Kowloon Cricket Club - Match Reports

At KCC: Crusaders 151 (Ray Brewster 38; Kamran 5-0-34-3, Aftab Ahmed 2-0-9-4) lost to MCC St George's 155-6 (Mumtaz Yasir 79; Damian Kelleher 4-0-20-3) by 4 wkts

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Round 3 - Monday, 19th September 2005
[HKCA Report]

Saracens v. HKU at HKU
Result: Saracens won by 32 runs

A much needed face-lift has been applied to the Saracens and it is evident when looking at the new recruits for this season, which has expanded our player pool dramatically. Yes, the Saracens, now do have a ‘player pool’ and not one with a bunch of names, rather, a pool which may lead to some sort of ‘player rotation’. Let’s hope this enthusiasm holds up throughout the season!

With a team consisting of myself, Rahul, Naeem Ashraf, Nigel, Rohan, Ravi, Yogi, Crossy, Brian D’Rozario, Roshan Dalani and Rishi, runs were never going to be a problem - in theory.

They weren’t. After getting off to a flyer, the base was set for a big total. Rahul, as usual, played the long game and it bore fruit. With an array of strokes, both deft and attacking, his 80 runs laid the foundation for the team. The bowling (and ground) proved too substandard for the ex-Pakistani national (Naeem) and resulted in one shot too many. However, I think it served as his wakeup call and without burdening him with the expectation of perpetual runs, I’m sure we will see great things this season. His 21 included a few strokes which were hit with frightening power/timing!

Nigel featured in a good partnership with Rahul, which saw a lot of strike rotating – partly due to a rather thick outfield! In an attempt to pick up the dipping run rate, Rohan (8) and Nigel (24) both succumbed to ordinary bowling and shot selection. Nonetheless, Ravi (38) and the newly ‘buffed up’ Yogi (47*) picked up the run rate with some rather entertaining strokes – one that comes to mind is Ravi’s tennis forehand slap shot through extra cover! (you still need to explain that to me Ravs) Yogi definitely put his money where his mouth was with a couple of towering sixes and left the skipper eating humble pie (I did say he couldn’t hit the ball).

Set a target of 263, HKU made their intentions clear early on with some very unorthodox cricket strokes. The slogging was always going to be a temporary issue, especially with the combination of swing and accuracy from our openers: Naeem Ashraf (1) and Crossy (4). The tight bowling paid off and the 5 wickets they took exposed a lengthy tail. However, Rahul (1) and Ravi (2) also bowled relatively well and the variety they introduced to the attack was instrumental in picking up key wickets at the end where the required run rate suddenly didn’t seem so insurmountable. With two of their batsman posing credible threats, the Saracens held together well and through the application of some mild pressure, came out on top by 30 runs.

Playing on a ground, which is at most 40 yards, it was a question of how many runs were on the board as even the good balls were being hit for boundaries and sixes. This is where Yogi’s blitz at the end appeared extremely valuable and not just entertaining.

I guess all that gym work paid off Yogi?

Many thanks to Roshan, Brian and Rishi who were not given the chance to shine but will definitely be given the opportunity this season - all three have shown glimpses.

- Dyutish

At HKU: Saracens 262-8 (Rahul Sharma 80, Ravi Sujanani 38, Yogesh Mahtani 47*) beat HKU 230-8 (Martin Sabine 73, Mohsen Hafeez 52; David Cross 10-0-70-4) by 32 runs

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Tartars v. CCC at KCC
Result: Tartars won by 6 wkts

No report received.

At KCC: CCC 204-7 (Martin Lever 30, Mahmood 71; Moazzam Ayub 9-0-61-4) beat Tartars 206-4 (Ilyas Gul 61, Iftikhar Ahmed 37, Shkawhat Ali 40*) by 6 wkts

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Crusaders v. LSW Warriors at PKVR1
Result: Crusaders lost by 71 runs

No report received.

At PKVR1: LSW 215-7 (Munir Dar 112; Greg Thomas 10-0-53-4) beat Crusaders 144 (Munir Dar 7.3-2-33-4, Jawaid Iqbal 7-0-37-3) by 71 runs

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Round 2 - Saturday, 17th September 2005

Saracens v. Islanders at Kowloon Cricket Club
Result: Match washed out

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Tartars v. Witherers at Hong Kong Cricket Club
Result: Match washed out

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Round 1 - Saturday, 10th September 2005
[HKCA Report]

Crusaders v. Mainlanders at Kowloon Cricket Club
Result: Crusaders won by 6 wkts