Optimists Cricket Club

The Optimists will play in Division 2 of the Belgian League in 2010, after failing to secure a win at Mechelen which would have kept hopes alive going into the final game at Royal Brussels.

In a game reduced to 36 overs per side by heavy morning rain, Optimists batted first and posted a decent score of 203, largely due to a fifty from Tony Whiteman, 28 from Joost Mees and brisk middle order runs from Taral Desai and Nishith Gandhi.

As in so many games this season, however, the reply from the opposition opening batsmen was immediately destructive, with any balls in the hitting-zone carted to the boundary. Despite a clutch of very late wickets, Mechelen cruised to the target with several overs to spare.