Sahaan stars as Slough seal Home Counties Division 2 crown in style

Slough more than held their nerve on the final day of the season on Saturday to wrap up the Home Counties League Division 2 title and with-it promotion back to the top division, a place they feel is their more natural home.

Having lost in a rain-affected match to Gerrards Cross in their penultimate fixture, Nadeem Syed’s side still had work to do to ensure the title would be theirs, but they managed this with consummate and professional ease in Saturday’s 124-run home win over already relegated Falkland.

There were no final day jitters, or nervous glances at Play Cricket for updates from Wokingham’s clash with Gerrards Cross. Just a seamless display of batting and bowling, with Sahaan Sahaan at the heart of the action.

Sahaan scored 79 runs on a difficult pitch following the week’s rainfall as the hosts were bowled out for 299 in 49.5 overs. He then took 4-45 to restrict the visitors to just 175 all out to ensure the title would be Slough’s after a thrilling campaign which went to the wire.

Slough had looked the most likely title winners, but they were pushed all the way by the likes of Wokingham, who finished the season just nine points adrift of the champions. And credit to them they also won their final day clash with Cross by 44 runs.

Syed said: “The team played really well in the final game. We didn’t take it lightly even though we were almost promoted.

“All the teams have been good in this league, so we had to play well to get over the line. We batted well on not a great wicket because of all the rain we had in the week. That showed, but still the boys applied themselves, got a good score and then bowled well to defend the target. I’m really pleased with how the season has gone for us.

“It was important for us to win and finish top as we’d put in a lot of hard work.”

On Sahaan’s final day contribution with the ball and bat - and influence over the course of the season, Syed added: “He’s been fantastic for us throughout the season. He is an allrounder.

“He was very good in this game but throughout the season he’s put his hand up and contributed really well with batting and bowling.

“On Saturday he was exceptional, to score that many runs on that track with that strike rate. He then came on to take crucial wickets when their opening partnership was going really well. He was invaluable for us as a team.”

While Slough were promoted in style off the back of a big victory against Falkland, it’s been a great summer for the club in general with five of their seven senior teams claiming promotion.

Syed feels Home Counties Division 1 is Slough’s natural home and he’s quietly confident they’ll do more than simply consolidate next season; however, he’s warned they’ll have to work hard over the close season to be ready for the challenges ahead of them.

“There were a couple of blips, but we competed well in all of the games this season,” he said.

“It was a combined team effort, we didn’t rely on a couple of individuals to win us the league, It was a proper team effort. All the main bowlers have shared the wickets and there were three or four different batsmen who scored 400-500 runs.

“As a club captain I can’t be happier, because out of seven club teams this season, five of them have been promoted. It’s a very good result for us. The club as a whole is doing well. We don’t want the first team doing well and the others being left behind, so it’s good. There are a lot of young colts playing well so the future also looks very bright for us. We want to give the colts an opportunity to come through the ranks.

“I’m quietly confident in the team. It’s definitely a step up. We’ve played that level, so we know what’s required. We’ll need to prepare well over the winter; you can’t just turn up and expect things to happen.

“It will be a good experience for the boys who haven’t played at that level, but equally we have a lot of other boys who have played at that level or an even higher level. It’s a good competition and the key lies in us training very hard over the winter to be ready for the season.”