't remember.
Onto the scene strode Edward, liking the faster bowling. Of late his innings' have been thrust upon him during the time of the change in attack to see what a slower bowler can do, but thanks to the demise of his team mates the ball was still coming onto his bat as he likes it. Ever watchful, Edward embarked upon an innings mixing full-blooded defense with equally impressive shot-making and he was off. Unfortunately so was Paul, for 11 studied runs, adjudged LBW. 3 for 44, so one could argue that his job was done; more or less half way to the total by the time he was out, and with such a strong team he probably thought that it was only fair to give the others a game.
The next other, to join Edward, was our new Wonder, Mikey Pearce. Full of confidence and looking stylish and in control Mikey played with just a little too much angled-bat-style; after blocking the ball in the middle of his bat the ball dropped backwards and wobbled the bails off. Most unfortunate, but Mikey had already scored a four square on the off; TWCC 4 runs closer.
Edward was out next, top score of the day of 17 (3 fours), to a ball that crept under his almost impregnable defense, but TWCC were appreciably closer to the elusive result they sought. Then Steve, 8, and Phil "Mr Average" Steinke, 4, followed, and brought Twineham a combined 12 runs nearer.
Enter Richard Brock, denied an earlier appearance with the bat for no other reason than that there were so many players all of whom can bat, but Richard is one of our key bowlers as well and he had already had a game. But, irrepressible as ever, this was to be the innings of the day; 16 runs at a difficult time including being there to the very end. Nigel passed through - another LBW - bringing Matt to the crease. Brocky and Matt saw us home with one wicket to spare; 104 for 9, Matt ending up with 11 runs to his name, who, with Brocky, dealt the killer blows that ended Twineham's extraordinary run of poor results. Some might wonder how 104 for 9 could ever be something to be proud of, but they would not have known how long it was since victory by the Twineham lads had been tasted.

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TWCC v Brighton Beamers  September 30th 2007
Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club's generally unremarkable season ended unremarkably as the Beamers, never looking like getting the required runs, played out for a draw. A resurgent Twineham batted first, Captain Simon having lost the toss, and the top of the order scored well in the face of some hostile bowling. All of the top five got in and played well. Paul, out for 12, unlucky when he was taking his bat away from danger and the ball got up further than it should and took an edge on the way through to the keeper. Tony a really good 31, Mikey - in for a long time and doing another great job - top scored with 34. Steve, 30 in no time. Richard, 19. Lots of good runs, and not what TWCC have managed to do often enough this season. George, in at 6, and skipper Jim only managed 5 between them but then the not-out Steinkes sorted out the last few overs with Matt on 10 and Phil on 15. All these runs kept adding up and the Beamers found they needed 165 to win - a good total on the Twineham wicket this season.
A quick tea in the interests of not getting into the twilight zone, and the Beamers set about their task. Good bowling from all, really, and the total never looked within reach for the visitors. Matt and Richard opened, Matt 9 overs, 2 maidens, 2 for 16; another great spell. Richard, 5 overs 2 maidens, 1 for 5 - again, not giving anything away. Time for Mikey and, although the ball was swinging a bit - his trademark - it was getting wetter and heavier in the early evening dew and it soon stopped doing much for him in his spell of 5 overs 1 maiden, 1 for 16. Phil, 5 wickets in his previous game, was soon at it again, taking 2 wickets in his 7 over spell for 18 runs. Jim, feeling good about his bowling, even managed a wicket in his 4 overs, 2 maidens, 1 for 9.
The beamers were getting through their batsmen all this while, but up until the last 10 overs were still in with a chance of getting the runs, but after that it became clear that the shop was being shut up. Time for George's tempters; no bites. Then, with 6 overs to go on came Matthew Brock who charged in and impressed the selectors mightily, ending with figures of 3 overs 0 for 5. Paul, still trying to force a wicket from the Downs end (3 overs, 0 wickets for 11) was removed for the penultimate over to see if Honza (gully extraodinary) could create a chance, but by then all was over as the Beamers merely fended everything off for the draw; 105 for 7.


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  TWCC 2006 Season
Twineham and Wineham v. President’s XI    August 6 th 2006

An Autumnal air greeted Twineham’s current Cricket Correspondent of the Year as he surveyed his estate on the morning of the 6th. For the first time in the season there was an early mist over the Field of Dreams, but the day was clear and bright by the time the teams arrived for a 2.30 start. True to form it was nearer 3.00 before a ball was bowled, and, although I don’t know who won the toss, I do know that Twineham and Wineham found that they were the team bowling it.

The afternoon turned out to be a very warm and humid one, and fielding was warm work in the sticky atmosphere as Nigel steamed in to deliver his six overs. Fiery and difficult to hit, Nigel was again a little unlucky as many deliveries passed the bat, and even unluckier as quite a few of his deliveries hit Joe Phillip’s bat squarely in the middle before galloping off to the boundary.

Opening at The Downs End after an absence of some weeks, Mat Steinke was soon amongst the wickets, the first of which brought to the crease an unusually small No 3 batsman. Closer examination revealed that the batsman was more of a batsboy – an unusual and quite disruptive Captain’s move from Il Presidente. Mat, whose early wicket meant he was up against the youngster, successfully moderated his approach to the small personage, and no runs were scored for a few overs off his bowling. At one point he had figures something like 2 for 0 off several overs, figures regarded with some jealousy at the other end as Nigel found himself bowling more or less exclusively against the free-hitting Joe Phillips, and Nigel’s figures of 6 overs none for 22 show how much he was bowling at the better batsman. Jim replaced Nigel at the Pavilion End, and very quickly found what Nigel had been up against as his very first ball was hit for four through the off side. The next couple of deliveries gradually homed in on the stumps, culminating in what the bowler still regards as a slightly over-pitched yorker (but which some uncharitable team-mates were heard to refer to as a full toss) that bumbled into the stumps ending an impressive innings of full-blooded ball-striking; many punched shots off the back foot having headed for the boundary at some rate of knots.

