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Sat. 9th June 2007
1st XI (115) vs Turnham Green (159) Lost
(Away)
History was rewritten on this day!!! The day was
pleasant and sunny and with all the preparations
out the way we were all ready for an exciting game
of cricket. The Oppo batted first, with Nigel ‘Legendary’ Bagley
taking the first over of what turned out to be the BEST bowling
I have ever seen in my cricketing career so far.
Knowing that the Oppo were big hitters and fast scorers
we tried our best to restrict them – and we
succeeded. Our bowlers dismissed the Oppo for 159,
with Paul Dennison (8/1/34/0) and Anthony Shaw (9.2/1/55/2)
bowling well, but the day was stolen by Nigel who
ended up with the figures of 22/6/42/8. With this
reasonable score on the board, we were confident
in chasing and set to come back after tea to start
our battle.
After a slow start our first wicket fell at the
score of 16, and after the luck ran against us with
a series of, how shall we say, unusual decisions?
we felt the 2nd (an lbw) and 3rd (possible no-ball)
wickets were contentious, with a further 3 lbws compounding
the misery. Then enter Nigel who again showed his
true fighting spirit, top scoring with 25*. Robin
McKeown was at the other end, supporting until the
the 36th over when again he was given out caught
behind (which part of the bat did the ball hit?).
Over all it was a disappointing day of cricket but
a blessing to be in a team where one great performance
was witnessed. Let’s just make sure we stop
the losing streak here and start winning … and
this can only happen if we turn up for training and
start to train.
TM
2nd IX (87) vs Turnham Green (255/8) Lost
(Away)
We were all at the meet on time and most of us arrived
with an hour to spare but on losing my first toss
of the season we were put in to the field with only
9 players present. Not the way to start against a
team that are strong in all disiplines. They got
off to a strong start finding gaps at will despite
Dave ‘the Cat’ Cattell taking the new
ball and creating many chances. When we finally got
the openers out they continued to put together strong
partnerships and we continued to spill catches and
watch as the ball went through or past us, and this
includes your scribe who missed several chances for
stumpings. With Dave holding down one end and all
bowlers at the other end getting flogged, v/c Mark
Campbell suggested giving Dave ‘the Cosh’ Crank
a bowl; 3 for 31 off seven says it all, his wickets
lifting the fielding and providing some much needed
enthusiasm. So much so that we created the pressure
needed for two run outs, Max Harris diving at cover
and returning it over the stumps and Mark Campbell
on hearing the batsmen say 2 decided his leg wasn't
sore at all, breaking into a sprint and making a
direct hit. They declared on 255/8 in the 48th over,
so not too bad a result in the end, our problem being
we bowled our overs quickly and had time to bat before
tea. This part won’t take long so bear with
me: 8/0 turned into 8/5 wickets, and this was not
a reflection of their bowling or any demons in the
pitch. ‘Extras’ top scored with 31, I
hung around most of the innings (which wasn't long)
for 23 and Dave Cattell proved he is an allrounder
with 11*. So, 87 all out. ‘Nuff said.
KH
3rd XI (253/) vs Acton for 7 v Acton
IV (130) Won
(Home – 25pts)
What a difference a week makes! This was a good performance
against a young but spirited Acton team. We won the
toss and batted with 25 points needed to push us
away from the relegation zone. We started steadily
against two 15 year olds who kept the ball up to
the bat. A first wicket stand of 59 in 15 overs gave
us a good platform. John Freestone (30) and Rohan
da Silva (29) at the top of the order were unspectacular
but solid. We then lost the next three batsmen cheaply
against Acton’s main bowler who looked as though
he may run through us. However runs came easily at
the other end and Adnan (60) put us back on track.
Tauqueer Jamadar was solid in his first game for
the threes but it was left to Manan Banker and Shazad
(47) to plunder 61 runs from 5 overs to set up a
declaration after 40 overs at 253/7.
Another excellent tea and we were back out to have
a go at the oppo. Dan Buckley and Banker opened up,
the former soon sending number two back but we then
struggled to break through. Banker (7/2/6/0) bowled
well without luck, and we changed the bowling around
but Acton were content to block and although we were
bowling well and creating the odd chance it started
to look as though we might not get the win. Zia (7/1/23/0)
was unlucky not to pick up at least one wicket and
new boy Zed looked promising in his short spell but
it was Shazad (who was just about to be taken off)
who found the right length and line and started taking
wickets. The first was an easy catch for Zia that
was followed by a couple of clean bowled and then
a crucial catch from Zed off Shazad again got rid
of their number 5 for 29. Thereafter Shaz bowled
full and straight to mop up the tail finishing with
figures of 17.1/3/45/8. A great all round performance
from Shazad and 25 points for AP.
JF
4th XI (231) vs North London IV (232/1) Lost
(Away – 10pts)
Be careful what you wish for – you may just
get it. After last week’s exhortation to score
more runs, the batting unecquivocally answered in
the positive – and where better than at the
pocket-sized back-pitch at North London. If you can’t
score runs here, you might as well give up cricket.
Mind you, with only 8 players at the ground and the
Oppo well aware of our previous trials and tribulations
with the bat, I felt the omens weren’t good.
I lost the toss and we were put into bat. The untested
partnership of Shalim Salam (25) and Richard Browne
(47) were quickly into the groove, putting on 72
for the 1st wicket before Salam was caught on the
cover boundary in the 12th over. We then stuttered
as two more wickets fell, Browne falling just short
of a well-deserved half-century, clean-bowled having
a swish, and skipper Walmsley (11) out in similar
fashion to Salam. However, Shyraz Mohammed (22) and
the returning Matt Clark (31) rebuilt our innings,
putting on 70 for the 4th wicket. After Shyraz
was out, Azfer Hamid (18) stormed into the fray,
having answered my SOS call to bring us up to 9,
and he and Clark added a further 24 for the 5th wicket.
