'Hollywood' glamour comes back to the 2nd XI

Amersham 104 all out (Piper 34, Birch 4 for 34)

lost to

Windsor 105 for 2 (Patel 61*)

Having resigned themselves to drawing last week, windsor turned up to the team photoshoot full of confidense as a more balanced batting and bowling side. Oliver 'Hollywood' Birch and Andrew Chorley dropped to the 2nds with returning players to the 1st XI bolstered the side in readiness for thier first league win. The gloomy day did not look like it was going to lift, but the wicket looked slightly green and windsor knew the ball would zip around early doors, and decided that they would have a bowl if they won the toss. Amersham had chased down the runs set against them for thier first two league wins so Hill was keen to see if Amersham could defend a total. Amersham won the toss and decided to bat! Windsor were happy with this.

Hill again opened the bowling looking to imporove on last weeks performance. His first delivery hit Jupp in the mid riff which may explain why he left the second ball completely. However the second delivery swung in a long way and broke the bail on the top of off stump! this was the break through Windsor wanted. Birch opened from the castle end and quickly found his pace and rhythum. Piper looked solid and both batsmen looked to get on the front foot early, but this gave a few close outside edges and runs through the gully area. Windsor had set a very attacking field and didnt want to loosen thier grip on these early stages of the game. Birch struck and bowled Haddock, and Amersham were looking dicey on 11 for 2. Hill made another breakthrough by removing his opposite number, the Amersham captain LBW. After 14 overs, Windsor turned to Veteran Edge to work his magic from the river end. Birch continued strongly from the castle end and made a futher 3 breakthroughs to end on 4 for 34 off 13 overs. Edge also struck to leave Amersham little over 60 runs for 7 wickets down. Piper stood firm and offered the only resistance. Condon replaced Birch from the castle end. Gill supported Piperby knocking some singles but not many boundaries were struck. Bringing Kellard on to tempt the batsmen with his spin proved the undoing of the Amersham tail. Windsor used up 45 overs bowling amersham out for 104 giving themselves an extra 7 overs.

The rain fell imediatly after kellard took the last wicket and windsor rushed the covers on for the tea interval. Luckily the rain stopped at the end of the tea break and windor could get on with trying to chase the total before the weather could play another part. Amersham opened the bowling with spin from Rajabali to try and take the initiative. Noble, opening again with patel looked to produce soem more runs after his half centuary last week, but fell in the 4 th without scoring. Patel however looked firm and solid and determined not to give Amersham his wicket eaisly, and hit a six off the spin bowler in the 3rd over! Chorley supported Patel and scored a couple of boundaries in his innings. Amersham bowled tightly and restricted windsor slightly. Chorley fell on 12 bringing into bat the returning overseas player Weston. He was keen to prove a point and was excellent in the field, and wanted to show what he was capable of with the bat. Weston played very sensibly to take a look at the bowlers before unleashing some fine shots. None of the amersham bowlers made another breakthrough and Patel got to 61 and Weston raced to 21 with fine straight drives, to reach the required 105 in the 25th over.

Much, much better this week from windsor, and it shows that when you have a balanced team with the quality players this club has this year, it makes all the difference. The attitude in the field was superb, and the clinical nature of the performance is encouraging. Windsor need to now build on thier first victory and use this as a platform for the rest of the season.

Better bowling, poorer batting.

Slough 197 all out (Khan 39) (Kellard 4 - 52)
Windsor 150 for 7 (Noble 65) (Farooq 5 - 36)

Trying to put last weeks defeat firmly behind them, a re-jigged 2nd team, with more of emphasis on bowling attack went to their local rivals Slough this weekend to try and gain their first win of the season. Slough, whose first game was a wash out, was also keen to get their season underway. Hill lost the toss, again, and was then surprised by the fact the Slough skipper had to go off to ask his teammates what he wanted to do. The decision finally came back that they wanted to bat. Windsor were going to bowl anyway, so this suited Windsor perfectly.

