Skipper’s knock not enough for Wargrave

WARGRAVE’S survival hopes in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League suffered another setback as they slipped to a narrow defeat against visitors FINCHAMPSTEAD last Saturday.

Having won the toss, Wargrave chose to bat and made a bright start with Rhys Lewis (28) and Mayank Gudimetla (27) adding 50 inside eight overs.

The loss of regular wickets pegged them back until captain Toby Greatwood steadied the innings with an excellent 81 from 88 balls, including four boundaries and three sixes. Supported briefly by Neal Robinson (21) and Harry Whitworth (17), Greatwood’s dismissal at 210 left Wargrave short of acceleration, the innings closing at 217 in 49.4 overs. Finchampstead’s attack shared the honours, with Sam Daniel (3-43) and Eddie Campion (2-33) impressing.

In reply, Greg Smith’s fluent 59 from 53 balls gave the visitors a strong platform despite three wickets for Nilesh Bhandari (3-42) and tidy spells from Jack Clark
(2-44) and Mark Firth (1-41).

Wargrave fought back to reduce to 190-8, but Campion’s composed unbeaten 56, well supported by James Woodford (14 not out), guided them home with two balls to spare.

Wargrave claimed seven points for their efforts, but will rue missed chances as Finchampstead held their nerve to secure a vital win. The result leaves Wargrave 26 points from safety with just two matches of the season remaining.