Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 184 (50.5 ovs; Evan Hamilton-Pike 32, L Atkinson 4−60, M Dozzell 3−47)

North Maidenhead won the toss and elected to bat first. J Du Plessis was the backbone of the innings with a well crafted 134. North Maidenhead lost an early wicket when Du Plessis and Malpass ended up at the same end. This didn't matter as Du Plessis and Martin looked to dominate the attack that comes with the confidence of winning the league. Mustapha Rajabali and Nick Moore were once again Amersham's best bowlers. Rajabali was unlucky not to have Du Plessis out before he reached 50 when he was dropped on the boundary. He made the most of his second chance. Both Rajabali and Moore worked hard to contain North Maidenhead and were duly rewarded with 9 wickets between them.

Amersham's reply got off to a shaky start, losing 2 wickets for 22. Rich Stephenson and Jonny Andrews then rebuilt the innings before both falling on 61. Evan Hamilton Pike and Duncan Ward got the score past 100 and Niall Densley helped Hamilton Pike push the score on to 159. Amersham then lost their last 4 wickets for 25 runs and North Maidenhead's celbration could begin. Amersham now face the prospect of playing Div 2 cricket next season.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Windsor I 113 (47.1 ovs; Mustapha Rajabali 4−42, Nick Moore 3−7)

Amersham I 115-2 (32 ovs; Rob Viney 63*)

Amersham still had to work hard for the runs as Spence was bowling very well and making life difficult. Rob Viney batted very well after the early loss of Warner. Viney and Charlie Benetto almost saw Amersham to the target before Bennetto smashed a long hop to square leg. Viney (63*) and Chris Owen saw Amersham home to a comfortable win.

Amersham play Div 1 Champions North Maidenhead at home in there last league game of the season.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 167 (51.3 ovs; Rich Stephenson 38, Jonny Andrews 34, Nick Bishop 5−48)

Thatcham Town I 168-5 (30.1 ovs; B Edireewera 71, J Ettridge 46)

Thatcham got off to a flying start with Edireewera and Etridge putting on 111 for the first wicket. Edireewera is a class act and adjusted to the conditions superbly. Thatcham were cruising and then lost 3 quick wickets with Alex Hands getting Edireewera and Chris Owen taking 2 to leave Thatcham 112 - 3. Etridge and Patel calmed Thatcham nerves to take the score to 133 before Hands struck again. Etridge then fell with only 10 runs required but Wright and Fraser saw Thatcham home with 5 wickets in hand.

Amersham did pick up crucial points to move ahead of Basingstoke with only 2 games left.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Basingstoke & North Hants II 203 (48 ovs; Andy Neal 60, S Dummer 46, Mustapha Rajabali 5−65, Duncan Ward 3−32)

Basingstoke won the toss and asked Amersham to bat first on a good wicket. The innings got off to a terrible start with Rob Viney falling in the first over. This meant Andrew Warner and Charlie Bennetto had to dig in and make sure Amersham didn't lose another early wicket. Andrew Warner looked to dominate the Basingstoke attack and the put on 59 for the second wicket before Bennetto was harshly given out. Andrew Warner then raced toward 50 off 57 balls as the ball disappeared to all parts of the ground. Being ably supported by Chris Owen, Andrew raced to his 100 from 95 balls. There were no nervous nineties for Warner as he went from 88 to 100 with 2 huge sixes. The Basingstoke attack was taken to the sword while Owen and Ward fell in quick succession Warner's concentration didn't waiver and his next 50 came of 24 balls. Jonny Andrews played a good supporting roll while Warner kept smashing the ball to all parts. Warner dominated a 95 run partnership in just 11 overs.

Warner finally fell for 170 in the 48th over. It was a great display of hard hitting as he managed 16 fours and 9 sixes. Stephenson and Hamilton- Pike pushed the score along to 284 - 6 when Amersham declared after 51 overs.

Amersham now had to attack in the field and bowl Basingstoke out to gain maximum points. Mustapha Rajabali and Chris Owen opened the attack and it was Owen who struck first. Leese looked to hit Owen over the top but Matt Ash took an excellent catch whilst running backwards from Mid off. Rajabali maintained excellent line and length and was soon rewarded with the first of his 5 wicket hall. Amersham kept plugging away as wickets fell at regular intervals until Neal and Harsham looked like they may hold on for a draw with only 15 overs to go. Amersham then took the new ball and hoped that Lishman and Ward could find a way through. Lishman managed to remove Harsham to leave Amersham needing 3 more wickets with only 8 over remaining.

