Wednesday 27 June 2007

Mid-Season Averages

Crow Road 2007 Mid-Season Averages

Covers all games up to and including Whiteinch (A) on 23/06/2007

Batting & Fielding (Min: 2 completed innings)

Name M I NO Runs HS 100s 50s Ave Ct/St
G Smillie 6 6 0 250 103 1 1 41.67 5
M Hussain 4 4 1 81 73 0 1 27.00 2
A Rixon 7 6 1 118 45 0 0 23.60 3
U Ali 4 4 1 40 26 0 0 13.33 0
S Alcock 4 4 1 36 13 0 0 12.00 1
I Hussain 2 2 0 21 17 0 0 10.50 0
Blaal Hussain 3 3 0 16 9 0 0 5.33 0
A Mustoe 2 2 0 8 7 0 0 4.00 1
I Miller 4 3 0 10 10 0 0 3.33 1
D Tate 3 3 1 4 3 0 0 2.00 0
Z Iqbal 5 3 0 1 1 0 0 0.33 0
W Murray 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0

Also batted: Played in 3 matches – A Khan 9, 1* (1 ct); Played in 2 matches – A Mishra 5*, 29 (2 ct, 1 st); A Malik 14, 36*; G Reid 0; Played in 1 match – D Allen 35; G Stewart 6; A Stewart 6 (1 ct); C Stewart 0; M Gibson 7* (1 ct); A Mansell 35 (1 ct); L Curtis 4; J Pulley 0*; A Hussain 15; A Christie 4; G Semple 0; D Hoffmann 8 (1 ct); W Hussain 2; H Livingston 0; I Thomson 18*; J McGrath 5; T Mehmood 20; U Afzal 9; K Ali 21.

Did not bat: L McDermid; A Fleming; Bilal Hussain (all played 1 match)


Bowling (Min: 3 wickets)

Name 0 M R W BB 5w/i Ave (Econ)
W Hussain 5.5 0 20 4 4-20 0 5.00 (3.43)
T Mehmood 15 3 44 6 6-44 1 7.33 (2.93)
L Curtis 13 1 53 7 7-53 1 7.57 (4.08)
A Christie 16 1 67 5 5-67 1 13.40 (4.19)
D Allen 12.4 0 54 4 4-54 0 13.50 (4.26)
A Rixon 10 1 51 3 2-31 0 17.00 (5.10)
Z Iqbal 19.1 3 104 6 4-10 0 17.33 (5.43)
A Malik 17 3 72 4 4-51 0 18.00 (4.24)
G Reid 20.3 2 83 4 2-38 0 20.75 (4.05)
A Khan 22 3 100 3 2-50 0 33.33 (4.55)

Also bowled: U Ali 4.4-0-33-1; A Stewart 1-0-10-0; G Smillie 17-0-77-1; W Murray 7-0-45-2; A Hussain 13-1-74-0; I Hussain 14.2-0-44-1; Blaal Hussain 3-0-22-2; J McGrath 4-0-36-0; U Afzal 15-1-67-2; K Ali 12-1-38-2; A Fleming 6-0-30-1; Bilal Hussain 7-0-19-0.

Mid-Season Records

Crow Road 2007 Season Records

Scores of 50 or over

103 G Smillie v Scotindians (A*) 09/06
73 M Hussain v Alps (H) 12/05
61 G Smillie v Home Park (H) 26/05

4 or more wickets in an innings

7-53 L Curtis v Hillend (A) 06/05
6-44 T Mehmood v Scotindians (A*) 09/06
5-67 A Christie v Alps (H) 12/05
4-10 Z Iqbal v Whiteinch (A) 23/06
4-20 W Hussain v Home Park (H) 26/05
4-51 A Malik v Home Park (H) 26/05
4-54 D Allen v Bees (H) 28/04

Hat-trick

Z Iqbal v Whiteinch (A) 23/06

50 partnerships

107 for 3rd G Smillie & A Rixon v Scotindians (A*) 09/06
94 for 5th G Smillie & A Rixon v Home Park (H) 26/05
61 for 6th M Hussain & A Malik v Alps (H) 12/05
57 for 1st D Allen & A Rixon v Bees (H) 28/04
In total, 70 runs were added for this wicket. A Mishra retired hurt after adding 13 with Allen
55 for 7th A Malik & Blaal Hussain v Home Park (H) 26/05
50 for 1st G Smillie & A Mishra v Scotindians (A*) 09/06
50 for 2nd G Smillie & T Mehmood v Scotindians (A*) 09/06

