WEEKEND REVIEW - MAY 16
By Simon Heaney
Saturday 16 May 2015
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - FIRST TEAMS
South Hampstead CC 1st XI 150-5 (31.3 overs)
Bessborough CC 1st XI 149 all out (44 overs)
South Hampstead won by 5 wickets
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - SECOND TEAMS
Bessborough CC 2nd XI 173 all out (52.4 overs)
South Hampstead CC 2nd XI 233 all out (47 overs)
South Hampstead won by 60 runs
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
Teddington CC 4th XI 163 all out (40.4 overs)
Bessborough CC 3rd XI 221-6 dec (45 overs)
Bessborough won by 58 runs
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE
Bessborough CC 4th XI 123 all out (41.5 overs)
North Middlesex CC 5th XI 218-6 dec (42 overs)
North Middlesex won by 95 runs
Bessborough’s unbeaten streak ends
Bessborough tasted defeat in league competition for the first time in 20 games on Saturday, losing by 5 wickets at South Hampstead in the Middlesex County Cricket League.
The game started well for the Borough as opening batsmen, Shah’s Jigar and Ishan, put on 55 for the first wicket. However, when Jigar departed for 23 the usually dependable middle order quickly collapsed to 85-5, the fifth wicket being Ishan who had dug in for 44.
Andy Carr (pictured) did his best to resurrect the innings with a typically rapid half-century, scoring 50 in a partnership of 57 with Vinay Bhudia (11). When those two departed the wheels well and truly came off as Bessborough lost their final three wickets without adding any runs to the 149 already scored.
Despite a couple of early wickets South Hampstead coasted home in 31 overs with opener Leroy Shepherd guiding his side home with a brutal 88.
The second eleven lost their second MCCL game in a row with a 60-run defeat to the same opposition at Headstone Manor, the denouement in the last over providing a classically Bessborough moment.
A number of dropped chances allowed South Hampstead to post a competitive 233 all out in 47 overs, with Gihan Pallage (3-39) – who also chipped in with a run out – and Talha Junaid (2-35) the most effective bowlers.
Bessborough got off to slow reply and struggled to build any partnerships – the best being 42 between Kibreeth Rameez (31) and Junaid (20) – but should still have had enough batting down the order to secure a losing draw. It was left to Stephen Kimsey Jr. (1) and the even younger Thanuka Jayawardena (9 not out) to hold on, but they fell just two balls short of safety when umpire Stephen Kimsey Sr. gave his son out lbw, having turned down a very close appeal against his boy three overs before.
The 3s maintained their unbeaten start to the season with their first win in the Middlesex 1987 Cricket League Division 2. The bedrock of the 58-run win away at Teddington was a solid batting performance that allowed skipper Ian Ridley to declare after 45 overs on 221-6. Leading the way were new players Harris Malik (47) and Dinal Kadawathage (53 not out), while Praekash Balendra (29) and Jamie Young (28) also chipped in with handy knocks.
Miresh Surendran (3-27) and Kadawathage (3-60) made sure of the 10 points as Teddington were dismissed for 163 in 41 overs.
For the second week running the 4th XI took to the field with only nine players, but unlike in the previous week against Wembley, Saturday’s opponents North Middlesex were much more adept at finding the gaps in the field as they racked up 218-6 declared in 42 overs. William Gill was the spearhead of the attack with 3-51.
Even when the two missing players joined up with the side, Bessborough couldn’t get a grip in the game and despite some good innings from Lawrence Horsley (22), Gill (22), Richard Willson (28) and Shelvin Patel (17) they lost by a heavy 95-run margin.
Bessborough CC 2015 Fantasy League - Week 5 MVPs
- Dinal Kadawathage 128 points
- Gihan Pallage 98 points
- Andy Carr 70 points