Burnham are put in a spin

Windsor 283 for 4; 52 Overs (Bird 71, Clarke 62*, Watkins 54*, Davis 44)
Burnham 235 all out; 45 Overs (Abbas 88)

This game marked the second half of the league season and in contrast to their first meeting this year, the weather was hot and sunny and the outfield was quick. Upon winning the toss, Windsor skipper Craig Bird won the toss and did not hesitate in taking the opportunity to bat first.

With the ball moving in the humid conditions, early overs were tough going for Windsor opener Davis and Bird. Their patience though, would pay off as the Burnham opening bowlers tired and began to let slip some loose deliveries. The Windsor pair reached yet another 50 opening stand and looked well set at the first drinks break at 69 for 0. A loose shot by Davis (44) though of Abbas, saw him miss out on a fifty and brought Clarke to the crease. After an initial settling period, Clarke began to push along at the same run rate as his captain. Bird then brought up his fifth league fifty of the season. The pair carried on the assault and it was only when Bird went wandering out of crease to Abbas on 71, that the partnership was broken. Millman joined Clarke and the pair built another strong partnership, which only ended when Millman decided to copy his skipper’s mode of dismissal and was stumped for 34. A brief appearance from Nichols was cut short by a “doosie” of a leg-break from Burnham’s left spinner. Watkins then came to the party and teed off from the word go, hitting Abbas for three sixes in an over and reverse-sweeping Asif through backward point for four. Both Clarke (62 not out) and Watkins (54 not out) reached classy fifties as the final 12 overs gleaned 100 runs and took Windsor to 283 for 4 off 52 overs.

Burnham immediately went on the attack from ball one, and only a difficult drop at point saw them lose a wicket with an uppish drive from ball one. Nichols though got his revenge in the next two overs, having both openers caught with lively penetrative deliveries. Abbas then took a grip on the game and turned defence into attack in an attempt to drive Burnham towards the target. With his partner Malik being pummelled by Nichols at the other end, Abbas went on all-out attack and the run rate soared to 8 an over, with Windsor struggling to peg Burnham back. Abbas sped past fifty and looked set for a huge score, much to the glee of a rather exuberant Burnham crowd. The introduction of Watkins and Mohindru began to temper the attack though and Windsor when finally removed Malik lbw to Watkins, Abbas bore too great a burden and perished to fantastic reflex caught and bowled by Mohindru. The Windsor spin pair continued to chip away at the Burnham order (both collecting 3 wickets) and only a obdurate innings from Nawaz stood in the way of victory. The introduction of Leg Spinner Kellard saw Nawaz’s resistance finally end and it was left to Nichols to remove the off stump of Burnham’s last man to take Windsor to a deserved victory and a further 25 league points.

With bottom club Falkland visiting The Home Park this Saturday with rumoured batting reinforcements in tow, Windsor will again be continue the winning run. With the ground set up for Lord’s Taverners game the next day, the scene will be set well for a keenly competed game.

Windsor fights back to 25 points.
Saturday 8th July

Windsor 188 all out; 51 Overs (Davis 55, Mohindru 47*)
Beaconsfield 169 all out; 45.3 Overs

After a near miss the week before against Bagshot, Windsor travelled Beaconsfield this last weekend looking to gain a second victory of the season. With regular skipper Craig Bird enjoying a weekend off, acting skipper Andy Towse lost the toss and was remarkably asked to bat first.

On a mottled looking deck, Windsor had the worst possible start, losing Riches and Clarke in the first over before a run was scored. With opener Davis watching the carnage from the non-strikers end, Towse joined the fray and the pair began to rebuild the innings until the latter had his middle stump removed by a big in-swinger. With the ball swinging and the bounce inconsistent, Millman and Bullock soon followed and Windsor found themselves 50 for 5 in just the 11th over. Nichols, then came in and began the counter-attack with Davis. One enormous six signalled his intent and he rapidly caught up with his senior partners score. However, one big swing too many saw his demise, but with Mohindru coming in next, the Windsor fight-back continued. The pair continued to build the total and Davis passed fifty with a cut down to backward point. It took a sharp catch by the Beaconsfield keeper to finally remove Davis, but the tail continued to wag and with Mohindru’s guidance, Windsor reached a competitive 188 all out when a much lower total had looked likely. Mohindru finished on a fine 47 not out.

