The 1st XI travelled to Great Kingshill for week 2 of the league and came away celebrating back-to-back wins as we took down our hosts by 5 wickets in a strong all-round performance. Skipper, Alex Walker, won the toss this time and made no mistake, choosing to bowl first—and made an immediate impact with an absolute peach to get us going. Richie Parker followed it up with a fiery spell, bagging three quick ones to stall the home side’s progress. A stubborn partnership threatened to rebuild, but Roshan Dias broke through at just the right time. A few catches went begging, but the bowlers tightened things up at the death, keeping the score to 220/8 from their 45 overs. Roshan came out firing in the chase, smashing 29 off 18 to give us a flying start. From there, Alex Martin anchored things superbly, first with Donnel Sylvester and then with Yatin Sampat, crafting crucial stands that kept us ahead of the rate. Alex carried his bat with a majestic, unbeaten century, guiding the chase with total control. Ateeq Mohammed and then Niketh Shetty finished things off coolly alongside Alex, and we cruised home with 2.5 overs and 5 wickets to spare—another top team performance and momentum building nicely!

The 2nd XI were at home to Beaconsfield CC 4th XI, on a track that yielded plenty of runs (and consistent bounce) the previous week. After losing the toss, Chenies were not surprisingly asked to bowl. The opening bowlers got into their work with the ball flying everywhere behind square but unfortunately not going to hand. A great first change spell by Fred Rodwell unlocked the openers with Fred bowling 8 straight finishing with 2 for 22. Fred was well backed up by Raj Thakkar who claimed 2 for 29 and Brain Shipley, who did a fantastic job in the final overs taking 3 wickets in 4 balls, finishing with 3 for 33. It was a great final 20 overs to restrict Beaconsfield to 216 for 9. This was a total that was there for the taking with 2 big hitters leading the charge for Chenies, Tushar Gajjar and Rahul Ghalot. Unfortunately Tushar was run out early by a direct hit from square leg at the non-strikers end. However, Rahul went on the all-out attack hitting their bowling attack to all parts of the ground. Rahul was supported by Fred (25) and Jon Goddard (26), and hit the winning runs, a massive 6 into the field, finishing on 130 not out and securing his second Player of the Match in 2 weeks. Chenies completed the win on 220/6 off 32.4 overs.

Chenies and Latimer 3rd XI travelled to Ickenham CC on a sun-drenched afternoon and, upon winning the toss, chose to bat first in favourable conditions. However, the innings got off to a shaky start, with the top order collapsing and three early wickets falling in quick succession. Bhavesh provided much-needed stability, playing with composure to rebuild the innings. At the other end, Ashish injected momentum with a flurry of boundaries that lifted spirits and shifted the pressure back onto the opposition. Just as a promising partnership was taking shape, a mistimed top edge brought Ashish’s innings to an abrupt end. The middle and lower order struggled to find consistency, with wickets falling regularly despite a valiant attacking effort from Hemendra, who fell short of 20. In the closing stages, youngsters Luke and Jawad Ali displayed admirable grit and maturity beyond their years. Their determined stand pushed the total past the 160 mark, offering a glimmer of hope heading into the second innings. Chenies’ bowlers came out firing, with the Pathak brothers striking early to leave Ickenham reeling at 3 down for under 20. It was a superb opening spell that rattled the hosts. Unfortunately, Chenies could not sustain the pressure. Wayward bowling led to an accumulation of extras, and Ickenham gradually regained control. Despite the early promise, the bowling attack ran out of steam and Ickenham capitalised, chasing down the target with resilience and composure. A disappointing result for Chenies and Latimer 3rd XI, but the fight shown by the younger players and the early breakthroughs offer positives to build on. The sun will rise again, and the 3s will be back stronger next week.

On Sunday, Luke Marsden took his side to West Wycombe and I yield to Luke to describe the afternoon: After yet another successful toss by the skipper (2/2 so far) we decided to get the Duke’s Viscount rock talking. This week was the second week of the development of my Sunday XI crèche of young players that are being brought through, using Sundays as an opportunity to get experience and form to bring forward to league matches on Saturdays, as well as their own U14 league. Having played as an U14 at Chenies myself, I know how competitive and important those games truly are. Nothing beats getting one over on a friend from school playing for another club! But, I’ll cut to the chase - Rohin and Donnel opened the bowling. Rohin had asked before the game to open the batting, but unfortunately those spots were firmly filled!! Ro rewarded my faith in him by taking a well earned wicket, going at 2.50s - some Swiss level economy. Donnel however bowled spin opening with this expensive new Duke’s ball the home team had provided, as apparently his seam bowling would have been ‘unfair’. The changes in the bowling attack marked the beginning of my year 9 siege on the opposition, as Reyan, Aron and Jacob all came on to bowl in impressive fashion. The absolute highlight of said siege was without a doubt the first of Jacob’s wickets: we had managed to rope his dad in to field for us due to a late dropout, and he stuck on a pair of my old whites, and University baggy maroon. He then proceeded to pull off a piece of spectacular fielding, aptly summarised by Milan as the likes of which ‘something that baggy had never seen before’ (I.e. good fielding). Reaching over the back of his head at an acute angle to take a sensational one handed catch for his son. His face was one of relief rather than celebration! That truly is what Sunday cricket is all about gents. Chris Jordan; eat your heart out. The first innings continued, and a couple of their chaps started to tonk us about for a bit which was annoying, UNTIL someone called L. Marsden came onto bowl and got the bloke on 90 out! Big wicket! Onto lunch, we were over the moon to see a spread of club chocolate bars, and scones (not scones) set out in classic fashion! I asked where the battenbergs were (they are the MVP of Teas) but unfortunately their skipper didn’t know ball. Returning from those firmly filled opening batsmen spots, Milan and myself opened the batting (shock!). I did not do well (0 shock) but thankfully my VC Milan tucked into a well deserved 61 from 61 balls. Thanks to the wonders of scoring online I can tell you that Milan batted for a whopping 104 minutes - there many things one can do for 104 minutes, but aside from watching the majority of the first Cars film, I can’t imagine many are better than watching that innings. Donnel yet again proved that he is the unluckiest man in cricket, dismissed by snicking off to gully. The home skipper told us before the game that their deck was ‘a road’. However, unless he was from rural Zimbabwe, that pitch looked nothing like a road. This led to the ball popping up and squaring him up like Ben Stokes in the ashes. We fought hard to win the game, through a partnership of 89 between Sabari and Ali Jawad. They batted together for just under an hour, ending in 36 runs for Sabari, and a 59 from AJ which could have brought a tear to your eye. AJ batted with serious control, so much so that he channelled his inner Brian Shipley and counted EVERY SINGLE run he got. When he was on 37 all I could hear when I was umpiring was ’13 left… 13 left…’ - unreal! I cannot imagine focusing on that many things at one time (or getting a 50 on a Sunday)! Overall, the game featured absolutely every player. Everyone had the opportunity to bat, bowl field and call Milan’s t-shirt stupid. A true Sunday in the sun, which I hope will springboard success for the team, and for the men’s league teams as a result. Every day I have another parent, or returning player messaging me asking if they can play on a Sunday, and the door is always open for them.

Also on Sunday our Women’s Super 8 side hosted Beaconsfield and Slough, both of whom brought very strong sides who comfortably defeated us.

Next week the 1st XI welcome Fulmer to the CCG, the 2nd XI travel to OMT and the 3rd XI entertain Maidenhead & Bray. The Sunday XI have a home game against Thames Valley Ramblers and then on Monday there is the return of the Chenies Village v C&LCC annual cricket match. We are excited that this game, and village tradition, can be reborn. The match will start at 5:30pm, with the Sticky Wicket Bar open from 4:30pm so that we can all enjoy some drinks before, during, and certainly after the match has concluded. Additionally, there will be Indian food, pizzas and, possibly, an Ice Cream truck there on the evening. This really is an event to get the whole village and club together, so please bring friends, family and anyone else to enjoy the atmosphere, the cricket and a drink!

Colts:
The colts season is up and running with the usual vibrancy at Chenies on Sunday mornings alongside the sunshine.

