ONCE again Thame swimmers have been taking part in the Winter Regionals, with Lucy Block and Mathew Evans both managing to qualify for this open event.
Mathew and Lucy with Head Coach, Ian Blyth
This being Mathew’s first ever Regional Championship (he has never even qualified for the local county events), it was a massive step forward for him in qualifying for the 200 Breaststroke and competing in these open championships.
“The experience will stand Mathew in good stead for the future,” said TSC spokesperson, Will Hard. “Lucy was one of the youngest swimmers again at these championships,” continued Will. ” Last year only having the one swim whereas this year Lucy had four, the 50, 100, 200 backstroke and the 100 Individual Medley.”
Lucy managed new personal best times in all her swims and in doing so qualified for the British Championship in December, in the 200 back stroke. She just missed the qualifying time for the 100 back by 0.1 of a second!
THE recent end-of-season Awards Night at Thame Town Cricket Club was the very last event to take place in the old clubhouse, now temporarily an open space behind the new building following its demolition!
Thame Town Cricket Club’s Women’s squad with coach John Patey
Spokesperson for the club, Andy Jinman, said: “It was a nostalgic event for some but a time of excitement for everyone in the club, as we look forward to the completion of our brand new Clubhouse and facilities, due to be ready for the end of next month (October).”
On Friday, September 7, members of the club gathered for the very last time in the clubhouse that was built back in the late Seventies, to celebrate the many achievements of the club’s teams and players in 2018.
The Chairman, Matt Swain, summed up the season: “The Cricket season has flashed by and on the whole we have enjoyed great success again this year. Unfortunately for the First XI, Division One of the Home Counties Premier League (HCPL) was a step too far and we suffered relegation to Division Two. But the team will still be competing in this premier club league during 2019.
“However, the Second and Third XI both secured promotion in the Cherwell League, to Division Three and Eight respectively. Our fourth XI, in its very first year of existence, finished an incredible fifth place in Division 10 which was a fantastic start for them and one we never imagined would be possible just 12 months ago.
“Our Women’s team competed for the first time in the Thames Valley League and also surpassed expectations, beating Cookham Dean twice and completing over a dozen fixtures throughout the season, not to mention staging Thame’s own softball tournament in mid-August.
“The club has grown from having just 121 playing members in 2014 to 250 in 2018; this growth has been driven by both junior and adult sections and we expect that trend to continue.”
The awards were as follows:
With special thanks to Tracy and Dave Hunt of Aspen Financial Advice Ltd for sponsoring the four new awards over the next three years – https://aspenfa.co.uk/
Women’s section:-
– Most improved player – Claire Morris
– Best batting – Beth John
– Best bowling – Sarah Sanderson
Fourth XI
– Best bowling – Ed Mather
– Best batting – Tim Dabbs
Third XI
– Best bowling – Ian McStay
– Best batting – Andy Jinman
Second XI
– Best bowling – Dan Patey
– Best batting – Matt Furness
First XI
– Best bowling – Hassam Mushtaq
– Best batting – Mike Beard
– The John Fulkes Award to a promising young player who has come through the ranks of the club – James McStay.
– Club Champion 2018 – Ali Thomas, for his tireless work in bringing the plans for the new clubhouse to fruition.
– A club tie was awarded to young players making the breakthrough into adult cricket this year – Martin Wiles, Luke Hayes, Drew Murray (plus Max Muncaster
James Carr who couldn’t attend).
– And a very special, one-off award of “The Musketeer 2018” to Robbie Jackson, for his selfless services to all four Saturday XIs !!
Finally, on the pitch, the season will come to an end this Sunday, September 23, at Lord Bills’s Upper School ground, when the Women’s team round off a breakthrough season for them
when they take on a strong Moreton side in a friendly match.
NOW that the lazy days of summer are beginning to fade, some of us are beginning to think about putting all that ice-cream, wine in the garden and’ pigging out’ on all that ‘free’ Package holiday food, behind us, and thinking ‘Am I ever going to be fit again?”
Well, Racquets Fitness in Thame may just have the answer – and at the end of it, you’ll be ready for a challenge – and an adventure.
