The 2004 season got underway on Saturday as Gerrards Cross played host to Premier League champions High Wycombe.

In a 40 overs per side game, Wycombe seemed to be in some disarray as they collapsed to 63-5. Only skipper Jason Harrison (92*) offered any resistance against some accurate Cross bowling with Mark Wildman (2-14) and Richard Thomas (2-23) making life difficult for the batsmen.

Another wicket soon followed and at 87-6, Wycombe didn’t look like reaching 150. Harrison was the joined Mark Wright (45*) and they turned the game on its head showing why Wycombe are the Premier League champions.

Wright immediately upped the tempo, hitting three sixes in one over as Wycombe smashed 77 runs off the last five overs to finish on 196-6.

The Cross made a decent start with Andy Weston (19) and Will Butterworth (35) putting on 44 for the first wicket.

The Cross seemed to be in control, but Harrison changed his bowlers and began to tighten the screw. Scoring runs became more difficult. Alan Duncan hit a brisk 33, but two runs outs dented the Cross momentum. At 127-5 with 7 overs to go, and with five Cross players unavailable, the game was as good as over.

The lower middle order used the last few overs as batting practice and the Cross finished on 138-6.

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Gerrards Cross 2XI suffered the same fate.

Wycombe 2XI piled up a massive 274-9 in 45 overs. David Cranfield-Thompson (2-26) and Andrew Peace (2-38) were the pick of the Cross bowlers.

In reply, the Cross fell well short reaching 175-9 to give Wycombe victory by 99 runs. The Cross top scorers were David Cranfield-Thompson (65) and Gary Hales (44).

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A superb unbeaten 98 from captain Paul Atkins guided Gerrards Cross to a comfortable 7 wicket win over Thame.

Batting first, Thame struggled to make any headway against some excellent Cross bowling on a pitch which offered very little help to the batsman. The players went in for lunch after 36 overs with the score only 63-2; both wickets falling to the experienced Jon Coles whose 16 overs yielded just 27 runs.

Thame skipper Rob Brooks let the fight back after lunch with a half century, but Thame were still finding batting very difficult. Stefan Read claimed two wickets late on as Thame hit out, but they could only muster 174-7 off 60 overs.

The meagre Thame total was never going to be enough to challenge the Cross’ powerful batting line-up. Paul Atkins led the way and with vice-captain Alan Duncan (35) shared a second wicket partnership of 95.

Thame changed the bowling in search of some more wickets, but it was all to no avail as the Cross galloped home with seven wickets to spare.

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A solid all round performance from vice-captain Alan Duncan snatched victory for Gerrards Cross against Aston Rowant by four wickets on Saturday.

The Cross bowlers struck early as Aston Rowant slipped to 48-2. Winton Willesee (66) and Chris Eaton (49) repaired the damage with a 90 run stand and huge total looked possible.

Alan Duncan returned for his second spell soon after lunch and immediately removed both Willesee and Eaton. Left arm-spinner Zak Taylor claimed two wickets at the other end as the runs slowly began to dry up.

With Aston Rowant now finding runs hard to come by, the Cross tightened the screw. Duncan picked up two more wickets to finish with 4-53 and Aston Rowant totalled 197-9.

In reply, the Cross seemed in some trouble at 61-3. However, Duncan, who was the hero with the ball, now became the hero with the bat as he notched up his first HCPL century. Along with Stefan Read, who, hit a quick-fire 38, he hauled the Cross back into the game and the reduced the run-rate to less than four runs per over.

The dismissal of Read with 10 over to go failed to stem the runs and Duncan hit first ball of the last over for four to give the Cross by 4 wickets.

A record opening stand of 172 between centurion Gary Hales (103) and Charles Cemlyn-Jones (79) gave Gerrards Cross 2XI a sound springboard in their TVL Div 3A match at Boyne Hill.

The pair launched a blistering onslaught on a wicket which was far from placid. Their exploits allowed an early declaration on 255-4. But in their efforts to dismiss Boyne Hill and claim the maximum points, Cross dropped at least eight catches. Smith top-scored for the home side with a gritty 86, and the game ended in a draw, with Boyne Hill 222-6. Cross 2XI are now placed second in the league table after three games.

