The 1st XI travelled away to Wellingborough Indians looking for 3 points to secure the league championship. Horton won the toss and elected to bat first, on a flat looking wicket. Fin Moffat and Karan Parmar took the initiative and found the boundary regularly, putting on 90 for the first wicket before Moffat was bowled for 43. Brayden Hill (21) provided support for Karan, with Akshat Adhikari (17) also chipping in, Horton would keep the score ticking over at a decent rate. Karan reached his 100 and go into overdrive, racing to 121 before he was smartly caught. Will Smith came in at seven and provided some entertainment, thumping 41 from 27 to keep the innings moving at pace. Horton would close out on 309 all out, in the 50th overs.
Once again, the opening partnership of Kalpesh Chandracant (2-28) and Anvit Arkanath (3-34) dominated a powerplay. The home side were left 45-2 from the first 16 overs. Adhikari (1-26) took the first change, and was rewarded with his first 1st XI wicket. Enter the Wellingborough Indians number 5, who decided it was his day. The batsman bludgeoned the ball around at it was 183 before the next wicket fell, to the evergreen Steve Finch (2-50). Will Knibbs (1-50) brought another wicket, and was unfortunate not to have more victims. When Kalpesh returned, he picked up the big wicket of the number 5 for 124 from just 94 balls. Wellingborough Indians would fall short of an unlikely chase, at 273-9. Horton were crowned champions of the Division.

2nd XI vs. Thrapston CC 2nd XI

The 2nd XI narrowly missed out on victory in a gripping encounter against Thrapston at Denton Road on Saturday. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, the 2nd XI took full advantage of the decision. Openers Andy Ward (43) and Asim Rahman (23) got off to a strong start, attacking the Thrapston bowlers and putting on a 62-run partnership for the first wicket. However, Andy fell soon after the opening bowlers were seen off, and Asim followed not long after. Phil Monkman also departed for 11, leaving the team in a bit of a wobble.

Raif Rahman (102), looking solid at the crease, steadied the ship and was well supported by Amos Awaghade (35). The pair combined for an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket, taking the Horton score to 197/4 after 39 overs. Raif then launched an assault, smashing 20 runs in one over on his way to a well-deserved century. With six wickets still in hand, the lower order aimed to set a formidable target for Thrapston. However, after reaching his milestone, Raif was dismissed, triggering a collapse. The power hitters of HBS, Naitik and Thanush fell cheaply, and the 2nd XI ended their innings on 241/8, just shy of a truly imposing total. Despite the late setbacks, it was a spirited performance with the top order laying a strong foundation.

Thrapston started their chase aggressively, looking to score quickly from the outset. Opening bowlers Naitik Kakkar (2-48) and Thanush Devadasan (1-47) worked hard but with little success early on, and several chances went begging in the field. Naitik eventually got a breakthrough in the final over of his spell, leaving Thrapston at 67/1 inside 11 overs. Thrapston continued to attack until Harry Bennett-Sulsh (4-51) delivered a well-directed bouncer that caught the opener off guard, leading to an easy catch at mid-on. Harry then capitalised on the momentum, taking three more quick wickets to put the visitors on the back foot.

However, Thrapston managed to regroup, adding a valuable 61-run partnership in the middle overs. Naitik returned to claim his second wicket, while some smart work behind the stumps by Andy led to a stumping off Amos Awaghade's (1-18) bowling. With Thrapston at 197/7 and the game hanging in the balance, Horton’s fielders needed to stay sharp. Thanush returned to the attack, and in a dramatic moment, a sharp chance was dropped, but a quick-thinking run-out from the skipper off the same ball left both batters stranded at one end. Thanush then struck again with a catch in the deep by HBS, reducing Thrapston to 215/9.

With just one wicket needed for victory and light fading fast, the 2nd XI pushed hard, but Thrapston's last pair held their nerve and batted deep, ultimately securing a narrow win in the 43rd over.

4th XI vs. Kislingbury Temperance CC 3rd XI

When it is not your day it is definitely not your day!!

Winning the toss Horton decided to bowl against Kislingbury’s top division side. Harry Farbone with the first ball of the match found the edge of the bat with the first ball of the match but our regular ball-snaffler in the slips could not hold on to it and that was the rest of the day for us. Same again in the next few overs and it took the experience and guile of Messrs. Wolstenholme and The Very Talented Mr. Ripley to make inroads in to Kisle’s batting. We managed peg them back to 100 for 2 at lunch but the they accelerated to finish the innings on 243 for 5 with wickets for Farbone and Alfie Richardson. What about the opener that we dropped – well he went on to score a hundred and in the end that was the difference.

Losing our first 3 wickets David Ripley (50) and Elliot Cantrell (28*) managed to get us up to the run-rate by the 24th over. However, a hattrick from Ben Heather meant that Horton fell short in the chase. With two more games to go we are even more determined to play harder and keep showing up – taking inspiration from our 1s and determination and confidence from our training sessions.

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali