Burnham beat Sulhamstead & Ufton by three wickets despite a few 'hiccups'

Mishen Silva

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Burnham moved to within a point of leaders Sonning after Saturday's three wicket win at Sulhamstead & Ufton, however, the afternoon was not without its 'hiccups' according to captain Adnan Shabbir.

Burnham's abandoned game at home to Wokingham the previous weekend had enabled Sonning to escape away from them at the top of the TVL Division 2B table, however, Shabbir's side managed to reel them back in with a victory that was less commanding than the skipper felt it should have been.

Having bowled well to restrict their hosts to 166 from 45,3 overs, Burnham set about what should have been a relatively comfortable run chase, however, the condition of the pitch - and a few rash shots - saw them fall to 90-6 before Mishen Silva (48) and Shabbir (36no) managed to steady the ship with more disciplined batting. In the end, they got to their target with overs and wickets in hand, however, Shabbir knows they've got to put a 'higher price' on their wickets if they're to challenge for the title - and promotion back into Division 1.

Reflecting on the result, he said: “It was a good day, but not without its hiccups.

“Chasing 166 we kind of made it hard for ourselves.

“Especially when we were five down for 80-odd. But Mishen (Silva) has played an exceptional knock. I don’t want to take too much praise for myself, but being on the other side from him, we managed to cross the line and we needed those points because the gap to Sonning had grown to around 14 points.

“With Sonning losing last Saturday (a two-wicket defeat to Wokingham), that helped, and we’ve closed the gap now to one point.

“We’re happy so far with the way things are.”

Shabbir added: “The wicket is always difficult at Sulhamstead. The ball moves around a lot.

“Bowling first we could tell that anything over 150 wouldn’t be easy to chase.

“We wouldn’t be able to just smash it around and get those runs. Our innings proved that as we were two wickets down after two overs and it was a struggle all the way through. I’m just glad we got over the line. Batting has been a concern for the past few weeks, we’ve been four or five down chasing quite small totals.

“It’s something we’re trying to address and we’re working hard in our training sessions. Our mindset is to put a higher price on our wickets. If you have to play five maidens then that’s fine, we’re ok with that, rather than playing a rash shot and getting out.”

Shabbir says his side generally prefer the 50/50 format, when teams can't afford to be negative and play for a draw, as is sometimes the case in the timed, red ball matches. With that in mind, they'll aim to bowl first if the conditions allow as that will put the ball in their court and enable them to push for the victories they'll need to claim promotion.

“We’ve realised that playing at home if we get 250 runs, not many teams will, with a negative mindset, try and chase when the draw is in play,” he said. “We kind of like the 50/50 format because you know you are going to get a result. I think in this format we’re hoping to bowl first so we can force a result.

“For us, our target is to come out of Division 2 and go into Division 1. That’s the focus for us so the result is important for us in every game. For that, bowling first puts things in our hands.”

This Saturday, they'll host newly promoted Aldershot at the Memorial Ground looking to register a sixth league win of the summer.

Shabbir added: “They came up last year, so we’ve not played against them before. We are going to host them. It’s going to be nice and hot again so we’re looking forward to it.”