Scorecard

Chesham Cricket Club 2nd XI v High Wycombe 2nd XI on Sat 09 Jul 2022 at 13:00
Match was Drawn

Match report It’s been a little while since my last missive so it is worth recapping events.
A comprehensive Met Line Derby victory at Shardeloes has been a rare point of light of late. A defeat at Hounslow best described as a ‘write off’ was followed by Uxbridge’s opening bats making us look a little silly. We received a pasting on a Bushy Park minefield as our hosts made every effort to take themselves off the Christmas card list, and then failed to chase 160 against Kew last week. So hopes were high that the visit of High Wycombe to The Meadow might stop the rot.
Chesham 1s or 2s haven’t beaten their counterparts from the furniture making capital of Britain since the 90s (Simon Brinklow incidentally is available to talk anyone interested through that day), and the wait will go on for another year at least as after an absorbing day of cricket there was little to separate the sides.
2s availability discussions increasingly resemble the muster of a Pals’ Battalion on the second day of the Somme. Ollie (shoulder), Al (toe), Pete (hammy), Jamie (ankle/rig), Chris (shoulder/hair) and Al H (thumb) were joined by Josh’s broken thumb and Keshav missing a straight one Friday night and breaking his toe.
It was hot. Too hot probably. Warm ups were kept to a minimum and the side sought the shelter of the sun in the bar where by coincidence the England game was on (Jones out, Faz to 10, no Youngs please). Al made the only realistic decision at the toss to take first use.
The Meadow has been flat this year and 280 has looked roughly par most weeks. There were points Saturday where it looked like we may cruise past that as Santosh dispatched the openers to all parts, ably supported by a measured knock from Brendan. Santosh for all money looked on for a maiden 2s ton, but in hindsight calling for a cap in the 80s and then complaining it was the wrong one because it wouldn’t look so good in the photo he planned to take upon scoring the ton may have foreshadowed his dismissal on 86 playing across the line.
Dave took up where he left off, making good on his promise to go ahead of his brother on the all time run charts (300 behind) by the end of the season by blasting a run a ball 82. At 249-5 thoughts turned to whether a declaration may be necessary by people who have never seen us play before. Those that have were in no way shocked as we succumbed to 265 all out. Manav Mahesh was the pick of the Wycombe bowlers in a tough shift, and young Joe Hoggan’s leggies were better value than his figures might suggest.
And so to the chase. Dodds & Dodds isn’t a firm of high street solicitors, it’s Wycombe’s opening pairing and they were very effective in putting on 71 for the first wicket. The Al bouncer trap and the introduction of Matty Clifford broke the partnership.
The wicket was offering nothing and pace off the ball was the order of the day, Matty and Royler shouldering the burden of bowling duties.
Regulars at the bar will by now be familiar with Royler’s uncanny ability to count the number of dropped catches off his bowling, demonstrating that male pattern baldness is no barrier to acting like a child. His demeanour through the afternoon resembled something of Gimli at the Pelennor Fields as yet more went down.
‘Seventeen!’
‘Eighteen!’
‘Nineteen!’
The big number 20 arrived with Santi dropping an underarm on the boundary, though as Gimli rightly remarked as Legolas took down an Oliphant, “that still only counts as one”.
The win/lose/draw format gets plenty of stick for producing negative and turgid cricket, so it is only fair to point out how exciting it can be when both sides are willing to risk losing in pursuit of 25 points. Al to his credit set fields that offered Wycombe value for their shots and encouraged positive bowling, and the Wycombe batsmen played their shots to the very end. Needing 10 off the last two balls, Matty bowled a dot that left both sides having to settle for a draw. With Chesham 2 wickets short of victory and Wycombe 7 runs, this was probably a fair reflection of the game.
Despite spending much of the second innings contemplating his existence, Royler notched up an eighteenth club fivefer, ably supported by a good spell from Matty mostly notable for throwing his cap over the fence in frustration after being taken off. Grow up.
Good game of cricket played in excellent spirits. Thanks also to JR for taking on umpiring with the panel short once again, much appreciated. Next up a trip to high flying Wraysbury.

Notes & General Remarks:
- ‘Royler is the frogbox working?’
- Matty’s 14 minute attempt to neck the duck as the assembled masses lost interest. Sad
- Luke, any opinions on Ben’s fielding?
- Wiler 300 games for Chesham, legend
- Honestly anyone who hasn’t watched Matty’s cap throw onto the road do so, it starts at 06:19:18 on the stream

Chesham Cricket Club 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
15w 4b 11lb 
for 10 wickets
30
265		        
Santhosh Suresh b M Mahesh 87 107 12 1 81.31
Brendan O'Donovan ct C Russell b H Lane 30 54 5 55.56
Ben Harris ct P Brzezicki b J Hoggan 5 6 83.33 1
David Hughes-D'Aeth ct H Lane b A Dodds 82 80 11 2 102.50 1
Luke Dawson ct M Arabi b M Mahesh 16 19 2 84.21
Alex Watson b M Mahesh 5 10 1 50.0 1
Chris Royals run out  (C Russell) 4 8 50.0
Ollie Anderson ct J Hoggan b J Hoggan 3 5 60.0
Sebastian Cooksey Not Out  3 3 100
Matt Clifford ct C Russell b A Dodds 0 1 0
Alfie Clifford ct G Lasseter b J Hoggan 0 5 0 2

High Wycombe 2nd XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Paul Brzezicki5.013500.007.00
Harry Lane11.0077177.007.00
Archie Dodds8.0225212.503.12
Manav Mahesh15.0443314.332.87
Joe Hoggan10.4070323.336.56

High Wycombe 2nd XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 2w 3lb 
for 8 wickets
6
258 (50.0 overs)		     
Archie Dodds ct A Clifford b A Watson 49 55 9 89.09
Billy Dodds lbw M Clifford 38 55 7 69.09
Aran Hammond ct D Hughes-D'aeth b C Royals 16 28 3 57.14
Simon Janes ct B Harris b C Royals 27 36 4 75.00
Chris Russell ct A Watson b C Royals 6 14 42.86
Mo Arabi lbw C Royals 33 51 3 1 64.71
Manav Mahesh lbw C Royals 17 26 1 65.38
Harry Lane ct A Clifford b A Watson 14 5 2 1 280.0
Paul Brzezicki Not Out  29 16 2 2 181.25
George Lasseter Not Out  23 16 3 1 143.75
Joe Hoggan  

Chesham Cricket Club 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ollie Anderson6.002700.004.50
Alex Watson12.0176238.006.33
Alfie Clifford5.002700.005.40
Matt Clifford13.0156156.004.31
Chris Royals14.0069513.804.93

  • Umpire :
    Colin Mercer & Jonathan Royals
  • Scorer :
    James Newbury