No doubt Saturdays game will go down as one of the best (if not the best) game I have ever played in, as the 1XI won by 4 wickets against Highgate Cricket Club. Here's my take on the greatest chase I've ever been apart of...

Right, I know what you're all thinking. How on God's green earth were 783 runs scored on Saturday?! A great batting deck? Small boundaries? Bad bowling and fielding? If I'm being honest, it was probably a combination of them all. Having donned the gloves in the first 45 overs, I had the best seat in the house and got to witness one of the most entertaining batting displays made by an opposing team at the Alan Digby Ground... but it's safe to say I had no idea what was to follow.

Now Kenton's wickets are notoriously known for being low and slow. With the weather we've had in the last few weeks, I was expecting nothing else. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised when we were greeted with a deck that was glistening in all it's glory. Flat. Hard. A batting paradise. The surprises didn't stop there. Skipper Kalps had just won the toss, and opted to bowl first. I scampered to get my whites on, slapped on some sun cream and we were ready to go. There I was thinking I'd spend the early afternoon in a pair of shorts and flip flops watching the boys take willow to leather; Instead I witnessed our bowlers being dispatched to all parts of the ground. The Highgate openers (who were actually playing their first league game of the season) very quickly understood the ball was coming on to the bat, and anything that was an inch of a perfect delivery flew to the boundary, taking them to 20 odd runs in no time. Dylan managed to break through after a flurry of boundaries, and we were able to reduce Highgate to 40-2. Huddles after wickets are normally filled with a chuckle or two, but there was some tension in the air and I sensed there was a long day ahead.

Flat deck. Small boundaries. Guaranteed runs if you have two solid batsman at the crease, and guess what, Highgate did. Danny Blyghton & Saliya Saman. Danny & Saliya's innings complemented each others beautifully. Saliya the aggressor, taking on the short boundaries our ground had to offer, whilst Danny nudged, nurdled and punished any loose deliveries. Saliya in particular, taking the attack to our spinners, and smashing sixes effortlessly, as he compiled a classy knock of 170 runs off 106 balls. The pair combined for a mammoth 265-run partnership taking Highgate pass the 300-run mark with 10 or so overs remaining, before Saman was ousted, followed shortly by Blyghton on 99. Okay, we’ve got rid of the set bats, phew. Now all we need to do is hold our nerve and keep the oppo to 6’s and 7’s for the remaining overs. It's fair to say Benjamin Donkers had other plans. He smacked, walloped and bludgeoned the ball to all parts of the ground, including a massive 110 metre six which cleared the houses of Kenton Park Road. Apart from the stumping I got in the final few overs, I hadn’t touched the ball in about 20 overs. It was absolute carnage. Our bowlers weren’t bowling their best, but the batting was magnificent to watch. Highgate eventually ended their 45 overs on 390 for the loss of 5 wickets.

Now you can imagine we weren’t exactly thrilled for getting pumped for just shy of 400 runs in the first innings, but we never lost hope. Having played at Kenton for a fair few years, we knew all it took was for someone to get set. Although 390 would be a great feat for an individual, if we all played our part we’d get close or maybe even win. We didn’t need to go all guns blazing from ball one, but we had to play our shots and this deck certainly allowed for it. Teas done, out we went in search of the biggest run chase in the MCCL ever…

Hamza and Schops led the charge from the front, and my god was it one of the best opening partnerships I had ever witnessed. Anything and everything was getting dispatched to all corners of the ground. Balls were getting hit into the tennis courts, into the gardens and even onto the surrounding roads of the ground. We were going at 10s, 15s and 20s within the powerplay, and the pair managed to compile a 100-run partnership within the first 7-8 overs of our innings. At this point, they were seeing the ball like a volleyball, and they continued to muscle the ball all over, and it really looked like they were going to score 391 themselves! Sadly, their 193-run opening partnership came to a sudden end as the injured Schops’s chipped one to extra cover’s hands to be dismissed just shy of his century, finishing on a stellar 95 runs off 37 balls @ 256.76. Hamza shortly followed as he mistimed one to the fielder on the off-side boundary, concluding his day on 84 runs off 53 balls.

Now the openers had done their jobs and some. The required run rate went from 8s, down to 6s with us needing 190 runs off 32 overs or so. Skipper Kalps was adamant not to let the openers work go to waste. He anchored the innings with a conservative knock of 33 runs off 56 balls, but it was the hard-hitting Owen who really took it to Highgate's bowling faction. Owen charged the spinners, and smashed anything in his half for six as he marshalled a blistering 89 runs off 64 balls, striking at 139.06. The pair complimented each other beautifully, and managed to combine for a much needed partnership of 125 runs, before they were both dismissed in quick succession. The wickets came at the right time for Highgate, and even though we had the experience of Akshay Powale and Imran Qayyum to come, there was a touch of nervousness in the air. Highgate weren't going to go down without a fight. A couple of good overs from Highgate’s bowlers and the run rate shot back up to 8’s. This is when you could actually SEE the nerves. O’s was sat on the tractor biting his nails harder than ever, Kalps was pacing up and down the boundary, and Anand, well he went quiet. The last thing we wanted to do was come close. We wanted this win.

And up stepped Immy. Having played arguably one of the highest standards by a Kenton CC player, his experience came to the forefront. He took the attack to the bowlers by carting everything in his arc and quickly progressed to 40 runs off 20 balls. His innings really taking the wind out of Highgate's sails and edging us closer to victory before both himself and Akshay were dismissed. It was left to me and Asif to knock off the winning runs, and boy if you need a cool, calm and collected head to finish the game, you definitely DO NOT ask me to go win the game for you. I was nervous as hell. I couldn't feel my legs and I was gripping my bat handle harder than ever, because I knew we were on the verge of one of the best chases in Kenton CC history. Luckily, Asif was at the other end and he ran down the track and pumped one for six and that's all she wrote.

We did it. The highest chase in the Middlesex County Cricket League, EVER.

SCORECARD & HIGHLIGHTS HERE!