Southgates arrival at the midd was seen as a great opportunity to turn the 3 game losing streak around after a strong showing in the bank holiday 2020. Winning the toss and electing to bat a slight reshuffle in the batting order saw Joel Hughes promoted up the order. The decision proved to be a good one as Hughes (30) and Shirls (18) produced a disciplined and watchful partnership to take us to 60 for the first wicket. This excellent platform should have proved the catalyst for an explosive midd middle order but 60-0 quickly became 74-3 as Vanderspar and Hughes followed Holmes back to the hutch. Partnerships threatened to get going only to be cut short. Murray (22) and flowers (26) the most promising putting on 50 runs to take us up to 120. Unfortunately this was as good as it got for the middle order as we found ourselves falling to 141-8. With 10 overs still to bat the midd needed to get the score up to a competitive 170 and the tail delivered. Will Nicoll (34*) produced a fantastic knock of patience and aggression ably supported by the defensive work of new number 10 Bird (9) and the carnage of Semper at 11 (16). In the end 4 consecutive boundaries in the final over from Nicoll saw the midd bounce into lunch with over 200 runs. Discipline with the ball and in the field would easily see the midd defend these runs and that is exactly what was to follow. With tails firmly erect, the old saying of bowl in partnership came to the fore. Hughes (5-16) the tormentor tucked into the Southgate top order removing the first 5 batsman and leaving the rest quivering. Bird (1-13) supported well from the other end leaving the Southgate lineup with nowhere to hide. Tom Nicoll (2-5) and vanderspar (2-16) came on to clean up the rest and Southgate limped off, blown away for just 55. A strong showing from the bowlers and a real sign of the danger that the midd present to every team. Onwards and upwards for the midd.

North Midd 2nd XI vs Acton (Away)
North Midd 152 all out
Acton 134 all out
North Midd won by 18 runs

An extraordinary come back from the Mid led by one of the great spells of bowling ensured we continued our winning streak against Acton. We lost the toss for the 4th game this season and were unsurprisingly stuck in. Expert analysis from Carroll and Oldham that it would "do a bit early doors" was proven true and the Acton openers took advantage of the overhead conditions reducing us to 30/3, 50/5 and 80/8 at drinks. Not for the first time this season a lack of discipline, poor shock selection and technical indeficiency once again proving our downfall. Despite 15 lagers and 2 hours of sleep the Oldman looked determined to show the batsman how to it and in partnership with the outstanding Chambers rescued our innings with a series of sensational extra cover bombs. The evergreen Carroll struck a couple of well placed edges and we amazingly (for the first time this season) batted the overs - 152 all out. In response Acton came out and played some shots. Carrolls insistence in a 4th slip instead of an extra cover enabled the Actons opener to smash 20 off the first all through extra cover. Thankfully the other opener guided an Oldham long hop straight to point and we were up and running. However with runs leaking at the other end an inspired bit of captaincy from Mills saw him ignore bowling options with over 2000 career wickets between them and instead threw the ball to promising youngster Hollman in the 4th over. Hollman bowled beautifully (2/21) and successfully slowed the game down. At drinks however Acton were 90 for 2 with only 60 to win off 150 balls. What happened next was one of the most extraordinary spells of bowling ever seen in club cricket, enter Benny Owen. The only suitable comparison here is Ambrose in Perth (7/1). Bowling with the wind at his back Owen terrorised their middle and lower order with 9 consequitive overs of 90 mph thunderbolts. His first over was reminiscent of Flintoff v Ponting in 05. 4 play and misses, a Chinese cut for four and four leg byes of the lid. With 4 wickets (all bowled) Owen entered his final over with Acton requiring 20 with 2 wickets left and 1 wicket for his Michelle. Their number 10 strolled in and deposited his first ball into the outdoor swimming pool. After a few choice words from the close fielders Owen delivered the perfect response, a 94mph inswinging Yorker that broke the off stump in half sending both halves cartwheeling in separate directions. An extraordinary delivery to say the least sparked wild celebrations. Rich Carroll got so excited he removed his black marker pen from his cricket sock, signed the stump and handed it to the outgoing batsman - an extraordinary send off. Unfortunately Owen was now bowled out and took his cap to a standing ovation from the excitable crowd. Luckily senior bowler Carroll still had some overs and finished it off with Owen taking the catch. An amazing victory from the jaws of defeat, an excellent team effort, especially the bowlers and Chambo. Despite a slow start, we are improving quickly and with availability improving we will be a big threat next week.

