Camden I v Madingley II

16/08/25

THIRDS FALL FLAT

Redders’ return fails to inspire lacklustre Camden

Madingley II (20pts) 173-5 beat Camden (6pts) 169 by 5 wickets

Captain Redfern was back in charge for the penultimate game of the season, and promptly lost the toss against Madingley at Cambridge University Press. Asked to bat first, Sutton and Krishna – against some dubious bowling actions and on another dog of a pitch – did well to add 42 for the first wicket. To some degree, the lightning-fast outfield offset the challenging conditions, and Krishna seemed to have the right idea – hitting seven boundaries before falling for a twenty-five ball 30. Needless to say, Sutton’s 17 came at a more sedate pace. The wicket of debutant Deepak Sharma (cap number 180) for 5 brought Redders to the crease. The skipper had overcome his opposition to modern communication technology to send pictures from as far away as Scotland. For a while, facing his young daughter’s chin music looked like ideal preparation. Indeed, with Ketul for company, the score had reached a healthy 108-3 at drinks.

It’s safe to say that nothing could have prepared Ketul (24) for the subterranean ball that was to bowl him. Every other wicket was caught, and Redders (17) quickly restored order by driving one vertically to be caught behind. 110-5 wasn’t ideal, but it was difficult to know what a good score was on this pitch – a point underlined by a gentle leg-spinner bouncing over Irtaza’s head. The left-hander struck four boundaries, but 134-5 soon became 134-8 as Coe (5), Irtaza (18) and Mukesh (0) fell in quick succession. Farid (17) and Rizwan (14*) added a useful 35 to take the score to 169, but that was as good as it got – Shuja continuing his 100% record of golden ducks.

Considering promotion was on the line, it was to be an oddly flat performance in the field. The pitch appeared to act in sympathy, while the Madingley openers showed no mercy in racing to 96-0 after fifteen overs. There was a glimmer of hope when change bowlers Rizwan and Mukesh (1-44) removed both openers, but the home side – bolstered by first team ringers – were still very much in the box seat. Rizwan (2-30) was the pick of the bowlers and was rewarded with a second wicket. It was caught by Ketul, sealing the Triple Crown of 250 runs, 10 wickets and 5 catches in a season – just the fifth occasion of such all-round prowess. After a fruitless new-ball spell, Ketul (2-42) returned to bag a brace. But it was too little too late, and Madingley cantered to a five-wicket win inside thirty overs. With Barrington winning, Camden – having played a game more – were just 15 points clear in second place. With no game next week, Captain Redfern’s men would have to wait a fortnight for a shot at promotion. It was going down to the wire.

Man of the Match: Rizwan Ansari