1stXI Match Report: Beckenham v. Bickley Park

Under gloomy skies and with an autumnal nip in the air, the Beckenham scorer arrived at Foxgrove to bring down the curtain on his 31st season as 1st XI scorer.  The team however, needing to gain a handful of points to secure Premier status, have a rearranged ‘Covid’ match next week without their scorer who will be chugging northwards along the picturesque Llangollen Canal.

Having inspected the wicket, greeted Bickley Park scorer Rebel and fellow ‘proper’ manual scorer, it was time to set up shop and await the result of the toss.  Visiting skipper Dan Magin had called correctly and elected to bat.

A couple of crisp boundaries from the opening two overs got the Bickley innings up and running and it soon became apparent that the pitch, on the ‘new’ relaid part of the square, was showing uneven bounce and that runs would need to be earned.  It was the honest, uncomplaining Shojib Ali who drew first blood for Beckenham with two quick wickets.  First Johan Malcolm held on to a stinging catch at slip to dismiss Jotty Singh and then Patrick heard the rattle of leather on wood behind him.  Jahid Ahmed, who has been in sparkling form in this second half then pinned Ranjit Singh in front to leave the visitors groggy at 21-3.  Wicketkeeper Imtiaz and star man Elliot Hooper then began to turn the innings around with some solid batting until Hooper was bowled by the persevering Ali for 8.  Further woe was heaped upon the visitors as Imtiaz was held by keeper ‘Barney’ Balmforth off Ahmed and Beckenham were well and truly in the driving seat.  Skipper Magin then found a willing ally in Michael Ridley and, with some good shot selection, began to get the innings back on track again.  Their promising stand of 37 was ended when young Ishan Sabharwal, the hero of the Bexley match, had Ridley well held by James Fear.  The young left-arm spinner’s bowling partner was another youngster, paceman James Ronay, who was turning in a fine spell at the other end until he finished his mandatory 7 overs.  On came the experienced Johan Malcolm to form an all-spin attack which produced the goods when Sabharwal took a fine tumbling catch to dismiss Magin for 35.  It was now clear that Beckenham would need to keep a tight rein on the visitors’ scoring rate as too big a target would prove difficult on this unpredictable surface.  This they did to a point as Malcolm struck either side of a wicket for skipper Alex Senn and, after a couple of lusty blows at the end, Bickley Park were all out for 143 with two balls remaining.  All the bowlers did their jobs well with Malcolm’s 3-22 and Ali’s 3-28 being the best returns.

Finn Bryan and Rithik Hari then began the Beckenham reply in watchful mode against Jason Benn and Max Luckett.  Runs were definitely hard to come by and 25 were on the board before both openers were rested.  The first wicket fell almost as soon as Elliot Hooper entered the attack when he bowled Hari for 8.  Skipper Senn then dug in immediately in an effort to salvage something from his disappointing season.  Another 25 hard-earned runs were eked out before Hooper struck again to bowl Bryan for 21 to make the score 50-2 from 20 overs.  James Fear then helped Senn to push the score along against the persistent Park attack before the return of Luckett had Fear caught on the mid-wicket boundary from a firmly-struck pull.  Benn returned from the pavilion end and, with his first ball, flattened Senn’s off-stump to end the promising knock of 34 for the Beckenham skipper.  Johan Malcolm then indicated that he wasn’t going to be tied down with a couple of crisp boundaries to take the score past 100 but the overs were ticking away and the Bickley attack was applying a stranglehold on the home run rate.  Back came Hooper and, in his first over, Malcolm was trapped in front.  With Nick Rigg using his speed between the wickets while pushing for a single, a further 13 runs were squeezed out before Jahid Ahmed was leg before for 4 to make the score 122-6 in the 44th over and nerves beginning to shred for the second time in as many weeks.  Cometh the hour and the arrival of the indomitable Balmforth was just the partner Rigg needed as the left-hander visibly grew in confidence in proving that perhaps No.6 is his best position.  Displaying immaculate technique, the plucky keeper became the ideal foil for Rigg who upped the pace and scored the winning runs with an exquisite off-drive for four to secure Premier status for another year.  This had been a superb effort against an attack that bowled magnificently and had made life very difficult on a pitch labelled ‘sub-standard’ by the umpires.  Lessons have to be learned and heeded in restricting the amount of midweek cricket played on a square that is having a large sum of money spent on its’ renovation.

Score card: https://kcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/4146901 (external site)

League table: https://kcl.play-cricket.com/website/division/87368 (external site)