WEEKEND REVIEW - JUNE 11
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 11 June 2016
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - FIRST TEAMS
Bessborough CC 1st XI 188-7 (50 overs)
MTSSC CC 1st XI 242-8 dec (49.1 overs)
Winning draw for MTSSC
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - SECOND TEAMS
Winchmore Hill CC 2nd XI 96-2 (28.2 overs)
Bessborough CC 2nd XI 95 all out (40.5 overs)
Winchmore Hill won by 8 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Indian Gymkhana CC 3rd XI 223-6 (42 overs)
Bessborough CC 3rd XI 219-7 dec (47 overs)
Indian Gymkhana won by 4 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE
Bessborough CC 4th XI 212 all out (45.4 overs)
Harrow Town CC 4th XI 188-6 (46 overs)
Winning draw for Bessborough
Bessborough draw with MTSSC
Bessborough’s first eleven claimed a creditable losing draw against high-flying MTSSC in the Middlesex County Cricket League on Saturday.
The visitors to Headstone Manor won the toss and elected to bat first and were ticking along at over 6 runs per over when Bessborough skipper Rohan Karkhanis (2-103) broke the defences of opener Pirasannan Inpathurai, bowling him for 29 in the 11th over with the score on 63.
That wicket didn’t stop the Tamils side as they continued to build solid partnerships, with number two batsman Sharuvinothan Yoganathan (62) and overseas number three Nalaka Desilva (80) making the most of another quality batting strip prepared by groundsman Loz Horsley.
MTSSC continued to score runs quickly but young all-rounder Kibreeth Rameez - Bessborough’s player of the month for April/May - pegged them back with some incisive spin, taking 5-54, his best figures for the club so far. The visitors declared in the final over on 242-8.
Bessborough’s reply got off to a stuttering start as opener Hemmen Jutla was dismissed for a duck in the second over but Ishan Shah (23) and Sherrick Chavda (80) steadied things with a second-wicket stand of 47. The loss of Shah and Ian Barrie (0) in the same 19th over put the side on the back-foot, as did the loss of overseas player Urooj Ahmed (6) when he was run out in the 26th over.
Chavda (pictured) and Bhavin Kakkad (63 not out) put on 47 for the 5th wicket, and more importantly with the side well behind the run-rate used up a lot of valuable overs. Two more wickets fell before the close of play as Bessborough finished 55 runs behind the target on 188-7, enough to claim a single point from a losing draw.
Following the mauling dished out to the first team last week, this week it was the turn of the second XI to suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of Winchmore Hill. Batting first, Bessborough were blown away inside 41 overs for 95 runs with opening bowler Rob Sobers the tormentor-in-chief with 5-38. Top scorers for the Borough were Talha Junaid (22) and Alex Irani (21*).
The home side reached the target in 28 overs for the loss of only two wickets to claim the points.
The third team lost away to Indian Gymkhana by four wickets, although they will take away some encouraging individual performances, most notably from colt Thanushan Sundarlingam who scored 115* in only his second game for the side.
Sundarlingam and Vinay Bhudia (46) top scored for Bessborough as skipper Ian Ridley declared on 219-7 after 47 overs. Unfortunately, Bessborough’s bowlers struggled to make inroads into their opponents line-up as the home side reached the target in 42 overs for the loss of six wickets. Daniel Malik (3-56) and Stephen Kimsey (2-73) were the stand-out bowlers.
The fourth team continued their mini-recovery with a second winning draw on the bounce, this time at home to Harrow Town. The undoubted star of the show was debutant wicket-keeper Sam Thushy who blazed his was to 139 not out at number three, contributing roughly two-thirds of the side’s 212-run total.
Despite the presence of last year’s bowler of the year Nitin Modha in the ranks, for the second week running Bessborough struggled to break through a stubborn batting reply, expertly guided by opener Muhammad Asad (94). Harrow Town eventually closed on 188-6 to deny us the victory. Modha (2-50) and Jabeeshan Sundarlingam (2-34) were the pick of the bowlers.
Bessborough CC 2016 Fantasy League - Week 8 MVPs
Sponsored by Ed's Party Pieces
- Sam Thushy 189 points
- Thanushan Sundarlingam 160 points
- Kibreeth Rameez 120 points