Category: Sports News

THAME Town Cricket Club were defeated on Saturday (August 6) by local rivals, Aston Rowant, though the club’s second side was happier, with a win over Leighton Buzzard. The third team drew against old adversaries, Dinton.

MATCH REPORTS contributed by Andy Jinman

1st XI

THAME lost at home to local rivals Aston Rowant last Saturday. After winning the toss, Thame elected to bat on a good pitch and battled well to reach lunch at 90 for 5, in the face of consistent bowling. After lunch, Thame never really kicked on as they would have liked and lost wickets regularly. Only Matt Macdonald (57 not out) and Hassam Mushtaq (30) made significant contributions, enabling Thame to reach 162 all out in the 58th over, which was to prove well below par. In reply, Sam Lachlan got Thame a couple of early wickets but Josh Smith, the Aston Rowant captain, scored an unbeaten half-century to steer the visitors past the target for the loss of 3 wickets. With four games to go, starting at Buckingham this Saturday 13th, Thame need to win two to give themselves a good chance of survival.

2nd XI

THAME seconds travelled to Leighton Buzzard knowing that they had to avenge their only defeat so far this season back in June. After Thame had won the toss and asked the home side to bat on a grassy pitch, the gameplan was working well as Leighton Buzzard lost both openers for just 2 runs. The prospect of a quick Thame win then started to recede as Raine and Krynauw built a 99-run partnership. One of the beauties of cricket however is that matches can change so quickly and their two wickets in one over from Ali Thomas (15-3-35-4) swung the game back to Thame. With support from Chris Penny (17-3-57-3), plus 3 catches by James Nielsen, the home side were restricted to 177 for 9 from 53 overs, which looked like a par score on such a variable pitch. In reply, Thame had to endure lively spells from the opening bowlers but, having moved slowly to 25 from 10 overs, they started to score freely. With James Nielsen (92 not out) batting imperiously, supported by Andy Jinman (38), they put on 142 for the 1st wicket. Matt Furness (22 not out) then came in to finish the job, as Thame reached 181 for 1 from 38.4 overs. This Sunday they entertain Chearsley 1sts at Church Meadow, knowing they must continue to record wins to maintain their 22 point lead at the top of Division 5.

3rd XI

THAME thirds travelled to bottom side, Dinton 3rds, looking to keep up with Buckingham at the top of the league. Thame won the toss and chose to bat, with Ian Chappell leading from the front again with 45, ably backed up by Guy Holmes (43) and Christian Warwick (38). Despite several wickets falling at the end, Thame reached a strong total of 212-5 from their 45 overs. Dinton never looked like overtaking Thame’s score but started resolutely, before Pete Tervet got the opening wicket. Thame continued to be frustrated by dogged batting and dropped catches, until Matt Anderson’s fine spell of 3-19 and Danny Thompson’s 2-6 gave Thame hope of a win. Guy Holmes 2-4 put Dinton on the brink, but their youngsters held on well for a draw. Thame took 20 points from the match, but were disappointed not to win and now travel to play Chearsley 2nds on Saturday.

BEN Williams, Hallam Cozier and Josh Williams from Thame Swimming Club, all competed last week at the Welsh National Open Swimming Championships at the National Pool in Swansea and wow what a week it was!

Ben swam strongly, PB’d in 4 events and qualified for 3 finals in the 50 Back, 100 Back and 200 Back, coming 7th, 5th and 6th respectively which is a great achievement given  the 17+ age grouping. Ben also took the 400 IM Open Club Record with a PB time of 5.11.05.

Hallam PB’d in all eight of his events with notable mentions being 5.5 seconds off his 200 Free time and 3.5 seconds off his 100 Back and came 6th in the 50 Free final, taking  the 15 Year- Old Boys Club Record.· Josh PB’d in all nine of his events, qualifying for eight finals and coming home with 5 x Bronze medals (100 Free, 200    Free, 400 Free, 50 Fly and 50 Back), 1 x Silver medal (200 Back) and a Gold Medal (100 Back). Josh’s outstanding swim in the 100 Back gave him National Champion    status with him now being 4th in the Region and 34th in the whole of Great Britain in this event for his 14 year old age group.

Many thanks to Head Coach Ian Blyth who supported the boys throughout the week and to Sherri Cozier and Paul Williams for officiating.

The boys did Thame Swimming Club proud and the camaradarie and support amongst the three was fantastic.

Well done boys – it was an absolute pleasure to cheer you on!

SOURCE; Contributed

WHO thought that squash was a winter game? Throughout the school holidays there have already been three junior tournaments: The Mote Kent Open, the Winchester Open and the Abingdon Open – and that doesn’t even include the local Racquets Open Junior One-Day tournament recently won by Ollie Dudley-Heidkamp, from Thame.

