Mushtaq stars as Thame dig deep for draw
Thame hosted Oxford this weekend in a crunch bottom of the table clash. After winning an important toss, Oxford elected to bat and their openers chanced their arm against a luckless Thame attack. Aided by a number of dropped catches, both fell just shy of 50’s, but gave Oxford an excellent platform. Thame fought back well in the middle overs, with Andy Russell showing excellent control on his way to 4 wickets, but the star of the show was Hassam Mushtaq (pictured below), who took 6-54 in a fine spell of legspin bowling. Oxford were indebted to an enterprising 38 from their number 9, making 247 on a wicket starting to show considerable turn and variable bounce.
As if to demonstrate this fact, Thame lost Callum Russell to an almost unplayable delivery first up, the ball exploding through the service to take his glove and, at 15-2 and then 65-4, Thame were staring down the barrel. Thame skipper Mike Beard showed stoic resistance, and when Mushtaq came to the crease there was still plenty of work to do to avoid defeat. Mushtaq had other ideas however, and launched a blistering counter attack to put the most unlikely of victories within the realms of possibility. His dismissal for 66 put such thoughts to an end, Thame eventually finishing 184-7 to secure a draw, with Beard 44 not out.
The 1s host Finchampstead next week.
2s win top-of-the table clash
Thame 2s travelled to Tiddington for an important match against the third-placed team. Thame won the toss and elected to bat on a hot day. A few early wickets put Thame on the back foot, but an excellent innings from Harry Thomas (41*) rebuilt the innings and allowed Jack Aston (34) to accelerate with some exciting boundary hitting. This meant Thame finished up on 202-8 from the 53 overs.
In reply, Tiddington got off to a slow start due to tight bowling from Matt Ridgeway (2-23) and Adam Phippen. This pressure started to tell, and the wickets started to flow for spinners Dan Patey (5-47, pictured below) and Ali Thomas (3-13). This ensured Thame picked up all 25 points, bowling Tiddington out for 140 with just 1.1 overs to go, to remain top of the league.
The 2s travel to Bletchley Town next weekend.
3s win important promotion battle
Playing at home, having lost the toss, Thame 3s were inserted to bat against one of the better bowling attacks in the division. Justin Avery (43) and George Patey (30) got Thame off to a solid start, and in the middle order Liam Evans (49) and Sam Nicholls (38) turned the screw. Skipper Vim Desai kept the league leaders tolling in the heat for as long as possible, before declaring on 236-8.
After a lovely tea, Thame decided to look for early wickets and started with spinner Ben Buckland to open the bowling with Will Bruce-Morgan. Only opener Ifthikar (39) was a real threat and, despite being dropped at least 5 times, was eventually the victim of a sharp catch by Zahid Hussain. Wickets were shared around by Ben Buckland (2-37), Nick Humphries (including brilliant c&b) Pete Tervet, Sam Nicholls, George Patey, and Vim Desai (4-6, pictured below).
Thame next play 2nd placed Tiddington.
4s chase to achieve first win in 6
On another sizzler of a day thame 4s once again hit the road to take on fellow mid table rivals Abingdon 4s. Having won the toss, Abingdon decided to put themselves in bat. A first wicket stand of 86 put the home team in a strong early position before Thame struck. Thame eventually taking all 10 wickets with 3 balls to spare in the innings – great contributions from Ed Mather 5-52 (picture below) and Tony Barnes 3-35. Abingdon posted Thame a target of 178 to win.
Like Abingdon, Thame made a good start with a first wicket partnership of 82 between Nick Fuller and Tim Dabbs, scoring 52 and 33 runs respectively. With contributions from Max Muncaster (20) and Dan Hart (19) Thame eventually met the target and take the win with 9 overs to spare. Great win for the 4s taking them into the top half of the league.
Next week the 4s travels to promotion contenders Eynsham.
Women victorious against Maidenhead
The performance of TTCC women matched the mercury rising on a scorching Sunday afternoon in a friendly against MBCC at the Meadows, reaching 225 in their highest run total yet, leaving their opponents melting at 163.
Thame won the toss and Beth John led the batting attack with a storming 2 innings, retiring at 30 in each, entirely made up of boundaries, including 1 six. Mel White and skipper Bridget Cooper also both retired at 30, with 13 fours shared between them. Claire Morris posted 17 runs, and newer players showed their potential – Vicky Shaw (11), Gill Kelleher (18) and Clare Seed (8).
Leaving the opposition with a daunting target, Thame’s bowling attack began after tea with Lina Budde-Manning (1-35), including a maiden over, and Bridget Cooper (2-34). John impressed with a double wicket maiden in her first over (2-4)..
Thame women are not surprisingly looking forward to taking on their opponents once again in their forthcoming league fixture!