FUENGIROLA MAKE A WINNING START TO THEIR LEAGUE CAMPAIGN

Southern Spanish Cricket League

Combined Colleges CC v Fuengirola CC    17^th April 2011     

Won by Fuengirola CC by 2 Wickets.

Combined Colleges CC won the toss and elected to bat .

Combined Colleges CC 173 for 9, 6 points.      Fuengirola C 174 for 8, 17 points.

Having lost the toss, Fuengirola CC took the field in splendid fashion, determined to prevent every avoidable run and turn every single into an opportunity for a run out.  They combined this with some tight early bowling to restrict Combined Colleges to just 16 off 6 overs before having Previn Menon caught behind to a diving one handed catch.

Two overs later the fielding came into its own with Shahid’s quick pick-up and throw leaving Shoaib Hussain well short of his crease despite a full length dive and slide.  The 16^th over saw the score creep to 51 for 3 with the departure of Brian Barrett clean bowled.  Combined Colleges then put together a partnership with top scorer Nushan Alwis and Mr Reliable Mark Ward staying together for 9 overs while doubling the score.  Mark went Run Out half way up the pitch leaving 8 overs for Combined Colleges to reach an unlikely par target of around two hundred.

Big hitting by brothers Nushan (66) and Ashan (25) Alwis saw them reach 173 for 9 at the interval.  With three wickets falling to each of Caught, Rrun Out and Bowled this added up to a fine fielding performance by Fuengirola.  But did they have the batting to make 174?

After the break, in came openers Bharat Rai and Adnan Saeed scoring 7, 0, 9, 6, 11, 6,and 8 off the first seven overs.  No intention there of being stifled, as they had stifled the opposition.  Bharat went next over, LBW to Ashan and three overs later Adnan hit a skier to wide long off only for Shoaib to race round and take a good running catch. 

At 67 for 2 off eleven overs things were looking good for Fuengirola.  But then the wobble started.  Tanveer Ahmed played on to be bowled by Brian Barrett.  Asad Mughal hit another skier to long off, this time to be caught by Nushan off Shoaib’s bowling.  Etisham Khan fell to a slick catch behind by Jason Wild and suddenly Fuengirola were 91 for 5 off nineteen overs and a very long way from a win.  Two more wickets and the game was slipping away from Fuengirola.  116 for 6 off 25 overs.  125 for 7 off 27 overs.

Not looking good.  Kazim Ali and Adnan Nazir were at the wicket and unable to get the ball to boundary, they simply could not score quickly enough.  Then in the 30^th over, from nowhere, Adnan smote successive sixes.  149 for 7 with 5 overs to score another 25.  Was there perhaps a slight aroma of victory in the air?  Dias bowled the next over for just a single.  No, it must have been just the orange blossom.  Then Kazim got in the act, hitting 10 off Shoaib’s final over.  Just three off the next over and Adnan out off the final ball.

Two overs to go and eleven needed.  All bets were off.  Then eight off the penultimate over and it definitely wasn’t orange blossom this time. Combined Colleges brought everyone in.The first ball of the final over was pushed by Kazim into the ring of eager, nay, desperate fielders.Sidhu set off for an utterly impossible run from the non-strikers end and was three yards away from regaining his ground when the ball reached the bowler standing at the stumps.Off came the bails but OH Dear!  The ball had slipped out of the eager bowlers hand before the stumps were broken. Next ball Kazim mistimed a shot in the air just a hairs breadth away from an outstretched hand and the batsmen were able to run the three required for victory.

What a superb day’s cricket! No man of the match today, just a resounding Well Done and Three Cheers to all 22 players for a magnificent effort by both sides.