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| West Hoathly v TWCC | |||||||||
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June 21st 2026
TWCC battled through happy cyclists to West Hoathly for a 35 over per
side, no draw, limited overs game, with a late start of around half
past two. TWCC were very happy to see Chinu again after such a long
time away - much has happened in his life - and we look forward to him
playing more often as he settles back into the fold. 32
Match report J
Simon
Matt won the toss, choosing to bat first, and it became clear almost immediately that the pitch was going to be the dominant factor in the match. The surface was bone dry and the bounce unpredictable, some balls keeping low, others jumping sharply or not completely arriving at all, and this made clean timing, if one could even hit the ball, very difficult throughout. Rob and Matt opened the batting for TWCC, and of the top order only Matt, with 23, really got to grips with the conditions. The batting largely fell away, with J Neville bowling his full six over allocation, taking five wickets for eleven runs with edges, glove-hitting and catches in weird places characterising the play. Or lack of it. West Hoathly used eight bowlers in all, sharing the overs around in true Sunday fashion as TWCC were clearly struggling, but it didn’t help much as any bowler was liable to take wickets and the visitors slumped to 39 for 6 when Matt was out, caught, for a very characterful skipper’s 23. The innings was rescued, to an extent that remained to be seen, by Ed, Kanishka and George. Kanishka came in late and batted with patience and skill and Ed didn’t let dots worry him, and the two added 28 in this seventh wicket partnership, and then K and George saw out the remaining overs together adding a further 20 runs after Ed was out for a delicate 7. These three, batting 8, 9 and 10, added a precious 48 runs between them and extended the innings to the full 35 overs. 20 extras also played their considerable part, and TWCC closed on 87 for 8, but it was Kanishka’s dogged and occasionally belligerent batting, giving him the top score of 26, that gave the total any sort of stature at this late stage. Tremendous stuff. If one adds up Matt’s 23, Kanishka’s 26 and the 20 extras… well, I’ll leave our loyal readers to work out how many the rest of us scored. West Hoathly needed 88 to win, but although they spiked us with a wonderful tea (calories turned up to 11), they did face batting on the same pitch and TWCC had the advantage of having seen how it played. Matt went with downhill pace on the up-and-down end, and with spin from the who-knows-what end. Thus Ed opened the bowling, and with immediate effect; his first two overs both wicket maidens, and at the end of the third over West Hoathly were two down for one run and the tone was set. A particular mention for Chinu’s friend Nikhar Vijay, playing his first game for TWCC, whose solid catch at mid-off to dismiss West Hoathly’s No 1, D Shovelton, off Ed’s bowling for the first of those wickets, set exactly the right mood. A dropped catch then would have undermined the defence of such a low target, but as Nikhar held on so well the bowling energy built and TWCC were on the move. James, opening from the other end, and, following endless good balls, took a wicket when Jonathan completed a very quick stumping to remove the capable Turner, and, when James’s six over spell ended, Chinu came on and also bowled his six overs with great control, taking two for 20. The pitch did a lot, but the ball still had to be bowled in the right areas. Meanwhile Ed, Matt and Rob rotated pacy, dominant, three over spells from the top end, and the wickets kept falling as West Hoathly found their wicket as hard to bat on as had TWCC. The rest of the game is more of the same, really; wickets falling regularly, not many runs being scored along the way, and, as Matt ended his fourth over, suddenly the home side were all out for 65 after just 26 overs. The scorecard is there for the detail, but all the pace bowlers were taking wickets, Ed 4 in his six overs, Matt 2 in his four overs, and Rob 1 in his three. Lots of bowled, two LBW’s, and we need to acknowledge some truly excellent keeping from Jonathan with his stumping and three catches, not to mention him allowing just one bye to pass him by on this unreliable wicket - and I don’t suppose that was his fault. TWCC won by 22 runs in a decidedly odd game, with neither side finding scoring easy, so the late order contribution led by Kanishka which stretched the first innings total to something ultimately defendable was match-defining, and then the TWCC bowling was unrelenting. Our thanks go to West Hoathly for being such welcoming hosts, for giving us a wonderful tea, and for sharing something approximating cricket near a pub serving such perfect Harvey’s. Scorecard TWCC (Matt) won the toss and chose to bat first in a 35:35 over no draw limited over game. TWCC Innings: R Rydon ct H Brierly bld J Neville 2; M Edwards* ct T Turner bld O Parr 23; J Taylor ct T Turner bld J Neville 1; J Rowland† ct x bld J Neville 3; N Vijay ct x bld J Neville 0; J Simon ct (wk) bld J Neville 0; C Howes ct x bld B Shovelton 2; E Howes ct T Turner bld D Scott 7; K Bhattacharya not out 26; G Howes not out 3. DNB C Sharma. Extras 20 (B7, LB2, W8, NB3) Total 87 for 8 (35 overs). Fall: 1-9, 2-17, 3-27, 4-27, 5-35, 6-35, 7-39, 8-67. West Hoathly Bowling: D Shovelton 3-1-9-0; J Neville 6-3-11-5; L Shannon 6-1-18-0; O Parr 5-0-11-1; B Shovelton 4-2-4-1; H Riley 4-2-3-0; D Scott 5-2-12-1; T Turner 2-0-11-0. West Hothly Innings: D Shovelton ct N Vijay bld E Howes 0; B Shovelton LBW E Howes 1; T Turner st J Rowland bld J Taylor 11; O Parr ct J Rowland (wk) bld C Sharma 12; M Parr bld R Rydon 1; L Shannon ct M Edwards bld C Sharma 0; H Brig/dESisS (illegible) ct J Rowland (wk) bld E Howes 8; M Taylor LBW E Howes 12; A Brierly ct J Rowland (wk) bld M Edward 8; D Scott* not out 3; J Neville bld M Edwards 0. Extras 7 (B1, LB1, W3, NB2) Total 65 for 10 wickets (26 overs). Fall 0-1, 2-1, 3-11, 4-19, 5-35, 6-35, 7-51, 8-63, 9-65, 10-65. TWCC Bowling: E Howes 6-2-19-4; J Taylor 6-2-11-1; M Edwards 4-2-3-2; R Rydon 3-0-7-1; C Sharma 6-0-20-2. TWCC win by 22 runs. Top of page |
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