Mat finished with impressive figures of 8 overs, 2 for 11, and Jim, whose accuracy began to desert him by the end of his spell, finished after 7 overs with 3 wickets for 29 runs, many runs coming off the last two of his overs as a Mr A George effectively put bat to ball on his way to a valuable 37.

The oppressive atmosphere was notable, and, though the temperature wasn’t anywhere as high as we had already experienced during this hot Summer, the conditions were described in the Press Tent as being quite soporific – nothing to do with the nature of the game, of course, as a series of players of differing sizes wandered out to the middle. One player, in particular, caught the eye, as, clearly uncomfortable in pads and gloves, he all but assumed his stance facing the wicket-keeper and, on turning round, appeared to have one eye completely obscured by a flop of deeply fashionable hair. This cut no ice with Hunter P. who callously took the proffered wicket – claiming to have done so out of sympathy.

Catches were sticking during this period of the game, and wickets fell bringing Captain Sutcliffe-Smith to the crease. Richard structured his innings very effectively, living up to the Sutcliffe portion of his name and not getting tempted by some unnecessary bowling being served up from the Pavilion End by the Editorial Team. Unfortunately, however, it was temptation after all that led to his downfall as, clipping a ball towards Square Leg, he set off shouting “Two!” but should, technically, have shouted "one and a half!" as Tony sheepishly removed the bails to run him out.

Further highlights of Twineham’s fielding effort included the bowling of George Hunter and Mikey Pearce – two capable youngsters; George taking a wicket with figures of 3.3 overs 1 for 8, and Mikey with 2 overs no wickets for just one run.

However it is with some regret that I have to report a dropped catch in the deep, but because Edward wasn’t feeling too well I don’t think I should mention who it was that dropped it. The only other wicket-taker was James who came on at the Pavilion End and took just one over to sort out a free hitter, and Twineham ended up with a target to chase of 118. Not a huge challenge, the casual observer might think, but that observer would only be casual about it if they didn’t know just how good we can be at getting ourselves out.

At the end of the President’s XI’s innings we were forced into an immediate turn-round - for the rather prosaic reason that the urn wasn’t hot enough to make tea. Our Captain, who has better access than most to the scorebook, and who is clearly worried by burgeoning averages in the batting line-up, gave both Edward and Mat the opportunity to get out as cheaply as possible by sending them in at No 1 and 2. They both disappointed our leader by not being out by the time the water had boiled, and Edward only capitulated some time after tea by spooning a ball back to the bowler after scoring a calculating 25.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Mat showed great control in choosing to hit what needed hitting, feathering about what needed more respect and blocking anything that might have got him out. His innings was chanceless, as far as I can recall, and featured particularly watchable smooth leg glances off the full face of the bat, caressing the ball so fine down the leg side as to always bring runs. Some shots were played forward of square, but mostly the runs were scored on or behind square on the leg side, with just the occasional off-side push for one in front of a retreating field. Having gone in upon Edward’s demise, Richard Brock took up the cudgel, supporting Mat’s inspirational batting effort with an equally chanceless 32, and Twineham reached the target with just loss of one wicket.

Nigel’s attempt to reduce Mat’s average to more manageable proportions having clearly backfired, he now faces the problem of what to do with a player who returned after some weeks away to take 2 for 11 off 8 overs and who carried his bat through the entire innings for 51.

It would be wrong to read into the above that the bowling served up by The President’s XI was particularly easy to face – rather I feel that there is about Twineham this season a deep vein of confidence, both within individuals and in the team as a whole, that relaxes us at the crease. Several times we have successfully chased totals, admittedly not many of them of great magnitude, but nonetheless we have held our nerve, batting second, through to several victories that in previous seasons might have proved a challenge too far.

Retiring to the Royal Oak, to find Tim still in his whites keeping wicket behind the bar, we finished off the day with a couple of pints of Harvey’s and all was well with the World once again. All players, both those victorious and those defeated, enjoyed reliving their afternoon in the Sun playing in front of a significant crowd, some of whom, upon close questioning, might even have professed to have been watching the cricket.

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Moulscombe Wanderers v. Twineham and Wineham          August 13th 2006

Generally speaking the Editor’s courgettes and runner beans like nothing better than an occluded front or two passing through, Mondays to Saturdays inclusive. This allows the Editor and his Wife watering-can-free days, and also fills up the water butts for them to use on Sundays, when, of course, it doesn’t rain because of cricket. It was with some surprise, therefore, that The Editorial Team woke on Sunday 13th August to find the day dawning in a decidedly grey and downbeat manner. The phone rang a number of times during the morning, and on several occasions it was indeed Nigel, but, in spite of hardly being able to hear him over the noise of the teeming rain, there appeared to be no mention of calling the cricket off. We feared, therefore, one of those pavilion-bound afternoons when two teams of light acquaintance while away an hour or two until tea can decently be taken, after which everyone goes home. Such afternoons, in my experience, appeal to a minority of players whose home life must be particularly uninspiring.

Fearing the worst we set off with the Editor most properly refusing to credit the rain with enough penetration to warrant anything than an intermittent wiper-response, into the far reaches of East Sussex, to try and get lost on the way to Hadlow Down. Failing even in that we arrived in good time, and, happily, the weather seemed to have a different agenda to that we’d left behind. In East Sussex the Sun seems to hold to its agreement about Sundays, and Nigel lost the toss in what, at the pavilion, appeared to be bright sunshine, although we could only guess at the conditions further up the hill. Hadlow Down cricket pitch, it should be explained, is formed out of a slightly mown Alpine meadow, with ski-lifts provided for the more severe slopes up to the snow-line and beyond to the peaks themselves.

