Falkland lose after batting collapse

Falkland crashed to a 53-run defeat at home to Harpenden on Saturday

A BATTING collapse saw Falkland crash to a 53-run defeat at home to Harpenden in the Home Counties Premier League on Saturday.

After winning the toss, Falkland fielded first and restricted their Hertfordshire opponents to 86-5, although some strong batting from the middle order saw the visitors reach 232-7 from 63 overs.

Neil Gunter (3-58) and Hamza Riazuddin (2-30) were the pick of the bowlers for Falkland, while wicket keeper Sam Piper took five catches.

In reply, Falkland started well despite the early loss of opener James Theunissen (3), with Bruce Martin (61) and Riazuddin (57) helping the West Berkshire outfit approach 100 with a partnership of 80.

And despite the loss of Martin with 94 on the board, Stephen Pope (47) came in and batted well with Riazuddin, putting on a partnership of 63.

However, Riazuddin's dismissal with the score at 157 sparked a batting collapse that saw six wickets fall for just five runs, including a hat-trick for spinner Ben Frazer (6-57), who claimed four wickets in one over to turn the game in Harpenden's favour.

Five batsmen failed to score a run as Falkland collapsed to 164-9 and although Pope and Zubair Khan (4 not out) attempted to salvage a draw, Pope fell in the 49th over as Falkland were bowled out for 179.

The result saw Harpenden claim 25 points and Falkland just five as the West Berkshire side remain in eighth place in the Home Counties Premier League table, level on points with ninth-placed Welwyn Garden City.