Team totals over 200

253-7 v Scotindians (A) 09/06
227 v Home Park (H) 26/05

Dismissing opposition for under 100

None so far








* Scotindians’ home match v Crow Road played at Old Anniesland

Saturday 23 June 2007

Whiteinch v Crow Road, 23/06/2007

Whiteinch v Crow Road
WDCU Div 5, Glasgow Green, 23/06/2007

Whiteinch won toss and elected to bat

Whiteinch
Sabir c Khan b Reid 46
Hogg b K Ali 0
Quddoos c and b K Ali 4
* Ullah c M Hussain b Reid 3
Butt c Smillie b Fleming 12
Abbas c Smillie b Khan 3
Shafiq not out 11
Sohail c M Hussain b Iqbal 33
Shabir b Iqbal 0
Imran c Alcock b Iqbal 0
# Drummond b Iqbal 0
Extras 48
Total (all out, 43.1 ovs) 160

K Ali 12-1-38-2, Reid 10-0-38-2, Fleming 6-0-30-1,
B Hussain 7-0-19-0, Khan 4-1-18-1, Iqbal 4.1-2-10-4

Crow Road
* G Smillie c Quddoos b Sohail 13
S Alcock not out 7
K Ali c and b Shafiq 21
U Ali b Imran 5
# M Hussain not out 3
Extras 24
Total (3 wkts, 26 ovs) 73
A Rixon, A Fleming, A Khan, Z Iqbal, B Hussain and G Reid did not bat

Sohail 9-1-17-1, Quddoos 9-0-38-0, Imran 4-0-10-1,
Shafiq 4-1-7-1

Match abandoned
Whiteinch 0 pts, Crow Road 0 pts



Match Report

Crow Road travelled to Glasgow Green to face Whiteinch, hoping to continue the excellent form shown in the previous game against Scotindians. Conditions were questionable at 1pm with a big puddle on one of the straight boundaries; this was partially solved by strategic placement of kit on the boundary edge. Stand in captain Smillie lost the toss and took to the field. Khizar and Gordi opened up, generally bowling a tight, probing line outside the off stump. Sadly for both however Whiteinch’s umpire failed to appreciate the quality of the Crow Road attack, with some dubious wide calling.

The standard of umpiring did eventually improve and Crow Road’s opening pair was able to tighten up the scoring rate and claim three Whiteinch scalps within the first 10 overs. Crow Road were then boosted by the arrival of the delayed Rixon, who was like a lion let out of a cage, chasing everything down out on the boundary and diving for anything that fell within 10 feet of his grasp when close in.

Whiteinch’s fourth wicket pairing were however more stubborn and were beginning to build a meaningful partnership when Reid managed to lure the dangerous Sabir into a mis-timed drive which was clutched into his chest by Ali Khan. Debutants Fleming and Billy were soon brought on as first change bowlers. Fleming bowled a good line but was at times guilty of dragging it down too short. However in his 2nd over he picked up a maiden senior wicket when the stand in skipper clung on to a skier when he had dropped a similarly easier one earlier in the over. Billy meanwhile bowled with both excellent pace and control, particularly troubling the batsmen with his short pitched bowling.

After drinks, Ali Khan entered the attack, initially keeping a tight line and length and being rewarded with a smart catch by Smillie. Ali however soon lost control and Billy tired after an excellent spell, allowing Whiteinch to gain the ascendancy. Captain Smillie responded with what turned out to be an inspired double change, bringing back opener Khizar and introducing Zishaan Iqbal into the attack. Khizar continued on from his excellent first spell, but the real start of the show proved to be Zishaan. After an unsuccessful first over, Zishaan bowled a much tighter second over, frustrating the big hitting Sohail who was caught in the fifth ball of the over, before clean bowling Shabir for a golden duck the following ball. The hat-trick ball however had to wait until another Khizar over was bowled. Next over in came Zishaan, hat-trick ball, using every ounce of his 6½ frame to launch himself at the crease, releasing a fast and full delivery outside off stump which the batsman flashed at, and edged into the safe hands of Stevo at gully. Carnage!

Boosted by his achievement, Zishaan cleaned up the last man in the following over, leaving Crow Road to chase 166 in 56 overs.

