1st XI Step Up the Push for Promotion
Early morning showers do not begin to describe the type of rain which had hit North London on Saturday morning, so when the skipper had lost the toss and been asked to bat first we were slightly dubious of what the pitch may do.
Before the game Bushey were 14 points ahead of us, so this was an extremely big game.
Miles, back from a holiday, opened up with Olay and began with a blaze. Hitting 41 of the first 60 runs he made a mockery of practising and looked in very good touch. Olay and Kappa were removed in quick succession (Kappa probably could have walked for his LBW if truth be told) and then Miles chipped to mid-on to leave us 70-3.
Gibson entered at 5 to join the skipper who looked to continue his good touch, and Gibbo was looking just to hit the ball!! Despite only 2 balls in 4 weeks, Gibbo picked up his early season form and played some lovely strokes in a well constructed 70.
When the next couple of wickets fell, there was a thought from Bushey that they may run through our lower middle order. But with the flame haired Petit Ginge (Nick Jones), Indee ‘Boom Boom’ Mali, Penny Parkar, Dutchy and The Colonel making up our 7 – 11 this really was a very long batting line up.
Petit Ginge hit a couple of big sixes as he was looking to hit himself into some form, losing a ball in the process; however the best was yet to come. Boom Boom and Penny made hey as the Bushey fielders began to wilt. Massive hitting from Boom Boom and some classy shots by our number 9 ensured that we walked off at half way having posted 254-7.
Knowing that Bushey would come at us it was imperative that we got off to a good start. Taking the old ball, Nav managed to pick up a caught and bowled first ball. Capitalise on this we thought.
Colonel started at the other end and also had a wicket first ball, caught by the garish looking Gibbo standing up. 1-2!!
Nav continued to use his magic and throughout the innings took 4 more wickets for back to back 5-fors, this one only costing 9 runs from his 12 overs. Very impressive!
The other 4 wickets were shared between Dutchy and Petit Ginge who were doing their best to fill in the void left by Herbie.
Only one chance was shelled by Dutchy in a caught and bowled attempt but other than that a near faultless display which had all the team beaming in great smiles following Bushey being bundled out for 91.
A massive swing of 28 points now sees us in the promotion places ready for the final 3 games. COME ON OE’s! 3 TO GO…….!!!
3’s Nearly Snatch Victory Against High Flying Flitwick
The Third eleven nearly pulled off victory against second placed Flitwick III as they lost by just one wicket. The 3’s posted 194-8 off their 47 overs in which Daniel Willoughby (65) starred with yet another half-century as the team batted around him to build there total. They battled away in the field and nearly snatched victory with Joe Festa taking two wickets in two balls to reduce Flitwick III to 193-9 but with the hat-trick ball he slid down the leg side and gave away the byes that ended the game. That result gave the three’s 19 points and moved them out of the relegation places, more performances like this will see the three’s to safety.
2’s Smash Datchworth II’s to go Second
The two’s recorded their tenth win of the season to secure second place in the table and bring promotion onto the horizon. Skipper Rob Dunn won the toss and had no hesitation in inserting Datchworth. He was rewarded by a superb bowling display from Farakh Raz who took 5-19 off 14 overs including 4 maidens removing both openers in the process. Dave Coombes chipped in with 3-10 and Skipper Dunn bagged himself the opposition number 3.
As with the ones, the two’s made hard work of the small total, having reached 43-1 they then lost 4 wickets for 4 runs to be reduced to 47 for 5 but Dave Coombes & Nav Parkar saw the side over the finish line.
1’s Return to Winning Ways
Finally Skipper James Heavey won a toss to the delight of his team and duly inserted the home side on a slow wicket. This decision paid dividends straight away as Alex ‘The Herbetron’ Herbert removed batsman 2 & 3 inside the first 10 overs with full pitched deliveries that shaped away from their bodies drawing outside edges greatly fully received in the slip cordon. The excellent opening spells of Holland (8-3-16-0) & Herbert (4-41) was followed up by Kailesh Gadhavi (1-18) & Navaid Akhtar (5-19) who strangled the middle order in which the opposition number 6 scored 16 runs in 19 overs. When Herbert returned for his second spell he was making the ball talk proving unplayable at times as he and Akhtar wrapped up the innings inside 45 overs.
Over to the batsman, who in true Old Elizabethans style made the chase difficult when it should have been straight forward. In the short spell before tea, we were reduced to 19-3 losing Kappa, Saqib & Gibson with a collective score of 10. Andy Vernon proved to be ‘The Wall’ again as he & Skipper Heavey (31*) restored control of the game before a loose shot from Vernon ended his innings on 27 with the score 53-5. However, Indee ‘The Finisher’ Mali (28*) came to the rescue again as he saw the side home with an unbroken partnership of 54 with his skipper. Once again the one’s find away to win and yet again it proved to be a team effort that saw them over the finish line.
Next up is fourth placed Bushey in a possible Promotion deciding fixture.
Under 13s Are Singing In The Rain
Congratulations to the Under 13s who have progressed to the next knockout round. On a rainy night at Botany Bay they produced an excellent performance in extremely difficult conditions.
Winning the toss and electing to bat Freddie and Daniel put on an impressive opening century stand with a mixture of good shot making and positive running. A couple of lusty blows from Lewis and Abdullah took the final score to 123 for 2 in the 20 overs.
This was always going to be a tough ask for the home team and after Abdullah had removed one opener the run rate quickly rose to impossible proportions. The bowling was tricky with a wet ball but the bowlers performed well and did not give the batsmen many free hits.
Botany Bay ended their innings on 93, well short of their target. Well done to the team. Keep your eyes open for details of the next round and let’s see how much support we can give the lads!
Report from Andy Vernon
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