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Retro Rangers: 40 points from League Saturday 4 (2018)

Retro Rangers: 40 points from League Saturday 4 (2018)

Chris Goldie27 May 2018 - 08:19
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The double winning season continues: There were good wins for the 1's, 2's, 3's and 5's but the 4's lost a tight one.

Dan set about the hosts' bowling [with a] superb 80 off 50 balls
4 wins and the narrowest of defeats for the 4th XI saw Richmond lose their unbeaten record in League cricket this season. Still, 40 points from a possible 50 is still an excellent return and maintains the high standards that Richmond have shown this season to date.
In Bushy Park, Teddington won the toss and asked Richmond to bat first on a pitch that had felt the full force of Wednesday night's rain. With conditions perfectly suited to their medium pace seamers, Teddington made life very difficult for Richmond's batsman reducing us to 43 for 5 before Will Sobczak, firstly with Alex Griffiths and then with Daniel Stanley, set about building a score. However, when Sobczak was stumped with the score on 107 for 7 (after a 95 ball 35), Richmond were still in a precarious position. Supported by Will Jenkins, Dan set about the hosts' bowling and his superb 80 off 50 balls was one of two ultimately decisive factors. The other was Teddington's over-rate which saw a 24 run penalty added to Richmond's score as the hosts reached the cut-off point 4 overs short of the required rate. Those 24 runs were to prove crucial in the end.
David Burton took 2 early wickets but James Keightley and Robert Gardiner slowly added 75 for the 3rd wickets as Richmond's bowlers gave little away. Going into the last 15 overs, the required rate had nudged up to more than 8 an over and kept rising. There were flurries of runs but the target always seemed just beyond the batsmen. A few dropped catches kept them in it but with 15 needed off the last over, Burton maintained an excellent line and Teddington finished 8 short. How they will rue the penalty runs and the 27 wides conceded earlier. The win leaves Richmond tied with Hampstead at the top of the Premier League as the only 2 sides to have won all of their completed games.
At Old Deer Park, the 2's were also inserted on a pitch that had seen some midweek rain. At 111 for 8, Acton were well on top but a magnificent ton from Sam Goodwill, well supported by Barnaby Cole's 23 not out, saw Richmond reach 204 for 9. Acton were never really in it. Early wickets for Cole and Steve Stacey set us on the way before Steven Deakin and Goodwill finished them off for 130. The 2's are in second place behind North Middlesex who they play next week.
The 3's are also in 2rd place after their comfortable win against Highgate 3's. Richmond batted first and scored 259 all out off their 45 overs. There were half-centuries for Kieran Evans, Tom Tuffley and James Arnold. Highgate's reply was steady but Richmond made regular inroads and slowly but surely got well on top. 4 wickets for Tuffley and 3 for skipper Charles Scholefield led the way as Highgate were dismissed for 199.
The 4's seemed well on top after posting 253 for 6 and reducing Shepherds Bush 3's to 122 for 5 but a crucial dropped catch gave Ed Price (a player for higher sides returning after injury) his chance and he took recording unbeaten 106 to get his team across the line, 9 down with 3 balls remaining.
The 5's dismissed South Hampstead's 4's for 102 and knocked them off for the loss of just 3 wickets.
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