Cricket East

Huntingdonshire Indoor Cricket League winners Ufford Park CC played in the ECB Indoor National Club Championships County Play Offs at Eynsham on 17 February against Hook Norton CC (representing Oxfordshire).

The match was 12 overs a side match, bowlers limited to 3 overs a bowler and the usual rules on retiring at 25.

A great effort was put in by the Ufford Park players, but regrettably Hook Norton won the match by 3 wickets and move through to the Regional Finals Day at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 3 March.

Hook Norton won the toss and decided to bowl first. 28 runs were put on for the opening partnership between Andy Larkin and Joe Harrington, before Harrington was run out for 13. Muhammad Zahid Nadeem joined Larkin and 18 was put on before Nadeem was brilliantly caught one handed for 16. Larkin retired for the 8th time this season and has gone all season without being dismissed in Indoor cricket! He has scored a total of 232 runs this season for Ufford in the Huntingdonshire Indoor League and the County Final.

Other useful cameos were scored by the lower order, with partnerships of 31 and 23 before Larkin returned to bat again finishing unbeaten on 31.

In reply Ufford had the perfect start as the opening Hook Norton batsman was adjudged lbw from a Joe Harrington delivery. At the half way point Hook Norton were 51-1 from 6 overs, but soon after the other Hook Norton opener dragged on a turning ball from off spinner Sandeep Dahiya and a Joe Harrington direct hit run out reduced them to 80-3. However, the middle and lower order batsman for Hook Norton saw their side home without any more alarms to win by 3 wickets with 6 balls remaining.

Ufford Park 110-5 from 12 overs. Andy Larkin 31 not out (4x4), Zahid Nadeem 16 (1x4 and 2x6), Joe Harrington 13 (1x4). Hook Norton 112-3 from 11 overs. Joe Harrington 1-19.

Hook Norton will now play Worcestershire or Staffordshire on 3 March and are 2 wins away from reaching Lords on the 31 March.

Onwards and upwards for Ufford Park - they will be back in February 2020 representing Huntingdonshire at the ECB Indoor National Club Championships County Play Off 2020 Indoor County Final next February (as winners of this year's Huntingdonshire Indoor Cricket League).

Pictured: Back row left to right: Joe Harrington, Sandeep Dahiya and Andy Larkin,
front row left to right: Muhammad Zahid Nadeem, Jan Neville (Captain) and Jonathan Bigham