It was an extraordinary weekend for Stoke Newington as the men’s first and second XIs secured promotion amid a clean sweep of wins for all six league teams.
The most notable personal performance was on Sunday as Stoke Newington women enjoyed a comprehensive victory over Actonians.
Put into bat, Willa Hornero-Garcia looked in stunning form, smashing 131 off just 72 balls, the highest ever individual score for Stokey in women’s cricket.
She was supported by Bryony Butcher (29) and Lisa Buckingham (17) as Stokey posted a massive 227-6 in their 30 overs. In reply Actonians finished well short on 178-5, despite a superb unbeaten 99 from opener Keely Juster.
The men’s 1st XI clinched promotion to Division Three with a 96-run win over rivals Pinner Challengers in a winner-takes-all clash.
U17 Charley Kernon led the way with a well-crafted 77, alongside knocks from Geof Cupit (28), Theo Bannister (24) and Grant Donaldson (20), as Stokey amassed 202-9.
Pinner never challenged and limped to 106 all out, with seamers Sid Fereday (4-24) and Ashley Layer (4-27) leading the attack.
The seconds also prevailed in a nerve-shredding promotion six-pointer, defeating third-placed Harrow 2nd XI by just 11 runs in the gloom at Hackney Marshes.
Captain Abhi Sen (40), keeper Noah Bador (35) and Ismaeel Dawood (23) top-scored as Stokey recovered from 117-8 to reach a very competitive 155 all out.
The win seemed in the bag as Harrow slipped to 82-7 and 105-8, with seamer Ananth Raghuraman taking 3-20. But tail ender Abdulwaalee Mohammed had other ideas with his patient 51-ball 27 taking Harrow to within sight of a remarkable victory.
The Marshes erupted when Abulwaalee was crucially caught by Aussie Nick Gale off seamer Archie Parnum, as Stokey clinched victory and promotion to Division Two.
There was also a narrow win for the third XI, who held on to defeat West Harrow 3rd XI by 19 runs.
Put into bat, middle order batter Ankish Jain (71) settled the nerves with support from opener Joe Moloney (39), U15 Roy Mattar (37), Ankit Verma (26) and Vrushal Mody (20), as they posted a challenging 254-8 from 45 overs.
One standout knock kept West Harrow in the game, as Pranjalkumar Ranpura smashed 60 before crucially being bowled by seamer Ankit Verma (3-58).
West Harrow continued to push hard for victory, but Stokey’s death bowlers held their nerve with several tight overs to dismiss them for 235.
The fourths banished all fear of relegation with a four-wicket victory at Hampstead 6th XI.
U17 Shahidullah Maftoon took a wicket with the first ball of the game, before Stokey restricted Hampstead to 200-5.
A fine opening stand between captain Andy Hawkins (48) and Adam Garrod - a quickfire 60 - preceded a brief wobble as four quick wickets fell to give Hampstead hope.
However, Stokey’s batting depth prevailed as Ganga Reddy Nadukuda (23) and Kamran Khan (21) saw them home. Ganga needed just eight balls to secure victory as he hit three huge sixes in his brief cameo.
The sixth XI secured a fine win against Friends United 4th XI as openers Som Batabyal (69) and Saurabh Tople (72) led the way with a destructive opening stand to chase down the visitor’s 191.
Earlier, Somh had opened the bowling and claimed 3-42 alongside 3-52 from U18 spinner Ted Mason as Friends United failed to capitalise on several promising starts.
Fears of another low-scoring thriller were extinguished as the Stokey openers put the bowling to the sword.
And despite the dismissal of Tople, Stokey eased home,with Boopathia Murugan unbeaten after a rapid 28, to cap a memorable day for the club.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here