St Margarets Cricket Club, Ipswich

Ipswich Knights claim convincing victory over St Margaret's CC

St Margaret's CC suffered a 126-run defeat to Ipswich Knights in a 25-over contest at Ransomes Sports Pavilion on 5 July. Despite a memorable senior debut for 14-year-old Henry Squirrell, the visitors proved too strong with both bat and ball.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Ipswich Knights made a positive start through Ashraf Ahmed, who struck 28 from just 17 deliveries before being caught and bowled by Yogesh Tyagi. Mumin Shihab added 19, while Tayef Ahmed anchored the innings with a well-crafted 39 from 36 balls, hitting five boundaries as he guided the visitors through the middle overs.

Useful contributions continued throughout the order, with Rashed Ahmed making 23, Numan Ahmed adding a quickfire 16 and Muminul Islam Rony finishing unbeaten on 19 from just 10 balls. Abu Rahim's late 13 also helped lift the total to an imposing 219 for 7 from the allotted 25 overs.

St Margaret's bowlers shared the wickets, with Yogesh Tyagi and Rayees Ahmad Parray claiming two apiece, while Arif Ahmad, Adam Crispe and Daniel Madzima each picked up one wicket. However, 50 extras, including 36 wides, proved costly and significantly boosted the Knights' total.

Chasing 220, St Margaret's found themselves under pressure almost immediately. Daniel Madzima struck two early boundaries before falling for 9, while Anshul Pratap Singh and Nathan Oakley were dismissed cheaply as the innings slipped to 19 for 3.

Lloyd Debenham battled for 13 before an unfortunate hit wicket dismissal, and although Yogesh Tyagi briefly counter-attacked with a brisk 9, the home side continued to lose wickets at regular intervals against a disciplined Ipswich Knights attack.

One of the brightest moments of the afternoon came with the senior debut of 14-year-old Henry Squirrell. Displaying composure beyond his years, the youngster remained at the crease for 30 deliveries to score a patient 14, showing determination and resilience despite wickets falling around him. His innings was a positive takeaway from a difficult afternoon for St Margaret's.

Shoaib Wangde provided the late resistance, finishing unbeaten on 20 from 17 balls with four boundaries, but St Margaret's were eventually dismissed for 93 in 22.2 overs.

The Knights' bowling effort was impressive throughout. Md Sadik Ali and Shuaib Ahmed each claimed two early wickets, while Ashraf Ahmed and Alamgir Hussain also finished with two apiece. Mumin Shihab wrapped up the innings with outstanding figures of 2 for 0 from just 1.2 overs.

Although the result was a disappointing one for St Margaret's, there were positives to take, particularly the composed senior debut of Henry Squirrell. The side will also look to reduce the number of extras conceded, with the additional runs proving a significant factor in allowing Ipswich Knights to post a commanding total.

IPSCOL CC edge thrilling chase to defeat St Margarets CC by three wickets

St Margarets CC were edged out by three wickets in an entertaining 45-over contest against IPSCOL CC at Ransomes Sports Pavilion on 4 July, with the visitors successfully chasing 228 with seven balls to spare.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat, St Margarets made a solid start before regular wickets prevented them from building one dominant partnership. Matthew Smithbone (15), Charlie Dinmore (11) and Nesa Ganesh (17) all made starts, while Carl Fitch Jackson dug in for a solid 30, including a six, to keep the scoreboard moving.

The innings was anchored by Lloyd Debenham, who remained unbeaten and achieved his maiden first XI 50 with a composed 53*, holding the batting together through the middle and latter stages. He found valuable support from Eamon Drea, whose fluent 29 runs on debut added impetus, before Eran Peiris chipped in with a useful 19 late in the innings. St Margarets eventually closed on a competitive 227 for 7 from their 45 overs.

Extras also played a significant role, contributing 50 runs to the total, including 37 wides.

For IPSCOL, Rizwan Mohideen was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 51, while Kishor Kumar Sadhak produced an excellent economical spell of 2 for 24 from his nine overs. Mukesh Kumar also claimed a wicket as the visitors kept St Margarets from accelerating in the closing overs.

Needing 228 to win, IPSCOL's reply was built around several important contributions rather than one dominant innings. Sachin Devaiah gave the chase early momentum with 21 before Chirag Bhargava struck an impressive 50, finding the boundary ten times to put the visitors firmly on course.

St Margarets fought back impressively during the middle overs. Nesa Ganesh removed both openers before Eran Peiris produced an outstanding spell, taking 4 for 41 to leave IPSCOL seven wickets down and with work still to do. His spell included the key dismissals of Rizwan Mohideen, Abhi Nandan, Dheeraj Rathee and the dangerous Kishor Kumar Sadhak.

However, wicketkeeper Sridhar Munendramani held the innings together superbly with an unbeaten 55, calmly guiding the chase through the closing stages. He received crucial support from Kishor Kumar Sadhak, whose aggressive 48, featuring five fours and a six, swung the momentum back in IPSCOL's favour after the middle-order collapse. Mukesh Kumar then finished the job with an unbeaten 11 as IPSCOL reached 230 for 7 in 43.5 overs to seal victory with seven balls remaining.

Although St Margarets ultimately fell just short, there were plenty of positives to take from the performance. Debenham's unbeaten half-century and the excellent bowling efforts of Ganesh (3 for 34) and Eran Peiris (4 for 41) kept the contest alive throughout, but IPSCOL's lower-order resilience proved enough to secure a hard-fought three-wicket win.

Here are this weekend’s teams!

On the back of their convincing victory away at Kesgrave last week, Matty’s first team are looking to continue their momentum as they make the journey to the far side of Suffolk to play Mildenhall CC.

Meanwhile, with Mark away, former captain Lloyd will lead the second team as they look to maintain their unbeatable start in Division Nine West as they host Woolpit CC.

Good luck to everybody involved and fingers crossed for a 40 point weekend! 🤞🏼🏏 💚