The Spanish Junior Academy got together for the first time this season and showed how far they had progressed in recent times by winning both matches against a touring Emmanuel School from the UK. Regular spring visitors to La Manga the exclusive school have usually had the upper hand against the hosts but this time around coach Mark Perman and his squad managed to remain unbeaten throughout both competitive matches.
Game one was a forty over affair and the visitors batted first and could only muster 114 all out, using only 33 of their allocated overs in the process. In reply, Alfas opened with new skipper Jamie Roper and Tyler Hogan Brown (both Sporting Alfas) and got off to a solid start. When Hogan-Brown was dismissed Waqar continued the good work. A mid innings wobble that saw Roper and Waqas depart in successive overs proved just a minor hiccoup as the experienced Ravi Panchal and Antonio Gomez Brown then saw “La Seleccion” home with the minimum of fuss.
The second of the two match series was even more exciting. The hosts batted first and scored 165 on a big pitch that was difficult to defend. Emmanuel were determined to return to the UK with the series levelled and the game was in the balance until the final over. Competitive bowling from the home side managed to keep the chasing total to 159, just 7 runs short of victory, so once again Spain could enjoy the taste of victory for the second consecutive day.
Congratulations to Coach Perman and his team, and the Director of Cricket Neil Brook is already looking to build on these two wins and seek out further opposition for the youngsters in the near future.
