WEEKEND REVIEW - JULY 15
By Simon Heaney
Sunday 15 July 2012
CHESS VALLEY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Chorleywood 1st XI 130-5 (45 overs)
Bessborough 1st XI 131-8 (35.3 overs)
Bessborough won by 2 wickets
Age no barrier for Bessborough
Bessborough demonstrated the strength of its youth set-up on Sunday as a makeshift side featuring seven players aged between 13 and 18 won away at Chorleywood in the Chess Valley Cricket League Division One.
Skipper Phil Bush won the toss and elected to bowl on a damp wicket. Seamers Neal Patel (1-10) and Saahal Vora (0-17) kept a tight rein on the Chorleywood batsmen with the ball nipping around, before the young spinners took over and continued the good economical work.
Rohan Karkhanis (2-30); Dillon Maloney (1-8); and Nandesh Patel (1-15); along with Mitesh Vyas (0-31), all combined to restrict the hosts to 130-5 after 45 overs.
Having enjoyed the best tea of the season so far, the pressure was on Bessborough’s old guard to show the youngsters they still have some cricketing life left in them.
Bush (24) and Adil Parker (16), two of the team’s elder statesmen, set about the run chase with a solid opening partnership of 37, but Chorleywood’s most potent bowler William Pendered (4-18) then proceeded to rip through Bessborough’s top-four in quick succession to leave the visitors precariously placed at 55-4.
Fortunately for Bessborough, another wise head in the form of Andy Carr was still around to guide Neal Patel (12) in a quick-fire 60-run partnership. Carr showed that positive batting was still possible despite the tough conditions with a number of crisp drives and a huge six over the adjacent A404.
Despite the loss of Patel with 15 runs required and the fall of a couple more wickets, Carr’s unbeaten 66 was enough for Bessborough to claim the maximum points.
All of Bessborough's Saturday's matches were washed out by the weather.