Skipper George Eykyn said: “We just didn’t follow through on Gary Hales’ and Charles Cemlyn-Jones’ fantastic performances with the bat. We can’t drop as many as eight catches and still expect to be bowling our opponents out. We’ll work on it!”

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Gerrards Cross suffered their first defeat of the season, despite a second consecutive century from Alan Duncan.

The Cross lost the toss – another first this season – and were asked to bat. Paul Atkins (32) and Luk Shepherd (15) laid a solid foundation with an opening stand of 48.

But Faisal Yasin (2-79) and Mohammed Fazal (5-72) then set to work as the middle order crumbled with batsmen four to seven failing to reach double figures.

Luc Walker chipped in with a useful 20 and shared a seventh wicket stand of 57 with Duncan. Duncan perished in the penultimate over going for quick runs as the Cross posted 224-9. Duncan’s 112 came in 140 minutes off 134 balls and included 15 fours.

After a slow start, the Burnham openers, Asif Butt (34) and Aurangzeb Chaudhrey (57), soon gained confidence on a difficult batting track as Burnham reached 89-1 at tea.

Zak Taylor (2-48) and Richard Thomas (2-69) claimed three quick wickets between them shortly after tea to haul the Cross back into the game.

Burnham skipper Shaid Nadeem (38*) and Mohammed Fazal (41) counter-attacked for the visitors and seemed to put the game beyond the Cross’ reach.

However, Fazal and Mujtaba Ahmed were run out inconsecutive balls and with Elkis Miah caught behind two overs later the Cross sensed a chance of saving the game.

But, Nadeem took control of the situation and guided Burnham home with three wickets remaining.

Gerrards Cross suffered their second successive defeat by seven wickets at Falkland on Saturday despite a maiden league half-century from Will Butterworth and some excellent slow left arm bowling from Zak Taylor and Luc Walker.

The Cross batting failed once again with only Butterworth (51*), Alan Duncan (43) and Paul Atkins (31) offering any real resistance. Mark Baker (3-43), Khalid Zafar (2-36) and Raheel Majeed (3-46) posed all sorts of problems for the batsmen as the Cross were all out for 190, falling well short of a par score.

Steve Pope fell early in Falkland’s reply and at 94-3, the Cross felt they were in with a chance. Taylor and Walker slowed the scoring as they bowled in tandem, but with a small target to chase, Falkland were never under any pressure. Tom Heath (54*) and Zafar (48*) guided Falkland home with plenty of overs to spare.

A captain’s innings from Paul Atkins put Gerrards Cross back on the winning track as they crushed Beaconsfield by 6 wickets in the local derby at Dukes Wood on Saturday.

It is the first time the two teams have met in league game since 1993. Only two survivors of that match played on Saturday, Stuart Gilmore and Denzil Owen, which the Cross won by 51 runs.

The Beaconsfield batsmen struggled on a bouncy track against some excellent fast bowling from Stefan Read and Alan Duncan. They capitulated to 77-4 at lunch with as Duncan ripped through the top order taking 3-41.

Paul Sylvester started dominated immediately after lunch with a brisk 35, but was well caught by Luc Walker in the covers. Richard Thomas was brought into the attack and cleaned up the tail taking 4-25. Zak Taylor chipped in with 2-20 and Beaconsfield were all out for a paltry 134.

The Cross lost an early wicket, but Atkins (70*) and Duncan (21) repaired the damage as the Cross reached 66-1.

Mohammed Sarfraz struck either side of tea to give Beaconsfield a glimmer of hope, but Atkins stood firm. He received good support from Will Butterworth (16) as the Cross cruised to victory with 13 overs to spare.

Gerrards Cross’ inconsistent form continued on Saturday with defeat to NPL Teddington by 4 wickets after another dismal batting display.

