MATCH NO. 1 – 2009 SEASON STANMORE JAFFERYS VS. BESSBOROUGH CRICKET CLUB

14 May 2009 22:59

Match No. 1 – 2009 Season  

Stanmore Jafferys vs. Bessborough Cricket Club  

Match Report:  

What a start to the season as Stanmore Jaffrey emerged victorious in their opening, nail biting, heart pounding, encounter against Bessborough cricket club.  

Winning the toss, skipper Mohamed Sherali (Mo) decided to bat which meant it was time for Zaffar ( Shahid Afridi) to pad up with Sarfaraz Bandali. A controversial LBW in the very first over saw the back of Sarfaraz, a big blow for Jafferys.  

Abbas Bhimji joined Zaffar and the next 13 overs were played in 20/20 fashion. The deliveries were dispatched to all corners as Zaffar and Abbas put on a stand of 75 runs in 13 overs. Zaffar scored a handsome and explosive 48 off less than 40 balls before being caught at long off. Abbas departed shortly after scoring a patient 31. Newcomer Bakar Rizvi’s flawless 47 was another sight pleasing to the eye as the visitors piled 190 in 33 overs. Sadly, Jafferys were not able to utilise their full allotment of 40 overs due to a collapse towards the tail and some dubious umpiring.  

With a less than formidable total on the board, Stanmore Jaffreys knew defending it would not be an easy task. Despite losing an early wicket to Hamid, the hosts managed to attain a commanding position scoring over 70 off 11 overs. The skipper decided to put the ball into the reliable hands of Zaffar (Shane Warne – Right Arm Deadly) who living up to expectations brought the breakthrough in his very first over. Some tidy bowling by the skipper Mo Sherali and Abbas Bandali and nippy bodyline stuff by Bakar Rizvi (keeping the slip quadron always in business) made sure the required rate stayed around 4 per over with regular wickets coming our way.  

Finally with the last six overs only needing 25 runs with 3 wickets in hand, victory was seemingly distant. The skipper having saved Bakar and Zaffar 3 overs a piece saw it necessary to bring the daring duo back into the attack (wise decision). The next 5 overs saw the fall of two more wickets and 21 runs. Now came the ultimate over with the hosts needing 4 and the last pair batting. With Zaffar given the nerve racking task of retrieving victory from the very jaws of defeat, guess what happened! He did just that! (No! there was no repeat of what happened in Nairobi against Mumbai) He just gave 1 run and got the last wicket finishing with the figures of 8 overs 28 for 3.