Played at Woodford Green
Report by Steve
Hamilton
It was another victorious week for all Old Fallopians teams,
bringing our club tally to played six, won six!
We were up
against our local rivals Woodford, who beat us by five wickets last
season, so we needed to be fully focused for a tough encounter.
It was another chilly Sunday afternoon, with the odd passing
shower and also some bright sunshine at times.
Woodford won
the toss and chose to bat. Our opening bowlers did not disappoint:
Shahzad and Furqan continued their new-season form, quickly taking
the opening batsmen’s wickets.
First Shahzad found the
outside edge as the ball sped straight into the secure hands of
Junaid, then Furqan removed the stumps of the other opener. The pair
ended their superb bowling spell respectively with figures of
5-2-11-1 (Shahzad) and 7-1-15-1 (Furqan).
With so much talent
in our locker it was time to let loose another pair of hungry
wicket-takers, Ahmed and debutant Talal Ali, a lively left-arm quick
who we have encountered previously playing for Oakfield Parkonians.
Ali he did not fail to succeed, getting the key wicket of the
big-hitting leftie Syaad for 32. Ali’s short delivery tempted the
batsman into a hook-pull shot which failed miserably, became a top
edge and eventually fell into the “glue hands" of Mole at square
leg. Ahmed then took two further wickets, both clean bowled!
We were well in control and Woodford were crawling along at a slow
rate, reaching 105 for 5 off 25 overs. It was the moment to bring on
some new young blood in the shape of the Hackney duo La Croix and
Prospere. La Croix first took a pair of identical wickets, each time
tempting the batsman to cut outside off and both times hitting the
ball hard to backward point - where once again the now "Superglue
hands" of unflappable Mole took another two catches, to bring his
total to three on the day.
Prospere also took a wicket, after
the batsman hit the ball straight to extra cover where, after a
three-season absence, Darryl Christie made it look a comfortable
catch. With a run out and wicket from myself at the end, we reduced
Woodford to 189 all out.
We had to chase a competitive total
of 190 to win from 35 overs. Was the result going to be a foregone
conclusion or not?
Our openers Mole and Ahmed laid down the
perfect foundation. They approached the crease with an air of
confidence and their contrast of batting styles synchronised
perfectly. Mole rotated the strike at every opportunity and blunted
the attack of the opening bowlers with a couple of boundaries and
reached a well-deserved 53.
Meanwhile, Ahmed was on another
planet! Smashing the ball halfway down the High Road to Chingford at
times, with three consecutive sixes in one over, he reached 69 with
12 boundaries which included five sixes and seven fours. It was an
innings full of pure explosive force, resulting in a broken bat!
Their opening stand of 89 was just the start we needed. In next
was our rock Junaid, almost taking us home single-handed with a
rapid 26
It was left to Christie (16) and Furqan (10) to sped
us comfortably over the winning line with four and a half overs to
spare.
A few drinks in the club house afterwards with the
opposition was a nice way to cap a perfect day.
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