Sue Martin Downhill of Racquets explained: “We’re offering a new Couch to Challenge programme where people who are unfit can join the programme and we’ll take them from unfit through to doing a challenge in May/June 2019.
“The challenge will be climbing Scafell Pike in the Lake District via the scenic route. To take part in Couch to Challenge, from September 2018 to May 2019, participants will need to take on a Group PT membership at £99 per month (with a £50 joining fee) or privately train with one of our PTs weekly. They will pay £40 per month towards the challenge itself with nothing to pay during the trip.”
For more details of Racquets’ Couch to Challenge programme, visit the Racquets website HERE
THAME Town Cricket Club – Match Reports for the weekend August 25-27, 2018 – Firsts lose to local rival Aston Rowant
THAME first XI hosted local rivals Aston Rowant last Saturday, and batting first after winning the toss, Rowant took full advantage of a docile pitch as they made 288-5 from their 50 overs, Andrew Tolson carrying his bat for a fine 112. Andy Russell was the pick of the Thame bowlers, finishing with 3-35.
Callum Russell who held TTCC’s first team’s innings together with a battling 65
The Thame response stuttered from the start, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Callum Russell held things together with a battling 65, but Thame were dismissed for 196. Thame travel to Oxford for the final game of the league season this coming weekend.
Seconds promoted to Division three, despite deafeat at Abingdon
THE secnd XI travelled to Abingdon, only needing four points to secure promotion. Asked to bat, Thame got off to a rocky start, with only Jack Aston (55) ever seemed to get going, meaning that Thame could only reach 157. In reply, early wickets from debutant Will Bruce-Morgan (2-25) put Thame on the front foot, but they couldn’t break through Abingdon’s middle order and lost by six wickets. Despite this, Thame secured promotion to Cherwell Division three, as runners-up and entertain local rivals Tiddington this coming Saturday.
Thirds promoted after huge win over Stockenchurch seconds
THE thirds hosted Stokenchurch seconds, hoping to secure their promotion too. After two early wickets, Justin Avery (115) and Shakeel Khan (98) put on 178 for the third wicket and with a cameo of 18 from James Olliver, Thame amassed 264-6 off 41 overs. Faced with this daunting target, Stokenchurch started brightly but wickets fell regularly to Nick Humphries (3-35) and Rob Tomlin (2-17). The tail was mopped up by Pete Tervet (3-9) and James Olliver (2-5), leaving them 69 all out. Guaranteed promotion, Thame now travel to Bletchley ceconds for the title-decider this coming Saturday.
Fourths defeated by top-of-the-tale Dinton thirds
THAME fourths faced league-leaders Dinton who batted first, reaching 233 for 7, with Neil Smith (2-39) and Wiles (2-55) the pick of the bowlers. In reply, Thame struggled with Dinton’s consistent bowling, eventually falling to a heavy defeat to the promoted side by 193 runs. They are at home next for their final game of the season against Westbury thirds.
Women’s team more competitive against excellent Henley side
ALTHOUGH Thame’s women suffered a second defeat to Henley in their return match at Church Meadow on Monday, they nevertheless took a great sense of achievement from their performance. Facing another young Henley side – with five county players – Thame’s women demonstrated that this first season of competitive matches has seen steadily improving personal and team performances.
Batting first, Henley posted 219 for 5 off 30 overs, with wickets for Sarah Sanderson (2-51), Mel White (1-23), Claire Morris (1-26) and Antonia Barnes (1-9). In reply, Thame made 181 for 9 off 30 (55 more than in the match at Henley), with commanding performances from Beth John (50 – ret), Sanderson (35 not out) and White (28), plus support from Barnes, Bridget Cooper and Michelle Wells and a brave innings from the injured but indomitable Clare Seed with the help of a runner.
THAME Lions Club together with Thame Bowls Club are once again holding a Visually Impaired Bowls competition on September 2, at Thame Bowls Club, Chiltern Grove, Thame, starting at 10am and finishing around 5pm.
