A second home match in a row for our 1st XI saw Horspath visit Church Meadow, where Thame chose to bowl. After an early breakthrough, wickets fell at regular intervals throughout. Dinny Malan was the star of the innings, taking a brilliant 5-61 in 181 all out. Fresh from leading Thame to victory in Tuesday’s T20 versus Tiddington with 93*, player of the match Jonathon Jelfs (78) put Thame in a strong position at 100-5, alongside a quickfire 32 from Alex Browne. Wickets then put Thame in trouble, needing 16 with 1 wicket remaining. Sadly, it was a gutting end with a loss by just 5 runs. The 1s slip to 9th and next go to bottom side Bicester & North Oxford.
The 2nd XI visited Bicester & North Oxford 2 and opted to bowl. The hosts started solidly, before Captain Robbie Jackson (2-28) took 2 wickets in 2 balls. Ian McStay (3-59) was Thame’s top performer, while the middle order propelled the hosts to 227-7. In reply, it was a bad start for Thame at 5-2. Hugh Pilkington (56) batted well again, but after his demise wickets fell in quick succession. A spirited effort from the tail meant Thame were able to bat out for the draw at 143-8. The 2s move down to 5th and host bottom side Tetsworth 2 next.
Thame 3s were at Chearsley 2 and chose to bat. This week’s batting performance was complete contrast to the previous, with 6 batters passing the 2o mark; Sam Ward led with 46, before young Sam Holmes hit a memorable 45 from just 29 balls, as Thame posted an impressive 259-7. Nick Humphries (3-43), Ward (3-33) and Danny Thompson (3-15) put Thame on the brink of victory at 100-9. From there, incredibly, an unbeaten 82 run partnership saved the draw for Chearsley. Thame took a huge 21 points and sit 7th. They host 4th-placed Wolverton 2 next.
At Lord Williams’ School, the 4th XI took on Wolvercote 4 and were put into bat. Several batters reached the teens, with Matilda Berns (17) leading the scoring, however it was a generous 42 extras that got Thame up to 138-9. Trevor Spindler (3-22) got Thame off to a great start, backed up by Harshi Wijerathna (3-26). Caitlin Shaw (4-43) later halted a Wolvercote fightback and finished off the innings, to give Thame a much needed first victory of the season by 26 runs! A massive thank you to the 4 Women’s team players who got the call up and starred in the win. The team stay bottom, and go to 4th-placed Oxenford 3 next.
Sunday saw Thame Women host 2 Super 8s friendlies versus Cumnor and East & West Hendred. A loss to Cumnor and a win against East & West Hendred provided some great time in the middle ahead of Beaconsfield’s visit next Sunday in the league. A big thank you to Stanley Rice for stepping in with scoring part way through, doing it all solo!
Junior Sam Holmes hit 45 from 29 balls to reach his highest score in adult cricket for Thame so far, in what is his debut season!
