Henley Hit Double Top!!!!!!! 9/6/2009
Henley are Division 1 Home Counties Premier League Champions! Having led Division1 throughout the entire season, it was entirely fitting that they should close out the Championship with a hard earned but satisfying victory in front of a jubilant home crowd against the outgoing champions High Wycombe. Banbury’s home defeat to Tring Park meant that Henley finished their 2009 campaign an emphatic 35 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
For once, Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt won the toss and decided to have a bowl in bright and sunny conditions. Mordt has taken to opening the bowling and drew first blood in his opening over with the wicket of the hitherto prolific Matt Eyles. Nick Robinson joined Sehgal and for a while, the wisdom of bowling first was put in doubt as both batsmen accumulated rapidly. Chad Keegan replaced Tom Lambert but this did little to reduce the rate of scoring until first Keegan floored Sehgal’s middle stump and, second, Carl Crowe replaced his skipper and applied the brakes to the run rate. Lambert returned just after Robinson had claimed his 50 but the latter’s progress came to an end with a rather injudicious swipe as Lambert bowled him. At lunch on 110-3, it was a case of honours even and quite a bit of work to be done to make the Championship a certainty.
Crowe’s good work at slowing the run rate created pressure and first to crack after lunch was the experienced Sawyer who brought an early end to a promising innings as he swatted one to wide mid-off where Mordt brought off a rather improbable but nevertheless spectacular diving catch. David Cranfield-Thompson soon followed as yet another batsman who rather got himself out with a wild waft at a Crowe delivery. Wycombe’s player-coach Keith Newell was Keegan’s next victim, beaten for pace as Keegan flattened Newell’s off stump and when Crowe deceived Downing with a slower, held back delivery, Wycombe were rocking at 171-7. It was not long before resistance collapsed completely. Davison took a fine stumping to dismiss Bird, Gitsham’s sturdy resistance finally ended when he was well caught by Keegan at long-off and Keegan bowled Ireland international Connell to leave Sketchley stranded. 203 all out owed much to Crowe (4-45) who had slowed Wycombe down and taken crucial wickets. Once again, as ever throughout this season, Henley’s fielding was nothing short of top notch. All this left Henley with a run chase that was well within their abilities and with 55 overs to do it in.
And so it proved, albeit not without the odd wobble. Having gained 5 bowling points, Henley now needed only a further 2 points to secure the championship, all of which meant that the magic target was 150 runs. Openers Michael Roberts and Dave Barnes got things off to a steady start and though Connell posed a few questions with a short fiery spell, neither looked unduly troubled until, Barnes lofted the deceptive Sawyer to Cranfield Thompson at mid-on. A single magpie hopped onto the outfield just as Jonno McLean took strike only to be adjudged caught behind second ball. An unhappy McLean (and the magpie) departed.
Roberts was now joined by Mordt who was all intent and aggression and plainly in a mood to blast Henley to the Championship. It was not to be however as, with four boundaries to his credit already, he went to clatter Gitsham and only managed top edge to the keeper who backpedalled to take a simple catch. Crowe soon followed bowled round his legs by Gitsham.
By now the warm sunshine of the morning had been replaced a by chilly overcast conditions with even the odd hint of rain and the sombre conditions were matched by an increase in tension amongst the spectators. But cometh the hour, cometh the man in the form of Dave Allaway.
Roberts and Allaway motored on and as the runs mounted the skies lightened only for an excellent inning s by Roberts (top scoring batsman for Henley this year with 626 League runs to his credit) to come to an end as a rather frustrated Sketchley finally got his man. Henley were now 140-5, just 10 runs away from the Championship. Jamie Morris’ innings may have been short-lived but he it was who brought up the magical figure with a well struck square drive.
This should have been the perfect platform for a display of Keegan fireworks, but he smashed his second ball to deep backward square where Sehgal did well to hold on to an excellent catch just within the rope. At this point Dave Allaway clearly decided that enough was enough and that it was time to close out the game. Smashing Sawyer for a 6 and 4 in the same over, more was to come as Allaway hammered the hapless Gitsham for 22 (6,4,6,2,4) in the 48th over. Ewan Brock came and went and the loss of Allaway at that point might have turned the game in Wycombe’s favour. But Allaway was not to be moved and now backed up by Lambert, it was fitting that he should seal the win with a cover driven 4 to leave him on 75 not out off just 57 balls.
Jubilant celebrations ensued and went on well into the night, but a final word and all credit to Wycombe who came into the game with nothing but pride to play for and who made a real contest of it, fought right to the end and, but for Allaway, might just have nicked it.
Henley have thus achieved notable and unique Double in winning not only the coveted 2009 Championship but also the new for 2009 HCPCL 20/20 competition and reaching the last 8 of the of the Cockspur Cup 20/20 Competition. All in all a fantastic season – never headed in the League and dominant in both HCPCL competitions.
|
