Week 8 Review: 1s spin it to win it while 3s blitz record chase

Pruthvi Kand's seven-wicket haul spun 1s to win in derby against Ealing Trailfinders

It was another remarkable weekend for Brentham with four wins across the six matches played on Saturday and Sunday.

---

Tomek Tsang's 1s successfully defended 132 at home to Ealing Trailfinders to move back into the promotion spots in Division Two.

The total of 132 was the lowest total defended by a Brentham team in 1st XI cricket since 2019 and the 13th lowest defended in our 54-year MCCL history.

Aadil Khan (28) and Dhiraj Khullar (23) were the only Brentham batsmen to get out of the teens on a pitch baked by the week's relentless sunshine.

The early stages of Trailfinders' reply gave little hope for a Brentham win, the away side racing to 51-0.

However, this was when the spin duo of Pruthvi Kand and Kieran Bradley got to work. The pair shared all 10 wickets to fall as 51-0 became 108 all out.

Pruthvi took 7-57 to move to 20 wickets for the season, one behind Kieran following his 3-27. Both bowlers now occupy a spot in the top 20 wicket-takers across all levels of MCCL cricket this summer.

The half-way point of the campaign is reached this weekend with a trip to second-from-bottom Southgate.

Atif Shah's 2s weren't quite able to pull off the same miracle as the 1s - failing to a one-wicket defeat at North London defending 138.

As with the 1s, only two batsmen, Salar Raja (28) and Faizullah Khan (20), got starts in N8.

Unlike the 1s, however, the 2s made early inroads. Ijaz Hussain (3-25) and Faizullah Khan (3-41) combined to reduce the hosts to 67-7 at one stage.

Unfortunately, the 2s couldn't press home that advantage as 61 from Thomas Webb guided North London home to the narrowest of victories.

Second-from-bottom, the 2s welcome fourth-bottom Harrow St Marys to Meadvale Road this weekend.

While the 1s and 2s had low-scoring affairs, the 3s, under the temporary captaincy of Ciaran Brett, pulled off Brentham's largest ever chase on an absolute flatty at Eastcote.

Batting first the home side made hay in the most perfect of batting conditions. They were 83-0, 158-1, and 221-2 before the spin of Pratyesh Desai (4-104) and Jay Kadu (2-46) wrestled back some element of control. The home side eventually declaring on 323-9 off 46.

Needing to go at 7 an over from the off, the Trees raced out of the blocks. Vishal Patel (49) and Jaidev Pindoria shared a 93-run opening stand in just 10 overs.

When Vish departed the in-form Vijay Pamu kept up the charge. By the time, Jaidev was dismissed four short of a well-deserved century, the requirement was down to 108 off 102 balls.

Jamie Porter-Thomas (44) and Vijay then dispatched the increasingly desperate bowling to all parts in a brisk partnership of 76 off 52 as the Trees ultimately ended up winning by seven-wickets with nearly six overs to spare.

Vijay finished on 92*, his third half-century of the campaign, which remarkably meant that 647 runs had been scored in the day with no centurions on either side.

A remarkable scoreboad at Eastcote with 647 runs scored in just 86 overs

18 points clear of second and 23 clear of third, the 3s host seventh-placed Kenton this weekend.

The 4s were convincingly beaten by Kensington and Chelsea, losing by 8 wickets at William Perkin.

Gurvinder Singh's 31 was the only real bright spot in the Trees' 156 all out. The away side were then clinical in their chase, reaching their target in 32 overs.

Krushna Kerai's side are on the road at Wycombe House to complete their first half of fixtures.

On Sunday, both the Middlesex Development League and Chess Valley sides also secured excellent wins.

Built on 100 from Kieran Bradley, the MDL side set SKLPC 208 in 39 overs at India Gardens.

Despite chipping away, it looked like the home side would hold out for a draw as they reached the final seven overs with four wickets in hand.

However, 15-year-old Niam Patel took three wickets in 14 balls to break the game open again. Then with the penultimate ball of the penultimate over, Deen Hoque (2-23) clean bowled the number 11 for a 53-run victory.

After an opening concession win over Ealing, the table-topping Trees host Harefield this weekend.

At Meadvale Road, Vijay Pamu continued his sensational 2026 with 98 in a four-wicket win over Hemel Hempstead Town.

Atif Shah (4-23) was the pick of the bowlers as the away side registered 254 in their 45 overs.

Vijay's sixth half-century in all competitions this season was then the bedrock of Brentham's chase.

Seventh in the table, the Trees have a free weekend before travelling to Watford Town on 12 July