Valencia based Levante played their first ever competitive game last weekend when they travelled down the coast to the Woodbridge Oval to play a friendly against a strong Sporting Alfas side that boasted several Spanish internationals amongst their starting eleven. Alfas chairman Kevin Laundon reports on the game.
Sporting Alfas Cricket Club Sporting Alfas 1st X1 267 for 7 beat Levante C C 159 for 10
New team Levante Cricket Club who are playing out of Valencia, visited the Woodbridge Oval for the first time, SACC accepted the invitation to bat as many of the players had yet to arrive by the 1 pm start time. Normal opener Pennick strode out with Laundon, and the pair looked in control and the scoreboard ticked along nicely until Laundon popped one up for Morgan to take.
Fletcher kept the board moving the score had reached 41 from 12 when Pennick also went airborne and was caught. drinks game and went but Brown got a bit hotheaded and was bowled. 67 for 3 from 16 over´s. Muñoz is still in T20 mode and the score raced to 142 when he also gave a chance that Levante seized. 30 quick runs saw Fletcher who had reached 57 also give a airborne chance again held onto by a gleeful Levante player. 29 over´s gone and 184 the score.
Crompton after a few hairy moments found his range and reached his fifty with a might six. Roper with a well taken 23 trying to push the score along was also out caught. Waqar and Fell finished the Alfas innings with the total on 267.
With such a large target to reach the Levante players thought that having time in the middle would do them the most good, Taylor and Fell opened with the new ball.
Spin is king and only 9 runs had been scored when Abid walked by one and Brown stumped him. 78 more runs were added before the introduction of Pennick who knows how to mix his pace and Morgan(43) Hunt(36) and Noon fell in his first 3 over’s. 4 for 98 at the half way point.
SACC kept moving the ball around and 8 players bowled, and wickets fell steadily but the introduction of Muñoz(3 for 9) in the 33 over gave SACC a well deserved win.
The players chatted in the bar and Skipper Laundon praised and thanked Levante Cricket Club on the work they put in during what was a hot and long afternoon on the Woodbridge Oval, SACC wish them well for next season when they enter the ECCL development league and on what we saw today look likely winners.
Kevin Laundon
Sporting Alfas Chairman