3s grab first win

Off the back of a very disappointing loss to Headstone Manor last week, the 3s headed down the road to Winchmore Hill needing a win to get their season started.

After winning a third toss in a row, we chose to bat first on a good-looking wicket. After losing an early wicket, the Hill were reduced to 10 men as their opening bowl headed off to North Middlesex hospital with a suspected (later confirmed) broken finger, dropping a sharp chance off his own bowling. With a substitute fielder found, Will Hoyle (30) and James Quinlan (36) set about building a foundation for the rest of the innings. After putting on 65 for the second wicket, both lost their wickets with loose shots. 77-1 quickly became 144-8 as wickets tumbled at regular intervals and it looked as though we would let a good base slip. However, two youngsters - Jawad (30*) and Hanan (11*) - came together for the last five overs and put together a partnership of 44, allowing us to reach a respectable 188-8 from our 45 overs. This was the first time this season that we'd batted our full complement of overs.

Knowing we had a set a decent total, we headed out to field. The message was clear - don't get complacent like last week. Despite early wickets from Quinlan (10-1-33-2) and Imitiaz (6-1-17-1), it never felt like we built consistent pressure on the batsmen. Winchmore Hill were able to bat and score runs at a rate that meant that the win was never secure. With Waqas Sheikh (9-2-24-4) taking care of the middle order, things looked positive for us but the Hill still only needed 5 an over to win the game and still had 3 wickets in hand. A flourish from their lower order meant some nerves started to show but an excellent spell from Hanan (5-2-11-1) all but secured the victory for us.

A good win and a nice 10 points to get the season started but still work to be done.