FINCHAMPSTEAD made it back-to-back wins in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier Cricket League following a crushing six-wicket success against Great and Little Tew.
The result fails to demonstrate the club’s dominance on this fixture, however, with Jandre Coetzee the star of the show.
He picked up seven wickets and thoroughly obliterating the opposition’s innings, who were bowled out for just 41.
The overseas all-rounder quickly got to work too, removing opener Matthew Clark with Tew yet to score.
With the juices now flowing, the South African then put paid to Jordan Garett (3) and Dain Moreton (5) to leave the away side in heaps of trouble on 16-4.
Tew just had no answer to the bowler, who was more than making up for lost time having missed Finches’ first two games of the season due to visa issues, while another fixture was washed out by the rain.
Coetzee, who led the attack the weekend before at Tring Park, a game they won by nine wickets with 4-25, would see a sensational spell with the ball yield phenomenal figures on this occasion of 7-16.
There was a dismissal each, too, for Matthew Carter, Andy Rishton and Adam Dewes, who ended the stay of Tew’s top scorer on the day, Joe White (16).
It was now down to the batsmen to go to work on this small target, yet they would also encounter problems on what appeared to be an unpredictable track, with Carter another to depart with the score on zero.
Andrew House (11), Billy Rodgers for five and Rishton (1) would follower the opener back to the pavilion as the guests making a fist of things in the field.
Dan Lincoln, handed a first Berkshire call-up earlier in the week, however, would see the side home in the 12 over courtesy of an unbeaten 20.
Wokingham Cricket Club
STUART PARSONS would crack a top score of 84 at the top of the order, but it proved to be in vain as Wokingham were beaten by six wickets when hosting Stoke Green at Sadler’s End.
After a fine start to their Division 1 campaign in the Thames Valley League, the Oaks are now enduring a topsy-turvy run of form having lost two games on the spin.
The hosts were asked to bat upon losing the toss and Parsons duly obliged, with his leading knock coming from just 109 balls.
With Dan Housego the next best scorer on 35 and captain Stuart Hayter also contributing with a useful 27, Wokingham looked set to post a competitive total.
And the team continued to pile on the runs, only for the loss of Jack Fisher (27) to put a halt on proceedings, with the visitors picking up two more wickets and only conceding a further 13 runs to the opposition.
Because of this, Wokingham fell from 220-7 to 233-9, with this total eventually proving to be below par on what was a good wicket.
Stoke’s Nadeer Malik threatened to topple Parsons’ earlier stand, but would fall on 74 to Housego, who claimed two scalps on the afternoon.
But his innings would inspire others to do likewise, with the blast laying the foundations for Conrad Lough (48), Fahad Masood and Vishal Arjan, who would finish unbeaten on 43 and 34 respectively, to guide the the side to a comfortable victory.
