Another faultless week of results for Thornbury!
1st XI - Matthews digs deep to see Thorners over the line!
After consecutive league victories for the first time this season, the 1st XI travelled to Bedminster in good spirits, hoping to exact revenge on a side who overcame Thornbury in a high-scoring thriller back in May. Conditions were overcast and the pitch was damp, which made Marc's decision fairly easy when winning the toss - Thornbury were going to have a bowl!
Bedminster captain Kamuni went on the attack from the outset and Tom Bradley was unlucky to not have his wicket from the 2nd ball of the innings, when a top edge flew into the air but wasn't claimed. Kamuni struck numerous boundaries, but pressure was building at the other end which saw Bradders claim the wicket of Tryfonos for 6. Some erratic running saw Praneel claim a comfortable run-out to see the back of Melly, which drew a period of consolidation from the home side at 55-2.
Spinners Jack Taylor, Praneel Choughule and Danny Slade started to rattle through the overs at a quick pace, while Ahmed Syed again bowled with supreme accuracy during his spell. Praneel claimed the wickets of Gloucesterhsire CCC's Tom Smith and academy prospect Shay Sainsbury, whilst Ahmed saw the back of captain Kamuni (68) and wicket-keeper Brewer, for 16. The returning Tom Bradley saw the back of ex-professional player Steve Snell and also inflicted a rare hit-wicket dismissal of Conolly. A final over stumping brought Jack Taylor his first wicket of the afternoon and Bedminster finished on 232-9 from their 50 overs. It was a strong bowling performance which included just 2 wides and saw some impressive figures:
Tom Bradley: 10-1-33-3
Praneel Choughule: 10-0-51-2
Danny Slade: 10-0-34-0
Ahmed Syed: 7-1-15-2
Josh Riggs and Ed Webb again opened the batting and Riggsy went on the attack from the start, looking to provide a similar platform to Bedminster's Kamuni. He hit 5 x 4's and 1 x 6 in his 18-ball total of 27, before departing LBW in the 5th over. Ahmed came in at 3 to join Webb, who was building another promising total at the top of the order. The pair reached 80 before Ahmed was stumped for 17, looking to relieve some pressure from the bowling of Muhammed Tayyab Nasir.
Thornbury were looking well set but Taylor (12) and Marc Lezar (13) were both removed by Tom Smith, before Webb was trapped LBW for 41, his 8th league score of 30+ this season. At 128-5, Thornbury still had a long way to go and needed a strong partnership. Dan Lezar and Chris Matthews batted with positive intent from the start and shifted the momentum back in favour of the visitors. There was a brief rain break and at that point, Thornbury were narrowly ahead on DLS.
The rain passed and Dan and Chris continued to bat well, before Dan holed out for 48 (43 balls), to leave TCC on 203-6 and needing a run a ball. Any hopes of a comfortable end to the run chase were dashed when Tom Bradley, Praneel Choughule and Danny Slade all departed in relatively quick succession. The score was 222-9 and Thornbury needed 11 from 7 balls. Tom Vermaak blocked out the final ball of the 49th over, leaving it up to Chris Matthews to knock off the required 11 runs with 6 balls remaining and no more batters left to come in.
Final over:
1st ball - 4 to fine leg.
2nd ball - 6 over long on.
3rd ball - dot.
4th ball - 4 through backward point (TCC win by 1 wicket with 2 balls to spare!)
It was a fantastic win for the 1st XI and congratulations to Chris for his 56* from 53 balls to win us the game! The 1sts remain 6th in the league table and host 7th-placed Clevedon at the Ship next weekend.
2nd XI - Slade shines with the bat as 2's win 2 on the bounce!
The 2's, who were bottom of the league, hosted 8th-placed Chipping Campden at the Ship. Captain Greg won the toss and chose to bat first, although Simon Weeks and Vishal Mamgai both fell to very accurate deliveries from Sam Groves to leave TCC 15-2. However Zain Syed (47) recovered the innings very well alongside Josh Slade, to get TCC past the 100 mark. Luke Davis scored 20 and there were cameos from others, but Josh Slade batted through to finish on 104* (130 balls, 16 x 4's) batting at #4. It was an excellent knock which saw TCC post a competitive 234-7 from 45 overs.
The visitors got off to a flying start, but Harry Blackwell removed both openers to wrestle back some momentum. Again the visitors looked to attack, but the introductions of spinners Greg Mallitte and Anir Sanat regained some control for the home side. Both bowled very economically and Greg picked up the wicket of Jack Groves for 26 to leave Chipping Campden on 88-3. The star batter for the away side was keeper-batsman Connor Preston who had passed 50, but was excellently run out from a Simon Weeks direct hit, which drew big celebrations from the fielding side. At 114-4, it was advantage Thornbury.
Tunni picked up 2 wickets (2-54), before Luke Davis tore through the tail (3-30) and Blackwell picked up a 3rd (3-27) to see Chipping Campden all out for 196, securing a 34-run win for Thornbury. Greg's side move out of the relegation zone and into 8th place, but have a tough trip to Chipping Sodbury next week who are top of the division.
3rd XI - Harrod and McWhinnie star to produce an early finish for the 3rds
Bowling first away to Taverners 1st XI, Jordan Hicks's 3rds were in no mood for a long afternoon. U18 Alex Foulner and U15 Dan Harrod proved far too good for the home batters, with Dan producing outstanding figures of 8-1-14-5, which was his first 5-fer in adult cricket! Foulner finished with 8-3-11-1, which had Taverners in all sorts of bother. Spinners Om Reddy (6-1-13-1) and Ben Harbridge (7.4-4-11-3) also had an excellent day with the ball, which saw the home side all out for 87.
In response, openers Stuart McWhinnie and Chris Simmons went on the charge as Thornbury rampaged to victory. Of the required 88 runs for victory, Stuart hit 72* which included 13 x 4's and 2 x 6's! Chris played the perfect supporting role with 18* as Thornbury reached 91-0 from 9.1 overs. The match was finished by 4pm, allowing everyone to head from Keynsham to Thornbury to support the 2's.
The 3rd XI remain 3rd in the league, still just outside the promotion spots. Next up is the visit of Bristol United Banks 1st XI, who are 2nd in the league! It promises to be an excellent game of cricket so all support is welcomed at Tockington Manor School on Saturday.
4th XI - Drury puts on complete display as 4's remain in promotion spots
Thornbury batted first at home to Coalpit Heath 3's and looked to post a big score. There were notable contributions from Ali Drury (69 from 77), Oli Nash (44 from 46) and an unbeaten 71* from 48 balls from Eddie Slade as Thornbury posted a big total of 269-6 from 40 overs.
With the ball, Rhys Surman picked up 2 early wickets, with Jon Oakey bowling a tight spell at the other end. 7 bowlers were used by captain Oakey, but it was Drury that did the damage with figures of 8-1-16-3 to accompany his 69 runs from the first innings. Coalpit Heath made 148-8 from their 40 overs, which resulted in a 121-run victory for the 4's who stay 2nd in the league. Next up is a trip to Pucklechurch 2nds who are 7th in the league.
Well done to all 4 sides on their victories and thanks to bar chairman Alex Gwinnell for generously extending happy hour to 2 hours to celebrate consecutive clean sweeps. Roll on next week!