Edgware win thriller in derby

The El-Classico, Federer v Nadal, United v Liverpool, just a handful of some of the greatest rivalries in Sport, but nothing comes close to the Edgware derby and this year was no exception. The last time Edgware and Belmont met was in 2017, with Edgware winning a closely fought contest by 4 wickets. A year on and both sides were chasing promotion in the Chess Valley League Division 5 and the heat between the two teams more than made up for the otherwise chilly and wet conditions at the ECG.

To the surprise of many, captain Ciaran Hosty flipped the coin correctly after hours of practicing in the pub the night beforehand and chose to bowl on a green and soft wicket. The decision appeared to be a correct one as the ball swung more than Ben Stokes on a night out in Bristol with the Belmont opening batsmen definitely struggling with the excessive movement. It wasn't a surprise therefore that Belmont and Edgware battled their way to 14-0 before collapsing to 49-7 as Rahul Kothari, Raj Parmar, Vidanda Galgamuwa and Jude Saverus gave a masterclass in bowling in English conditions. The key wicket of Adam Jacobs was taken by Raj Parmar who bowled an inswining yorker to remove the left hander who described the ball as the 'best he's played all year'

However, step up to the crease, Josh Reynolds, who shortly before had all but ended his dreams of working as a professional umpire after missing a clear caught behind off Rahul. The right hander sporting a Sri Lankan cap proceeded to smash any ball of length to all parts of the ground as he raced to 31 off 12 balls as Belmont passed 100. Deep Shah, fresh from his one year stint in Australia wasn't phased in the slightest and three balls into his over removed Mendel as Belmont fell to 103-9. Sajith Sriwickramasekaran then decided to turn his arm over and had no time for the shenanigans of Reynolds and removed his off stump to end the innings on 108 off 25.4 overs.

At the halfway stage, Edgware would have felt pretty confident knowing that victory was well within their reach. But in true Edgware style they had to make it difficult for themselves. Captain Ciaran Hosty lasted two balls before a ball from Eintracht ricocheted off his elbow and flicked the off stump to reduce Edgware to 4-1. Shuraj Vekaria and Nakul Jilka sparkled briefly before the prior was stumped for 14 after a short but entertaining innings. Things got worse for Edgware as they collapsed from 53-2 to 62-7 as Eintracht and Gerrard demolished off-stumps left, right and centre.

Edgware needed heroes and it was answered in the form of Rahul Kothari and Vidanda Galgamuwa, who worked hard to make things interesting, pushing Edgware to 87-7 before Rahul was caught at backward point by opening batsman Mayer for 13. Next in was Dean Verapeen, who had only taken to cricket three months prior to the game. Faced with a barrage of pace bowling, the Mauritian right hander faced up to the heat a la Michael Atherton against Allan Donald almost twenty years ago.

As the runs slowly reduced, the pressure became too much for some in the Edgware camp, particularly Nakul who retreated to a far away bench to contemplate life and sip on a cold beer. With 13 to win, Vidanda appeared to morph into Viv Richards as he picked a slower ball from Adam Jacobs and whipped it over mid wicket for 4 to bring the win within touching distance. Two balls later and Vidanda smashed (I mean literally smashed) a full toss from the Belmont skipper out of the ground for an enormous six and into the nearby river. The ball like Belmont's chances were sinking fast.

With just three to win, Reynolds bowled a leg side delivery to Dean Verapeen, who managed to get his pad to it and watched it race onwards the fine leg boundary. The winning runs sparked wild celebrations from the Edgware camp who stormed the pitch and congratulated their new found heroes.

The win cements Edgware's place atop the Chess Valley League Division 5 and more importantly secures their dominance and crown as the best cricket side in Edgware.