Winning the toss, Hawkesbury inserted their hosts in overcast conditions. It proved a good toss to win. Josh Morris, not for the first time this year, bowled well with no luck. At the other end, Ben Waldron bowled 10 straight through - 5 of them maidens - getting the breakthrough in the 12th over.

This brought about a regular stream of wickets. Davis Newcombe (3-27) was again exceptional in the middle overs, supported by Kudzai Maunze (2-38) and two run outs from Jay Westwood at backward point, reducing the hosts to 86-6. However, Hawkesbury were to be frustrated by Gloucester skipper Collison (60*) who helped his side recover to 183 from their 50 overs.

In reply, Hawkesbury started strongly with George Bailey and Fred Bennett putting on 52 for the first wicket before Bailey (26) fell, top edging an attempted slog sweep. This brought together Bennett and Kudzai Maunze. Their unbeaten partnership of 133 off 125 was a joy to behold, scoring freely all around the ground and seeing Hawkesbury to victory with 15 overs to spare. Maunze finished on 57 from 61 balls, Bennett on 90 from 107 - backing up his two excellent catches in the first innings.

The win takes Hawkesbury up to 7th place ahead of next week’s home match up against leaders Chipping Sodbury.

? Hawkesbury Upton CC 2nd XI v Stinchcombe Stragglers CC 1st XI
GCL Division 7B – 5 July 2025 | John Hawkins Ground
Hawkesbury won by 4 wickets
Points: Hawkesbury 18 – Stinchcombe 6
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? Watts Grinds, Thomas and Beeley Strikes, and Nelson Works His Magic
In a game shaped by grit, gusts, and a ghost called Nelson, Hawkesbury’s 2nd XI overcame a spirited Stinchcombe side to grind out a hard-fought win by four wickets. With the skipper still gallivanting somewhere far from the fold, vice-skipper Ben Foxwell again steered the ship – and it was as breezy off the field as it was on it.
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? Toss: Won and Fielded – Wind-Assisted Wickets and the Return of Raj
The pitch was green, the air blustery, and the stakes high. With the wind making batting feel like hitting into a wind tunnel and the pitch offering help to the seamers, Foxwell wisely stuck Stinchcombe in after winning the toss.
Warm-ups were lively. Ed Riddington and Paul German rolled back the years like a tribute act to 2003, and Rajiv Balanathan arrived fashionably late – whisky-scented from a week of distillery visits but full of mysterious energy.
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? First Innings: Rory Rips Through the Top
The bowling start was textbook. Rory Thomas (8-1-23-3) was on the money straight away, swinging it like a pendulum and removing Bearman via a tidy catch from Zac Walker standing in at keeper.
Next came a classic LBW – Mezo struck on the pad, walking off with a face like he’d just stepped on Lego. Then Dan Woodfine, attempting to drive out of trouble, spooned one up. Rajiv, very much still in whisky-recovery mode, heard a shout from Simon Elcombe and turned to find the ball in his hands. Surprise catch of the season? Maybe. He wasn’t even looking at it.
That left Stinchcombe floundering at 24/3, until Hugo Carey (47) and Matt Webb (60) dug in. Both had lives – early chances missed – and began rebuilding with patience (and luck). The middle overs saw Ed Riddington (4-0-13-0) bowl tightly but struggle with the crosswind (5 wides and a no-ball), while George Riddington (4-0-27-0) also battled the breeze (8 wides) and his line.
Then the magic number struck. A 111-run partnership – Nelson’s number. Cricket superstition claims 111 is cursed, and so it proved. Carey, deep in his crease, tried to cut Beeley but instead removed his own off stump. Hit wicket. Nelson had claimed another.
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? Collapse Triggered: Beeley Strikes, Again and Again
With the partnership broken, the floodgates creaked. Jordan Wilson lobbed one to German at mid-off (taken safely with hands he’d previously only used to write letters of complaint). Montague followed cheaply, chipping one back to Sam Beeley (8-0-29-3).
Next to go was Matt Webb, looking to accelerate the innings — he swung across the line to a quicker Beeley delivery and lost his stumps.
Luke Messer (8-1-29-1) also opened the bowling and bowled a strong spell in the breeze, keeping it tight without any luck. He later returned and removed one middle-order batter at a crucial moment. Meanwhile, Rajiv Balanathan (8-1-40-0) bowled with effort and late-breaking mystery, but without reward — 2 wides, 0 wickets, and a slightly generous economy of 5.00, all things considered.
Stinchcombe posted 171/7 off 40 overs.
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? Second Innings: Watts the Rock, Walker the Whip
The chase was never likely to be easy – the wind still howling, the wicket still green, and Stinchcombe bowling with purpose. However, the outfield was lightning quick.
Foxwell (9), hindered by a groin injury but not out long enough for it to be noticed, was caught, hitting one straight to square leg — one metre either side and it was four. German (2), returning after a week off and looking like he’d been away for a year, struggled to get going before playing an ill-advised drive and getting bowled. Rajiv (15) played some glorious shots before the whisky bit back and he played all round a straight one.
All the while, Rob Watts (76)* was in full limpet mode. Anchoring. Absorbing. Occasionally scoring. While the world swirled around him, he just batted. And batted. And batted. Strike rate? Irrelevant. Intent? Subtle. Impact? Match-winning.
Elcombe (17) added urgency, pushed the field back, and upped the strike rate. Drinks break hit and the talk between the batters was "nothing stupid" – two balls later: Simon’s eyes lit up like he was at free bar, huge heave, thick inside edge onto pads and back onto the stumps. Bowled.
Messer (2) didn’t last long, chipping a catch to mid-off, and it needed Zac Walker’s sparkling 33 off 30 to tip things back in Hawkesbury’s way. Some sweet timing, clean hitting, and intent that looked like it belonged in a different match entirely. One shot in particular — a skip down the track followed by a perfectly executed, lofted on-drive — stood out.
A mention to the running, as Walker looked to run Watts into the ground. Watts, late into his innings, ran 13 runs in 9 balls and looked every bit of it — visibly flagging, footwork fading, and in urgent need of a sit-down. Walker eventually fell trying one shot too many, but by then Watts had shifted from tortoise to mildly caffeinated tortoise... with the introduction of Rory Thomas (2)* the running was downright comical.
So much so that, a call of ‘yes’ sent them halfway down the pitch... which then turned to ‘no,’ leading to a race to the same crease between Rory and Rob. Rob made it first, and for some reason the fielders threw the ball to the end where both batsmen were standing. The ball then went through the keeper’s legs, Rory released the single, and this time made his ground at the right end. Hawkesbury cruised home with 17 balls to spare.
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⭐ Player of the Match: Rob Watts
For sheer stickability. 76 not out, carried his bat, took every bit of pressure and turned it into measured, stubborn runs. A very Rob innings.
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? Fielding Watch: Redemption and Repeats
– Paul German: Catch taken, runs saved. Future fielding coach? Possibly.
– Rajiv: Caught one with his eyes shut. Technically still counts.
– Elcombe: Another one through the legs. Starting to feel deliberate.
– Rory Thomas: 3 wickets, had the ball on a string and the batters dancing like marionettes.
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? League Update: Clear at the Top
The 2s march on. With a 10th consecutive win and others slipping up again, Hawkesbury sit comfortably top of 7B.