The Shepherds, Luk (65) and Mark (45), put the Cross in a commanding position at 107-2 after 27 overs. But NPL Teddington struck back through Chris Binney (4-56) and Ian Broady (4-25) as the last eight wickets fell for just 57 runs. And with only one other batsman reaching double figures, the Cross were all out for 164.

NPL Teddington found batting difficult against some excellent seam bowling from Jon Coles and Stefan Read (4-54). The score at tea was 70-3 off 30 overs – it was anybody’s game!

However, the complexion of the game changed immediately after tea through Stuart Garvie (66*) and a blistering 48 off 36 balls from Rukshan Warnacula. The Cross claimed two late wickets, but the game was effectively over. Garvie hit the winning runs to hand the Cross their third defeat of the season.

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Gerrards Cross’ poor form continued on Saturday with a crushing 5 wicket defeat at the hands local rivals Farnham Royal.

The Cross have lost all of their matches batting first this season and Saturday was no exception.

The match was reduced to 93 overs due to the poor weather. The Cross batsmen struggled on a greenish wicket with only Paul Atkins (25) and Alan Duncan (68) posting any significant scores. Some late blows from Mark Wildman and Richard Thomas lifted the Cross to an all out score of 164. Krishmar Santokie (5-51) and Kevin Dilly (4-48) were the pick of the Farnham Royal bowlers.

Farnham Royal seemed in some trouble at 53-3. But Warren Miller (59) and Ian Bucknell (39*) steadied the ship.

Duncan took 3-51 for the Cross, but his efforts were all in vain, as Farnham Royal recorded their first win of the season.

Thames Valley League Division 3A front-runners Gerrards Cross 2nd XI stretched their lead to 22 points on Saturday, with an emphatic 128-run victory at Teddington Town.

As rain threatened, Cross were inserted and responded by amassing 304-7 declared in 50 overs, on a picturesque small ground amid the roving deer of Bushy Park.

Big hitting from Gary Hales (47) and Sonny Grover (78) provided the early backbone of the innings. Other notable performances came from Ed Waugh (63), and Phil Sweeney who scored 52.

Teddington Town started positively but lost opener Van Aswegen to a steepling catch by Richard Warren on the long off boundary. Specialist short-leg Ed Waugh then took a superb diving catch to dismiss the opposition captain Mike Tamblingson on 49, the first of five wickets for the spin of Nigel Bruce.

He was supported by Richard Warren with 3-20, from whose bowling Andy Peace and David Cranfield-Thompson both held onto impressive catches. Teddington Town were all out for 176 in 38 overs.

Cross seconds skipper George Eykyn said: "This was a solid performance. The team showed that we have real depth in our batting, and – just as importantly -- that we are capable of bowling sides out to win matches."

"We are top of the table, and the spirit in the team is really high -- but our players are all well aware that we’re not even halfway through the season yet. This Saturday will be a tough match against Eversley, who are unbeaten and breathing down our necks."

Gerrards Cross produced a much improved batting display and despite a maiden league half century from Luc Walker, has to settle for a draw against Tring.

The Cross bowlers reduced Tring to 49-3 in the seventeenth over with Alan Duncan claiming all three. But the Brooks brothers, Tom and Lloyd, knuckled down and put on 109 for the fourth wicket.

Lloyd Brooks was eventually dismissed for 53 and Tom Brooks, who hit his maiden league hundred, was joined by Luke O’Shea. Tom Brooks and O’Shea (53*) put on undefeated fifth wicket stand of 99 in fourteen overs.

Some very poor fielding from the Cross allowed Tring to declared after 58 overs on 257-4.

The Cross made a painfully slow start against some accurate bowling from Bucks stalwart Simon Stanway (4-40), James Steptoe and Luke O’Shea, with only 23 runs coming off the first 17 overs.

Luc Walker (58*) and Will Butterworth (47) shared a fifth wicket stand of 94, but the Cross were always behind with the run rate and the game petered out into a draw with the Cross finishing on 211-6.

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Gerrards Cross produced their best bowling performance of the season to trounce Wokingham by six wickets.

After winning the toss, Wokingham surprisingly chose to bat and it backfired in a big way. The Cross’ premier fast bowler, Stefan Read, ripped through the Wokingham batting in a devastating spell. He took 5-16 in 12 overs as Wokingham were reduced to 44-6.

