Preston First XI v Luton Town & Indians CC

Preston First XI drew against Luton Town & Indians CC after a strong batting display. Luton Town & Indians won the toss and elected to field, but Preston posted 276/5 from their 60 overs. Young Australian overseas James Doherty led the innings superbly with 144, while Joshua Wigginton added 41 and Eden Scott finished unbeaten on 43. Luton’s bowlers were led by Shekib Ahmad, who took 2/15, while Sajjad Homyoon, Mahima Kumar Marella and Umar Siddique Khan all took one wicket each. In reply, Luton Town & Indians reached 246/7 from 59 overs as the match ended drawn. Abdul Wahid made 56, Mahima Kumar Marella scored 51, Mohammed Haroon added 31 and Devansh Kumar Sharma finished unbeaten on 34. Preston pushed hard for victory through Jack Stevens’ 3/71, while James Doherty completed a strong all-round performance with 2/54. Luke Marsden and Joshua Wigginton also took one wicket each, but Luton held on for the draw.

Preston Second XI v Boxmoor CC

Preston Second XI were beaten by 227 runs against Boxmoor CC. Preston won the toss and elected to field, but Boxmoor made 313/8 from their 50 overs. Dave Henderson produced the decisive innings with a powerful 158, supported by Ben Mannering’s 51, Matt Smalley-Harris’ 34 and Sam Pimm’s 33. Preston kept taking wickets late on, with Pushan Chakraborty finishing with 3/53, while Mark Waters opened the bowling excellently for 2/19 and Ashley Catlin took 2/36. In reply, Preston were bowled out for 86 in 23.5 overs. William Gallimore top scored with 30, while David Fleckney was unbeaten on 16, but Preston struggled to build partnerships against a strong Boxmoor attack. Ben Mannering completed an outstanding all-round match by taking 7/23, while Mohit Shrivastava also bowled well with 3/19 as Boxmoor closed out a convincing win.

Preston Third XI v Flamstead CC

Preston Third XI were beaten by 1 wicket in a tense away game against Flamstead CC. Flamstead won the toss and elected to field, with Preston finishing on 151/7 from their 39 overs. Tom Murrell top scored with 45, while Ayantha Silva added 27 and Amit Rajani made 25 in the middle order. Flamstead’s bowlers kept the scoring under control, led by T. S. T. Asurapmudalige’s 3/25, while Inthikhab Mazeez, Anusha Fernando and M. S. Kamaldeen all took one wicket each. In reply, Flamstead reached 155/9 in 39.1 overs to win by the narrowest of margins. Venushka Dissanaike’s 45 was the key innings, supported by C. P. Backegoda’s 29 and Shehan Samarasekara’s 20. Captain Amit Rajani almost won it for Preston with an excellent 4/20, while James Battersby took 2/43 and Oliver Jackson finished with 2/33. Srini Nanjundan also bowled superbly for 1/9, but Flamstead held their nerve to edge home.

Preston Fourth XI v Bayford & Hertford CC

Preston Fourth XI produced a dominant 9-wicket win against Bayford & Hertford CC. Preston won the toss and elected to field, before bowling Bayford & Hertford out for 94 in 28.1 overs. Abdul Satti’s 35 was the only major resistance, as Preston’s bowlers stayed in control throughout the innings. Harry Fleckney was outstanding, taking 5/9 from 5.1 overs, while Gillan Ide took 2/11 and Ian Hamilton finished with 2/28. Iain Williamson also chipped in with 1/16. In reply, Preston made light work of the chase, reaching 95/1 in 16.1 overs. Craig Tennant gave the innings a quick start with 32 from 20 balls, before Andrew Hedges finished unbeaten on 21 and Ben Hill struck an explosive 36 not out from just 15 balls. Alan Pikesley took Bayford & Hertford’s only wicket with 1/20, but Preston completed a convincing victory with plenty to spare.

Preston Sunday 1st XI v Langford CC

Preston Sunday 1st XI were beaten by 5 wickets against Langford CC.. Preston won the toss and elected to bat, before being bowled out for 188 in 36.2 overs. James Doherty led the innings superbly with 107, while Pushan Chakraborty added 29 and Oscar Dunham Welch made 21. Langford’s bowlers fought back strongly, with Davy Shippey taking 4/21 and Chris Whitworth also finishing with 4/19, while Phil Ord and Benn Robson took one wicket each. In reply, Langford reached 189/5 in 33.5 overs. Chris Whitworth’s 88 was the decisive innings, supported by Thomas Taylor’s 34 and Conor Robson’s 25. Preston kept themselves in the game through Ariful Islam’s 2/42 and Pushan Chakraborty’s 2/20, while Oliver Clark also took 1/27, but Langford completed the chase with 5 wickets remaining.

Preston Women’s Softball v Harpenden CC

Preston Women’s Softball were beaten by 8 runs against Harpenden CC. Preston won the toss and elected to field, with Harpenden reaching 121/0 from their 16 overs for a net score of 321. Grace Smith and Brooke Bailey both made 8, while Lucy Barrow also added 8, but extras proved significant in Harpenden’s total. Preston’s bowlers kept the game competitive, with Laura Ponder and Sophie Featherby both conceding just 12 from their 2 overs, while Charlie Clark bowled 3 overs for 13. In reply, Preston finished on 113/0 from their 16 overs for a net score of 313. Sophie Featherby top scored with an excellent 25 from 12 balls, while Kate Sherwood and Laura Ponder both made 8. Despite the Preston Women team falling short, there were lots of positives to take from the game as they look to build through the rest of the season.