A week that started well with a Div 1 win on Friday didn't otherwise go to plan with losses in our remaining 4 games, but there were still plenty of good performances to be pleased with, including a club record opening stand in the last game.
Our Div 1 team were up against the only team to beat us so far in 2024, Avengers. Batting first after winning the toss, our top order struggled to build any momentum, and we were faltering at 5/83 in the 15th. Enter Satnam Singh, our VC who crashed an unbeaten 55 from only 22 balls, his 6 sixes including 3 of the last three balls to raise his milestone. Along with a couple of big blows from Tushar Sehgal, Satnam ensure we reached a competitive score of 6/157 off 20. Avengers raced out of the blocks with a 47 run opening stand, but our spinners Hiren Patel and skipper Zeeshan Ansari turned the game in our favour with 4 wickets each. Satnam made a further mark on the game with 4 catches in the outfield, the last being Priyank Trivedi's 50th wicket for the club. Priyank then quickly took #51 to wrap up a 26 run win that solidified our position atop the standings. Scorecard.
Saturday would see our Div 3 and Div 4 teams in action at the Halifax Common, back to back. Div 3 won the toss and sent Scotia Strikers into bat. We were able to take regular wickets, but 20 wides released the pressure and allowed them to accumulate 7/143 off their 20. Harish Chandra was our best with 3/12 off 4, with fellow spinner Maryo John takin 2 wickets of his own. Our chase started well with Nisarg Patel and Ravi Kiran Revu each hitting 29 in a 61 run union, but the loss of both within 3 balls evened up the contest. Hassan Hafeez gave us every chance with an unbeaten 27 off 20 including a key six in the last over, as it all came down to the last ball with 2 runs to win. Unfortunately, a top edge from our skipper Ahsan Hafeez which could have gone anywhere landed in a fielder's hands, and we lost by one run. Scorecard
Div 4 would follow a similar script, as we sent Avengers in and then paid the price for a high extras tally of 32 as we allowed them to reach 5/161 off 20. Paras Kumar and Abdullah Khan took 2 wickets each, while Tanmay Rajput should be commended for conceding only 17 runs from his 4 overs. Skipper Steve Smith led the way in the field with 3 catches behind the stumps. In response, we never got close, limping to 9/81 off 20 overs, with the one bright spot being teenaged Hussain Taimoor top scoring with 16. Scorecard
Our Div 1 team returned to action Sunday for a clash with East Coast CC. In a repeat of Friday's game, our top order struggled again. When opener Daksh Talwar was 7th to fall in the 16th over for a well made 60, our team score was only on 100 and in need of some late fireworks. Once again it would be Satnam to the rescue, his 37 off 20 taking us to 8/155 off 20. Satnam and Shadab Ahmed each took an early wicket to have us on top, but East Coast then regrouped with a couple of defining partnerships to close out the win with 3 wickets and 4 balls to spare. Shadab would lead the way with 3/22 off 4, while Zee continued his fine recent bowling form with 2 more wickets. Scorecard
The week would conclude with a Div 3 game against Avengers on Tuesday night. It proved to be a tough night for our bowlers as we conceded 5/191 off 20, which actually was a good effort after their openers put on 104 off 9.1. Ragu Ravichandran our best with 2/29 off his 4 overs. Undaunted by the big chase, our opening pair of Grant Whitcombe (47 off 32) and Ravi Kiran Revu (73 off 57) put on a club record opening partnership of 116, which is also our highest ever Div 3 partnership for any wicket. These runs were scored just above the required rate of 9.6, giving us a real chance for an amazing victory. It wasn't to be, as the rest of our order couldn't keep up, but it's great to see regular runs from our Div 3 team this year. Scorecard
