2nd XI vs Alexandra Park

After last week’s comprehensive win, Southgate welcomed Alexandra Park to the Walker Ground with promotion still very much on the cards. For the second week running I lost the toss and, somewhat surprisingly on a hot day, Alexandra Park elected to put us into bat. Perhaps they had done their homework after we’d been skittled for under 60 twice in a row a few weeks ago and thought they could have a piece of that action. However, the Southgate batters had other plans.

Rory Miscampbell and Mustafa Mirza got us off to a flying start on what can only be described as a road. The recent dry weather had made the outfield so quick that once the ball beat the infield, it absolutely flew.

The first wicket fell at 40 before Rory was joined by in-form Liam Collett. Liam looked in excellent touch before unfortunately getting an inside edge onto his stumps.

From there, it became the Rory show.

He looked in complete control from the outset, rotating the strike intelligently, punishing anything loose and finding gaps all around the ground. There were crunching cover drives, classical straight drives and some outrageous pull shots, three of which disappeared for six. With the amount of time Rory spends in the gym, those biceps finally proved they were good for something other than carrying protein shakes.

He brought up a superb fifty without ever looking troubled and simply carried on in the same fashion, combining clean hitting with excellent running between the wickets. Before long he reached a thoroughly deserved century, and there was never any sign of him slowing down.

He was well supported by Ollie Bellwood, whose excellent 36 helped add nearly 80 for the fourth wicket, before Kazi Hasan contributed a valuable 18. Pasoon Rahman then arrived and announced himself by depositing his very first ball into the distance for a huge six, adding a quickfire 10.

As Rory sailed past 150, attention turned to whether he could reach the magical 200. With one over remaining he needed just five more. First ball of the final over, he drilled one towards long-off and immediately called for two. I turned and ran harder than I probably have all season, convinced I wasn’t making my ground anyway. Unfortunately for Rory, Alexandra Park’s fielder produced what was probably the best throw you’ll see in Second XI cricket, firing in a flat rocket to the keeper to run him out by a couple of yards.

It wasn’t quite the double hundred, but 196 is an innings very few of us will ever witness at any level of cricket. It was a masterclass in stroke play, temperament and controlled aggression, and one that deserved every round of applause it received.

Southgate finished on 317 from our 50 overs.

With that total on the board, we were confident our bowling attack would be more than capable of defending it.

Binty set the tone brilliantly with an aggressive opening spell, mixing hostile short bowling with fuller deliveries that repeatedly beat the outside edge. He also managed to soften up the openers by rapping gloves and ribs on more than one occasion, but somehow finished wicketless despite thoroughly deserving at least one or two.

Will came up the hill for the first time this season and also bowled with excellent control, beating the bat on several occasions without quite finding the edge.

Despite carrying a very sore shoulder, Collo battled through 15 overs of off-spin from one end, keeping things tight and giving us exactly what was needed. Unfortunately, he too couldn’t quite find the breakthrough his efforts deserved.

To Alexandra Park’s credit, they never threw in the towel. Equally, they never really looked like chasing 318. Their priority quickly became batting out the 50 overs rather than keeping up with the required rate.

I tried just about everything from the captaincy handbook, changing ends, rotating bowlers in short spells and trying different combinations in search of wickets. The biggest moment came when Pasoon struck twice in an over, giving us hope we could expose the tail, but the pitch remained an excellent batting surface and wickets were hard to come by.

Alexandra Park eventually closed on 189 for 6, meaning Southgate took five points from the game.

While it was slightly frustrating not to claim maximum points, it was another excellent team performance and keeps us firmly in the promotion race.

The obvious highlight was Rory Miscampbell’s magnificent 195, an innings that everyone at the Walker Ground will remember for a long time.
Sam Faruqi

You can watch Rory’s post-match interview with our overseas player Hugh Hyselop on The Rocket Factory here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da8phq3oFXV/

And watch highlights of the innings here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbJC5x8g_8b/

2nd XI vs London Tigers

To Southall, where the mighty 'Gate headed to London Tigers knowing only maximum points would suffice - Stella (Mrs Liam) and Bloycey Senior very kindly cheering us on.

After winning the toss on a roasting day - Sammy could barely contain his excitement when he instructed the boys to "bat and bat long" - and bat long some of us did. Tigers' pitch - generally perceived as an absolute road - was a strange mix of synthetic and turf which came on wonderfully from a length and fuller but was a little more changeable halfway down.

Rors strode out with Mus to face the music and though the pairing started well, with Mus in typically pugnacious form, both were dismissed to the wily opening bowler - who realised early on that skiddy half-trackers were the way to go. At 30-2, SCC could have capitulated and wilted in the heat, instead - enter Stefaan Fernando who joined the serene Liam Collett to guide SCC to an outrageous total.

Both players started circumspectly before gently upping the tempo - Liam with wonderfully timed cover drives whilst Stefaan blended power with technicality. As the partnership eased past 50, then 100, the stokeplay became gradually more expansive - punchy drives and hard sweeps being complemented by dabs and placement to see the pair scoring off the good balls whilst capitalising on looser deliveries.

Once Liam passed 50, there was a degree of inevitability about the knock which is not to detract from its class - the man has been ruthless so far this season and was in no mood to give any let-up to the tiring Tigers attack - stylish and pleasing on the eye - Colly accelerated to a phenomenal ton in front of the adoring crowd (Stella, Collo, boyz).

Stefaan was every bit as impressive, proactive and aggressive against the spinners whilst leaving zero margin for error on anything short, wide, full or generally in his vicinity. Stef cruised past his ton shortly after Liam for a first ton in SCC colours and thereafter - party time in the stands as the boys wracked up an imperious 296-2.

