Weekend Roundup Sept 6/7 – FINAL WEEKEND!!
PRESTON CC 1ST XI VS SHENLEY VILLAGE CC
Preston 1s were at home in a must win game against Shenley Village CC, losing could seal their relegation from the Championship. With their backs against the wall, Preston lost the toss and were sent in to bat first. They began with a bang with young gun Eden Scott scoring an important 25 of 15 balls. The highlight of the innings was partnership between Preston’s maverick captain Ed Wharton and the ever-consistent Jake George. Wharton scored an explosive 89 of 75 balls, while Jake George anchored the inning beautifully and scored 65 of 109 balls. However, when Shenley Village’s Sailesh Vekaria came on to bowl a Preston collapse ensued as he took 6/24 of his 10 overs. Vekaria even took Jack Morecroft’s wicket, who was playing his final game (for now) for his boyhood club. The club wishes Jack all the best on his endeavours in Australia. Despite the sadness from Morecroft’s dismissal, Daniel Plumb came into bat at 9 and finished the innings with 3 fours and a six in his 27* runs of 40 balls. The momentum shifted back to Preston, as they finished on a strong 272/9 of their 50 overs. All Preston had to do to survive relegation was take 6 wickets due to news of Reed’s loss or win. Preston bowlers were up to the task, as they secured their survival with Shenley Village being held at bay to 129/6. Preston then proceeded to bowl Shenley out for 171! Stars of the show were Jack Stevens’ 4/30 of his 6.2 overs, Phil Simpson 2/53 of 9 overs, Peter Murrell’s miserly 1/17 of his 7 overs and Josh Wigginton’s 2/20 of his 6 overs. After a cinematic end to the season and relegation avoided, the Preston 1s look to bounce back stronger next year in the Championship.
PRESTON CC 2ND XI VS LEVERSTOCK GREEN CC
The Preston 2s finish the season away at Leverstock Green, where they win the toss and elect to bowl. Cue an excellent bowling and fielding performance from the 2s! Jacob Williamson led the way from the slips corden where he took 5 catches and a run out. Mark Waters was once again the pick of the bowlers, he took 4/40 of his 10 overs which included 2 maidens. Olly Catlin took a wicket of his first ball to bowl Leverstock Green for 106 in 31.1 overs. Preston’s run chase was extremely smooth, as Omar Faleel ended the season with a flourish as he scored 56*. Preston chased 106 down in 23.3 overs and took victory by 6 wickets. David Fleckney’s 2s ended the season in 6th. A fantastic resurgence as they won 4 on the bounce! The 2s look to continue their winning streak into next season!
PRESTON CC 3RD XI VS RICKMANSWORTH CC
Rickmansworth won the toss and elected to bat. Preston’s Joe Clark (3-44 of his 7) opened the bowling and took the first 3 wickets. With the score 20-3, Preston were in a strong position. However, L. Desai (64) and S. Patel (94) took the game away from Preston as Rickmansworth finished on 206/8 of their 40 overs. In the second innings, Preston were going strong as both openers, James Battersby and Oliver Jackson, took the game on. Battersby scored 53 and Jackson scored 45. However, after their dismissals, Preston collapsed. Despite George Constantinidi efforts of 31, Preston fell 25 runs short as they finished on 181/8 of their 40 overs. A disappointing year for the 3s as they were relegated from Division 8 West. However, they will most definitely bounce back stronger next year.
PRESTON CC 4TH XI VS BAYFORD & HERTFORD CC
Bayford & Hertford won the toss and sent the 4s into their batting innings. However, they replied valiantly with a strong opening partnership! Craig Tennant finished with 79 runs and skipper John Garnham scored 45 runs as Preston finished on a commanding 217/8 of their 40 overs. The second innings ensued and Bayford & Hertford succumbed to Oliver Clark’s exuberance as he took 4/26. The 4s secured a strong 4th place in the table, winning for the 9th time this season. They look to hunt for promotion and build on their strong 2025 season!
PRESTON CC SUNDAY 1ST XI VS EVERSHOLT CC
Eversholt won the toss and elected to bat. Preston’s side all largely recovering from the night before, bowled them out for 191 in 36 overs. Oliver Gallimore, a highly skilled number 11 batsman, took 3/47 of his 8 overs. Skipper Ed Wharton also took 3 wickets with his part-time off spin! Ariful Islam, the Saturday 1s spin wizard, built pressure from his end brilliantly. His 1/27 of 8 overs could have been more on another day! In the second innings, Josh Wigginton made Eversholt pay, scoring 62 of barely any balls after being dropped twice in the first over! He brought up the fifty partnership for the first wicket while his opening partner Pushan Chakraborty was only on 2! Wigginton’s dismissal, capped off a brilliant season for Preston’s overseas player – he amassed 1512 runs and 19 wickets from 35 games across Saturdays and Sundays! A fantastic effort from him! Despite Pushan Chakraborty hitting a moving car’s door when he hit a six, he was bowled in the next ball by Adam Henchy’s crafty leg spin as he finished on 3/56 of his 7 overs. Skipper Ed Wharton (51) and Jacob Williamson (35) finished the game off with a brilliant partnership! The win capped off a thrilling season as Sunday 1s won their last 4 games and finished 6th in their division.
PRESTON CC SUNDAY 2ND XI VS F M ARTHURS
FM Arthurs CC won the toss and elected to bat in a friendly. They finished on 214/6 of their 40 overs. George Constandinidi took 2/58 of his 8 overs and youngsters Harry Fleckney (1/37 of 8) and Oliver Clark (1/33 of 7) bowled well. The second innings, Preston were bowled out for 96. An unfortunate result but it was a great day for the youngsters and they definitely learned a lot! Thank you to FM Arthurs CC for attending and playing the game!