Energy Exiles – inspired by the two Johnnies – Tither and Aloysius – beat Whalers by 27 runs on Sunday.

After a sedate opening, the batting was significantly boosted at the death by a magnificent 25 ball half-century from the Exiles skipper, as Tither finished 58 not out from 28 balls, leading the Exiles to a par score of 193.

With the sun shining and plenty of runs seemingly available, it was definitely game on; and all 5 Exiles bowlers can take some credit for bowling out the opposition for 166 – with 3 wickets apiece for Aloysius, Ling and Wingfield and Gundry’s 7 overs only yielding 14 runs for the opposition.

A good win for the Exiles and the season is hopefully gaining some momentum. Next up are WICC at Raynes Park.

Exiles picked up their first win in four – courtesy of an ultimately-tense 12 run victory against first-time opponents the Dover Castle Cobras.

Exiles innings never really gained full momentum – despite Mark Bradshaw’s steadying 27 at the top of the innings – it was only when debutant Ahmed Afzal smashed 29no off 14 balls at the death that the Exiles reached a barely-par score of 143 for 8 from their 30 overs.

But the Exiles are bowling well at the moment and 3 quick wickets for Andy Wingfield (3 for 8), as well as 5 other wickets being shared around reduced the Cobras to 52 for 8 – and they seemed set for heavy defeat.

But a fine counter-punching innings of 71 from one of the Cobras batsmen seemed to be winning the tie for his side, only for the returning Afzal (3 for 16) to dismiss him caught & bowled with a mere 14 needed. An over later, a one-handed catch by Afzal at cover off Zohaib Alam (2 for 26) finished the game.

So Exiles won by 12 runs in a fine match, on a sunny day at a nice ground. A good day for the Exiles.

Exiles’ trip to OMT saw a tight contest prematurely halted by a heavy rain shower.

Exiles batted first and were restricted to 146 for 7 off their 40 overs – lead by their captain John Tither with 48. It felt 20 short of par.

The response with the ball was excellent by the Exiles however, as OMT had reached 114 for 6 off 31.4 when the rain came – and with OMT only having 10 players they needed 33 off 50 balls with 3 wickets left when no further play was possible.

A shame that a dramatic finish was denied – it was unclear who was in the driving seat; a match where high-scoring was difficult – only 18 boundaries in over 70 overs cricket. But it was probably a game that neither side deserved to lose.

Exiles face a trip to the opposite side of London next week – to Dulwich – for a first ever encounter with the Dover Castle Cobras.

Exiles were beaten by 23 runs by Merton cricket club on Sunday. With several notable faces absent, it was a much-changed Merton team to recent years that the Exiles faced, but the opposition still proved a tough nut to crack.

Exiles won the toss and elected to bowl in damp conditions, but the sun soon came out – and the Merton batsmen rode their luck to reach 239 for 2 from their 40, with one opener hitting 98 and the no’s 2 and 3 both passing 50. Exiles dropped numerous catches – of varying difficulty – but to have 5 frontline bowlers in Wingfield, Alam, Gundry, Ling & Islam all wicketless was somewhat of a surprise.

Mark Bradshaw lead the response hitting a 61 ball 50 on the way to 69. In fact Mark scored 50 of the first Exiles 63 runs, but when he was out with Exiles 120/5 with 11 overs to go the game seemed up. And it ultimately was, but Islam and Wingfield merrily hit a partnership of 71 in 8 overs to give Exiles a late sniff, but it was too little too late.

A good game which Exiles, apart from the catching, played better than the scores suggest.

Next up is a trip to North London to play Old Merchant Taylors.