Thame Town held firm to claim a two-wicket win when they hosted London side Harefield in Division 2 West of the Home Counties league on Saturday.
Despite dominating last weekend’s match at Shipton, Thame fell victim to the weather and on a sunnier day they were eager to claim victory.
After winning the toss, skipper Mike Higgs elected to bowl first. Harefield made a steady start, with their two best batsmen opening and seeing off the new ball in the first few overs. Sam Lachlan then dismissed Nkala and Harefield progressed to 97-2 at lunch, with Macey also dismissed for 60.
With the visitors looking strong with the bat, Town introduced Will Rooney (pictured right) and he quickly captured four wickets for 51 runs off 14 balls. Harefield were all out for 189 in the 59th over. Vandit Jivrajani also starred, claiming four wickets for 44 off 19.
After a poor batting display last week, Town’s innings started well against Harefield.
Despite the loss of Mike Higgs for a solitary run, James Nielson and Pratik Patel looked in total control until Nielson was caught in the over before tea, leaving Thame on 78-3.
After the break, Ed Barnett, Vandit Jivrajani and Pratik Patel continued the home side’s dominance, taking the score to 170, as the Harefield players began to wilt.
However, a late flurry of wickets, including a hat-trick for Harefield’s Doug King, left Thame counting down the runs. Despite the late drama, Manoj Parmar and Harry Desai saw Town home in the 44th over, to earn a well deserved victory by two wickets.