U17s MIDDLESEX CHAMPIONS
By Simon Heaney
Bessborough under 17s were crowned champions of the Middlesex Colts Association (MCA) County League on Bank Holiday Monday after two very impressive ‘Finals Day’ performances.
Having secured their place in the Finals Day at NPL Teddington CC with a quarter-final victory over London Maccabi Vale on 15 August, the side was paired with British Airways in the semi-final.
Ashil Shah, captain of the Bessborough team in the absence of injured Akshay Hirani, lost the toss and was invited to bowl by the opposition.
Bessborough limited British Airways to 93 all out in 20 overs with all the bowlers picking up at least one wicket: Ashil Shah, 4-0-16-2; Shivam Patel, 4-0-17-1; Saahil Vora, 4-0-16-1; Talha Junaid, 1-0-2-1; Mitesh Vyas, 4-0-13-1; and Kishan Karia, 3-0-21-1.
Bessborough reached their target for the loss of one wicket in just 10.1 overs with Charlie Thurston leading the charge with 55 not out, including two sixes. Saahil Vora was also unbeaten on 19.
The nine-wicket win meant that Bessborough would play Ealing in the final, after the latter had beaten Wembley in the other semi-final.
The final followed a similar pattern as once again Bessborough lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. And once again, Bessborough produced another excellent bowling and fielding display to keep Ealing's batsmen in check.
Opening bowlers Ezaz Mohammad (4-0-14-1) and Mitesh Vyas (4-0-13-2) only allowed a meagre 28 runs in the first eight overs and despite runs coming slightly quicker as the innings progressed, Ealing could only reach 93-7 in 20 overs. The other bowling figures were: Ashil Shah, 4-0-13-0; Saahil Vora, 2-0-10-1; Kibreeth Fareez, 2-0-10-1; and Kishan Karia, 2-0-9-0.
In reply, Talha Junaid (31) and Charlie Thurstan (17) put on a quick-fire opening stand of 51 in six overs to help settle the nerves and Captain Ashil Shah (33 not out) saw the side home with Saahil Vora getting the winnings runs. Bessborough finished on 95-3 in 12.3 overs to win by 7-wickets.
Winning the Middlesex County League makes up for the narrow defeat earlier this month to Osterley in the County Cup Final, the only loss suffered by the U17s in an otherwise perfect season.
Bessborough were last U17 champions in 2004 and have now won that age-range title on five occasions.
“This has been an extraordinary season for Bessborough’s youngsters, many of whom are breaking through into our senior sides. This result is a testament to the great efforts of our coaches and support staff and shows what a great colts setup we have here,” said Raj Kanagaraj, Bessborough’s colts chairman.
Bessborough’s colts system, which can lay claim to developing the talents a young Mark Ramprakash, caters for players aged 9 to 17 and are always on the lookout for new players. Any enquires should be emailed to Manish Popat, colts secretary, at manish_popat@btconnect.com .