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Played at Greenwich Park
Report by Steve Hamilton

This fixture was played at the luxurious home of Cincinnati in Greenwich and as usual we were greeted with impeccable hospitality. But this regular seasonal contest also often throws up engrossing battles!

I won the toss (finally) and chose to bat in cloudy conditions with a north-easterly breeze and temperatures around 19c.

We needed to build something substantial as Cincinnati are unquestionably no walk in the park. Asad Mushtaq looked sensational with his new bat. He smashed three fours off Faisal second over. We reached 27 off seven overs before losing our first wicket.

Jakaria Ahmed had a few lives before departing for 25. Debutant Sukhwinder Saral played solidly for his 20 with one glorious straight six over long on.

At drinks we had reached 71 for 2 off 17 overs.

Umair Shahzad delivered a dynamic quick-fire half century which included seven fours and one six. Debutant Gulam Aziz played a vital role towards the end of our innings and we reached a respectable total of 178 for 8 off 35 overs.

Now Cincinnati are also famous for providing the best teas of any opposition! On this occasion we were treated to a gratifying banquet of vegetarian treats, which I enjoyed more than I first thought I would! Samosas, sundried tomato couscous, basil pesto pasta, a selection of sandwiches and a variety of cakes, washed down with a proper strong tea! Probably Yorkshire Tea!

After this sumptuous tea we suffered. Maybe the culinary overload was a cunning plan from Cincinnati captain Brendan. Whatever the cause, we were lethargic in the field. We never settled and some of us became confused where to field, as the right/left batting combination of the opening pair caused us many difficulties!

Umair and Asad got us off to a decent start, restricting Cincinnati to 29 off nine overs so that for 60 percent of the game we had the upper hand.

Cincinnati’s Saqib was dropped a few times early on. But he soon settled and dominated our bowlers with his aggressive approach, often walking down the wicket and choosing where to place the ball at will. He went on to score his maiden hundred. At the other end, the leftie Jackson went on to score a half century. We took no wickets and Cincinnati won comfortably with 7.2 overs to spare.

We had finally lost a Sunday fixture after 364 days!

We were well and truly humbled and, to be honest, if there was a team to lose our unbeaten record to, Cincinnati would have been the team I would have chosen. They play the game in the right spirit and are proper gentlemen.

Roll on the next fixture! We need to get over this!

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