In our standard of cricket the team that loses the toss generally find themselves batting first. There are obvious advantages to batting second, the main one being that, post tea, the ability to run about is severely curtailed. Also, any team batting second faces a finite challenge which is easier towards which to pace a reply, and many teams will testify that, if they’re batting after Twineham, their challenge is even more finite than they’ve any right to expect.

So – to the match itself. Well… it’s difficult to know where to start with this, and it would be easy to blame the pitch. So, yes; I think we should start by doing that. The pitch was, by any normal horticultural standards, poor, and by cricketing standards, awful. The ball was removing cubic inches of soil as it pitched, and deliveries were either stopping, flying high or lying low, in no particular order. I don’t believe that the Mouslcombe bowling was particularly short, it was just that the length that on a normal wicket might have caused a ball to bounce just above waist height was, on occasion on this pitch, causing the ball to fly through at head height and above. We were expecting this of the Hadlow Down pitch, having met with this on our previous visit to the ground, but it didn’t help us in the run-accumulation stakes. James and Tony, however, did manage to see out a respectable number of overs, and to score a few runs, and for a blissful few minutes Twineham seemed as if they may on their merry way. The boundary was close at hand and any shots that missed a fielder almost always went for four. James, however, had got a little lost on his way to the ground and was padded up and sent out to open within a minute or two of arriving, and this rushed preparation may well have contributed to a relatively early dismissal. With James out after scoring an uncharacterisitc 8 runs, we were considering becoming a little worried. 

Then; who was seen walking to the wicket? It was Jim, and the Worry Level was declared critical. He would testify, however, to claim to have been moderately comfortable right up to the moment he got out. I know because I've asked him. But although he might have appeared to have been dealing with the vagaries of the pitch quite well, any serious student of the game would have noted that he never faced a single ball at the problem end of the pitch. Tony was taking these tricky and unpredictable deliveries, some keeping low and some flying about his temples. One particular delivery sticks in my mind, and that was one that was quite well pitched up but which kept very low, and, from the other end, I was very impressed by the way Tony’s reaction to the poor bounce not only allowed him to keep the ball from hiting his stumps, but he changed his shot and pushed it to wide mid-off for two. Very classy I thought.

In the end it was the pitch that did for Tony; a shortish ball stuck in the mud, reared up, and caught him in the ribs as he ducked. The ball then rolled up across and over his back and trickled off onto the ground behind him. In slow motion it nudged agaisnt the base of the middle stump, and a bail dribbled off. Up to this point Tony had dealt with the problem as well as anyone could, and there was nothing wrong with how he dealt with the ball that somehow got him out. Tony was simply unfortunate, as many others were who followed, and left the crease having scored a worthwhile 18 runs that had all the hallmarks of being the begining of a major contribution.

Jim, on the other hand, receiving easier bowling ended up getting a good delivery that he managed to turn into a yorker by trying to repeat an off drive that had brought some runs earlier on. I think it was case of simply missing the ball, which doesn’t help, and the off bail fell. Out for 17.

As we're in danger here of trying the patience of both readers (yes, both of you!) and TWCC's Award-Winning Cricket Correspondent's stamina, it is perhaps best if I restrict myslef now to just a few of the lowlights of the rest of the innings. Many of us were out for not much, and though Nigel, Mikey and a visitor; Jack Lyndsey-Charlton all scored above ten, no-one in the entire innings reached 20 or more. Jack, whose prowess on the tennis courts of Sussex is well respected, came to the crease, with some sort of endangered species of small cat in his helmet with him for good luck, andproceeded to smack the bowling about in a most inspiring fashion. One particular top-spin lob was sent off towards the mid-wicket boundary, so disguised as to leave all the fielders stranded as they ran in towards the net. Mikey, once again, showed great composure with his batting ending up with a joint top score of 18. He also, presumably inspired by the terrain, sparked off an impressive round of sledging.

All out for 119 and, for the second week in a row, a reply to an unconvincing innings was begun before tea. Nigel opened the bowling from the end that had led to much of our difficulty, and immediately got the thing going by alternately finding the bouncy bit and the stodgy bit, and sometimes both with the same delivery. Sam, bowling up the hill also whistled the ball about quite impressively, and both Twineham’s openers were unlucky in that several difficult chances happened not to stick. One appeal, following a successful catch taken in the slips off Sam’s bowling, failed to impress the umpire, and this was off the batsman who went on to score an impressive 74 not out. Sam did take the only (other?) wicket to fall before tea; Kevin of Moulscombe playing the ball onto his stumps, and we went in to tea with the game still there for us to win.

Twineham are, as we know, accustomed to winning, and our belief was still strong as we wrapped ourselves around a few sandwiches. One of the performances of the day, I must mention, came from Mikey Pierce at tea. It’s a wonder that he made it up the hill at all after putting himself about so successfully, and, if there had been bigger plates available, I don’t think he would have been able to move at all.

Eager to continue with our fielding reply, Twineham were up and ready well ahead of schedule, and we carried on where we left off; lots of chances just not sticking – and we began to realise that this just wasn’t going to be our day as catches fell short or just carried over fielders and snicks went for four. Nigel and Sam continued to be aggressive, though I felt that the break over tea can’t have been easy for them. Eventually it became clear that we should try something else, and Nigel tried James. Covering the leg-side boundary as best we could, James valiantly offered up perfectly good balls that stood up after pitching, and which were dispatched over the close boundary by the Moulscombe in-form batsman  who was taking the match away from us. Edward, replacing Nigel, was always likely to be effective from the tricky end, and did put a bit of a break on affairs, but, again, although several chances were created, this just wasn’t Twineham’s day. James’s over was over and Jim bowled for a bit, but by the time Jim and Edward were bowling quite well together the match was over and there was nothing to do but to take our medicine like men and walk off. I think, in the circumstances we should pass over the bowling figures as they make the batting look good.

