ECCL Season 2012
It was extremely unfortunate that before the season commenced the newly formed ECCL suffered the withdrawal of both Valencia Green and Orihuela Cricket Clubs.
Valencia CC a late entry into the league, played two matches before they decided that a serious lack of committed players would force the cancellation of their remaining fixtures.
Cazadores de Turre, formerly Mojacar CC suffered a similar fate but they did manage to complete four of their allotted fixtures. On the positive side Torrevieja CC formerly San Fulgencio CC proved to be a good acquisition to the league in all departments.
The season saw for the first time a Twenty Twenty League running in conjunction with the normal league programme. La Manga CC proved to be superior in both departments of the game winning both competitions in Division One. Likewise Alfas II easily won both competitions in Division Two.
Winning seven matches La Manga deservedly won the ECCL Division One title. Alfas finished Runners Up. An improved season saw Madridfinish in 3rd position.. Madrid United occupied 4th place with the unfortunateAlcorcon, with a 20 point deduction due to a cancellation relegated to the bottom of the league.
In the Development League Alfas II dominated finishing 18 points clear of 2nd placed La Manga II.
Madrid II once again finished 3rd with the newly formed Torrevieja in 4th position. Intellectuals occupied 5th place with Cazadores de Turre bottom of the league.
The Twenty Twentyleague received a mixed reception with two clubs not entering teams in the competition. 32 matches were designated of which 10 were cancelled.. Some clubs indicated that this form of cricket was stressful and commitment was difficult. Alfas, La Manga and Torrevieja are to be congratulated for their participation and success in the competition..
There were many noteworthy individual performances during the season. Four centuries were scored in Division One. Tariq Ali Awan contributed 2 with a top score of 172 no, A. Langhams and M.Spencer 1 each. Division II saw 5 centurians, M. Garside with a top score of 177 n o, A.Alger, Gopi Singh, D. Williams and K.Milnthorpe.
The Twenty Twenty competition saw G.Crompton achieve the highest score in Division 1, an undefeated 91. S. Dawes amassed the highest in Division II with 88..
In the bowling department Farhat Mahmood dominated proceedings. Best Bowling in Division 1, 5/29. Best Bowling in Twenty Twenty Division 1 and Most Economical, 5/14 in 4 overs. The Most economical League performance, Talat Ali 3/6 in 9 overs. In Division II Madrid bowlers I Blake 5/29 andS. Awan1/7 in 8 overs achieved the Best Bowling and the Most Economical respectively.
The Twenty Twenty competition saw K. Shazad enjoy a 5/10 performance. Special mention must be made of Junior cricketer C. Hunt of La Manga CC who achieved the fine bowling performance of 5/45 against senior opposition..
Despite the loss of 15 league matches and 10 Twenty Twenty matches through cancellations some excellent cricket was played during the season. La Manga amassed the highest innings score in 3 of the 4 competitions..295/8 in Division 1 v Madrid United, 362/3 in Division II v Cazadores de Turre and 216/5 in the Division 1 Twenty Twenty v Madrid United. Alfas scored 191/2 in the Division II Twenty Twenty v Cazadores de Turre..
In conclusion the ECCL are once again indebted to all the Umpires, Scorers and Officials for all the support that they give to the League. Without their invaluable contributions playing cricket would be extremely difficult.
John Dye
ECCL Chairman