Sunday 24th April 2011 vs Barnes C.C.
 
Wash edge Barnes in opening-day thriller
 
Washington C.C. 268 all out (39 overs)
Barnes C.C. 254 all out (33 overs)
 

'Scoop' Cragoe reporting:

Washington’s 2011 campaign got off to an explosive start on Sunday as they edged Barnes by 14 runs.  Master of the Ordnance was Shawn Hill, who scored a brilliant 190 as Wash piled up 268 in their 40 overs, a total they were able to defend – just – as the game came to a thrilling finale.

It marked a winning start for new skipper Aff Naseem who said afterwards:  ‘It’s a great start for us.  I was really pleased with the way the guys hung in there when things looked a bit sticky:  it’s good to win.’

It would certainly have been bad to lose from the position Wash got themselves in to. 

Batting first in beautiful, mid-summer conditions, Wash started steadily.  Hill and Matt Cheviot (7) put on 48 for the first wicket, then Hill and Nick Bunney (13) added another 53 for the second wicket.  All the while, Hill blazed away, smashing fours and sixes seemingly at will: 26 runs came from one over when every ball flew over the boundary.   

It was as well for the home side that Hill was in such imperious form because, in its other parts, the Wash machine looked rusty.  Only Sandeep Kukreja (10) managed double figures among the middle order; Lee Fogarty (4), Aff Naseem (0); Mike Turner (0); Will McDonagh (0); and Stuart Marsh (4) all came and went in quick succession.

Hill finally got himself out skying a catch to long on in the 35th over:  he had faced just 94 balls, and hit 24 fours and 9 colossal sixes.  Wash looked well placed, with 246 on the board, but more was to come as Gary Malcolm produced a remarkable cameo innings.  Coming in at no 11, he whacked 5 fours in his 22 and dominated a last wicket partnership of 23 with Russell Pendry (1 not out).

How important those runs were to prove!

Barnes began their innings needing 6.75 runs an over.  From the first, they attacked their target, and Washington really struggled to stay in the game.  It was not until the 25th over that they broke through – by that time Barnes had 174 on the board and the required rate was down to about 5 an over!

The brilliant opening partnership was ended when Naseem made the bold choice to bring back opening bowler Kuckreja (2-36) and pair him with Hill (2-34).  The pace of the innings immediately slowed in the face of their accurate bowling, and in his third over, Hill broke through, bowling Graham for 79.

Kuckreja then removed the dangerous Sanjay for just 6, and from this point the game entered a dizzying, see-saw period when the balance of probability swung from one side to the other and back again on an over-by-over basis, as boundaries were struck or wickets taken and the spring sunlight faded from the sky.

Russell Pendry (0-70) bowled without any luck, but Stuart Marsh (1-52) returned to pick up a crucial wicket and held on to a superb catch at long off from a ball that stayed up an eternity. Debutant Will McDonagh (2-54) finally got his flick mechanism working and picked up a brace, while Nick Bunney (1-6) plucked a rabbit out of the hat at a crucial moment, bowling Akash to snuff out Barnes’s last big hitter. The game was sealed with a run out – a fitting testament to a good display by Wash in the field, with Fogarty outstanding.

And so, with the clock reading ten past eight on an April evening, victory belonged to the Wash.  A great contest, and a superb display from Hill that conjured up memories of other great Washington batters: it was as if Paul Irons and George Hope graced North London once again.

Man of the Match:  Shawn Hill

 

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Batting
Player Runs How out
Shawn Hill 190 Caught
Matthew Cragoe 7 Bowled
Nick Bunney 13 Bowled
Lee Fogarty 4 LBW
Sandeep Kuckreja 10 Bowled
Aff Naseem 0 Caught
Mike Turner 0 Caught
Will McDonagh 0 Stumped
Stuart Marsh 4 Bowled
Russell Pendry 1* 
Gary Malcolm 22 Caught
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 48 Shawn Hill  &  Matthew Cragoe
2 55 Shawn Hill  &  Nick Bunney
3 38 Shawn Hill  &  Lee Fogarty
4 38 Shawn Hill  &  Sandeep Kuckreja
5 0 Shawn Hill  &  Aff Naseem
6 26 Shawn Hill  &  Mike Turner
7 20 Shawn Hill  &  Will McDonagh
8 5 Shawn Hill  &  Stuart Marsh
9 4 Shawn Hill  &  Russell Pendry
10 23 Russell Pendry  &  Gary Malcolm



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Matthew Cragoe 1 - -
Stuart Marsh 1 - -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Sandeep Kuckreja 8.0 1 36 2
Russell Pendry 6.0 0 70 0
Shawn Hill 8.0 0 24 2
Stuart Marsh 8.0 1 51 1
Will McDonagh 7.0 0 54 2
Nick Bunney 1.0 0 6 1
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