In the end an unbiased observer would, I feel, conclude that, although the pitch was poor, Moulscombe simply played better on it. Unused to such a wicket Twineham’s batsmen were unable to greet the stopping ball with the tiniest of pauses that was required in order to play effectively. Shorter pitched balls, and they weren’t overly short in length, were slowing down as well as getting high. I think Moulscombe's batsmen, with some experience of playing on this wicket, alowed themselves that little bit of extra time time when a ball was coming up at a steeper than normal angle in which to adapt to the fact that the ball had slowed as well as climbed. The Moulscombe bowling did play on this, but it was also noticeable that the bowler who was asked to be a little less dangerous at one time, was more successful when he pitched it up than he was when bowling short. Our batting became a little desperate in the face of some unusual cricket, and our fortune failed us in the field on several occasions.

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Warninglid v. Twineham and Wineham          August 20th 2006

Happy Skipper Nigel Ingram led from the front as Twineham and Wineham Cricket Club once again returned to their winning ways.
An overcast afternoon on Sunday greeted both teams as TWCC and Warninglid locked local-derby horns in the latest game at the Twineham Ground. Twineham and Wineham took to the field first and skipper Nigel Ingram marshalled his depleted but willing side with great success as he himself bowled his opening spell from the Pavilion End with figures of 8 overs, 4 maidens, 2 wickets for 20 runs. Warninglid found themselves up against it early on.

This brought Stanton and Cripps (Capt.) to the middle, and they set about a much needed consolidation. Matt Steinke opened convincingly from the Downs End, but failed to find his best form at just the time that the "'Lid's" No. 3 and 4 batsmen found their feet. A difficult ground to defend at the best of times it proved a particular problem for TWCC with their 9-man side. Matt bowled 6 overs for 24, and Jim, replacing Nigel at the Pavilion End fared even worse with 30 runs coming off just 6 overs.
Steinke Senior, ever reliable, brought some frustration to the batting side and bowled an impressive 12 straight overs taking 2 for 46 through a spell of play during which the batsmens tails were up and the ball was despatched with some regularity on anything loose. And not so loose; a 9-man side leaves many gaps!

With Jim not having managed to tie either batsman down, Paul replaced him and began to make Jim feel a bit better about his bowling - it was a run-scoring period (in our defence.) Paul's third over was, however, a wicket maiden, as he pointed out with some vehemence, leaving others to conclude that the other three overs must have been particularly special to have had 39 runs scored off them.
Meantime Warninglid's No.3 had been replaced by Halsey who, amongst some full-blooded shots, impressed  with the subtlety of some of his glanced shots, not played too hard but many steered away off a length. Halsey's 33 before being bowled by Paul was a major contribution to the Warninglid total.

Meanwhile Warninglid's skipper was appearing to be quite serious about amassing a major score, and he smote the ball about for quite long enough before holing out deep off Phil's bowling for 70 runs. A cheerful player and fun to have about in the mddle, even if he ultimately outstayed his welcome.
Warninglid began to offer batsmen of lesser ability, though, although their rate of scoring began to decline as Twinham made some further inroads into their tail, 204 was Twineham's target at  tea. A total in excess of 200 for 7 wickets; a fine display.
A steely resolve descended on Paul as he padded up after tea as he decided that it would be interesting to see if he could avoid getting out, and he did wait for the fifth ball before clipping a ball for four. Then James, facing his first ball, opened up with a towering straight six that visibly dented the morale of the opposition. James and Paul proceeded to put on a century opening stand which saw heads drop in the field as their bowlers could make no impression on Twineham's resolute opening pair. Eventually out for 39, James finally tried to work a straight ball to leg that evaded his bat, and was given out LBW.

Steve, one of the natural choices for No. 3 was unfortunate in that not only had he worked hard all morning creating a lovely tea, but he was also given the opportunity to wash up. This meant the next man in was Jim. Who was also the next man out.  Put yourself in his shoes; the bowling side already tired, plenty of time to bat, a brightening sky and a reachable total to achieve. How disappointing, then, for him to be relatively incapable at the crease and to then glove a ball to the keeper. Sympathetic weeping was heard in the middle as he made his way back to the club-house.

As if a bowling performance to be reckoned with wasn't enough, Nigel's batting at No.4 proved a decisive blow. He took at least two deliveries before setting about the remaining runs required. Returning to the form that saw TWCC romp home in several fixtures towards the end of last season, Nigel's true eye and swashbuckling style saw the poor ball streak to, and frequently high over, the boundary as he and Paul brought Twineham and Wineham a crunching, hard-hitting, victory; Nigel not out for really fast 43, and Paul not out for a magnificent 103 with 13 fours and three 6's.

Both Paul and Nigel deserve every congratulation on their innings. Nigel for taking the game by the scruff of the neck and forcing an early victory, and Paul, of course, for the magnitude of an innings long on concentration and determined hitting.
Warninglid have always been one of the teams Twineham and Wineham most like to share their Sundays with, and, fielding a team perhaps a little short on depth of bowling, deserve every thanks for an enjoyable day's cricket.