Ashley Cutts (38) and Jon Gilbey (61) restored some of Wokingham’s pride with stand 96, which was broken when Cutts was run out with a direct hit by Ranjiv Atkar from the boundary.

Alan Duncan returned for his second spell and blew away the tail, taking 4-63, by which time Wokingham had reached 164.

The Cross openers set off at top speed, reaching 30 without loss after 6 overs. Alan Duncan was the backbone of the Cross innings with a solid half-century and he was supported by Paul Atkins (22) and Mark Shepherd (24).

The Cross lost two wickets in four balls, but were never under any pressure. Luc Walker (19*) and Will Butterworth (17*) guided the Cross home with six wickets to spare.

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Gerrards Cross bowler Jon Coles returned his best league bowling figures of 6-53 as the Cross demolished Thame by 10 wickets at Dukes Wood on Saturday.

Coles’ previous best bowling was 6-63 against Basingstoke in 1992. He showed that after more than 20 years of playing league cricket he still has the ability to destroy a batting line-up.

Coles and skipper Alan Duncan, who took 4-28, bowled 42 overs between them. They reduced Thame to 16-5 and then 37-9.

The Cross were hoping to bowl Thame out before lunch, but Steve Merry, batting at number eleven, had other ideas. He top scored with 30, sharing a last wicket stand of 46 with Richard Hooper. The partnership was broken when Merry was bowled by Duncan and Thame were all out for 83.

The Cross openers, Paul Atkins (46*) and Mark Shepherd (27*), were under no pressure and they knocked off the runs in 21 overs.

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Gerrards Cross reached the quarter finals of the Bucks Cup on Sunday after a thrilling run chase at home to Marlow.

Marlow looked set for a huge total as they reached fifty in under 10 overs. But two wickets from Jon Coles (2-41) kept the Cross in the game.

Dickinson blasted 81 off 56 balls to put Marlow in control. Haroon Mohammad then struck back for the Cross, taking three wickets in seven balls as the middle order crumbled.

Hudson (38), Madarusignghe (30*) and Baig (34) swung the game back Marlow’s way until Richard Thomas (3-28) took three wickets in five balls and Marlow were restricted to 248-8.

The Cross has a powerful batting line-up with the top eight able to bat in any position. After the loss of an early wicket, the Cross built some useful partnerships. Luc Shepherd (46), Luk Walker (57) and Alan Duncan (52) supplied the bulk of the runs.

However, with the Cross needing 22 runs off 23 balls, the heavens suddenly opened and the players were forced from the field.

After a 10 minute delay, play resumed. But the damp conditions made life difficult for both batsmen and fielders. Ranjiv Atkar (36*) then struck a couple of hefty blows and the Cross scrapped home with four balls to spare.

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Gerrards Cross suffered their fifth defeat of the season on Saturday, going down by six wickets to Aston Rowant.

Paul Atkins (37) and Mark Shepherd (38) gave the Cross a solid start with an opening stand of 78. But then it all went wrong. The Cross lost seven wickets for 35 runs in 14 overs as they collapsed to 113-7 and were in danger of being bowled out before lunch.

But Ranjiv Atkar (50) and Stefan Read (46*) led the fight back as the last three wickets yielded 118 runs and the Cross were all out for a very respectable 231.

Aston Rowant started slowly reaching 52-1 after 25 overs and as the players went in for tea, a draw seemed the most likely result.

But Aston Rowant came out after tea with all guns blazing. Tim Morgan (50) and Winton Willesee (82) fired Aston Rowant back into the game with some powerful hitting.

The Cross were forced on the defencive in an effort to save the game, but Aston Rowant still found the boundary on a regular basis. The Cross claimed a couple of wickets, but it failed to slow the scoring.

With only a couple of overs remaining Aston Rowant still needed 19 runs to run. Nick O’Hara then blasted 23 runs on nine balls to give Aston Rowant victory with two balls left.

