WEEKEND REVIEW - SEPTEMBER 5
By Simon Heaney
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - FIRST TEAMS
Harrow CC 1st XI 52 all out (36.2 overs)
Bessborough CC 1st XI 202 all-out (47.2 overs)
Bessborough won by 150 runs
MIDDLESEX COUNTY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION THREE - SECOND TEAMS
Bessborough CC 2nd XI 233-4 dec (47 overs)
Kenton CC 2nd XI 50 all-out (23.1 overs)
Bessborough won by 183 runs
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
South Hampstead CC 4th XI 206 all out (39.4 overs)
Bessborough CC 3rd XI 209-3 (33.3 overs)
Bessborough won by 7 wickets
MIDDLESEX 1987 CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION FIVE
Bessborough CC 4th XI 61 all out (32.2 overs)
North London CC 5th XI 62-4 (24.2 overs)
North London won by 6 wickets
Bessborough escape the drop
And lo, Bessborough did save their bacon on “Survival Saturday” as for the second week running the first team routed their opposition to secure their Middlesex County Cricket League status for one more year.
Knowing only victory away at Harrow was good enough the task became even tougher when the home side won the toss and elected to field, meaning that Bessborough would have to take all 10 wickets in the second innings.
Openers Ishan Shah (58) and Gihan Pallage (42) provided a solid foundation with a first-wicket stand of 61 but when the latter was dislodged so were Jigar Shah (0), Ian Barrie (13), Sherrick Chavda (0) and then Ishan in quick succession, leaving Bessborough in a spot of bother on 128 for 5.
Number six bat Hemmen Jutla stepped up with his best score of the season with a classy 50 as he and Tharshan Kanagaraj (19) added 60 runs to get the side up to 188 for 6 and poised to set a big total. However, another trademark lower-order collapse saw the last four wickets fall for only 14 runs as Bessborough closed on 202 after 47 overs.
A run of four defeats in a row had dragged Harrow into the danger zone and their lack of confidence was evident from the start as Bessborough’s hero of last week, pace bowler Neal Patel (pictured), continued where he left off with another devastating spell. For the second week running Patel delivered his best figures for the club, this time picking up 5 for 17 in 14 overs as Harrow were skittled for 52 runs, condemning them to relegation at our expense.
The other wicket takers were Gihan Pallage (3-12) and skipper Rohan Karkhanis (2-5) who finished as the side’s leading wicket taker in the MCCL with 30 at an average of 22.43. Ishan Shah ended the season as the leading runs scorer in the league with 401 at 33.42.
The second XI were buoyed by the confirmation late on Friday that South Hampstead's 25 points deduction would stand, meaning that we were safe no matter the result against Kenton.
However, the side didn’t relax and went on to produce one of their best all round performances of the season; firstly declaring on 233 for 4 in 47 overs (Urooj Ahmed 81*, Mitesh Vyas 61) and then blowing away an unfamiliar looking Kenton line-up for only 50 (Jay Chavda 5-27).
Remarkably, the win propelled the side from second-bottom to a final placing of sixth such was the congested nature of the bottom-half of the league.
Mitesh finished as the 2s leading runs scorer in the MCCL with 318 at 35.33, while since arriving at the end of July Urooj Ahmed (pictured) managed to score 304 league runs at an incredible average of 101.33. Leading wicket-taker was the evergreen Nitin Modha with 40 victims at 13.53, including four 5-wicket hauls for the 2s (plus two more 5fers for the 1s).
The Third XI (pictured) secured promotion back to Division 1 of the Middlesex 1987 Cricket League at the first attempt with a 7-wicket victory away to bottom-placed South Hampstead.
Despite their lowly position the hosts provided a big scare as they were coasting towards a large score in their innings on 165-3 but things changed dramatically back in our favour when their opener and linchpin W. Abbasi was dismissed by Nandesh Patel for 107. Thereafter Patel spun his magic to end South Hampstead’s resistance on 206 after 39 overs, in the process picking up 5 for 42.
Bessborough’s talented batting line-up showed no fear as they completed the difficult chase in just over 33 overs, with skipper Ian Ridley (36), Vidoosha Jayawardena (51) and Richard Edmands (53*) doing the bulk of the work, while Rajan Modha (27) and Vinay Bhudia (19*) added some quick runs to finish the job.
The side finished three points behind league champions North London, who benefited from two conceded wins to our one, with promotion achieved on the back of a superb 12-game unbeaten streak that included eight wins and four winning draws.
Picking a player of the season will not be an easy task with so many worthy candidates. The side’s leading run scorer was James Wheeler who in only seven games plundered 465 runs (two centuries and two fifties) at an average of 77.50, closely followed by Vidoosha Jayawardena on 438 runs (six half centuries in eight innings!) at 62.57. The nearly ever-present skipper Ian Ridley was also in the runs with 351 at 21.94, while he also bagged 23 wickets at 18.26. The leading wicket taker was Stephen Kimsey with 26 at 15.58 with a best of 5-24 that rescued the side against Twickenham on 15 August.
Great work chaps, you’ve done the club proud!
The fourth XI once again blew the chances of a clean sweep of wins for the club as they waited until the last game of the season to produce their worst performance, losing by 6 wickets to North London after being dismissed for 61.
Despite the loss, the side finished in a comfortable sixth place and can take solace in the fact they succeeded in their primary objective of developing young players with 10 colts getting game-time over the course of the year. Undoubtedly the biggest success story in the 4s was 14-year-old Jamie Young who finished as the second leading runs scorer (243 at 30.38) and as the leading wicket-taker (18 at 15.22).
The 2015 season concludes next Saturday at Headstone Manor with the annual Colin Horsley Trophy match between colts and seniors.
Bessborough CC 2015 Fantasy League - Week 21 MVPs
- Neal Patel 116 points
- Jay Chavda 115 points
- Urooj Ahmed 114 points