Nicholas Standford carved 56 off 26 balls that included (6x6s, 2x4s). Photo by Shiek Mohamed
Atlantis Cricket Club – NY enjoyed a spicy and delicious victory last Sunday against Spice Island Sports Club at the Floyd Bennett Cricket Ground, in Brooklyn, NY. The 40-overs fixture was reduced to a 25-overs affair due to the late arrival of an official umpire, as a result of an apparent communication snafu regarding the location of the match.
Under a bright cobalt blue sky and very windy at times, the match got underway with Atlantis winning the toss and inviting Spice Island to have a first bite at the middle. It resulted in an emphatic 8-wicket win by Atlantis over Spice Island.
Spice Island opened with Leechan Chittian and Kellon Paris, contributing 21 and 17 respectfully. Nicholas Standford caught Paris off the bowling of Dillion Bourne, while Chittian was beautifully caught behind by Francis Mendonca off Prashanth Nair. Mendonca looked superb behind the sticks. The Spice Island batsmen appeared bent on making every effort to post a compelling total to the board, given the limited overs available.
The Atlantis bowlers appeared to be battling the wind, line and length, and contributing some 20 wides along the way. Not to take anything away from the Spice Island batsmen who doggedly pursued every run opportunity presented. Clint Chayou top scored with 26 off 45 deliveries with 1×6, and 2x4s. Other worthwhile contributions came off the bats of Andre Hooper, 16 off 7 balls, including 2x6s and 1×4. Devon Jones’ 13 came off of 19 balls (1×6), while the other batsmen all contributed single digits or failed to get off the mark. Two run-outs also contributed to Spice Island’s final tally of 126 all out in 24.4 overs.
The Spice Island wickets fell at: 33, 40, 52, 76, 94, 107, 116, 121 and 126. Bowling for Atlantis: Dwayne Smith 2 for 15, Prashanth Nair 2 for 19, Greg Robinson 2 for 29, with Treon Forde, Dwayne Hurley and Dillon Bourne each enjoying one scalp apiece.
ATLANTIS’ RESPONSE
Taking advantage of the cooling temperature as the sun passed the 17:00 mark on the dial, the Atlantis batsmen seemed to savor the taste of the Spice Island bowling. Opening with Henderson Blades and Atlantis’ newest member, Pakistani native Suleman Ahmad, Atlantis was off to a windy start as Blades was blown back into a seat in the shade with an LBW decision off the bowling of Kenneth Hopkins, in the very first over.
With the loss of Blades’ wicket, zero runs on the board, and playing without Alex Amsterdam, Ron Andrew and Keon Lake, the incoming batsmen none the less appeared to be in an awful hurry to reach the targeted 127. With Blades’ early dismissal, USA national Nicholas Standford immediately spiced things up striking maximums all around, as he raced to 56 off 26 balls (6x6s, 2x4s); three of his six 6s came off the last three balls he faced prior to his dismissal. Leechan Chittian was the recipient of a clobbering from Stanford with 16 runs coming off his first and only over bowled. Stanford got a top edge attempting to flick Devon Jones, and was caught by David Williams at the 72-run mark in the sixth over. His 35 minute appearance in the middle was a delight to watch, even if you were not a Spice Island bowler or club fan.
With wickets in hand and the target rapidly approaching, Randall Wilson joined Suleman Ahmad, who was enjoying his second outing this season in Atlantis whites. While Ahmad exhibited a variety of shots at one end with three magnificent boundaries in his unbeaten 28 off 32 deliveries, his partnership with Randall Wilson, 23 not out (3x4s) off 31 balls, was enough to add flavor to the spicy outing, as Atlantis climbed to 8-1 for the season, and remains atop the standings in the 2017 Clement “Busta” Lawrence Premier League standings. There were 20 extras in the concluding inning of 127 for the loss of two wickets at the 14.5 over mark. Kenneth Hopkins had figures of 2-0-21-1 and Devon Jones 5-0-20-1.
Atlantis hosts Lucas Sports Club this Sunday at Floyd Bennett Field. Match time is 12:30 PM.