Gerrards Cross turned in their best performance of the season as they trounced Burnham by 67 runs in the IC3 HCPCL Division 2 West on Saturday.

The Cross won the toss and opted to bat first on a very flat track. Paul Atkins (27) and Mark Shepherd (57) set off at express pace as the Cross reached 60 without loss after 10 overs and seemed set for a huge total.

Burnham grabbed a couple of wickets just before lunch and the Cross lost some momentum in the middle order. Alan Duncan (45) and Will Butterworth (50) wrestled the initiative back and some useful contributions from the lower order enabled the Cross to reach 265-8.

Burnham set off in pursuit of victory some gusto, playing shots right from the off. However, they soon found themselves in trouble at 92-5, with Richard Thomas (3-58) and Haroon Mohammad (2-30) doing the damage.

Mohammad Fazal (42) and Nadeem (66*) were the only batsmen to get to grips with the Cross bowling. But Burnham never gave up as they continued to play their shots, which eventually led to their downfall.

Alan Duncan returned for his second spell and cleaned up the tail taking 4-7 in 19 balls as Burnham were all out for 198.

The Cross move up to third place, 11 points behind joint leaders Tring and Falkland and are well positioned to make serious challenge for the title. The Cross play host to Falkland next week in a game that neither side can afford to lose.

A maiden century for his club by 15 year-old batting prodigy Alex Hales laid the foundation for Gerrards Cross 2nd XI’s resounding 66-run win over Slough 2nd XI on Saturday.

The 25-point win at Dukes Lane keeps Cross 43 points clear at the top of TVL Div 3A with just five games left to play.

The home side lost the toss and were asked to bat. Opener Alex Hales responded with 113, including 22 boundaries. The tall youngster smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, mixing pure aggression with concentration and composure. His innings attracted much praise from the Slough team.

For much of the time Alex was at the crease with his father Gary, who himself notched up 77. The father and son partnership put on more than a hundred runs. Gary Hales is Cross seconds’ top run-getter this season.

Cross were finally dismissed for 282 – a tall order for the visitors. They went well until opener Kakar was caught behind off Greg Bye. David Cranfield-Thompson then took a blinding catch in the deep to dismiss the Slough skipper Bhatti.

As Slough passed 200 with seven wickets down, they continued to chase the total. A brilliant run out by Ed Waugh brought Slough’s ninth wicket, and they were finally dismissed for 216 – spinner Richard Graham claiming three scalps.

Gerrards Cross 2nds skipper George Eykyn said: "This was a great win for us. Slough are one of the sides challenging for the league. In the coming weeks we’ve got to play the other main challengers too. So it’s going to be a tough run in, but the whole squad are up for this, and we’ll fight really hard to keep our lead."

Gerrards Cross played host to the MCC at Dukes Wood on Friday in the first match between the two sides.

The first attempt at this fixture two years ago was completely washed out. This time however, the players were greeted with plenty of sunshine and some very hot temperatures. The MCC side was skippered by Gerrards Cross player Jon Coles, which added a bit of spice to the contest.

Jon Atkins was the backbone of the MCC innings, top scoring with 90. Matt Eyles (39) and Bill Hubbick (41*), both from High Wycombe, gave Atkins some useful support.

The Cross bowlers kept things tight as the MCC found it difficult to score quick runs. They eventually declared after a marathon 66 overs on 257-8.

Zak Taylor (3-68) and Nigel Bruce (3-47) were the pick of the Cross bowlers.

The Cross found run chasing difficult and lost wickets on a regular basis. Mark Shepherd (45) and Ed Montague (28) shared a stand of 52 for the fourth wicket. The batsmen struggled against the spin duo of Atkinson (3-63) and Davis (4-50) and perished going for quick runs.

Taylor hit a rapid 25 towards the end, but his efforts were in vain. The Cross were all out for 179.

Gerrards Cross’ title hopes suffered a serious, and probably fatal, setback on Saturday as they lost to Falkland by 6 wickets.

Paul Atkins (72) and Luk Shepherd (68) were the only Cross batsmen to post significant scores. And with three suicidal run outs, the Cross never built enough momentum to set Falkland a challenging target. A total of 225-8 was about 50 runs short of a par score.

