Week Eighteen Round Up - 5th September 2026
After last week’s washout in which all three side had abandoned games, everyone was back in action for the final round of league games for 2026.
The 1sts travelled to Bledlow Village, needing results elsewhere to go their way for any chance of winning Division 2B. As it turned out, that was all irrelevant. Batting first, Brackley made a fast start, despite losing a couple of early wickets. Eric Carpenter (37) batted fluently alongside Josh Rowland (28). When Carpenter fell with the score at 91-3, it sparked a mini collapse as Brackley lost a further 3 wickets for 9 runs. Nathan Archer (25) continued his good form with the bat, steering the visitors up towards 150. Brackley were eventually bowled out for 164.
Bledlow made a solid start with their run chase, reaching 50 for the loss of only one wicket. A good spell from Rowland (3-35) and Mikey Lowe (2-20) bought Brackley back into the contest but lack of runs on the board proved to be the downfall as Bledlow reached their target with 3 wickets to spare.
The 2nds travelled back to Stewkley to play their ‘home’ fixture away due to ground logistics. Batting first, Matt Lowe (33) played well as Brackley opened up with a 48 run partnership. A fall of steady wickets then fell which hampered progress. Brackley reached 105-5, but with some overs still in the bank were hopeful of posting a decent total. Unfortunately, further wickets fell as Brackley were bowled out for 135.
Stewkley were in with a chance of promotion at the start of the day, relying on the Banbury v Cublington game going in their favour. They made a good start with bat, despite Deepak Sahagal taking two wickets. The hosts excitement rose and talk of promotion was rife, with scores from elsewhere and points calculations being relayed to those in the middle. Unfortunately for Stewkley, their batting was better than their maths, as despite reaching the target for the loss of 3 wickets, they finished the league season 1 point outside of the promotion places. For the 2nds, it was an disappointing end to the second half of the season which has seen the side really fight and battle for each other.
The 3rds hosted Silverstone, a game played at Brackley rather than Gawcott due to ground availability. Brackley batted first on a ground that had rediscovered it’s colour after the week of rain. Brackley made a good start, with Sentil Sadaiyan (15) and James Stopps (19) finding the boundary rope when the bad ball was bowled. Anmol Sharma (40) played confidently and carefully but regular wickets were the home side’s downfall as they were bowled out for 127.
Early wickets were needed if Brackley were to have any chance but unfortunately that didn’t materialise. Silverstone batted confidently and carefully as they reached the target for the loss of only 2 wickets.
2026 done.