Williams full of praise as Falkland beat North Maidenhead

Jim Ettridge and Nick Benwell impressed at the crease as Falkland secured the win

FALKLAND captain Jason Williams praised his whole side after enjoying a 50-run victory against North Maidenhead in Division 1 of the Thames Valley Cricket League.

The win moved Falkland up two places to sixth, jumping above Slough 2nd and their opponents on Saturday.

It was just the fourth win of the campaign for the Enborne Street side and Williams was delighted with the effort his players produced.

He said: “I knew going into the game that we had the strongest batting line-up we could possibly have, so I was always confident that we could chase any score that was set against us.”

Falkland batted first and, after a slow start, Jim Ettridge (106no) and Nick Benwell (91) produced a stunning partnership.

Williams said: “I could not have wished for a better outcome and the batting of Jimmy and Nick was quite exceptional, especially given that we were 39-2.”

Williams believes that winning the toss and choosing to bat first was vital to his side’s victory.

He said: “I decided to really try and strangle the opposition by batting first and then hoping to bowl them out.

“Knowing how North Maidenhead have batted all season, the hope was they would continue to swing hard and that’s what they did.”

After declaring on 264-3, Williams wanted to see the same level of intensity when they bowled.

Bobby Malik took six wickets for Falkland and the captain once again praised his performance.

He said: “It’s very hard at our place to bowl sides out, but we just discussed bowling in the right areas and letting the opposition make the mistakes, which is what happened.

“Everyone bowled well, but particular credit to Bobby again as he exploited the conditions perfectly.”

Williams takes his side to Gerrards Cross on Saturday and believes they will produce another strong performance.

He said: “Unfortunately availability is not good this weekend again, but we will continue to fight for every point and see what happens.”