Played at Alexandra Park
Report by Hassan Khan
A picturesque ground framed by the spectacular Alexandra Palace
saw the Old Fallopians electing to bowl on a green wicket. A
pessimistic captain might have felt the odds were stacked against
him, as Alexandra Palace CC, a Middlesex Championship club, had
three 1st XI players into their line-up.
This included an
'overseas club pro' and an Australian Grade cricketer. Without
wishing to make excuses, these proved to be far above our standard,
with our Antipodean friend duly slaughtering the OF bowling with a
60-ball century!
Syed and Ebrahim were our most effective
bowlers, with the youngster [is he a relation? - TC] picking up a
top-order batsman as his first ever wicket for the Falloians, thanks
to a brilliant catch at first slip by Gaurav. Unlike his hapless
father (1-72 from 7 overs) Ebrahim finished with 1-17 from his 4
overs, easily our best bowling figures of the match.
Despite
a sporting declaration that set us 220 to win, the result was a
foregone conclusion. Regular loss of wickets and a tenacious but
inconsequential innings from yours truly could not alter the sense
of hopelessness.
On a lighter note, events took a bizarre
turn when one of our new recruits, Ahmed Bismilla, threw his batting
gloves at the umpire and insisted he played better if he could "feel
the ball"! Our innings folded to 160 all out with one crumb of
comfort - we batted our allotted 40 overs.
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