Tea was solid with some optically questionable sarnies proving to be surprisingly tasty - whilst the pasta had a cracking kick, great scran,

So to our bowling effort, with Billy McLoughlin and super Joshy Holmes again proving far too good for the division's openers - Bill in particular had them in all sorts of bother - swinging it both ways for zero reward, despite having their best player stone dead LBW. Indeed, our only early breakthrough came from a pleasingly cataclysmic run-out which saw both batsmen playing rock-paper-scissors in the middle.

Collo, shades on and in full rhythm, came on first change and broke the game open, prizing the key wicket of their opener with some flight and guile, resulting in a cheeky C&B. The big man followed it up admirably - getting one to skid shortly thereafter to trap their number four - SCC were in.

Bloycey came on and immediately hit his straps, quick, full, stumps, poles. Again, unlucky with the adjudication at times but George deservedly snared the #5 to the delight of the support - a real crowd-pleaser well earned from a fantastic spell.

Tigers showed a little resistance thereafter but then Pasoon "Big Show" Rahman came on and did his thing - picking up three crucial poles, including the obdurate #3 for a nuggety 60-odd - using his deceptive pace and uncomfortable angles to slice through the home sides' defence.

Collo and Pasoon then engaged in a race to the Michelle "Fifer" - with neither quite making it, Pasoon rearranging the  #10's furniture either side of Collo getting his just rewards for a tidy spell. Both ended with four and bowled fantastically.

An emphatic W for the 'Gate - Liam and Stef showing poise, touch and hunger to wrack up a formidable total (and a record SCC 3rd wicket partnership in the process) whilst the bowling unit hunted as a pack to secure a cracking win for the lads.

Ice creams all round for the squad to celebrate a big victory before hightailing it back to the Walker for another excellent W as England bested Norway in a World Cup thriller - UTG.

Rory Miscampbell

3rd XI vs Highgate 4s

3XI vs Highgate 4s

Losing Draw

Southgate 206/9d (47)

Highgate 202/9 (45)

A quick succession of early wickets in the first innings was met with grit and determination from our middle order, whom batted incredibly well. Bhavesh Kotecha's standout performance with the bat of 59 from 102 balls steadied Southgate's innings after the early tumble. Parinda Kaluratne's equally impressive knock of 47(67) further built on our middle order's impressive efforts. Cameos of 21, 17 and 24 by Sarfaraz Hafeji, Srikanth Reddy and Vijay Rao respectively helped bring our total to 206 from 47 overs.

With the ball, wickets fell almost at regular intervals throughout the Highgate innings, creating a tense final few overs for both teams. Due to the heat and need to take all 10 wickets, many bowlers were used and rotated throughout. Standout performance was Parinda Kaluratne who took 6/46 from 16 overs with 5 maidens; bowling with lots of diligence and perseverance. With Southgate needing 1 more wicket from the last 2 overs in the day, Highgate blocked out for a winning draw.

Lots of positives to take from our performance, with incredible efforts with both bat and ball, as well as in the field.

Dheer Shah

3rd XI vs Bessborough 4s

🔥 Match of the Season? Southgate Hold Their Nerve to Defend 249 in a Thrilling Team Performance

Our Innings – 249 All Out (49.5 overs)

After being put into bat on a dry pitch, Nevin and his new opening partner Viraj faced a tough challenge against some disciplined new-ball bowling. Both did their best to see off the opening spell, but runs were hard to come by, with Southgate reaching 10/1 after the first 10 overs.

Santosh then injected some much-needed momentum with a positive 27 from 36 balls before falling to Vikram.

Bhavesh anchored the innings superbly with a patient 67 from 103 deliveries, while Sarfaraz played the perfect supporting role with a fluent 46 at almost a run a ball. The late acceleration came from Srikanth Reddy, who blasted 59 from just 45 balls at a strike rate of over 130 to push the total towards a very competitive score.

At the halfway stage, Southgate felt that 249 was a total they could defend if everyone played their part.

Opposition Innings – The Chase

Bessborough 4th XI’s first objective was to reach 202 in 42 overs to secure a winning draw, and they came out with positive intent. Their openers got off to a brisk start and put Southgate under pressure.

The breakthrough came when Arpit struck, with Srikanth taking a smart catch at mid-on. Arpit soon struck again, removing the other opener for a fluent 31, brilliantly caught by young Aaron Shah on the boundary.

Despite those wickets, Bessborough continued to score at a healthy rate. Southgate never stopped believing, worked tirelessly in the field and kept creating chances. Nevin and Jason also chipped in with important wickets to keep the game alive.

With wickets falling at one end, Ishara kept Bessborough’s hopes alive with a determined innings despite battling cramp. Sensing the game needed tightening, skipper Parinda brought himself and Srikanth into the attack. The move paid immediate dividends as the pressure built, wickets began to tumble, and what had looked like a winning position for Bessborough slowly swung in Southgate’s favour.

The game came down to the final two overs, with Bessborough needing just 6 runs with one wicket remaining from 12 balls. With fantastic support from the 1st and 2nd XI around the boundary, the atmosphere was electric.

Then came the moment. On the third ball of the over, Srikanth produced the magic delivery. Diraj skied the ball high, and a pumped-up Safs held his nerve to take the catch at mid-on, sparking jubilant celebrations.

Southgate erupted.

It was a brilliant team performance full of belief, character and resilience. The lads fought back when the game looked to be slipping away, never gave up and thoroughly deserved the win. It was a fantastic atmosphere throughout and, without doubt, one of the best games of the season so far.

Viraj/Parinda