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Bolney v. Twineham and Wineham         September 17th 2006

When one wins a game of cricket the day is somehow complete - after a pint of Harvey's of course. There is, as we have known many times this season, a glowing halo of warmth that settles over a successful side as they quietly remenisce about the finer points of a day's play. On other occasions our chosen Sunday pastime is suddenly more about simply enjoying the day; getting out for an afternoon and generally having a good time with friends. This Sunday our match against Bolney proved to be one of these latter occasions when we really just so much enjoyed spending an afternoon in the sun with our mates that the cricket really didn't matter. Grrrrrrrrrr.
With Phil at the helm TWCC took to the field first. Spectators were treated to the sight of the Steinkes working in tandem as our opening bowlers; Phil running up the hill and Mat bowling with the slope in his favour. Initially Phil and Mat were unable to tie the Bolney opening batsmen down, and although Phil took his customary early wicket in his second over with an LBW decision rightly going in his favour - Bolney were  quickly away. Although Phil proved expensive one of the best bowling performances of the day was provided by Mat as he bowled a spell, during which Bolney were scoring freely at the other end, of 10 overs, none for 29. No wickets, but Mat's performance showed a maturity and consistency that Bolney clearly respected. 

After taking his wicket Phil found the opposition getting on top of his bowling and the score ran away to some extent calling for a change. Taking himself off Phil rewarded Richard Brock for some recent good form by putting him on as first change and Richard responded well to the challenge, creating many chances as he boldly embarked on a series of unusual and original bowling experiments. Mid way through his spell he engineered a catch at long-off which Edward took several times, and although Richard closed his spell with an unflattering 1 for 51 off 8 he, together with Mat, tied up Bolney for an important period of the innings. 
It is genuinely a pleasure to mention how classy were some of the shots being played by the Bolney batsmen. Leg glances stroked from off the front foot worth particular mention. Cricket afficianados were heard to gasp and applaud as Jack Wood (92 not out), James Flower (67) and Jack Collins (38) stroked the ball about; three young men, clearly gifted, who deserved the runs they scored.
Twineham adopted a defensive field and Paul (5 overs 0 wickets for 36), Jim (8 overs 1 wicket for 25), and James (4 overs 1 wicket for 31) did what they could to restrict the runs, and, ultimately, I feel, did quite well in stopping Bolney reach a truly unreachable total. Many chances were offered during these spells, and, on other occasions catches would have stuck and the flow of runs would have been lessened as a result of wickets falling.

Of interest was a single over from Sam, at the end of the innings, in which he demonstrated how effective sheer speed can be as he ran down the hill giving it everything. The unfortunate batsman who faced him simply wanted nothing of it and got out of the way to a straight one and he was bowled. Bolney then sent in a youngster which meant that Sam had to bowl his leggies, which was a shame as it would have been nice to see him in full flight for at least a full over.

Tea was taken as Bolney closed their innings at 214 for 5.

TWCC's roving reporter was lucky to catch Paul before he began his innings, (and would have been even luckier to have caught him during it - Ed.), and Paul was clearly looking forward to a long stay at the crease. With this clearly in mind he cracked the third ball of the match for  4 and then fended the fifth up into the grateful hands of mid off and was back in the pavilion before Twineham's reply was an over old. Paul's demise was too quick for The Gazette's photographer and so goes largely unrecorded. Had he been a less equitable soul I suspect we would have heard a bat thudding into the pavilion wall and an expletive or two, but, as he isn't all we got was relative silence for an over and then he was able to put life into it's proper perspective and realise that it only mattered a lot.
Tony, in form and purposeful, joined James in the middle and a period of relative calm returned to the Twineham camp as good balls were treated with respect and poor balls were despatched as they deserved. 

James scored in a typically controlled manner before succumbing to the temptations offered by the slow but persistant offerings from Bolney's young opener, a diminutive A. Bennett, being out, caught, for 23 runs that included 3 fours and lots of well taken ones and twos. 
In at No. 4, Edward began to develop an innings of some stature, which included four fours and a six, and he and Tony looked good all the time they were at the crease, until they were out. Tony, 3 fours and a six, out, caught off the youngster, for 29, and Edward for 38. Edward had resisted all temptations offered by the slow bowling which he doesn't like, and who survived the faster balls of Jack Collins, finally applying a thick edge to a slow ball from S. Bowles.

Jim, having joined the fray as Tony left the middle, found everything quite good fun until, like the others before him, he didn't. Cricket is such a sudden game... Out for 23, plumb LBW, as he tried to recreate a surprising four off a slow ball up the hill, there were a few good strokes but another innings fell short of what might have been.
Sam, in at No. 6, left without troubling the scorers, or even the ball, come to that, and others fell on the way to the game's climax as survival became the order of the day. Brocky fell cheaply, and Mat followed. Then, often asked to shoulder responsibility at either end of a Twineham and Wineham innings, Dave stepped up to the mark and took the brunt of Bolney's pace attack full on the chin like a man. Taking control of the strike Dave saw George through a difficult spell, and was then joined by Captain Phil to try to see us through to a drawn game. Dave fended off over after over of pace from Jack Collins, and then, when joined by Phil as the last man, successfully saw off five balls of the last over of slightly wayward spin from Oscar Delves, only falling at the very last hurdle to a faster ball that turned the other way and which gently clattered into his stumps. Dave's dissapointment was easy to see, and easy to understand, but was really unnecessary; he had survived the difficult stuff, had cleverly managed the end of the innings, and had done well to get us to the point of being able to save the game. It would have been a sweeter pint afterwards had he done so, but much had been achieved during the torrid time he spent at the crease, and it is indicative of the resilience he displayed that Bolney were so elated at having taken his wicket.