With 4 overs left the game looked like it was heading for a draw but Duncan Ward found the edge of Neal's bat for the chance to be snapped up my Andrews at slip. Ward struck again the very next ball luring Bowen into a false shot and Warner took a sharp chance at 2nd slip. Baker survived the hat trick ball but the pressure was on. Amersham needed 1 wicket and had 3 overs to bowl at the last pair. Lishman bowled a really good over and was unlucky not to take the wicket needed for victory. Ward then bowled the penultimate over and managed to trap Baker LBW with his last ball to give victory to Amersham with one over to spare.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 87 (32.1 ovs; Rob Viney 30, Amir Sajjid 6−29)

Nick Moore got the vital breakthrough bowling Ashton. Chris Owen bowled well in the middle of the innings as the runs slowed up and took crucial wickets to keep Amersham in the game. Marlow Park then accelerated towards the end of the innings with Jawed and Weston hitting some lusty blows to set an imposing target.

Amersham got off to a bad start and managed to recover slightly with good innings from Rob Viney, Chris Owen and Andy Warner but this was not enough as a huge collapse saw Amersham lose their last 7 wickets for 6 runs.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Harefield I 245-7 dec (50 ovs; Sam Foley 66, Simon McConnon 53, R McLeod 41, Mustapha Rajabali 4−60)

Amersham I 214-4 (50 ovs; Charlie Bennetto 50*, Evan Hamilton-Pike 50*, Rob Viney 50)

Amersham's reply got off to a bad start with Andrews and Owen falling with the score on 22. Rob Viney and Andrew Warner then had to rebuild the innings and manged to reach 108 with Viney scoring 50 before both fell in one over. This left Charlie Bennetto and Evan Hamilton Pike to have to start to rebuild the innings and needing 130 from the last 20 overs. As both started to play some good strokes Harefield set defensive fields and bowled tight lines to strangle the run chase. Both Bennetto and Hamilton Pike reached 50 as the game ended in a draw with Amersham 32 runs short.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 64 (24.3 ovs; Simon Bird 5−46, A Downing 4−17)

High Wycombe were soon amongst the wickets as the conditions got worse. With accuracy key High Wycombe made bowling look very easy and Amersham struggled in the conditions. Amersham need to improve to stay in this league.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Cove I 88-2 (14.1 ovs; S Reed 37)

Cove strolled past the required total with only the loss of two wickets both to Alex Hands who was the pick of the Amersham bowling. A much better performance is required against High Wycombe if Amersham are to avoid a relegation battle.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

North Maidenhead I 179-6 (49.2 ovs; R Martin 47, P Shaw 39, Mustapha Rajabali 4−67)

North Maidenhead's reply got off to shaky start with Mustapha Rajabali taking a wicket with the score on 11. Malpass and Martin then batted well to reach 54 before Rajabali struck again. Rudd quickly followed to make it 60 - 3. Martin carried on hitting boundaries before he became Rajabali's 4th victim. Broom and Shaw then saw North Maidenhead to within 50 runs of victory before Ward had Broom bowled and then had carter caught by Warner to make it 138 - 6. The match was in the balance but Shaw and Rickman batted well to see North Maidenhead home with 4 balls to spare.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 184-3 (33.4 ovs; Andrew Warner 101*, Rich Stephenson 35*)

On a grey afternoon Amersham won the toss and elected to field first with rain clouds looming. Windsor got off to a good start as Amersham struggled to shake off the effects of the Summer Ball the night before. Amersham's fielding was ragged and managed to spill a number of chances in the first hour. It took the introduction of Mustapha Rajabali to make the breakthrough with 87 on the board. Huggins started to tuck into the Amersham attack launching some huge sixes. Bird made 57 before he was well taken on the boundary by Charlie Bennetto. Amersham worked their way back into the match as Mustapha Rajabali and Nick Moore bowled well in tandem to start to restrict the runs. At 163 - 5 Windsor looked to post a 200 plus score. Rajabali and Moore restricted Windsor to only 20 more runs as they collapsed to 183 all out.

Amersham's reply got off to a poor start as Windsor attacked with Mohindru and Spence bowling well at the start. Amersham were 14 - 1 when Rob Viney gave a simple chance to Thompson that was gratefully received. Amersham were soon in greater trouble as Bennetto went for 1 to make it 16 - 2. John Andrews chanced his arm to get the score moving and Andrew Warner batted conservatively as they tried to build a partnership. Andrews went with the score on 52. The result was in the balance as Rich Stephenson joined Warner in what would be the winning stand. Warner passed 50 and then opened up and smashed the Windsor bowling to all parts as the weather looked like interfering and denying Amersham a worthy victory. Warner (101 not out) was well supported by Stephenson who made a vital 35 to see Amersham home by 7 wickets.

