Middlesex’s D40 First Eleven were crowned champions of the D40 Quest League yesterday as they defeated Surrey by six wickets at William Perkin School.
Having won the toss and electing to field, we dismissed our visitors out for 96 in 33 overs.
Sam Kumar was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/33 in his eight-over spell. Moazzam Rashid took 2/8 as James Nordin (2/10) and Matt Jones (2/15) both chipped in with a couple of wickets each. Mohammad Farooq also claimed a wicket, finishing with figures of 1/20.
For the visitors, only Jonathan Gale (32) and James Grindrod (18) made double figures.
In the chase, Aryan Janjale top-scored with 25 batting at four – with his knock containing four boundaries. Umesh Valjee opened the batting and made 24 from 53 balls, striking two fours and a six.
George Greenway didn’t hang around, bludgeoning 23 runs from just 12 balls to see Middlesex over the line. His captain, Nordin, was unbeaten on five too as the seaxes clinched their first D40 Quest League title and their first honours since the foundation of our disability setup in 2013.
This success was the culmination of a season of hard work to-date as the side have won four of their matches so far – defeating Essex, Sussex, Wales and Surrey on the way to glory.
The title was secured with a game to spare as Andy Hill’s side take on Hampshire on Sunday at Southern Gardens.
Speaking of the triumph, Captain, James Nordin, said: “I’m really proud of all the group and everyone else who’s been involved in winning our first D40 Quest League title.
"It’s been an amazing 11-year journey to get to this point, and I’m so thankful to everyone, players, coaches both past and present and other supporters for their contributions over the years to help make this happen.
"I’d like to thank the early coaches for their amazing efforts in building our disability setup from nothing to what it is now, and Andy Hill for all his hard work since taking over as Head Coach and taking us forward to our first national title.
"I’m really proud of the range of standout performances we’ve had from across the squad over the last few years, and having been the most consistent team in the country over the last three years, having finishing as runners up three times to three different teams, I’m so proud that we’ve finally got over the line this year and brought the title home.”
Congratulations to all involved on an excellent title win and a strong campaign from everyone at Middlesex Cricket. It has been great to see so many players contributing to the success of the team.