Hill opened with the young Kiwi under 15 Thompson at the other end. Slough always likes to get after the bowling straight away, and hit out at Hill’s looser deliveries from the word go. Thompson on the other hand maturely bowled clean and tight lines, making the Slough openers think he was a much older player. Thompson could only bowl 5 over spells and so to make the breakthrough the returning Edge was brought on, and the young Holmes into the attack. After only a few overs both Edge and Holmes removed the opening pair. Kahn at number 3 looked to get after the Windsor bowlers quickly and was supported well by Ghazi. The boundaries at Upton Park are huge and many 3’s were run in the chase for the ball! Windsor again fielded tightly but a few mistakes gave Slough some valuable boundaries. Kellard came in to replace Holmes to try and slow things up a little with his controlled spin. Baber, coming up to fill the gloves in the 2nds did well by taking 2 caught behinds off Edge and Thompson and a stumping of Kellard. Slough’s 5th, 6th and 7th wicket fell in the space of 11 runs and Windsor were looking to turn the screw. Slough’s entire batting line-up contributed to the runs scored, all the way down the order. Some determined batting, and the deck flattening out got Slough up into the 190’s. Kellard and Thompson, bowling with maturity beyond their years, finished off the Slough batting, with Kellard ending with a 4-wicket haul! The decision to bring another bowler into the attack paid off as Windsor bowled Slough out for under the 200 mark, and gained 2 extra overs for the chase.

Windsor in reply looked to opening pair Noble and Patel to start the run chase. Both looked settled against the tight Slough openers, yet resulted in the first 5 overs being maidens! Windsor needed a sensible run chase, as the batting was slightly light. Noble took some time to get into a rhythm, but started to open up with some fantastic cover drives, that couldn’t reach the huge boundaries. Patel was unfortunately judged to have been LBW with a claim for an inside edge onto his pads. Noble battled on confidently, but none of the Windsor recognised batsman were able to partner him at the other end. Chasing low totals is all about building partnerships, and then supporting the in-form batsman. Farooq bowled very tightly and did the most of the damage to the top order. Huggins, Bullock and Condon all got small starts but didn’t capitalise. Baber went in and started to play the seamers well. The run chase was still within reach but Windsor didn’t have enough attacking players left in reserve to go hell for leather. Slough noticed this and pulled the field in very tight and restricted the singles. When Baber fell in the 32nd over Hill went to the crease with the aim to give Noble support. Slough never loosened their grip and the run rate had got to over 8 an over in the last 12. Noble wanting to push on played some nice drives, with some singles coming from the other end. When Noble was caught, the decision was made not to give Slough any more points, and not to give them a win. Edge and Hill confidently batted through the rapidly changing bowling attack of Slough (every over) and saw Windsor home to the 150 for an extra point and no extra points for Slough.

All in all a half-decent performance. Bowling was good and tight, and fielding was good. Windsor takes on Amersham who are top of the table this weekend at Home Park. Due to good availabilities this week, another batsman is needed to strengthen the team, and give Windsor the ability to confidently set or chase a total down. Windsor are looking to take their first win of the season.

Rain Rain, go away......

Windsor 2nds 162 all out (George 54) (Hameed 4 for 36)

lost to

Aldershot 1st XI 163 for 1 off 34.5 overs (Cosstick 102*)

Windsor 2nd's fell short of expectations on Sat at Home Park. Hill, wanting to win his first league toss, and put Aldershot into bat, didn't and Aldershot stuck Windsor in on a wet but flat pitch. Rain overnight and during the morning affected the afternoon preperations. When the game finally got started it was reduced to 48 and 44 overs respectivly. Hill saw this as a game where the batsman had to dig in and play some boring and ugly cricket, and the bowlers would have to hit thier line and length early doors, neither of which happened....

Windsor got off to a poor start losing Noble, who had opened with the returning Huggins, in the first over. Gill bolwed incredibly tight lines getting lift and movement off the soft deck. His first 7 overs from the castle end were maidens and had taken 2 wickets! Some dodgy running between the wickets saw off Huggins and overseas Weston soon followed. George, in fine form in recent weeks started taking the attack to the Aldershot bowlers. Howard, also looked in fine fettle after his ton last week. Things were looking brighter in the sky and for windsor until Howard was caught. Opener Patel, who had arrived at the ground late, went in at 6 and looked to support George who raced to 54. Windsor in theory bat to 8 but Smith and Condon failed to turn it on for Windsor this week. Windsor at one stage didnt look like they would get to 150! Hill played a very boring innings and bloked most of his deliveries to try and soak up some of the overs so as not to give too much advantage to Aldershot. After Hill was bowled Kellard and Holmes stood fast and used up the final over allocated to Windsor before Kellard fell. Even though the wicket was soft and wet, all credit goes to Aldershot who bowled very well and made the best use of the facilities. Windsor, however did not.

