Seventeen year-old Prashanth Nair spun web around Victory Cricket Club having match figures of 5.3-1-16-8. Photo by John Aaron.
A rejuvenated and youthful Atlantis Cricket Club spun its way to a first match victory over a team with no less a name than Victory Cricket Club, this past weekend in the Eastern American Cricket Association’s 2010 Opening Day schedule. However, victory eluded the team as Atlantis appeared to have used a Church & Dwight Company product called Nair.
In this case it was not the Nair Hair Removal Cream for Men in the 8oz bottle, but Prasanth Nair in a slim 17 year-old body.
Prasanth Nair had final match figures of 5.3-1-16-8, as he clinically removed eight of the 10 Victory batsmen in exciting fashion. The Village Academy @ Tilden Campus High School student, also got among the Atlantis runs, batting at number ten and scoring 16 (2x4s). When asked about his outstanding performance with the ball, Nair said, “I still can’t believe it. I thought that getting wickets was not as important as containing the opposition, and that’s what I was trying to do, but I kept getting the wickets along the way.”
Nair was given the ball soon after Victory was looking to settle down in pursuit of Atlantis’ total of 165 all out in 33 overs (M. Saffie 54, W. Charles, 15 and N. Stanford, 14), and pacers Theron Blair and Willie Charles appeared ineffective. With a spin and pace attack, Atlantis utilized Nair and Treston Messena. The duo soon struck gold as Nair got a breakthrough with the first Victory wicket. Messena would grab the second and fifth wickets, while Nair was mopping up at the deer run end of Heckscher State Park.
The computer engineering college hopeful, Prasanth Nair was a gem to watch bowl, as he brought a youthful exuberance to the game, accompanied by a sense of purpose and focus. He appeared to always be in the game and aware of the environment – good signs of a successful cricketer. We wish him and Atlantis well.