Saturday’s miserable weather wreaked havoc across the fixtures, with four of our five matches called off before 10:00am. The 1st XI, boosted by the debut of overseas signing Sameer, did manage to get underway against Wanstead, but only 23.3 overs were possible before the rain arrived. Unfortunately, the weather never relented, and both sides had to settle for six points.

Conditions were much kinder on Sunday as we welcomed Sharks Cricket Academy in the Conference Cup. After losing the toss and an early wicket with Les departing in the opening over, Sameer and Sam H steadied the innings with an excellent partnership of 71 for the second wicket. Both were eventually stumped, and when Dilly and Kian fell in quick succession – the former in somewhat controversial fashion – we found ourselves in trouble at 108-5.

Step forward Hanko and Gav. The pair combined superbly for an unbroken partnership of 123 to completely turn the game in our favour. Hanko needed 70 balls to reach his half-century before accelerating dramatically, bringing up his second fifty in just 23 deliveries. His 21st century for the club featured six fours and four sixes, while Gav provided the perfect support with a composed unbeaten 30 as we finished with what looked an above-par total given the conditions.

Sharks were expected to come out firing, but Gav quickly put paid to that idea, striking twice early on. Sam was equally impressive with the new ball, returning outstanding figures of 6-3-9-2, while Gav’s spell of 5-1-13-2 kept the pressure firmly on the visitors.

The chase never really gathered momentum, with only Choudhary (50) and Azam (33) offering sustained resistance. Youngsters Billy and Joe bowled with great discipline and deserved more reward for their efforts, while Sameer capped an impressive first weekend at the club by following up a superb direct-hit run out of Choudhary with his maiden wicket in club colours.

In the end, Sharks finished on 146-8, leaving us comfortable 85-run winners and booking our place in Round 3 of the Conference Cup.

Attention now turns to this week’s Round 3 draw, with details to follow as soon as they are announced.