Hill opened form the castle end with young Holmes bravely running into the strong wind. Neither bowler found good line and length giving Aldershot some early 'freebies'. George made a fantastic debut with the gloves as a replacement for the injured Smith. K Condon soon reaplced Holmes at the river end and found some good line and pace despite the wind. Hill made the batsman work hard and found the same bounce Aldershot had when he could get the length right. Hill made the only breakthrough, trapping Taylor LBW, from a ball that kept low. In came overseas player Cosstick to take the attack to Windsor. Hill replaced himself with young leg spinner Kellard, who imediatly got the batsmen thinking and slowed the run rate immediatly. When the ball was pitched up the batsman couldn't get him off the square. Condon, battling into the wind pulled a few deliveries short which were punished. Hill turned to Howard to look for the second break through that never came. Aldershot didnt ease off and dispatched all the bad balls from both ends to the boundary. Windsor never gave up and were superb in the field, but Aldershot never gave any chances. Aldershot coasted home to get to 163 for the loss of only 1 wicket.

Windsor did not fire on all cylinders on sat. Both teams had to play on the same wicket and so blame cannot be soley passed on to the pitch and weather conditions. Windsor need to shore up and play basic solid cricket to get wins this season. Aldershot bowled well, and batted even better.... basic batting and bowling wins games. Windor only gained 6 points on Sat, 1 point less than if it was rained off! Windsor is a batting heavy club and choices for the must win game at Slough 3's this week mean a change to the balance of the batting vs. bowling attack may be needed......

Howard turns up the heat.....

Windsor 2nd XI 301 off 44.2 overs (Howard 113) (Stark 3 for 39)

beat

Enfield 2nd XI 261 for 9 of 45 overs (Chapman 89, Barber 61)

After a disappointing loss last weekend, Windsor were fired up to win against Enfield at Home park on Saturday. This was the 2nd XI's 3rd match at home in as many weeks! Windsor lost the toss with both captains wanting to bowl first, as both said that their batting was stronger then their bowling.... so Windsor were stuck in on a dry and fairly lively track for this early in the season. Baber was brought up to keep wicket this week in place of the injured Smith.

Windsor lost Condon early in the 2nd over and Mirza came in at 3 to try and give Windsor a solid platform. Noble and Mirza looked in touch and pushed the ball round confidently. Windsor raced to 48 off 7 overs. Windsor 2nd XI bat down to at least 8 and were confident that we could post over 200 with the weak bowling attack Enfield put out. But when George came in Windsor were struggling a little with keeping wickets in tact but runs were still flowing. George picked up from last week and confidently hit the ball around and pushed the score along well reaching a well deserved 35. Windsor's middle order in Rodwell and Alam lost their wickets quickly and Windsor were on 112-5, which made Hill worry that we may not post 150! Smith had dropped down the order this week due to an injured thumb sustained in the Cockspur cup game. In comes Howard to steady the ship, playing lovely drives and cut shots off some inconsitient bowling. Smith could only face 5 balls before retiring hurt and this brought Hill into the fray earlier than he would have liked. Wanting to calm things down, Hill played a solid defensive game (mainly due to being out of touch and worries hitting out may cost his wicket). Hill was happy for Howard to start giving it 'the long handle' from the other end and was happy giving him strike. Hill then got out to the softest of caught and bowled ever seen on Home park! Baber, from the word go, offered solid attacking support for Howard who was now punishing every poor delivery, before caught on a superb 113. Baber also got a richly deserved 39 to take Windsor over the 300 mark off 44.2 overs

Hill, very happy with the total posted, and giving Howard a rest after his heroics with the bat, opened from the river end with Jones opening from the castle end. Hill troubled the batsmen early on, but struggled to find length and rhythm. Jones, bowling nice lines, and most balls on a length managed to take a few wickets. Howard replaced Hill from the river end, and despite his tiredness, bowled some excellent line and length. Mirza, was brought on at the castle end after Chapman started getting after the seamer's ending on a very good 89. Mirza was confusing the batsman with his pace of spin and he missed the outside edge a number of times. Hill knew that in the last ten overs Enfield would be pushed to chase down the total set, and so turned to 'pure gas' bowler Condon to make the breakthrough. Alam bowled a few overs from the castle end to tie up the Enfield batsmen. With Condon's pace and accuracy, excellent fielding, restricted the flow of runs to leave Enfield needing over 40 runs to win at the end.

