Ist XI: A Top of the Table Performance

The 1st XI moved to the top of the table after an emphatic win over Cookham Dean on Saturday.

Captain Nicholas won the toss on a fine sunny day and elected to bat on a nice batting track with Usman Khan and Colin Tobin opening the innings.

Tobin was soon out for 8. In came James Nicholas who shared a 57 run partnership with Khan with both of them playing some excellent cover drives which could be used in future coaching videos before Nicholas was out bowled for 32.

In came Russell Bowry who again showed his class by playing some excellent shots along with Khan and creating a 97 run partnership, with the ball going to all parts of the ground and many players fearing for the safety of their cars, before Khan was caught out on the boundary for an excellent 77.

In came Paul Hazell who also wanted to join the buffet. He played some superb shots for his 78 not out.

Bowry was then out for an excellent 77 when he decided to give the bowler some catching practice and Dave Maynard (14 not out) then stepped into the arena to take the innings to a conclusion with a 58 run partnership with Hazell. Denham finally declared on 306-4 off only 42 overs.

Denham were now fired up and looking for their third win of the season. They got off to an excellent start with James Nicholas taking a glorious slip catch of Faisal Mahmood dismissing Karsan for 9, then the ball of the day from Mahmood pitching 2ft outside off stump and cutting back to have Rosenthal Lbw for 1. Mahmood took another wicket in dismissing Miller for 14, again with the help of another fine Nicholas slip catch.

Cookham Dean now 46-3 and Farnborough decided to take the attack to the Denham bowling in scoring an excellent 50 before being bowled by Khan for 50 and then skipper Patel was run out for 19 by an excellent throw from keeper Maynard.

Cookham Dean were now 111-5 and beginning to show some resistance. Skipper Nicholas turned to leading wicket taker Jamil Shaikh and he didn’t disappoint in taking 3 quick wickets in an impressive 7 over spell. It was left to Khan and Bowry (The Ferret) to wrap up the innings and bowl out Cookham Dean for 192 with Faisal Mahmood 3-43 and Jamil Shaikh 3-14 being the pick of the bowlers.

Denham 30pts Cookham Dean 6pts

DENHAM INNINGS

C.TOBIN CT.MILLER B. P.FARNBOROUGH 8
U.KHAN CT.M.KARSAN B. S.ARDEN 77
J.NICHOLAS B. T.ROSENTHALL 32
R.BOWRY CT AND BOWLED M.KARSAN 71
P.HAZELL NOT OUT 71
D.MAYNARD NOT OUT 14
TOTAL 306-4 OFF 42 OVERS

BOWLING Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Econ-Rate Avge

P.FARNBOURGH 5 1 29 1 29 5.80, O.FREEMAN 4 0 28 0 0 7.00, T.ROSENTHALL 6 0 27 1 27 4.50, FRANKLIN 6 0 55 0 0 9.16, P.PATEL 7 0 50 0 0 7.14, S.ARDEN 5 0 31 1 31 6.20, S.GANDECHA 4 0 29 0 0 7.25, KARSAN 3 0 18 1 18 6.00, M.CUTTING 2 0 15 0 0 7.50

COOKHAM DEAN INNINGS

M.KARSAN CT. J.NICHOLAS B. F.MAHMOOD 9
T.ROSENTHALL LBW B. F.MAHMOOD 1
B.MILLER CT. J.NICHOLAS B. F.MAHMOOD 14
P.FARNBOURGH B. U.KHAN 50
P.PATEL RUN OUT 19
M.ARDEN B. J.SHAIKH 2
O.FREEMAN LBW B. J.SHAIKH 9
S.GANDECHA CT. D.HALES B. J.SHAIKH 32
S.ARDEN NOT OUT 12
M.CUTTING B. U.KHAN 6
I.FRANKLIN B. R.BOWRY 10
TOTAL 192 ALL OUT

BOWLING Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Econ-Rate P.DICKSON 6 1 44 0 0 7.33, F.MAHMOOD 12 2 43 3 14.33 3.58, U.KHAN 7 0 42 2 21.00 6.00, J.SHAIKH 7 4 14 3 4.66 2.00, D.HALES 4 2 11 0 0 2.75, R.BOWRY 3.1 1 17 1 17.00 5.48

2nd XI: Hard-Fought Victory

On a sunny afternoon in Amersham, Denham won the toss and inserted Amersham Hill.

Opening bowlers Jack Grover and Ambrose Treacy restricted Amersham to 20 runs off 10 overs for the loss of 2 wickets.

Treacy continued with a consistent 12 overs, 6 maidens, 2 for 19.

At the other end, the introduction of Gurp Garkhal led to the demise of our opponents. An excellent spell from him of 10 overs for 6 wickets and 28 runs meant that The Hill reached only 127 from 51 overs.

A steady start from Mark Dalton and Bobby Rai put on 46, before 4 wickets - all leg before - reduced us to 51 for 4.

Dicey moments! But Dalts continued to bat well for an unbeaten 70, and despite us losing 3 more wickets, Dalts and Ambrose saw us home in 39 overs, with 3 wickets to spare.

Sunday XI 29th May: Last Gasp Victory against Victoria

Denham gained a thrilling win in the last over against a competitive Ruislip Victoria side on Sunday.

The opponents batted aggressively from the start and, despite three early wickets from Richie Braithwaite aided by sharp catching, raced to 93 for 3 in 15 overs.

Two more wickets from Faisal Mahmood and Gerald O'Hara swung the advantage back to Denham, but Victoria countered with a stand of 78 for the sixth wicket.

The scene was set for a final charge, but two vital wickets and tight bowling from Phil Ashworth (7 overs, 2 for 17) restricted the visitors to 228 for 9 after 40 overs; still a challenging total.

Denham began their reply slowly against accurate opening bowling, and at 35 for 2 after 15 overs, there was a lot to do!

However it was to be Jamil Shaikh's day. Initially supported by Akhil Sabherwal and Joe O'Hara, runs began to flow. The main torrent was to come from his partnership with skipper Russell Bowry (44), with a stand of 120 in only 15 overs.

When Richie hit the winning boundary with just four balls remaining, Jamil was still there with 104 runs to his name.

Champagne moment ( or is it Beetle Nut moment?) Harish Bhatt's six from his first ball!

What a game!