Brentham CC - Match Reports 2005



Sat 3rd Sept
The last weekend of the League season was a good summary of the second half of the season - win for the 1's, loss for the 2's, and a draw for the 3's. Luke Budden made 77 and Gary Dattani 43 as the 1's posted 264-8 against lowly Barclays, and dismissed the opposition for 227 (Naz Ali 4fer). The 2's were beaten by three wickets by a weakened Finchley team despite making 218 (Furrakh Mirza 59, James Bolger 30something), while the 3's limped to 132-8 (Ashwin Kapoor 55*) in reply to Hornsey's 199 (Andy Pulver 5-60).

Brentham 1 v Enfield, Sat July 9

Brentham 1sts v Enfield 1sts Having lost the toss on a surprisingly damp pitch, Brentham were inserted and progressed well with an opening stand of 120 between Rodgers and Ennion (40). Following the loss of Ennion and Rowan (14), Rodgers was joined by Majid Ali (40*) in an excellent stand that took Brentham well past 200. Rodgers ended with a superb 120 and after some controlled hitting by the middle order Brentham declared on 258 after 49 overs.

Enfied lost an early wicket in reply when Yoggi threw the stumps down to run out one of the openers, but following this success Brentham found the going tough despite creating a couple of good chances. At 100ish for 1 Enfield looked well placed but the return of Naz Ali for his second spell, changed the face of the game and he finished with 7-66. Enfield closed on 190-9 as Brentham couldn't get the final wicket in the last 3 overs. Brentham took 4 points to Enfield's 1.

Brentham 2 v Finchley, Sat July 2

Inserted on a slow green Brentham wicket, the dinkies fought their way to a decent position against a pretty good bowling attack. First to go was Healey (simply not tall enough for one that bounced), and Roberts followed with a failed attempt to pull. At 80odd for 2, with Jon Mays beginning to open up, James Bolger settling in, and the dangerous left arm opening bowler replaced by gentle spin, things were looking up. Unfortunately Jon blew it for the team, by smashing the spinner's second over for 19, causing a frustrated oppo captain to just bring the left armer straight back on again, where he stayed for the duration.

You can guess what happened next. 100-2 became 120-6. Bolger was first, failing to make the most of an absurd life. (That's not a general comment by the way James.) Mays toe ended a pull, a watchful Khuram Pervez watched it all the way onto the pad, and Dilip Thakker was controversially run out - seconds after the keeper had complained that our umpire was too far away at square leg to umpire properly ("I have excellent eyesight" he replied), a tight run out decision was required. Despite the replay seeming to show gloves breaking the stumps before ball, the finger was raised and the fuzzy white blobs in the distance danced for joy. How the middle order missed Luke Budden, who was specialist extra cover for the 1's.

Vish Vakhani and James Pettifer provided some sanity (think about that for a minute), cautiously picking up 3 an over against mystifyingly defensive fields, but disappointingly both eventually cracked and were caught hitting out, as was Sully Mughal. 164 all out was a tame affair. But if we bowled well and held our catches.....

...sorry, drifted off there. Had the strangest dream. Where were we? Oh yes. Initial prospects were good, despite the absence of Martin (who had an important 4 overs to bowl for the 1's) with an early wicket c Mays b Hall backing up the team talk. Sadly Lipps was attempting to recreate the Bodyline series in super slomo, and although Mughal came on and bowled well the fielding suddenly fell apart. Five catches were dropped in fairly quick succession as any chance of winning slipped through our hands - it would be improper here to name the unfortunate who turfed four of them, or the even more unfortunate whose drop of a spliced pull to mid off sits high in the all-time list of easiest catches dropped in any form of cricket. (Although he has correctly pointed out that as he didn't actually get a hand on it - it somehow hit his chest instead - it shouldn't really go down as a chance). But Finchley coasted home by eight wickets. This was a very poor peformance, and one best forgotten as quickly as possible.

Brentham 2 v Teddington, 26th June 2005

It was cloudy and not very worm as we went to play crickit. We got over 100 runs in less than a day witch is a lott. The other team thort we was workin class witch cant b tru as we is all on giro and only 1 of us is a pikey. They then played well sloe and made ASBO miss his curfu so his elektric tag must have gone off. Or it must hav dun init cos he was swearing all the time. After I got a pint in the bar and it had all fruit and leaves in it and was well minging. But I got my money back by steeling some desiner jeans off of a South hampstead player.

Brentham 1 v Uxbridge (Ibex), 19th June 2005

Following an even hotter Saturday afternoon, Brentham won the toss and elected to bat under the experienced guidance of Gary Dattani. From the start an opening partnership of 101 provided the foundation for a strong total of 278. Majed Ali with a powerful 59 off as many balls was a delight to watch, but was put into the shade by a maiden Brentham ton for the Aussie Damon Rowan. His control over a somewhat average Uxbridge attack assured him of 131 Not Out. With the heat not seeming to ease, Uxbridge got off to a solid start with 37 off the first 7 overs, with Brentham bowlers struggling to find their lines. After wise bowling changes and field settings Uxbridge were reduced to 92 for 5. Still applying the pressure to ensure victory a solid spell of 2-19 from 9 by James Pettifer helped the more experienced first team bowlers finish off the tail. A mention for James Martin who took 2-36 continuing his excellent recent form.

