Maryland Junior Cricket League
June 23 marked the opening day of the inaugural season of the Maryland Junior Cricket League, which has community teams from across the state competing for the first-ever Maryland Youth Cricket Championship. In what is becoming a delightful custom of youth cricket in Maryland, after the matches were completed, players, families and friends from both sides came together for a meal prepared by the home team’s parents.
In Baltimore County, homestanding Cockeysville defeated Germantown of Montgomery County 76-60 in the “A” game (advanced players), while Germantown took the honors in the “B” game (developing players), 60-25.
In the “A” game, Cockeysville’s Sami Sabeeh produced a game-high 24 runs off 22 balls, including 3 sixes, while teammate Alex Dua notched 23 from 21, which included 2 fours and a six. For Germantown, Arjun Rakheja picked up 9 runs from 23 balls while Dheeraj Sharma had 6 from 14.
Starring with the ball for Germantown were Tanuj Shah who took 4 wickets for 16 runs, picking up the match’s only maiden along the way, while Sanjith Narayanan snatched 4 for 23 runs. For Cockeysville, Avakash Bhat took 2 wickets while allowing only 12 runs and Harshil Patel nabbed 2 for 14 runs.
In the field, Germantown’s Nikhil Sahni grabbed three catches with Shiv Kohli taking two, while Anav Babbar’s spot-on throw netted his team a run out. For Cockeysville, Alex Dua made two catches and Mohammed Hallaj-Rana got two run outs in his team’s victory.
In Prince George’s County, the match between Bowie and Lutherville-Timonium was abandoned due to rain.
Next week, Cockeysville hosts Bowie, while Germantown visits Lutherville-Timonium.