OPCC Match Reports for 13th – 14th August 2011
Saturday the 13th was not a lucky day! All four League opponents were in the top three of their divisions. Even Nick Weeks didn’t win the toss – his first loss in 12 toss-ups.
In the only win for the senior sides at the weekend, Howard Berlin starred for the B XI in scoring 32 out of a total of 97-5 to beat Buckhurst Hill on what was at times a dangerous wicket.
The Under 13s and Under 11s won their games, with the latter beating Wanstead Tigers, Ilford and then Wanstead Lions in the final to win the Mini T20 Trophy. Werll done the Colts – again!
SNEL League
Old Parkonians 1st XI lost away at West Essex by 61 runs.
Parks won the toss and decided to bowl, but West Essex managed to work their way to a winning score. It looked good for Parks when making the batsmen struggle to 128 for 7, but middle order batter Irfan Riaz (54) got the home side to 195 off 46.5 overs in spite of Rushan Pandya’s late spell of three for 18 off six overs. Dilan Patel also troubled West Essex in his ten overs, conceding only 25 runs with two wickets. Parks used eight bowlers.
After the fall of an early wicket, Dave Rai (36) and Glenn Sasikaten (38) seemed to put Parks in a good position when taking the score to 70, but then wickets fell at regular intervals and only Rushan (12) and Josh Gordon (15) got into double figures as Parks were reduced to 134 all out off 33.4 overs.
Old Parkonians 2nd XI lost at home to Stanford le Hope by 9 wickets.
Once again, in rain affected conditions, a vital toss was lost and Parks were put into bat on a damp but occasionally very bouncy wicket against a hostile bowling attack. Opener Alan Bouquet gloved a throat-high riser to the keeper in the 3rd over, and ‘walked’. In fact all four top order batsmen came in for a pasting. With only Visakan Balakumar (12) getting to double figures, Parks were reduced to 26 for 4. Then new comer Mark Friday, making his debut for the 2nds, having been promoted straight from the 4th XI, took the attack to the Stanford bowlers and smashed a debut 51, including eleven 4s. If it were not for his innings Parks would not have made it to treble figures. Chris Nutt played a part by securing the other end for 15 runs. However, it was left to the tail end to get late runs as the wicket eased off, with Sachin Fing (15) and Jonathan Balakumar (14) taking Parks to a mere 137 in 44.4 overs. Pace men Ian Sanderson (13-4-17-3) and David Gaylor (10-5-12-3) were at times unplayable.
Stanford Le Hope then put on an opening partnership of 87. Parks first string bowlers Jonathan Balakumar (7-1-19-0) and Sachin Fing (7-0-27-0) bowled a good line and length, and then I Simpson (11-2-32-1) came on with his away swing to pick up the only wicket of the game. Max Mukesh (10-0-37-0) bowled some splendid spin. However their opener Mark Nuttall (51 not out) and their overseas Australian player, Beau Byster, with a quick 25 not out, saw them out. They finished the game on 140 for one in the 37th over, needing only 7 of the last 20 overs.
Old Parkonians 3rd XI lost away at Hadleigh & Thundersley by 2 wickets.
Hadleigh &Thundersley won the toss and put Parks on a damp wicket, and then bowled the visitors out for 174 in 43.1 overs. Haaris Shah (44), Nick Thorpe (36) and a cameo innings from young Ibrahim Iqbal (35, including two towering sixes) were the main run-getters, with Taaha Naqvi (17) and skipper Vijay Vijayanathan also contributing on a difficult wicket. Jack Wagstaff claimed 4 wickets for 48 from 13 overs.
The home side struggled to score runs against very tight bowling by Parks’ opening bowlers Ibrahim Iqbal (14-7-28-2) and Amar Thanki (16-2-55-3) who took the first five wickets between them. At one stage a victory was on sight as 3 more wickets fell, but Parks dropped far too many catches which cost them the match. Jack Wagstaff top scored for Hadleigh with 44 not out as they somehow scrambled to 178-8 in 54.5 overs.
Old Parkonians 4th XI lost at home to Harlow by 5 wickets.
Harlow won the toss and, not surprisingly, decided to bowl. After a quick wicket went down, Parks then fought hard. Santron Divaharan (58), young Luke Coates (15) and Shuja Naqvi (46 not out), helped by a late 12 not out from skipper Nick Weekes, got the home side to 166 for 6 declared in 52 overs. For Harlow, Dave Lambert took three for 43 in 17 overs.
With the wicket drying out somewhat, and playing easier, Harlow reached the target in 39.1 overs, at 168-5, with James Coldwell anchoring things as he scored 52 not out. The bulk of the bowling for Parks was undertaken by Indipreet Bhatia (15-1-58-1) and Umar Arbar (12.1-0-49-2), with Victor Yatheesh and Nick Weekes also taking a wicket apiece.
Sunday
Old Parkonians Sunday A XI lost to Rose & Crown by 98 runs.
A good Rose & Crown outfit scored 233-8, with Shankar Mannicks taking 4 wickets for the parks. In reply, facing an excellent bowling attack, Parks got to 90 for 2 at one stage due mainly to 42 from skipper Alan Bouquet. But with him gone, Parks could not handle the bowling and were all out for 131.
At home, Old Parkonians Sunday B XI beat Buckhurst Hill Bs by 5 wickets.
Buckhurst Hill Sunday Bs were bowled out for 96 on what was at time a dangerous wicket. Parks then struggled to 97-5, thanks mainly to Howard Berlin who opened and top scored with 32!
Colts
Old Parks Under13s beat Buckhurst Hill on Sunday by 26 runs.
Old Parks Under 13's played a friendly against Buckhurst Hill at their High Road ground, winning by 26 runs in a close match.
Batting first, Parks scored 99-8, with Dhruv Patel (31 not out) continuing his fine run of form with the bat. Sachin Bawa (19) and Harry Coates (17) also reached double figures.
In replay Buckhurst Hill scored 73 all out (Jasper 31 not out). Shaaharen Sritharan (4.4-0-15-4) was the pick of the Parks’ bowlers.
Old Parks Under 11s beat Frenford on Sunday by 20 runs.
This was a fine win for the Under 11's, by 20 runs, against Frenford.
Batting first Parks scored 110-8 with Karambir Mathuru (26) and Ryan Karuna (16) both reaching double figures.
In reply Frenford were bowled out for 90 runs. Nikhil Purihit (2-0-8-2) took a wicket in the first over; Matthew McCutcheon (2-0-8-2) bowling leg spin in his first game was on a hat-trick in his second over. Thomas Varnes (2-1-2-2) and Faaris Moreland (1.1-0-3-2) also each took a brace of wickets.
Old Parks Under 11s won the Mini T20 Tournament on Thursday.
On Thursday the Under 11's added another trophy to the cabinet in the clubhouse by winning the Mini T20 Tournament at London Playing Fields,
In their first match they beat Wanstead Tigers (50-3), Old Parks (77-7) by 27 runs.
The second match saw them beat Ilford (71-7), Old Parks (84 -4) by 13 runs.
The final match against Wanstead Lions was a very exciting finish to the day with the Lions scoring 82-4. Parks started slowly in replay and needed 8 to win in the last over. Thomas Varnes won the match for Parks by hitting a four from the penultimate ball to finish on 84-3.
Chris Nutt
Chairman