Brentham 3 v Enfield, 18th June 2005

After having Enfield 116 for 6 (M Lowen 3-44) the wheels came off! No's 7 to 10 with a little skill but plenty of effort ran Brentham ragged and a target of 261 in 45 overs was daunting but not impossible. Early wickets meant we had to rebuild, which Pervez (102) & Khan (55) did skilfully. But on Tariq's dismissal the Enfield bowlers became more accurate, 6 an over increased to 7 and then 8 an over. Eventually the 4 points winning draw was secured in the 44th over. In the last over Pervez made hay, completing an excellent hundred after also bowling admirably.

Brentham 2 v Southgate, 18th June 2005

Brentham 2's continued their recent revival and claimed their first victory of the season in nail-biting fashion over Southgate, to climb out of the relegation zone. Continuing his recent good form the Polo was again unlucky, his away movement proving too much and too good for the Southgate openers leaving the ball virtually as untouched as his wallet in the bar after the game. Despite this it took an exceptional one-handed diving catch at cover by Luke Budden to break the opening stand, off the bowling of 2's debutant Mughal (3-44). Controlled bowling from Lips, the Microwave and Rooney meant that Southgate after a late flourish dec'd on 231-7 after 50 overs. A second-ball duck for Touchie wasn't the ideal start, but Skip (83) & Bolg (26) put on a quick 60. Popadom added 31 and at 150-2 all looked to be going well. As ever at Brentham we made it hard for ourselves though with 2 wickets in an over, meant a rebuilding by Budden & Inzi was required. Adding 50 took us to within reach. The next 4 wickets then fell in the space of 12 balls, with 7,8,& 9 contributing a grand total of 0 between them. Rooney showed them the way with Budden showing his exceptional class with the winning 2 boundaries in his unbeaten 57, as we reached our target with 4 balls to spare.

Brentham 1 v Hornsey, 18th June 2005

As usual for Brentham at Hornsey it was a scorching day but this time there was no shelter from the pavillion as it was being rebuilt.

Brentham were put into bat, Danny Rodgers and Matty Ennion starting well and getting us to 100 without loss. They then both went in quick succession bringing Dutchy and Damo to the crease. The pair took the bowling to task both getting 50's with some entertaining shots. Eventually Dutchy missed a straight one which gave Gary Dattani the chance to hit a couple of 6's before we declared on 260.

Hornsey were slow to get going in their response with Naz (3 wickets) and David (2 wickets) bowling well. A great comeback after the previous week's disapointment. Yogy (1 wicket) and Dutchy (4 wickets) also bowled well and attacking fields meant that there was always a chance of wickets. Up to the plate stepped Majid Ali with 3 great catches at short leg. A constant flow of wickets and tight fielding meant Hornsey never got much of a total, eventually being bowled out with 5 overs to go. 10 points Brentham 1's! (James Sprackling)

Brentham 3 v Wembley, 11th June 2005

On another small ground against the new league leaders (again) whose batsmen wanted to smash every ball out of sight (again), we got lucky. If it hadn't been for their No. 4 though (100 out of 150 in 21 overs), we'd have won easily. No bowler faltered from line and length and Danny Colgan came good when it counted (4-24), helped by a sensational catch by 14 year old Matt Lowen at wide long off. Wembley finished on 200 a.o. from 30 overs.
We won the game at 745pm with 15 overs in hand, when it was fairly dark and spitting with rain, but managed to lose 5 wkts for 12 runs near the end. Credit must go to all batsmen who occupied the crease for long periods, especially Khuram Pervez, but the hero at the end was Ashwin Kapoor with 2 boundaries to win the game, against probably the best bowling attack I've seen in 3rd team cricket. And we only had 10 men!!! (John Magner)

Brentham 1 v S Bush, 4th June 2005

Brentham won the toss and elected to field. Shepherd's Bush were quickly in trouble on a wicket which was bowler friendly. The wicket was expertly exploited by Naz Ali(5-30) and David Fairhead, who both bowled fantastically well to set up an emphatic win. They were backed up by some fine catching, notably by James Sprackling. He caught Shepherds Bush opener Tim Howard, who after battling through the opening bowlers, got beaten in the flight by first change Gary Dattani and was caught at extra cover. Not to be stopped there, Dattani then got one to turn viciously down the leg side and Damon Rowan completed a smart stumping.

After 37 fine overs Shepherd's Bush were bowled out for 72. In reply Brentham wasted no time in completing a nine wicket win. Matthew Ennion was the only casualty, whilst Danny Rodgers smashed 50* as we reached the target within 9 overs to keep our position at the top of the league.

