1st XI v Frocester
Bailey’s Marathon, Westwood’s Sprint: A Tale of Two Runners
The Hawkesbury innings was built on the glorious — and frankly hilarious — contrast between George Bailey and Jeremy Westwood: a running partnership so mismatched it really should have come with a referee.

Hawkesbury Upton’s day out at Frocester began like a house on fire. Lord George Bailey and Daniel Blackwell roared out of the gates, thumping 30 runs in the first three overs, sending the scorers into panic mode and the Frocester bowlers scrambling to find their line and length.

But credit to Frocester — they weren’t about to let Hawkesbury waltz to a total without a fight. They rallied with some disciplined, probing bowling, led by Daniel Cave and his supporting cast, who turned the screws, slowed the scoring, and forced the batsmen to think twice.

Bailey, as ever, took root at one end like a seasoned campaigner, crafting a majestic 125 not out. His approach to running? Let’s just say Bailey was more pug than panther, occasionally giving the impression he might need a sit-down between overs. But as the innings wore on, something magical happened:
The arms and legs were pumping like he was on a treadmill — but actual forward movement? Not so much. It was like watching someone doing cardio in a dream — plenty of effort, questionable progress.

And then, in what will surely go down as one of cricket’s great moments of chivalry, Bailey summoned his squire. Yes, somewhere between the frantic singles and relentless twos called by Westwood, Lord Bailey paused play and required none other than his loyal footman Jeremy to adjust his rebellious batting glove.

One can only imagine the exchange:

"Westwood, be a good lad. My glove requires attention."
"Right away, my Lord," as Westwood dutifully knelt, mid-battle, to tend to his captain’s royal armour.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Westwood was an entirely different beast. He scampered between the wickets like a whippet who’d just heard the treat jar shake — running singles, pinching twos, and probably clocking up enough miles to qualify for a Strava badge. Every time Jeremy called for a quick one, you could almost hear Bailey thinking,
“Are you sure about that, mate?”
…before reluctantly shuffling through like he’d just remembered his glove was still undone.

Comedy aside, both men batted superbly. Westwood’s 101 not out off 101 balls was full of panache, boundary-hunting aggression, and excellent running, while Bailey’s stoic, precision, treadmill-grinding knock anchored the innings and left Frocester’s bowlers looking as puffed as Bailey by the 45th over.

Hawkesbury’s Fielding: Sharp, Shaky, and Pure Village Brilliance
After the Bailey-Westwood batting spectacle, it was time for Hawkesbury to take to the field — and what unfolded was a glorious mixture of clever bowling, quick hands, flying fielders, and moments of pure village magic.

The breakthrough came early. Davis Newcombe struck first, tempting the batsman into a loose drive, and who was there to snaffle a simple catch at mid-off? Lord Bailey himself, taking it as casually as picking an apple from a low branch.

Soon after, Benny 'Encoder' Waldo joined the fun. With his trademark wobbling seam, Benny zipped one past the inside edge and crashed into the pads. Up went the appeal, up went the finger, and Hawkesbury had their second. Momentum now firmly with the visitors.

Waldo wasn’t finished. In his next over, his delivery jagged beautifully off the surface, sneaking between bat and pad and clattering into the stumps. Hawkesbury were absolutely buzzing.

Then came a moment of pure fielding gold from Kudzai Maunze. His bowling radar might have misfired earlier, but in the field, he was electric — lightning-quick across the turf and clean as you like on the pick-up. A batsman unwisely chanced a single. Against anyone else, they’d have made it. Against Kudzai? Absolutely no chance. Clean pick-up, bullet arm, fizzing throw to Blackwell, bails off in a flash. The batsman could only mutter,
"Yes. No. Sod it."
…before walking off without waiting for confirmation.

Kudzai wasn’t done. Returning to the attack, he finally landed one straight. The batsman, picking the worst possible time to attempt a sweep, wore it flush on the pads. The appeal was almost redundant — the batsman was already halfway off before the umpire could raise his finger.

At drinks, Hawkesbury were firmly on top. Frocester 101-5, required rate climbing over seven.

But Frocester weren’t finished. A stubborn partnership between Tai Tomalin-Hayles (56) and Daniel Cave (59) began to drag the home side back into the game, helped — somewhat unfortunately — by Sam Beeley’s latest addition to his growing injury scrapbook. Chasing consecutive balls proved one sprint too many, and Sam was soon restricted to something resembling a five-yard fielding circle.

This led to the unforgettable sight of Rob Watts sprinting from backward point to fine leg several times to chase balls that were practically strolling past Sam — who by now resembled a man trying to pull his leg out of thick mud from every side.

Ironically, Beeley’s injury may have improved his bowling. His now delightfully loopy leg-spin became a nightmare to read. It was Sam, at the second attempt, who finally broke the stand. Daniel Cave had just skied one to Rob Watts at deep midwicket, who misjudged it — diving forward but spilling what should have been a simple catch. No matter — Sam made amends the very next ball: Tai Tomalin-Hayles tried to muscle one to the leg side but instead drilled it low and hard to Lord Bailey, who took an excellent diving catch to his right — his second of the day.