Oliver Coulcher-Porter, 10, and his sister Emily, aged 8, train and play at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, and both have been competing and being highly successful all around the South of England tournament scene.

Oliver has won the Under 13 boys’ Mote Kent Open, the Winchester Under 11 boys Open and the Abingdon Under 11s boys Open tournaments. These results will take his ranking well into the top ten boys in Great Britain.

Meanwhile, sister Emily won the Under 11 girls Abingdon Open – despite being a full two and a half years younger and much lower ranked than the other finalist. She also came fourth in the London Open Under 13 girls where she was the youngest by about four years! Mum, Jane, said: “‘I couldn’t be more proud of my kids who are punching above their age and succeeding. We’re visiting clubs all across the country and meeting so many wonderful people.”

“We love squash and try to go to Racquets for the morning squash drop-in training sessions throughout the summer holidays as much as possible, said Oliver. “We enjoy playing with all the different standards of players, whether they are beginners or nationally ranked. It was great to have one of our older boys from Racquets, Oliver Cartwright, support me in my tough final at Abingdon. He played so well in the U15 boys section against extremely formidable opponents.”

The next tournament for Oliver and Emily will be the Silver South Great Britain Tournament in August, which will be held in Exeter.

THAME Town cricket club is preparing to throw open its ground and pavilion doors on Sunday, August 7, from 11am to 7pm, as part of a nationwide initiative, supported by Waitrose as part of national ECB campaign to help boost grassroots cricket participation and reach the broader community of Thame.

The club is inviting all local cricket fans and people who are interested in finding out more about the club, to head along to the ground for the day to watch some cricket, get involved in a range of taster sessions and enjoy some food and drink, in a bid to entice new members and volunteers to sign-up.

Matt Swain (TTCC Vice Chairman) “We are inviting people to come and join us at one of the most idyllic Cricket settings in the county, which is right on their doorstep. From 11am-6pm there will be a six- aside tournament, BBQ, drinks, Music and Bouncy Castle. From 1pm to 3pm we will have a FREE Cricket taster session in our three bay net facility for Girls and Boys of 6 to 16 years old plus adult Women.

“From 3pm to 5pm Chinnor Rugby Club will be having an open Rugby Tots session for 2 to 5 years old and at 6pm there will be a Hot Air Balloon ride. The event is for everyone. Come and join us in the heart of Thame next to St Mary’s Church, you will be most welcome.”

Former England captain and ECB Cricket Partnership Ambassador Mike Gatting, added: “Club Open Days have proven to be a fantastic way for cricket clubs to capitalise on the nation’s fervour for cricket during the summer. By opening their pavilion doors and showcasing what they have to offer to their local community, clubs will hopefully be able to inspire newcomers to come and join them. We want to inspire more players, volunteers and social members to come together and get into cricket.”

Thame Town CC runs three adult teams every weekend during the cricket season. The club also has a women’s team that plays on a Wednesday and Thursday evening and five junior sections that run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The club is a voluntary organisation which has ECB accreditation and 12 ECB qualified coaches plus a child welfare officer and a management committee.

OLLIE Dudley-Heidkamp, a Year 10, Lord Williams’s School student, finally showed his class by winning all his matches at the Racquets Junior One-Day Squash Tournament which took place on Saturday, (July 16) at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame.

Ollie was in a group of seven teenagers in the top grade ranging in age from 10 to 16, some from Racquets and some from other local clubs. Ollie just pipped Molly Woods by one point to win the grade. The match between Ollie and Molly showed how much the regular squash training sessions has improved the quality of their shots and their fitness. Previous winner, James Portsmouth, showed strength-of-mind staying focussed and calm while still recovering from surgery in the last four months.

In the lower grade, another seven players fought hard to try to bring down Chris Watts. Sue Martin-Downhill, coach of many of the juniors in the tournament, said: “Chris was too strong and will be moving up to the higher grade next tournament. He played all the matches in a fun and friendly manner making the tournament enjoyable for everyone.”

New comers to the game, Colm and Cameron Lambert, did extremely well. They both grasped all the concepts of returning to the T between shots and hitting down the line to keep the ball tight to the side walls. Cameron Law, a young player from Racquets, showed great confidence in his matches. Despite being much smaller than Colm and Cameron he managed to come out on top in very close matches.

Sue made special mention of young  Cameron Law (bottom left) who overcame his initial nervousness before his match to go out there and play, and visibly grew in confidence as he took on older players in his matches that followed.

Sue concluded: “All the players joined in the spirit of the tournament with everyone competing strongly and having great fun. Every one learnt how to referee the games and made the job of the organiser, 12 year old Ollie Cartwright, much easier.”

