The irony of the final result is that the first game of the season at Slough should have been a memorable win, but Slough scraped home by one wicket. Slough went on to win the league and a further 11 games. That is not to say we had the quality in the side to win the league but I do believe we should have been mid table at least. The ability of a side to win close games such as those we had against Marlow (twice), OMT, Wokingham and Falkland are the difference between a good and bad year. I would suggest the fact that we failed to convert these opportunities requires everyone to look at their own contributions.

The bowling was dominated by Mustapha Rajabali and Danny Bulman who both took 32 wickets. They consistently bowled with superb control and generally at the key times in the match. John Lishman bowled far fewer overs than normal due to work commitments but bowled well. Mathew Ash had his best day against Marlow at home when he took 6 for 47, and with Nick Moore will be the future of the Club's slow bowling at this level. Evan Hamilton-Pike was as mercurial as ever and generally an unplayable ball was followed by an unmissable one. I hope that he finds some consistency soon as his bowling and undoubted talent with the bat should make him a valuable player. Alex Hands was the pick of the seamers by the end of the year and that augurs well for next year. He perhaps should have played more this year but the confidence of taking wickets in the seconds shone through when he was given his chance. Of the rest we did not see enough of Stu Shanks to get him fully integrated into the side but thanks must go to him and so many others for the long distances that they travel to play for the Club.

The leading run scorers - by some distance - were Richard Stephenson, Jon Atkins and Danny Bulman. They generally lacked support or were out before their efforts secured the additional victories we required and I am sure felt enormous pressure to perform. Rich deserves particular praise for his two match winning innings against Wolverton. However the general lack of runs lies at the heart of our failings this year but it was enormously encouraging to see William Walsh and Chris Owen battling to secure a final win at Falkland in the last game of the season where they both made good fifties. Sam Mayne did so much hard work with Rich at the top of the order that he deserved some good scores. I expect when the runs start to come they will flow rather than trickle.

We missed Suresh Perumal in the middle order but Evan, Matt, John Lishman and I all had our moments. It was perhaps fitting, of course, that in the season that Jeremy Fisher confirmed that he would not be playing 1st XI cricket he topped the averages.

Behind the stumps we are indebted to a new member in Paul Sculpher who had a less than classical approach but a hugely effective one. If he did drop a catch this year I have forgotten when (I hope he can be as generous to his first slip). His enthusiasm was in the "Brent" class and Rich and Jon will be hoping he is in good form next year to ensure they are not called upon to deputise again !

Thanks go to Duncan Ward and Jon Atkins for leading the side against Oxford and OMT and for all the help that I received from them and particularly Renny Adams over a thoroughly enjoyable two years as captain. Indeed the support and good humour from all those who have played in the side has been very important in so many respect.

Finally I would like to thank Jim Sanderson for the work that he has put in to the ground this year, in occasionally appalling conditions, such that it has been a pleasure to have played at Shardeloes this summer even in defeat.

Bowling

	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Mustapha Rajaballi	185.3	52	528	32	16.56
Danny Bulman	233.4	52	684	32	21.38
Stuart Shanks	17	3	66	3	22
Mathew Ash	60	12	190	8	23.75
John Lishman	69	11	267	11	24.27
Alex Hands	27	3	119	4	29.75
Evan Hamilton- Pike	45	11	152	4	38
Duncan Ward	16.4	3	52	0	n/a

After the calculators had been put away it was clear that the fate of the Amersham 1st XI lay in the hands of others. Falkland had to be beaten however for Marlow to be in any danger of being overtaken.

Falkland lost the toss and were asked to bat first on a damp autumnal wicket that looked like it would help the quicker bowlers. Alex Hands took the new ball with Kiwi Danny Bulman in John Lishman's absence. Hands bowled accurately but without luck and again showed how much he has come on this summer. Bulman bowled quick fire overs at the openers and gave nothing to hit but with the shoulder injury that has been bothering him for weeks now didn't take early wickets.

The left arm spin of Nick Moore was introduced ahead of the more experienced Rajabali and it was clear why he has taken so many wickets at second team level this year. He will play a big part in the 1st XI in the future and will learn a lot bowling in tandem with Rajabali. The breakthrough however came when Hamilton-Pike bowled the opener and then Rajabali and Bulman bowled against the Falkland former pros Julian Wood and Zaheer Abassi. Bulman bowled Abassi and Rajabali had Wood caught at slip by the veteran Duncan Ward. Rajabali went on to take 5/52 to complete another excellent years bowling for Amersham.

