Cove defeat Dean to clinch the title
Thames Valley League round-up: Hill beat Ickenham to finish on a high
COOKHAM DEAN CC
Cove wrapped up the TVL Division 1 championship on Saturday with a 34-run win over Cookham Dean.
There will be no promotion to the Home Counties League for Cove this season, but they managed to hold off the challenge of Boyne Hill, who themselves beat Ickenham by five wickets at the weekend.
Victory over Tom Mellor’s side the previous week put the side in pole position going into the final weekend, and they took full advantage to limit Dean to 221-9, chasing 256 for victory.
Having won the toss the hosts opted to bat, with the likes of Tom Redhead (46),
Jake Roylance (36), Jordan Finney (46) and Andrew Scott (50no) all getting their eye in to push the total well beyond the double century mark.
Sohil Mangat (3-87) did his best to keep Cove in check, but the total looked a daunting one for Dean at the changeover. Dean got close, but never quite close enough as they ran short on batsmen and then overs in their attempted chase. Patrick Castleden, who’s been in decent form all summer, got 42, Fergus Nutt blasted 64 and Will Dempster added 49, but they finished their overs 34 runs short on 221-9. Matt Farr proved the best of Cove’s bowling attack, taking 3-26.
They finished the season 17 points clear of Boyne Hill in second, while Dean – who had prioritised the National Village Cup earlier in the campaign – finished down in seventh with only two victories to their name this season.
BOYNE HILL CC
Boyne Hill finished off their TVL Division 1 campaign on a high by beating Ickenham by five wickets, having all but given up on their hopes of winning the title.
Tom Mellor’s side still had a mathematical chance of lifting the title going into their final game but would have needed Cove to have collected less than five points from their clash against Cookham Dean, something which was never likely to happen.
This though was an impressive way to cap off the campaign for Mellor’s side as they first limited Ickenham to 238-7 and then chased down the total for the loss of five batsmen with more than three overs in hand.
Ickenham have done well at times this season and with E Evans in fine form, making 104, they had enough about them to suggest they’d make life difficult for Hill. O’Driscoll also chipped in with 34 runs to give the home side a par total given the wicket and the pleasant conditions. Ilyas finished with the best of Hill’s figures, taking 5-36 to help slow down the run rate further down the order.
In response Hill went about collecting their runs with a little more haste. Shrestha accelerated the innings with a fine knock of 79 as Hill cruised to 239-5 in the 37th over.
Hill have done enough in this shortened season to suggest they’ll be a force to be reckoned with next summer. They won six of their nine matches and lost only twice, however, one of those defeats came at the hands of champions Cove and that proved the difference in the end.
STOKE GREEN CC
A season which fizzled out somewhat for Stoke Green finished with a six-wicket defeat to Beaconsfield on their own turf. Green had hopes of challenging for the title and were doing well in the National Village Cup earlier in the summer, but their departure from that competition coincided with a loss of form in the league. This was their fifth defeat of the campaign and left them in sixth position, more than 40 points off top spot.
Having won the toss and opted to bat, Green managed a competitive 240-6 from 40 overs with J Odell hitting an unbeaten 115. However, the side’s collective efforts with the bat were eclipsed by Beaconsfield’s. C Kye made 72 and D Heavyside top scored with an impressive 102 as the visitors chased down their target for the loss of only four batsmen in the 33rd over. They finished on 241-4.
MAIDENHEAD & BRAY CC W
Maidenhead & Bray dropped down to fourth in TVL Division 2A after losing their final match of the season to Tring Park 2nds by one wicket.
Having been put into bat Brett Van Niekerk’s side managed 194-9 from their 40 overs, with the captain himself top scoring with 65 runs. He was assisted in the middle by Ben W Ward, who made 44, while James Gurnett did his best to pressure the visitors taking 336. Tring were also troubled in their chase, with Bray coming within a wicket of victory. However, Benn Kempster led them to a thrilling victory with an impressive knock of 87. They got to their target with one over and one wicket in hand.
The defeat, Bray’s fourth of the season, saw them fall behind Kew into fourth place.
HURST CC
Hurst’s hopes of finishing second in TVL Division 2B evaporated as they lost by 99 W runs to Eversley on Saturday.
Having won the toss Eversley opted to bat on their own patch, and they made the most of the favourable conditions to put on 257-8 from 40 overs. T Nicholas was one of their chief run-scorers, hitting 94, while S Kennett added 52 and C Last was there at the end on 25no. T Lindley finished with the best of Hurst’s bowling figures, taking 3-62.
Hurst looked to keep up with the run rate initially, but the loss of wickets hindered their chances. C White managed 40 and S Hawkes 26, but they finished up 99 runs shy of their target on 158-9.