North Midd 3rd XI vs Acton (Away)
Acton 59/10
North Midd 60/0
North Midd win by 10 wickets

Cricket is an odd sport. Having scraped past Richmond by four runs with a fielding display in association with Specsavers and with croissants consumed, the champions set off looking for a fourth successive win against the league’s surprise package, early leaders Acton CC. And indeed, when we arrived, there was much to be surprised by. After taking the scenic route through much of West London and its cul-de-sacs, the champions stumbled upon a big field. As the team vehicle approached what appeared to be a large marshland hosting a football match, there were sneers from its passengers. Then the sneers were replaced by the words: “please no.” But alas, said marshland was indeed the home of the, thus far, all-conquering Acton CC 3rd XI. Making Douglas Eyre look like Lord’s and Peter May like the MCG, the North Acton Playing Fields Cricket Ground (the NAPFCG) had all the charm of a smack in the face. Complete with a beautifully ironic ‘Welcome to North Acton Playing Fields’ banner that itself didn’t look like it really wanted to be there – peeling off the wall in some kind of escape bid of its own, this had all the hallmarks of a rubbish little banana-skin fixture. There was something very ‘cold rainy Tuesday night in Stoke’ about it all. Indeed, which of the three fields could be ours? At the risk of sounding at all far-fetched, what follows here did genuinely occur. Field number one was so far away that I’m fairly sure we just crossed our fingers and hoped that it wasn’t ours. Field number two had a football match going on across the cut strip so surely that one couldn’t be ours? It was at this moment that it felt like we’d left reality and joined the fictional musings of C.S. Lewis. We found field number three, complete with trees behind the bowler’s arm at both ends and a shocking deck. This would be our wicket, we confirmed amongst ourselves, before deciding that 12 would be close to a match-winning score at the NAPFCG (more on that to follow). But then, clearly just back from a big night in Narnia, a man furnished with pink blazer, blue bow tie and whites appeared before our eyes. He professed to be the skipper of Brentham 4s, clearly a fairly jazzy outfit. As if, at this point, this day couldn’t get any more surreal, the pink man – some sort of Gatsby/Alice in Wonderland amalgamation, told us to look for a man dressed all in yellow, for he was the groundskeeper at this beacon of natural beauty. And so, as Heners pleaded fruitlessly for someone to join him on the swings in the children’s play area, the rest of us went to watch the bibs take on the green shirts in the football on the square. And then, after much ado and a distinct lack of opposition, the yellow man appeared before our eyes like an angel sent from a higher place. He informed us – to our relief – that Brent Ham 4s were taking on Hampstead 4s on Field 3. Less pleasing however, was the prospect of taking on the league’s leaders on the football pitch. This didn’t seem totally above board because, well, the left wing doubled up as the cut strip and some pesky Stewart Downing wannabe had spent 90 minutes churning up our playing area. But good things come to those who wait. And as stoppage time came to an end in this most ferocious of encounters, a bit of cricket threatened to break out. In cricket, there are good tosses to win, good tosses to lose and some tosses where if you lose, you may as well pack your bags. Thankfully, Shep won the toss against our esteemed opposition. Even more thankfully, we kindly offered them the opportunity to set us a target. After last week’s collective shambles when we’d have struggled to catch a cold sitting naked in the North Pole, without understating things, it would good that we’d remembered how to catch. With club legend Phil Victor (4-9) steaming in and Dre (2 for not many) replacing Lexi early on, runs were at a premium on a deck so green that Natalie Bennett would be proud to represent it. First, Phil had the opener snick off into the hands of the ever-impeccable Michael Edwards. With the WASP set at 9, Acton appeared in the driving seat as they scuttled along to 19-1. But 19-1 became 19-3 as Shep lazily grabbed one low down to his left before the legendary seamer cleaned up the self-appointed ‘ton king.’ A few minutes later, Phil grabbed a fourth, bowling the bloke via inside edge, front pad and back pad. There followed a terrific little period of cricket so attritional that it would have brought tears of joy to Boycott’s eyes. Seven runs were scored in the 12 overs before drinks. After the best squash that this writer has tasted on a cricket field – a lovely lemony number with just the right level of dilution, Hamid (4-8) came on and got the ball going both ways to the inconvenience of both batsmen. Gaurav held the catch of the day, diving one handed at short extra, before the slip fielder that Chris Jordan aspires to be held on to a left-handed worldie off Dre to have them 35-6. Hamid cleaned up three with a terrifically shone ball that was still hooping come the thirtieth over. Some lusty agricultural bat-throwing edged the league leaders up to 59 before finally succumbing. Nobody had the foggiest idea of how good a score this was for, in short, the pitch was pants. To emphasise this point of view, the game between Brentham and Hampstead on a similarly green top finished while we were still in the field (Hampstead 34/10, Brentham 35/0). Shep and Gaurav chased it. Not a runout in sight. 10 wicket win, done by 3:15, a cracking post-match tea and we’re joint top after Hampstead were rolled by Teddington. Everyone’s a winner. 41 points. Well done to all. North London at home next week. All aboard the winning train. Float like a butterfly, win like the 3s. There’s a title to defend.

