Match Report

Saturday 26 September 2009, at Short Lane, Ashford - Lost by 126 runs (Ref. 200929)

A controversial umpiring decision in each innings, both of which went against 10-man Wealdstone Corinthians, probably did not affect the result of this one-sided limited overs match but did contribute towards their biggest margin of defeat for four years. Opener Chris Evans built a solid platform in the first 25 overs with two partnerships that topped 50, before Ashford lashed 94 runs from their last 10 overs. Evans was stumped off Chris Clark, who then appeared to have Ford caught at cover off a chest high full toss, but it was harshly called "no ball" and the left-hander also went on to make 50 before being stumped. Jameel Shah and Steve Brown bowled well for the visitors, whilst Raj Meswani picked up three wickets when eventually brought into the attack. For Ashford, Berressem and Wilson dismissed the top four inside 6 overs to leave the result in little doubt, another example of limited overs producing less challenging and interesting cricket when sides are mismatched. The one hope of a revival was dashed when Akhtar Khan was given out caught and bowled by Gaurav, having just hit 6 of the first 7 balls he faced from the bowler for four. The whirr of the bat, a puff of dust and a hint of bump ball was not enough to persuade the umpires to give the batsman the benefit of the doubt, and Corinthians soon went down to their heaviest defeat since a depleted side lost the battle of Bourne End by 146 runs in 2005.

Ashford 213-6 (35 overs), Raj Meswani 3-30, J Shah 1-16, C Clark 1-33, A Khan 1-45, C Evans 69, R Ford 55

Ashford chose to bat first in this 35-overs contest and lent the visitors a fielder for most of the innings to cover the late arrival after work of Dharmik Shah, who didn't exactly fly to the venue south of Heathrow. Akhtar Khan bowled the first over but was replaced after both openers hit him for 4 in his third over and Steve Brown took over with a tight spell. The breakthrough came in the 14th over when Jameel Shah, who only conceded seven scoring shots in his 7 overs, removed White LBW with an inswinger. The right-hander could have been given out in the

Corinthians 87 (20.1 overs), A Khan 27 (13 balls), J Shah 23 (25 balls)

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