Hosty confident of cup success against Watford Town
If anything is synonymous with the start of the Edgware CC cricket season, it's the early season fixture against Watford Town at the beautiful Woodside ground.
For those blissfully unaware of Edgware's history, this fixture marks the fifth anniversary of Edgware CC's first ever game which took place against Watford Town in July 2015. In a game that ebbed and flowed and switched from pure anxiety to pure adulation with every passing ball, Edgware walked away winners as Sajith Sriwickramasekaran hit the penultimate ball for 6.
In the years that have passed, the fixture and the rivalry has continued to grow. In 2016, Edgware beat Watford Town again as they successfully defended 152 to win the fixture by 30 runs. However in 2017, Edgware would taste defeat for the first time against their neighbours just north of the border, as they capitulated to a 63 run loss. And since that fateful day, the two have not met. The 2018 fixture was abandoned before it could begin as heavy April rain wrote off the early season weekends.
Looking ahead to 2019 though, the Edgware captain, Ciaran Hosty, who made his debut against Watford in 2015 is confident of a victory. "It's amazing to see how far we've come and Watford is always a reminder of that. We turned up to that first game with a team of 11 guys, most of which had never played cricket together before and some of which hadn't played a game in over 5 years, myself included. The way we've grown as a side since, not just in our abilities but as people and as characters is a real credit to the club and I'm confident we can reclaim the Edgware Cup from Watford this year" spoke Ciaran Hosty at a local B&Q in Queensbury.
Edgware's key men
In order to be successful on Sunday, Edgware will rely heavily on their top order. In the absence of Sunny Halai, Sajith Sriwickramasekaran and Nakul Jilka, Edgware do look a little light in the batting department. However, its a good opportunity for players such as Raj Parmar, Rahul Kothari, Suraj Kerai and Dharmish Bhatt to stake their claim for a place in the top 6. Ciaran Hosty's record against Watford isn't fantastic with just 49 runs in 3 innings and he'll look to improve on that on Sunday and in Shuraj Vekaria and Kishan Varsani they have two fantastic batsmen who are due runs after relatively quiet 2019's thus far.
The bowling department is where Edgware hold their strength. They have a deadly opening partnership of Rahul Kothari and Rohan Garara, the two combined conceding only 19 runs from 12 shared overs last weekend. At first change they have Raj Parmar and last season's tied leading wicket taker Jude Saverus who will form the 4-man pace attack. Ananya Dixit who continues to impress will no doubt be 5th change bowler and Edgware will likely turn to Shuraj Vekaria for their spin option. Edgware will miss Sunny Halai heavily, the off spinner claiming 8 wickets so far this season at an average of 9.
Match Prediction
Edgware's success in this fixture will be determined by their bowling and fielding performance. No doubt the wicket will be slow on Sunday and batsmen may have to work hard to protect their wicket. If Edgware can post anything above 160, they'll have a chance. Let's bring back that cup!
