WEEKEND REVIEW - MAY 25-26
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 25 May 2013
MIDDLESEX CHAMPIONSHIP CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Osterley 1st XI 181-9 (50 overs)
Bessborough 1st XI 304-3 dec (53 overs)
Winning draw for Bessborough
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE
Bessborough 2nd XI 181-6 (42 overs)
Edmonton 2nd XI 180-7 (55 overs)
Bessborough won by 4 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Bessborough 3rd XI 150-6 (46 overs)
Wycombe House 3rd 208 all out (45.5 overs)
Winning draw for Wycombe House
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE
Perivale Phoenicians 4th XI 111-1 (27 overs)
Bessborough 4th XI 110 all out (33.5 overs)
Perivale won by 9 wickets
Sunday 26 May 2013
FRIENDLY
Bessborough 216 all out (39.1 overs)
Sky Sports Active 209-5 (40 overs)
Bessborough won by 7 runs
Bessborough denied victory by last-wicket stand
In-form Bessborough Captain Daniel Hawes posted his highest score for the club with an unbeaten 145, but was denied all 10 points as his side were unable to take Osterley’s last wicket.
Put in to bat by last season’s Middlesex Championship winners Osterley, who not for the first time were denied promotion to the Middlesex County Cricket League due to the standard of their pitches, Bessborough’s opening pair of Hawes and Wayne Whitson made a steady start with Whitson playing some decent strokes straight back over the opening leg spin bowler’s head.
Whitson made 16 before getting out playing the same shot caught at mid-off. Overseas player Alexander Haniff and Hawes put on 64 before Haniff was unfortunate to be bowled off his pad then arm for 24.
Bessborough number three Tharshan Kanagaraj (30) didn't take long to get into his stride with shots all around the ground. He was unlucky to be caught at short fine leg, after middling a sweep shot.
With Hawes still at the crease and with wickets in hand, the fast scoring Talha Junaid entered the fray. He scored an unbeaten 63 in 54 balls, helping to accelerate the run rate.
Hawes and Junaid put on 155 for the fourth wicket as Bessborough declared on 304-3 after 53 overs.
Hawes’ 145 not out came from 163 balls, including 16 fours and five sixes, four of which coming in consecutive balls. As well as being his highest score for Bessborough, it was Hawes’ third ton of the season, the first time any player at the club has achieved that since Ian Barrie scored four centuries in 2008.
Despite the daunting target, Osterley were always going to try to win the game, but were pegged back early on as Nirav Ghantiwala (4-42) bowled both openers cheaply.
Ghantiwala’s strike partner Jay Chavda (0-46) was unlucky to miss out on any wickets as his out-swingers were causing Osterley’s batsman, particularly their number three Ali Taj, all sorts of trouble. Chavda’s opening 8-over spell included four straight maidens.
With Osterley seeming to dislike to ball going away from them, Hawes brought on Junaid (3-25) to bowl his outswing in the thirteenth over. The change paid off soon after as Junaid removed Ali Taj (26) and Rizvi (26) in quick succession.
Wickets then started to fall regularly with Osterley either hitting big shots or getting out. Haniff (1-30) bowled a good containing spell and was unfortunate not to get more wickets with two costly dropped chances of his bowling.
In the end, Osterley last wicket pair of A. Buttar (22 not out) and S. Khan (0 not out) blocked out the last over as they clung on for a losing draw on 181-9 after 50 overs.
Bessborough’s second eleven put aside last week’s disappointment at Enfield with a comfortable victory over table-toppers Edmonton.
Captain Phil Bush won the toss and elected to bowl. His bowlers did a fine job restricting the home side to only 180-7 from 55 overs with Kibreeth Rameez (3-38) and Rishi Patel (2-34) doing most of the damage.
In reply, Bessborough made a nervous start losing three early wickets, but a fine 41 by Nandesh Patel, coming in at number four, and later unbeaten knocks of 48 and 47 by Mitesh Vyas and Rameez respectively, got them over the winning line.
The third eleven grabbed a point from a losing draw at home to Wycombe House. The away side batted first and posted a target of 208 all out with Waazar scoring 102. Fateh Singh exceled with the ball, claiming 4-44, while Akilan Denesh grabbed 3-74 and Captain Nathan Theebaraj took 2-26 in a tidy 10-over spell.
Bessborough’s batsmen struggled to keep up with the run-rate as wickets fell regularly, but held on for the draw at 150-6 after 46 overs.
The fourth eleven had a miserable day away to Perivale Phoenicians, losing by 9-wickets and having three players’ kit bags stolen.
Bessborough were in deep trouble on 36-7, but positive contributions from Gurpreet Singh (27) and Tom Newland (33) helped them to a defendable 110 all out.
In the end, it was nowhere near enough as the Perivale openers Vishal and Harkamal demonstrated how to play safe and accumulate runs, each grabbing half-centuries in a comfortable 9-wicket romp.
On Sunday, Bessborough won an entertaining 40-over friendly versus Sky Sports Active by 7 runs.
Rohan Karkhanis (55), Alex Irani (48) and Tharshan Kanagaraj (36) top-scored for Bessborough as they set a target of 216. Sky Sports’ Hirst put in a great shift of bowling, picking up 5-33 from only 5 overs.
Half-centuries from Sky Sports’ McClennan (62) and Gomez (69) were not quite enough as the visitors ended their 40 overs just shy of the target on 209-5. Sunday Captain Nirav Ghantiwala was the pick of the Bessborough attack with 2-12 from four overs.