It was North London Muslims who set the pace on day two of the MITC Indoor Club competition this weekend, with Kay Plus and Highgate also qualifying for the next stages of the competition.
You can catch up on a thrilling day of competitive and fast-paced indoor cricket action below...
Session One - as it happened...North London Muslims rule Group A
In the first session of the day North London Muslims, Acton, and Middlesex Titans locked horns and went head to head in their quest for a place in the quarter finals of MITC Indoor Club competition.
In game 1, North London Muslims (NLM) took Acton, with three regular first team players, by surprise, showcasing their ability. Batting first NLM made a huge 163 from their 10 overs, with contributions coming from all over the team but especially from Imran Mulla, who smashed 41 from just 19 balls. Imtiyazali Mulla (34 from 15) and Atik Sindha (27 from 10) also impressed as NML blasted the ball to all parts.
The impressive NLM side were also helped by many dropped catches from Acton, who no doubt wish they could have had some of those chances back! In response, NLM were incredibly clinical with ball in hand. With no Acton player managing to get settled at the crease, they were skittled for just 38 in 5 overs, giving NLM a whopping 125 run win.
In game 2, NLM secured their place in the quarter-finals with another convincing win, this time over MTSCC. Batting first again, NLM didn’t immediately have things all their own way with run scorers from Acton game, Imran Mulla and Atik Sindha, falling early for 0 and 1 respectively. Suleman Gajia rallied however and quelled any worries, hitting 23 off 15, as did Mahsud, who top scored with an explosive 71 off 29, and Zubair Ghardiwala, who hit 37 off 12. NLM ended up on an impressive total of 136 to post what was to be the second highest score of the day - only beaten by their own total in game one against Acton. In response, MTSCC went the same way as Acton, falling victim to the strong NLM attack, and were rolled for just 47. Imran Mulla, was particularly impressive in bowling a double wicket maiden to take the game away from MTSCC. Sugeevan Sriskandarajah, with 33 off 15, showed some fighting spirit for MTSCC and briefly threatened to drag his side back into the game, however when Mahsud bowled him in the 6th over, NLM could relax and walk away as convincing winners of the group.
In game 3, which ultimately proved to be a dead-rubber, Acton and MTSCC played for pride to walk away with something in the day. Looking to avoid repeating the collapse in game 1, Acton batted first and, without the pressure of trying to chase 16 an over played at their own pace and all contributed to a very competitive score of 117. Cam O’Donnel (41 off 17) was the key contributor of the innings. In response, Suwethan Jeyamohan (48 off 21) pushed MTSCC towards the victory target, however Huzaifa Yousafzai (1-23 from 3 overs) took his rare bowling opportunity to stem the run chase, including getting the key wicket of Jeyamohan. While Sahil Kher probably doesn’t have another bowling option for next season, Yousafzai’s contributions meant that MTSCC were bowled out for 86 after 8 overs, giving Acton the victory and leaving MTSCC empty handed.
Session Two - as it happened...Kay Plus come out on top in the lunchtime fixtures
In game one, the London Desperados comfortably got past Brentham when chasing a target of 68, losing just one wicket on the way. The game looked closer than it was with the Desperados taking a whole over to score the final run, due to some interesting tactical batting choices - including leaving three deliveries in the over!
In game two, Kay Plus overcame the London Desperados, in what looked like would be a tight game but ended with Kay Plus winning with over an over to spare. The Desperados batted first and made a well worked 86 for 4 from their 10 overs. Unlike most games in the day, they ran well between the wickets, not relying on boundaries. However, by the time Kay Plus reached 59 for 2 from 5 overs in their reply, they looked well on their way to victory. From there they progresses to 71 for 3 off 7 it was clear they were on there way to victory, which they duly completed in the ninth.
In game three, Kay Plus sealed the group and a place in the quarter finals with a convincing win over Brentham. A total of 124 was more than enough to seal the victory for Kay Plus, as they defended their score brilliantly, dismissing Brentham for just 40 inside 6 overs.
Session Three - as it happened...Highgate come out on top against Uxbridge in a best of three shootout.
Due to a late pull out, the Highgate and Uxbridge captains agreed to play against each other in a best of three shootout to make best use of the facilities and the session, to determine who progressed through to the quarter finals.
In game one, as in all of the games, Highgate batted first and got off to an excellent start, which was clinically built on by Danny Blyghton (36 off 23) and James Thistlewaite (56 off 25) which took them to a score of 108 from 10 overs. In the middle overs, Uxbridge managed to slow the young Highgate middle order to give them a chance in chasing the competitive, but not insurmountable score. Hemal Pragji (30 off 18), kept the run chase alive, however there weren’t quite enough contributions from the rest of the team as they were bowled out for 79 in the 7th over, ultimately falling 29 runs short.
In game two, Highgate started poorly with the bat and it never really got much better as they were bowled out for 53. The one shining light of the innings was a quickfire innings from Ed Bareham (23 off 11). In response, the Uxbridge chased down the score in a controlled manner to ensure the third game was a winner-takes all decider!
In the decider, Blyghton (39 off 20) and Thistlewaite (30 off 18) were, once again, the key contributors to get Highgate to a score more like the first match than the second as they finished on 101. Following the trend of the first match, Uxbridge stayed with the run rate but lost wickets at too regular intervals as they were bowled out for 64 in 6.5 overs. Although, one wonders how different things could have been had the umpires called six instead of caught when Jai Sharma (18 off 10) was caught by Thistlewaite and was adjudged to have avoided rolling over the boundary line in taking the catch.
So it's North London Muslims, Kay Plus and Highgate who march on to the quarter finals, where they'll join both West Harrow and Ickenham from groups A & B, with the final spots in the last eight being determined next weekend from the remaining groups.
A big thank you must go to our umpires and scorers who expertly managed the nine matches to make sure all the matches and the day as a whole went as smoothly as possible. Just as in the summer, cricket is so much better as a result of the wonderful team of officials we are lucky to have in Middlesex.
Pictured below are the eight teams who competed in this weekend's group matches.
Top Row (from left to right): Acton, Brentham, Highgate, Kay Plus
Bottom Row (from left to right): London Desperados, MTSCC, NLM & Uxbridge
