Roehampton CC’s 5th XI kept up their recent hot streak with a clinical victory away to Weybridge, battling the heat to secure 20 points thanks to a strong team effort.

Matchday began with a warning from skipper Ben Abrams in the team group chat: “Traffic looks bad for those driving.” The caution was to turn into a reality, as two cars, carrying seven players, hit solid queues during the trek to Weybridge.

Fortunately, Ben was on time and won the biggest battle of the day by calling correctly at the toss and opting to bat, immediately padding up, with Nick Walker getting the promotion to open on his welcome return to the side.

Three of the seven latecomers arrived just as the opening pair headed out to the middle, with Ben and Nick watchful in the opening overs as the next batsmen padded up.

A flurry of boundaries from Nick finally got the scoreboard ticking, with Ben joining in soon after, lifting the opening bowler over the head of mid-wicket for a delightful four.

When Nick was caught for a well-made 22, Monis Haris strode out to the crease and immediately picked up the pace, scoring three boundaries in the first over he faced.

Ben and James Durrant supported the youngster well, but after their wickets and Devesh Tambade’s quick visit to the middle, RCC 5s needed to steady the ship. Enter Sharan Wadhwani, the former UAE U16’s star waltzed to the crease and put on a stylish show, scoring seven boundaries and running at over a run a ball.

At the second drinks break, Sharan only had eyes for more, talking about how many runs he needs to vault up the RCC 2023 top-scorers list. Naturally, first ball after drinks, he chipped one straight to mid-on and was trudging back after an excellent 45.

Rafayel and Zain Latif added some crucial late runs, with the young wicket-keeper playing the shot of the day with a straight lofted four. Visibly tired after running all of Sharan’s singles (mostly to keep himself on strike), Monis approached his fifty and got there with another excellent shot, falling one ball later for 52.

193 was a strong target for Weybridge on a green top pitch, and after an excellent tea, the team headed out into the sun to field.

The opening pair initially survived the opening assault from Angus Pratt and Zain, before the latter decided to explode some front pads, taking two lbws in two balls. Angus joined in the next over, splitting the defences of the other opening bat to secure his first wicket of the day.

The first change bowlers continued to keep it tight and put pressure on the Weybridge middle order, with Shmir Mirza’s spin and surprise quicker ball combining with Adam Newton’s nibbly outswingers.

The duo combined for three wickets as the opposition looked to accelerate, putting RCC 5s firmly in the driving seat.

Dev soon joined the party with the ball, his pace far too good for the number eight batsman. Monis, refreshed after his innings, kept it tight at the other end as pressure built on Weybridge’s final hope.

The tall batter hit some nice boundaries, but the returning Angus got his wicket shortly after his 50 was brought up. Monis completed the job after a fine juggling catch from Nick to ensure the 20 points would be coming home with RCC.

A fourth win in a row sees the squad move up to third in the league, with big games against title rivals to come in the following weeks.