North Enfield lost out in two entertaining friendly matches across the weekend, as they made the most of the sweltering September sunshine.
On Saturday, it was no surprise that North Enfield were asked to field by the Enfield captain on a blistering afternoon. Enfield got off to a fast start on a belter of a wicket, with the rapid outfield and humid conditions making for a long day in the field for the visitors. At 54 - 0, Enfield were motoring along; however - two quick wickets from Adam Jessop checked the hosts’ progress. Unfortunately for North Enfield, they were made to pay for dropped catches as a third wicket partnership of 64 saw both batters pass 50 and the run rate accelerate. Despite captain Chris Gillman running out one set batter and the other being bowled by David Malleson, Enfield continued to push towards an imposing total. Hannah Gilmore and Ishan Tilakaratna shared three wickets between them, but some lower order hitting saw Enfield amass a mammoth 263 for 7 from their 40 overs.
After 40 long overs in the heat, the home faithful expected the visitors to wilt in the second innings, only for the visistors’ answer to the attacking ‘Bazball’ approach of the England men’s test team to flourish in the evening sun. The positive nature of their ‘Gillmanball’ approach saw North Enfield race out of the blocks, with William Munt and Daniel Vanniasingham making the most of some wayward early bowling. Both passed 50 as they shared a 121-run first wicket partnership, before being dismissed for 57 and 52 respectively, shortly after reaching their milestones. The arrival of Gillman (46) and Garry Orton (18) to the crease saw North Enfield continue their positive approach as they pushed for an unlikely victory. With just over 50 runs required from 5 overs and the dangerous Tilakaratna at the crease, the raucous home crowd were starting to worry and the small contingent of travelling supporters started to believe, but in the end North Enfield fell just short, posting a respectable 244 for 7, as they fell 19 runs short in the 456 derby.
Elsewhere, North Enfield succumbed to a six-wicket defeat against Fives on Sunday. Tom Coughlan’s unbeaten fifty helped North Enfield to post a target of 170, but Fives chased it down despite two wickets for Sam MacMurdie and a wicket apiece for Malleson and Tilakaratna.
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