Falkland crash to first defeat
Depleted side suffers heavy loss at Ickenham
FALKLAND’S unbeaten record in Division 1 came to an abrupt end at Ickenham on Saturday.
The Wash Common side travelled to Uxbridge without five regular firstteamers and crashed to a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of a young Ickenham side who sit at the top of the table a year after clinching promotion to the top flight.
James Lauder, who stood in as captain for Jason Williams, said: “It was disappointing to say the least.
“We were missing a few players, but we still managed to put out a decent side and that shows that the club is heading in the right direction.
“Ickenham have a young and hungry side and we were always a bit behind the game.”
Lauder won the toss and decided to bat on a baking hot day.
But Falkland made the worst possible start as James Bird was caught behind in the first over.
Lauder joined Will Herrington at the crease and the pair put on a 50-partnership for the second wicket before the skipper fell for 24.
Herrington, who joined the club this season after scoring heavily for Welford Park over the past few years, continued to bat well until he was dismissed for 41.
Will Langmead came in and hit 35 as Falkland reached 100-3 and with 20 overs still remaining, a decent total looked in prospect.
But when Ben Piper was dismissed, the Falkland tail failed to wag and they collapsed to 156 all out.
Bruce Martin and Charlie Dale kept Ickenham pegged back for the first eight overs of their innings.
But then skipper Elliot Evans and Dan O’Driscoll took control.
Evans hammered an unbeaten 89 and O’Driscoll finished on 53no as Ickenham eased to 159-1 off 26.5 overs.
The result brought to an end Falkland’s excellent start to the muchdelayed campaign.
But they will be looking to bounce back when they host Boyne Hill at Enborne Lane on Saturday.
Regular captain Williams said: “We will have all our players back on Saturday against a strong Boyne Hill side, who lost their unbeaten record on Saturday.
“There will definitely be a debut for Hector Chambers and we have 15 players available so we will be able to field our strongest team.”