Wanstead beat Ardleigh Green by 7 wickets
Shepherd Neame Premier League 12 May
L. O. Quint
At last, at last! A pitch that had lain in wait for a month finally fulfilled its purpose and Wanstead made a winning start to the league season. The field looked at its best thanks to the rain and the expert ministrations of groundsman Ian. That the ground proved playable was in no small way thanks to the sterling efforts of Trevor and Arfan and others mopping up the outfield to assist the sun and wind of Friday. Not to mention Nigel's part in it all (So why mention it - Ed).
Winning the toss proved beneficial. Wanstead's opening attack of Zain Shahzad and Maurice Chambers proved irresistible and after 14 overs the visitors were 34-6. Zain bowled both openers in his second over, then pinned number three lbw in the next over. Maurice bowled beautifully, constantly beating the outside edge and bowling the right length for club cricket. Roy Smith tried to hit his team out of trouble but a mishit drive was confidently taken in the deep by Hamza Ahmed. The innings was rebuilt by skipper Cook who finished on 55 not out. With the last three batsmen all getting into double figures a respectable score of 157 was posted.
The support bowlers performed well with Adam Lord and Petrus Hattingh each picking up two wickets. Fayyaz Khan (8-3-12-0) and John Chambers (7-0-24-0) gave nothing away, and apart from conceding an unacceptable 24 wides the whole attack acquitted itself well. Zain's figures were 10-3-25-4, and Maurice returned 10-3-35-2.
Lacking some of their leading batsmen, the home side still had enough experience to cope with the modest target. Arfan Akram already had his eye in from scoring 90 odd at Enfield, and John Chambers blew the dust off his kit and continued as before. The score reached 60 before Arfan was bowled for 37, and young Hamza Ahmed showed skill and resilience as he batted for 70 minutes before impatience saw him offer a catch with his score on 21. Jon Das failed to score and Adnan Akram joined Chambers to achieve victory after 42 overs. The opener's 82 not out included eight boundaries to embellish his impenetrable defence.
The whole scene was also embellished by the presence of our own resident physiotherapist Anjali, who after the game was called upon to minister to the needs of a member of the opposition. Meanwhile Matt Smith is hoping to participate fully in the next game.