WEEKEND REVIEW - JUNE 4-5
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 4 June 2016
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - FIRST TEAMS
Winchmore Hill CC 1st XI 317-5 (45 overs)
Bessborough CC 1st XI 79 all out (29 overs)
Winchmore Hill won by 238 runs
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - SECOND TEAMS
Bessborough CC 2nd XI 114-6 (22.3 overs)
Wycombe House CC 2nd XI 113 all out (29.4 overs)
Bessborough won by 4 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Bessborough CC 3rd XI 187-7 dec (46 overs)
Winchmore Hill CC 3rd XI 190-7 (45.3 overs)
Winchmore Hill won by 3 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE
Harrow St Marys CC 4th XI 130-6 (52 overs)
Bessborough CC 4th XI 218-9 dec (46 overs)
Winning draw for Bessborough
Sunday 5 June 2016
LORDS CHESS VALLEY SUNDAY LEAGUE DIVISION THREE
Bessborough CC 180-5 (29.3 overs)
Watford Town CC 199 all out (39.1 overs)
Bessborough won by 5 wickets
Bessborough thrashed
Winchmore Hill gave Bessborough’s first team a schooling on Saturday as Jim Gatting’s mammoth 154 helped his side win their one-sided Middlesex County Cricket League encounter by 238 runs.
Only our overseas player Urooj Ahmed with a plucky 46* got above double figures in our reply as we crumbled to 79 all out in 29 overs. The defeat dropped Bessborough down to seventh place in the league with 20 points, eight points above bottom-side Harrow Town. On to the next week (second-placed MTSSC at home) as the saying goes.
The second XI restored some pride with a comfortable(ish) 4-wicket victory over Wycombe House at Headstone Manor. Opening bowlers Nirav Ghantiwala (2-22) and Talha Junaid (3-43) hit the ground running by dismissing Wycombe House’s two openers very cheaply. Number three bat Khan offered some resistance with 38 but wickets continued to tumble at the other end; especially during a devastating six-over spell from newcomer Faisal Tanoli (pictured) when he took 4-3 to rip the heart out of the opponent’s line-up. WH eventually ran out of wickets in the 30th over on 113.
Bessborough’s Adil Parker (9) and Tharshan Kanagaraj (27) put on 43 for the first wicket to get the side nearly halfway to the target, but it wouldn’t be a proper Bessborough victory without the customary wobble as the side gave away six more wickets before completing the job in the 23rd over.
The team moved up to sixth after the win with 22 points and will hope to build on that next week away to Winchmore Hill.
The third team lost a close match against Winchmore Hill in the last over to dent their promotion hopes. Batting first, Bessborough declared on 187 from 46 overs with solid contributions throughout the order – the pinnacle being Vinay Bhudia’s 40.
Bessborough’s veteran bowling attack of Ian Ridley (3-50), Nitin Modha (3-74) and Dipak Chavda (0-34) – backed up by the more youthful Stephen Kimsey Jr. (0-27) – used all of their cricketing knowledge to probe the Winchmore Hill line-up but a combination of dropped catches and patient batting helped the visitors get the winning runs in the last over.
The fourth team picked up their first points of the season with a winning draw away to Harrow St Mary’s. Batting first, Bessborough put aside their recent woes with a string of solid partnerships with Simon Heaney (57), Eddie Idrees (61) and skipper Richard Ward (35) leading the charge, allowing the latter to declare on 218-9 after 46 overs.
Unfortunately, the win wasn’t to be as HSM showed what it takes not to lose games by digging in for 52 overs to close on 130-6.
On Sunday, Bessborough won their opening match of the Chess Valley season with a comfortable 5-wicket win over Watford Town at Headstone Manor. Stand-out performers were bowlers Thanuka Jayawardena with 4-32, Ian Ridley (3-26), Nitin Modha (3-44) and batters Rajan Modha (70) and Tharshan Kanagaraj (54).
Bessborough CC 2016 Fantasy League - Week 7 MVPs
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- Ian Ridley 185 points
- Rajan Modha 184 points
- Tharshan Kanagaraj 125 points