Burnham CC 'one of the strongest teams in the league' on their day says captain Rizwan Nadeem

Burnham captain Rizwan Nadeem believes his side are one of the ‘strongest teams’ in the league despite their last two defeats.

After a strong start, Nadeem’s side have hit a rocky patch in recent weeks – falling to Harefield and Amersham 2nds, with sub-par batting displays in both performances.

Last time out, Burnham could only post a total of 119 as they were easily chased down by Amersham and Nadeem, who pulled his hamstring in the game, admitted the match did not go quite to plan.

“It didn’t really go according to how we wanted to be honest with you,” said Nadeem.

“The conditions were difficult and the toss was important.

“We lost the toss and got put into bat on a wet wicket and we were all out for 120 and they chased us down with four wickets to spare.

Vice captain Sulaiman Javed was the main contributor to the Burnham total with his 35 not out, but a fairly luke-warm showing from the top order made for a difficult day at The Memorial Ground.

Farhaan Khan (2-27) and Razi Ali Dar (2-44) did their best to stem the Amersham flow, but Bruce Friderichs (39) and Maduka Liyanapathiranage (28) put in strong knocks to chase down the Burnham target in 38 overs.

“To be honest, I can’t blame our bowlers,” added Nadeem

“They only had 120 to defend. They did well, they took wickets, but it always comes back to the batsmen. We still have a few that need to come to the party but we are confident we can improve.

Next up for Nadeem’s men is a tough trip away to Oxford Downs who sit third in the table, but the Burnham captain remained confident that his side can get the job done.

“After losing two games in two weeks that’s where the mindset comes in,” said Nadeem

“If we all apply ourselves we can get a result – on our day we are one of the strongest teams in the league.”

The captain confirmed he will not be able to play in the match due to his hamstring but will be travelling down with the side.