In reply, Raheel Majeed laid waste to the Cross bowlers as he blasted an unbeaten 117 off just 101 balls. With wickets few and far between, the Cross knew the game was up long before the end as Falkland cruised to victory.

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A wonderful display of slow left arm bowling from Zak Taylor guided Gerrards Cross to victory in the Bucks Cup Quarter Final against local rivals Beaconsfield.

The Cross has already beaten Beaconsfield in a league game earlier in the season and were, therefore, confidant of doing the same again.

Beaconsfield made a flying start reaching 36 without loss after 6 overs. But a brilliant leg-side stumping from sixteen year old wicket keeper David Cranfield-Thompson and two wickets from Mark Wildman slowed the Beaconsfield scoring.

Gary Hales and Luk Shepherd kept things tight until Taylor was introduced into the attack. He took 5-2 in 15 balls to finish with figures of 5-9 off 6.3 overs as Beaconsfield capitulated from 130-5 to 137 all out.

The Cross lost regular wickets in their reply, but with skipper Mark Shepherd (48) at the crease victory was always assured. Will Butterworth (19) and Luk Shepherd (17*) made valuable contributions and the Cross reached their victory target with five overs to spare.

The Cross will play either Marlow Park or Princes Risborough in the semi-finals. They also play Beaconsfield again on Saturday in the league and will be hoping to make it three victories out of three.

Gerrards Cross produced their worst batting display for some time on Saturday and crashed to a six wicket defeat at the hands of NPL Teddington.

The green pitch made batting difficult and it was not helped by some excellent seam bowling from NPL Teddington and some poor shot selection by the Cross batsmen. Simon Rutt claimed 5-19 as the Cross batting never really got started. Chris Binney (2-49) and Ian Broady (3--33) also claimed wickets as the Cross were all out for 110.

The Cross claimed early wickets and at 28-3, the game was evenly poised. But Ed Wesson (41*) knuckled and guided NPL Teddington to a six wicket victory. Alan Duncan was the pick of the Cross bowlers taking 3-37.

Gerrards Cross 2nd XI are the champions of Thames Valley league Division 3A. With two matches still to play this season, they are assured of promotion.

The team beat Aldershot 2nds by six wickets on Saturday to earn an invincible lead in the Division, which they have led without interruption since early June.

Off-spinner Nigel Bruce claimed seven wickets, as Aldershot were dismissed for just 103. Gerrards Cross passed the total in 29 overs, Sonny Grover top-scoring with 45 not out.

There were celebrations back at Dukes Lane after the game. Skipper George Eykyn was delighted: "We’ve had a fantastic season – the best in recent memory for most of us. Our team spirit has been really strong all season. We’re certainly ready for the next step up, but we know we’ll have to work hard to hold our own in Division 2."

"This season’s achievements are down to a combination of factors: we’ve recruited some key players like Nigel Bruce, and Gary Hales who’s proved to be our top run-getter. And we’ve brought on talented youngsters, like Alex Hales and David Cranfield-Thompson, who are both playing for Bucks."

"We’ve also got better organised, with greater squad depth. So we’ve fielded strong sides every week -- but that’s also meant a bit of a rotation system, with good players missing the odd game here and there. If you don’t do that, the holiday season can hit quite hard."

Gerrards Cross 2nd XI’s last home game is against Teddington Town this Saturday.

Gerrards Cross cruised into the Bucks Cup final on Sunday with comfortable 111 run win over Dinton.

After the relatively easy win against Beaconsfield in the quarter final, the Cross expected a much tougher challenge in the semi, but they outclassed Dinton in every department. The victory was set up by some excellent middle order batting and a devastating spell of pace bowling from Mark Wildman.

The Cross set off a breakneck speed hitting 30 off the first four overs with Gary Hales (32) being particularly brutal on any bad balls.

