Having lost at home to arch-rivals Crouch End on a rain-soaked pitch in early July, revenge was sweet for Shepherds Bush 1st Xl when they travelled to Stanmore Common last weekend for the T20 semis... and won by two wickets.
Crouch End (who defeated Bush by nine wickets at Bromyard Avenue on 6 July) won the toss and batted first, running up a total of 172 for 8 in their 20 overs.
Moinool Sheikh was the pick of the Crouch End batters, scoring 57 off 38 balls before being bowled by Harvey Jupp. Jupp ended up with three wickets for nine runs; impressive stats.
With that figure of 172 in their sights, Bush opener Idris Otto-Mian managed 22 off 12 balls.
Although fellow opener Jonny Armitage went first ball to the bowling of Pratik Patel, it paved the way for the entry of Ikjot Thind, who set about the task ahead with gusto.
His knock of 72 came in 34 balls, and included 10 fours and two sixes.
Mitch Crayn added 18, Hugo Hughes 20, while Harvey Jupp carried his bat for 12 as Bush reached a splendid 176 for eight, winning by two wickets.
Atharva Prasad was the pick of the Crouch End bowlers, taking four wickets – including captain Alisdair Easton – for 20 runs.
Next victories
Then on Tuesday at Bromyard Avenue, Shepherds Bush 1sts beat an MCC team in a friendly by five wickets, with the MCC scoring 165 all out, after electing to bat first.
Bush reached 167 for five, with Crayn falling just short of his century, caught on 96. Wicketkeeper Jonny Armitage managed 55 before being run out.
In another friendly on Wednesday, Bush beat a President's Xl by three runs after running up a total of 201 for 6. All the President's men managed 198 for 7 in their 30 allocated overs.
Next up
The Bush 1st Xl face Richmond at Bromyard Avenue this Saturday (27 July) at 11am. All welcome; bar open.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
