Weekend Round-up – May 24/25
Preston First X1 v Hemel Hempstead Town CC
Hemel Hempstead Town hosted Preston 1s this week in a low-scoring thriller! Preston 1s won the toss and elected to bat. On a tricky wicket, Preston were bowled out for 126 in 39 overs, with Anthony Ender’s well-fought 36 being the stand-out knock in the first innings. Hemel Hempstead’s bowling attack all contributed to bowling out Preston, notably Parth Metha’s flurry of wickets saw him finish on 4/27. However, Hemel Hempstead’s second innings run chase was nearly thwarted by a galvanised Preston bowling attack, orchestrated by Phil Simpson’s 6/48. Simpson had Hemel Hempstead 122 for 9 wickets in the 27th over, before Oliver Illot hit a six to win the game in the 28th over.
Preston Second X1 v North Enfield CC
Preston Second X1 couldn’t quite replicate last week’s heroics, but the spirit and effort remained against North Enfield. North Enfield won the toss and chose to bowl first in Preston. Preston were bowled out for 144 in 42.1 overs, with Pushan Chakraborty’s 33 and Lewis Balcombe’s 23 being the only scores of note, reflecting a tough day for the Preston batters. This was due to the North Enfield spin-duo of Tom Coughlan and captain Kieran Jones bowling superbly, taking 3/8 and 4/34 respectively. Preston 2s fought hard on the field in the second innings, but North Enfield captain Kieran Jones again commandeered the run chase, scoring a match-winning 81 of 115 balls before being bowled by Olly Catlin. In the end, North Enfield won by six wickets against Preston.
Preston Third X1 v Berkhamsted CC
The Preston 3s win their first game of the season in emphatic fashion! After Preston skipper Nick Staddon won the toss and decided to bowl first at Whitwell, youngster Dillon Beattie took the first 3 wickets, opening the bowling and unsettling the Berkhamsted batting line-up. Beattie finished on a seriously impressive 3/12 in 5 overs, an exciting talent for the future! Berkhamsted were bowled out for 40, with Joe Clarke finishing with astonishing figures of 4/4 in 4 overs. The Preston batting response, although successful, lost six wickets to the Berkhamsted bowlers, led by James Lacey’s impactful 26 of 22 balls. Overall, an excellent result for Preston, they are now off to winning ways in Division 8 West after two hard-fought losses.
Preston Fourth X1 v Old Albanians CC
Unfortunately, a loss for the Preston Fourth X1 against Old Albanians after beating Hoddesdon Third X1 last week. Preston were put into bat first after Old Albanians won the toss and scored 101/9 in 40 overs despite a fighting 58 runs from opener Craig Tennant. Old Albanians chased it down with five wickets to spare despite 2 wickets from youngster Rishabh Srinivasan.
Preston Sunday 1st X1 v Harold CC
Preston’s Sunday 1st X1 win in a nail-biting game versus Harold! Preston won the toss and elected to bat. Notable scores were overseas Josh Wiggington who scored 89, and youngster Arundeep Natt scored an eye-catching 32. However, Preston were bowled out for 176 in 33 overs due to Harold’s Joe Peckham taking 4 for 30 and Euan Dazley’s 3 for 32. In reply, a superb fielding effort by Preston to win by 3 runs. This was all due to Preston mainstay Peter Murrell’s 4/24 of 7 overs and superb death bowling by Dillon Beattie, who finished on 2/5 of 4 overs.
Beattie and Natt, both youngsters, played significant roles in Preston’s victory this week, highlighting the club’s promising future.