Optimists Cricket Club

On Sunday 1^st May, the Optimists 1^st XI travelled to Ohain to continue their campaign for the BCL Twenty20 cup, this time against PCCB.

On a hot and sunny morning, Joost Mees won the toss and elected to bat first.

The first 6 overs of any Twenty20 match are crucial due to the fielding restrictions that are in place and Mees and Tim Andrews, the opening batsman for Optimists took every opportunity to capitalise on this. Both looked in good form, with Mees continuing where he left off from last week, hitting some powerful shots before finally being caught for a quick-fire 45. Andrews departed soon after for 25 which left Richard Neale to continue scoring the runs with solid support from the remaining middle order batsman. Mohammed Iqual supported Neale in scoring quickly towards the end and Iqbal ended up on 24 not out. Neale was eventually caught for a fine knock of 52 runs off 29 balls which meant the Optimists had amassed a big total of 178 off their 20 overs.

Confidence was oozing from the side as the Optimists took to the field and all was going extremely well. Taral Desai and Suresh Kalagara opened the bowling and both bowled with lively pace and movement. Kalagara dismissed both openers and his figures of 3-20 were a true reflection of an outstanding bowling performance. Desai finished on 3-18 and after 5 overs, the score was 18-4 and it looked like that it would be an early finish. However, PCCB batsman Qaisar and Mujahid had other ideas. Both went on the attack and with a bit of luck and sloppy fielding were chasing the score down at an alarming rate. When Qaisar was finally dismissed by Gandhi, Mujahid increased the run-rate again and with only 3 overs to go PCCB required 50 to win. With Mujahid in such destructive form, the Optimists had to work hard and eventually Desai managed to get Mujahid caught in his final over. Panic over, and the Optimists cruised to victory with PCCB finishing on a respectable 154-8.

A fantastic performance again and the 1^st XI must now work hard and ensure they continue to play hard and be ruthless to ensure qualification to the finals day for the BCF Twenty20 competition in mid June.