Brentham 1 v N Middx, 28 May 2005

A bright, breezy afternoon, and Brentham were rewarded with a good home win against North Middlesex. After winning the toss Brentham fielded and picked up early wickets, with Yogi Prabhu providing the inspiration as the wickets were shared by all four bowlers used. At 46-5 we had a huge chance to blow North Middlesex away - however, with our seamers beginning to tire after bowling into a strong wind, and probably the opposition's best two batsman at numbers 6 and 8, N Middx dragged themselves up to a total (147 in 35 overs) that gave their bowlers some slight hope.

In reply Brentham were soon 36-3 and the game was evenly poised, with some slow straight bowling and "ring" fields by North Middlesex. However the game turned in Brentham's favour with an excellent stand between Damon Rowan (46) and the impressive Majid Ali (53*), and we sealed the game in the 37th over. Once again a good all round team performance by all, each bowler doing their job well and backed up by the fielders.

This win maintained Brentham as the early runners at the top of the league; but let's remember it is a marathon not a sprint!

Brentham 1 v Barnes, 14 May 2005

Brentham won the toss and elected to field. After a brisk start, Barnes were pegged back by an excellent spell from Yogesh Prabhu who made the initial breakthrough. Keith Dutch then continued to peg Barnes down in the middle of their innings picking up three wickets, but a final flourish enabled Barnes to declare on 234-6 off 55 overs. Brentham made a positive start and were always ahead of the run rate required. Following an opening partnership of 140 between Danny Rodgers (70) and Matt Ennion (86*), Damon Rowan helped to see Brentham home with a very rapid 39* with 2 overs to spare and 8 wickets in hand. (Matt Ennion)

Brentham 2 v Brondesbury, 7 May 2005

As the country welcomed New Labour back for a Third term, the top flight of Middlesex second team cricket welcomed back Brentham, who will be hoping to be more Brown than Blair by holding on to their premier status.

The swingometer registered little in the first hour as the new ball failed to make inroads; a half century from Brondesbury’s left handed opener getting the visitors off to a flyer. Darbon (4-108) and Thakker were introduced into the attack and soon brought the run rate under control, accompanied by some good fielding. In fact there were two run outs, fielders no doubt encouraged by the fact that James ‘Ginster’ Pettifer would prevent any overthrows with clever use of a pasty. Brondesbury accelerated towards the end however and posted 257-7 off of 49 overs.

Brentham started promisingly in their pursuit of the target, reaching 100-2 at a good rate, Chris Healey scoring 51. Inzi Mirza was well placed in the 20s, crashing the ball to the boundary, as likely an occurrence as “drinks are on Geoff”. Three quick wickets soon brought the run chase to a close, however, leaving Inzi and Dilip Thakker to comfortably play out for the point.

A new innovation for this season has seen captain John Mays introduce a fine system for various offences. James Martin will certainly be looking to lose his ‘polo - the fielder with the hole TM’ tag if he is to retain his money and status as one of the club’s leading Geoffs. With dropped catches among the offences, Vish Vakhani has been seen coming out of HSBC in a suit before his elevation to the first team gave him extra time to secure finance. (James Martin)

Brentham 1 vs Enfield, 7 May 2005

The weather was bright but menacing, as a strong and ambitious Brentham team arrived at Enfield. Put in to bat, many of the Brentham batsmen appeared in good form but failed to capitalize on promising starts. Majed Ali however shone with a classy 71* and helped Brentham to a competitive 230 total. Our quicks Naz Ali and David Fairhead then roared in and found early success, dismissing both openers cheaply. Keith Dutch bowled well without luck, and there was a notable first 1st XI wicket for Yogesh Prabhu, the first of many we expect. Naz was the pick of the bowling with 3-48 and was well backed up by fielding of a high standard, as Enfield struggled to 178-8 and a losing draw. A promising start for the 1's. (Tom Roberts)

Brentham 2 vs S Hampstead, 30 Apr 2005

Brentham 2nd XI started their season in fine style on Saturday with a comprehensive 8 wicket victory over South Hampstead. Having continued last season's tradition of losing the toss, despite a change of captain, Brentham's opening attack of James Martin (3-35) and Justin (call me Zola Budd) Darbon (1-20) both made early breakthroughs, with a couple of well taken catches by Chris Healey and Khuram Pervez.
The form in the field was worryingly good - peaking in April is never a good sign - but continued with sharp chances being taken by James Bolger and Dilip Thakker helping reduce South Hampstead to 30-4. The introduction of spin (?) triplets Thakker (1-10 from 13), James Pettifer (3-34) and John Capps (2-14) to the attack continued to keep the batsmen under pressure bowling with accuracy with the odd mystery ball thrown in and wickets fell at regular intervals as the hosts struggled to 119 all out from 54 overs.
After an excellent Chicken Curry for tea Brentham's openers quickly got the right type of runs, first seeing off the youthful opening seam attack and then tucking in to some more gentle fare. Chris Healey looked in good touch before chipping to mid-on for 33, and James Bolger added a watchful 14 coming in at 3. Jon Mays with a belligerent 68* and the still in the country Tariq Khan 4* saw Brentham comfortably home with more than 10 overs to spare. All in all a good team performance in readiness for the start of the league season this weekend. (Jon Mays)