1stXI Match Report: Blackheath v. Beckenham (League)
On a cool, cloudy day, Beckenham made the short trip to the historic Rectory Field for the first Kent Premier fixture of the season against one of its very oldest fixtures, Blackheath. Fielding a side with several newcomers from last year’s relegation struggle, hopes were high for a good start to the 2022 campaign.
Skipper Alex Senn won the toss against his old club and, with some dampness in the air, decided to field first to give the new-look seam attack a chance to display their credentials. Junaid Nadir opened up and immediately homed in on the correct line that he bowled before his brief spell away from Foxgrove. With David Moody hitting an ‘English’ length allied to his pace and height, life was not easy for ‘Heath openers Hersh and Ujoodia. It was the dangerous Hersh who fell first, Nadir latching on to a low return catch. The arrival of the experienced Tanweer Sikandar brought an increase in run rate before change bowler Harri Aravinthan dismissed Ujoodia to a regulation catch for James Balmforth. Enter last season’s Player of the Season, Johan Malcolm, in place of Moody and he almost immediately started to dismantle the home batting. Willis and Sikandar both fell to excellent catches by Rob Clements and home skipper Charlie-Sid Speller was stumped having been drawn a long way down by the wily former Danish international. Meanwhile, the ‘Heath overseas pro Brendon Louw was looking both stylish and dangerous until the return of Moody whose extra pace and bounce produced a stinging catch for Malcolm in the slips. The Western Australian paceman quickly followed that up with having Mahfuzul touching behind to leave the home side in real trouble at 91-7. Jahid Ahmed, in Beckenham colours last year, sparked a something of a revival but was visibly shaken by a snorter from Moody that flew off a length. Isaiah Elie then joined the attack and dismissed Jhurani before Birdi helped Ahmed add a crucial 35 until Nadir returned to remove Ahmed and then Malcolm wrapped up the innings on 141. This had been a tremendous performance by a much stronger Beckenham attack also boasting the return of Adam Senn, backed up by excellent fielding.
The Beckenham reply got off to a good start with Alex Senn continuing in the good form he’s been showing this season. Mahi Mahfuzul had other ideas though as his medium pace bowled the Beckenham skipper in his first over and then Ahmed struck twice in two balls to remove Nick Rigg and Harri Aravinthan to leave Beckenham rocking on 18-3. Last season’s leading run-scorers James Fear and Johan Malcolm then combined with some excellent strokeplay to bring the innings back on track but, just when looking well set, Malcolm was pinned in front by Sikandar for 13. Fear continued to dominate the bowling with powerful drives and found a splendid partner in Moody who dropped anchor and merely kept the scoreboard ticking over as Fear reached a fine fifty in 62 balls. With the visitors now back in the driving seat with wickets in hand and 14 required, tragedy struck with the return of Mahfuzul whose slow long-hop was top-edged by Fear who departed for a magnificent 72. Adam Senn was out first ball to leave the visitors perilous on 129-7 and, with Moody (20) tragically run out when he would surely have shepherded Beckenham, pressure told on the tail which succumbed to Bhuiyan to leave Beckenham beaten by the narrowest of margins in a game they really should have won. With three ‘Primaries’ in the side, all the batsmen must work to find their form in order to back up what looks like an excellent bowling attack.
Scorecard: https://beckenham.play-cricket.com/website/results/5093753 (External site)