So; a Bolney win, on the very last ball. A deserved victory, really, with our bowlers not able to stop the runs flowing too freely, and with our batsmen not able to play for long enough with appropriate concentration and application. Twineham were asked to reply to a total of some magnitude, and fell short. Asked to survive we also fell short, but only just. Opting for a consolation pint at the Bolney ground, TWCC regrouped and realised that life wasn't about cricket anyway - it's about beer and avoiding being in a shop with a woman.
Roll on next week, our second to last game of the season. How soon the season passes - I often feel that I'm just about ready to learn from all my mistakes when it's time to put the bat down and seize up for the Winter. Never mind; onwards - ever onwards!

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Twineham and Wineham v. Streat         September 24th 2006 Jim and Sam opened the bowling for Twineham and Wineham on a brightening September day as TWCC took on Streat at the Twineham Ground under the captaincy, once again, of Phil. Streat, mindful of their defeat at the hands of Twineham earlier in the season, appeared to be cautious in their approach and applied themselves to the task of not getting out. Or so it seemed to at least one of the opening bowlers, who couldn’t get anyone out. Sam, on the other hand, managed to both encourage the batsmen to have a go and to take a wicket. He bowled with good pace, and though a few fours were scored off genuine strokes, a couple more were only achieved with edged shots behind square and these could easily have resulted in a wicket or two. Indeed, it was Sam who achieved the first breakthrough with an poorly timed push lobbed up to James in the gully. Sam’s spell continued to provide chances, though none fell to hand, and the runs began to dry for Streat as he homed in on the stumps – apart from the wides of course. Ending with 9 overs 1 for 33, Sam’s figures, as is often the case with a faster bowler, don’t fully indicate the nature of the bowling performance as runs often fly off faster balls even though the batsmen may not ever have been comfortable.
Brocky replaced Sam at the Downs End to his usual good effect, taking a wicket in his first over, and having 2 for 16 by the end of his spell – the kind of contribution that Twineham have been able to rely on this season and which has been clearly been a factor in the run of success that TWCC have enjoyed. The first of Richard’s wickets was notable for the fine catch that Edward would have taken at first slip, had not Steve made it into an even finer catch before him. Reaching high to his right, Steve’s quick and accurate glove-work was certainly one of the memorable moments of the day.
Jim, still plugging away from the Pavilion end, was more economical than penetrative, and helped ensure that Streat didn’t really score enough runs during this period of the game. (Personally I thought that this spell was a lot better than it might have looked. Ed.) Jim, closing with 13 overs, 1 for 18 was replaced by Joe Phillips who troubled the batsmen on occasion during four good overs, but who then contracted an attack of wideitus (not the first outbreak of the day) and finished his spell of 5 overs, 0 for 7 (of which 6 might have been wides). (Well; alright, they were.) Joe was, in turn, replaced by Edward, whose first ball caught both the batsman and first slip (Brocky asked me not to name the fielder) off guard, as he found some lively bounce from just short of a length. Had this stuck, who knows: maybe his figures of 4 overs 0 for 27 would have been substantially different?
TWCC, always pleased to have anything to do with the licensing trade, were pleased to see Mat Peacock coming on for a spell after Brocky at the Downs End. Though clearly a tough competitor with the ball in his hand, his groin proved less resilient and he had to come off after just one over with an awkward strain. In spite of his close association with The Royal Oak, Mat was unable to find any team-members to assist with the Deep Heat.
Phil had yet to bowl himself and this delay was, I think, a significant feature of the game: just at the point when Streat, who must have been aware that a score in the very low hundreds was unlikely to be sufficient, tried to accelerate the run-rate, on came Phil who is never going to be easy to score off without the batsmen taking chances. Sure enough, two wickets in two balls gave Phil figures of 4 overs, 2 for 10 right at the end of the match just when Streat would have liked something a bit more juicy than a score of 121 for 6 to take in to tea.
James and Steve opened the batting for TWCC after tea, and James set about carving an innings out of what there was to be had from bowling that was difficult to get away. Steve, on the other hand, set about getting it away and scored a fast 20 runs before being caught behind as a ball on a good length moved away. James’ continued presence in the middle was a comfort as he steadied himself, choosing the right ball to hit as is his strength (including a six to horse corner), and his 32 scored over a difficult period of the game, was another of the highlights of the day.
Streat chose to bowl their two openers for long spells, 12 and 19 overs, and with good reason as they took their toll on Twineham’s No.3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 who scored just 19 between them. Edward, Joe, Mat, Tony (Hill) and Jim were all soon umpiring, leaving Brocky to pick up the pieces.
Not out, in the end, for 8, Richard stabilised the Twineham chase, instructing Sam, coming in at No 9 with just a few overs to go, to resist all temptation and to definitely not get out to Stan as he offered up his usual innocent temptations. Ever mindful of instruction, Sam got off the mark with a four at the start of an exciting and, as it proved, match-winning innings.

Sensing trouble, as Stan went for 9 in an over, Streat replaced him with D. Christmas who had previously swung the ball into the right-handers at modest pace to good effect, and Sam picked him up for 6 to square leg. The runs began to stream off Sam’s bat, and, as he straight-drove the Pavilion End’s opener, who had stayed on for the entire match, for another 6 the end was suddenly in sight. Then, with no time to really appreciate how close to the end we were, there we were at the end as the very next ball followed for another six; the final runs of the match. Sam’s innings of 33, scored in no time at all at a time when Streat had legitimate hopes of a win, was inspiring to see and I would like to thank his Father, without whom this performance would not have been possible, for letting him use his bat (for the last time). Another win, in a tight game, to add to Twineham and Wineham’s run of successes this season.

The Twineham Ground, where a well-struck ball generally produces either a single if hit straight to a fielder or goes for four, was quite different with the grass not cut short, and Streat struggled from the start to get a score going, and this was ultimately the reason they lost the game. With a small total to attack, Twineham set about falling short of getting it with their usual application, saved only by good solid runs from James and Steve, and some extraordinary runs from Sam whose innings lifted the hearts of all.

