WEEKEND REVIEW - AUGUST 10-11
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 10 August 2013
MIDDLESEX CHAMPIONSHIP CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Bessborough 1st XI 261-5 (55 overs)
Perivale Phoenicians 1st XI 170-8 (45 overs)
Winning draw for Bessborough
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE
Ickenham 2nd XI 154-5 (27.3 overs)
Bessborough 2nd XI 152 all out (53.1 overs)
Ickenham won by 5 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Bessborough 3rd XI 154 all out (47.2 overs)
Enfield 3rd XI 155-7 (39 overs)
Enfield won by 3 wickets
FRIENDLY
Hertingfordbury 2nd XI 215 all out (45 overs)
Bessborough 4th XI 163 all out (37.3 overs)
Hertingfordbury won by 52 runs
Sunday 11 August 2013
FRIENDLY
Bessborough 226-6 (40 overs)
GWR 156 all out (38.2 overs)
Bessborough won by 70 runs
Winning draw for Bessborough
Bessborough were denied the all-important victory on Saturday as visitors Perivale Phoenicians clung on for a draw with two wickets remaining.
Perivale’s captain Arshad Khan won the toss and put Bessborough in to bat and it was Khan who made the breakthrough in the fourth over, having Adil Parker caught for 7.
That wicket brought in overseas star Alex Haniff to the crease who put on a huge second-wicket stand of 127 with captain Dan Hawes (58) and 53 for the third-wicket with Talha Junaid (68 not out) before he was caught out just short of a deserved century on 92.
Hawes’ half-century takes the Bessborough skipper to 1,020 runs in all formats this season at an impressive average of 53.68, while Haniff has 591 runs at an average of 59.10.
Despite a couple more wickets falling, number seven Andy Carr, returning to the side after injury, added a quick 18 not out as Bessborough finished their 55 overs on 261-5.
Perivale’s openers R.R. Khan (30) and Rohit Murthy (15) saw off the new ball pair of Neal Patel (2-38) and Junaid (0-20) with a first-wicket stand of 51 before change bowler Nitin Mocha (2-33) dislodged both of them in fairly quick succession.
Perivale’s number three batsmen Avinash Murthy played a fine innings of 69, but wickets fell regularly as the away side lost the next six for 58 runs with Mitesh Vyas (3-48) doing most of the damage.
However, the final two wickets proved elusive as Perivale’s Swaran Tatla (12 not out) and S. Maloney (4 not out) held firm to close the innings on 170-8 after 45 overs.
The four points gained from the winning draw moved Bessborough up to fourth place in the Middlesex Championship, but the points gap to joint leaders M.T.S.S.C. and Crouch End has extended to a virtually unassailable 27 points with only four games remaining.
The second eleven lost by five wickets away to Ickenham. Rishi Patel top scored for Bessborough with an innings of 62 in a total score of 156 all out from 53.1 overs. Ickenham knocked off the runs in only 27.3 overs for the loss of five wickets.
The 2s remain 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Middlesex County Cricket League Division 3.
The third eleven, missing a number of regular players, lost at home to Enfield by three wickets. Sammy Hawes (49 not out) and Sahil Hathi (5-44), both promoted from the 4s, were the stand-out performers.
The 4s lost a hastily-arranged friendly away to Hertingfordbury’s second team by 52 runs. Bessborough restricted their hosts to 215 all out with Jasmeet Singh claiming 6-36.
In reply, Twenty20 specialist Simon Peck, who was a last-minute addition to the team, smashed 82 as opener, although the rest of the Bessborough batsmen struggled in the picturesque surroundings, falling short on 163 all out.
The Sunday eleven won a friendly versus GWR Trailfinders as Phil Bush returned to form with 74 runs in a total of 226-6 after 40 overs. GWR were bowled out for 178 with colt Ravi Vyas grabbing four wickets to take his season’s senior total to 31, four behind the club’s leading wicket taker Rohan Karkhanis.