Tri-City Can’t Cut Through Statics In Season Opener

Commonwealth Cricket League Premier Div.
Schenectady, NY – In a hard fought 40 over Commonwealth League Premier Division match on Sunday May 5th, Tri-City lost their season opener by 3 wickets to Statics CC from New York City.

The weather was perfect, and so was the state trooper coverage on the New York State Thruway, which contributed in part to a late start to this one.  Statics arrived, flustered and ticketed and about an hour late for Tri-City’s first league game of the 2013 season.

As the Premier Division rules state, the late arrival awarded the toss to the hometown side, and resulted in an 8 wicket deduction from Statics innings.  Despite some initial angst on the part of the visitors, who felt some consideration should be made due to the distance they had travelled, good sportsmanship prevailed, and they opted to follow the rules laid out for them by umpire Zoeb Zavery.

Thus, Tri-City elected to bat first, and Statics took the field anticipating a tough competition.  And it certainly looked like it was going to be so early on.  Opening batsmen Richie Persaud and John Florent seemed to get settled in rather quickly, and began what appeared to be a solid opening partnership, averaging 5 runs an over. Persaud was the aggressor, punching a host of boundaries, while the more cautious Florent worked to get his eye in and shake the rust off from a long offseason.

Unfortunately for Tri-City, Static opener Attiq Mufti had other ideas.  Bowling a conscientious and economical line and length, he was able to break through Florent’s defenses in just the fifth over, bowling him cleanly with a beautiful yorking delivery on middle stump.

Persaud batted on, however, and partnered with Fizal Husain to bring Tri-City to 60 before being caught by Mufti in the 13th over off the bowling of Fahad.  He finished on a respectable 33, with 7 boundaries to his credit.

However, Tri-City were not able to muster much else in the face of the controlled, one might dare say STATIC bowling of the visiting side.  Nothing flashy, just good, solid, consistent deliveries that kept constant pressure on the home town’s batsmen.  It proved very effective in limiting Tri-City to 167 runs, all out in just 36 overs.  This despite the efforts of Anil Sahaman, who slashed his way to 26, with four boundaries and a six, and Mike Persaud’s 21 run effort, earned the hard way, with just a single boundary!  His excellent running proved to be one of the few highlights for Tri-City’s batting side.

Statics had to be proud of the bowling corps, led by the single named Fahad, who went 3/28 in eight overs, followed by Umar Muhammad, 2/34 and Attiq Mufti at 2/38.  In fact, SIX different Statics bowlers managed to take wickets this day.  All in all, a very balanced effort.

Tri-City knew they had a tough battle to defend 167 runs, and immediately set to work with openers John Florent and Theron Blair. Despite some aggressive bowling which limited runs off the bat for Statics, the number of extras bowled was costly, and a clear sign of an almost complete lack of practice. (In fact, Tri-City had only a single outdoor practice prior to this match, and the results spoke for themselves).  After weathering the pace of the hometown’s dynamic duo and losing a few early wickets, Statics slowly began to get after the bowling.  Attiq Mufti proved himself a great all-rounder, mustering 28 runs with four boundaries in his innings, and Arshad Husnain kept pace himself, earning a 30 run total, but without a single four or six. Husnain likely slept well that night after running himself ragged to keep his team’s run rate ticking over

But the strongest batting performance of the day was that of Aziz Urrehman, who came in at number 6.  He managed a healthy 37 runs before being caught of the wily bowling of Tri-City skipper John Persaud.  With a little less than three overs to spare, Statics brought it home with a towering six from either Fahad or Numan Maqsood (the scorer failed to record who hit it) to seal the victory.

There were not many bowling highlights for Tri-City, but John Florent managed 2/22 in six overs, including two maidens, and Anil Sahahan chipped in a 2/23 performance in 5.1 overs.  While he was unable to record a wicket, Tri-City newcomer Ashok Adikoppula deserves honorable mention, bowling a tidy six overs for just 19 runs, and collecting two maidens along the way.

All in all, this was a good loosener for Tri-City.  The cobwebs should begin to be shaken from the limbs of the pacemen, and the fielding inevitably will improve with practice and additional game time.  Credit Statics for managing to pull out the win, despite the inauspicious start to their day.  They should be proud of their effort and ability to overcome adversity.

For Tri-City,of course, any loss is a disappointment, and they will look to bounce back next week vs. Pak Punjab on Sunday May 12th  12:30PM at Grout Park. Come on out and watch some top level cricket right here in Schenectady!

SCORECARD
Tri-City vs. Statics
Type: 40 Overs
Date: 05/05/13
Ground: Grout Park
Toss: Tri-City

Umpire: Zoeb Zavery

INNINGS OF Tri-City 
Duration in Minutes:
Batting:

Extras 24 (22 wd, 0nb, 2b, 0lb)
TOTAL: 167/all out in 36 Overs
Fall Of Wickets (Wkt/Score): 1/22; 2/60; 3/62; 4/90; 5/113; 6/120; 7/120; 8/154; 9/163; 10/167

INNINGS OF Statics
Duration in Minutes:
Batting:

Extras 38 (26 wd, 2 nb, 4b, 6lb)
TOTAL: 170/7 in 29.1 overs
Fall Of Wickets (Wkt/Score): 1/3; 2/10; 3/48; 4/69; 5/112; 6/114; 7/143