Visually impaired bowling – Image courtesey of www.israel21c.org
Twenty four visually impaired bowlers will play against each other with the help of markers. It is remarkable how people with very limited or zero sight can play a game which relies on a visual ability. Marvel at the closeness of the ball to the jack with nothing other than instructions from markers using a clock-based system of instruction.
The two clubs worked together in 2016, with the first competition in Oxfordshire as far back as memory will allow. This was very successful, and the organisers are hoping to repeat the success this year. All the funds raised will be donated to Blind Veterans UK (St Dunstan’s) and Calibre Audio Library (Audio Books for sight impaired people).
Raffle tickets are being sold with prizes kindly donated by local businesses with a top prize of an ATG Theatre Voucher (£100) plus a meal voucher for £50.
As well as being very grateful to those who have donated prizes, the organisers would welcome sponsorship of the event to enable as much money as possible to be given to these worthwhile causes.
There will be a bar and light refreshments available all day, and anyone is welcome to attend the event, so go along and appreciate the abilities on show.
BACK in 1979 at the age of 38, Alan Cornish was interviewed for a sports magazine to discuss his love for racket sports and his success in each individual field. The author of the article presented Alan with the question: “Do you think at 38, you are nearly over the top?” Almost 40 years later, Alan has just returned from Zurich where he won the silver and bronze for Great Britain in the Racketlon World Championships. I think it’s safe to say the answer back in 1979 was quite clearly, NO!
Introduced to Racketlon in 2004, Alan has made a name for himself in the rackets based competition, not only for his success, but for being one of the oldest (possibly in fact the oldest!) participant to date. His initial introduction to the combination sport saw him competing at the age of 63 against other players almost 20 years his junior, and now almost 15 years later Alan is still holding his own.
Racketlon is a competition made up of four racket based sports, where you play your opponent to 21 at each of the four disciplines. Order of play begins with table tennis, followed by badminton, squash and then ending with tennis. It is always played in this order, with the size of the racket increasing with each match. The best racketlon players show good strength and balance throughout each of the sports, which Alan accentuated through his thorough training regime.
Table tennis is his main passion and what he would describe as his strongest sport, but Alan has shown immense dedication to each game in the lead up to the World Championships. An average week for the vintage player included three training sessions a day, seven days a week, varying between match play, coaching sessions and solo practice. Chloe Marshall, who is the head squash coach of Oxfordshire and Alan’s personal squash tutor, commented: “Alan’s passion and commitment has been truly inspiring! He has put endless hours into his training and has been really dedicated to giving his best performance at the Championships. I hope to see our young juniors taking a leaf out of his book.”
With months of practice under his belt, Alan reaped his rewards out in Zurich, placing second in the Over 70’s singles event and third in the Over 65’s team competition, returning back to Britain with a silver and bronze medal with his name on it.
Winning his group in the initial stages, followed by a convincing defeat over an Austrian player in the semi’s, Alan made it to the final where he narrowly lost out to Swede Lennart Eklandh. Interestingly, Alan beat Lennart in the group stages so the gold trophy most definitely wasn’t out of reach!
Not expecting to reach the final, Alan was thrilled with his performance throughout the event and achieved his main goal of enjoying himself and playing well, guided by the philosophy of Billie Jean King ‘The joy of winning is lovely but very fleeting; I always wanted just to play better’.
Alan has shown huge gratitude towards all the people who have been involved in his training this year commenting: “I could never have done it without the help and patience of all people involved.”
It’s difficult to read a story like Alan’s and not feel inspired and compelled to challenge oneself. So whatever you choose to do, do it with passion and give it your all.
“The main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game you are playing” – Billie Jean King
RACQUETS Fitness Centre in Thame is now taking entries for a one-day squash doubles tournament on September 1, 2018, at the centre.
The tournament will be graded, and so different standards will play in different draws. But, there are always some top players around too so it’s always well worth going along to watch!
THAME Swimming Club member, Lucy Block, became the first Thame Swimming Club swimmer to qualify for the English Nationals which took place in Sheffield during the first week of August 2018.
Lucy Block and Ian Blyth
Lucy had qualified for three events the 50m, 100m and 200m Backstroke. Just to get to the Nationals is a great achievement as only 20 swimmers per event in England can swim in these championships.