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Twineham and Wineham v Brighton Beamers          October 1st 2006
It's an ill wind, it is said, that blows no good. ...This is a phrase of some ambiguity, and, I'm coming round to the way of thinking that it's almost impossible to usefully quote it in the context of this match report and I now wish I hadn't tried. Perhaps it will simply have to serve as a bit of whimsy with which we can pad out the closed season - something to ponder as we light the first fires of Autumn and break out the sloe gin. It was, in any case, very windy on Sunday as Twineham took on their customary end-of-season sparring partners, the Brighton Beamers, a fine collection of well-organised Thinking-Man's cricketers who often prove a difficult team to beat.
The match began in intermittent sunshine and Nigel, having won the toss and opting to field first, opened the bowling from The Downs End and with him charging in, batteries full following his holiday, with the wind behind we soon saw the bails fly. We tried to get them to stay on, but the gale was just too strong. With Jim bowling from the Pavilion End both openers created early chances that just failed to result in wickets. Nigel bowled 5 overs 0 for 9 before taking himself off; an early change, but his pace with the following wind was such that any edges weren't flying through close enough to any catchers behind to be safely gathered in. A short spell, but clearly we would see him again at a later stage. Meanwhile Jim continued on causing the odd problem and proving difficult to get away. A caught and bowled wicket in his pocket he finished having bowled 8 overs, 1 for 10.
Replacing Nigel, Phil embarked on a trademark spell from the Wind End. He took a wicket in his first over, had figures of 4 for 3 off 9 overs, and finished with 4 for 17off 12 overs, some quick boundarys coming from his last two overs. If the Beamers had hoped to ease the run-rate up they soon realised that it was only a strong and well-timed shot that went for four. Their innings was 22 overs old before the first boundary, and by then the Beamers were well aware that they were only going to score a modest total.
Joe Phillips, following on from Jim's spell at the Pavilion End, caused some problems, but mixed in a bit of width which the Beamers began to score from. It was the time in their innings when a few runs needed to be scored as at one time it looked as if they might not reach a total of  much above 80. They took the opportunity
to capitalise on the occasional width and Joe finished his spell with figures of 6 overs 0 for 18.  Mat, trying from both ends, found little luck in the conditions and closed his bowling contribution with figures of 6 overs 0 for 23. Nigel put himself on again, this time bowling into the wind, and immediately found himself both more at home and amongst the wickets. His speed may have been diminished but the ball, with more time to move about on its way to the batsman, found the stumps twice in quick succession and his second spell of 5 overs 2 for 9 gave him combined figures of 10 overs 2 for 18 and the Beamers closed their innings at tea on a round 100 for 8.

James and Paul opened the batting for Twineham, and it was immediately clear that a total of 100 was quite enough runs to chase. Neither batsman found it easy to get the ball away, putting the Beamer's innings into immediate context. With just a sprinkling of runs scored in the first half hour or so Twineham were, at least, able to take considerable comfort in the fact that all wickets were intact. Then Paul got out. I think that the track, though not grass, does have some changeable 
characteristics when wet, and these include the ball stopping a bit and not coming onto the bat. Consequently Paul'sforward stroke ended up spooning to cover point where it was taken comfortably and he was out, having built a platform for those to follow. Steve, recently amonsgt the pick of the Twineham batters, went in at No. 3 and proceeded to steer Twineham towards home. James and Steve created some calm in the TWCC dressing room and Steve even managed to score some runs. In retrospect, however, this proved to be the golden time in our run chase. James, eventually caught for 4, Steve bowled for a gutsy 18, and then, after an interlude, Nigel with a fast and potentially match-winning 22 were the pick of our response. Jim and Joe failed to add much at all to our total and, with the light failing, others followed who fared no better. Eventually, in the gloom, Mat showed what a promising striker of the ball he is - yet to let us down - and brought the game, once again, back towards Twineham.

Appropriatly, given the influence of the wind on the game, it was the elements that finally had the last word in the outcome of the match. With Mat and Phil barely able to see the ball, and the fielders equally at risk, the game was brought to a close with three overs to go and with the Beamers needing just one more wicket for a win, and with Twineham just 10 runs short of a winning total. In fairness to the batsmen, who couldn't see the ball, and to the Beamers who could hardly be asked to provide Mat and Phil with easier balls to hit, a draw was accepted with good grace by both sides. It would only be fair to admit that the Beamers were the more likely to have emerged as victors, but Mat and 
Phil, given good light, are more than capable of scoring big boundarys, and who knows whether more light would have allowed some of the TWCC batters who got out a bit more of a chance too,  so a quirky but fair result closed both teams' seasons.
 Performance of the day goes to Rob Nicholls of the Beamers who took 6 for 16, though the Editor's wicket coincided with a freak second of really poor light and so these figures need to be looked at with this in mind. Phil, of course, with his 4 for 17 also deserves special mention. Steve, James, Nigel, and, during difficult times, Mat's batting was almost enough to allow another Twineham and Wineham win, but, as both sides showed, end of season batting does seem to be a difficult business, as the grass 
grows long and the runs are harder to get.

In overview TWCC did well to limit the Beamers scoring so effectively, and should 
have had little difficulty in overtaking the Beamers total. As it was, a good Beamers performance, along with a less than perfect Twineham reply (gulty as charged) almost presented the game to the visitors. The result, had the light lasted better, might have gone either way, but in any case ended up with both teams in the Royal Oak so that can't be bad, can it?

