Athar Khan-age as Twickenham return to winning ways

Twickenham    275-5   (P. Pannell 85, B. Parer 77, Samim Nasir 46, G. Borain 44no)

Osterley         224 a/o  (O. Butt 53, M. P. Suraweera 49, A. Khan 6-70, S. Watts 2-26)

Twickenham’s second string put last week’s poor performance at SKLP behind them to defeat top-of-the-table Osterley in an entertaining encounter on Twickenham Green.  Paul Pannell and Ben Parer batted well at the top of the innings whilst a quickfire 93 partnership (in 62 balls) from Garth Borain and Samim Nasir saw the hosts post an imposing 275.  Osterley wasted no time in going for the total, with Butt, Manoj Suraweera and Asad Shah all making good starts.  Ultimately, however, an inspired spell of bowling from Athar Khan and a nice bit of clean-up work from Steve Watts at the end saw Twickenham through to a well deserved 10 points.

With the Ts sitting 20 points behind Osterley in Division 1 of the Middlesex Championship, everyone at Twickenham realised that the encounter between the two sides on 31 July was a vital one.  If Twickenham were to win then their hopes of winning the title would be alive and well; if Twickenham were to lose then it was effectively season over.  Given the importance of the game, it probably wasn’t ideal that selecting the side again became something of a rollercoaster ride, with players coming and going like there was no tomorrow.  Eventually Twickenham took to the field with a side showing 7 changes from the week before; the mercurial voice of the North, Jon Trippett, made his seasonal debut behind the stumps (with Richie Brewin off in sunnier climes) whilst Steve Watts also made his first start for the twos in 2010.  Samim Nasir came in to face his former club, whilst Ben Parer, Athar Khan and Ryan Combrinck all returned to the front line. 

As ever on Twickenham Green the track looked pretty flat, and the Ts skipper, Dan Hough, was not unduly perturbed to be asked to bat first.  Why not make a bit of hay whilst the sun shone?  Osterley’s opening attack of Asad Shah (who took 6 wickets in the game at Tentelow Lane earlier in the year) and overseas player Waqas Khan clearly had other ideas.  After 5 overs the Ts had not managed to register a single run, and the unfortunate Steve Watts was back in the shack having feathered one behind.  Things did, however, improve.  Parer and Paul ‘The Panther’ Pannell watched the swinging ball carefully, and sensibly did nothing rash.  They knew that batting would gradually get easier and the runs would come.  Once ‘Scorebook-gate mark 2’ (see last week’s report from the SKLP game for the first chapter of this – suffice to say that Dan Hough just cocked it up this time!) was sorted out in the 6^th over, the Ts moved forward at a rate of knots. 1-1 off 6 became 19-1 off 10 and then 46-1 off 15. 

Both batters were putting the Osterley fielders under pressure and already the cracks were beginning to show.  Parer was pulling well and glancing the ball nicely off his legs, whilst Pannell was elegantly knocking the ball in to the gaps.  Seasoned followers of Twickenham CC would recognise distinct similarities between Pannell and the now emigrated Al Storey; elegance of poise, good timing and sprightly running between the wickets. 

It wasn’t long before both batters cruised passed their respective half century milestones, Parer in 69 balls and Pannell in 79, and it looked very much as if both were going to double those up in to hundreds.  Both were unfortunately to be denied, Parer being the first to go (77 in 91 balls), running himself out needlessly just as he was really purring with Pannell following soon after (85 in 116 balls) thumping a short ball straight into the grateful grasp of deep mid-wicket.  Their stand of 131 was the highest stand by any Twickenham pair this season and set the stage perfectly for a late order onslaught.

Second XI talisman Garth Borain was not slow to rise to the challenge and in Samim Nasir he found an able and willing partner.  Nasir, fresh from a decent knock in the thirds last week, is one of the few players who can keep up with Borain between the wickets and it didn’t take long for the score to rattle well past 200.  Indeed, Borain got off the mark with a straight six, although Nasir wasn’t prepared to be outdone, smacking Manoj Suraweera over mid wicket for another maximum.  With both batters more than happy to run quickly and dive extravagantly to make their ground, not even a stoppage in play on account of one of the Osterley players noticing that a traffic warden was slapping a parking ticket on his car could put Borain and Nasir off their stride.  The Ts were ultimately able to declare on an impressive 275, leaving Osterley 47 overs to chase the total down.

The tea was, as ever, a delightful affair.  Ying and Shuiying Lin had prepared a multitude of sandwiches, spring rolls, pizzas, fruit and cakes, and most players were more than happy to fill their boots.  Excellent work.

