1st XI v Bourton Vale
Hawkesbury made 5 changes for the trip to second placed Bourton Vale. After winning the toss, skipper George Bailey elected to field first with some favourable overhead conditions. What followed can best be described as an innings of two halves.

With the bowlers struggling to extract any life from a used deck, Bourton cruised to 174/2 from the first 35 overs with a score of close to 300 firmly on the cards. Kudzai Maunze then took two wickets in three balls, which proved to be the catalyst for a superb fight back. Josh Morris (4/56), returning for a second spell, bagged 3 wickets to add to his one from earlier. At the other end, Jay Westwood excelled in the “Benny Howell” role, returning fine figures of 3/16 from 4.5 overs as Bourton struggled against his off-pace variations. With the final wicket falling from the penultimate ball of the innings, Hawkesbury had taken the last 8 wickets for just 58 runs, restricting the hosts to a final score of 234.

The reply couldn’t have started much worse, with the early losses of Fred Bennett and Maunze reducing Hawkesbury to 21-2. Then came an unbroken match-winning stand between Bailey (51*) and Westwood (42*), initially blunting the home side’s attack and then starting to tick the scoreboard along nicely. With the score at 114/2 after 27 overs, the heavens opened and no further cricket was to be played. Having passed the minimum of 20 overs needed to constitute a match and being well ahead of the DLS par of 99, Hawkesbury had claimed a well earned victory!

All things considered, a fantastic effort from the boys to turn over such a strong side and hopefully we can maintain this performance level coming down the stretch.

- George Bailey

2nd XI v Chalford
Result: Hawkesbury won by 6 wickets
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Early Confusion, Total Control
The day started with early rain and confusion—mostly in the mind of skipper Dan Blackwell, who, true to captainly tradition, canvassed half his team for input on whether to bat or bowl. As expected, the bowlers wanted clouds and chaos; the batters, a dry deck and to set an imposing total. Dan’s true hope was not having to decide at all… and was relieved when he lost the toss.
Chalford chose to bat, which turned out to be a gift. The clouds remained, and Hawkesbury’s bowlers got to work in helpful overhead conditions, which at times offered so much movement that the slips were diving two pitches over.
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Opening Swing & Fishley's Fortune
Once Luke Messer calibrated the out-swing, he opened the wicket account in the 5th over with the score on 12—cleaning up opener Dave Leith with a length delivery. Messer (5-0-16-1) bowled a tidy spell and created pressure from ball one.
From the other end, Adrian Fishley was bang on from the start. Bowling his full quota of 8 overs straight through (8-1-21-2), “Big Fish” picked up right where he left off the previous week. His first breakthrough came via an LBW appeal against Jason King—upheld after some initial hesitation from the fielders. A valuable wicket with Chalford looking to rebuild.
Fishley's second came just a few overs later, again via LBW, as he kept the pressure on with tight lines and a hint of movement off the pitch. The double-strike left Chalford 22/3 in the 8th over and firmly on the back foot.
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Spin and Swing – Beeley & Wallace Choke the Middle
Sam Beeley replaced Messer and turned the screw—literally. His economy rate of 0.63 from 8 overs (8-3-5-1) is bordering on illegal. The Chalford batters had absolutely no idea which way the ball was going, swinging and missing more than a blindfolded piñata party. Beeley’s lone wicket came in the 15th over, but he deserved several more for his sheer wizardry.
In came Jon Wallace in the 18th over, and immediately found rhythm. Swinging the ball both ways and landing it on a five-pence piece, he removed skipper Kent Partridge—the only batter offering resistance—for 24. A chipped catch to Ben Foxwell at mid-off opened the floodgates.
Wallace went on to claim two more in quick succession, finishing with a superb spell of 8-1-16-3, and reducing Chalford to 63/7 after 30 overs. A demolition job.
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Foxwell, Hibbitt, and the Return of TC
Bowling from the pavilion end, Ben Foxwell (4-1-4-1) was begrudgingly handed the short boundary but didn’t let it affect his line and length. His wicket came when a low shooter barely made it on the second bounce to clip the stumps. He found sharp turn and variable bounce, even if his radar was occasionally in demo mode.
Tom Hibbitt was handed a three-over burst (3-0-18-0) as Chalford looked to push the scoring. He was unlucky not to take a wicket, with several mistimed shots falling safe as the run rate flirted with dropping below 2.
Enter Tim Chancellor, Hawkesbury’s leading wicket-taker, used sparingly due to an abundance of bowling riches this week. But TC doesn’t need long. In just 3.4 overs, he bagged 2 for 17, including the big wicket of George Wilson, who had launched a mini counter-attack with 18. His wicket fell on the penultimate ball of the innings—securing a bonus bowling point.
Chalford all out for 100 in 39.4 overs. Ruthless stuff.
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Chase Mode: Blackwell Drives It Home
With only 101 needed, things got a little shaky up top. Rob Watts (2) and Ben Foxwell (3) fell cheaply—Watts caught and Foxwell run out in bizarre fashion when Dan Blackwell hit the ball back to the bowler… who dropped it onto the stumps. Foxwell, out of his ground, Foxwell looked like he was chewing on wasps as he returned to the pavilion.
Dan, however, made up for the mix-up. Riding his luck with a few edges and one audacious 60-degree wedge chip over the bowler’s head (which somehow found the gap), he countered with two glorious sixes back over long-on. Dan finished with 55 not out, with 73% of his runs coming in boundaries. It’s fair to say running was never on the cards.
At the other end, Simon Elcombe supported brilliantly with 27, smashing 5 fours and maintaining an elegant 74% boundary conversion rate. Sadly, after watching Dan’s lofted wedge land safely, Simon tried the exact same shot—only to be caught by a now-alert fielder at mid-on, who pulled off a sliding catch.
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A Classic Wallace Cameo
Needing just 7 to win, in walked Jon Wallace, who promptly attempted a single on his 2nd. Dan's desperate cry of "Jon, no!" echoed across the field, but the turning radius of a container ship meant Wallace was short of his ground. Run out for 0, but good intentions noted ish.
Dan coolly brought up his 50 on the penultimate ball, then finished the match with a lofted on-drive over mid-off for four. Game done.
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Final Result: Hawkesbury Upton CC won by 6 wickets
Points: Hawkesbury – 20 | Chalford – 3
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Player of the Match: Daniel Blackwell
For a comfortable yet streaky, but ultimately match-winning 55*—and surviving a run out with Wallace to boot.
Honourable Mentions:
• Jon Wallace – 3/16 and broke the middle order
• Sam Beeley – 1/5 off 8 with 3 maidens. Silky.
• Adrian Fishley – 2 big wickets and a touch of fortune
• Luke Messer – Early breakthrough and tight opening
• Tim Chancellor – 2/17 in 3.4 overs. As lethal as ever.
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Next up: Slimbridge - Hawkesbury ride the momentum into another key fixture.
Confidence is high, the bowlers are flying, and Dan is praying to lose the toss again next week.

