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.