North Enfield Cricket Club’s 1st XI put in a battling performance to take 18 points away from their 41-run defeat to Luton Town & Indians in Division 4B of the Hertfordshire Premier Cricket League.
The hosts were bowled out for 227, which saw them pick up eight batting points, having earlier dismissed Luton Town for 268 to collect maximum bowling points.
Despite the early loss of Kieran Jones (4), North Enfield made a fast start to their run chase, with Stuart Halley seizing on several wide and over-pitched deliveries, cutting and driving beautifully through the off side.
He added 45 with William Munt (11), before the arrival of Irfan Ali to the crease breathed new life into North Enfield’s chase.
Halley brought up a well-deserved half-century, whilst Ali was swiftly up and running, comfortably ticking along at around a run a ball.
Although Halley was caught behind and James Scott holed out to mid-off for 23, Ali kept North Enfield’s hopes alive, bringing up an impressive half-century of his own.
He struck 10 fours and finished with 72 from 73 deliveries, with much of North Enfield’s hopes of victory departing with him when he too was caught at mid-off.
With the required run rate rising, the task simply became too much for the hosts, who lost their last five wickets for just 24 runs, despite captain Ishan Tilakaratna’s 25.
Derrick Sanders was the last man to fall for 9, as North Enfield narrowly came up short, but took great credit from their performance.
A sixth-wicket partnership of 83 had earlier taken the game out of North Enfield’s reach, in spite of them chipping away well with the ball.
After Luton Town had made a rapid start, Matthew Hodgins (2-53) picked up a couple of wickets to drag them back and Jones (4-52) reduced them to 134-5.
This swiftly became 227-5 though and although Jones and Sanders (3-61) cleaned up the tail between them, North Enfield’s target of 268 ultimately proved too much against a wily Luton Town attack.
Elsewhere, the club’s 2nd XI took a solid 14 points from their defeat at Mill Hill Village, whilst Callum Oswick hammered 61 off just 25 deliveries on his debut for the club as the Friendly XI sprinted to an eight-wicket triumph over Washington.
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