Amersham travel to league leaders North Maidenhead on Saturday for what will be a stern challenge. North Maidenhead have won all their matches so far this season.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Thatcham Town I 81-2 (11.1 ovs)

Thatcham Town made short work of knocking off the runs with Ediriweera hitting 51 not out to go with the 5 wickets he picked up. Amersham picked up a couple of consolation wickets but a much improved performance is required this week against Windsor.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 146-3 (37.1 ovs; Jonny Andrews 63, Andrew Warner 38*)

Dummer batted well as the others failed to get to grips with Mustapha Rajabali and Nick Moore. Rajabali went about taking another 5 wicket haul and Nick Moore took the crucial wicket of Dummer which left Basingstoke 109 - 5. Rajabali and Ward then took the remaining 5 wickets for the addition of 34 runs to set Amersham a target of 144 for victory in 55 overs.

Amersham got off to a good start with John Andrews and Rob Viney putting on 30 for the first wicket in 8 overs. With Viney out Charlie Bennetto joined Andrews in keeping the scoreboard ticking over before Bennetto dragged one on (69-2). Andrew Warner joined Andrews and soon made the bowlers pay for lack of accuracy. Andrews made 63 before finally holing out on the long on boundary. Rich Stephenson and Warner then saw Amersham home in style. Warner hitting a straight six to finish off the game in style.

Amersham travel to Thatcham Town on saturday to try and make it three in a row.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Marlow Park I 84 (25.2 ovs; Mustapha Rajabali 5−10, Duncan Ward 3−20)

Amersham I 85-0 (12.3 ovs; Jonny Andrews 42*, Rob Viney 39*)

Marlow Park won the toss and elected to bat.  They were soon in trouble as John Lishman dismissed Trott with the second ball of the game.  Duncan Ward followed this up with 2 wickets in his third over and another in his following over to have Marlow Park struggling at 32 -4.

Having destroyed the top order Amersham turned to the spin twins of Nick Moore and Mustapha Rajabali to finish off the Marlow Park tail.

Moore took a wicket in his third over making it 55 - 5 in the 13th over. The Marlow Park lower order were then on the receiving end of a masterclass of spin bowling from Mustapha Rajabali as he took 5 wickets for 10 runs in 5.2 overs to dismiss Marlow Park for 84.  There were pockets of resistance and A Ali caused the watching crowd to dive for cover as he cleared the boundary with a mighty swing of his bat only to be bowled the next ball.

Amersham's opening pair of Rob Viney and John Andrews made short work of chasing this low total with Andrews being particularly severe on anything short or off line, hitting one big six clear out of the ground into neighbouring Marlow Cricket Club.  Amersham wrapped up the game in 13.2 overs.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Amersham I 113 (49.1 ovs; Rob Viney 58, Chris Lee 6−35, C Falkner 3−39)

Harefield I 114-4 (33.4 ovs; S Prodger 34)

Harefield took their time to get the required runs as Amersham's bowlers tried to apply pressure. Alex Hands and Nick Moore were the pick of the bowlers picking up 2 wickets each as Harefield took 33 overs to reach their target.

Amersham need to improve when they travel to the bottom placed club Marlow Park.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

Marlow I 287-8 (47.4 ovs; Graham Paskins 113, Ross Shaw 112, Mustapha Rajabali 6−84)

Duncan Ward joined Stephenson and both of them carried on punishing the bad balls and keeping the scoreboard ticking over at a good rate. The pair put on 88 in 15 overs before Stephenson tried to up the tempo more with only 10 overs to go. This left Ward to carry on bludgening the attack with good support from Will Walsh. Ward completed his 100 in the last over to cap a much improved batting performance.

Amersham set attacking fields to start with Mustapha Rajabali and Nick Moore opening the bowling with the old bowl. Both Shaw and Paskins batted very well for Marlow and scored at the required rate. Amersham struggled to find a breakthrough as Marlow cruised past 100. It wasn't until the introduction of Charles Holloway that Amersham gained the breakthrough when Alex Hands took a great catch in the deep to dismiss Shaw. The openers had put on 188 for the 1st wicket and Marlow were well in control. After the initial breakthrough Marlow middle order started a collapse which made for an interesting finish. Amersham worked their way back into the game with Rajabali taking 6 wickets. It all came down to the last over. Amersham needed 2 wickets and Marlow 2 runs to win. Baig held his nerve and hit a four with two balls to go to secure a win for Marlow.

Morrant Thames Valley Cricket League − Division 1

High Wycombe II 238 (50.5 ovs; Paul Robinson 45, D Watkins 43, W Hedley 37, S Bird 34, Mustapha Rajabali 7−85)

Amersham I 98 (35.1 ovs; Paul Robinson 7−34)

Amershams reply got off to a poor start losing Stephenson in the first over and unfortunately never recovered with only Charlie Bennetto being able to score runs. Charlie Holloway struck some lusty blows at the end to make the score a little bit more respectable.

Amersham will need to improve their performance when they travel to Marlow on saturday.