With four wins from five in the limited overs format, the 1st XI went into the first timed game of the season top of the table and brimming with confidence. On winning the toss, newly promoted Brondesbury skipper opted to bat first, perhaps eyeing up the additional two points on offer for doing so. An extremely stiff breeze greeted Teddington’s opening bowlers, Pollock and Hopkins, with the former struggling to battle his way to the crease and the latter struggling to stay behind it! An early wicket from Pollock, followed by a second from Chimp had the Bron 12 for 2 after 5 overs. This brought Allen to the crease who proceeded to climb into the Teddington attack and significantly increased the scoring rate in doing so. Skipper Fear turned to the ever dependable Keightley to stem the flow, which he duly did by trapping Allen in front of all three for 39. The scoring rate then significantly reduced as Brondesbury slowly but surely crept their way to 218 off their full allotment of 66 overs, anchored by Overy who scored 63 off 165 balls.
Cries of “No one chases more than 200 at Teddington” were heard from the bar area during the interval – “except for Teddington” was the response from the dressing room. And so it was proved. Keightley fell early to a wide one and the skipper was adjudged soon after. This made way for Twiney (86) and Armstrong (83*) who went about their business with a minimum of fuss and very quickly broke the back of the chase. Twiney was unlucky not to reach his century when he was given out caught behind with the score at 150-3. This brought Williams to the crease, who along with Armstrong were clinical in finishing the job with 7 wickets remaining. A convincing victory from the 1stXI, which left us six points clear at the top going into next week.
Author: James Fear