A much better performance by the top order batsmen looked at the interval to have given Warlingham a chance of a second win over Old Hamptonians at Dean Road on last Saturday. However, although Mansoor Mirza gave the visitors a perfect start by taking a wicket in his fist over, Rashid Contractor’s unbeaten 105 saw the home team to gain an easy win in this bottom-of-the-table clash.
Put in after losing the toss, Nigel Field and Shane Patel gave Warlingham their best start of the season with 63 for the first wicket before Field, making a welcome re-appearance following his ‘retirement’ last year, ran himself out for 24. Nishan Naidoo accelerated the score with typically powerful straight drives and Shane looked to be back in his form of last year while making a solid 64. The visitors were going well at 128-1 after 37 overs, but the introduction of Stephen Morgans changed the game as he bowled Shane in his second over and had Naidoo caught behind for 49 in his third. His fourth over saw Monish Patel run out and in his fifth he trapped Mirza lbw. Hitesh Patel tried to keep the runs coming at the other end but in the 47th over he ran out Ash Patel and Tim Slade became Adam Lowe’s 2nd victim off the deserving Nabil Akhtar. Hitesh promptly gave Morgans his fourth wicket when he missed a straight one on 23 and Warlingham had subsided to 185-8 having looked likely to make in excess of 230 only ten overs earlier. Dan Chrystie, with some classy cover drives, and Ricky Patel, with a couple of off-zips for four, stopped the rot as they reached 16 apiece enabling Shane Patel to make a positive declaration on 219 after 5 balls of the 52nd over. Morgans took 4-50 and Akhtar 1-56 from 17 overs
After the early loss of Morris, Contractor and Salam Abdul soon had Hamptonians ahead of the asking rate and as they calmly set about building a big partnership, the declaration looked increasingly generous. Contractor’s 50 came up in only 49 balls and the 100 partnership in 128. Warlingham never looked like taking a wicket and found it difficult to slow run rate until Kiran Patel came on with his off-breaks, and it was he that eventually achieved the break-through, having Abdul stumped for 44. If there was a chink of light for the visitors, it didn’t last long as Hafeez Qurashi was soon into his stride. Contractor reached his match winning 100 from 114 balls and in the same over hit the winning run leaving Qurashi 36 not out as Hamptonians won by eight wickets with 15 balls to spare.
Warlingham 219-8, 51.5 overs; Old Hamptonians 220-2, 46.3 overs
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