Preston First XI v Hoddesdon CC

Preston First XI produced an outstanding 2-wicket win against Hoddesdon CC. Chasing 320, Preston reached 322/8 in 48.4 overs, led by a magnificent unbeaten 152 from young Australian overseas James Doherty. Joshua Wigginton also made an excellent 63, while Jacob Williamson’s 38 helped keep the chase moving in the middle order. Hoddesdon’s attack was led by Himesh Ramanayake, who took 3/38, while Asif Mohammed finished with 2/77. Earlier, Hoddesdon had posted 319/5 from their 50 overs. Rob Walters made a superb 124, supported by Himesh Ramanayake’s 52 and James Mitchell’s 41. Edward Wharton was the pick of the Preston bowlers with 2/65, but Preston’s chase, built around Doherty’s superb hundred, secured a brilliant First XI victory.

Preston Second XI v Northampton Exiles CC

Preston Second XI won by 6 wickets against Northampton Exiles CC. Chasing 128, Preston reached 128/4 in 36 overs. Archie McIntosh anchored the innings superbly with an unbeaten 61, while Iain “Skinny” Williamson made a hard-fought 17 on his long-awaited return to the 2nd XI, and Captain David Fleckney finished 12 not out to see Preston home. Northampton Exiles’ wickets were shared between Kamran Kahn, Hirendra Kishor and Moiz Ahmed, who all took one wicket each. Earlier, Preston had bowled Northampton Exiles out for 127 in 39.2 overs. Moiz Ahmed top-scored with 43, while Mohsin Azam added 31. Preston’s bowlers shared the wickets impressively, with Oliver Gallimore taking 3/33, Mark Waters 2/24, Ariful Islam 2/15 and David Fleckney 2/14. The bowling effort set up a controlled chase and a strong Second XI win.

Preston Third XI v Old Albanian CC

Preston Third XI were beaten by 42 runs against Old Albanian CC. Chasing 211, Preston were bowled out for 168 in 39.2 overs. Oliver Jackson was the stand-out performer with an excellent 74, but Preston could not build enough around him to complete the chase. Srini Nanjundan made 22 and Andrew Riant added 19, but Old Albanian’s bowlers kept taking wickets at key moments. Rahul Thaker led the attack with 4/29, while Josh Goodier took 2/14, Mazhar Iqbal 2/17 and Samuel Baker-Madec 2/27. Earlier, Old Albanian had made 210/6 from their 40 overs. Samuel Baker-Madec top-scored with 69, supported by Marcus Wilson’s 35 and Matthew Barwick’s 30. Andrew Riant bowled well for Preston with 2/29, while Oliver Jackson also took 2/40 to complete a strong all-round performance despite the defeat.

Preston Sunday 2nd XI v Saracens CC

Preston Sunday 2nd XI were beaten by 18 runs against Saracens CC in a friendly at The Recreation Ground. Chasing 218, Preston finished on 199/8 from their 40 overs. Gillan Ide top scored with an excellent 64, while Max Wyse made 48 and Luke Ponder finished unbeaten on 45. Saracens’ bowling was led by Richard Young’s 3/40 and Andrew Young’s 3/28, with Daniel Thorndyke also taking 1/19. Earlier, Saracens had scored 217/3 from their 40 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat. George Griffin led the way with 94, while Richard Young made 57 and Adam Gallagher finished unbeaten on 45. Preston’s wickets were taken by George Constantinidi, Harry Fleckney and Oliver Jackson, with Oliver Jackson returning an economical 1/3 from 2 overs. Saracens’ top-order runs ultimately proved enough despite a strong Preston chase.