Week Sixteen Round Up - 22nd August 2026
Three weeks left of the season and still all to play for across all three teams. Another relentless week of minimal rain meant the ground staff have continued their routine of brushing, rolling and watering on repeat. The 2nds played their last home game of the season whilst the 1sts travelled to Long Marston and the 3rds had a long trip to Aston Clinton.
The 2nds, buoyed by a great win last week, faced a Milton Keynes side who were still in with an outside chance of promotion. Another strong side was picked, with gun batsman/local darts hotshot Sam Childerley coming into the side. Milton Keynes won the toss and elected to bowl which was a decision Brackley were quite happy with. Opening pair Matt Lowe and Stuart Green faced up well against the new ball and built a steady partnership. When the first wicket fell, Lowe and Charlie Covacic – Field pushed the score on. Lowe fell for a well made 25 with the score on 60. The middle order of Covacic – Field (15) , Matt Lemon (23) and Josh Taylor (23) all made starts on a slow wicket with tight bowling, and with the score on 107-3, Brackley looked well placed to push on in the final ten overs for a competitive score. However, a rather spectacular collapse saw them bowled out for 132. There was a tinge of frustration at the interval but that served as great motivation when it came to bowling.
Opening pair of Josh Taylor and Olly Jeffs immediately put the Milton Keynes batters under pressure. They played each ball carefully, without really looking to score. Jeffs made the first breakthrough, with Taylor then backing it up with another wicket to leave MK at 21-2. Another wicket for Jeffs, using the slope to his advantage, meant Brackley were well into the Milton Keynes middle order. Stuart Green came on as first change and bowled tightly, building pressure with lots of dot balls. The game was really in the balance until Chris Roshan’s first over, in which he took two wickets. At 47-6, the momentum was well and truly with Brackley. Milton Keynes then put on a 30 run partnership to inch towards their target and regain some control. With 60 more runs needed and 4 wickets in hand, the result could have gone either way but the introduction of Matt Lemon and Charlie Covacic – Field was a good tactical move as both took wickets. At 78-8, thanks to a fantastic low catch by Will Peel – Yates, Brackley could almost taste the 25 points but another steady partnership made everyone supporting the home side a bit edgy as Milton Keynes pushed past 100. The big 9th wicket fell thanks to a great boundary catch from Josh Taylor. With another 30 runs and down to the final wicket, the home side knew the win was within reach but again the Milton Keynes batters picked off singles to inch towards their target. With the score on 118, a full length ball from Covacic – Field trapped the batter in front of the stumps to spark jubilant scenes from the home side. A fantastic 14 run win and a huge 26 points.
The 1st team travelled to Long Marston, a side they have enjoyed good success against in recent years. Batting first, Eric Carpenter and Adam Wirth made a quick start, putting on 44 in the first 5 overs. When Wirth fell, George Brock came to the crease, rotating the strike with Carpenter. Not wanting to make life too easy, 69-1 became 73-4 as Brackley’s innings hit a bit of turbulence. Nathan Archer and newly married Mikey Lowe (20) then steadied the ship with a good 50 run partnership. Archer then pushed on with Josh Markham. When Archer eventually fell for a well made 55, Brackley looked in a more secure position at 167-7. Markham then continued to push the total towards 200, supported by Ryan Heap and Jim Hollyoake. Brackley eventually reached their 50 overs with the score of 213-9.
The opening pair of Markham (2-26) and Doug Smith (3-29) gave Brackley the momentum before captain Josh Rowland (3-24) joined in the wicket taking. Long Marston reached 104-7 after 30 overs. A lower order partnership pushed the total towards 150 but with Long Marston well behind on the run rate, the win was pretty much assured. George Brock, fresh from an impressive display with the ball on President’s Day bowled 8 tidy overs for 1 wicket before the hosts were bowled out for 150.
The 3rds travelled to Buckland & Aston Clinton looking to secure some more points for their league standings. Fielding first, Brackley put in a good shift against the 2nd placed team in the division. Louis Raygada (2-25) impressed with the ball as Buckland posted 225-6 from their 40 overs.
Things with the bat didn’t go to plan as Brackley were bowled out for 81 – Josh Withers top scored with 37.