Momentum swung decisively. In the very next over, Daniel Cave went for one big shot too many and sent it straight to Waldo on the short-side mid-off boundary, handing Newcombe his second wicket.

What followed was a wicketkeeper’s dream. Two consecutive stumpings by Daniel Blackwell, as the batsmen went on casual strolls and Blackwell whipped the bails off quicker than you could say, "What were you thinking?" Frocester, who once had a sniff, now teetered at 238-9.

Beeley finished the job, tempting a big drive with another loopy leggie, thick outside edge ballooning safely into the hands of Luke Messer.

And just to top off the comedy for the day — at one point, a ball was lofted into the deep between Rob Watts and Bennett. As both converged at pace, Bennett didn’t call. Instead, he let out a low, guttural growl — like two dogs about to fight over a toy. To everyone’s amusement, Watts promptly veered off.

⚡ The Quick Hits:
George Bailey: 125* – looked increasingly like he was running in treacle.
Jeremy Westwood: 101* – officially the fittest man in Gloucestershire.
Sam Beeley: 4 wickets – more effective than mosquito spray at removing pests.
Daniel Blackwell: Two stumpings – faster than a teenager exiting a family function.
Frocester: Brave, battling, but ultimately undone by the Bailey-Westwood show.

2nd XI v Quedgeley & Hardwicke
Another emphatic 79-run win for Hawkesbury 2nds sees them maintain their top spot in GCL Division 7B.

Stand in skipper for the day Ben Foxwell lost the toss, and with some showers around they were put into bat by the opposition skipper. Simon ‘Smash’ Elcombe, and Foxwell opened proceedings, with Smash setting the team off to an absolute flyer. Unfortunately this was short lived, as he fell for a quick 22. German then entered the crease, and he and Foxwell put on 103 runs for the second wicket before Foxwell fell for a well-made 60. Germ stayed patient, continuing his fantastic form whilst wickets fell around him. Some small late order contributions from Rory Thomas (19) and Zac Walker (10) was enough to creep Hawkesbury over the 200 mark, Germ top scoring with a fine 68. Hawkesbury were confident they could defend the total given some changeable weather conditions, but would need a good bowling performance to make sure of it.
After tea, Rory Thomas (6-0-19-0) and Jon Wallace (6-1-16-1) opened the bowling and things started excellently for the Rabble with Wallace removing the opener with his very first ball, beautifully nipping back off a length. Quedgeley and Hardwicke then put on a rebuild, although Wallace and Thomas were both unfortunate to not take any further wickets from their 6 overs a piece. Wallace didn’t moan about this at all though, perhaps a little frustrated at some strange umpiring decisions. Ed ‘The Riddler’ Riddington (5-0-26-1)and Tim Chancellor (8-0-30-1) came on next, and continued bowling tightly, with the Riddler castling the other opposition opener soon after. At drinks, things were in the balance, but Hawkesbury came out superbly. A tight spell from the Chairman Tim, along with some excellent bowling from Tommy ‘Zoom’ Hibbitt (5-0-23-1) kept the runs at bay, and saw the run rate creep up to 10. Zoom earned a well deserved wicket for his bowling display, and Tim’s efforts were also rewarded with his very last ball. With one danger man left in, Foxwell came on in the hope that some spin would be the key, and soon enough the danger man was out, excellently caught behind by Zac Walker. Foxwell then managed to rattle through another 4 wickets in just 13 balls, finishing with 5 for 4 off 2.2 overs. One of those was definitely a Steak and Kidney pie, but fortunately the opposition tail-end weren’t hungry. George Riddington (1-0-1-1) came on at the end to help clean things up with a wicket of his own, and credit to him also for two great catches to help HCC to a convincing victory! A really tight bowling and fielding effort from everyone, and another big win!

3rd XI v Oldbury on Severn Village
In a tightly contested game Hawkesbury came out on top with a 3 run win. Batting first (again!) the Hawkesbury openers struggled to come to terms with the ball swinging around. With the edges finding the gap and catches being dropped they stuck in there and set a great foundation with a 124 opening partnership. Steve Johnson finally playing on for 61 and Lee Hodson lasted a little longer for 78. Freddie Marshall hit a quick fire 38 and Hawkesbury finished their 40 overs on 224-5. Oldbury got off to a flyer with boundaries hard to stop. Charlie Johnson got the first wicket which brought in Oldbury's in form batter. Whilst he blasted it around the park on his way to 100, Hawkesbury worked on keeping him off strike to target the other batters. Steadily wickets fell with Dan Jenkins skittling 5 Oldbury batsman for 38. Then the turning point. Finn Wallace (U15), on debut, came on and his second ball swung from off through the centurions gate taking his leg stumps! What a ball! Charlie Johnson came back on and took another (2-35), but Oldbury remained on the run rate and got to the last over needing 6 runs. With the field in and their number eleven at the crease Charlie stepped up. Although sending down 2 wides, increasing the tension, the 6 legitimate deliveries had the batsman stuck on his crease and Hawkesbury won by 3 runs! What a great game! And a great win for Hawkesbury?