Middlesex County Cricket League Division Three: Bessborough drew with Kenton
Bessborough performed heroically, to earn a crucial point against promotion-chasing Kenton on Saturday.
For the second time this season, Kenton had Bessborough clinging on to their last wicket, but were unable to force the win.
The hosts Kenton were put in and smashed 240 for seven off their 53 overs, with opener J Mills leading the way with 61. Bessborough's spin duo of Nitin Modha and captain Sherrick Chavda picked up six wickets between them, Modha snaring four for 65.
Danny Hawes led the Borough reply, scoring his first Saturday 50 of the season with a faultless 64. Ash Mehta and wicketkeeper Wayne Whitson offered good support but wickets fell at regular intervals.
Last pair Alex Irani and Nitin Modha held firm and Bessborough picked up the point that keeps them three clear of rock bottom Wycombe House.
Meanwhile, a magnificent opening stand of 173 between Phil Bush and teenage sensation Kushal Patel led the foundation for Bessborough II's winning draw against Wycombe House on Saturday. Bush scored his 112 off 103 balls, his second senior ton, with Patel scoring 74. The middle order tried to accelerate the score and were eventually bowled out for 258.
Wycombe House were never in the hunt and regular wickets by Eranda Jayasinghe, Kushal Patel and Andy Carr put the visitors under real pressure. Wycombe house eventually hung on with eight wickets down.
The result meant that Bessborough are mathematically safe and sit comfortably in mid-table.
Borough's third string could not complete a favourable set of results for the club and they went down at home to promotion-chasing Acton. They were bowled out for 109 in 39 overs and Acton eased to a seven-wicket triumph with Hayden Glassey (58*) leading the charge.
Kenton's second team earned a two-wicket victory at Shepherd's Bush, having reached the 240 target in 49.1 overs, while the thirds destroyed Enfield by a massive 201 runs. Bashir (117) and M Shafi (50*) were Enfield's tormentors as the vistors racked up 273 for five, before polishing their opponents off for 72. [25a0] The great and the good from Bessborough's past return to the club on Sunday to play two matches against the current sides as the final part of the club's centenary celebrations. A 40-over game starts at 11am and will be followed by a 20-over game.
Centenary chairman, James Wheeler, said: "It was an idea we came up with a year ago and we thought it was a fitting way for the club to finish our celebrations. It will be fantastic to welcome back players such as Graham Sainsbury and Manoj Shah, who had such an influence on my cricket."
Harrow Town lost to Hornsey by seven wickets
HARROW Town's promotion hopes took a dent after a reversal at home to Hornsey.
Victor Jadunath (50) helped Town amass 171 all out, with Hornsey's Ian Gregory claiming seven for 50.
In reply, the visitors reached the target in 49 overs, with Alex Scrini (71) setting the standard.
Town's second XI earned a draw with high flying Finchley having posted 195 (D Patel 58). Finchley took a point by making 150 for nine in 45 overs.
The thirds meanwhile went down to a three-wicket defeat at Ickenham.
Division Two: Harrow drew with Barnes
HARROW suffered another miserable afternoon at Payne's Folly as they struggled to collect the 10 points their performance deserved.
Put into bat, Harrow made another poor start to their innings, with Suk Bhupal going for 0 and Dave Walker following shortly afterwards, leaving them at 30 for two.
Darren Crook tried to rebuild with a determined 28, but with the score on 48 for three it was left to Tush Karia to carry things on with 43.
Once again Harrow struggled to maintain the momentum and with Wasim Aslam going for a duck it was down to Nik Ruparelia (55*) and Theo Modeste (51) who turned the innings around as Harrow closed on a challenging 232 for eight.
Harrow made a great start with the ball and soon had Barnes in trouble. With the score on 30 for three, maximum points looked a possibility, but Taylor had other ideas as he scored a solid 75, allowing Barnes to recover.
Two more wickets fell, but it wasn't enough, as Barnes closed on 194 for five to take four points.
Harrow II continued with their impressive run as they moved into second place in the second team Division Three, with a six wicket victory over Hornsey. Batting first, Hornsey only managed to score 112, with D Morris taking five for 29.
In reply, Harrow soon knocked off the runs in 16.1 overs, with Morris again the star with a stylish 89 not out.
The third string, however, suffered an agonising one-run defeat at relegationthreatened South Hampstead, having scored 220.