With the new ball in hand; the Beaconsfield innings immediately suffered the wrath of the Nichols and Hill as the latter uprooted the openers middle stump in just the second over. With the ball moving and the bounce unreliable, Nichols took full advantage and his blend of vicious bouncers and challenging swing began to chip at the Beaconsfield top order. Ably supported by Hill, the pair removed the top five batsmen and opened up the lower order much earlier than the home side had hoped for. With the introduction of the Windsor spin twins Mohindru and Kellard, Beaconsfield began to struggle to keep up with the run rate and lost wicket s regularly. With 10 overs to go, the run rate neared six an over and the final three wickets fell quickly. A solid all-round bowling performance saw the wickets shared, with Mohindru picking up four to add to his five the previous week.

After looking certain to lose the game some three hours before, Windsor pulled off a fabulous victory and claimed their first 25-point win of the season. This week sees Windsor travel to local rivals Burnham in what could prove to be a crucial game of the season. With Windsor now in third in the division at the half-way point of the campaign, an away win would provide great momentum for the second half of the season.

Bagshot escape from Windsor grasp.

Windsor 234 for 6; 52 Overs (Bird 61, Nicholls 52)
Bagshot 178 for 9; 48 Overs (Mohindru 5 for 46)

After the impressive win the previous week, Windsor returned to home action against Bagshot last weekend, looking for further success. Historically, Windsor versus Bagshot proved to be a very competitive rivalry and this game proved to be no exception.

Windsor skipper Bird won the toss and decided to bat. Davis and Huggins opened the innings and found conditions tough going early on with swing in the air and viewing difficult in the bright conditions. Huggins (6) was first to go, caught at slip and in the crease to a good length ball to the Bagshot opening bowler. Bird then joined Davis and the two continued to develop the Windsor innings. After successive boundaries, Davis (33) managed to find the backward point fielder with an ill-judged cut and Windsor were 2 down for 60. Millman joined Bird and showed good form before seeing his off-stump pegged back with a good out swinger by Maqbool. Bird went on to another fine fifty and in partnership with Bullock, managed to put Windsor into a strong position. Despite losing the skipper for 61, to a misjudged leave, Nichols and Bullock continued to pile on the runs through hard hitting and good running. When Bullock finally fell for 31, debutant Riches supported Nichols well as he passed his first league fifty for Windsor with a mighty array of sixes. Although Nichols fell late on in the pursuit of big runs, Windsor closed on 234 for 6 off their 52 overs, setting Bagshot a tough target.

As with other weeks, early wickets proved hard to come by and the Bagshot reply fairly raced along and passed fifty before losing their first wicket. Nichols removed Maqbool with a ball that cut back that the batsman chose to leave. The introduction of Mohindru would prove to be the turning point. With spin and seam in tandem, Bagshot lost regular wickets as Nichols and Mohindru took turns to take the wickets. Despite a belligerent innings from Bagshot skipper Jeremy Davis, caught well by Bird off a Nichols bouncer, Windsor picked off the scalps to leave the visitors at 150 for 8 with 10 overs to go. Bagshot keeper Davis managed to block out for 6 of these overs, until Kellard stuck with his first Windsor 1stXI wicket. This left 23 balls at the last pair. Despite the best efforts all round, Bagshot held out and scrambled a draw. Mohindru was the pick of the Windsor bowlers with a fine 5 for 46, a great return to form for the veteran spinner.

The 15 points that Windsor took from the game was great reward, but with the knowledge one more wicket would have taken them to second in the table, it was inevitably a disappointment. This coming week, Windsor travel to Beaconsfield.