Skipper Aly Vokes inserted Birkbeck in very wet conditions. Both openers were dismissed early, one LBW to Herkie Viljoen, the other caught on the boundary by Ashley Gray off Ryan Combrinck. T's nemesis Haider, and no.4 Babu then put on a well constructed partnership of 150, as the Ts bowlers and fielders struggled with the wet ball and constant drizzle. When Viljoen finally bowled Haider just short of his half century,no.5 Mohammed came in and preceded to dispatch the tired bowling to all parts, racing to a quickfire 50 before he was caught behind off Ashley Gray. The hosts declared on 249 for 4 off 49 overs, with Babu finishing on a chanceless 119 not out, leaving Twickenham 39 overs to bat.

Skipper Vokes gave himself license to play his shots, as the T's attempted to  attack the target. This was never going to be easy against Birkbeck's threatening attack of Irfan and especially Habib.

Vokes put any loose stuff away, including a straight drive for 6 back over Habibs head. But the bowler had the last laugh removing Vokes off stump for a well made 38.

By this time the T's had already lost Tom Platts, caught behind. And when Ashley Gray and Dave Barton went cheaply soon after, all attention turned to survival.

Habib preceded to rip through the T's order, and despite spirited response from Stuart Amos and Matt Bendelow, they sat staring defeat in the face on 88 for 9 with a full 8 overs left.

Paul Johnson and Ryan Combrinck then showed great resilience to stand up to all that Birkbeck and Habib could throw at them, producing an unlikely rescue act in atrocious light, to earn the T's a draw, finishing on 109 for 9.

Although outplayed in this game, this result could prove vital come the end of the season. We had a bad day at the office, and Birkbeck showed that they will undoubtedly be challenging at the top, so to deprive them of 30 points when they should have had them in the bag felt like a moral victory.

Onto North London next week, with much improvement anticipated.