Forget The Hundred.
Forget The Vitality Blast.
If you wanted to witness domestic cricket at its rawest and best in 2026 you should have been at North Middlesex Cricket Club last Monday (31 August) when Mill Hill Village CC sensationally beat Totteridge Millhillians CC to win the inaugural edition of the Middlesex Slam.
When The Village were 79-7 at the end of the 12th over, requiring a further 79 runs in eight overs to pass Totteridge’s competitive total of 157-6, it seemed the trophy would be heading to the team from the northern side of Folly Brook, the small stream that sits between the two Barnet clubs.
Yet somehow, through some extraordinary six striking by Hamza Ahmad, Jalilullah Rahimi and Speenghar Ahmadzai The Village passed their target with one ball to spare. In an explosive and nerve wracking finale the three batters struck seven huge sixes and four boundaries to take their side to an unexpected victory.
Despite the useful contributions of Ahmad and Rahimi it was Ahmadzai’s unbeaten 31 that got The Village over the line. And it was apt that he, The Village captain, was the person to gleefully collect the pristine Middlesex T20 Slam trophy.
The Village entered the day as outsiders having qualified for Finals Day by finishing 4th in the group. However, they warmed for the Final by defeating Old Elizabethan’s by three wickets in their semi-final. The result was an upset as Old Elizabethan’s had gone through the group stage of the tournament unbeaten.
The Final was a fitting conclusion to what has been a very enjoyable and successful mid-week T20 tournament.
The 2026 version of The Middlesex Slam was a pilot that took place between six Barnet based clubs. Fifteen evening group matches were played with four of the teams qualifying for a Finals Day. At a number of the matches post-game food – normally pizza – was provided and some money put behind the bar so the players could have a beer or soft drink.
Playing shirts were also provided for each team, as was an umpire for most matches. That none of the group matches were conceded highlighted how much the matches were enjoyed.
The tournament was created last winter when Ramesh Kerai, a retired local cricketer of note and successful businessman, approached Middlesex in the Community about
creating a mid-week T20 league for club cricketers that don’t play as much cricket as they would like to during the season.
Ramesh’s observation was backed up by a survey MITC performed at the end of the 2025 cricket season. The survey showed that whilst the players of 1st XI’s at bigger clubs were happy with the volume of cricket they played each season, there was a demand for more competitive cricket from the smaller clubs and 2nd, 3rd XI and junior players.
Ramesh generously committed to underwrite/sponsor the competition, which allowed this fantastic tournament to take place. The competition has allowed junior cricketers to play with adults in a competitive but fun environment and it was lovely to see Totteridge U15 batter Ben Josyfon smack 41 off 18 balls in the final.
Middlesex in the Community want this competition to grow and to make it available to more clubs in Middlesex in 2027, and with that in mind we will be encouraging more clubs to enter during the coming weeks.
In closing I, Angus Fraser, would like to thank a few people for helping The Middlesex Slam get off to an exciting and strong start.
The first ‘Thank You’ is to Ramesh Kerai and his team at Regal Estates, without whom the tournament would not have taken place.
To Matt Campbell, who organises the Slam across various counties, and has been a huge help in running the competition with us.
Next come the players – thanks for your commitment and I hope you enjoyed it.
I would also like to thank Jon Francis and Joe Naughton at North Middlesex CC for hosting the final and helping make it such an enjoyable and well-run day.
We then come to the umpires – thanks for managing the games superbly.
And finally huge thanks to Jack Davis at MITC. Jack took on responsibility for running the tournament, he committed to it and did a brilliant job in ensuring things ran as well as they did.
We will be back in 2027 for version 2 of The Middlesex Slam, which we hope will be bigger and better than 2026.
If you want to get involved, which I encourage you to do, please get in contact with Jack Davis at [email protected] or Angus Fraser at [email protected].
