Southgate hold their nerve to beat Kenton by 18 runs and claim maximum points
3rd XI vs North London
Match Report: Southgate 3rd XI vs North London 6s (Friendly - Home)
Result: Southgate 3rd XI won
A Delayed Start & Friendly Betrayals
The match got underway after an hour’s delay as NL6 waited for their full squad to arrive. Showing true club spirit, Southgate skipper Parinda Kularatne offered up a volunteer to help out the short-handed opposition. Amila Cooray kindly stepped up—a gesture he might have slightly regretted later!
The game featured some intense Gate-on-Gate action. Amila looked in fine form for the opposition, playing some beautiful shots, including a massive six. He later hilariously claimed, "I tried to defend that," meaning he will definitely be available for batting coaching consultations in 2027.
However, the skipper showed no mercy to his own clubman. Parinda provided the crucial breakthrough, trapping Amila LBW for a highly respectable 49 off 51 balls, brutally robbing him of a well-deserved half-century.
The scorecard’s mysterious “AK” was completely unplayable. He tore through the NL6 top order, clean-bowling C. Bartram (0) and R. Ahmed (0), before forcing T. Rowan (1) into a bizarre hit-wicket dismissal to claim a magnificent three-wicket haul.
Rahul Pawar piled on the misery for the middle order, getting T. Woodfield caught for just 3.
The Mystery Fielders: A sharp piece of fielding resulted in the run-out of N. Gooley (33)—play cricket doesn’t say who but I’m tempted to say it was someone beginning with a K so maybe Kaz maybe Kevin maybe it wasn’t someone with a K🤷♀️. Another sharp catch was claimed by either Div, Kevin, or Mohit, executed with the most nonchalant reaction of the day. Again play cricket didn’t say who and I can’t remember but someone did it.
Yo’s Danger Zone: Parinda officially labeled Yo a "dangerous bowler," a title she earned after accidentally hitting a 15-year-old batsman right in the balls. She then proceeded to laugh, claiming, "It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, sorry are you okay?!" (Thankfully, the youngster recovered).
The bowling unit was incredibly disciplined, choking the run rate with a flurry of maiden overs. Ashraf Hussein ultimately wrapped up the innings in style, using his beautiful spin bowling to easily claim the final wicket.
Best Bowling Figures:
Rahul Pawar: 4-1-5-1
Ashraf Hussein: 4-1-8-1
Alan Babwah: 4-2-10-0
Parinda Kularatne: 4-1-14-1
Nish Shah: 5-1-21-1
Southgate CC Innings: A Determined Run Chase
Chasing the target set by NL6, Southgate experienced a mixed start but ultimately showed excellent depth in the batting order to pull off a brilliant chase.
Opener AB fell early for 1, clean-bowled by R. Ahmed. However, Kev Lazarus and Nish Shah steadied the ship with a vital partnership. Both batsmen played brilliantly measured innings to get the chase back on track, unleashing some big shots to punish the bad balls in style. 💪
The backbone of the chase, however, relied heavily on Bhavesh Koetcha and Ashraf Hussein. Bhavesh anchored the middle order magnificently, falling agonizingly short of a half-century on 49 off 69 balls. In a poetic twist, he was caught by... Amila. Naturally, Amila was the only person on the NL6 field who wasn't allergic to taking a catch or two that day!
Ashraf Hussein played an exceptionally fluent supporting role, striking a swift 32 off 42 balls before falling to the exact same combination.
With the game hanging in the balance, skipper Parinda Kularatne stepped up and showed great composure under pressure. He remained 18 not out off 18 balls to safely guide Southgate home to victory alongside Divyen Harish (1*).
Best Batting Stats:
Bhavesh Koetcha (BK): 49 (69) | SR: 71.01
Ashraf Hussein (AH): 32 (42) | SR: 76.19
K Lazarus (KL): 30 (29) | SR: 103.45
Nish Shah (NS): 30 (43) | SR: 69.77
Parinda Kularatne (PK): 18* (18) | SR: 100.00
A fantastic, entertaining win for the 3rd XI!
1st XI vs Winchmore Hill
Winchmore Hill CC 1st XI vs Southgate CC 1st XI
6th June 2026
Limited Overs
Middlesex County Cricket League 1st XI Division Two
By Geoff Collins
What is cricket? One poses the question not rhetorically, but philosophically. For some, it is a cathartic release of frustrations developed during the capitalistic drudgery of a working week. For others, a chance to satisfy the innate human need to connect with others; camaraderie through a sport that has the power to change lives. And, for a select few in North London, it is the chance to gather in a circle around Dan Bint whilst pretending to perform a sex act upon him in the pouring rain whilst waiting 15 minutes for a mower to be moved from the pitch.
Regardless of your philosophical stance on cricket, winning the toss and bowling was always the optimum modus operandi from James Dangerfield - putting any potential DLS chase in Southgate's favour. Those from north of the Watford Gap - namely Scott Ellis and league debutant Laurence Perry - anticipated no play at all. Others were more wildly optimistic. What transpired fell somewhere in between.