Crow Road opened with Smillie and Stevo, confident of picking up a third win of the season. Smillie picked up from his century in the previous match, knocking the ball into the gaps and keeping the scoreboard ticking along until he was dismissed with a careless shot to mid on. At the other end, Stevo played the anchor role, determined to preserve his wicket at all costs. Khizar joined Stevo after the fall of Smillie, combining some lusty bowls with some good placements into the gaps. Similarly to Smillie though, Khizar had played himself in when he played back to the bowler for 21. Wee Umar didn’t last long batting at four, giving Whiteinch hope as Mobeen strode to the crease. By this time however, the weather had closed in and spots of rain began falling. Conditions quickly deteriorated, with the players leaving the field of play to monsoon conditions a couple of overs later and the game being abandoned, 10 overs short of being declared a game.

A disappointing end to what would have been an exiting conclusion had the rain not intervened. Perhaps without the silly wide calling from the opposition, a result may have been possible in the time available; nonetheless well done to the team for putting in an excellent effort, in particularly Zishaan for his memorable hat-trick.

Saturday 9 June 2007

Scotindians v Crow Road, 09/06/2007

Scotindians v Crow Road
WDCU Div 5, Old Anniesland*, 09/06/2007
*Scotindians conceded home venue

Crow Road won toss and elected to field

Scotindians
Uday lbw b Afzal 3
Anil b Mehmood 9
# Shiva b Afzal 6
* Raj b Mehmood 24
Rajshekhar lbw b Mehmood 0
Albin b Mehmood 0
Kishan c Mishra b B Hussain 39
Avinash lbw b Mehmood 90
Balaji lbw b Mehmood 0
Krandhi not out 20
Sundel b I Hussain 16
Extras 50
Total (all out, 49.2 ovs) 257

Afzal 15-1-67-2, Mehmood 15-3-44-6, Khan 3-0-32-0,
Iqbal 6-0-46-0, I Hussain 8.2-0-28-1, B Hussain 2-0-21-1

Crow Road
G Smillie c Albin b Raj 103
# A Mishra run out 29
T Mehmood b Kishan 20
* A Rixon c Kishan b Raj 45
B Hussain b Raj 0
U Afzal b Kishan 9
I Hussain run out 17
U Ali not out 5
A Khan not out 1
Extras 24
Total (7 wkts, 50 ovs) 253
I Miller and Z Iqbal did not bat

Raj 15-0-80-3, Kishan 13-0-55-2, Avinash 15-1-68-0,
Krandhi 4-0-26-0, Balaji 3-0-23-0

Match drawn
Scotindians 18 pts, Crow Road 14 pts

Match Report

Crow Road came within one shot of beating table-topping Scotindians after an unforgettable run chase at Old Anniesland on Saturday. In what must surely be a contender for Division 5 game of the season, the balance of power shifted one way then the other right to the death, with Crow Road eventually needing six to win from the last ball of the 100th over. Although young Umar Ali could only manage a single, the jubilation among the Scotindians fielders at escaping with a draw was a clear indication of how well Crow Road had performed in pursuit of a mammoth 258 run target.

The innings was built around an outstanding 103 from Graham Smillie, who played far more freely than in any of his previous matches this season to ensure that the required run rate hovered at little more than 5 an over for almost the entire chase. Adding some superb off-drives to his more familiar repertoire of well placed 1s and 2s, he paced his innings beautifully until losing the strike for a couple of crucial overs near the end and eventually holing out to deep midwicket trying to make up for the lost momentum.

Smillie’s efforts were backed up by strong contributions from his top-order colleagues. Ashutosh dominated a 50 partnership for the first wicket, Tariq helped add another 50 for the second, then Rixon and Smillie reprised and ultimately exceeded their Home Park partnership to put on 107 for the third and take the score to 207-2 in the 39th over. It was only after Rixon’s dismissal that Crow Road’s relentless pursuit began to stutter as an inexperienced lower-middle order was exposed to the pressurised situation in the middle.

At that stage, with 51 more runs required to win off 10.4 overs, Crow Road were still favourites but Blaal was swiftly dispatched for 0 and big Umar then found it difficult to rotate the strike. By the time Umar was bowled, the target had moved on to a far more challenging 34 runs from 31 balls. Ijaz came to the crease to join Smillie (who was blissfully unaware that he was now into the nervous 90s) and they ran well between the wickets but still couldn’t prevent the required rate advancing to 8 an over. Amid the growing tension, Smillie was dropped off a skier on 99 and shortly afterwards completed a richly deserved maiden hundred from 127 balls in 150 minutes with 11x4. Three runs later, however, he miscued a slower ball to be caught on the midwicket boundary and finally end Crow Road’s chances of victory. Or so it seemed...

