1s and 5s up and running on weekend of close finishes
- Ciaran Brett
- May 21
- 3 min read
Brentham 1s got off the mark in Division Two at the second time of asking with a 43-run victory over London Tigers on Saturday.
Batting first, our total of 197-8 was built around a masterful 81 from 18-year-old Lucas Smith at the top of the order. With boundaries difficult to come by, Lucas manoeuvred the bowling to all parts during his 127-ball knock.
Able supported by Majed Ali (19) and Aadil Khan (35) at the top of the order, we laid a solid platform to accelerate in the latter overs.
On a pitch offering plenty of assistance for the bowlers, 197 always looked an above-par total.
It looked even better when captain Jack Solomon (1-27) took a wicket with the first ball of the reply.
After a period of rebuilding, the introduction of spin turned the game decisively in our favour. Harry Marston (5-31) was the tormentor in chief as he rattled through the middle order. The pace of Tom Barry (2-32) proved too much for the tail as the home side were bowled out for 154.
Enfield bring their perfect two-from-two record to Meadvale Road for this weekend’s 1st XI action.
The 2s were again narrowly on the wrong end of a high-scoring home affair on Saturday.
Bowling-first at home to Eastcote, Saad Rehman’s men had the visitors in early trouble at 26-3; Ayaz Khan (3-27) and Faiz Khan (1-45) doing the damage up top.
After recovering to 101-3 the spin of Atif Shah (2-37) and Divyesh Kerai (1-45) further reduced Eastcote to 118-6. However, from there, the tail wagged.
Partnerships down the order of 67, 32, and 17 dragged the visitors up to 234 from their 45 overs.
Our reply mirrored that of the first innings with early wickets, followed by an excellent recovery.
The recovery, from 23-2 to 143-2, came courtesy of Meet Goswami (78) and Thirath Goane (55).
When they both departed Saad (24) and Prav Jadhav (25) took up the mantle, taking us to within 32 of victory with six wickets in hand.
From there though, wickets tumbled as the scoreboard pressure told, leaving us six short of our total at the end of our allotted overs.
The 2s head to Finchley on Saturday with both sides looking for a first win of the campaign.
The 3s also just came out on the wrong side of a cracking encounter – losing by two wickets to Harrow Town at William Perkin.
Batting first, it was an innings of accumulation in the early stages. The top five all got into double figures but only Unmesh Wagh (31) got out of the teens.
At 136-7, the innings needed some impetus and that came courtesy of a partnership of 56 off 50 balls between Chris Jones (46*) and stand-in skipper Ciaran Brett (22*) to finish on 192-7.
Our bowling effort started well with Ciaran Brett (2-18) removing one of the openers. Will Pye (1-45) and Chris Jones (2-23) also took early scalps to leave Town 37-3.
However, Armaan Vasisht anchored the chase with 80 and was ably supported down the order. Jayraj Jadeja (2-53) and Vinay Khetia (1-41) also chipped away with wickets, with Harrow 126-6 and 157-7 at stage.
However, we were unable to remove Vasisht. Shielding the tail, he managed to get the visitors home by 2 wickets with 22 balls to spare.
A trip to Harrow St Marys is up on Saturday.
With no action for the 4s, due to Osterley’s removal, it was left to the 5s to pick up our second victory over the weekend at Kensington and Chelsea.
Our 208-9 was built around twin 50s from opener Marcus Bethel (57) and captain Simon Price (51) in the top three. Junior Dhruvin Patel (23) gave the innings a late boost as we passed 200 at Kings House.
Wickets fell regularly during Kensington and Chelsea’s reply, our bowlers never letting them build a match-winning partnership.
Praveen Nair (4-53) and Siddharth Tyagi (3-33) shared the early wickets before Imran Raza (1-45) got the prized scalp of captain Dushy Seevagan for 69. From there, Dhruvin (2-26) was introduced to mop up the tail as we squeaked home by 8 runs.
There’s action for all five teams this Saturday with the 4s returning to action at home to Wycombe House and the 5s at home to Chiswick.
Brentham 1s showed strong teamwork and smart strategy in their win over London Tigers, led by Lucas Smith’s outstanding 81-run innings. Their total of 197-8 proved to be more than enough on a bowler-friendly pitch. With key bowling performances from Harry Marston and Tom Barry, they secured a 43-run victory. Such focused planning and execution remind students how preparation leads to success, just as it does when you find support to take my gre exam for me for academic success.