The Falkland total of 176-9 looked below par and openers William Walsh and Jonny Andrews started the innings well. Andrews fell for 22 but Walsh went on to make an excellent 50 and was joined by Chris Owen who also made a well constructed 52 not out. Unfortunately having fallen a little behind the run rate wickets fell quickly and Amersham were short of their target concluding at 156-8 at close of play.

A draw left them with only Old Merchant Taylors below them in the league and it now remains to be seen whether the expected relegation to the Thames Valley League will materialise. In any event there have been many positive aspects to the season for Amersham. The Bucks U19's Evan Hamilton-Pike, Chris Owen, Fizal Chowdury and U19 Captain Sam Mayne all have so much potential that they will undoubtedly perform better next year and will have learnt from this season. Kiwi Danny Bulman will return next year to play a bigger part in the Club and was the rock around which so much of the sides cricket was built. Batting stalwarts John Atkins and Rich Stevenson played some excellent innings but lacked consistent support in the run chases. Nick Moore and Alex Hands will also be important parts of the side that will seek to change the fortunes of the 1st XI in 2001.

Amersham's first eleven are addressing all the fundamentals of their game; they are consistently bowling and fielding well and the batting is improving, with more players scoring runs than the usual couple of contributors. Now all they need to do is to rediscover the art of winning.

The game on Saturday against Falkland was a classic case in point; Amersham played most of the cricket throughout the game, but failed to reach a modest total, ending up painfully two runs short. Put into bat, the Falkland openers started well putting on 66, but astute captaincy by Andrews as he brought on off spinner Matt Ash to two left handers reaped major benefits. He got rid of both openers and bowled beautifully to end up with six wickets. He was brilliantly supported by Danny Bulman, who bowled tirelessly for scant reward. Falkland ended up with 168 for 9.

Amersham's progress to this total was steady, but lost both Jonny Andrews and Jonny Atkins, when both were well set. It needed a major innings by a member of the middle order, but this did not materialise and soon the home side were struggling at 122-8. A mini recovery took place through the valiant efforts of Jon Lishman and Asa Bridle and the tide appeared to be turning Amersham's way. Unfortunately, nerves got the better of Bridle as he holed out with just 6 runs required. Amersham inched towards the winning line, but ended two runs short when Mustapha Rajablai was caught at first slip, leaving Lishman not out on 24.

Amersham suffered a demoralising blow on Saturday by losing at home to Old Merchant Taylors. Both teams have been struggling this season and Amersham squandered a great chance to record their second successive win, but their batting again proved to be their downfall. Winning the toss under temporary leader Jon Atkins, OMT were put into bat and started well through Steve Ducat, who got off to a flyer, despite good opening bowling from Danny Bulman and Evan Hamilton-Pike. Amersham fielded well, but managed to drop too many catches. Mustapha Rajabali and Bulman both took four wickets and were ably assisted by Stuart Shanks on his league debut who picked up two wickets. OMT eventually posted a total of 192 all out.

Amersham's innings started shakily, losing Rich Stephenson and Sam Mayne early, and again it was down to Atkins and Bulman to put the home team in with a fighting chance of victory. Batting through steady drizzle, Atkins was unfortunate to chop the ball onto his stumps leaving Bulman to shoulder most of the responsibility. Thereafter, despite having plenty of overs to win the game, Amersham's batsmen took it on themselves to get themselves out at vital times and eventually ran out 40 runs short. Canterbury star Danny Bulman was again top scorer with 58.

Amersham's first eleven opened their account with their first win of the season against Wolverton Town on Saturday, coinciding with captain Jonny Andrews winning the toss also for the first time. This season there is little incentive to bat first, as the winning bonus points for batting first have been taken away, so these days there is more emphasis on winning the toss and inserting the opposition.

