Scorecard

Cookham Dean Cricket Club Friendly 1st XI v Magdalen on Sun 02 May 2021 at 1.30pm
Cookham Dean Cricket Club Won by 68 runs

Match report Cookham Dean Friendly XI returned to action at Richett’s Field on Sunday with a comfortable 68 run win over Magdalen.

Going into the match, with 3 defeats out of 3, serious questions were already being asked of under fire captain Isaac Richardson, despite the early stage of the season. The board of selectors had clearly had a ‘back him or sack him’ type conversation, and against their better judgement they decided to indulge Richardson with an influx of First and Second Team regulars to bolster the ranks, including CDCC’s new recruit from the IPL, Samad Fallah. Despite this greatly improved batting line up, there were still those calling for Richardson to captain from behind the bar, to allow barman Frazer Finlan to take his rightful place in the side. Cookham lost the toss and were put into bat by the Magdalen skipper.

Jake Richardson was dismissed LBW for 4 early on, with his brother providing the trigger finger as umpire. Mettler (26) and Fallah (48) got the innings off to a fast start. Cookham kept up a lively pace through out the innings despite a steady stream of wickets. Cookham could have been dismissed far cheaper had it not been for a succession of very poor dropped chances from the ageing Magdalen side. With the innings threatening to falter at 136 for 5 at around the halfway stage, last weeks self-appointed man of the match Mike Maroudas (still fuming from his relegation down the order from opener to number 6) was joined by Cookham’s answer to Andrew Flintoff, James Le Fleming. They put on a quick-fire partnership before Le Fleming was dismissed for 50, through an uncharacteristically spectacular catch from a Magdalen fielder. Dave Brooks (18*) and Mark Pateman (9*) scrambled CDCC up to a more than respectable 229-8 off their 40 overs.

In response Magdalen got off to a decent start, being 41-0 off 8 overs, thanks in part to opening bowler Ralphs, clearly looking for an early season fitness boast, choosing to bowl 10-ball overs via a succession of wides. However, Ralphs soon found his rhythm picking up 3 quick wickets. Le Fleming, from the pavilion end, bowled a fast and accurate opening spell, which even one of the opposition batsmen conceded was ‘wasted at this level.’ Magdalen soon found themselves reeling at 74-4. Change bowlers Mark Pateman and Isaac Richardson, allowed the pressure to ease somewhat, but Magdalen still remained someway behind the rate at 110-4 off 23 overs.

Mike Maroudas then entered the attack, and produced an accurate spell of bowling to rip through the middle order, including bouncing out batsman Butt, a significant achievement given their relative heights. Dave Brooks took the catch at square leg despite appearing initially to be half asleep! Usual wicketkeeper, Shahzad Ashgar entered the attack from the other end, and soon ended any slim chance Magdalen had of chasing their target, dismissing their captain Khan for 41, via a barely believable one handed catch in the deep by Le Fleming. With the game drifting towards its inevitable conclusion, fast bowling bully, Le Fleming, entered the attack for his final over and managed to dislocate wicketkeeper Mettler’s finger and badly bruised the wrist of an opposition batsman. Ashgar finally finished the innings off, taking his 3rd wicket in the 40th over, to dismiss Magdalen for 161.

The result will lift some of the pressure off captain Richardson’s shoulders, although his dubious umpiring and decision to drop Maroudas down the order must still be questioned. Next up Cookham face a local derby at Marlow Park on Sunday.

Cookham Dean Cricket Club Friendly 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
10w 4b 2lb 
for 8 wickets
16
229		        
Rob Mettler lbw Smith 26 4 1
Jake Richardson lbw Hook 4 1
Samad Fallah ct Terry 48 7 1
Shahzad Asghar b Nabil 20 2 1
Ben Ralphs b Terry 10 1 2
Mike Maroudas b Smith 25 2
James le Fleming ct Khan 50 4 1 2
Dave Brooks Not Out  18 1
Mike Rosevear ct Smith 0
Mark Pateman Not Out  9
Isaac Richardson  

Magdalen Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Smith7.0042314.006.00
Hook8.0044144.005.50
Nabil4.0033133.008.25
Terry6.0228214.004.67
Sunny5.002400.004.80
John4.002100.005.25
Khan6.002700.004.50

Magdalen Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
15w 8b 5lb 
for 10 wickets
28
161 (39.4 overs)		     
S Maunders ct Le Flemming b Ralphs 16
K Tallent ct Mettler b Ralphs 16
S Channa lbw Le Fleming 1
I Khan ct Le Fleming b Asghar 41
P Rowlands lbw Ralphs 10
J Swain b Maroudas 14
N Butt ct Brooks b Maroudas 3
J Hook b Maroudas 10
A Whiteman ct Ralphs b Asghar 10
I Smith ct Ralphs b Asghar 8
T Beeks Not Out  5

Cookham Dean Cricket Club Friendly 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
James le Fleming8.04919.001.13
Ben Ralphs8.0152317.336.50
Mark Pateman5.003000.006.00
Isaac Richardson5.002100.004.20
Mike Maroudas6.011635.332.67
Shahzad Asghar7.412137.002.74