Bessborough Cricket Club

MIDDLESEX CHAMPIONSHIP CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

Old Lyonians1^st XI 128 all out  
Bessborough1^st XI 119 all out
Old Lyonians won by nine runs

MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE

Bessborough 2^nd XI 141 all out
Hornsey 2^ndXI 181 all out
Hornsey won by 40 runs

1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

Old Actonians 3^rd XI 98 all out  
Bessborough 3^rd XI 237 all out
Bessborough won by 139 runs

1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE

Bessborough4^th XI 172 all out
OldActonians 4^th XI 173 all out
Old Actonians won by 1 run

Bessborough’s 1^st XI batsmen failed to capitalise on a strong bowling performance as they fell nine runs short of a low total set by near neighbours Old Lyonians.

With the sun finally coming out to play, Bessborough captain Danny Hawes won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision which looked sound as the attack took early wickets with opening batsman Haroon Ashfaqout for a duck, caught behind by wicket-keeper Wayne Whitson from the pace bowling of Nirav Ghantiwala.

In fact, only Jay Prakash (21) and Usman Khan, with what turned out to be a match-winning knock of 80 after being dropped early in his innings, managed double-digit scores as Old Lyonians were all out for 128 after 35.5 overs.

All four Borough bowlers had success with spinner Rohan Karkhanis the pick with figures of 4 for 45. All-rounder Ian Barrie finished with 3-29, while Ramesh Gunalan (2-22) and Ghantiwala (1-29) got the rest.

In reply, Bessborough found runs extremely hard to come by as the opposition stifled them with very economical bowling. The pressure paid off as only Karkhanis managed a score over 20, left stranded on 23 not out when last man Vinay Bhudia was run out with a direct hit. Bessborough finished on 119 after a gruelling 56.3 overs.

The defeat means that Bessborough sit joint fourth inDivision 1 of the Middlesex Championship Cricket League.

It was a similar story for Bessborough’s 2^ndXI, who bowled out opponents Hornsey for 181 in 51 overs, but struggled to get going on a good batting track and only mustered 141 in reply. Satjeet Chana made the only batting contribution of note with 37 not out.

The 3^rd XI was the only Bessborough side to secure the maximum 10 points from their 1987 Cricket
League Division 1 encounter away to Old Actonians 3^rd XI, winning by a convincing 139 runs.

Having elected to bat on a dangerous looking wicket withplenty of cracks, James Wheeler (61), returning from a recent arm break, and Gajan Gandhi (71) put on a fantastic opening partnership of 125 that was the bedrock of the innings.

Talented youngster Saahal Vora made a very useful contribution of 33, while the lower order batsmen got out cheaply after being instructed to maintain a fast run rate. Bessborough finished on 237 all out in 44.5 overs.

Old Actonians got off to a reasonably steady start inreply, but were hampered by opener Purnik retiring with cramp and were soon after further on the back foot when Vora (2-25) grabbed two wickets in an over.

After that it was the Thanuja Bandara show as the Borough 3s captain picked up three wickets in five balls to reduce Actonians from 50-2 to 50-5. That was the end of any hope for the home side as Bandara ripped through the rest of the Actonian line-up to finish with an astonishing set of figures of 8-19 from 12 overs.

The fourth eleven lost by an agonising one run in a thriller versus Old Actonians 4s. Bessborough lost the toss and were asked to bowl first on a very nice batting track.

The young side, which is being used as the proving ground for the Bessborough’s up-and-coming colts, showed a lot of determination and no little skill to restrict the opposition to 173 all out.

Newcomer Mark Emanuel, one of the senior members of the 4s, set a brilliant example for the colts with a long spell of penetrating medium-pace and spin bowling to finish with 4-24. Dillon Popat (2-28), Dominic Baxter (1-20), Jack Hovell (1-28) and Richard Ward (1-36) also put in good shifts.

Despite the early loss of opener Simon Heaney for a duck, Bessborough set about the Actonians attack with Emanuel scoring a quick-fire 42. It was then the turn of U13 colt Ray Maloney to show off his skills with an elegant 52, including some lovely leg-side pulls and flicks. Maloney and Hovell (24) put on a great sixth wicket partnership of 61 to get the side close to the winning total.

Sadly, despite a defiant 20-run last wicket partnership between Bharat Vyas (10) and Baxter (5 not out), Actonians got the breakthrough they needed in the last over as Actonians skipper Ehanttharajah clean bowled Vyas.