Wembley lost to North Middlesex by eight wickets
WEMBLEY still have a fighting chance of avoiding relegation, despite suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of champions-elect North Middlesex.
With fellow strugglers North London losing to Shepherd's Bush, Wembley are still locked with them on 45 points, and have three rounds left to avoid the dreaded drop.
Alex Greig's side were bowled out for 145 and the leaders made light work of their reply, knocking off the runs in 40 overs, with Alex Hill hitting a stoic 51.
Despite being 24 points adrift at the foot of Division Two, Wembley II showed they would fight to the bitter end with a 62-run victory over mid-table Ickenham.
C Brinley hit 51 in Wembley's declared total of 238 for nine in 50 overs, before they skittled the visitors for 172.
The thirds also tasted victory, to keep their promotion push from Division Two on track. K Shahid (55) and V Zala (53) helped Wembley ease to a four-wicket win, reaching the 178 target in the 28th over.
Premier League: Stanmore lost to Ealing by five wickets
STANMORE seem determined to take their relegation fight to the wire; a defeat to league leaders Ealing left them just 10 points away from the drop zone.
Ealing's Chris Peploe was the chief instigator, taking four for 25, to help reduce the hosts to 116 all out before hitting 37 as his side cruised home in 31.4 overs.
Nick Goh was Stanmore's best bowler, with figures of five for 55.
Stanmore II are now officially the draw masters of Division Two, having racked up their fourth of the season at Acton. The hosts posted 184 for nine but Stanmore bagged four points by managing 145 for nine in 44 overs. [25a0] Hardy Jamaldeen hit a stunning double century as he and fellow opener, Phil Whittington, put on a massive 320 runs for the first wicket in Stanmore thirds' jaw-dropping 274-run win over Division Three whipping boys South-gate.
Jamaldeen hit a magnificent 202, while Whittington clubbed 104, and Stanmore declared on a daunting 352 for two after 39.4 overs.
Demoralised Southgate had no answer and no chance. They fell for 78 in 28 overs. [25a0] The MCCL's representative team won the CCC inter-League competition last Friday, beating Surrey Championship by eight runs. Middlesex made 204 for nine, with Wesley Morrick (43) topscoring, before dismissing their opponents for 196.
Middlesex Championship Division Two
PINNER maintained their promotion challenge with a five-wicket victory at West Harrow on Saturday.
Sy Balendrian (three for 31), Ranjit Bagwe (three for four) and Sachin Hedge (two for 14) saw West Harrow 99 all out.
West Harrow made Pinner fight hard but Norman Williams (26*) saw Pinner home.
Hanwell's being eight points ahead of Pinner in second place sets up a fascinating clash when they visit Montesole this weekend.
Meanwhile, the seconds made 244 for eight declared off 46 overs against their West Harrow counterparts.
Bhavik Thakker (66*), Mark Amedee (31*) and Asif Khan (30) led the way before Amedee (five for 31) and Manoj Pereira (two for 17) restricted West Harrow to 103 for eight. [25a0] Shazad Malik claimed all ten wickets in a remarkable individual display for Glaxo at the weekend. His amazing haul came at the expense of 34 runs in 14.1 overs and included four victims clean bowled, three LBWs and a trio of catches.
Lohana were all out for 79, which Glaxo chased down and won for the loss of four wickets.
Saracens Herts League Division Five: Parkfield & Headstone beat Baldock by eight runs
PARKFIELD eased their relegation worries with this tense victory, spearheaded by their bowlers.
Having posted 129 (Ian Schmid 38), Parkfield knew they needed to stem Baldock's flow of runs and Robin Willis (three for 22), Ian Schmid (three for 35) and Kushal Asher (two for 40) duly obliged, reducing Baldock to 87 for eight. It was left to Chetan Modi to chip in with two late wickets to dismiss the visistors for 121.
In the away fixture, Parkfield's second team dismissed Baldock II for 164, with Vikit Kothari picking up a season best four for 30, supported by Waseem Saber (three for 38), Ian Dix (two for 24) and Tim Garnons-Williams (one for 25).
After a couple of wickets had fallen in the first three overs, batsmen three and four put on a fine display of controlled hitting to bring the scores almost level.
Ian Dix fell for 38, but skipper Waseem Saber completed his unbeaten 100 while hitting the winning runs at 167 for three.
Already sure of promotion out of Division 13, the third team could only manage a disappointing 62 against Preston III, who knocked off the runs for the loss of three wickets.