3rd XI v Oldlands
Clash of the top 2.

After winning the toss and electing to field opening bowlers C.Johnson 6-0-22-0and F.Wallace 4-0-12-0 looked to get an early break through. Both bowlers were unlucky not to get a wicket with loose shots from the opening batters falling just short or mix up in the field.
One of our main strengths this season has been our fielding which wasn’t at its high standards. O.Morris got the break through when he bowled Walton for (9). That was about as exciting as it got in the first half as the openers stilled piled on runs and cemented a solid platform and at 20 overs were 115-1. As they say drinks bring wickets with D. Jenkins 8-1-32-2 being brought into the attack and getting a wicket in his first over dismissing the other opener for (86) with and edge that went to slip. D.Gorman 8-2-30-2 was brought into the attack with Dan as they looked to slow the run rate It seemed to work as wickets fell regularly as the away team finished on 192-7.

After tea. ( lovely tea by the Johnsons ).
The openers got bogged down by the Oldlands attack and at 10 overs were struggling on 15.
L.Green tried to force the rate before getting caught for (20). At 26-2 from 12. Partnerships were hard to come by as wickets fell at a regular rate. T.Green batted well before being dismissed for 53. The partnership between himself and O.Morris (64) got us close to their total but we fell 15 runs short of victory.
A bitter loss to take but we go again next week at quedgeley and hope to rectify what we did wrong and hopefully come back stronger.