Blackheath CC continued their love affair with the National U13 Cup last Friday evening, when their annual journey to Maidstone for finals night resulted in another win.
Having seen off strong challenges from very competent Addington and St Lawrence teams en route to the Kent County final, the London club’s U13s went into the game with confidence.
Captain Calem Curreen won the toss and elected to set Sandwich CC a total. He and fellow opener Shahed Ali set about laying a solid foundation for the Club as they had done in previous rounds – a foundation made all the more important by the fact that Blackheath were still waiting on the arrival of 4 players who had been playing a London Schools final in White City all day! (a debt of thanks to Sandwich CC for their understanding and allowing a delayed start)
Calem and Shahed did not disappoint and when those 4 players joined their team mates at the boundary edge of the lower Mote CC pitch, Blackheath were rocketing along at around10 runs an over.
After Calem was smartly stumped by Sandwich’s Kent junior wicket keeper, Shahed soon followed him, retiring on 30 as is mandatory for the competition. His strong all-round stroke play highlighted him as the standout batter in this game and meant he was now averaging 82 in the competition.
Blackheath continued to set a feverish pace, but they were now also losing regular wickets. Tom Walsh, Jahed Miah, Mahi Mahfazul and Jamil Ahmed offered all too brief glimpses of their batting prowess as the Sandwich bowlers tidied up their lines and begun to peg Blackheath back.
Some important late order partnerships between Samsul Ahmed, Will Beaumont and Tom McLean meant Blackheath could push up past the hundred mark, but the Club’s final total of 111 all out was a little disappointing considering the platform they had had, and that they had turned down the opportunity to bat a further 5 overs.
Nonetheless, Blackheath’s brand of pressure cricket and talented array of bowling meant they were still confident of victory.
That confidence was rocked a little as the Sandwich reply started well. Despite Mahi Mahfazul removing one opener in his first over, the Sandwich top order were above the required rate and looking comfortable against the seam-up of Mahi, Shahed Ali and Tom Walsh who were struggling with their length a little.
On the introduction of Blackheath spin duo Jahed Miah and Shahrukh Khan, the Sandwich scoring rate soon plummeted, their batters looking decidedly less comfortable.
The miserly Jahed’s accurate slow left armers were pulling the game back in Blackheath’s favour and it was undoubtedly the pressure he was exerting that led to Tom Walsh picking up the mainstay of the Sandwich innings, smartly caught by Tom McLean at mid-off.
Jahed followed up his 4 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 13 runs with a smart direct hit run out from extra-cover but it was Sharukh Khan who now had his foot on the throat of Sandwich’s chase.
Whilst he was taking match winning figures of 5 wickets for 16 runs from his 4 overs, Samsul Ahmed was also quietly extinguishing any chance of a Sandwich victory with his remarkably accurate seamers.
The pressure he was creating became too much for the Sandwich number 11 who attempted a suicide single to Will Beaumont at point and was run out to close the Sandwich innings.
Jubilance ensued and the Blackheath U13s still managed to watch their U15 equivalents close out Chestfield in the top pitch final before Calem Curreen followed in the footsteps of Masud Ahmed (2009) and Daniel King (2008) in lifting the Kent U13 Cup.
Blackheath now travel to Kidmore End for a qualifying game against the Berkshire County winners, with hopes of progressing onto the South of England finals once again.