Scotindians’ opening bowlers were now back on and 24 runs were needed off 17 balls, but with 4 wickets still in hand there was no reason to give up the chase. Umar junior and Ijaz weren’t finding scoring easy – the next four balls went for 1-dot-dot-1 – but Ijaz regained the initiative with a big 6 off the final ball of the over to reduce the target to 16 off 12. Just four of those came from a well-bowled 49th over, but in a manic 50th there were byes, singles from Ijaz (who was run out coming back for a second), Umar and Ali, and a no-ball from what should have been the final delivery of the match to set up the classic scenario – 6 to win from the last ball. Wee Umar went for it but couldn’t get enough power on the shot and ran a single to complete a breathless draw.

Six hours earlier, everything had looked so much more straightforward. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Crow Road had Scotindians in dire straits at 70-6 with the wickets shared between Tariq and big Umar. The scoring rate was less than three an over and the decisive blow appeared to have been struck when Tariq bowled the Scotindians’ captain and most accomplished batsman, Raj, for 24. It could have been even worse for the league leaders had a couple of close lbws been given, though it should be said that the umpiring was far more even-handed than has been suggested in reports on other clubs’ websites.

It was at this point that the Scotindians’ innings, and the complexion of the entire match, was turned on its head by an explosive innings from their No. 8, Avinash. The Crow Road bowlers (with the exception of one over of full tosses that was smeared for 24) kept a decent line and length, but Avinash responded by repeatedly walking down the pitch to loft perfectly good deliveries over the leg side boundary for 6. He was well supported by the ultra-defensive Kishan, and the players’ contrasting styles were keeping the Crow Road fielders busy running in and out from the boundary ropes every time the strike rotated. As it was the hottest part of a glorious day, this proved very draining for our young set of players.

As the 7th wicket partnership moved well into three figures, big Umar and Tariq were brought back into the attack earlier than planned to try and re-establish some control. Eventually Tariq made the breakthrough, trapping Avinash lbw for an excellent 90 and he followed up by dismissing the No. 9 next ball to complete his second 6-wicket haul of 2007. Blaal’s golden arm then worked its magic as he had Kishan caught behind in his first over and, after a brief flurry of slogs from the last wicket pair, Ijaz finished off the innings at 257.

It looked like Crow Road would need fireworks from the two big-hitters in the order, Ashutosh and Tariq, to make any impression on such a large target. Ashutosh started uncertainly but after a change of bat he settled in and was soon flaying the bowling around. On 29, though, he was run out after a bad misjudgement by Smillie, then Tariq never really got going and was bowled for 20. Luckily these dismissals proved far less crucial than might have been expected as Smillie and Rixon seized the initiative and put together the partnership (by the end of which almost 400 runs had been scored for the loss of 6 wickets across the two innings) that really laid the platform for the dramatic conclusion.

Against a team who wouldn’t be out of place a league or two higher up, Crow Road raised their game significantly in this match and turned it into a high-quality, highly dramatic contest. Of course it was disappointing that an astonishing victory proved to be just beyond our grasp but we can still take great pride at having ended Scotindians 100% winning record. And if it is to be the last game that most of the departing Asian kids play for the club this season then what a game to go out on. This was as close as Division 5 ever gets to epic.

Saturday 2 June 2007

Crow Road v Marress, 02/06/2007

Crow Road v Marress
WDCU Div 5, Old Anniesland, 02/06/2007

Marress won toss and elected to field

Crow Road
G Smillie lbw b Mudunuri 18
* A Rixon b M Ingram 16
# M Hussain run out 1
B Hussain b Mudunuri 7
H Livingston b Mudunuri 0
I Thomson not out 18
J McGrath b Mudunuri 5
S Alcock c Bennett b Reuben 13
G Reid b Mudunuri 0
Z Iqbal lbw b Mudunuri 0
D Tate b Mudunuri 3
Extras 30
Total (all out, 41.2 ovs) 111

M Ingram 9-3-23-1, Conway 6-2-17-0, Mudunuri 14.2-4-21-7,
D Ingram 7-1-22-0, Reuben 5-1-19-1

Marress
* M Ingram lbw b B Hussain 57
# Bennett b Reid 0
Mudunuri lbw b Reid 29
D Ingram not out 10
Conway not out 5
Extras 13
Total (3 wkts, 21.3 ovs) 114
Gillaland, Park, Sachin, Ram, Cooney and Reuben did not bat

McGrath 4-0-36-0, Reid 10.3-2-45-2, Iqbal 6-1-32-0,
B Hussain 1-0-1-1

Marress won by 7 wickets
Crow Road 3 pts, Marress 25 pts

Match Report

Old Anniesland was not a good place to be on Saturday if you were a GHK player. The 2nd XI took a heavy beating from Clydesdale while over on the magic carpet Crow Road put in a limp display to slump to defeat against Marress (Irvine 2s). After Rixon lost a toss he’d really have preferred to win, Crow Road were put in to bat under cloudy skies with their intended opening batsmen both still engaged in a school match. It was therefore Smillie and Rixon who strode out to face the bowling, hoping for a repeat of their Home Park partnership against an attack that conceded 136 to Yoda’s bat alone last year.