- Rob Watts

3rd XI v Oldlands
Hawks pull clear as Oldlands faltered.
Losing the toss and being put into bat on a spongy wicket due to rain. The openers of S.Johnson (13) and L.Hodson (27)got off to a flier, but for some good fielding/catching from Stroud had us in trouble at drinks at 80-5. P. Cleary (61) and D.Jenkins (70*) who was dropped twice by the keeper in three balls while on 0 made Stroud pay for their mistakes. Putting on a partnership of 102 and leaving us 192-6 at 34th over before Cleary got caught going for one big shot to many the scorecard was looking more favourable.200 would have been a good achievement after the start but 254-7 was more than expected. F. Wallace (26) hit a quick fire score which included two big sixes one nearly hitting Bailey snr house if it wasn’t for the tree.
Stroud innings….
As they have been all season F.Wallace 4-1-19-1 and C.Johnson 4-3-5-0 kept the Stroud openers quiet and applied a lot of pressure. First change bowlers R.Burnell 6-1-23-3 and S.Ganesan 6-3-17-1 ripped through the top order and at drinks Stroud found themselfs languishing at 68-5. After drinks it was more of the same from second change bowlers D.Gorman 3-2-12-3 and D.Jenkins 2-0-8-2 finished it quickly and put the Stroud tail out of their misery. Some excellent fielding from everyone especially from R.Burnell with two top draw catches made sure we walked away with maximum points. Also a plus are nearest challengers slipped up only taking 1 point leaving us 34 points clear at the top with 6 games to go.

- Dave Gorman