Seeing that Amersham were propping up the table after four straight defeats, Wolverton's captain admitted to a certain insouciance, assuming Amersham to be ripe for the picking. How wrong they were as Amersham bowled and fielded superbly, despite the heat, and pressured Wolverton's batsmen into mistakes. Both opening bowlers, Danny Bullman and Evan Hamilton-Pike performed well, the latter making the early breakthrough, but as ever it was Mustapha Rajabali who did the damage. Teams that have not played against the seasoned veteran appear to be mesmerised by his left arm spin bowling as he collected six wickets for 57 off 23 overs, aided by three brilliant catches in the deep by Matt Ash. Wolverton were eventually bowled out for 131 off 56 overs.

Despite losing Ash in the first over, the Amersham ship was steadied by some solid batting and quick singles by Rich Stephenson and Jon Atkins. When Atkins departed at 48-2, Bullman came in and the tempo increased immediately. The Wolverton attack had no answer to the bludgeoning they were receiving and Amersham reached their target in double-quick time after only 21 overs, in plenty of time for the England Germany game.

Early season enthusiasm saw a vast improvement in arrival times at the new Slough ground with neally everyone on the ground when the game started. Players expecting play at nearby Slough rugby club were bemused at the size of the wickets and those looking at the housing estate that has sprung up at the old ground just asked for offers to do the same at Shardeloes.

In true Amersham traditions everyone got an early chance to bat and to enjoy the intellectual challenges of the league banter at the wicket. There were no great moments in our batting but the comeback when the Slough reply commenced was impressive. John Lishman bowled beutifully early on and could have had five wickets in his first spell rather than the two he claimed. It was however the veteren Danny Bulman grabbed the wickets and figuers of 5-44 off 21 overs was an impressive debut.

Musti kept things ludicrously tight (16-5-16-2) and got the new "Martyn Crowe" out in an over of pure joy for those present. The gun Kiwi, earlier playing with such pomp, was seen flaying away at the flighted spinners chipping the ball to all areas before finding "buckets" Mash at mugs corner. (Offers to swap Kiwi's was discussed at a team meeting for hours after but it was agreed that we would keep ours as theirs was too funny for us.)

Unfortuantely with the game almost won a Slough batsman or two decided to hang around a bit and saw them home by the skin of their teeth. A close game but with nothing more than 175 on the board surely we would have a first win on the board. As it is Slough got 25 points for their "efforts" and we got 5. Shhurly shome mishtake !

Amersham started the season with a convincing win in a friendly fixture against Harefield on Saturday. Deciding on a 45 over format, Harefield, who will be playing in the league below Amersham this year, chose to bat in unseasonally hot and humid conditions. Such was the heat that new Aussie paceman Jonathan Finch, started calling for drinks after only 7 overs. It was everyone's first opportunity to see our two Antipodeans in action, with Danny Bullman accompanying Jonathan in opening the bowling. Both beat the bat several times with their contrasting styles but without initial success. It took a sharp catch by Evan Hamilton-Pike off Finch at gully to get the breakthrough and Amersham then took control with wickets from Hamilton-Pike, who bowled his usual edited highlights, and (amazingly) Jonny Andrews who pitched a couple of curve balls which were dispatched to the deep where Matt Ash was gratefully waiting. A sharp piece of fielding from Will Walsh effectively ended Harefield's chances of a decent score along with some tidy bowling from Stephenson, who deigned to turn up after a long lunch.

Requiring only 158 off their allotted 45 overs, Amersham started briskly by Stephenson who prevented Will Walsh from facing and slowing up proceedings. Unfortunately, both were undone by straight ones from Harefield's pie chucker, leaving the South Bucks side 32-2. Jon Atkins, striking the ball remarkably well so early in the year despite having eschewed the opportunity to net all winter, was joined by fellow left hander, the Kiwi Danny Bullman, playing in borrowed kit as his is currently going through customs from Wales. Bullman's batting was bullish, though he must have been hindered by running in Wardy's size 16 boots, though has not yet quite acclimatised to English wickets by attempting to pull anything vaguely short. When he walked lbw for 29, Amersham were coasting at 92-3, though Suresh Perumal caused a few heart flutters when he kamikazed third ball and was also lbw. The ship was steadied by the advent of Matt Ash, dashing and snicking with impunity, who along with the tiring Atkins comfortably saw Amersham home with 9 overs to spare.

Interesting Fact of the Day: Harefield have 50 playing members, but an incredible 640 social members!