Three-wicket Ahmed stars in Uxbridge win
Bowlers perform well given task of defending 178 runs
UXBRIDGE held their nerve to claim a Division Three victory over Osterley at the weekend.
The visitors shared the runs around at Tentelow Lane and racked up a 178 total, which they defended successfully by skittling out the hosts for 129.
Shakil Ahmed was the star with the ball for Uxbridge as he took three Osterley wickets, including the crucial final pair, to steer his side to victory.
Kashif Mahmood also produced a fine all-round performance as he took two wickets to back up his fine batting display, scoring 46 from 81 balls.
Elsewhere, in Thames Valley Division 3B, a rain-affected and ultimately abandoned encounter saw Old Merchant Taylors’ walk away with seven bonus points and the more satisfied of the two sides, given opponents Amersham were unquestionably on top.
Batting first, Amersham started nervously under damp and cloudy conditions.
Uzair Khan (3-59) was the man doing the early damage as he reduced Amersham to 46-3.
However, after delays for the rain Amersham started to crack things up with 68 and 114 run partnerships for the fourth and fifth wickets, ensuring a very competitive looking total was starting to be amassed.
Oliver Haddock (84) and Luke Jackson (51) were at the heart of those partnerships as the home side eventually declared on 2286.
In response, OMT got off to a very fast start as Dylan Amin (54) struck a T20-style 33-ball half century.
Disappointingly though, OMT never really got to grips with the conditions and wickets fell steadily to hamper the run chase.
OMT were indeed precariously placed on 130-6 before the rain finally halted proceedings for the final time.
Meanwhile, OMT seconds got back to winning ways with a fine, but tense, two-wicket win over Teddington Town.