Rain, Runs & Redemption
A spell of light rain before the start left the outfield damp and unpredictable — perfect conditions for a bit of bowling magic, outfield chaos, and a few bodily bruises. Hawkesbury Upton CC 2nd XI shrugged it all off and powered to a comprehensive 9-wicket victory over Oaksey.

Bowling – Ruthless & Relentless
Captain Dan Blackwell put the hosts in and watched his bowlers take charge:

Tim Chancellor was the pick, snaring a brilliant 5 for 15 in just 6.4 overs — calm, clinical, and completely unplayable.

Ed Riddington (8-2-28-2) and Sam Beeley (7-2-27-2) dismantled the top order with tight, probing spells. Beeley struck gold with his very first delivery, instantly putting Oaksey on the back foot.

Tom “Zoom” Hibbitt took a little while to find his length, but when he did, the results were spectacular. One ball reared off the deck and turned like an off-break, cutting Patrick Lawrence clean in half. Even the umpire had to ask: “How are you still here?” Somehow, Lawrence survived and went on to make a gritty 15*.
But Zoom did eventually get his reward — landing one perfectly that seamed back into leg stump to pick his wicket.

Oaksey all out for just 127 in 36.4 overs.

Zac Behind the Stumps – Safe Hands on Debut
Making his first appearance as keeper for the 2nd XI this season, Zac put in a superb performance behind the stumps. On a damp, uneven pitch where deviation was frequent and unpredictable, he kept with composure and sharp reflexes:

No byes conceded — a rare feat on a day where the ball was jagging everywhere.

Claimed a superb catch off a thick edge that deviated significantly — a true test of concentration and technique, taken cleanly with both hands.
A quietly brilliant display that laid a solid foundation for the bowlers to thrive.

Fielding – Bloopers, Bruises & Banter
No Hawkesbury game is complete without some fielding drama — and this one delivered in spades.

Dan Blackwell, fielding without the gloves for the first time this season, created his own blooper reel:

Missed one through the legs for four

Kicked another past a teammate for four

Dropped a sharp chance after losing it in the trees at mid-off
Rumours of a mid-innings keeping change surfaced — but Dan clawed back some dignity with a solid catch at wide mid-on to remove Thomas Cook off Beeley’s bowling.
Lee Hodson, meanwhile, couldn’t seem to throw the ball to a teammate without it bouncing. Precise? Not quite. Predictable? Very.

Alex Windmill showed how it’s done: a full-stretch dive on the boundary saved four and didn't even concede a single. Stationed at cow corner, he was one of the few with a functioning throwing arm and claimed a very tidy catch off a low-power effort. Quiet, calm, effective — a standout.

Ed Riddington added some painful theatre:

First, struck by a return shot on the last ball of his over. His cry of pain came before impact — a psychic bruise, perhaps.

Later, fielding deep, he took one flush on the knee after a cruel bounce. The resulting grunt echoed around the field — a man wondering how his weekend had come to this.

? Batting – Class, Composure & a Couple of Struggles
The chase was made to look easy on paper — but there was some intrigue out in the middle.

Lee Hodson carried his bat for a calm and classy 56 not out, lacing several well-timed boundaries. One particularly sweet moment: a delightfully guided upper cut to a vacant third man.

Rob Watts had a tougher start — especially against Philip Head, whose lack of pace and awkward length caused serious problems. Head bowled five overs for just a miserly 9 runs, and at one stage Rob looked ready to give up trying to score altogether.

But once the bowling strayed onto his pads, Rob found his groove — flicking to leg and threading a couple of crisp straight drives past the bowler. He reached his half-century and eventually fell for 53 to Tom Biddulph.

With the result a formality, Paul German arrived to help Lee polish off the chase. Oaksey rotated through the bowling, but German (9)* and Lee (56)* saw it home.

Victory sealed in just 22.5 overs at 128/1 — a dominant performance with the bat to match the earlier bowling brilliance.

⭐ Player of the Match
Tim Chancellor – 5 wickets, two spells of carnage, and the game turned in one tidy burst.

? Banter Highlights

Dan Blackwell’s glove-free experiment: 1 catch, 3 bloopers, 10 laughs

Zac’s keeping debut: No byes, 1 screamer, 0 fuss

Ed Riddington: Hit twice, bruised once, complained but with a smile

Alex Windmill: Fielding masterclass in silence

Tom Hibbitt: One pitch, one spell, one near-decapitation

Umpire to Lawrence: “How are you still here?”

Team verdict: Unbeaten and unbowed — just a bit limping
- Rob Watts

3rd XI v Eastcombe
Hawkesbury 3rds win by 7 wickets.
On a hot and over cast day losing the toss wasn’t a bad decision looking at the deck which was dry and cracked.

With bowling options at a minimum for the first time in his career Cleary was chucked the new ball to opened the bowling. With some tight bowling and pressure building from both ends the first wicket fell to Cleary when the the ball was chipped back to him for a caught and bowled. Not to be out done one of the stand out youngsters to come off the u15s production line Fin Wallace ( not to be mistaken for the other Wallace who doesn’t take wickets ) soon got himself in on the action bowling the No3 batsman who took longer to get his pads on than he lasted at the crease. No4 was his next wicket for a golden duck an in swinging Yorker to the lefty ripping his middle stump out the ground. No such luck with the hattrick ball but a great tight spell.

Some more tight bowling in the middle overs after drinks saw the home team lose wickets at regular intervals as they tried to increase the run rate above 2.
Fin Wallace grabbing another in the process finishing with figures of 8-1-18-3 a real stand out performance from the youngster. Yeswanth and soumya also getting in on the action grabbing two a piece.

With the home team in a rut it was only made worse when Nicky Tomlin playing in his first league game at the tender age of 40 showed why it’s never too late to try something new. Not only did he bring energy in the field chasing everything down, he bowled like a natural causing the batsman trouble with his variations and soon he bagged himself a wicket with a stumping by Tony Green who saw the batsman go for a walk like Johnny Bairstow.

Tony green and wicket keeping haven’t gone together for at least two years due to injury but was good too see him pull the gloves on and show he’s still got it.
The home team managed a measly 78 all out with some excellent bowling and fielding.

With no recognised openers Lewis Green was given the challenge to see what he could do at the top. Him and Dave Gorman got off to a blistering start getting to 38 off 4 overs with some quick running between the wickets putting pressure on the fielding side before Lewis got bowled with a ball that stayed low on a deteriorating track for a well batted (18). It was soon 42-2 when Dave Gorman soon followed him back for (14) after getting a similar ball to Lewis which stayed low.

Kush also playing his first league game for Hawkesbury played some good shots on his way to (9) before being bowled in similar fashion as the openers.

Josh Whitbread on loan from Hillesley batting at three carried his bat for (17)* and finished off the innings with Neil Stacey (6)* on 79-3 to secure the win with 27 overs to spare.

- Dave Gorman