Our 4 Men’s teams took to the field once again this past Saturday. Thame 1st XI hit the road to Great Brickhill, and were asked to bat, after losing the toss. Michael Beard (42) opened up, but Thame stuttered after that. Dinushka Malan struck another 50 batting at 7, before the tail fell away to 190 all out. In response, Brickhill opener Nicholas proved immovable with 69*, while Luke Hayes (2-22) and Skipper Hassam Mushtaq (2-64) made inroads at the other end. But these were the only wickets, as Brickhill reached the target in the 42nd over. Thame slip to 8th and take on 6th-placed Oxford Downs at Church Meadow next.
The 2nd XI hosted Great Brickhill 2, and in a developing theme, were asked to bat after losing the toss. The top order got Thame off to a decent start with Christian Warwick (55) and David Hewes (35) leading the way. A dramatic middle order collapse from 107-2 to 119-6 then marred the innings, and Thame reached 177-9 from the 53 overs. Brickhill set off quickly in the chase. Robin Sutcliffe took 2-28, but a 4th wicket partnership of over 100 took Brickhill home in the 32nd over. The 2s drop into the relegation zone, in a tight battle with 2 teams above. It’s 5th-placed Horspath 3 away next.
Thame 3rds travelled to league leaders Buckingham Town 3, also lost the toss and batted. Thame’s top 3 all made starts, led by debutante Siddharth Gowrishankar (20), but 3 ducks followed to put Thame in trouble. Nick ‘Humpers’ Humphries added 20 at 8, but could only help Thame to 93 all out. With the ball, Captain Chris ‘Winkle’ Penny took 1-25, but this was the only scalp Thame managed as a strong Buckingham cruised home in the 27th over. Rooted to the bottom, the 3s next host fellow strugglers Long Marston 2.
The 4s completed the set, also losing the toss and batting, as they hosted Chesterton. Thame lost 5 of the top 6 to single figures, before Usman Yasin (26) impressed on debut. With a healthy dose of extras, Thame posted 116, ending all out from the last ball. Trevor Spindler (3-43) and another debutante, Masood Karim (2-17), took an early wicket each, but a strong 3rd wicket partnership seemed to take hopes of winning away. Chesterton then collapsed, with Yasin taking 3-43, but the visitors were able to scrape over the line by 2 wickets in the 35th over. Currently adrift in the safety of 8th, the 4s travel to 5th-placed Westcott 2 next.
The unbeaten Thame Women were away to Oxford 2 on Sunday, won the toss and bowled. Isabella Kench got the first wicket with a runout, before Sally Brentnall starred with a superb 4-15. Leanne Harris added 2-18 later on, as Oxford were all out for 86 in just the 17th over. In reply, Thame lost an early wicket, but Emily Green (28) and Michelle Wells (27) were undeterred as they took Thame most of the way to the target. Thame crossed the line by 6 wickets in quickfire time, in just the 13th over. That is now 7 wins from 7 in the Home Counties Division 2 South, and only Wargrave can catch Thame now. Next up, the Ladies host 3rd-placed Deddington.
