WEEKEND REVIEW - JULY 7
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 7 July 2012
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE
Enfield 2nd XI 214-5 dec (48 overs)
Bessborough 2nd XI 215-7 (44.1 overs)
Bessborough won by 3 wickets
1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE
Edmonton 5th XI 86 all out (30.1 overs)
Bessborough 4th XI 194-7 dec (45 overs)
Bessborough won by 108 runs
Bessborough 2s make Enfield pay
Bessborough 1s missed out on the opportunity to claw back some ground on the joint league leaders Middlesex Tamil Sports & Social Club (MTSSC) as heavy rain washed out their home Middlesex Championship match on Saturday.
Abandoned matches are killing Bessborough’s promotion chances as this was the third “no-result” match of the season, whereas before Saturday MTSSC and co-leaders Osterley had somehow escaped the ravages of the weather completely.
The 3s home match against Perivale Phoenicians also fell victim to the deluge in Headstone Manor.
The cancellation of the home games meant a reshuffling of the pack for the 2s with first teamers Rohan Karkhanis, Ian Barrie and Andy Carr dropping down to bolster the side away at Enfield.
Returning 2s skipper Phil Bush won the toss and elected to bowl. After a rain-delayed start Enfield made relatively serene progress, reaching 43 without loss after eight overs, before first-change bowler Rohan Karkhanis got the breakthrough as Ud Din (29) edged one to wicket-keeper Adil Parker.
Enfield put on another 39 when Karkhanis again did the trick, bowling Visser for 24. A number of dropped catches allowed Enfield pair Barrell (53) and Ahmed (92 not out) to get their side to what looked like a commanding total of 214-5 dec after 48 overs.
Karkhanis was easily the pick of the Bessborough bowlers with 3-51 from a non-stop 21 over spell.
Bessborough openers Bush and Parker put on a good stand of 59 before the latter was stumped by Barrell off Davies for 18. Bush and Tharshan Kanagaraj added another 68 when Bush was removed in exactly the same way, and to the same Enfield combination, as Parker was, for an excellent captain’s knock of 64.
For the second week running Kanagaraj proved his quality, this time with a vital innings of 67. Bessborough still had a lot to do at the time of his exit on 180-5, but despite the loss of a couple more wickets the tail-end showed great composure with Mitesh Vyas (12), Karkhanis (5 not out) and Jay Chavda (12 no) getting them over the line.
The 3-wicket victory moves Bessborough up to fifth in the Middlesex County League Division 3.
The 4th team also grabbed all 10 points as a century from returning hero Mark Emanuel helped secure a comprehensive 108-run win away to Edmonton.
Edmonton won the toss and put Bessborough in to bat. After the loss of captain Simon Heaney, out LBW for 8 off the bowling of Rohomon (4-42), Emanuel joined the fray and marked his intent with a sumptuous first ball drive to the boundary.
Emanuel was playing his first match for the 4s since his 143 against Turnham Green/Poly on 2 June, which prompted his promotion to the 3s. He survived an early escape with a dropped chance in the deep, but thereafter played solidly alongside opener Saagar Vora (26) during a second-wicket partnership of 78.
Emanuel’s 110 took just 89 balls and contained two sixes and nine fours. The innings makes him the club’s top run scorer in his first season with Bessborough (358 runs in all competitions at an average of 44.75).
Bessborough declared on 194-7 after 45 overs and after lunch got an almost immediate breakthrough as colt Oscar Farr removed opener Gezel LBW for 2.
A stubborn second-wicket stand was ended by man-of-the-match Emanuel when he removed Afran (25) LBW. Soon after, Ravi Vyas ousted the dangerous Kaushal (25) when Sammy Hawes took a difficult high catch against the dark clouds.
Edmonton had little answer to Bessborough’s clever bowling as no other batsmen could reach double-figures in a final total of 86 all out from 30.1 overs.
Vyas grabbed the most wickets with 3-21, while Richard Ward (2-5), Farr (2-8), Vora (2-16), and Emanuel (1-26) shared the rest between them.