DOUBLE JOY FOR MADRID
Madrid finished the season in style by snapping the winning league streak of Sporting Alfas on the Saturday, and then followed up by crushing a depleted La Manga side on the Sunday. La Manga ended up with minus 2 points for failng to provide a scorer and only fielding nine players.
Thanks to the match report for the Madrid v Sporting Alfas game from Tim Doust, the Madrid captain..
Match report
Madridvs. Sporting Alfas,25th July 2009at La Manga.
Compiled by: TimDoust,MadridCricket Club
Madrid won by 94 runs.
Even though Sporting Alfas already assured of victory in the division, andMadridonly needing a handful of points for second place, the game was always going to be hard-fought .
Madridwon the toss and decided to bat first on a very windy day. Tariq Ali (132), after surviving a confident appeal for caught behind in the 1st over, made the most of the fielding restrictions and put on a quick 97 runs for the first wicket with David Leonida (26). The Alfas attack was changed after the 3rd over when the Alfas skipper and opening bowler, Laundon, pulled up with a back problem, and with the Madrid opening pair enjoying the ball coming onto the bat, scoring was at a high rate with 95 runs scored off the first 13 overs. The early introduction of P. Taylor, after just 8 overs, slowed down the run rate from one end, but it was the introduction of M. Spencer who, with a fine display of leg-spin bowling, took the first three Madrid wickets, that gave Alfas some element of control. When Tariq Ali was dismissed in the 29th over, the Madrid score was 190 for 4. Runs continued to be scored at a good rate and wickets began to fall regularly, in the end Madrid were dismissed for 269 in the 42nd over.
The Sporting Alfas innings started slowly with the Madridopening bowlers, Warren Meredith (1-21) and Sunil Balani (1-29), offering few scoring opportunities. The breakthrough came when Shafiq (23) holed-out to long off and shortly after P. Pennick (0) was given out LBW. M. Spencer (43) and G. Howe (55*) put together a partnership of 67 for the third wicket and managed to keep the score moving along. The game result was decided in the 25th over when Muhammad Akmal first had M. Spencer stumped off his 3rd ball of the over, then G. Crompton caught at slip off his 4th and finally S. Lupson caught at short cover off his 5th for the first hatrick by a Madrid cricketer in a league game. After this over the Alfas score was 108 for 5 and Madrid were happy to restrict boundaries and push the required scoring rate to an impossible level, while for Alfas G. Howe and J. Morgan (18) changed the target from victory to acquiring bonus points. When the 45th was completed, the Alfas score was 175 for 5.