Shenfield CC U16 v Harold Wood CC U16
U16 Trevor Bailey Matchplay Tournament, Final
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Friday 18 August 2023, 12:00pm start
Team News:
Shenfield: Theo Robinson (wk), George Morgan, Jake Sedgeley, Joe Radford, Daniel Green (c), Sam Bear, Nathan Killilea, Johnny Pilgrim, Ben Holland, Jonah Hearn, Jamie Kirby, Oliver Cockerell
Harold Wood: Freddie Sheehan, Aayush Baluja, Eesa Faheem (c), Umar Shafi, Qasim Farooq, Saad Ali Baryar, Hrithik Gosain, Aditya Singh, Christian Edinburgh, Saboor Ul Haq, David North (wk), Douglas Drew
Match Details:
Umpires: Andy Mayes & Euan Deans
Scorers: Hugh Henry & George Jones
Toss: Harold Wood won the toss and opted to field first
Result: Harold Wood won by five wickets
Scorecard: View Here
Match Report:
Half-centuries from Freddie Sheehan and Aayush Baluja steered Harold Wood to a five-wicket victory over Shenfield in the final of the Trevor Bailey Matchplay tournament at The Cloud County Ground.
Sheehan top-scored with 71 and shared in a third-wicket stand of 67 with Baluja, who made 56 from just 39 balls, as Harold Wood chased down their opponents’ 206 all out with more than eight overs to spare.
Shenfield’s target, posted after losing the toss and being inserted, had been underpinned by two half-centurions of their own, as Theo Robinson made 54 and Joe Radford hit 53, with the duo putting on 86 for the third wicket.
However, it was thanks to seamer Aditya Singh, who claimed 4/35, that Shenfield ended up dismissed, and despite leg-spinner Daniel Green’s efforts in taking 3/49, their score was ultimately overhauled.
Saad Ali Baryar had set the tone at the beginning of the match as he saw opener George Morgan miscue his left-arm seam to Sheehan at short extra cover for a second-ball duck.
Singh then took the first of his quartet in his first over, as Jake Sedgeley received one that moved away and nicked through to wicketkeeper David North for 17, leaving his side 38-2.
A recovery partnership did follow in the ensuing 14.3 overs between Robinson and Radford, with the former taking a driven quick single off Hrithik Gosain in the 17th over to bring up the 50 stand.
Four overs later, he then flicked Gosain through midwicket to post his individual half-century, in 72 deliveries, but he was removed not long after trying the same shot, this time caught by Baluja.
Captain Green followed shortly afterwards in near-identical fashion for just one, also caught by Baluja but this time off Umar Shafi, although Radford and Sam Bear halted any prospect of a collapse with a stand of 39.
Bear was run out at the non-striker’s end by Singh for 13 after attempting to come back for a second but being forced to turn around, but Nathan Killilea provided enough support to allow Radford to hit his fifty in 56 balls.
The milestone came in similar fashion to Robinson, manoeuvred over the leg side for four, but the next delivery, Killilea was bowled by Eesa Faheem for five, leaving Shenfield 182-6 and precipitating a clatter to end the innings.
Radford fell in the same way in the next over to become Singh’s second wicket, after which Johnny Pilgrim and Jonah Hearn were also bowled by the same man while both in single figures.
Shenfield did edge past 200 thanks to the unbeaten efforts of Ben Holland, who made seven, but their innings was ended when last man Jamie Kirby was run out for nought by a direct Baluja hit from the covers.
In response, Harold Wood began confidently, with a 77-run opening stand that included Baluja striking four fours inside the opening four overs, though he was forced to retire hurt shortly afterwards, with the score at 33-0.
Though he left the field accompanied by medics, he walked off of his own accord, and he was able to return just nine overs later following the fall of the second wicket.
In between, Sheehan benefitted from a Green wide to bring up the Harold Wood team fifty, and he then followed it up by dispatching the captain over midwicket for a maximum in his next over.
However, Shenfield fought back, and the first two Harold Wood wickets to fall both went the way of Green, as the spinner saw Faheem nick behind to Robinson for 14, before bowling Umar Shafi four balls later.
By this point, Baluja was fit to return, and he picked up where he had left off to swing the momentum back, following up another Sheehan six, this one straight down the ground, with four of his own through extra cover.
Sheehan’s next act was to drive four more through the same region to bring up the team hundred, and in the 19th over, he underlined his lynchpin status by hoisting his third maximum and posting a 64-ball fifty.
That brought the team total to 117-2, and when Baluja cut Radford away for four to reach an even swifter half-century, from just 36 deliveries, Harold Wood were cruising.
Bear put a slight dent in their hopes by removing Baluja in the next over, finding the edge and seeing Robinson take his second catch, though replacement Qasim Farooq kept up the boundaries and took his side past 150.
The removals of Sheehan, pinned lbw by Green, and Ali Baryar, caught by the skipper off Jamie Kirby, offered a slight chink of light to Shenfield, but it was likely a little too late by that point with only 33 needed to win.
Victory was then completed in confident fashion as Farooq, who finished unbeaten on 40 from 35 balls, partnered up with Gosain and struck the winning four over the covers to see Harold Wood safely home.
