Round 6 Review
A third of the way through the season and the formats have flipped with the introduction of timed games as well as the MDL season getting underway. The Acorns saw wins on both Saturday and Sunday alongside being just one result away from an unbeaten weekend.
In the absence of skipper Sahil Kher, vice-captain Huzaifa Yousafzai stepped in to lead the first team against Harrow Town on a wet and windy morning away at Rayners Lane. Frequent early showers delayed the start time by over an hour as the match was reduced to an 80 over game and having lost the toss, Acton were put in to bat. The hosts made good use of the conditions as Acton were swiftly reduced to 28 for 5 and staring down the barrel before Yousafzai and Cameron O’Donnell stitched together a partnership to steady the ship. O’Donnell was then caught at slip following a counter attacking 30 with the scoreboard still reading a worrying 70 for 6. Having spent most the innings holding up an end, Yousafzai reached his fifty after 110 deliveries before cutting loose in the final 5 overs as he finished unbeaten on 91. An Acton 1st XI Middlesex County League record 83 run partnership for the 7th wicket between Yousafzai and the highly experienced James Hunt allowedActon to post a competitive score of 162 after their full quota of 44 overs.
With the momentum on their side, Acton came out confident of defending the total and were provided with the perfect start as a pair of strikes from Sam Harvey and one from Hunt had the hosts 20 for 3. Another rain delay followed, and the overs further reduced as the Acorns were left with just 15 overs to take the remaining 7 wickets. In stepped the ever reliable Alex Brennan who struck in the first over of his spell to remove the set opener and took three more at regular intervals to claw Acton closer to victory. Raghavendra Ravikumar chipped in with two wickets at the other end as the host were quickly 82 for 9. The two spinners combined once more as Brennan got one to hold its line with the slope as the Harrow Town number eleven edged it to first slip where Raghav took a smart low catch. Five wickets for Brennan, limbs everywhere and 12 points in the bag for skipper Yousafzai and his side.
The second team were at home against Osterley and having lost the toss they were sent in to bat following another delayed start due to rain. Just like the first team, they lost a heap of wickets very early and at 8 for 4 were in some serious trouble before a hundred run partnership between James Catlow-Elliot and Yasir Mehmood got them to reasonable safety. Both batters crossed the fifty run mark before being dismissed soon after as a late order thirty from Easa Malik got Acton to a first innings score of 180.
Sohaib Arif and Noah Harvey took one each up top as Acton took regular wickets helped by the Osterley batters trying to get ahead of the required run rate with dark clouds looming. Nazim Munna took three and a double strike from Siddharth Turaga reduced Osterley to 104 for 8. However, Acton were unable to get the final two wickets and instead gained five points and a winning draw.
Having chosen to field first away at Barnes, the third team found themselves on the wrong end of an excellent 114 from opposition opener Ross Talmage. Miles Murphy’s four wickets in a row brought the momentum back slightly but a swift 36 from number 7 Jack Welton got Barnes to 206 before declaring after 41 overs.
Unfortunately, the Acton chase never got going as Jono Franke’s 27 was the main contribution as the Acorns slipped to 78/7 and had to settle for one point and a losing draw.
As for the fourth team, they hosted Richmond but only managed 101 before being bowled out inside 41 overs with opposition Muhammad Umer Noor’s four wickets doing most the damage. Richmond then made light work of the chase completing it in 23 overs with just 2 wickets down.
Finally on Sunday, skipper Yousafzai led the MDL side for their first group stage game away at Chiswick. He won the toss and elected to bowl with the first wicket coming as a result of a direct hit run out by Sohaib Arif at mid-on. Despite a half century from number four Jarvis Eyre, Acton managed to end the Chiswick innings all out for 176. Three wickets each for Noah Harvey and Oscar Purvis alongside two for Yousafzai gave the visitors a respectable total to chase.
The Acton innings started well as opener Mullen made 49 before being caught behind as Acton were in a strong position to push on towards the target. A middle order wobble followed as Seb Eyre struck twice in an over and a pair of dropped catches from Ben Birtles at first slip proved costly aseventually skipper Yousafzai and Raghavendra saw the side to victory. They finished on 52 not out and 39 not out respectively with Yousafzai hitting the final ball for four to complete his fifty and the reach the target.
Player of the Week - Huzaifa Yousafzai
91* and 1 Catch vs Harrow Town
52*, 2-28 and 1 Catch vs Chiswick
Fantasy League Top Performers
Alex Brennan – 153 Points
Huzaifa Yousafzai – 136 Points
Yasir Mehmood – 93 Points
Miles Murphy – 86 Points