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Sat. 7th July 2007
1st XI (174/8) vs British Airways (266/5d) Drawn
(Home – 11pts)
With a number of players once again away we were
not the strongest on paper and weakened further by
a no-show as the difficulties of getting to grips
with availability after last weeks washout reared
its ugly head. This wasn’t the last ugly thing
on the day as BA turned up late and we claimed the
toss much to the anger of their skipper. This initiated
some rather childish behaviour with him insisting
on seeing each of our players together with their
registration cards, causing scenes more reminiscent
of an under 11’s footie match.
We eventually got started at 1.50pm with us electing
to bat as we had very little bowling to offer up.
They got off to a bit of a flyer but with only 10
fielders we actually put in a fair effort on a good
pitch. Our part-time bowlers generally kept the ball
on the spot but every time we pegged them back a
bit they seemed to have a big over or two and this
allowed them to declare after 50 overs with a good
score on the board. It was actually a pretty fair
declaration giving us a good chance at the chase.
We started off well with Ali Wilson and Jeremy Anderson
putting on 67 for the first wicket before Ali went
for 23. Rudath ‘Sandy’ Kapugeekiyana
showed what a good cricketer he is as he picked up
the running and the chase was well on with the score
at 140/1 just before the last hour started. More
fun and games ensued with their skipper who continued
to sledge players and umpires alike. However this
was the turning point as Sandy didn’t hear
a call and couldn’t make it to the bowler’s
end and was run out for an excellent 40. Skipper
Tharic Mohammed hit some powerful blows but following
the fall of Jeremy for an excellent 73 the run rate
dried up somewhat and when Tharic fell for 20 trying
to keep the score going we were no longer in the
running. In the end we had to battle for the draw
as the middle order suffered a bit of an AP-style
collapse with us not even getting to the 175 mark
despite having 8 overs with the score at 174! Well
done to Robin McKeown and Bryan King for seeing out
the overs, though.
Once gain it seems a shame that playing against a
side who are third in the table but look very beatable
we couldn’t put out a side to take advantage.
If we’re serious about getting ourselves back
into the first division we simply need more games
out of our players. Having said that we got ourselves
into a very strong position and if it hadn’t
been for an unfortunate run out and a freakish catch
on the boundary to see off Jeremy we could still
have won.
AW
2nd XI (108/9) vs Calthorpe (109/2) Lost
(Away)
At last – some cricket! After the ‘long’ journey
to Calthorpe and a good look at a surprisingly rock
hard track we were all in top spirits. Stuart Trotter
had drained all the info there was on Randolph ‘Randy'
Reid’s latest girlfriend and this put us all
in a very jubilant frame of mind. I won the toss
(which seems to be the only consistency in our season
so far) and we decided to have a bat. The first ball
flew off the middle of Matt Blackmore’s bat
and the positivity and momentum gained in our pre-match
banter seemed to have followed us onto the pitch.
Next over, my second ball was slapped through the
covers for 4 and we were settling in for a nice innings … that
is where it stopped, however, as wickets then started
to tumble and at 60/6 and we were looking at another
early finish; enter Amit Bose and Mark Campbell,
who had the partnership of our innings, putting on
41. Alas, with 10 men we were all out for 108, Campbell
being left on 32*, the only other contribution was
the skipper’s 24. The tea was the best so far
this season (small consolation).
The runs were got
after 25.1 overs for the loss of 2 Hallman wickets.
We are now in real danger of relegation unless we
start winning and to do this we need to be able to
field and catch, something that has not been achieved
all year, not to mention put decent totals on the
board to aid our bowlers. We have some players who
are capable and some that are clearly not. However,
no matter what the talent available is we all share
one thing and that is lack of application. This is
the half way stage in the season and we need to start
afresh to get the results needed.
KH
Alexandra Park 3rd XI 203 all out v Ealing
4th XI 204 for 7 LOST
The longest winning sequence of calling correctly
continues! Heads was the shout and in we go to bat!
A solid start by your correspondent (29) and McMullen
(34) on Harrow School’s 1st XI ground – a
perfect batting wicket albeit with low bounce – set
the platform to what should have been a better score.
Number 3 Zed carried on with a stylish 70 but the
rest of the middle order fell to poor shot selection.
Shazad hit a couple of boundaries in his 21 but even
allowing for a huge outfield we were probably 20
runs short.
In reply Ealing also got off to a steady but unspectacular
start. Tight bowling from Naveed and Lewis Charles-Edwards
kept the runs down but in truth we didn’t look
as though we would run through them. Niven Watley
replaced Edwards and after a couple of expensive
overs of leg spin started to land the ball in the
right place and cause a few problems. However, it
was the introduction of Shazad, taking over from
his brother, that eventually provided the breakthrough.
He bowled tightly at one end picking up wickets as
Niven wheeled away at the other without much luck.
The difference between the teams proved to be Ealing’s
14 year old who at number 3 batted through while
others came and went at the other end. They knocked
off the runs in the penultimate over to end what
was a very good game of cricket. We could certainly
learn from the youngster – he didn’t
give his wicket away, making the most of a very good
track to bat on!