Lucy pushed herself to even higher levels by making the finals for all three events, going on to finish fifth in the 50m event, fourth in the 100m and seventh in the 200m. All of these swims were personal best times and this being Lucy’s first big event Nationally, she did herself, Thame town and Swimming Club proud.
Marcus Birmingham
Ian Blyth, Head Coach commented: “This is a fabulous achievement and shows Thame Swimming Club can produce swimmers at the top level.”
Marcus Birmingham, who also swims for Thame Swimming Club, recently competed at the 2018 Irish Nationals in Dublin, qualifying for the second successive year and putting in a great performance and making the club very proud of his achievement.
Marcus had qualified for four events, the 100m and 200m Butterfly, and the 200m and 400m Individual Medley. He improved on a couple of his entry times and managed to finish a very impressive 12th in the 400 Individual Medley and 10th place in the 200m Butterfly, narrowly missing out on the final.
SUNDAY saw Thame Town Cricket Club host Oxfordshire’s fifth Softball Cricket Festival of the year. Despite occasional drizzle, another great day of softball cricket was enjoyed by the 45 women and girls registered. Teams from Eynsham, Watlington and Thame played each other, with the Thame Tigers coming out on top. More details of how you can try either soft or hard ball are at http://www.thamecricket.org.uk/womens-cricket
Other match reports – Saturday, August 11, and Sunday, 12, August 2018
Young First cricketing eleven lose at Banbury
A depleted Thame First XI slipped to a heavy defeat last Saturday, away at Banbury. Bowling first, Thame’s young attack caused plenty of problems, with especially fine spells by Chris Jeffcock (1-36 off 10 overs) and youngster Jonathon Jelfs ( 1-16 from 5). Nevertheless, the lack of early reward saw Thame punished, as Banbury’s overseas Adams blasted a century to propel his side to 268-7; Hassam Mushtaq finished with 4-65. Thame’s batsmen struggled from the start, with only Mushtaq passing 30, as they were eventually skittled for just 96, in what will be an excellent learning-experience for a number of the emerging players. Thame next host Horspath at Church Meadow on Saturday, August 18.
Second Eleven thrash Shipton-Under-Wychwood
THAME Town Cricket Club’s second XI welcomed Shipton-under-Wychwood Seconds to Church Meadow. Bowling first, early breakthroughs by Ollie Chaplin (2-31) put Thame on top and were followed up by smart bowling at the end from skipper Matt Furness (3-12) and Pete Tervet (3-29), as Shipton were dismissed for a below-par 171. The target was then easily chased down by Thame’s top order of Richard Carr (64), Harry Thomas (44*) and Matt Furness (37*), securing a 9-wicket win. This puts Thame one step closer to promotion, as they travel to Witney Mills this Saturday, August 18.
Thirds gain points in rain-effected draw
THE in-form Thirds hosted an equally in-form Cumnor Thirds at Lord Williams’s School at the weekend. Cumnor batted first facing John Phippen (2-33) and Luke Hayes (1-32) and at 68-4 the game was well-poised. However, Clapton’s 74 led a big fifth-wicket partnership, as Thame dropped several catches. Tim Hester’s spell of 5-35 off 6 overs then cut short their charge, as Cumnor were all out for 207. In reply, Thame slumped to 32-4 on a pitch of variable bounce, but recovered thanks largely to Zahid Hussain’s hard-hitting 48*, finishing on 113-5 when rain ended the day. The 3rds can take a huge step towards promotion when they face Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescript Thirds this Saturday at Islip.
THAME Fourths travelled to play Shipton-under-Wychwood Fourths, where frugal bowling from Ed Mather (2-21 off 9), Neil Smith (2- 13 off 8) and Shay Reading (2-26 off 9) limited the hosts to 107 all out. With rain-clouds threatening, Thame’s openers hurried to chase down the target, with an opening partnership of 71 between Mark Fellowes (58*) and Tim Dabbs (34). Thame passed the Shipton total, for just one wicket, within 13 overs and more importantly beat the rain, thus cementing fifth position, as they welcome fourth-placed Didcot this Saturday.
