We arrived at a rather picturesque looking Twickenham in the August sun with hopes of an eighth straight win. The ground was a little wet so the game started 30 minutes late. With rain around and the uncertainty of the Duckworth Lewis system it was a crucial toss that we lost as Twickenham elected to bat.

The ground dried well however and fortunately there was little impact on the state of the ball. Hughes and Bamber opened up with characteristic control, keeping the Twickenham run rate around two an over. The pressure evetually told and we got our first break through with a run out. There was no let up in the pressure as Tommy Nic (1-35 off 10) and Liam took over. Tom, in particular, bowled beautifully, high quality stuff and real control on a wicket that I'm sure he would happily bowl on every week! His wicket was that of the league's leading run scorer Don Manuwelge, inducing an edge that was taken at first slip. All the Twickenham batters seemed to get in but none really able to go on against a tidy north midd bowling performance. Liam and Ethan bowled nicely at the death, finishing with 3-37 and 1-34 respectively. A mention too for Will Nicoll (2-54) who bowled well and picked up two crucial wickets. 240 was a challenging total but the wicket was pretty flat and the outfield fast.

New-look opening pair Shirley and the dancing Dr. O'Driscoll, got us off to a flier, the Doctor particularly dismissive, taking 25 off one over. Doctor Odd eventually fell for 53 off 62 balls, a lovely cameo that set the tone for our run chase. He was replaced by Fahrenheim, who proceeded to scratch around painfully for the next couple of hours. In the context, with a revised Duckworth Lewis total likely, it was a really important innings, he gritted it out and hung around to finish 34 not out and keep us comfortably above the D/L par. At the other end, Shirley played the aggressor in a lovely fluent innings of 68, another brilliant knock from the diminutive wicket keeper. Sadly he had a slight brain fade as he was stumped off his foot. Tommy Nic put the game beyond doubt with 13 off 4 balls, to ensure we were well above par when the rain eventually ended the game.

This was a solid and professional all round display in what is a much-improved team. 6 points off top and two games to go. Ealing next week and exciting times at the Midd!

North Midd 2nd XI vs Stanmore (Home)
North Midd 195/8 from 45 overs
Stanmore 170
North Midd won

Approaching a Saturday looking down the league for the first time in a while, there was a sense of anticipation among the team who knew that three wins would see us crowned champions. One step at a time, said the inspirational Mills, in a bid to calm the excitement. Losing the toss and being asked to bat on a damp morning was not the best start, though we reacted well with a steady opening stand between Chambers and Shep. After seeing us to 40 without loss, Chambo and Shep fell in quick succession to bring the evergreen Hilly and the youthful Luke Holman together. Hilly looked equally fantastic and frenetic as is his trademark, finishing with what would prove to be a valuable 30-odd. Luke and Millsy didn't do much to trouble scorer Kate, and with the score eventually progressing to 90-5 the title dream looked to be fading fast. Stalwarts Zulfi and CYS did all they could to rectify the situation by absorbing time and pressure, picking off runs calmly when available. After a flurry of boundaries, Zulfi gloved a fierce leg break to slip, and at 120-6* the game was firmly in the balance. Brando joined CYS (25) in the middle and the pair initiated a recovery plan, picking off singles upon singles while making the most of their levers to send loose deliveries to the fence. Singles were readily available, and with Brando (52*) hitting some bombs into next year the Midd eventually made it to 195-8. A competitive if slightly disappointing total. In reply, Carroll (3-20) and Brand (2-25) bowled with the expected menace to restrict Stanmore early on, before the introduction of Benny Owen (2-30) changed the game. One over, three wides and two wickets, both caught by Mr Grumpy at fine leg. Some truly hostile bowling from Ben did the trick, and NMCC were well on top. The return of Luke added some much needed slow bowling to the attack, and he indeed bowled with extreme control beyond his years to continue turning the screw. CYS contributed well as always, clean bowling Stanmore's most dangerous batsman with, in his own words, the best ball he has ever bowled...even though said batsman appeared to be suffering from the newly discovered Vanderspar 'leaving a straight one' syndrome. Carroll and Brand come back to finish the job in near darkness to leave us 2 wins from glory. From Chambers' boundary riding to Shep's birthday cake, everyone chipped in when required. Two more steps, said Millsy. N.B. Figures are mostly estimates, in the absence of scorebook photos.

North Midd 4th XI vs Barnes (Home)
Barnes 255/9 from 45 overs
North Midd 140 from 40 overs
Barnes won by a lot

North Midd 5th XI vs Perivale (Away)
North Midd 177 off 46.1 overs
Perivale 178/8 off 34.4 overs
Perivale win by 2 wickets

This was another tough defeat to take in a season where nothing has really fallen for us. Turning up with only 10, we were inserted on a sloping deck which looked a typical slow and low wicket, but only after their skipper won the toss and asked four teammates whether he should bat or bowl. We lost Junaid early to one which shot and bowled him off the inside edge, but Seb Carr (31) played well, mixing patience with aggression, in particular some lovely lofted straight drives, to give us a platform. Enter Richard Nicoll, who played absolutely beautifully in compiling a season-high of 78. On a pitch which was ok once you were set, but still tough, Richard scored all round the wicket and looked more comfortable than anyone on the day - a really top knock. A few steady partnerships from Richard alongside Arj, Charles and Alban edged us past 150, already a competitive total, but we then lost our last 3 wickets without adding a run, with the tail perhaps showing a little too much exuberance along the way. Even so, we made 177, which we were confident of defending. After an excellent tea, Joe Bangerter and James Martland opened up, both extracting pace and bounce from the wicket. Joe (2/34 from 6) clean bowled their opener and bagged another soon after, whilst James (3/34 from 12.4) undoubtedly delivered his best spell yet for the Midd, even crashing one into their batsman's helmet. However, they put on a really good 5th wicket partnership which summed up our season - edges flying safe, couple of drops, skiers falling perfectly in gaps and a few heaves for boundaries. Louis Haywood (3/29 off 6) eventually broke it and added a couple more soon after, caught in close, in a good spell bowling off breaks with plenty of flight. 18 to win, 3 wickets left. James returned to bowl their number 9, but once again a close one didnt go our way, the winning runs fittingly nicked wide of 1st slip for 4. Decent game of cricket - we would have won had we had 11 or a couple of decisions had gone our way, but that has been the story of our season.