With huge numbers available for the first league game against Aldershot 1st XI this coming sat, some tough selection decisions face the teams this week. Hill has again taken a lot of positives from this win and is happy with the strength of the team and the team spirit shown on the field. Changes in batting order and bowling attack are needed however as the bowlers need to generate more penetration of the top order and need to up their game for the predicted strong Aldershot side. Bring the league on!!!!

'What's that comming over the Hill......?'

Datchet 254 for 8 off 45 overs (Jackson 81, Williams 62, Furness 53*) (Hill 13/1/5/50)

Windsor 214 all out (Junaid 64, Smith 40) ( Jacobs 7/0/3/32)

Due to poor availabilities, Windsor 2nd XI fielded a side with no less than 7 changes from the team that beat Egham the week before. This was to be the first game on the main square this season, and Hill was keen to see how the pitch played, and having set a good total the week before, wanted to test Windsor's ability to chase a total. The sun was shining again, and Windsor set about warming up well after a few key players were under 'the arches' till the early hours, and Datchet turned up looking a little peeky after their annual dinner! Datchet and Windsor 'agreed' on the toss and Windsor put Datchet in to bat first. (12 year old district player Kristen Baumgartner was brought in, son of 1st XI wicket keeper Rick, to fill a last min drop out!)

Veteran Hill opened the bowling from the river end and got a wicket in the first over, a feat repeated from last week. Hill made another break through in the second over reducing Datchet to 3 for 14 off 3! Young Holmes improving with every over from the castle end, was bowling good pace and lines and was regularly missing the outside edge in his superb 9 over spell. New recruits this season, Paul Howard, Chris George and Pete Jones all were very committed in the field along with Lewis. However despite heroics in the field Jackson and Williams decided there was no point in this becoming a slow innings and decided to get about the windsor bowling changes. Paul Howard, that unbeknown to Hill hadn't bowled in 5 years, was given 10 overs straight away on the trot (welcome to Windsor)! Paul rose to the challenge and bowled tight lines. Junaid, a Sun 2nd XI wicket keeper was also experimented with, and was brought on to try and mix things up with his spin bowling. Some huge 4's and sixes were dealt out by Datchet and one six cleared the nets and landed in the road at the back of the pavilion! Datchet had started to run away with the innings and windsor started to go flat in the feild after a few drop catches and some big shots. Hill brought himself and back on from the castle end and Holmes from the river end to try and break the partnership and slow the run rate. Hill pinched 3 more wickets in this second spell to end on figures of 13 overs, 1 M, 5 wk for 50 runs. Holmes also bowled tightly at the end but Datchet had set an impressive 254 off their 45 after a very poor start.

Windsor started the run chase in the form of George and Junaid, both playing their first Saturday games this season for Windsor. Ignoring the captains advice of playing themselves in and not rushing the run chase, George and Junaid went after the Datchet bowling from the word go! Any poor delivery was punished to the boundary. Windsor were 31 off 6 overs! George played some lovely shots and Junaid's 'unique' batting style frustrated the bowlers. After George departed, Howard came in to bat and partnered Junaid who ended up on a very deserving debut 64. Weston, playing some good looking shots again showed signs of the class to come this season. Smith also played some lovely shots, and hitting some huge boundaries. Windsor had a mini collapse in the lower middle order losing 5 wickets for 16 runs with Hill being caught for a dismal duck. Baumgartner, bravely faced the Datchet paceman, who upon getting the youngster out made a huge a huge celebration (he must have really enjoyed bowling full pace at a 12 year old!) Holmes bravely pushed the ball about, with last wicket support from lewis, but with Windsor needing 40 runs of the last 2 overs, the total was out of reach, and Holmes lost his wicket.

Windsor have taken a lot of positives from this game, based on the massive unavailability issue this weekend. New recruits and batting being plus points so far. Places in the 1st and 2nd XI's are going to be highly fought over for the first league game. A lot of players are becoming available, new recruits are performing well with the bat, and Uni students are still yet to come back! Windsor, happy with the batting ability in the team, need more in their bowling attack this weekend against Enfield CC in the last pre-season friendly, as windsor look to hone their strategy for the rest of the season with the 1st League game in 2 weeks time.....