After a slightly delayed start, Winchmore Hill grazed to 70 without loss despite tidy and effortful spells into the wind and with a wet ball from Bint and Darragh Edwards. The score was largely thanks to Jim Gatting - son of England legend Mike ‘Fat Gatt’ Gatting - wielding a bat the size of a fat baby; hitting some lusty blows that made use of a short boundary and a wet surface that allowed the ball to skid on.
Thankfully, after another short rain break, skipper Dangerfield quickly justified his decision to bowl by taking two wickets in two balls. First, the wicket of Gatting - thanks to a swirling, steepling catch by Josh Ray at midwicket. The very next ball, Alex McKenna - no relation to hypnotist Paul McKenna - neatly caught by Perry at slip. Momentum back with Southgate, it was then over to Perry to apply further pressure by taking his first league wicket for the club, removing opener David Goldsmith, who played on.
But when it rains, it pours. How fitting given the forecast, as it hadn't stopped raining since play began, much to the displeasure of the usually chipper Ray. Southgate were keen to stay out there and apply the pressure. With Winchmore Hill now unable to rotate the strike, a risky call and mix-up between the wickets gave Hugh Hyslop - who fielded like a man on performance-enhancing drugs - the chance to throw the stumps down from extra cover for a superb direct hit… But wait! Had keeper Ellis accidentally removed both bails before the ball hit the stumps? The evidence was debated with the rigour of a war crimes tribunal. However, Southgate 'gently' persuaded the umpire this wasn't the case and the appeal was upheld. Had the wind and rain removed a bail before the stumps were thrown down? A question that will haunt legal scholars for generations.
Interestingly, Hyslop had earlier revealed that the key to fielding so well was not masturbating for a few days prior to the game. The team were keen to take this guidance forward for the rest of the season.
A solid 70-0 had turned into a precarious 97-4, and despite some eye-catching shots from Winchmore Hill's number 4, Joshua Gunter, Southgate were able to control the run rate through two more wickets from Perry. The left-arm Chinaman - now dubbed 'The Chairman' - was keen to show and tell anyone who would listen how difficult it was to bowl wrist-spin with a wet ball, finishing with 3-40 from his 9 overs and leaving Winchmore Hill 146-6.
Alas, after playing through such persistent and heavy rain, the umpires and players agreed it had become too dangerous to continue and took the players off for what turned out to be the final time. Winchmore Hill's reluctant handshakes may have been less about the abandoned match and more about Southgate CC’s post-match Spotify playlist - a curated selection of R. Kelly, P. Diddy, Gary Glitter and Rolf Harris that raised several safeguarding concerns. An early tea of burgers and chips softened the blow of a match abandoned with 3 points shared.
And so, one poses the question: what is cricket?
2nd XI vs MTSSC
There are few things more frustrating in cricket than doing all the hard work only for the weather to step in and claim the headlines. Unfortunately, that was the story for Southgate 2nd XI on Saturday as rain denied what looked a very likely victory against Middlesex Titans Sports & Social Club.
After winning the toss, skipper Sameer Faruqi had little hesitation in asking the Titans to bat first under gloomy skies at The Walker Ground. What followed was one of Southgate's most disciplined bowling performances of the season.
David Woffinden produced a masterclass in accuracy and patience. On a pitch offering assistance to those willing to bowl the right areas, Woffinden was relentless, finishing with remarkable figures of 5-11 from nine overs, including four maidens. Every time the Titans threatened to build a partnership, Woffinden returned to remove another batter and keep Southgate firmly on top.
Adam Collins provided excellent support at the other end, claiming 2-25 from his nine overs. George Bloyce contributed an important wicket while conceding just 24 runs from his six overs, and Liam Collett produced an economical three-over spell, conceding just three runs and bowling two maidens.
The Titans never recovered from their early struggles. Reduced to 46-5, they relied heavily on Rajasith Jajithurai, whose entertaining 43 was the only innings of real substance. Dev Patel battled gamely for an unbeaten 18, but Southgate's bowlers maintained control throughout. A run out added to the misery as wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Eventually the innings closed on 134 all out in 37.3 overs, a total that felt some way below par and one Southgate would have backed themselves to chase comfortably.
With rain clouds gathering, Southgate's openers Max Joseph and Mustapha Mirza wasted no time in getting started. Both found the boundary in an eventful opening over as Southgate raced to 12 without loss.
Sadly, that would be the final action of the afternoon.
The rain arrived before the second over could begin and, despite periods of optimism from players and spectators alike, conditions never improved sufficiently for play to resume. The umpires eventually called time on proceedings, leaving Southgate to settle for three abandonment points.
While the weather prevented the result the home side looked destined to secure, there were plenty of positives to take from the day. Woffinden's outstanding five-wicket haul was the standout performance, backed by a disciplined effort from the entire bowling unit and an excellent display in the field.
Stefaan Fernando