Match Report

Mehood does an Anirudh to MSCC.

For most of the afternoon, this match in the Friendly Cup, the third and final one of the group stage, looked in favour of MSCC.  With ten overs left of the OCCSCC innings Mr Mehood changed the outcome of the game with hitting only matched this season by Anirudh in full flow. 

Rob and Elliot Barton were welcome returnees to the home ranks, now residents of the West Midlands moving house has meant very limited opportunity to play. Elliot opened the batting with the prolific, (rather more so this season than last,) Mark Ford-Langstaff. Mehood and youngster Parish opened the bowling for the County Council staff.  The bowling was very tidy, and in Mark’s case, who took most of the deliveries from Mehood, quite challenging.

Someone suggested that Parish was a little young to be working for the Council, it turns out that none of the XI were employees of that institution. The opening salvo was survived. Both bats began to grow in confidence. Elliot picked out the fielders stationed at long off and long on and took singles. Mark, for whom the fielders came in, bashed it over the top.  Before the first of two drinks breaks Middleton were in the ascendancy.

With the first hundred runs on the board, Elliot was bowled for 35, his highlight a straight six into the sight screen. Mark was going from strength to strength, his on driving a notable feature of his innings. Shaan was up the order at 3. He was soon joining in the merriment, he encouraged the tiring Mark to run a few more 2’s. Shaan hit his first six at Middleton Park, up and over the square leg boundary on his way to a career best 29. 

Ali Meier came in next, just as Mark fell to the unusual bowling of Nazir. Some might consider his method of delivery to push the limits of legality, Mark was probably looking too closely at his arm instead of the ball, played around a straight delivery and was LBW for an excellent 78. A very big total looked likely but the bowling improved and Ali and new man in Matt Bazeley got tied down; good shots found fielders while good balls were defended.

With 6 overs to go the batsman waiting  urged the striking pair to show more urgency, the score board clicked into action past the second hundred before both were dismissed in the penultimate over. Tim R  and Ahmad took the total to 221 at the close, a good score but a few runs less than hoped for.

After  tea, provided in trandem by Tim, Mark and Hamidullah a refuelled team took to the field. With injuries to some expected bowlers, a change to the wicket keeper was made, with Elliot taking the first half of the innings and Ahmad the second. Hamidullah and Rob Barton shared the new ball. Both over pitched in the first over and the visitors made a flying start thanks to Moonier and Parish snr. 

Hamidullah struck back, showing the spirit of Mohammed Siraj, after his dismissal of Moonier. Rob too hit the stumps leaving OCCSCC 46 – 2 after 11. Robin Cummings, he of the flowing locks, replaced Hamidullah. He settled into a good rhythm bowling five tidy overs for just 18, he also took the third wicket thanks to the skills of slip extraordinarie Mark FL. Some have described it as a full length superman dive to his right, others as falling over, whatever it was a terrific two handed take and the days champagne moment.

Rob completed his 8 overs, Seril came on to support Shaan and the game progressed in the normal manner. Runs accumulated at just below the required run rate, there was an occassional boundary and an occassional close call for the the batsman. MSCC looked to be in control as the run rate went up from 6 to 7 and then to 7 and a half an over.

With 16 overs left Tim R brought himself on to bowl. With his second ball he bowled the well set Rehan for 26. OCCSCC were four down for 106. Mehood came out to bat. His partner Hussein had been batting some time and was looking to accelerate.  Three consecutive overs with 10 or more runs followed including the first 6 of the innings toward the cars parked some distance beyond the boundary. 

Hamidullah had 5 overs left  to bowl and he managed to keep a check on the scoring rate. At the other end Mehood took a fancy to the slow left arm of the skipper and put two more shots high into the oak.  The game was in the balance, swinging towards the home team when Tim bowled Hussein and had the next man LBW, and toward the visitors when Mehood was on strike.

Three times the ball just beat fielders to the boundary, three time the ball deviated up and over or to the side of fielders desperate to prevent a boundary. Matt spent large parts of the afternoon just out of reach of the ball, never quite stationed in the correct slot by the skipper. 

With three overs remaining Mehood’s aggressive innings had put OCCSCC ahead. Just 14 were needed. Hamidullah’s final over was excellent conceeding just one run off the bat and a leg bye.  

Mehood was facing, the first ball no score, the second hit to Elliot at deep mid wicket. Surely only a single and then the danger man was off strike. Unfortunatley the throw was wayward, allowing a second run on the overthrow and Mehood back on strike.  Two dot balls followed, but the fifth ball was picked up and sailed away high in the branches of the oak. Picking an easy single off the last ball Mehood had five to score to win the game.

Hamidullah had completed his allocation, to the surpise of the skipper who had miscalculated the overs remaining.  He opted for Elliot to try to rescue the game. His first ball was clubbed to deep mid on. Mark FL fielded and returned the ball, the batters should have completed the second run, but the careless batter kept his bat in the air to be run out.  The next two balls were hit into the outfield, but there were no further heroics so that with the scores tied and three balls remaining  Man of the Match Mehood hit the winning runs.

For the third Sunday in a row the game had gone down to the the final over with both teams having a chance to win. This time it felt as if the game had been snatched away and it was a subdued Middleton Team who supped at Seril’s bar and snacked from Rona’s bbq. 

Thank you once again to our sponsors, Nolan OilsNolan Oils for supporting us.