Scorecard

Antwerp CC 1sts v Optimists Cricket Club 1st XI on Sun 03 Sep 2017 at 12:00
Optimists Cricket Club Won by 53 runs

Match report Antwerp Cricket Club were the hosts for the Optimists 1st XI this weekend gone by, the first away game in a month. While Antwerp were defeated comprehensively in the home fixture, they were on a good run of form and had recently beaten league leaders Royal Brussels CC and third placed Antwerp Indians. As such, the team was aware that they were not to be taken lightly. Captain Richard Neale lost the toss and the Optimists were put in to bat on the small Antwerp ground, though with a long outfield and two of the league’s best bowlers it was not anticipated that run scoring would be easy. James Barker and Tony Whiteman started steadily against some hostile, accurate bowling, though James was out relatively cheaply with the score on 24. With the skipper occupied when this wicket fell it meant that Vikram Vijh was to join Tony and together they started to lift the run rate. Tony was batting well and during this partnership of 83 duly reached his 50. Vikram was well caught for 34, which brought in the captain. Unfortunately Richard did not last long and with Saransh Kulshrestha also departing cheaply there was the risk of a mid-innings collapse, with three wickets having fallen for only 25 runs. However, Tony was still in and ticking along nicely and in Girish Venkatesh found an able partner. Good running and a lovely six over square leg for Girish meant that the score continued to climb, this partnership of 46 helping to steady the ship and set the platform for a late innings acceleration. The score had moved on to 178 by the time Girish fell and the baton was passed to debutant Reinhardt Heyns to continue with the indefatigable Tony, who duly brought up a wonderful 100. 19 runs for Reinhardt and some late order running meant that the innings eventually closed on a reasonable score of 239, though not an ungettable one on a ground where the par score is apparently 275.

After lunch watching the neighbouring six-a-side tennis ball tournament, Atif Kamal opened the bowling for the Optimists and immediately looked a handful, the opposition batsmen struggling to deal with his bounce and movement. However, it was Pankaj Malav who got the first wicket, caught by James diving at square leg. Atif then picked up a well-deserved wicket courtesy of Tony’s juggling effort at first slip. Shortly after Pankaj bowled the other opener to put the Optimists firmly in control, with the run rate below the necessary rate. Tight bowling from Chris Evans continued to apply the pressure, but a small partnership was beginning to develop between the opposition’s numbers 4 and 5. This was ended thanks to a wonderful bit of athleticism from Chris Fry, running back and taking a one handed catch over his right shoulder. The new man in immediately took on the challenge of raising the run rate and in doing so struck three consecutive sixes. The reintroduction of Atif was to prove too much for him however and his stumps were quickly demolished by a searing yorker that eased any nerves the fielders might have been feeling. The opposition captain was next in and in conjunction with the number 5 batsmen who was scoring steadily, set about building a partnership against the Optimists tight bowling. Their partnership of 47 was ended by another super bit of fielding from Chris Fry, another one handed catch over his head off his own bowling. Two further wickets for Chris were followed by one for Richard which meant that it was left to Atif to remove the number 5 for a well-constructed 65 and end the innings on 186. A strong all-round bowling and fielding performance meant that the opposition never looked entirely in control and a winning margin of 53 runs was an apt indicator of the Optimists’ dominance. This win was enough to send them top of the league thanks to the collection of a couple of bonus points and a loss by Royal Brussels. Ultimately, this means that next weekend’s final league match at home (September 10th) against Royal Brussels will decide the league champions. Spectators are welcome for what should be a fantastic end to a wonderful season!

Optimists Cricket Club 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
8nb 15w 4b 5lb 
for 7 wickets
32
239		        
James Barker Caught  6 1
Tony Whiteman Caught  109 1
Vikram Vijh Caught  34
Richard Neale Caught  11 1
Saransh Kulshrestha Caught  2
Girish Venkateswaran Caught  17 1
Reinhardt Heyns Not Out  19
Atif Kamal Caught  6
Pankaj Malav Not Out  6
Chris Fry   3
Christopher Evans  

Antwerp CC 1sts Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Antwerp CC 1sts Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 14w  
for 10 wickets
18
186 (43.3 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Optimists Cricket Club 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Atif Kamal7.3037312.334.93
Pankaj Malav9.0237218.504.11
Christopher Evans9.0040140.004.44
Reinhardt Heyns5.003300.006.60
Chris Fry10.002538.332.50
Richard Neale2.0012112.006.00

  • Umpire :
    BCF Appointed
  • Scorer :
    Phillip Burleigh