Match Report

Ahmad leads the way but Middleton Stoney fall short of glory.

When your team on a Saturday asks you to bat at number 11 then you might be thought of as non specialist batter. Ahmad bats at No 11 for Bicester on Saturday and seldom gets the chance to show his worth. For MSCC on a Sunday, he moves up the order, this week to number 3 where his worth was there for all to see. 

Batting first on a new pitch Shaan and Mike Robinson went in first. Hampstead Norreys had a steady if not too threatening attack, a wide in the second over being the only score recorded. Shaan got careless in the third over, playing all around a straight delivery to be bowled for a duck. 

Ahmad joined Mike and survived two half chances, one touching the finger tips of cover as he got off the mark, and one from a ball blasted at extra cover that the fielder nearly held on to. From then on Ahmad took control. Hitting powerfully straight and through the offside. The Hampstead Norrey’s fielders were soon dispatched to distant parts.

Mike was not overawed. He saw what Ahmad was doing and joined in the attack, one back foot shot through wide mid off being the pick.  The fifty partnership came quickly, Mike surving an appeal for caught behind that convinced the bowler and fielder but left the umpire unmoved.  The edge that caused his downfall came out of the blue and left Middleton 2 wickets down for 69.

A third wicket partnership of 64 between Ahmad and Tim Riley was dominated by Ahmad. He was soon past his half century and scoring from most deliveries. Hustling between the wickets allowed extra runs to be picked up, including an all run 4.  One gamble too many saw Tim run out and the in form Anirudh come out to bat.

Soon Anirudh was joining in the carnage. He survived one half chance as the fielder at deep mid off mis-judged the flight of the ball. His first boundary was a maximum, sweetly timed toward the oak tree. Meanwhile Ahmad had moved into the nineties and was batting with a little more care to ensure he reached three figures. 

A proud father was recording the moment when Ahmad squirted the ball to backward point and set off for the single that took him there. The home team rose to applaud a first class innings. The skipper indicated that a declaration was imminent as the score passed 200. There was just time for a maximum a piece, Anirud hitting onto the covers, and Ahmad pulling high over mid wicket before the innings ended on 214 – 3

If the crusts have been removed from the sandwiches, it is a sure bet that the tea has been prepared by Tim House. Forewarned that a number of the visitors were vegetarian Tim had made extra efforts to provide suitable fare. Is it a first that Coronation chick pea sandwiches were served? They were universally popular as were the cream cake and strawberries. Thanks Tim.

The early declaration meant that MSCC would have an extra 13 mins of bowling to secure all 10 wickets, but also gave the visitors more time to reach the target.  Hamidullah set them on the way with a brace of wides to start his spell, but was soon back on his nagging length. At the Church End, Asif was making the ball hoop in. For an over or two he struggled to find the perfect line,  as he pitched in front of the stumps only for the ball to drift further to leg.

Aditya played two very good straight drives off the bowling of Hamidullah, as the opening pair made a promising start to the chase.  Asif spilled a very catchable chance from Mikey, the second opener. It was not the last mistake made by the fielding team as for a spell the ball seemed to pass through finger tips and between legs.

The openers had added 30 before Asif put the ball in precisely the right spot. The ball swung in late, clipped the top of the off stump and Aditya was gone. Wicket keep, Olly Ross was purring at the delivery. Asif picked up the second wicket, also bowled, also hitting the top off but to some controversy as to whether or not it should have been called a no ball. The umpires were convinced it was a fair delivery and the batsman had to leave.

Hamidullah and Asif bowled 15 openers in the opening spell, but could make no further breakthrough. Seril and Paul took over. Seril beat the bat of Adeesh the visition captain several times but could not draw the edge, while Paul after a dodgy  first over was on the money with evey delivery. Mikey looked the most likely to push the scoring on as the third wicket partnership developed. As drinks approached, Middleton had bowled 25 overs and Hampstead Norreys were on 80 – 2.

Two wickets fell immeadiately after the break. Tim Riley, replacing Seril induced a wild shot form Mikey while Paul produced a beauty to bowl Imran for just 4.  The run rate was between 6 and 7 an over with wickets in hand. Tim bowled a couple of maiden overs and it looked as if the batting team would attempt to play out for the draw. 

Adeesh decided that a victory would taste better and hit out. It did not last long, Ahmad holding onto to an easy catch top edged to short extra cover. Tim House took over from Paul with his mixture of off cutters and faster balls. The fielders began to surround the batsman as Middleton pushed for their own victory. Both Tim’s picked up another wicket, Tim House hitting the stumps and Mike Robinson holding a tricky catch at mid -off before Nikhil began a vigil that looked likely to frustrate the home tea.

With time running out Ahmad was summoned. He was blunted for two overs but struck twice in his third over, Nikhil caught behind to a very faint edge and the next man Saurabh bowled by the ball of the day. It left Middleton with 19 deliveries to take the final wicket. Twice huge shouts for LBW went up with every fielder convinced that being hit with your legs in front of the stumps should be out. The umpire remained un moved and the batters survived. 

Tim Riley bowled the final over nearly picking up winning wicket with the final delivery, but the potential chance fell well short of Tim House at mid – wicket.