Daniel Darlington
15/05/2024
Syed Bukhari scored 47 very useful runs in Slough’s win
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Slough captain Nadeem Syed felt his side held their nerve brilliantly in the closing overs of Saturday's tense and fluctuating one-wicket win over Amersham in Home Counties Division 2.
Chasing Amersham's total of 211-9 from 50 overs, the home side needed five more runs for victory off the final over with two of their more inexperienced players, Humza Ishaq, and Saatvik Bhagi, at the crease.
Any fault or mistake at that point could easily have been punished, with victory handed to the visitors, however, the pair pushed away singles and doubles like experienced pros with Ishaq finishing on 13 not out and Bhagi undefeated at the end on four.
It brought an end to an absorbing affair where the momentum fluctuated one way and then the other.
Slough thought they had a measure of control as Amersham were reduced to 117-7, thanks to excellent spells of bowling from the likes of Syed (3-21) and Ishaq (2-39).
However, the visitors were allowed to wriggle out of the hole they'd dug for themselves with Dan Colquhoun (39) and Uzair Amjaid (34) helping the tail wag furiously as their total crept past the 200 mark to 211-9.
Syed was still confident his side were capable of chasing as the teams got ready for the changeover, but that confidence ebbed and flowed throughout the innings. Umair Mushtaq scored a fine 55 to move the score onto 132-6, but more wickets fell to put the outcome back in the balance. Syed Bukhari then took the home side to the brink of victory with a crucial 47, however, it was left to the tailenders to finish the job, and Ishaq and Bhagi did themselves and the club proud when the pressure was on.
“It was a closely fought game,” he said. “Both teams were evenly matched, but we held our nerve in the end to get over the line.
“The game was in the balance throughout. It was an up and down kind of game, but we got over the line credit to a couple of the younger lads who saw it to the finish.
“There were some good performances. Umair (Muhtaq) who has joined the team this year. He batted extremely well, and Syed Bukhari played a pivotal innings of 47. They took it close to the victory and the two young lads held it together to finish it off.”
It was an opening day performance which blew hot and cold for the captain; however, it was their application - and sheer bloody-mindedness - that carried them to victory through some tense final overs.
“I wouldn’t say we were happy with how we bowled,” said Syed.
“We bowled reasonably well in the beginning and had them 120-7 or something like that. But we couldn’t close the innings.
“If we’d bowled slightly better in the latter part of the innings, we could have restricted them to 180 or 190 and that would have made a big difference. But I would have taken 210 all out.
“It was a similar pattern for them. We lost some early wickets but, in the middle, Umair held the innings together for us and then further down Syed helped get us over the line. It was a good game overall and I was pleased with how the team responded in a pressure situation. It was pleasing to get 20 points.”
On the vital contribution of his tailenders, Syed added: “Humza faced 20 odd deliveries and Saatvik batted for eight or nine deliveries.
“I think they had to get through the last two overs, and last over we needed four or five runs to win. But with nine wickets down, any faults and we would have fallen short and lost the game. But those two lads kept their cool under pressure, scoring those runs with singles and doubles. It was good.”
Slough visit newly promoted Stoke Green on Saturday for their first derby clash of the season.
Green will be desperate to get their first win - and their first points - on the board at this level after losing by five wickets to Bicester and North Oxford on Saturday.
Electing to bat on winning the toss, Gagan Singh's Stoke Green side had a checkered start with the bat, with Raheem Sher (4) and Kashif Abbasi (3) falling cheaply.
Only Vignesh Ramamoorthy (38) and Karanpreet Singh (15) displayed any discipline as the visitors slipped to 94-8, Najib Khan (30) and Zulfi Butt (20no) at least helped them past the century mark to 160-9 off 50 overs, but the hosts had little difficulty chasing after also having a stuttering start. However, from 55-5, captain Ryan Moore (52no) and Daniel Savin (49) saw them to victory by six wickets in seamless fashion.