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Denham 1st XI v Wraysbury 1st XI
July 12th 2008
Batting Lets Us Down Again
Denham did well to dismiss the powerful Wraysbury batting lineup for 225, with Jamil Shaikh, 5/43, the pick of the home side's bowlers.
Unfortunately the Denham batting went astray again and they were dismissed for 156.
Denham 8 pts Wraysbury 30 pts
Denham are now equal bottom with Englefield, while Wraysbury are 24 points clear of Taplow at the top of the league.
Next week is a tough away fixture at Winchmore Hill.
Coleshill 2nd XI v Denham 2nd XI
July 12th 2008
Convoy Sunk; The Philth, Atwal and Super Schembers Saved
The fearless Denham entertainers travelled to Coleshill to try and prevent a third successive defeat. Here to bring you all the excitement from the match is the Denham 2s correspondent, The Linesman.
The trip to the ground got off badly, with a shocking performance from Captain Convoy, leaving opener Rulach floundering at the top of Cheapside Lane.
Further calamity was to follow, with Denham winning the toss and having little to no idea about what to do. With the threat of rain at some point in the afternoon, Denham’s quickly put-together plan was to bowl Coleshill out cheaply, knock off the runs and be in the pub before dusk.
Denham got stuck into the Coleshill top order, dismissing the opening batsmen (who had been promoted up the order) cheaply. With the pitch causing havoc, Denham were eyeing an early tea. But their hopes were to be dashed as a number of highly skilled, never-before-seen-in-the-Chiltern-League batsmen strode to the wicket and proceeded to put the Denham attack to the sword.
Within the blink of an eye, Captain Convoy found his bowling dispatched to all parts of the ground and the Philth, back in the team after open calf surgery, was forced to perform some theatrics to recover the ball. Umpire Ken gave his arse-over dive 5.4 for artistic merit, but the Philth’s feat was trumped by Super Schembers, who performed a triple salko back flip over the fence, earning 5.7 for sheer slapstick splendour. With all this madness going on, Coleshill put the bowling to the sword, going past the 125 mark within 25 overs. A big total looked on the cards, before Super Spinner The Philth was brought into the attack and dragged Denham back into the game. Thanks to the wickets of Philth and Captain Convoy, and tight support from Treacy, Denham had Coleshill eight wickets down before they could reach 35 overs and 200 runs.
Welcome to the crease the Coleshill skipper, who expertly padded up the majority of balls, refusing singles in an attempt to shepherd the tail. Finally the skipper was out, with Coleshill having amassed 230 in 43 overs.
With rain threatening, Denham had their work cut out. Rulach and O’Hara both fell early, but JK and Richards put in a splendid rearguard action to try and haul Denham back into the match. However, with clouds building and droplets falling, rain was to scupper their attempt and turn this tense match into an absolute thriller.
After a twenty minute rain delay and the disintegration of the pitch, Denham found themselves in deep sawdust, struggling against accurate bowling from the Coleshill attack. After JK and Richards departed, wickets fell regularly, with only Treacy putting up any sort of resistance. With eight wickets down, the match appeared to be lost.
But fear not! The Denham All Stars had been given a masterclass in how to pad up and play strategic cricket by none other than the Coleshill skipper, and they proceeded to dish out some tasty forward defensives and watchful leaves to the never-before-seen-in-the-Chiltern-League bowling.
Despite unnecessary sledging from the irritable Coleshill fielders, Atwal and Super Schembers demonstrated perseverance and determination in steering Denham to a well-earned draw on a pitch that had descended into a quagmire.
Anybody can turn up and take a few swings, connecting with the odd ball. But what marks out a true, passionate cricketer is the ability to adapt his game to the situation, to play for the team and cherish his wicket. Drawing a game when all seemed lost is admirable; establishing an advantage and pushing for a win is what Denham must demonstrate next Saturday.
Denham 5 pts Coleshill 16 pts
Little Marlow were thrashed by Braywood, who moved to the top, with Wargrave down to third. Denham are seventh.
Next game: at home to bottom place Hawridge & Cholesbury.
Awaiting