WEEKEND REVIEW - APRIL 30-MAY 1
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 30 April 2016
FRIENDLY
Harrow CC 1st XI 118-9 (39.2 overs)
Bessborough CC 1st XI 116 all out (36.2 overs)
Harrow won by 1 wicket
FRIENDLY
Bessborough CC 2nd XI 99-7 (32.3 overs)
Harrow CC 2nd XI 96 all out (39.1 overs)
Bessborough won by 3 wickets
Sunday 1 May 2016
MIDDLESEX COUNTY KNOCKOUT CUP
Harrow Town CC 164-8 (45 overs)
Bessborough CC 168-5 (25.4 overs)
Bessborough won by 5 wickets
Borough progress in Middlesex Cup
Bessborough won their first competitive fixture of the 2016 campaign at the second time of asking as they comfortably beat Harrow Town in the first round of the Middlesex County Knockout Cup on Sunday.
Bessborough restricted their hosts to 164-8 in their 45 overs with Ian Barrie (4-21) and Thanuka Jayawardena (2-42) the pick of the bowlers. Opener Adil Parker (pictured) was the hero with the bat as he scored a cool 54 as Bessborough chased down the total in not much more than 25 overs. Rishi Patel (22), Sanil Shah (27) and Tharshan Kanagaraj (17 not out) also chipped in with useful contributions.
The reward for victory is an away tie at Acton CC in the second round on Sunday 15th May.
Runs were at a premium on Saturday as Bessborough took on Harrow in two mixed-side friendlies, winning one and losing one. The “first” team were beaten by one wicket in the away game as Harrow’s number 11 Nouman Yadgari took a leaf out of Carlos Brathwaite’s book by smashing two sixes off the first two balls in the final over with his side requiring 11 runs to win.
Our batting was held together by three innings of any substance as we collapsed from 72-2 to 116 all out. Ian Barrie (44), Ishan Shah (25) and Kibreeth Rameez (26) were the only batsmen to get into double figures. On the bowling front Thanuka Jayawardena was the stand-out with 3-30, while Stephen Kimsey (2-21) and Gihan Pallage (2-16) will also be glad to have got more overs under their belts.
The nominal second eleven mostly contained players from the fourth team with third-team skipper Ian Ridley in charge. On an extremely damp top pitch at Headstone Manor where boundaries were a very rare commodity Harrow were bowled out for 96 in 39 overs. New 17-year-old seamer Thanushan Sundarlingam demonstrated his potential with 3-14, while Prashant Dhayal (2-16) and Bharat Vyas (3-7) were all on top-form.
Bessborough’s response got off to a slow start after the loss of some early wickets but number four batsmen Harris Malik guided his side back into contention with a well-crafted 29, which in the context of the match was worth at least a half-century. Later innings unbeaten knocks of 15* from both Ridley and Dhayal got the side over the line by three wickets.
Next week will see all four sides start their league campaigns so please make sure you have updated your availability on the website as we will need all hands on deck to cover the usual early-season absentees.
Bessborough CC 2016 Fantasy League - Week 2 MVPs
Sponsored by Ed's Party Pieces
- Ian Barrie 104 points
- Thanuka Jayawardena 89 points
- Prashant Dhayal 78 points