Team spirit shines in eight-wicket win
They say familiarity breeds contempt, but that is far from true for Marlow's players as their togetherness once again shone through in Saturday's eight-wicket win over Hounslow & Whitton.
Having been inserted on losing the toss, Hounslow posted 159 before being bowled out in the 34th over. Notable contributions came from Aman Chopra (39) and Baltej Tattla (23no), but Rehaan Samdani (3-41) helped keep them to a target the hosts could comfortably chase.
Marlow ‘stalwart’ Imran Nawaz (75no) and Will Bovill (43) guided them there with relatively little trouble in
just 29.2 overs.
Reflecting on Marlow's third win, captain
James Martin said: “Hounslow & Whitton are a team we know well from the last couple of years, and I think that helped us get the win. Rehaan Samdani, our new signing, took three wickets while Harry Williams, Kester Charlemagne, and Imran Nawaz all took two each in the first innings. It was nice to bowl a team out because we haven’t done that for a few weeks.
“Then our stalwart, Imran Nawaz (75no), was back amongst the runs and we also had another impressive contribution from Will Bovill who is one of our youngsters. He got 43 runs on the back of getting 60odd last week.
“I think I said it before, but we’ve made a bit of an effort to try and get some more youngsters involved in the first team this year and it’s really starting to pay off. Will is getting some good runs in, we’ve got Taran Sohi who’s doing well with the bat too, and another young lad called Jonny Yarwood is doing a great job bowling for us.
He added: “I’m keeping wickets, batting at seven and eight this year, and letting the others do all the hard work. Personal gain has gone out the window a little bit and if the team are doing well, that’s all that matters really.”
Marlow visit current TVL Division 2A leaders Uxbridge on Saturday.
They'll once again need to show unity, positivity and togetherness to emerge victorious, but Martin is confident they’ll give a good account of themselves.
“Even in the games where we’ve come out on the wrong side, we have still applied ourselves,” he said. “It’s helpful that the guys’ confidence stays high, and everyone comes together after a defeat. We’ve got a really good team spirit.
“Uxbridge moved across from the Middlesex League last year, they are new to the Thames Valley League. They are top, while we are currently sitting in third. It’s a good top-ofthe-table battle and we’re certainly keen to put in another good performance. We will show them what we are capable of. They have a lovely ground too, so we are really looking forward to going. It will be the first time most of us would have played there.”