1st XI v Chipping Sodbury
The 1st XI suffered a tough defeat away to local rivals Chipping Sodbury in week 2 of the WEPL season. Fielding first, Hawkesbury came up against some aggressive batting in the power play and at one point were staring down the barrel at a large total. However, with a superb fightback the last 7 wickets were taken for just 37 runs, restricting sodbury to a very gettable 242. Davis Newcombe (3-27 off 9) was again the standout performer.

Unfortunately the chase got off to the worst possible start, with the top order blown away. Despite some resistance from Ali Bell (34), Josh Morris (20) and Newcombe (19*), Hawkesbury were all out for 123. Overall, a disappointing day but we move on and attention now turns to Bourton Value at home next week.

2nd XI v Swindon United Churches
First Innings: Swindon Start Strong, but HCC Keep Them in Check.
The Hawkesbury pitch was in classic form—a paradise for batters and purgatory for bowlers. With the sun blazing and the outfield rapid, a high-scoring affair was inevitable. Swindon United Churches won the toss and chose to bat, eager to take advantage.

The first ball of the match delivered instant drama: the usually infallible Tim Chancellor malfunctioned. A quick internal reboot, and he was back to his relentless best, striking early to set the tone.

Swindon’s top order settled quickly, cashing in on any loose deliveries. The skipper turned to last week’s destroyer-in-chief Raj, but even legends stumble—his spell began with three wides wider than a slip cordon, though the crowd sensed he'd bounce back.

A 65-run stand was broken by Chris Gardener (6-0-32-2), who struck with a looping catch to mid-on. His second was a peach: a flat slog sweep was brilliantly caught by Ben Cullen, making his post-Covid comeback. His internal GPS kicked in at the boundary, sending him on a perfect 90-degree sprint.

Foxy chipped in next, removing Defty (65) with a loopy long hop, gratefully snaffled by The Riddler, safe as ever under the high ball.

Swindon rebuilt with a 77-run stand between J. Mann (42) and D. Hunt (45), running hard and working the big outfield well. But Rory Thomas intervened, trapping Mann LBW and grabbing another soon after to finish with a tidy 8-0-44-2.

Swindon closed on 224, with Tim Chancellor the standout bowler, grabbing two more wickets—one a top-edged leg-side long hop pouched again by Gardener. The Riddler, beaming ear to ear, had the last laugh—he’d captained Gardener in fantasy cricket.

The innings break brought a different highlight: Poppy and Bo’s legendary pulled pork baps and cakes, widely regarded as performance-enhancing teas.

Second Innings: Gardener Class & Raj Power Steer HCC Home.
Hawkesbury’s reply began cautiously, with runs at a trickle and boundaries hard to come by. The opening stand of 51 ended when Foxy (27) chipped to mid-off. R. Watts, battling timing issues, scratched out a valuable 36, surviving several near-misses.

Then came Chris Gardener, who immediately brought fluency and aggression. He began to pierce the field with ease, lifting the scoring rate. Ben Cullen, looking sharp early, had a painful moment—gloving a delivery into his nose, prompting a helmet call. Sadly, he didn’t last long after, falling to a mistimed drive to midwicket.

With the game finely balanced and the run rate climbing to 8.5 an over, Gardener took control. He raced to a commanding 50, stroking the ball around gracefully before falling LBW to one that kept low.

In stepped Raj, with unfinished business. Wasting no time, he launched a short ball over cow corner for six, followed by a lofted extra cover drive and a deft third-man guide. His unbeaten 37 off 26 balls came just when the side needed a hero.

Rory Thomas played the foil brilliantly, ignoring orders to "just swing" and instead anchored the chase with determined running—so much so that Raj required oxygen and a physio for cramp at one point.

When Rory fell to a sharp return catch, in came German, who’d recently discovered that "attack is the best form of defence." He lasted just four balls, but it was enough—ending 12 not out* and sealing the chase with overs (and some fingernails) to spare.

Match Summary
? Player of the Match: Chris Gardner – 50 runs, 2 wickets, 2 catches
⭐ Champagne Moment: Ben Cullen’s full-speed boundary sprint and catch
? Comedy Moment: Tim Chancellor’s system-reboot first ball
? Top Scorers:
Chris Gardner – 50
Raj – 37*
R. Watts – 36
Defty (SUC) – 65
? Tea Highlight: Pulled pork baps by Poppy and Boo – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

3rd XI v Quedgeley & Hardwicke
The third team continued their winning start with a 130 run victory over Quedgeley & Hardwicke. After last weeks batting performance on winning the toss, skipper put us into bat. A solid start saw us get to 51-2 (Lee Hodson 29). Then 2 great partnerships (Neil Stacey & Zac Walker) 58 and (Neil & Will Riddington) 85 saw Hawks amass 256-5. Will scoring 37 but Neil with an amazing 125!? In reply, Hawkesbury openers kept it tight but could not break through, Adrian Fishley finally got his well deserved wicket, Dan Jenkins helped himself to a wicket and after 20 overs with only 26 on the board, the game was won, it was just if we could bowl them out for max points. It also gave us the opportunity to throw the ball to one of our U15s George Sainsbury who bagged himself 2 wickets for 23 runs on an amazing debut for him. Although Neil's amazing ton was a highlight he has to share it with Will Riddington, not only getting runs but in the penultimate over pushing for wickets and points Will took his first ever hat-trick! Finishing on 3-31. In only taking 7 wickets full bonus points were not secured but another great win for the 3rd's.