1st XI Beat Eastcote In Season Opener

Ealing v Eastcote

Venue: Home Weather: Sunny, warm, breezy
Pitch: Hard, flat Toss won by: Eastcote

Result: Ealing win by 127 runs.

Ealing: 377-7 (50)
Oli Wilkin: 227
Robbie White: 51

Eastcote: 150 all out (49.3)
Kristian Martin: 3-47

Report:
Finally the 2016 League season was upon us, and after a very wet pre-season the weather was excellent in the preceding week and the ECG look resplendent in the May sunshine. The pitch was hard and flat and looked built for runs, so it was with some surprise that the Eastcote captain chose to bowl first on winning the toss.

Oli Wilkin and new Director of Cricket Tom Morton gave us a flying start, taking us to 39 in four overs before Tom was bowled for 19. Eastcote brought on their Middlesex contracted spinner Ravi Patel to stem the flow of runs, and he got the second wicket, bowling Mylo for a duck to leave us in a slightly precarious position at 45-2.

But Robbie White came in and calmly accumulated while Oli kept up the blistering pace, racing to 50 and on towards a fine century, which he brought up in the 17th over off just 50 balls.

The pair put on 152 in just 18 overs before Robbie was run out for 51 going for a tight single; but Oli kept on going with Ahmed, bringing up his 150 with nearly 15 overs still to go.

The first record went when Oli got to 156, surpassing Ealing’s highest ever individual League score. But there were more to come. He brought up his double century with a brutal pull shot to the square leg boundary, then closed in on the Middlesex Premier League’s highest ever total, which has stood at 215 for nearly two decades. Oli passed this with his third six, this one ending up halfway to Ealing Broadway station as it bounded on down Woodville Gardens. Eventually he was caught for 227 off 153 balls, including 33 fours and three sixes.

There were still three overs to go and Jayden Park - our 2016 overseas player - hit 23 off 10 balls, with two sixes into the pavilion to take us past our highest ever League total, the innings eventually finishing on 377-7.

In reply we expected the Eastcote batsmen to be exhausted after 50 long overs in the heat, but the boundaries racked up and the total passed 50 in the seventh over, then 100 in the 14th as the visiting side dominated the powerplay.

But the tide turned when our spinners came into the game. Jayden’s left arm spin got the breakthrough as he trapped the opener LBW for 54, and then Kristian got the number three to make it 158-2 off 25 overs.

Still needing nine-an-over the wickets started to tumble, with Laney getting his first for the season, then Ahmed bowling the number five round his legs to make it 167-4. Jayden got his second – the other opener for 83 – then Kristian had Ravi Patel caught at deep backward square to effectively seal the game.

Glasper came back into the attack and picked up two wickets in three overs, then Arthur finished off the game by clean bowling the number 11 to give us an 127-run victory. The game was set up by Oli’s astonishing innings, and a mammoth total meant we would start the 2016 campaign with a comfortable 10 points.

For the full scorecard:
http://www.totalcricketscorer.com/TCSLive/TCSScorecard.aspx?id=42535

And the league results and standings:
http://www.middlesexccl.com/