Played at the London Marathon ground, Fairlop
Report by Steve
Hamilton
This match was the first of two fixtures scheduled this season
against East Ham Corinthians, played on a mild breezy spring
afternoon at the London Marathon ground at Fairlop.
We were
riding high on surge of early season winning form from all Old
Fallopian teams - could we make it lucky seven with this game?
I won the toss and chose to bat as I was confident in our
powerful batting force! Our openers Junaid and Ahmed put on a
majestic first wicket stand of 189. Junaid reached his hundred in
style, including four sixes and seven fours. Some of his blows were
so monstrous and connected so sweetly at times that we lost some
balls in the bordering hedgerow, with a few travelling onto the next
cricket pitch!
His partner-in-crime Ahmed continued where he
left off his previous innings, delivering more violent assaults on
the opposition bowlers’ deliveries and reached 84 with three sixes
and ten fours.
In next was the stylish Mushtaq who batted
with grace and an air of confidence. He scored freely and raced past
well deserved 50 with nine fours to notch up a tally of 69 not out.
Jack Turner played a nice closing cameo with a quick fire 21,
including one particular shot I remember - a lovely pick up down the
leg side which he launched over long leg for six!
At the
halfway stage we had made 292 for 3 off our 40 overs.
With
our premier league bowlers on show, the reply was not going to be
easy for the home side.
An early mix-up saw the opener Spray
depart early. He ran the ball down to third man and went for a quick
single, but Joseph at the other end sent him back and in the
confusion Spray couldn’t turn back quickly enough. Ali got the throw
in on the bounce, Turner behind the stumps took the ball above his
head and then took the bails off in style. At zero for 1 it was the
perfect start.
Howerer, after our early success, the
opposition settled down and kept scoring steadily, reaching 116 by
the drinks break at 20 overs and looking well set. But the drinks
were just the tonic for us, as in the following over we finally took
our second wicket, with our third coming in the next over. This
breakthrough came at a vital time as we were becoming a bit slack in
the field, not holding onto our catches and letting East Ham
Corinthians get a sniff towards our total.
The first of the
two post-drink break wickets came after a minor dispute with the
umpire over whether Nawaz was bowling correctly or not. Once the
debate had finished Nawaz delivered a unplayable delivery down the
legside and with usual lighting quick reflexes Turner was able to
pick up the ball and whipped off the bails in quick fashion and
their solid opener Joseph was gone, stumped for 56.
One
brings two and Ali was able to deliver - next was the key wicket of
Narayan for 53, who hit the ball to towards point, where Mushtaq
took the catch nonchalantly, making the take look much easier than
it actually was. Ali definitely deserved more wickets on the day.
Nawaz took another wicket, a simple catch to Junaid at square
leg, finishing a superb bowling spell of 5-0-19-2.
By now we
were in full control with East Ham Corinthians at 190 for 5 off 32
overs.
Stebbins came on to turn his arm, after patrolling
most of the off-side pitch and keeping the run-rate down to a
minimum with the athleticism of a person half his age. The
“sprightly one” was soon rewarded with a wicket taken leg before and
he finished his spell with figures of 5-0-25-1.
I bowled a
reasonable tidy spell, taking a couple of wickets for 33 runs in my
six overs. My first scalp was purely down to the agility of Shahzad,
who came in from deep mid-wicket and dived to grasp the ball just
before it hit the ground, removing Abdul for 24. My second wicket
came off a ball heading for fifth stump. Antik came down the crease
swinging in anticipation but missed his shot, allowing Turner to
swiftly collect the ball and whip off the bails for second time in
the match.
Junaid came on and bowled his preferred leg spin.
He was rewarded with a wicket in his second over as Turner was there
once again to take his third stumping of the day.
Also a
special mention for debutant Anthony Ambadipudi who fielded with
plenty of enthusiasm and covered plenty of ground thus saving a
number of boundaries.
With the
Corinthians innings over, it had been competitive high scoring match
with 538 runs scored on the day!
Our hosts will get a chance
to turn the tables later this year when we return to this ground in
August.
Scorecard below photos
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Weekend winners: (Standing L-R) Talal Ali, Jack
Turner, Adnan Walayat Asad Mushtaq, Mo Junaid, Steve Hamilton,
Umair Shahzad, Anthony Ambadipudi; (kneeling L-R) Ali Nawaz,
Jakaria Ahmed, Waseem Furqan, Jonathan Stebbins Photo: Tim
Castle
Many more photos from the game
here (opens in new window) |
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Diving for pearls: Shazhad goes low to take a
catch off Hamilton's bowling Photo: Tim Castle
Many more photos from the game
here (opens in new window) |
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Action for debate: The umpire gives Asad and
Nawaz some bowling coaching Photo: Tim Castle
Many more photos from the game
here (opens in new window) |
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Coiled like a spring: Asad prepares to launch
the ball across the boundary Photo: Tim Castle
Many more photos from the game
here (opens in new window) |
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