Pricey Brings Light On Dark, Rainy Day

On a day when it looked like the weather would take the only victory, the 1st XI secured their second win of the 2017 season.

Skipper Navaid Akhtar lost the toss and the 1s were asked to bat in bowler friendly conditions with the threat of further rain in the match, quite literally on the horizon.

Openers James Heavey & Sean Price took to the crease after a further rain delay and the instructions to assess the conditions. The opening overs provided enough evidence that although there was plenty of help for the bowlers, good shot selection would be rewarded, this was demonstrated in highly clinical fashion by Sean Price. After Heavey fell, James Fitzgerald followed soon after without troubling the scorer but Sean was there and beginning to dispatch the bowlers to the boundary with ease. At this point we were interrupted for another break and when they returned, the game was reduced to a 38-over per side match.

This break and the reduction of overs did nothing to dampen the assault on the bowling from Sean who with Nav Akhtar, took the game away from the home side with a partnership of 121 for the 3rd wicket.

Sean showed no signs of the nervous nineties as he sent a six over mid-wicket to reach 96 and then in the following over, he ‘Dil-Scooped’ for four to reach his century in just 92-balls. Sean innings came to a close soon after for a brilliant 101 and the score on 169 in the 31st over.

With only 7 overs left, Nav and the middle order had the platform to attack the bowling. Nav played the anchor role finishing with an excellent 69 not out in troubling conditions, his innings gave the freedom to Matt Heavey, 20 off 5 balls including 2 fours & 2 sixes, then Charlie Busby 29 including 3 sixes to move the score onto 245-7 off our 38 overs. A superb effort in trying conditions.

Onto the bowling and we couldn’t have asked for a better start when the Bushey opener drove the first ball of the innings to Nav at mid-off off the bowling of Saqlan Ahmed. Bushey then showed that this wasn’t going to be a one-sided affair as Nomaan Ilyas 33 & Zulfy Muhuseen 36 began an attack of their own on our bowling. The pair added 60 in 9 overs to keep up with the required rate, but the partnership was broken when Muhuseen gloved a ball on it’s way through to Charlie Scutt off the bowling of Charlie Busby (2-16).

Our bowlers began to take control of the innings with Matt Holland bowling an excellent spell of 8 overs to finish with 3-31 including the wicket of Ilyas. Ahmed (4-37) along with the other bowlers then never let another Bushey partnership build and restricted them to 129 all out.

Another win topped off with our first centurion of the season, next week we host Totteridge Millhillians 2nd XI.

#comeonyoueees