A beautiful looking Bushy Park, played host to the 1st XI’s opening game of the season. The deck looked great, the outfield was picture perfect, the deer were present and a full contingent of Teddington players had arrived early for preparations.
Stanmore won the toss and elected to bat on a flat one, and it looked like a good decision as they got off to a flyer. Bowlers struggled to find their length, dishing up a healthy serving of HVs that S. Reingold (37) tucked into. Ali Pollock got the first breakthrough for Tedders, sticking with his full-length tactic, managing to beat the defence of Mehra who fell over a straight one.
The scoreboard again ticked over quickly, soon passing the 50 mark, with the Stanmore's overseas looking settled and playing freely. James Keightley bowled tight lines and was rewarded quickly, finding the edge of Reingold’s bat, providing a simple catch for Timmy Armstrong at 1st slip. This was quickly followed by Shields (16), hitting a delivery from Hopkins straight to Tom Elliot at square leg.
Wickets came regularly from here, with Keightley finding a thinner edge this time and Rist managing to secure the dismissal on the 3rd juggle. Charles Hopkins continued the attack, bagging a quick brace, both caught behind.
With a partnership beginning to form, Sam Cato bowled nicely and earned the wickets of both Karia (26) and Patel. But another late surge from Reingold Senior (27) and Hirani (20) saw Stanmore reach 150 all out, with Keightley and Sever picking up the final wickets.
Tom Twiney and James Keightley provided a solid base for Teddington amassing 61 before Twiney was bowled on 27. Keightley continued to bat nicely but progress was halted again when Fear chopped on, bringing Teddington to 78 for 2.
Keightley managed to bring up a very well-crafted 50 as Teddington passed the 100 mark. Unfortunately, this was followed closely by Timmy A, snicking off to give Stanmore a glimpse of hope.
Williams managed to add 17 before getting bowled by a decent pill from the Stanmore seamer. Elliot also contributed 10 before an ‘interesting’ shot saw him caught and making his way back to the pav.
Keightley and Rist finished off proceedings, with JK finishing on a fantastic 66 not out. A great knock, that everyone is hoping to see more of this season!
A great start to league campaign by the current champions, and in keeping with tradition, a few ‘celebratory’ beverages were toasted in true Teddington fashion.