Club Statistics
Match Summary: vs. Whalers, Sunday, 12 Aug 2018
Ground: Dundonald Rec Ground
Captain: Phil Ling
Match type: 30 overs
Toss: Exiles elected to bat
Weather: Drizzle
Opposition: Whalers scored: 122 all out (28 overs)
Exiles Score: 140 all out (29.5 overs)
Result: Won by 18 runs
Man of the match: Yahya Khan 18 & 2 for 13
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amil Patel | ct. | 34 | 51 | 5 | 0 |
| 2 | Andrew Wingfield | b. | 15 | 33 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Bernard Leuvennink | ct. | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Jonny Aloysius | b. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Bilal Musakhel (W) | ct. | 11 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Jibran Ahmed | ct. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Simon Gundry | ct. | 33 | 42 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | Shahid Iqbal | ct. | 17 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Yahya Khan | ct. & b. | 18 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Phil Ling (C) | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Extra(s) 8w 2b 1lb | 11 | |||||
| 140 | 179 | |||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Wingfield | 5.0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Jibran Ahmed | 5.0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | Simon Gundry | 6.0 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| 4 | Phil Ling | 6.0 | 1 | 34 | 2 | 17 |
| 5 | Yahya Khan | 3.0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 6.5 |
| 6 | Shahid Iqbal | 3.0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 18 |
| Player | Catch | Run Out | Stumping | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Gundry | 1 | |||
| Phil Ling | 1 | |||
| Bernard Leuvennink | 1 | |||
| Shahid Iqbal | 1 | |||
| Yahya Khan | 1 |
Exiles picked up a heartening 18 run victory over Whalers on a drizzly day at Dundonald Rec. In fact the forecast had been so poor that many had expected the game to be called off but not only was the pitch playable, it even stopped raining during much of the second innings.
Seeing a green top, with heavy overcast conditions and drizzle in the air for the start, captain Ling won the toss and to no-one's suprise that knows him elected to bat. To be fair his hand was forced a bit as only about 5 Exiles were present in time for the start, but it still must've raised some eyebrows in the Whalers camp. A sensible decision was taken however, to reduce the game to 30 overs per side.
Amil and Andy were the lucky recipients of the task of opening the batting and both battled well for a while, riding their luck at times as the ball in particular had a tendancy to rise alarmingly off a length. But some boundaries were despatched and 38 had been reached in 11 overs before Andy was bowled by an outswinging full delivery from by far the Whalers best bowler Jack.
This was the cue for a flurry of wickets as the Exiles subsided to 76 for 6 and 100 suddenly looked a big ask. But in bowler-friendly conditions it was well realised that every run would be vital.
Simon - sporting a 'tache more Charles Manson than Mitchell Johnson these days was in at 7 and marshalled the tail. Or at least he tried to. But Shahid with 17 and Yayha with 18 (off 7 balls) had no intention of batting sensibly - and tried to hit virtually every ball for a maximum. Crucially they managed 5 boundaries between them - with Yayha clearing the ropes twice - as partnerships of 22 and 20 with Simon ensued to take the 10 man Exiles to 116 for 8.
And then for the ineviatble Ling batting masterclass. Which lasted only one ball - though unusually this was with one scoring shot to square leg rather than being bowled middle peg. At the other end Simon quickly realised who he was batting with and started hitting shots - and 4 boundaries were quickly despatched as the score was taken to 140 before he was very well held at mid off off the penultimate ball. Concerns over his offensive facial hair were quickly parked for a while as his team-mates went back to appreciating his cricket.
140 seemed a reasonable total to try to defend as the Exiles took the field in ever improving conditions. Andy and Jibs found less swing than their Whalers counterparts but still found prodigious seam movement. But the Whalers openers stood strong and reached 54 without loss.
Ling initially struggled with his length and was quickly dispatched for 4 boundaries over midwicket - including one maximum - before crucially taking the wicket of Whalers opener Dean for a hard hit 39. Remarkably the wicket was taken caught and bowled - a first for Phil in his Exiles career, although not his first ever c&b opportunity.
Gunders quickly cleaned up the other opener at the other end and Exiles were back in the game. Thereafter Exiles did really well - taking wickets regularly - and unusually every catch was taken - with Bernard, Yayha, Simon and Shahid all taking not straightforward chances. Wickets were shared but not for Andy.
Whalers number 7 Josh kept his team in it however with some big hits and they'd reached 120 with 2 wickets left before Jibs stuck twice in an over to finish the match in the 28th over - cleaning up Josh with an excellent slower ball.
This was a really good game of cricket - ebbing and flowing throughout. Just as I'd started to consider Phil might've been right after all to bat first, he started to admit that he'd much preferred to have bowled first in hindsight. Getting on the same wavelength as Mr Ling is often tricky, but who can argue when victory is achieved.
Abbey Rec and Ploughmans next Sunday.
Report By: Andrew Wingfield