Weekend Roundup Aug 30/31
PRESTON CC 1ST XI VS DUNSTABLE TOWN CC
Dunstable Town won the toss and elected to field on a tricky wicket. The 1s had an off day with the bat and were bowled out for 69 in 23.4 overs. This was largely due to an incredible bowling spell by Dunstable Town opening bowler H. McBrearty who finished on 6/31 of his 10 overs. In the second innings Dunstable Town chased the total down in 15 overs and won the game by 7 wickets. Preston skipper, Ed Wharton was finding good rhythm with the ball taking 3/33 of his 8 overs, but the target Dunstable Town needed to chase was simply too small.
PRESTON CC 2ND XI VS FLAMSTEAD CC
The 2s were at home and lost the toss to Flamstead, who opted to bat first. It was a good effort with the ball to bowl out Flamstead for 199 in their 50 overs. Wickets were shared between every bowler, but the highlights were the miserly spells of Mark Waters (2/28 of 10 overs) and Bhavin Patel (2/21 of 10 overs). They combined to bowl 7 out of Preston’s 8 maidens. Flamstead’s S. Wijetunga also scored 62 of 98 however, no other Flamstead batter crossed 30 runs. In the second innings Preston were cruising. Openers Pete Gooden (54 of 46) and Lewis Balcombe (37 of 44) put on 104 for the first wicket. Despite both openers being back in the pavilion, Preston were in a great position and when rain came they were well above their DLS target of 78 of 25 overs. Preston finished on 122/2 of their 25 overs and took home 30 points as the game was rained off. That 3 wins on the bounce and 4 in the last 5 for the 2s! They are finishing the season off with a bang.
PRESTON CC 3RD XI VS REDBOURN CC
The 3s lost the toss and were sent in to bat by Redbourn at Whitwell. Despite Oliver Jackson batting like a dream, scoring 61, the 3s had only 2 other batsmen score above 10 runs. They were bowled out for 119 in their 37 overs due to A. Sharma (3/22 of 8 overs) and M. Benfield (3/21 of 8 overs) bowling masterclass. They both took 3 wickets at an economy of less than 3. In their second innings Preston 3rd XI put on a great fight. Redbourn were stood at 1 run for the loss of 3 wickets! The opening strike force of Iain ‘Swampy’ Purton (2/18 of 6 overs) & D. Beattie (1/15 of 5 overs) were immense. However, significant partnerships between D. Bassil (28 runs), F. Yerbury (24 runs) and G. Luckhurst (27 runs) helped take Redbourn to 101/8. Preston’s Amit Rajani stood tall taking 3/34 of his 8 overs. However, M. Benfield and J. Fleming took Redbourn to victory by merely 2 wickets. A close encounter that the 3s were in the wrong side of, however many positives to take to the final game of the season!
PRESTON 4th XI VS Southgate Adelaide CC
A comeback for the ages! The 4s take home another victory after being off for 2 weeks due to poor availability. Preston batted first and put on 176 in their 40 overs with veteran David Clark rolling back the years and scoring a timeless 67! In the second innings, Preston needed to bowl 20 overs in order to get a result. Aware of the imminent rain (and a potential washout), Preston bowled an outstanding 22.5 overs, where they put on a superb performance! Southgate Adelaide CC were restricted to 51 runs and lost 6 wickets, half of them captured by the evergreen Max Anderson. Anderson finished on 3 wickets for 6 runs of 3 overs as Preston 4s took home 30 well deserved points!
PRESTON SUNDAY 1st XI VS ELSTOW CC
Preston win the toss and bat first at home. Josh Wigginton is ending his season as Preston overseas with a fine flourish. He hit a sizzling 110 of 60 balls which included 15 fours and 6 sixes. Other notable contributions came from young gun Oscar Welch, who scored 33 of 24 balls and Amit Rajani’s 46 of 58 balls as Preston finished on a mammoth 296/9 of their 40 overs. In reply Preston took the victory as Elstow mustered up 202/8 of their 40. This was due to a brilliant bowling performance from Oliver Clark who took 3/31 of his 8 overs and Dillon Beattie’s 2/22 of 8 overs.