Our 6th and 7th wickets fell on 199, but our final
wicket partnership of Stewart Booty (14*) and Tom
Colley (10) took us to 231 all out off 45.4 overs,
with Colley probably playing the shot of the day,
a straight 6 off North London’s suspiciously
good seamer Punit (of whom more anon).
After an excellent tea, we faced the challenge of
defending an otherwise half-decent total on a batsmen’s
paradise, missing two fielders and without a specialist ‘keeper.
Azfer volunteered to go behind the stumps, and I
expected it to be tough but … the North London
openers put on 172, as Punit (114*) revealed himself
to be of at least 2s standard, having just joined
the club and working his way up. Paul Sullivan (10/0/56/0)
was the best of our bowlers under difficult circumstances,
but the rest of us came in for a fair bit of tap
as Punit and his buddy Blount (65) smeared us all
over Shepherd’s Cot. North London overhauled
our total in 27 overs. The only wicket came when
Azfer took off the pads for a brief and typically
fiery spell and removed Blount with a sharp c&b.
I was pleased with everyone’s commitment and
enthusiasm, but felt it was unfair on the players
who did turn up that their efforts came to naught
as with a full complement we might have made a bigger
total and been able to defend it more effectively
in the field. However, that said, we have the makings
of a good 4s team this year and as players finally
come into form we will be in a position to dictate
the game to other teams.
NW
Wed. 6th June 2007
AP (170) vs Bohemians (165) Won
(Away)
This was a very entertaining 20/20 match against
The Bohemians at North London CC. On a very small
pitch we made 170 in 18 overs, with Andrew De Lotbiniere
getting us off to a great start on his debut for
AP with 4 fours in the first over. John McMullan
(24) and Jeremy Anderson (41) also batted very well.
Their opening batsman scored fifty in not many balls
but when he retired and in fading light, Chanaka
took 4 wickets with some very accurate bowling. They
needed 17 off the last over bowled by another debutant,
Deon Hug, and 6 were needed off the last ball but
they failed to get this.
AC
Thu. 7th June 2007
APCC Ladies (161) vs Totteridge (50) Won
(Away)
Well here we were, the first league game of the season
at last. I won the toss and decided to have
a bat, quite an inspired decision really as we only
had 4 players present at the time. Nicola Wilson
(12) and Steph (9) opened our batting. They
made a spirited start before Nicola was bowled going
for one of her big hits, and this brought Mel (58*)
to the crease and together they carried on the good
work before Steph was bowled by the same bowler looking
to speed up the scoring rate. Luckily by this time
another 4 players had arrived, which was really lucky
as it meant I could remove myself from the number
4 slot. Emma (7) went out to replace Steph and started
well before being caught. Miriam (1) decided not
to hang around too long as we had some serious fielding
to do later, as we had now climbed to the dizzy heights
of having 9 players. Miriam’s departure
brought Suzi (34*) to join Mel and together
with some immense hits including a massive 6 from
Suzi they took the total to 161 at close of innings.
Totteridge started slowly and, in fact, did not
speed up much. I opened the bowling with Nicola Wilson
(3.2/1/3/4) – no change there then – who
took a wicket with the last ball of her 1st over. Deciding
on an all Kiwi attack Mel opened at the other end
(4/1/7/0). Steph (4/2/1/5) replaced Nicola and kept
up the pressure with a very good spell. Suzi
(4/0/19/3) and Miriam (3/0/15/2) completed the bowling
attack. both bowling exceptional spells in the fading
light. I bowled the penultimate over for 2
runs and Nicola W. came back and took their last
wicket with her second ball of the over leaving them
all out on 50. Nicola Kelly put up a great performance
behind the stumps, with two brilliant stumpings – great
work Nicola. A brilliant result for our first
game of the season, and with only nine players. Thanks
to everyone who played and thanks to Dave Cattell
who again came along and scored for us.
CL
Tue. 12th June 2007
APCC Ladies (158/2) vs Underhill CC (83/7) Won
(Away)
Well I have decided I don’t really like mid-week
cricket, as 6pm came and went with only 4 players
at the ground., three stuck in traffic and two on
the dreaded Northern Line. We did the toss
at 6.15 and we were to bat, again lucky in view of
the lack of troops to field. We decided on a 6.30
start and by this time 2 players previously stuck
in traffic had arrived. I again opened with
Nicola Wilson (74*) and Steph (24); they started
well and put on 64 for the first wicket before Steph
was bowled looking for another big hit. Melanie
(10 ret.) strode out to the crease and with Nicola
put on another 72 before retiring. Mel replaced
her at the crease but was run out going for a quick
single. Suzi completed the batting line up
and at the end of 20 overs we had scored 158/2.
After a quick tea, we commenced fielding and I opened
the bowling with Melanie (4/0/20/0) who bowled very
well but without much luck. Nicola Wilson (4/1/4/1)
opened at the other end taking a wicket in her first
over. Steph (4/0/15/2) and Mel (4.0.10.0) took
over and continued to apply pressure to the batters. Suzi
(2/0/14/1) and your truly (2/0/9/0) completed the
bowling. Underhill reached 83/7 in their 20.
They made a valiant effort at chasing our total having
3 players run out. Once again a brilliant performance
by Nicola Kelly behind the stumps and a great all
round performance from everyone. Once again
thanks to Dave Cattell for scoring the game for us.
CL |
