SPORTING ALFAS PUT IN ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE
Both Sporting Alfas and Valencia took the long trip down to La Manga and the spectators were rewarded with a good spirited game of cricket that Alfas I won comfortably in the end by 156 runs.
Valencia won the toss and put Alfas into bat. The early morning conditions were proving ideal swing conditions and the opener bowlers of Safraz and Faisal extracted lots of movement from the pitch. The Alfas pair of Spencer and Howe played and missed on more than one occaision but knuckled down well to try and see the shine off the ball.
The score had progressed to 36 when the Spanish captain Spencer edged the ball to the wicket keeper for a simple catch off the bowling of Safraz. Up to the crease stepped Crompton and from the very begining he looked in sublime form. Howe played sensibly to give Crompton the strike when possible and the Spanish international did not disappoint hitting the ball to all corners of the ground. The pair put on 101 for the second wicket before Howe skied one to long on and Safraz took a superb one handed catch coming in from the boundary.
Crompton continued to savage the Valencia bowling and ended up with a fantastic 111 that included 10 fours and 5 sixes. The watching Spanish director of cricket, George Wambeek must have been well impresed with this innings. Other Alfas batsmen played around Cromptons innings, but with his dismissal, the innings lost a little momentum. A mad dash to get to 275 in the last few overs for the final batting point led to two silly run outs before Laundon and Taylor steadied the ship to ensure that Valencia did not get any further bowling points. The Alfas innings finally concluded on 260 for 7 wickets with Alfas falling 15 shy of that elusive 5th batting point.
Valencia came out positively and punished a wayward first over from Munoz. However Munoz gained revenge in his second over when he clean bowled Safraz for one. Wasim joined Navid at the crease and both played with poise and composure. At the 15 over drinks break Valencia were ahead of the Alfas score at the same stage and a close game looked a distinct possiblity.
The introduction of Taylor changed all that. The former Notts seamer, who these days offers left arm spin rolled back the years to give a superb display of tight and accurate bowling. His guile tempted batsman after batsman to strike out, but all ended with the same result – the umpire raising his finger. 57 for 2 ended at 104 all out with Valencia losing their last 8 wickets for just 47 runs.
Taylor, bowling unchanged for nine overs finished up with figures of 5 for 29 off his allocation, also throwing in a maiden over for good measure. He was well supported by the Alfas captain Laundon who took 2 for 36 off his 9 overs. Valencia also failed to provide a scorer so two points were deducted from their final points total. The game was played in excellent spirit, and the Valencia players can be well pleased with their contribution to what was, an excellent game.
Sporting Alfas 1 v Valencia
30 May 2010
La Manga
Costa League 1
Result: Alfas won by 156 runs
Points: Alfas 19 points Valencia 2 points
Toss: Valencia
Umpires: R Graham, A Bacon
Notes: Valencia deducted 2 points for no scorer
SPORTING ALFAS
M Spencer Ct Navid B Safraz 23 Faisal 9 1 42 0
G Howe Ct Safraz B Ahsan 27 Safraz 9 0 40 2
G Crompton Ct ? Bowled Wasim 111 Wasim 7 0 51 1
P Pennick Lbw Nisar 11 Asad 5 0 29 0
C Munoz Lbw Safraz 21 Jabbar 4 0 23 0
Wasim Run Out (Ahsan) 24 Ahsan 7 1 39 1
S Lupson Run Out (Ahsan) 0 Nisar 4 0 36 1
K Laundon Not Out 18
P Taylor Not Out 0
T Marshall Dnb
J Howden Dnb
Extras (b , lb , nb , w 25, p ) 25
Total (7 wkts, 45.0 overs) 260
FOW: 1-36 2-137 3-177 4-210 5-232
6-232 7-256
VALENCIA
Navid Bowled Taylor 41 C Munoz 4 0 24 1
Safraz Bowled Munoz 1 K Laundon 9 0 36 2
Wasim Ct Munoz Bowled Laundon 15 P Taylor 9 1 29 5
Nisar Ct Laundon Bowled Taylor 7 S Lupson 4 0 15 2
Shabbir Ct Munoz Bowled Taylor 14
Jabbar Bowled Laundon 1
Ahsan Lbw Taylor 10
Faisal Bowled Lupson 1
Asad Not Out 2
Ihtisham Bowled Taylor 2
Rizwan Bowled Lupson 1
Extras (b , lb , nb , w 9, p ) 9
Total (all out, 26.0 overs) 104
FOW: 1-21 2-57 3-66 4-70 5-71
6-93 7-99 8-99 9-101 10-104