Dinton struck back through Bowler (3-50) and Browne (2-17) as the Cross were reduced to 80-5. But Ed Waugh (28) and Zak Taylor (26) shared a sixth wicket stand of 63 which paved the way for Luke Shepherd’s blistering late innings assault. He smashed 40 off just 24 balls taking full advantage of the fielding restrictions with a succession of boundaries. His innings took the Cross 212-8 off their allotted 45 overs.

Dinton lost an early wicket before a run was scored, but recovered to reach 30-1 after 12 overs and were well positioned to step on the gas.

But then Mark Wildman blew away the top order taking 3-1 in six balls as Dinton disintegrated to 32-5. Wildman, who finished with 4-23, was well supported by skipper Alan Duncan (2-35).

Patel tried to hit Dinton out of trouble with a rapid 27, but was bowled by Duncan going for one big hit too many.

At 59-6, Dinton knew the game was up. Haroon Mohammad collected two late wickets as Dinton were all out for 101.

The Cross play Milton Keynes in the final at Chesham on Saturday 11^th September at 12.30pm.

A wonderful century from Alan Duncan and a career best haul for Richard Thomas sealed victory for Gerrards Cross by 38 runs against Farnham Royal on Saturday.

Alan Duncan was the backbone of the Cross innings with his third century of the season. He struck 100 off 154 balls and was the only batsman to score more than 20.

The Farnham Royal bowlers reduced to the Cross 107-8 with Krishmar Santokie (4-40) and Chris O’Connell (3-36) doing the damage. But the tail offered Duncan some valuable support and the Cross reached the respectable score of 184.

Farnham Royal’s innings got off to a bad start, losing skipper Warren Miller for a duck in the first over, as Richard Thomas claimed the first of his seven wickets. Javed Khan hit a brisk 34 to steer Royal out of trouble. But Thomas struck again and Royal were soon reduced to 74-5.

O’Connell (35) and Ronald Stone (37) rebuilt the damage with 59 run stand, until Thomas returned for his second spell. He took four wickets in twelve balls to finish with figures of 7-47 as Royal were bowled out for 146.

Gerrards Cross ended the season on a high on Saturday after a thrilling run chase lead to a seven wicket victory and also ended Tring’s championship hopes.

Tring led the table by four points at the start of the day and a win would have secured them the title. But they were overtaken by Falkland who beat Farnham Royal.

Tring declared their innings closed after 50 overs with the score on 250-5. Matt Bowyer (62) and James Steptoe (96) scored the bulk of the runs and Richard Thomas claimed 3-85 for the Cross.

Tring hoped the early declaration would give them more time to bowl the Cross and thus claim the title. But the Cross had other ideas.

Paul Atkins (65) and Mark Shepherd (58) shared an opening stand of 105 in 25 overs. Skipper Alan Duncan (49) and Luc Walker (59*) continued the good work as the Cross reached the victory target for the loss of just three wickets.

Gerrards Cross’ excellent cup form deserted them at the final hurdle on Saturday as they lost the Bucks Cup Final by a massive 145 runs to Milton Keynes.

The Cross hadn’t really been tested in quarter and semi finals as they brushed aside Beaconsfield and Dinton with relative ease. But Milton Keynes were made of sterner stuff and were ultimately too good on the day.

Jamie Wade (67) and James Sprittles (48) made light work of some wayward Cross bowling reaching 100-1 off 18 overs and a score of 280 looked probable.

But the change bowlers tightened things up and the scoring rate slowed. After a period of consolidation, Milton Keynes stepped on the gas and immediately the wickets began to fall. Haroon Mohammad (3-45) and Gary Hales (2-25) blew away the middle and lower order as Milton Keynes slipped from 199-4 to 213-9.

Stuart Keeping (19*) hit some late runs as Milton Keynes finished on 235-9.

The Cross were confidant of chasing down the victory target, but hadn’t counted on an excellent bowling performance by Milton Keynes.

The Cross lost a wicket in the first over; were reduced to 28-5 and then 40-9 as Stuart Keeping took 6-11 in 9 overs. Ed Waugh (37*) and Mark Wildman (13) restored some of the Cross’ pride with a last wicket stand of 50, as the Cross were all out for 90.