MIDDLESEX COLTS ASSOCIATION UNDER ELEVENS FINALS DAY

Sunday, 30^th August 2009 at Mill Hill Village CC

SEMI FINAL TWO – EASTCOTE V SUNBURY

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Eastcote opening batsmen, Omar Mohamed and Rahul Wijeratne provided a blistering start for their team. With the odd slice of luck but predominately with excellent cricket shots, there were 50 runs on the board after five overs. The Sunbury bowlers stuck to their task but were unable to stem the flow of runs and the opening partnership was not broken until the 12th over with the score on 97. Rahul Wijeratne departed for an aggressive 38 made from 31 balls but even the wicket failed to slow the scoring rate. Omar Mohamed continued to dominate the bowling and was undisturbed by the loss of his partner, batting throughout the innings for a magnificent undefeated 87and the final total was 162 for 3.

Sunbury lost an early wicket at the beginning of the third over but consecutive sixes from Middlesex county player Bradley Erasmus showed they were not going to surrender without a fight. However the Eastcote bowling was tight and the fielding sharp, restricting Sunbury to 61 for 1 after 10 overs. Sunbury continued to score well without quite finding the necessary acceleration and 28 were needed from the final 2 overs. When Bradley Erasmus lost the strike in the penultimate over, Shezad Mohamed produced 4 dot balls to effectively seal the game for Eastcote. It remained for Bradley Erasmus to complete a magnificent 104 not out from just 73 balls and remarkably finish on the losing side.

Sunbury finished on 150-4 leaving Eastcote victors by 12 runs in an excellent game of cricket. Although largely dominated by batsmen, the bowling from both sides was better than the individual figures might suggest. A credit to both teams.

Match Scorecard
Eastcote 162 for 3
Omar Mohamed 87 n/o
Rahul Wijeratne 38

Sunbury 150 for 4

Bradley Erasmus 104 not out

Bowling
Shezad Mohamed 4-0-23-1
George Smith 4-0-28-1

FINAL – EASTCOTE V HARROW ST MARYS

            Batting first Harrow St Marys’ made a steady start against accurate bowling from Shezad Mohamed 1 for 19 and Rahul Wijeratne 0-17. Singles were accumulated but the batsmen found it hard to hit boundaries however after 10 overs Harrow St Marys’ were still handily placed on 56 for 1.The innings was well anchored by Angus Prevost with 27, but tidy bowling and keen fielding which led to three run outs, ensured a steady fall of wickets in the latter overs and Harrow St Marys’ were restricted to 114 for 8.

            Eastcote made a flying start with once again Omar Mohamed and Rahul Wijeratne taking the attack to the bowlers. With 38 runs on the board after only 4 overs it looked as if Eastcote would cruise to victory, but a double bowling change produced a wicket and Harrow St Marys’ started to claw their way back into the game. After 10 overs Eastcote were still well placed on 60-1 but with Kushal Patel 1 for 21 and Rohan Radia 0-11 making scoring difficult the pressure began to mount. When Omar Mohamed was run out for a well played 27, Harrow St Marys’ sensed a victory chance. Mani Bains struck some lusty blows but when he was also run out for 27 at the beginning of the 17th over 23 runs were still needed.

It was starting to get very tense and with the opening bowlers returning it was not easy to score, but young Ashane Wijesuriya was batting well and keeping the scoreboard ticking. The last over arrived with Eastcote needing 5 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand. A single and a no-ball meant 3 runs were required off 5 balls, surely it was now Eastcote’s game. Amar Dave the Harrow St Marys’ bowler had other ideas clean bowling 2 Eastcote batsmen with successive deliveries. A swing and a miss from the next delivery and 3 runs were now required from 2 deliveries, the tide appeared to be turning towards Harrow St Marys’. A scampered single from the penultimate ball and it was 2 to win from the final delivery with the tie a real possibility. Ashane Wijesuriya held his nerve and with all the fielders in close he calmly drove the ball over extra cover for 4, seeing Eastcote to victory by 4 wickets with a mature 27 not out from 26 balls.

            This concluded a magnificent game of cricket, Harrow St Mary’s fought back valiantly but Eastcote just deserved their narrow victory. A game which was once again a credit to both teams.

Match Scorecard

HSM 114 for 8
Bowling
Shezad Mohamed 4-0-19-1
Omar Mohamed 3-0-20-1
George Smith 4-0-27-1
Udaya Sharma 3-0-12-1
Maninda Bains 2-0-12-1

Eastcote 117 for 6
Omar Mohamed 27
Rahul Wijeratne 19
Maninda Bains 27
Ashane Wijesuriya 27 n/o
George Smith 8

The Under 15's also reached the finals, but narrowly lost out by 7 runs in the semis.

Congratulations to both teams.