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Played at Fairlop
Report by Steve Hamilton

It was cold, miserable, blustery and rainy. Not the best start to a day’s cricket! Our hosts Oakfield Parkonians won the toss and put us into bat on a dull and uncompromising wicket which did not help either side. The bounce was low and the match was interrupted by the frequent need leave the field to avoid the rain. But the weather finally settled and the game eventually got underway, reduced to 30 overs each.

We lost our first wicket early with the score on 28, but we settled down and our two big guns, Jakaria Ahmed and Mo Junaid, continued their early season form with a mighty second-wicket stand of 127.

Junaid departed for 41, leaving the way clear for Jakaria to cut loose. He was in his own world and completely obliterated the Oakfield attack, reaching a well-deserved century which included twelve fours and six sixes in a total of 123. Junaid’s average now stands at 66 for the season, while Jakaria is averaging 95!

At the halfway stage we had reached a formidable total of 243 for 4 off our 30 overs and were well set for victory.

Our openers bowlers, Umair Shahzad and Jabar Achikzai, consolidated our defence as we reduced Oakfield to 35 for 1 off 10 overs. Achikzai took a magnificent caught and bowled, diving forward and grasping a difficult low catch to remove Oakfield’s opener Nikhith for 14.

Ilyas Mansha provided our next breakthrough. First he mesmerised the batsmen with his loopy leg spin and came close to a couple of stumpings. Then he received his reward when Kavin came charging down the crease and totally misread the flight of the delivery. The ball took an eternity to come down and when it did it connected with the stumps, dismissing Kavin for 4 and leaving Oakfield stuttering at 55 for 2 off 15 overs.

We were in control by now and it was time to unleash our special weapon: Talal Ali, a former Oakfield player with inside knowledge of the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses. Since playing for us he has delivered more each game and he provided yet another devastating display of pace and accuracy.

He wrapped up and sealed the game for us with two spectacular wickets, both caught and bowled, which showcased his cat-like reflexes! They were not easy catches as in both cases the batter had hit the ball straight back extremely hard, first Jigar, dismissed for 23 and then the talented young teen Rohit, out for 92.

A special mention to our new recruits Amith Kumar and Venkat Reddy who fielded with enthusiasm and covered plenty of ground to save us runs.

Oakfield put up a valiant effort but were always behind the rate and fell 40 runs short. But it was a competitive game and we have been invited back for a rematch in July. Stay tuned for Part Two!


Scorecard below

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