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Jehan stars with 6-15 - but Horspath crash

17 Jul 2023

JEHAN Mohammed bowled superbly to return career-best figures of 6-15 - but Horspath still crashed to an agonising two-run defeat at home to Cumnor in their Home Counties Premier League Division 2 basement battle.
Mohammed and paceman Justin Clarke (4-55) made the most of seamer-friendly conditions at a windswept Recreation Ground to shoot out bottom club Cumnor for 96 after putting them in to bat.
But then Horspath's batting crumbled in dramatic fashion with the home side bowled out for 94 to plunge deeper into relegation trouble.
Following Friday's heavy rain, it was thanks to the excellent work of the ground staff that there was only a short delay before play got underway with the first innings reduced to 52 overs. However, their efforts weren't to be rewarded.
Clarke, fresh from returning match figures of 6-86 in Oxford's defeat by Cambridge in last week's Varsity Match at Fenner's, was quick to make an impact on his seasonal debut, reducing Cumnor to 8-2.
He was soon joined in the attack by Mohammed, but skipper Tom Powell and Ben Fulford steadied the Cumnor ship, taking the visitors to lunch at 69-2.
However, it was a different story after the resumption as the last eight wickets fell for just 18 runs with Mohammed and Clarke ripping through the visitors' batting.
Powell and Fulford had added 70 for the third wicket when Mohammed sparked an almighty collapse by trapping the latter lbw for 38 as four wickets went down on 78.
Clarke had Powell caught by Max Smith for 31, before claiming his fourth victim when Hector Chambers edged into Will Hawtin's gloves.
With the wind gusting up to speeds estimated up to 46mph, Mohammed then took over to blow away the Cumnor tail.
He completed a first Home Counties five-wicket haul when Rory Hipwell, who had shone in the recent T20 tie between the two sides, fell to a smart stumping by Hawtin. Mohammed was on a roll and he wrapped up the innings with his sixth wicket as Cumnor posted a total one run higher than in Horspath's five-wicket win in the reverse fixture in May.
Mohammed's terrific haul came off 12.5 overs and included seven maidens, while Clarke picked up his four wickets from 17 overs.
With Cumnor all out off 34.5 overs, it left Horspath a massive 63 overs to get the runs.
However, the home side lost a wicket in the first over. Jimmy Phillips and Robbie Eason, who had shared a club record opening stand of 123 at Amersham a week earlier, temporarily stopped the rot, taking the score to 26 when the former was caught by Hipwell off former Horspath bowler Asad Rafiq.
Eason and Stephen Green kept Horspath on course as the hosts passed 50, but then the side caved in with the last eight wickets going down for 41.
Green's dismissal sparked the collapse with Eason, who had batted well to make 27, being run out amidst a clatter of wickets as Horspath went to tea at a jittery 68-6 with Hipwell (3-14) and Dylan Driscoll (3-16) doing the damage.
Mohammed edged Horspath towards their target only to be left unbeaten on 15 as the last wicket went down to Rory Nicholson (2-17) with the hosts all out off 30.2 overs.
Horspath remain in ninth place but are now 19 points from safety with a trip to seventh-placed Chesham next up on Saturday.