Once everyone had dragged themselves out of the tea room, Athar Khan wasted no time whatsoever in making his mark on the game.  Work commitments have kept Khan out of the Ts line-up for a few weeks, but it took him no time at all to find his range, the dangerous W. Khan having his off stump removed third ball of the innings.  0-1.  Athar Khan’s lively opening spell also caused the other opener, Murtaza, a few problems, whilst keeper-batsman Butt decided that attack was the best form of defence.  Butt was not the prettiest of players, but he could whack it – as Ryan Combrinck found when Butt hit four boundaries in four balls off him.  An open and frank exchange of views between the two subsequently kept everyone on their toes; suffice to say it’s unlikely that Combrinck and Butt will be exchanging Christmas cards …

Butt’s positive approach did plenty for the run rate with Osterley passing 50 in the 10^th over and it wasn’t long before he himself also passed 50 (in just 29 balls).  His innings was in danger of making a major dent in the Ts total, so it was with some relief that Hough managed to cling on to a real skier at mid off to give Athar Khan his second wicket of the day.  68-2 became 78-3 when Murtaza feathered one behind (n.b. respect due to Murtaza for walking) to give the ever-effusive Trippett his first taste of the action.  

Even though wickets were falling, the Ts knew from old that the wicket of number four, Suraweera, was the prize one.  Over the years he’s scored significant runs against the Ts, and when he began cutting and driving with aplomb it became clear that he was in for the long haul.  The left-handed number 5, Singh, looked less accomplished but he appeared willing (if not necessarily able) to give it some long handle when necessary.  Khan soon stopped any of that though, prompting a lazy drive to Hough to remove Singh for 3 (15 balls).  Number 6 Ahmed never really looked at home, and he duly became Athar Khan’s fifth wicket of the day when the big man from Multan bowled him all ends up.  Athar then completed his six wicket haul with a monumental caught and bowled as skipper K. Khan smacked the ball straight back to him; Athar made it look like he was taking candy from a baby.

Suraweera, however, kept going, and the Ts wouldn’t rest easy until he was removed.  Step up debutant Hass Muhammed to spin one of his delightful leggers past Suraweera for Jon Trippett to demolish the stumps and send the dangerman back to the shack stumped for 49 (in 32 balls).  That wasn’t quite the end of the story though, as opening bowler Asad showed that he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.  He played (and hit) pretty straight and he made sure that the run rate kept ticking along.  Indeed, he played shots all round the wicket and looked decidedly more competent with the willow than a few of the batters who’d preceded him.  Hough subsequently mixed the bowling up; Athar finished his marathon 16 over spell, and Benny Parer came on at the Hampton Road End, whilst Ryan Combrinck had another blast from the Staines Road End before Hough went back to spin the form of Steve Watts. 

And, it was the golden arm of Parer who was next to strike, bowling the dangerous Shah for the same score as Suraweera, 49 (in 34 balls this time).  With Asad gone the momentum was very much with the Ts; Osterley still needed 70 to win, whilst the hosts needed two wickets.  But nerves were still about, as a catch went down at long on and the unlucky Watts had a mightily close leg before shout turned down.  However, Watts kept chucking it up and he ultimately got his reward, with the number 9 hoiking a drive deep in to the offside; Garth Borain took a split-second to judge the ball before scurrying to his left and taking a fantastic diving catch to his left.  His mother, very recently arrived from SA and watching on the sidelines, was no doubt very proud!  And she had every right to be, it was a fantastic catch.

The Ts subsequently needed one more wicket to gain all ten points.  Overseas player Waqas Khan looked solid enough, whereas Parera appeared unsure whether to whack it or block it.  Indeed, several times he appeared to try and do both in the same shot.  Eventually the loopy leg spin of Watts proved too much of a temptation for him though as the number 11 took an almighty swipe at one.  Again, it was sliced high in to the off side, where Hough moved to his left to take his third catch of the day.  Ten points to Twickenham.

As is nearly always the way when these two sides meet, the match proved a high-scoring, high-tension affair.  Neither side was really interested in a draw and so played very cricket.  Osterley may have lost today, but the way that they play they’ll certainly win more than they lose.  Twickenham, particularly given the chopping and changing mid-week, can be really pleased with their day’s work.  Pannell, Parer, Borain and Nasir batted terrifically, and Athar Khan was inspirational with the ball.  Trippett was his usual enigmatic self behind the sticks, and all of the Ts fielders kept to their task admirably.  The next two weeks will see the Ts on their travels again, with visits to the bottom two, Turnham Green and Southall.  20 points very much the order of the day if the title challenge is to be maintained …