LLOYD Belcher returned his Home Counties Premier League best figures of 6-45 as Horspath bounced back from last week's heavy Division 1 defeat by Great & Little Tew with a resounding 87-run victory at home to Burnham. The 18-year-old left-arm spinner produced a superb spell to send Burnham reeling to 154 all out after they had seen the hosts post 241-8 after putting them in to bat. Horspath's innings had been built around a well-constructed 69 by James Fitzjohn after opener Robbie Eason had made 46. Showing good control during his 16 overs, Belcher worked his way through the Burnham batting after paceman Ajmal Shahzad had made the breakthrough with the score on 17 when Fahad Raja fell to an excellent diving catch at square leg by Fitzjohn. Belcher made it 44-2 when he accepted a caught and bowled chance from captain Harveer Gandam, who had made 17. And without further addition to the score, opener Sajid Ali edged a delivery from Jamil Faruq to skipper Will Eason at first slip for 19. Burnham then lost the dangerous Aftab Khan, caught at mid-wicket off Belcher to make it 52-4. The visitors added 11 more runs before tea, but they were soon 69-5 after the break when Horspath's teenage spinner claimed his third victim with Karan Kumar caught at point by Shahzad. Raminder Singh and Sulaiman Javed took the score to 107, before the latter drove a delivery from Belcher in the air to mid-on where Tom Cosford took a good head-high catch. Three runs later, Rizwan Nadeem was yorked by Shahzad, and Belcher made it 122-8 when he trapped Singh lbw for 35. The young spinner completed his six-wicket haul by bowling Muhammad Haroon for 16 to leave Burnham 154-9. And Cosford clinched victory with his first ball when Imran Aslam was adjudged lbw for 24. Belcher's figures bettered his return of 6-51 against Reading three years ago, while Shahzad finished with 2-32 and Faruq 1-46. Earlier, Tom Coleman and Robbie Eason had put on 28 for Horspath's wicket, before the former was caught at first slip by Aftab Khan off left-arm seamer Haroon. Fitzjohn and Eason then took the score to 97 when the latter was adjudged lbw to left-arm spinner Farhaan Habib Khan for 46. Lunch arrived with Horspath, depleted by overseas star Rameez Raja being ruled out for the season after breaking a finger in three places last week, 108-2. And they lost Harrison Ward, who has just been selected to play for an England Invitational XI against India at Loughborough from July 20-21, for 11 after the break when he was given out lbw to Aftab Khan with the score on 122. Cosford chipped a catch to Aslam at mid-wicket off Haroon to make it 135-4, before Mark Jefferson was bowled by Farhaan Habib Khan for 14 to leave Horspath 157-5. Stephen Green joined Fitzjohn to take the score on to 214 when the latter's 143-ball innings, which had featured five fours, came to an end when he was caught at cow corner by the substitute fielder off Javed. Shahzad fell lbw attempting a reverse sweep off Aftab Khan to make it 220-7, and two runs later Green was caught at long on by Haroon off Javed, having provided timely acceleration to the innings with two sixes in a lively 37 from 38 balls. Faruq ensured the hosts finished with a flourish by blasting an unbeaten 18, including two sixes off the last over. The wickets were shared around with off-spinner Aftab Khan, who took 2-72 from 23 overs, the pick of the visitors' attack, supported by Javed (2-19), Farhaan Habib Khan (2-26) and Haroon (2-61). The victory moves Horspath up to fourth place in the table.
Posted by: Russ
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