The bowlers gave nothing away early on though, bowling a controlled line outside off stump to start with three consecutive maidens. Rixon then managed to hit a few bad balls to the boundary but, in the 11th over, missed a drive at a straight one to be dismissed for 16. This brought Mobeen to the crease and hopes were high that his free-hitting style could put the bowling off its rhythm. Instead, it all ended in tears as he set off for a single and had almost reached the far end of the pitch by the time Smillie sent him back to be run out.

The Crow Road batting order was now in some disarray as the school match was still in progress and young GHK debutant Hamish Livingston (who was quite literally plucked from the school car park shortly before the match after a player was lost to the 2s) was only available for another hour. In the end, it was Blaal who got the nod to go in at No. 4 with Hamish to follow, and they were soon batting together after Smillie was trapped lbw to end an innings that never really got out the blocks.

By now, Marress had unleashed their secret weapon, the spinner Mudunuri who apparently played for GHK as recently as last season. Bowling at a skiddy pace and, as one batsman said, ‘getting the ball to do a bit of everything’, Crow Road were soon wishing he hadn’t changed clubs as he bowled Blaal, Hamish and Jimmy McGrath in quick succession. With the score on a precarious 71-5 in the 26th over, this finally brought the intended opening pair, Steve-o and Ian “Thommo/Stroppy” Thomson, together at the crease.

They duly built the highest partnership of the innings (27), which included a glorious cover drive for 4 by Steve-o but also a shocking drop by the point fielder to reprieve Thommo. The score had moved on to 98 and the run rate was starting to pick up when Steve-o nicked one to the keeper and walked off for an unlucky 13. The lower order batsmen then had no answer to Mudunuri, who swept aside Gordi Reid, Zishaan and Duncan to finish with superb figures of 7-21, although Duncan at least showed some resistance to help take the score past 100.

On the whole, the Marress bowling was tidy and the enforced changes to the Crow Road batting order made it harder to build the innings across 50 overs (by the end Thommo was looking comfortable at the crease and you have to wonder how things would have gone had he been available to open). However, a total of 111 was significantly below par and clearly Crow Road had to be disciplined from the outset to have any chance of the win.

It all started promisingly, with a good over from Jimmy, then a superb wicket maiden from Gordi in his first over for 10 months. Unfortunately the next over disappeared for 18 and from that point on, Marress were able to race along at more than a run a ball. To stand any chance of victory, Crow Road needed all the luck to go their way, but it certainly did not. Jimmy conceded a number of his runs to edges through 3rd man, a sharp chance was missed at slip and, most frustratingly of all, Gordi appeared to have both their key batsmen (M Ingram and Mudunuri) lbw early in their innings only for the Marress umpires to adjudge them not out.

When Gordi took some pace off the ball and finally did win an lbw shout (ironically to a ball that might have missed the stumps), Crow Road had a glimmer of a chance at 61-2. Zishaan kept the pressure up with some accurate medium pace but, with no sign of the rain that had been forecast, Marress were able to ease their pace and make certain of the win. They were within 3 runs of victory when Blaal came on and immediately showed some of the control that had been missing at the start to dismiss M Ingram lbw for a hard-fought 57. Good as Blaal is though, he wasn’t able to do a Malinga and it wasn’t long until Marress reached their target for no further loss.
After last week’s excellent team performance, this loss is a serious reality check. The disappointing batting display highlighted the importance of working in partnerships, although with a jumbled-up order against a useful attack, it can in part be written off as a bad day at the office. The bowling, on the other hand, needs some serious thought. On a dead pitch like the astroturf, any pace on the ball will work in favour of the batsman as soon as it’s in a hitting zone. Our quicker bowlers therefore can’t afford to bowl any short or wide ones if we want to build sustained pressure, which could well be the key to victory when we welcome the unbeaten Scotindians to Anniesland this Saturday.