Dashing Dhaliwal puts North London to the sword

North London II        183-8 (54 overs)      Pete Monar 53, Satwinder Dhaliwal 4-57

Twickenham II         186-4 (35.2 overs)   Satwinder Dhaliwal 79, Pete Monar 3-48

Twickenham’s second string took a huge leap forward in their quest to win the Middlesex Championship thanks largely to a dynamic performance from Satwinder Singh Dhaliwal at North London on 28^th August.  Dhaliwal claimed 4-57 off 14 before blasting the North London attack to kingdom come in a 55 ball 79.  North London’s coach/overseas player, Aussie Peter Monar, did his best to haul the hosts back in to the game, but Twickenham’s finisher-in-chief Steve Watts (29no) and the ebullient Athar Khan (27no) saw the hosts safely home and to a five point lead at the top of the table.

As ever when Twickenham take to the road, getting everyone to the ground in one piece and on time is a task on a par with Scott’s attempts to get to the Antarctic.  And Saturday 28^th August proved no exception.  Benny Parer’s SatNav took him from Guildford via Oxford Street to North London’s Shepherd’s Cot ground, and Richie Brewin made the trek over from Tunbridge Wells where he’d been at a wedding the day before.  With Tom Guy meeting Athar Khan in Hounslow, Garth Borain undergrounding it from Earlsfield and Jon Trippett diverting via a heaving Southall to pick up Sati Dhaliwal, the Ts side can’t have been far off covering every borough in London on their way to the game.

Once everyone (minus Parer, whose idiosyncratic SatNav did its worst, causing him to miss the first 15 minutes) did arrive, the Ts found themselves in the field.  As ever at North London the track was slow and low, and the hosts’ openers sensibly took their time – this was not going to be a 280 v 260 run feast, so playing yourself in made plenty of sense.  Richard Hall looked the more expansive of the two, although Duncan Fleming wasn’t scared to get the big booming drive out when the opportunity arose.  With last week’s opening attack of Combrinck (entertaining a visiting mother-in-law) and Mikey O’Brien (on first team duty), it was all change in terms of the Ts opening attack; Athar Khan started down the hill whilst Gaaarf Borain took the new cherry from the Highgate End.  And, it was Borain who struck first, Steve Watts clinging on to one at first slip to give the Ts’ fines-master (1-16 off 7) his first wicket of the league season. 

The early breakthrough didn’t stop skipper Dan Hough from rotating his bowlers, with Athar Khan changing ends and the now-arrived Parer coming on from the pavilion end.  Khan in particular looked a different bowler coming up the hill – an end he’d originally been talked out of having by his captain! – and it wasn’t long before he was causing the NL top order a few problems.  And, eventually he got his reward, Fleming (22) – who’d been a real thorn in the Ts side during the first game at the Green back in June – nicking one down the leg side to the Scunthope stopper, Jon Trippett.  Number 4 Asif Raza made his intentions clear from the start, boshing Khan for six over cow corner, but the introduction of Dhaliwal saw for him, Ben Parer taking an excellent catch coming in from long on.

Parer, now fielding at cover, remained very much in the game when number 5 Pete Monar came to the crease.  Parer and Monar may well both stem from Melbourne, but there was little chummy brotherliness shown between them.  It’s unlikely that Christmas cards will be exchanged in the future.  Monar looked to be positive against Dhaliwal, hitting him for a couple of crisp boundaries as well as a straight six, whilst zipping through for a number of quick singles.  With Jordan Malick looking very solid at the other end the North London innings was beginning to take some shape. 

But the return of Parer in to the bowling attack marked a pivotal point in the game; Malick’s patiently assembled 45 before he was trapped him leg before, and although NL skipper Al Hart looked in the mood for runs, he was soon deceived in the flight by Dhaliwal.  When Olly Grealy departed first ball for 0 and Monar was caught off his glove by Trippett, NL had slipped from 140-3 to 156-6.  Dhaliwal, meanwhile, was playing with all his toys; the doosra made an appearance, as did both the leggy and googly.  And he’s an off spinner by trade, remember!  No wonder that the NL lower order struggled against him.  With the wheels grinding to a halt, Hart opted to call his troops in after 54 overs with 183 on the board.

Both sides knew that 183 at North London is a competitive score, and they subsequently had plenty to ponder over during tea.  The home made cake went down a treat, as did the couscous (“so good they named it twice”, to quote Richie Saunders) and the various salad options.  Top notch, all good.

With the weather closing in a bit, the Ts were keen to get off to a brisk start.  ‘Brisk’, however, was understood as ‘outright whirlwind’ by Sati Dhaliwal, as he looked to bludgeon more or less everything that moved.  He played some high risk shots, as well as a few that looked like they belonged in the Picklescott 4^th XI of the Shropshire League, but he also played some majestic stuff.  Poor old Salman Ali, coming on first change from the Pavilion End, saw the first three balls of his spell disappear over the pavilion, whilst the old warhorse Jon Scantlebury could feel a bit unlucky to have ended up with 0-46 off 6 from his opening spell.  Particularly as Richard Hall managed to spill Dhaliwal off this bowling when the opener was still in single figures – had Hall held that, then things could have been very different.

The Ts’ not inconsequential travelling support (good to see Paul Cassidy come over from Woking, the Guy family make the trip over from Tonbridge – that’s pronounced ‘Tunbridge’, too by the way, as your scribe discovered whilst sitting on the NL veranda!), and Andy Sibley and Gerry Brennan brave the North Circular on Challenge Cup Final day) subsequently enjoyed watching Dhaliwal race to 50 in 41 balls and then on to 79 in 55 before he departed attempting a decidedly ridiculous reverse hit off Monar (who was bowling leggers from the Highgate end).  One point of note; a one stage early on Ben Parer was on 10 whilst Dhaliwal was on 7.  When Parer was first out for 15 (33 balls), the score was on 107 and Dhaliwal had moved leisurely on to 77!

The departure of the two openers did cause a bit of a flutter in the away dressing room, but Tom Guy – even if not at his most fluent – and Garth Borain nonetheless put on 20 to edge the visitors closer to their target.  However, their departures, and a smattering of rain, still left Twickenham with 52 to get.  Hough subsequently opted to juggle his order a bit, sending in the big hitting Athar Khan to get things over and done with quickly.  And, sure enough, the fact that Athar is fasting for Ramadan didn’t stop him bludgeoning, much as he did in 2009, the Ts to within touching distance.  Steve Watts remained a beacon of tranquillity at the other end, but an open and frank exchange of views with Monar proved the catalyst as he played two majestic cut shots to see the visitors home, Watts ending on 29 (38 balls) and Khan on 27 (23 balls).

With Osterley only managing a winning draw, the Ts rose to the top of the Middlesex Championship table for the first time this season.  Their destiny is now in their own hands, and a victory against Birkbeck on the Green next week will see the Ts pick up the title and much coveted promotion to the Middlesex County League.  A word of praise, as always, to North London though; there was plenty of banter out on the field, but, as ever, a pint was shared after what was an interesting game of cricket.  Best of luck to them in their final game of the season against MTSSC.