The first league games arrived at the weekend, and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather to get us under way.
Our 1st XI hosted a local, and newly promoted side Chearsley, a match that was sure to be an intense curtain raiser with the opposition full of confidence after last year’s league and cup double.
Our 2nd XI travelled to a side we haven’t faced before, Risinghurst, a team that finished 2nd in division 5C in 2024, but after a league regional reshuffle have now joined Bledlow in 5A this season.

There was morning drama after a last minute withdrawal from the 1st team squad due to illness. This meant the captain “Joey” Joe Harman, had to pry 2nd XI vice-captain Ben Moore away from the 2s to bolster his own bowling attack. A replacement was found in the form of club Chairman, Roger Downes stepped in to make sure the 2s had a full 11 for the trip away.

Both our captains started the season by winning their tosses, the 1st's opting to bat, the 2nd's opting to bowl.
Highlights from the 1st XI included James Bacon making a 50, his first appearance back in the 1s since 2016 and a welcome gritty knock of 58 from 138 balls gave stability to the innings. Joeys regular attendance at pre season nets also became apparent as he came in at no.7 to hit a maiden 1st XI 50, contributing to a 102 run partnership with “Streaky” (Bacon) in the process.
In the field, there were several good catches to build pressure on Chearsley. Specifically, Dan Walkers grab on the fielding ring at mid-off, possibly intercepting it going for 6 in the process! Dan gave a solid fielding contribution notching up 3 catches to help the team put pressure on and close Chearsleys innings for 131 from 32.2 overs. Sam Leppard finished with the best figures of 3-20 while Vineeth also picked up 3-21.
A solid team win to start off the season, unfortunately the same wasn't to be for our 2s.

Having opted to bowl first, Risinghurst made their way to 288 all out. Claiming all 10 wickets did give our team maximum bowling bonus points to take as a positive though. Tom Fothergill bowled only his 2nd spell in league cricket and picked up 4-52 while “Fardell” and “Was” also bowled tidy spells. Matt Downes had a good game with the gloves on and contributed two catches and a stumping.
The run chase was always going to be tough, and the pressure of win-lose cricket meaning no possible draw to save the day. The result, a bad day at the office for our batters, being bowled out for 91.

We hosted a match between IAS v Woking Tigers at Bledlow on Sunday and had our Sunday team over at Brill for a friendly. Harry Bond captaining the side and getting himself a first 50 of this season was the batting highlight, our youngsters Adam and Olly both picked up wickets. The team enjoyed a win, a game played in the right spirit and as always at Brill, a brilliant tea!
If you want to get involved in any cricket, competitive or friendly, don't hesitate to get in touch.