Cosmos Defeated Lucas In Season Opener

Imrul Hasib of Cosmos.

By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 34th  Anniversary – Match #1030) – Cosmos cruised to a comfortable 6-wicket victory over Lucas at Van Courtland Park last Sunday in the Metropolitan Cricket League 2017 season opener.

The match got off to a late start as Cosmos waited for Lucas to show up.

Actually, It took this opposition a half of 2016 summer, a winter and spring to arrive at Van Courtland Park last Sunday, and they were late, very late, with a bear minimum of players. They arrived at 1:50pm for a 12:30pm start.  That gave pause to the shenanigans which surrounded last season that resulted in this opposition being awarded full points and Cosmos docked two points, the reason, for “not showing up“. It was a logic reserved for somewhere downstairs.

This though confirms that the obsession with the bashing of a team such as Cosmos may be a case of diminishing standards, and is nothing more than a mere exercise in futility.  Cosmos were prepared then as they were last Sunday, and showed the grace and discipline that encompasses a long- standing club, and that which is required to play cricket.

The match finally got started after Lucas won the toss and elected to bat. They were pegged back early in their inning by tidy spells from Ricky Kissoon, Nikhil Ghanta, and young Noah Vaas, and at the end of their allotted 27 overs, Lucas could only muster 115 runs. The former West Indies batsman, Everton Mattis, survived a dolly at point off the bowling of Vaas, but then buckled down to play a lone hand for a patient 29 not out.

Cosmos in reply, made light work of the opposition’s target after a opening batsmen Imrul Hasib and Leonard Achaibar got Cosmos off to a good 30 runs partnership before Achaibar (8) went via lbw. Imrul Habib then lost his stumps in a hurry.

Cosmos blinked but didn’t have much to worry when Sohan Dass, a former Guyana national player, joined Hasib. They began to repair the Cosmos inning with a solid 50 runs partnership with latter leading the way to take Cosmos to 80 by the 17th  over before Hasib went for an impressive 47 runs. While Vijai Ankumar was sporting a nervous look, it was left to the two veterans Dass (35 no) and Sham Ali (12 no) to  see Cosmos home comfortably,

Cosmos will play Atlantis next Sunday at Floyd Bennett Park.

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