OAs pay for batting slip up

Division Two Old Albanian 98-10 (40) Old Finchleians 99-2 (29.5) OLD Albanians paid the price for failing with the bat as they were defeated by hosts Old Finchleians in Division Two. Old Finchleians won the toss and elected to field

Division Two

Old Albanian 98-10 (40) Old Finchleians 99-2 (29.5)

OLD Albanians paid the price for failing with the bat as they were defeated by hosts Old Finchleians in Division Two.

Old Finchleians won the toss and elected to field on what looked like it would be a sporting pitch.

The OA innings started well with captain Jon Smithers and Ravi Vijh putting on 30 without loss. The mood changed following the dismissal of Smithers as a combination of good bowling and poor shot selection ensured that the middle order followed in quick succession leaving the away side reeling at 65-6.

A spirited rearguard action from Nick Nguyen and Ben Farrar saw OAs to 99 all out on a pitch where 160 looked to be a par score.

In reply the visitors rarely looked in difficulty and despite an excellent and extended spell of bowling from Matt Corran, Old Finchleians reached the target for the loss of two wickets.

OAs are at home to powerful outfit Northchurch at Woollams on Saturday as they look to recapture their form and secure what would be a fine win.

A strong Old Albanians II side faced Northchurch on Saturday. Skipper Perry Hall won the toss and elected to bat.

Colt Nick Richardson opened the innings and struck a breezy 34. The middle order batsmen then put the Northchurch bowling to the sword. Faraz Khan and Arif Hassan shared in a partnership littered with boundaries which yielded 90 runs for the third wicket.

Faraz was out hooking for 67 and Arif Hassan (84 not out) was joined by brother Tariq Hassan (30 not out) to accelerate the scoring and enable OAs to declare at 249 after 46 overs.

In the field, spearhead Perry Hall bowled accurately and was rewarded with four wickets. Spin twins Tariq Hassan and Dan Forster then bowled to attacking fields and mopped up the tail by taking three and two wickets respectively with Northchurch all out for 110.

Old Albanian III were involved in a high scoring draw on Saturday against promotion chasing Old Camdenians.

The visitors from St Albans lost the toss and were asked to bowl on a good-looking pitch with short boundaries. They soon realised that they had come up against the best batting side in the league.

The Old Camdenians captain scored 135 for the home side including a number of sixes and lost balls as experienced bowlers were sent to all parts of the ground. The pick of the visitors bowling attack was Finley Matheson, aged 15, who produced a spell of great maturity to help stem the deluge of runs.

The home side were guilty of over indulgence by batting on to their full entitlement of 47 overs as they amassed a huge score of 357. This left them only 43 overs with which to bowl out the visitors and they were left needing two wickets as the light faded and the final ball was bowled.

The pick of the batsmen for Old Albanian was Aidan Fortune, aged 15, who scored a fluent 41. His innings included shots all around the wicket and demonstrated why the Old Albanian side have high hopes for this emerging talent.

Anthony Matfield (28 not out) and Finley Matheson (20 not out) rounded off an excellent days work to secure additional batting points as the home side were left frustrated in their pursuit of maximum points. OAs finished on 185-8 off their 43 overs.