Club Statistics
Match Summary: vs. Reigate Priory, Sunday, 04 Sep 2022
Ground: Nursery Road
Captain: Shahid Iqbal
Match type: 35 overs
Toss: Exiles elected to bowl
Weather: Cloudy
Opposition: Reigate Priory scored: 122 for 9 (35 overs)
Exiles Score: 123 for 6 (30.2 overs)
Result: Won by 4 wickets
Man of the match: Ajmal Safi 25 & 2 for 24,
Yahya Khan 3 for 23
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Roberts | b. | 33 | 68 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | Ajmal Safi | b. | 25 | 39 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | Bernard Leuvennink | lbw | 8 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Shahid Iqbal (C) | not out | 24 | 33 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Jamil Wadair | b. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Yahya Khan | b. | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Jibran Ahmed | ct. & b. | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Daud Shah | not out | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Muhammed Siyar | dnb | ||||
| 10 | Masie Musakhel | dnb | ||||
| 11 | John Crossland (W) | dnb | ||||
| Extra(s) 5w 10b 3lb | 18 | |||||
| 124 | 182 | |||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jibran Ahmed | 5.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Masie Musakhel | 4.0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Yahya Khan | 7.0 | 2 | 23 | 3 | 7.7 |
| 4 | Muhammed Siyar | 6.0 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Daud Shah | 4.0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Ajmal Safi | 6.0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 12 |
| 7 | Bernard Leuvennink | 3.0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Player | Catch | Run Out | Stumping | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yahya Khan | 1 | |||
| Ajmal Safi | 1 |
Having spent the last few weeks playing on dry pitches with no green grass to speak of, it was a relief to turn up to a lush green Nursery Road ground. So lush in fact, it was difficult to make out the square from a distance. Relief turned to worry as it transpired that a wicket hadn’t been cut for the game and the only playable wicket was a bit too green for this author’s liking.
Seeing the state of the wicket and the cloud cover, one thing was certain: we better bowl first. Our stand-in opposition, Reigate Priory CC arrived in a timely fashion and much to our delight lost the toss. Captain Shahid chose to bowl and we started the game on time (by Exiles standards).
Bowling started well, with Jibs and Masie keeping the runs in check. Masie conceded just 11 runs from his 4 overs whilst Jibs bowled 5 overs for just 4 runs, including 3 maidens. No wickets came from the opening spells, through the late swing from both sides generated many nervous moments for the batsmen.
At the change of bowling, wickets soon fell. Yahya and Siyar claimed 3 wickets each as the swinging ball found the stumps and pads of the batsmen at regular intervals. Runs continued to be a challenge for Reigate; as wickets fell, reaching 100 looked a distant target, however a strong 7th wicket partnership saw the total creep up. Ajmal and Bernard eventually broke the partnership and cleaned up the tail, leaving a total of 122 for the Exiles to chase.
As Keith and Ajmal took to the crease, it felt like a very different pitch. Runs flowed with relative ease and little risk was taken in totting up the runs. At 68 runs, Ajmal was eventually caught on 25 after mistiming a big hit. Wickets quickly tumbled after the 1st as a tricky bowler picked off the top and middle order with a combination of swing and skiddy deliveries. Keith top scored with 33, after which most other batsmen only managed single figures.
What looked like an easy victory became a very close game, as Exiles went from 68-0 to 101-5. Thankfully Shahid maintained stability on one end with some sensible blocking and picking off bad balls. The winning runs were eventually scored by newcomer Daud giving Exiles a 4 wicket victory.
Some excellent bowling from Exiles and measured batting from Keith, Ajmal and Shahid made for what looks like a convincing win on paper, but in reality was a nail-biting finish.
Report By: Jibran Ahmed