Marlborough 1sts
In the WEPL Wiltshire division, the 1st XI lost by 8 wickets to a strong Hinton Charterhouse side. Home side Hinton won the toss and elected to field. Harrison Painter (27) and Connor Hetherton (30) made starts as Marlborough progressed to 101-4, but the introduction of Haroon Naseer proved their undoing, taking 5-15 as Painter’s side collapsed to 105 all out. Hinton were untroubled in their reply, reaching the target in 18 overs for the loss of two wickets, one apiece for Painter and Paul Smith.
Match Report by Andy Crabbe
Marlborough 2nds
Marlborough 2s win thriller against NALGO!
This week, the 2nd XI welcomed Swindon NALGO 2s to the Savernake Forest Ground for their Division 4 clash. Marlborough won the reverse fixture comfortably, but only one place separated the sides in the table heading into the game.
Home captain Nick Crabbe won the toss and elected to bat under sunny skies. Andy Crabbe and Rohit Gurjar opened the innings and batted sensibly against the NALGO opening bowlers, before a mix up saw Crabbe run out for 28 with the score on 51.
Nick Crabbe continued in a similar manner, with neither batsman particularly troubled until Gurjar was caught for 48 attempting to up the run rate, with the team 116-2 from 32 overs. Crabbe (26) followed a few overs later, caught off the bowling of Jalees Sharif.
Home batsmen James Richardson and Hassaan Asif then proceeded to dominate the last 10 overs of the innings, with a remarkable partnership of 127 from 59 balls. Richardson (78*) looked fluent from ball one, exploiting gaps in the field and finding the boundary regularly, while Asif (50*) continued his good form with a second half century in as many innings and fifth of the season.
It was a fantastic watch for the home crowd, with the pair hitting 10 fours and 7 sixes between them, taking Marlborough to a very competitive total of 252-3 from their 45 overs. After a short tea interval, the clouds had drawn in overhead and conditions now favoured the bowlers. Marlborough headed into the field full of confidence, however, NALGO openers Jamey Nair and Asad Khan had other ideas.
The pair looked to play positively from the outset and punished any loose offerings from Marlborough new ball pair Hassaan Asif and Fraser Taylor, bringing up 50 within the first 5 overs. Marlborough captain Nick Crabbe tried to take the pace out of the game, introducing spinners Ben Head and James Richardson. This stemmed the flow of runs to a degree, but Nair and Khan were now full of confidence and continued to find the boundary, bringing up their 100 partnership in the 12th over and their 150 in the 21st. After 24 overs, NALGO were 170-0 with the game all but won, needing just 83 runs in 21 overs with 10 wickets in hand.
Marlborough needed inspiration, and as has happened so often in the past, it was to come from Head. Returning for his second spell, Head bowled Khan (66) with the second ball of the 25th over, quickly followed by the dismissal of Nair, bowled for 88. At the other end, veteran seamer Simon Wells was into his third over, and into his stride, deceiving Siffar Virk, who chipped the ball to short mid-wicket, Head again in the action taking the catch. Wells immediately followed up with a straight delivery which trapped Shobhit Chaudhary lbw for 0, with NALGO now 173-4 and Marlborough’s tails up. The beginning of Wells’ next over saw an almost identical delivery achieve the same result, with Varinder Singh departing lbw for 1. Wells wasn’t done yet in the over either, as he and Head again combined to dismiss Jalees Sharif for 0.
In the next over it was Head’s turn to strike again, this time Haroon departing for 2 following a good catch by Asif. NALGO had gone from 170-0 to 180-7 in 4 overs, and all the momentum was with Marlborough. However, NALGO still had the experience of Imran Dastagir and Pardeep Nagi at the crease, and they would prove far harder to dismiss. The pair batted for the next 10 overs, serenely at first with run rate not an issue, but then with increasing aggression as they got closer to the winning target. After 39 overs, the pair had added 54 runs, with NALGO now requiring just 19 for the win off 6 overs and Marlborough needing another dose of inspiration.
This time it came in the form of an excellent catch from Mohit Jaswal at mid-on, with Dastagir departing for 27 and a wicket for Asif. Not finished there, Jaswal bowled Nagi (29) with a quick yorker first ball of the next over, leaving 18 runs still required but only NALGO’s final pair Basharat Shah and Jasdeet Singh to get them.
Shah and Singh edged towards the target over the next few overs, leaving 5 runs required off the last. Jaswal was given the responsibility of bowling it and responded superbly, with three consecutive dot balls. Two singles followed leaving NALGO requiring three to win and two to tie. With the pressure on for the final delivery, Jaswal held his nerve, bowling fast and straight, with Shah unable to connect with the ball.
The batsmen attempted a run regardless, but wicket keeper Scott Baker completed the run out, with NALGO all out for 250 and Marlborough winning the game by 2 runs.
Match Report by Andy Crabbe
Marlborough 3rds
The 3rd XI recorded only their second win of the season with a 60 run success at home to Bathford. A solid opening stand from Steve Jones and Stewart Williamson set the hosts in good stead. Williamson was the first to be dismissed for 18 in an unfamiliar role as opener he had helped negate the threat of Bathford’s opening bowlers.
Niloy Saha joined Jones at the crease and forged another partnership. Jones fell for a well-made 52, the first 3rd XI batsman to pass that mark this campaign. Aedan Murphy played with assurance for 38 – a senior best.
Late runs from A Arslan (25) and Muhammad Salman (31) propelled the hosts total to 240-7, the first time Marlborough had passed 200 this season. In reply, tight opening bowling from captain Charlie Jewell and Inderjeet Singh put the Bathford batsmen under pressure.
As the run rate increased Bathford’s batsmen had to take greater risks and Ashish Ghode profited with four wickets. The visitors ended on 180-9, well short of the target.
Match Report by Harry Glenn
Marlborough 4ths
There was no such luck for the 4th XI who fell to an agonising 8 run defeat, away to Bradford on Avon 2nd XI. Prasoon Sharma made the key breakthrough for Marlborough after the hosts made a steady start. Sharma claimed a second scalp a reward for his consistent line and length. Debutant Anush Varma backed up Sharma’s earlier spell with three wickets as Marlborough looked to seek the initiative.
Harry Glenn claimed two wickets before Sharma returned to take his third, in arguably his best spell in a Marlborough shirt. The hosts ended on 173-9 off their 45 overs.
Marlborough made a brisk start in reply before Anil Gaurav was dismissed for 29. Wickets then tumbled; cue the entrance of debutant Vinoth Kumar who deposited his first ball for six. Vinoth combined attack and defence brilliantly and along with Sandeep Kumar gave Marlborough hope of victory.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Vinoth was last man out for 54 as Marlborough fell just short of their target.
Match Report by Harry Glenn
Aldbourne – body found in search for missing man
