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Played at Greenwich Park
Report by Hassan Khan

This fixture, played at the historic Greenwich Park, did not disappoint.

We won the toss and I elected to bowl on a green and uneven wicket.

Superb swing bowling from Syed kept us in contention. He was backed, for once, by excellent fielding. Cincinatti opener Abid was brilliantly caught by relay - as a screaming chance was deliberately palmed by a fully outstretched first slip (yours truly ) to Junaid at gully.

Two further Cincinatti batters were completely bamboozled by Syed's boomerang inswingers. He was backed up by a tidy spell from Steve Hamilton, who checked a middle order onslaught, with John Shaw, the 'comeback kid' Peter Frisby and debutant Freddie Webster all suffering badly.

After a sumptuous tea, including the best vegetable curry we've ever tasted, the Fallopians set about chasing 233 from 35 overs, probably 50 too many on a challenging wicket.

Cincinatti leggie Abid was unplayable, exploiting uneven bounce with googlies, flippers and subtly flighted leg spinners. He did for the belligerent Junaid, who had hitherto perfectly demonstrated the 'pinch-hitter' role with two enormous sixes.

The watchful Jack Turner was bowled, as was Syed. Yours truly completely misread a flipper. Even Azaz Khalil, our best batsman, was forced to make 'ugly runs', as the ball continued to spit and turn as well as bouncing unevenly.

Honour was salvaged, however, thanks to debutants Andy Widelski and the flashing-blade of Webster. The latter struck six effortless boundaries in a quickfire 25.

Surviving through it all was a shrewd innings from Steve Hamilton. He batted around Azaz, Freddie and Andy but then astutely farmed the strike with John Shaw. Indeed, our last pair put on a highly commendable 31 for the last wicket. From 57-4, we ended on a highly respectable 188-9 (batting with 10 men).

So congratulations to Brendan and Cincinatti but a solid all round performance from the O.F. on a tough wicket.

Holiday spirits: (L-R) Jack Wright, John Shaw, Steve Hamilton, Hassan Khan and Peter Frisby enjoying the post-match sunshine.

Quality cuppa: (far right) Peter Frisby and Mohammed Junaid enjoying biryani and a cup of tea during the interval.                                                                                                                                            Photo: Steve Hamilton

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