Colts managers – please do send in your match reports for inclusion in the bulletin

The U15 girls kicked off their season with a cracking away fixture at Dinton – and what a way to start! With five players making their cricketing debut, and facing a side boasting five county players, we knew it was going to be a serious challenge. But that didn’t stop the girls from throwing everything at it. We bowled first, and while the fielding was more comedy sketch than cricket at times, the bowling was the complete opposite. The girls held their lines brilliantly – six out of eight bowlers didn’t bowl a single wide! That’s serious discipline. As the innings wore on, the fielding warmed up, and Venessa – our 11-year-old superstar – stole the show, clean bowling two county U15s with absolute snorters. Ashmi, Senya, and Avani also picked up well-deserved wickets, with all three unlucky not to come away with more. Dinton finished on 154 from their 20 overs, a challenging total but one we were determined to chase. The reply didn’t start well, with Ashmi falling first ball to a worldie of a catch in the deep. But Avani and Gaia weren’t fazed – they smashed a 100-run partnership that had the opposition on the back foot. Avani brought up her first 50 of the season, and Gaia was the rock at the other end, finishing 25 not out*. Senya came in and kept the momentum going, but we eventually fell 34 runs short – and to be honest, we probably gave those away in the field early on. Still, it was a brilliant experience for the newer girls, and a reminder that cricket is a tough, unforgiving game… but also a lot of fun. Plenty to be proud of and loads to build on. Onwards and upwards!

Teas / coffees and cakes will be on sale every Sunday morning in the pavilion. All cakes are home-made by Zaynab Haq and all proceeds will go directly to the club. We have a card payment machine so please do avail yourself of the fayre on sale, and save yourself the trip to the coffee shop on the way to the club.

In other news:
2025 Subscriptions are now due and available on the website. Thanks to those that have already paid. Full details at this link https://www.chenies-cricket.org/a/subscriptions-46652.html Please pay promptly and early, many of the club running costs are loaded to this time of the year so we do need funds to be coming in so that we can maintain a healthy cash flow. Also remember that you are not insured via the club if you have not paid your subscription.

If you’ve been up to the club in the past couple of weeks, you will have seen our lovely new fence. Please do admire it, but please refrain from climbing over it or leaning on it.

Overseas Player - We are delighted that we will have the services of a fast bowler from Grenada this year. We have sorted accommodation for him but just need a job. He is looking for manual work – if you can help out please reach out to Stef Saleem on 07780 530300

Personal Coaching – if you want to find that next level in your game from personalised 1:1 coaching then reach out to Roshan Dias on 07427 926943 or visit his website here

An appeal for further help to run the club
Our wonderful club has seen unprecedented growth over the past few years. Credit goes to everyone at the club for facilitating this, but special credit goes to the management committee for working so hard to develop and grow the club.
The downside to this is that the workload upon the committee has also grown such that it is no longer possible for our officials to cope and run the club efficiently or effectively.
We are therefore appealing for members to come forward to help.
The first appeal is for someone to take up the position of Sponsorship Manager: Sponsorship is a significant yet untapped opportunity for funding at our club. We are looking for someone to manage and nurture our existing sponsors, and to proactively work to develop new sponsorship partnerships. The role could easily be shared among 2 or 3 people. If you are interested please speak to Dave Brown or Simon Hargreaves.
Our mantra is ‘many hands make light work’ and we are looking for 2, 3 or 4 people in each of the following areas to form a small team working with the committee member responsible for that area. None of these are committee positions so you don’t have to worry about coming along to meetings; all we’re asking is to get involved and help out in a way that suits you:

Our bar is going from strength to strength under the stewardship of Mick French. But he can’t be there all the time and if we are going to open more frequently with publicised hours then we’ll need volunteers to take on shifts behind the bar. If you’re interested in joining a group of volunteers who could take on shifts occasionally then please contact Mick (mickbeernut@gmail.com / 07771 866370)

An intra club Fantasy Cricket game has been set up by Alex Walker. These are great fun – you just pick a team of 6 from the club’s players and see how their points rack up for your team based upon performances. Entry is just £3. Go to http://chenies-latimer.fantasyclubcricket.co.uk/. Player prices will change each week based on form and anyone not in the database yet will be added automatically once they play a league game.

Instagram – some great work behind the scenes has revived our Instagram account and we’ll be posting regularly and aften throughout the season. Please follow us @chenieslatimercc and @chenieswomenscricket

Also make sure you have downloaded the club app and have your Pitchero account profile set up to receive communications from the club. More details here

For all club kit and clothing requirements, please visit https://www.chenies-cricket.org/a/club-kit-58457.html and contact Dave Brown to order.

Our kit supplier, Chiltern Sports, are also open if you need to acquire any playing equipment. They are well stocked with Shoes, bats, helmets, pads and gloves plus all other playing accessories that you might need. Call the shop on 01296 613399 or Richard Young on 07831 662874.