Racquets is offering coaching,playing and training every weekday morning throughout the summer holidays. Give Sue or Simon Martin a call at the club on 01844 261754 if you would like to get involved in this great indoor sport.

IT’S been another week of mixed fortunes for Thame Town Cricket Club, with the Firsts losing to Shipton-under-Wychwood, the Seconds drawing against Didcot and the Thirds leading the way with another win.

1st XI
THAME continued their poor form against in-form Shipton-under-Wychwood last Saturday (July 16) at home. Thame won the toss and asked Shipton to bat. Thame bowled well reducing Shipton to 84-5 but their overseas professional Sanklecha scored 51 to steer them to 194 all out in their last over. Hassam Mushtaq was pick of the Thame bowlers taking 6-77. In reply, Thame started well putting on 31 for the first wicket, but were then reduced to 60 for 6 by Sanklecha, who finished with figures of 7 for 47, as Thame were dismissed for 125. High-flying Horspath are the opponents at Church Meadow on Saturday 23rd, who were beaten by Thame in the first round of the Bernard Tollett T20 trophy last month.

2nd XI
THE second XI went to Didcot, in the shadow of the ill-fated power station, hoping for a win to keep their title chase on track. Losing the toss, they were put into bat and started shakily against good swing bowling. Thankfully Jimmy Nielsen (45) and skipper Chris Jeffcock (29) steadied the ship with a stand of 71. Thame were scoring quickly but getting out to poor shots and it was mainly thanks to 38 from Justin Avery they managed to reach a below-par 207 all out from just 43.3 overs, on a fast outfield. With Didcot 2nds needing 208 from the remaining 56 overs, Thame were going to need to fight all the way. With Jeffcock bowling out of his skin for 18 overs (18-1-56-3), well supported by John Phippen’s miserly spells (16-6-32-0), Didcot looked out of it at 125 for 5 in the 43rd over. Then Redman hit 62 not out off 39 balls to set up the tightest of finishes, with Thame just holding on and Didcot ending up on 205 for 8 off their 56 overs. The 2nds travel to Abingdon Vale on the 23rd for a crucial 1st vs 2nd contest.

3rd XI
THAME Thirds ended their run of draws with a much-needed victory away to Stokenchurch second team. Thame bowled first with Will Bruce-Morgan again starting well, picking up 2 for 25 in the opening spell. Scott Chappell took the prize wicket of the opener, reducing the hosts to 54-3, but a 50 partnership then started to build a reasonable score, until Pete Tervet got the brealthrough. With George Patey then taking 4 for 53 and Sam Nicholls 1 for 12, Stokenchurch were bundled out for 153. In reply, Thame also lost 3 wickets for 50 runs, but Ian Chappell stood firm with 36, guiding Thame to 99-5 still with work to do. George Patey (53 not out) and Paddy Harris (30 not out) then saw Thame through to victory with 7 overs to spare. Thame are still 2nd in Division 9 North and head to league-leaders Buckingham Town on the 30th after a weekend off.

SOURCE: Contributed

THE Mens racketball team from Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, traveled to Aylesbury Squash and Tennis Club last weekend to play in the finals of the Thames Valley Racketball League – and won the Championship!

“It has been a great season, having had to travel to Milton Keynes, Buckingham and High Wycombe to get to the final,” said team captain and Manager,mon Martin. “I would like to thank all the players that helped win the league including Andy McDonald, Andy Peers, great young prospect Nick Harbour, Martin Davis and Ben Phillips who all showed Racquets’ depth of players.

After the singles it was 2-2 in the match with good singles wins from team massage therapist and racketball player, Mark Webster, and brilliant young Ben Hedger winning their strings. Mark and Ben then went on to win their doubles as did Simon Martin (recently crowned the Over 45s, National Racketball Champion), playing with Oz Mustafa.

Those wins meant that Racquets took the title.

SOURCE: Contributed

THAME cyclist, Malcolm Freeman, riding for GS Vecchi team, has achieved top spot on the podium in British Cycling’s National Masters Track Championships, staged in the indoor Newport Velodrome.

The races are run in five year age bands from 30 to 75. Malcolm competed in the 65 age group winning the eight kilometre scratch race making him the Champion of Great Britain for the coming year.

A proud Malcolm said: “This was a timely win as it was 50 years ago this year that I won a previous National Championship, in 1966.

“The competition is very tough as most of the competitors are old stagers and very wily. Twenty two riders set off to the starter’s gun; the pace was very high from the start. I decided to stay near the front and contribute to the high pace setting. The laps disappeared very quickly and I had to stay very attentive throughout the 32 laps.

“I hit the front with full gas at the bell, holding off the other racers to the finish line.”

Malcolm, who is a member of the High Wycombe Cycle Club, is now looking forward to the Masters World Championships which will take place in the National Cycling Centre in Manchester this coming October.