North Midd 4th XI vs Brondesbury (Away)
Brondesbury 85 all out off 23 overs
North Midd 86 for 4 off 14 overs
North Midd won by 6 wickets

A win at last! Arriving at Ickenham CC, where Bron 3s play their home games, the 4s found a 'pitch' that screamed 'bowl first'. Damp, grassy, woefully underprepared. Thankfully the toss was won and the oppo duly inserted. Cue a masterclass from Usi. It was popping, seaming every which way – at times Usi was virtually unplayable as he mixed his slower ball with his even slower ball and the one where he takes all the pace off. His 3 for 46 led the way as we tore through the Bron batting. It really should have been 4 but the skipper dropped an incredibly difficult slip chance from an absolute screamer....OK it was actually a horrible miss from a total dolly but never mind. With Usi masterfully tying up one end, we were able to unleash a succession of tyros from the other. First Laurie Pearce, bowling at a pace that was downright dangerous on such an awful track, picked up one of the openers. He was then involved in a key moment in the game. Bron's number 3, Tariq, had pumped us for a ton in this game last year. This time, Laurie got one to rear sharply from back of a length. Tariq was through his pull shot too early and was hit on the head. Thankfully we later heard that we was fine but he was forced to retire hurt. After Laurie, Hugh then demanded the ball and, even at half pace, was far too good for the Bron batters. He was limited to just 4 overs but picked up 1 for 8 in a display of sheer class. Enter Oscar Riley making his 4s debut. Once he had worked out that full and straight would do the job on this surface, Oscar bowled beautifully, and with surprising pace, to pick up 3 for 13, including cleaning up their dangerous number 7 who was beginning to tee off. With Tariq out of action and Bron having only ten, the innings finished on 85 for 8. Job done, you might think, but having been bowled out for 41 the previous week and failing to chase 98 the week before, this was no foregone conclusion. The experienced Alan Dixon and Burgoyne were able to take advantage of some loose bowling to get the Midd off to a brisk start. After Dixon departed for 10, Carr came in and, displaying a confidence that has been missing from the 4s batting this season, took the game away from Bron. He and Burgoyne put 50 on and the end was in sight when Carr went for 23. With just 4 needed Bron brought on their secret weapon, a colossus of a man who came charging in bowling at least 85mph gas. A lethal bouncer did for Burgoyne (28). Teesdale came to the wicket to finish things but the sheer pace of the Brondesbury Beast proved too much for him – 2 in 2 and much scrambling for pads, gloves etc on the sidelines. Thankfully the calm heads of Peter Robson and Laurie saw us home. A great win and brilliant to see Oscar and Laurie make such strong debuts. The season starts here.

North Midd 5th XI vs Acton (Home)
Acton 301/5 dec
North Midd 202/6
North Midd Losing Draw

Youthful side, a number of debuts, muggy Walthamstow, toss won, fielding first. Playing on the end strip meant that one boundary was around 30 yards, causing havoc with Acton hitting multiple fortunate top-edged 6s. The other boundary was much bigger, leading to mishits finding gaps. Undeterred, Midd's bowlers persevered supported by some energetic fielding, highlighted by el capitano who with a direct hit sent back their wily old batsman before he even got halfway down the strip. Everyone bowled fine spells without much luck and in the end Acton finished on 301 from 46 overs, helped by their 'injured' 1s player who was skippering for them. Shoutout to young Alfie, who bowled like someone with much more experience even if he was short of fortune. With a mammoth target, Acton set attacking fields and Alban took advantage, hitting their opening bowlers to all parts before being unfortunately bowled off his legs. Nevertheless, David Boyd and Tim Oon batted together and took the game away from Acton, dissecting the field when they wanted until David skied one, just 4 short of his 50. Tim reached the landmark however, with a trademark edge through the slips. With the game petering out, the youngsters came in for some valuable experience and Louis Hayward dispatched one of Acton's spinners over midwicket for an impressive maximum. El capitano got off his run of ducks by miscuing one for 6 and the only thing that was left was for Richard to hit a boundary and the game was in the books. Ending up on 202-6 after 46, we conceded a losing draw to a strong team that was top of the table. Lots of positives, if we can get a team out week in and week out, there is no reason we can't climb the table and consolidate our position in the division.