Skipper Sajid Patel backs Palace Shield leaders Preston to recover after first bump in road
Preston captain Sajid Patel has backed his men to bounce back from their first real hiccup of the summer.
The West Cliff outfit blazed a trail in the opening weeks of the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield Premier Division season, winning their opening five league games.
That catapulted them to the top of the table, but last weekend their lead at the top was cut following a narrow loss to Fylde, who moved into third spot, at Moorland Road.
After half-centuries from the skipper himself and Imran Mehmood saw Preston post a competitive 213-9, the hosts edged home with just two wickets and two balls to spare.
Patel admits it was a blow to see his team’s perfect record come to an end, but expects his men to respond positively when they entertain Lancaster this weekend.
"It’s been a really good start,” said Patel, who is one of three batsmen within the ranks to score more than 300 runs so far this season. "We are playing well as a team.
"To be honest, the lads are enjoying their cricket and it’s a good environment for them to play their best.
"Last weekend was a close game, it could have gone either way, but we lost in the last over.”
Having been an integral member of the Northern Premier Cricket League for more than a half-century, Preston had been struggling for a number of years in recent times.
And when a promotion and relegation system was introduced in 2017, Preston dropped into the Palace Shield Premier Division a year later.
That is where they have been for the past eight years, but Patel believes the club is currently in a good place to re-claim its status as a Northern League outfit.
"After relegation, the club had a couple of good years but could not win promotion back to the Northern League.
"But we are hoping this year if we continue like we have then there’s a chance we might be promoted.
"It’s been the same team for the past couple of years, so we have that stability and continuity.
"We are a very experienced side.”
Patel himself has been in red-hot form with the bat, boasting almost 500 runs so this year, closely followed by Suhel Patel Jr who has accumulated 363 runs.
Navazish Ali has hit 335 runs while four other batsmen – Imran Patel, Imran Mehmood, Altaf Patel, Altaf Patel – have more than 200 runs to their names.
Bowling-wise, the wickets have been shared around with Ismail Patel and Imran Patel leading the way with 19 and 17 wickets respectively.
“Batting-wise, we are quite strong,” said the captain. “We bat all the way down to No.9 and No.10.
“We have a very good off-spinner in Talha Patel and a couple of good fast bowlers, so I would say we have a good, well-balanced side.”
Fixtures:
NPL Div One: Blackpool v Netherfield, Chorley v Settle, F&B v Longridge, Kendal v Garstang, Leyland v Fleetwood.
NPL Div Two: Carlisle v Barrow, Euxton v Mawdesley, Great Eccleston v TC, Penwortham v Vernon Carus, St Annes v Carnforth.
PS PD: Burneside v Rufford, Eccleston v Penrith, Fylde v Morecambe, K&W v Torrisholme, Preston v Lancaster.