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2006 Season Retrospective
The wind, rain, a wet ball, and the lack of light were ultimately the most decisive factors in a game that brings to a close another TWCC season - one that may well already be in the history books as our most successful one for many years. The captaincy of Nigel, rumoured to be drawing to a close, and the vice-captaincy of Phil have brought us many wins and many good games during the year. Nigel, obviously a good tosser, put our opponents in first on most occasions, and that proved to be a successful ploy in the main. The many victorys were never achieved without sportsmanlike gestures from our captain(s), and the balance between trying to win and in giving both our various opponents and our team-members a good game was always well managed. All in all this is the end of a memorable year's cricket, the only cloud over which was the difficulty faced by the captains to sometimes raise a full side, but, on the other hand, it is always fun when George, Mikey, Ollie or Matthew are part of the team.

It might be worth reflecting on how often we have bowled a side out - maybe not more than once or twice this year? Bowling first it is of less importance, obviously, and we won't have had many opportunities to pressurise a team into surrendering wickets as they chase totals, but it would be interesting to compare results against toss-wins.

Performers of the year? Not my place to comment really, but for what it's worth I'm not sure that anyone in particular has been more effective than anyone else over the season as a whole. James, Paul and Tony have frequently played most valuable innings at the top of our order; Steve has rarely failed with the bat and has kept wicket extremely well during the year. Our middle-order batsmen may have not
had such a good time this year, overall, and this is something that I'll try and improve on next year... Again. Our bowlers have all bowled well, and the whole side fields well, which often puts our opponents behind a good run-rate from the off. In different games different bowlers have turned in match-winning performances, though without the scorebook I can't accurately state who did this and when, though I can recall some individuals having had some remarkable games. Brocky has had a particulrly good all-round season and may well end up with statistics with which he can prove it. Not an exhaustive resume of the season, and it's not my place to try and provide it, but The Gazette thought some editorial was in order. Perhaps the Winter will provide more of an opportunity to improve upon it. Anyway; well done team!

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2004-2006
In praise of old scorebooks 
Written by Richard Brock in 2017 - on the occasion of Nigel returning a scorebook!
How good it was to see Nigel come along for Steve’s match for the first time in over 10 years.  And what did he find in the bottom of his otherwise untouched cricket bag?  A score book, beginning with the 2004 season and going on into 2006.  What joy!  What did it tell us?
Well the first match was Vs Lewes St Michael on 20/6/04 – a team that has dropped off our radar.  We see Nigel is skipper and an opening bowling attack of Ingram and Jones.  The figures make interesting reading:  Ingram 7-0-30-1, Jones 8-3-15-1.  In the batting a certain E Bunn finished on 76 not out for an easy victory.
The following week away to Poynings the top score went to a certain E Bunn!  73 not out.  Among the bowlers in the defeat, Paul Chatfield and a certain Sam Simon (2.2-0-9-0).
The following week we welcomed Wisley to Twineham.  Our top scorer was….E Bunn (49) – a man at the top of his game, feared across the county. The 3 Daves at 6,7,8 were Webb, Jones and Rogers.
Moving on swiftly past that defeat to the Jolly Tanners of Staplefield (yes, a pub team), where we see the appearance of a young G Hunter, we arrive back at home to Henfield on 25 July 2004 where P Hunter recorded 110 not out.
We follow that on 8th August 2004 with a match vs Moulsecoomb at Hadlow Down where James Trollope scored 113 not out.
In typical Twineham style, our next match vs Warninglid has no date on it but must have been mid/late August or beginning of September 2004.  Phil may have the date because his figures for the match were 11.2-4-17-8.  Quite how they reached 185 is a mystery but 119 not out from Tony Pearce took us home.
A 53 for Tony on 12 September 2004 vs Bolney helped rescue a draw against the old foe.   Streat and Westmeston on 19 September brought Edward back to the fore with 91 – and 4 wickets for 21 for Dave Jones.  The last match of the 2004 season vs Brighton Beamers on 26 September gave Edward 4-19 and an over for the young Matt Steinke (1-0-3-0).
2005 – a new season and Matt Steinke (8-2-22-1) and Sam Simon (8-0-37-2) both among the wickets vs BUCC??  As a team, we scored 82…but still drew.
Against Streat on 1st May 2005 James made 119 not out and D Rogers had figures of 1-0-5-1.  The following week vs Greys, James made 74 not out.  We then fast forward to 5th June 2005 when James made 101 not out and Paul Hunter 59.
Paul made 51 the following week 12 June 2005 vs Lancing and there were 4-27 for James in a hefty victory.  Versus Lewes St Michael on 19 June 2005 James made 72 in an equally hefty defeat.
On 26 June 2005 a young William Bunn made 4, George Hunter 2 versus Poynings, while away at Wisley on 3rd July 2005 Paul Hunter made 86.  And against Staplefield on 10th July we played against a man called Y Condom 😊.
On 17 July we played vs the President’s XI and Richard Brock scored 50 with a young Sam Morrison bowling for TWCC 1.5-0-17-1.
On 21 August 2005 a certain Sam Simon bowled at home to Lancing and finished with 9-2-23-6.  Paul Hunter helped seal victory scoring 93.  Some weeks later, James Trollope scored 51 vs Albourne (no date).
The dates continue to be absent for the visit of Bolney in September 2005 when Richard Brock scored 52 during our victory.  A week later saw Edward Bunn score 79 not out vs Streat and Westmeston  - another win.  And another win to round off the season when skipper Ingram was run out on 52 vs Beamers.
So there we are – or in some cases, there we were.  Interestingly the majority of outstanding performances were with the bat – we have far more strong performances with the ball these days.  But I think we have become a team of stronger all-rounders – perhaps that’s a reflection on how cricket itself has evolved in these T20 days.   Anyway, I thought you might enjoy what the book showed – I will dig out the other old books and see just how far back we can go with a constant record.  Maybe it’s time to re-configure those `lifetime stats`….or maybe it’s time to get a life.
Richard

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