1st XI vs Shepherd's Bush

Saturday, 5th July 2003 - League

As the league season turns the corner and heads for the home straight it looks like North London are in a potential dogfight for second place, having crashed to their first defeat of the season on Saturday.
Having won the toss against league leaders Shepherds Bush, the Crouch End side elected to field on an increasingly humid day. Tom Wakeford led the charge and after poor start set into a rhythm that would last all day. The younger Wakeford brother bowled every over from one end, throughout the first half of the match bagging 8-88, from a monumentus 26 overs. The junior Wakeford worked tirelessly, constantly beating the bat, forcing miss-ques and generally pinning the opposition down and had it not been for two dropped catches might have picked up all ten. The Shepherds Bush batsmen swished and slapped for the most part of the innings ending with a purposefully ugly 196 all out off 53 overs. At half time the boys from Montennottee road believed that they had a chance.
What followed next was a display of genuinely classy swing bowling. North London failed to live with Bushes eclectic mix and soon found themselves in trouble. Only the ever-reliant Richard Swann could muster 40 as North London found themselves on the receiving end of a remarkable Bush performance. There weren’t many bad shots in the ten wickets to fall only some fine swing bowling, in admittedly oppressive conditions. The brother’s Wakeford held a valiant last stand but in truth the game was up. When Ben Wakeford was caught fending off a bouncer the Away side had only amassed paltry 91.
North London are still in second place and must dust themselves down before mounting then challenge of the second half.

report by: P Mills, esq.