Actonians Cricket Club

Scorecard

North London v Actonians Cricket Club 2nd XI on Sat 19 May 2012 at 1.00pm
Actonians Cricket Club Lost by 2 wickets

Match report All they needed was Love...and a little help from our fielders — Old A’s 2s unlucky in North London


With only three of last week’s XI heading up to leafy north London to face last season’s Championship runners-up, Old Actonians 2nd team were arguably underdogs on paper against North London CC. Nearly 100 overs later and the A’s were left to wonder what might have been as 10 precious points quite literally slipped through their fingers.

After a promising display in the first three quarters of the match — with Piri, Asad and Smithanator showing that they are more than capable of being successful second team bowlers — some below par fielding gave North London the chance to come back into the game.

And how they took it. The Highgate-based club sent in young Australian James Love at number seven and he took his side from 79 for five all the way through to the target of 210, set after Old A’s had declared eight down after 51 overs.

It had not been Love’s day with the ball — he was by far the most expensive of North London’s bowlers despite tearing in for 12 overs uphill and looking threatening throughout — but with the bat his work paid off. Love rotated the strike intelligently with number six Bill Ward early on in his innings to ensure that run-rate was never going to be a problem for the home side, while the visitors were slow and lacking urgency in the field, letting loose the screw that had been so firmly applied by some lovely bowling.

Breakthroughs came at regular intervals for the A’s but they could not strangle the scoring well enough, with the inevitable early season four balls exacerbated by shots finding gaps far too easily and, crucially, Love being dropped in the gully. Ultimately wickets were needed and although Shaun Qamar took a wicket in his second spell and an inside edge saved a ninth wicket lbw with 20 runs still needed, there was a sense that North London had done just enough to earn 10 points, which they did with eight balls to spare.

There was, nevertheless, much to encourage Actonians’ skipper Olly West. A batting line up shorn of seven of last week’s top nine may have ridden its luck on occasion but no one could doubt the strokeplay of veteran Dom Wallace after his call-up from the 4s. One cover drive, followed by a Wasif-style pose for the cameras, was particularly eye-catching.

Another useful contribution from the unorthodox but hard hitting Mrs James Carr, aka Nathan Mehaffy, gave the A’s a solid base but when Rich Thompson and Olly West both fell to the spinners the innings hung in the balance.

Cometh the hour, cometh the Huggy Bear. Asif Qamar, who had not been his usual prolific self in 2011, returned to form with a delightfully patient 50 to give the bowlers something to aim for. The 2s talisman was back in the game, and Actonians were lifted.

All that remained was for Anthony Carlos to do what he’d threatened for much of 2011. He destroyed the North London attack in the final overs with some brutal straight hitting. Four sixes left Carlos on 46 from 32 balls and enabled Actonians to declare after 51 overs.

Shaun Qamar’s magnificent cover-driven six should not go without mention...

With the ball, Piradeepan was undoubtedly the star at the start as a spell of 7-3-12-2 had the North London top order in all sorts of trouble. Then Asad Hussein turned his arm over for the first time in second eleven cricket, and he trapped Duncan Fleming, many moons ago of the Old A’s parish, lbw for nought.

(The skipper felt very old in his 25 years when he realised it was just Dom, Malik and himself who had played with Duncan. Unfortunately Duncan’s entourage of sun-bathing Zimbabweans no longer graces the cricket fields of Middlesex.)

When another third team recruit Steve Smith swung the ball beautifully for two consecutive wicket maidens, removing the dangerous-looking Spencer Fowler in the process, things were looking good for Old A’s. But in came Love, aided by sensible knocks from Ward, skipper Alistair Hart and Dan Lewis, and the game drifted slowly away from the visitors.

It is difficult not to be disappointed to lose such a close game, especially after much of what we did was very good, but it is clear what Old A’s need to work on.

Dom Wallace threw himself around in the covers, saving 10s of runs for the team and really leading by example despite the fact that his career in the 2s began when some of the team were not yet born; too many of us just didn’t do enough in the field, and strangling the scoring rate became tough as a result.

That said, arriving at last year’s runners-up with something of a hotch-potch side and taking them very close bodes well for the rest of the 2nd Xi’s season. Even our understudy bowlers found ways to trouble North London’s batsmen, and the batsmen stood up to be counted when it mattered.

A final word for the quite superb teas — no wonder North London chose to field first. Pasta salads, barbecued chicken, sandwiches, fruit and cakes in the same spread can never be wrong. An early-season contender for tea of the year.

Olly West

Actonians Cricket Club 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
6nb 4w 5b 1lb 
for 8 wickets
16
209		        
Nathan Mehaffy ct . Bowled M Lewis 23 4
Dominic Wallace b D Lewis 33 6
Richard Thompson ct and b, Ali 9 1 1
Asif Qamar lbw D Lewis 50 8 1
Oliver West lbw Greally 11 1
Khalid Malik ct Ali 12 2
Anthony Carlos b Love 46 3 4 1
Shaiq Qamar Not Out  9 1
Steve Smith Run out  0
Piradeepan Sivanathan  
Asad Hussain  

North London Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
James Love12.0064164.005.33
Mark Lewis9.0232132.003.56
Dan Lewis10.0132216.003.20
Salman Ali17.0359229.503.47
Ted Greally3.0020120.006.67

North London Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 1w 7b 3lb 
for 8 wickets
12
210 (47.4 overs)		     
James Kee lbw Sivanathan 12
Spencer Fowler b Smith 42
Richard Hall b Sivanathan 0
Duncan Fleming lbw Hussein 0
Ted Greally ct Carlos, b Smith 15
Bill Ward ct Thompson, b Hussein 29
James Love Not Out  60
Alistair Hart lbw West 20
Dan Lewis lbw Qamar 15
Salman Ali Not Out  5
Mark Lewis  

Actonians Cricket Club 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Shaiq Qamar8.0142142.005.25
Piradeepan Sivanathan10.4338219.003.56
Asad Hussain9.0132216.003.56
Steve Smith6.0225212.504.17
Oliver West7.0221121.003.00
Dominic Wallace1.001100.0011.00
Anthony Carlos6.013100.005.17

  • Umpire :
    Ernie Charles
  • Scorer :