Fighters Unite to Defeat Atlantis

By John L. Aaron
It was the Team United Fighters Cricket Club who made it a humiliating 2-1 gang brawl beat down, or more like a beat up of Atlantis Cricket Club-NY last Sunday in the New York National Cricket League’s 40-overs Premier fixture at Baisley Pond Park in Queens, NY.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Team United Fighters was off to a punching, jabbing, and uppercutting of Atlantis Cricket Club-NY, posting 76 hits before losing the wicket of Abul Juwel, 28 c&b Ronaldo Alimohamed in the 19th over. It would be another 85 runs before Team United Fighters would lose its second wicket, that of Zunaed Siddique, 30, bowled by Diquan Murray. Meanwhile, at the other end, Sufian Rahman was racing to an even 100 off 109 deliveries, including 3x6s and 3x4s. He eventually fell victim to Alimohamed, who rearranged the sticks behind the batter.

Other worthwhile double-digit contributions came from Ahmed Labib, 25, and Extras, 15, as Team United Fighters dialed in an area code of 212 for seven in their allotted 40 overs.

The Team United Fighters wickets fell at 76, 161, 189, 204, 206, 210, and 212. Bowling for Atlantis, Ronaldo Alimohamed, 8-0-39-3, was the pick of the litter. Diquan Murray posted figures of 7-0-48-1. Three run-outs, two involving Diquan Murray and one by Ronaldo Alimohamed, rounded out the seven wickets lost by Team United Fighters.

In return, Atlantis, facing an asking rate of just over five runs per over, got stuck in a neutral corner, and even a good cutman could not stop the bleeding from the pummeling blows inflicted by the opposing fighters. The Atlantis batters entered the ring and exited as quickly under the constant punches unleashed by the opposing Fighters in their pursuit of a knockout.

Dino Chooweenam was knocked out by the first ball of the first over, lbw to Zunaed Siddique, without landing a single jab. He was soon followed by Marvin Prashad, 12, who, along with his skipper Randall Wilson, 26, landed a few punches of one and three boundaries, respectively, before Prashad exited the ring followed by his skipper, 23 runs later.

Except for Telston Johnson, 13 off 13 balls, including 1×6, 1×4, all the other Atlantis batters failed to fight back while posting single-digit scores. Atlantis never made it to the second half of the fight, crumbling at 79 for nine in 18.5 overs and throwing in the proverbial towel. Harry Thompson retired hurt and did not make it to the middle of the ring.

The Atlantis wickets fell at 0, 21, 39, 44, 47, 62, 63, 63, and 79. The knockout punches were thrown by Ridwan Sultan, three for 20 off six overs; Shakiv Al, two for 19 off 2.5 overs; Imrul Hashib, two for 24 off eight overs; and Zunaed Siddique, one for 15 off two overs.

The 133-run defeat was a bitter pill for Atlantis to swallow, marking their third loss of the season. This setback has dropped Atlantis to the sixth position on the points table, with a 5-3 record. The disappointment in the Atlantis camp was palpable, as they now face an uphill battle to regain their top-four standing in the league.

Atlantis plays Empire Cricket Club this Sunday, August 4, at Cunningham Park in Queens, NY. Game time is 1:00 pm.