JF
4th XI (136) vs MTSSC IV (139/4) Lost (Home – 8pts)
A rare beautiful day did not bring a rare win as
the 4s reverted to type and batted for a long time
for too few runs, which the oppo chased down with
relative ease. I won the toss (which will probably
be the only thing I win all season) and cautiously
elected to bat. Mark Winter and Les Clarke opened
our innings and pretty soon the pattern of the
day was set: the pitch was low and slow and the
batsmen had difficulty adjusting. All of our batsmen
made starts (18, 17, 11 etc.) , but no-one posted
the big score that might have given us a competitive
total. We were all out for 136 after 47 dull overs.
Parvez Saleh (28) was joint top-scorer with Extras
(who seems to play every week but has never paid
match fees or subs). As usual, MTSSC were excitable
in the field but not unpleasantly so.
After
the usual excellent AP tea, Manan Banker and Paul Sullivan opened our bowling.
Paul grabbed a wicket with the first ball of the second over, which put us
in a good frame of mind, and soon had a second wicket with a caught behind.
Manan, meanwhile, was bowling beautifully from the City End, but without luck … until
an MTSSC bat loudly snicked one behind, which ‘keeper Mark Winter gratefully
pouched. The batsman turned to walk, until he noticed that the umpire had kept
his finger firmly in his pocket, at which point he returned to the crease.
To say some of us were upset is putting it mildly! Now, we’re not naïve,
and we’re well aware of the shenanigans and stunts that get pulled at
this level, but if a batsman starts to walk, then he should keep walking, regardless
of the umpire’s decision – talking of which, there was no room
for doubt whatsoever about the caught behind (which is why the bat had begun
to walk in the first place). It’s incidents like this that cause teams
to get a bad reputation, and whilst MTSSC IV’s aren’t a bad bunch
(they all stayed behind afterwards for drinks), they didn’t do themselves
any favors on this occasion. We’ll never know if the wicket might’ve
turned the game as MTSSC surpassed our total within 30 overs for the loss of
two more wickets.
That
we got a full game in is something we should be grateful for. The numerous
abandonments this season haven’t helped our cause, denying us playing
time, bonus points and victories. I’ve enjoyed playing alongside and
getting to know some great people this year but we need to convert our commitment
and enjoyment into success. To wit: score more runs, take more wickets, field
better and win games. It’s not that hard! Finally, thanks to Shyrazi’s
friend Paul Bankatov for bringing us up to XI at late notice.
NW
Sun. 8thJuly
1st XI (248/6) vs Uxbridge (238/8) Won
(Away)
A cracking game and a great result. As stand-in skipper
for the day, with a much changed side from the one
selected and with a long journey to Uxbridge in prospec,
I did not know what to expect from the day when arriving
at Bounds Green. As things turned out, some of us
had to go by the tube while the rest went along with
the one car we had. We were there in time for the
game and I won the toss and chose to bat. Rohan da
Silva (14) and Jeremy Anderson put on 65 for the
first wicket and that set the platform for what was
to come, namely a magnificent 156 run partnership
between Jeremy and Derrick Cordy, who played
with aggression and no little style. Jeremy decided
to take the bowling on from the start with big on-drives
while Derrick played himself in and then pierced
the field with clinical precision consistently. There
was some great strokeplay from both and it was great
viewing for the rest of the team from the boundary.
Jeremy got into the nervous nineties and there was
some discussion as to whether we tell him his score
or if telling him would hex him, but he knew and
an on drive for 2 took him to a well deserved 100.
Finally he fell to their spinner’s slow ‘slower’ one
which bowled him for 112. Derrick then fell shortly
afterward to the same bowler for a hard fought and
entertaining 71. So with the score at 230/3 and overs
running out and the need for quick runs still imperative
we lost a few wickets and finished at 248/6 at the
interval.
After tea we took to the field agreeing that if we
contained Uxbridge and kept them behind the scoring
rate of 5.5 runs per over then the wickets would
fall. With a big score and demoralised opposition
chasing leather in the ‘sun’ we fancied
our chances but had to be patient. That paid off
when Manan Banker got the first wicket at 49. Faaric
Mohammed bowled really well with no luck for his
five overs and he did deserve better than 0/44 would
suggest. Lewis Charles-Edwards then bowled a great
spell in tandem with jeremy. Lewis bowled with good
control, variation and worked up some decent pace
in his spell (1/28 off 7). Before Lewis took his
wicket they had got to 94/1 when Jeremy (who else?)
struck with 2 wickets in an over. Bowling the first
victim and with yours truly tacking a smart hard
struck catch to complete the second, we were back
in the game. Rohan then came into the fray with a
beguiling spell of leg spin, which the opposition
could not fathom. His spin web pushed them further
behind the scoring rate, and he and Jez tightened
their grip on the batters and as they tried to push
the run rate the wickets fell. Rohan (2/41 off 10)
got an lbw and then Derrick caught one of their middle
order bats and that put really put the pressure on
Uxbridge. Man of the match Jeremy had earlier bowled
one of their big hitters and this made the game safe.
Manan then came back to bowl at the death and with
them needing 14 off the last over that was that.
He took the last wicket of the day to end with figures
of 2/26 off 9, getting their best bat out bowled
off the penultimate ball of the day. Many thanks
to Shyrazi, Jeremy, Tom Spencer and wicketkeeper
Nicola for their participation today. A great days
cricket and I hand back the reigns back to Nigel
saying ‘top that skipper!’
AB
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