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Camden New Journal - by STEVE BARNETT
Published: 5 June 2008

The Highgate team that drew with Barnet in the Third Division of the Middlesex County Cricket League

Highgate draw on the positives

Skipper rues missed opportunity as wet weather makes runs tricky at Barnet

HIGHGATE slipped to second in the table on Saturday after they were held to a draw at Barnet in the Third Division of the Middlesex County Cricket League.
Skipper Dave Benton lost the toss and Highgate were put in to bat on a very wet pitch.
Early scoring proved difficult for the visitors as Jake Sharland, James Warburton and Graeme Jenkins all fell early to leave Highgate struggling on just six runs with the loss of their first three wickets.
Benton’s time at the crease was just as brief as he added six more runs to the score before surrendering his wicket.
A vital partnership between Zach Curtis and Craig Gourlay gave Highgate a glimmer of hope as the pair battled hard against the tough conditions to take the score past the 100 mark. Curtis was caught and bowled shortly afterwards for a gritty 39, leaving Gourlay to continue the recovery alongside Nicholas Brunner.
Gourlay eventually went just four runs short of his half-century, while Brunner managed a patient 37 before the end of his brief, but resilient innings.
Matt Holly bolstered the score with 28 not out, helping Highgate reach a final score of 184-9 declared after 54 overs.
With 46 overs to bat, Barnet started their chase in imposing fashion. But Syed Karrar came into the Highgate attack and made an early breakthrough on 36.
Phil Brown was more frugal in his approach and got his first scalp of the season thanks to Karrar’s sharp hands at slip, before taking his second shortly after when a short ball was hit straight to Holly at mid-off.
Benton brought Gourlay on and he struck almost immediately to leave the game evenly poised. The ever-impressive Karrar went on to finish the afternoon with 5-46 off 20 overs. But Highgate just missed out on victory as Barnet held out to finish on 160-9, claiming four points courtesy of a faster run-rate.
Captain Benton said: “This was a disappointing end to a close-fought match. We did really well to set a good total after a poor start, and felt we always had a chance as long as we kept taking wickets.
“A couple of decisions went against us, but we still should have been able to finish Barnet off.”
In Division One, Hampstead moved up to second place with a 60-run victory over Eastcote. In a low-scoring contest, Hampstead only managed to build a total of 151 off just under 58 overs before the fall of their final wicket.
Shaun Levy and Brandon Buckley were the pick of the batsman with scores of 33 and 30 respectively.
Eastcote were restricted to just 91 runs in reply, with Zac Khan claiming 5-46 and Dexter Thomas finishing with figures of 3-30.
In Division Two, South Hampstead sealed their second win of the season with a narrow 20-run win over Wembley.
Tim McMahon recorded a valuable knock of 43 as South Hampstead struggled to 118 all out. Against the odds, South Hampstead went on to seal the victory as Wembley managed just 98 runs in reply.

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