OCT 6

LIONS V WSBA

The last game of the 2007 league saw Lions play WSBA at Happy Valley. The outcome of the game had no special significance for WSBA secure in 5th place in the league with no fear of demotion. But for Lions their hope of winning the league outright depended on securing a minimum of four points.

WSBA batted first. Although armed with a strong batting line up they never managed to get on top of Lions committed bowling attack. Despite an encouraging partnership between John Conway (23) and Ian Cuthbert (28) wickets fell too regularly to take the score forward. In the 28th over WSBAs last wicket fell with 92 runs on the board.

WSBAs bowlers have too often managed to defend these low totals presented by their batsmen and this looked to be doing so again as Lions found themselves 28 with four wickets down, opening bowlers John Conway and Paul Moseley slicing through the top order.

 

 

Sampath Arthanayake came four down and managed to calm Lions frayed nerves, scoring an unbeaten 43. In the 21st over he took the Lions past the WSBA total. Lions finished on 93 for 5, securing the league title.

 

This has been an outstanding season for Lions, dropping only one point in their nine games, finishing with 71 points. Taj Pavilion ran a close second on 61 points, with Himalayans third on 53 points.

 

The Srilankan Consul, Mr Uditha Silva, presented the Lions with their winners medals. The Consulate had supported the Lions team during the 2007 season and has been rewarded by the teams success.

 

      

 

Congratulations to all the Lions players.

 

SEPT 23

LIONS V HIMALAYANS

Set on a steady path to the league title, Lions took on Himalayans at Potamia in their penultimate game.

Batting first Lions reached 146 with 8 wickets down in their shortened innings of 31 overs. Anju top scored with 56, Rubel made 38.

In reply Himalayans managed 128 all out, Rubel taking 4 for 20, Sampath A. 2 for 26 and Anju 2 for 19.

With 8 points from this game Lions overtake Taj at the top of the league by a single point with one game against WSBA left to play. Lions need to get five points from this last game to make an undisputed claim on the league title, with 67 points, enough clear points ahead of Taj, had they had been able to gain maximum points from their cancelled game against Srilankan CC, to have no effect on final league placing. If they take less than five points from their WSBA game then they should go into a play off with Taj for the title.

Two points divide Cyprus College Flames and Moufflons sitting at six and seven in the league. By the same calculation Cyprus College are not enough points ahead to avoid a play off to decide who will be demoted to Div 2 in 2008.

 

SEPT  9

LIONS V MOUFFLONS

On September 16, Moufflons took on the mighty Lions - who have yet to lose a single league game this season. Moufflons playing to avoid relegation, and Lions playing for the league title - an interesting battle was on the cards!

 Lions arriving half an hour late with only 5 players, may have lost the match even before the ball was bowled, however, Moufflons, sportingly, opted to give them another 30 minutes to get two more players, so that the match can be started (league matches can be started with 7 players). In the process Lions lost 15 overs from their batting innings for taking the field an hour late.

Moufflons winning the toss and opting to bat first, posted a respectable 138 in 31 overs with main contributions coming from Tipu 26, and Muhammad 20. Robel was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 39 in 7 overs.

Lions had a difficult task of scoring 139 in 20 overs to maintain their unbeaten streak.For Moufflons Alan started the bowling with Hasan and Lions made their intentions clear from the beginning, as the openers posted 45 runs in 5 overs without any loss. However, an immediate bowling change and some superb fielding saw Lions losing their way.

First to go was Idunil - a direct throw from Colin, followed by the dangerous Sampath - caught by an athletic George from Muhammad's bowling, and then another direct throw from Dev accounted for Sugath.

From the other end Hasan bowled out Dias and Lsantha to make matter even worse for Lions. In between Hasan's two wickets, Daryl - playing his first match for Moufflons - took an outstanding flying catch to his right to dismiss Nalin on Muhammad's bowling.

With 5 overs remaining, Lions needed 52 runs with 4 wickets in hand. Alan provided the much-needed breakthrough when he got rid of dangerous Suciri batting on 55, making the task even more difficult for Lions.

Now, with 3 overs remaining, Lions needed 42 runs with 3 wickets in hand. For Lions, Robel and Jawan took the matters in their hands and scored 20 runs in the over, leaving 22 to win from 2 overs.

Hasan bowling the penultimate over, got rid of Jawan, however, in the process conceded 11 runs.

With the last over remaining, Lions needed 11 to win with the danger man Robel still on the crease.

Captain Muhammad who had bowled a very tight line and length throughout the match with figures of 6 overs for 20 runs took the ball, but soon his figures were destroyed by a hyped up Robel!

Last over saw Robel hitting Muhammad for a six, followed by a square leg boundary. With one ball remaining, Lions needed one to win and Robel finished it in style, dispatching a Muhammad full toss to the boundary.

Lions winning the thriller with 2 wickets on the last ball of the match!

For Lions star of the show was Robel, delivering the knock out punch with his brutal 30 not out and 4 wickets, ably supported by Suciri (55)- who scored the maiden half-century of the match.

For Moufflons nothing is lost yet, as they may have to play Cyprus College, in the relegations play-off.

The match was played in good spirits and was well umpired by Dawn and Norman Bailey.

 
JULY 29
FELLOWS V LIONS

This was a must win game for Lions, indeed as all their games are if they are to catch up with Taj Pavilion to win the league.

Fellows batted first and the opening pair of Sarwar (49) and Usman seemed very comfortable against Lions opening fast med bowling attack of Sampath and Manju, putting on a half century. Then Lions introduced their off spinner Kapila and everything changed. With Anju bowling steadily at the other end giving nothing away, Kapila ploughed his way through Fellows top order turning 50 for 0 into 60 for 4. The tail did their best to stretch out the innings, but the damage could not be repaired.  Fellows were all out after 31.1 overs for 114. Kapila took 4 for 30, Sanjeewa 3 for 14.

Lions openers laid into the Fellows opening bowling, Susil (22) blasting at one end with Sanjeewa (31) scoring steadily at the other. With 53 scored without loss, a change of bowling brought about a change in Fellows fortunes. Gill and Usman began to take wickets with their mixed pace out swingers, with such frequency that Lions were in danger of making a losing game out of a certain win. But Sampath stayed throughout as wickets fell at the other end, and unflustered, he steered the Lions home. Lions were 115 for 7 after 18 overs. Gill took 5 wickets for 26 runs off his 6 overs.

 

HIMALAYANS V DEKHELIA VILLAGE

Dekhelia regressed to their old ways as a batting collapse left them all out for 32. Sunil took a five-wicket haul for 13 runs. Himalayans passed the score after 4 overs with no wickets lost.

 

JULY 22

HIMALAYANS V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

Flames last game of the season saw a close contest with the Himalayans played at Dekelia. Flames batted first and were immediately in trouble as Andrekos snicked his first ball to the keeper. A partnership built between no 1 Lokesh and no 3 Nishit that was worth over 30 runs before Lokesh was out on 37. No 4 Ravinder held the innings together as batsmen came in swinging and went out swinging.  When Ravinder was eventually out, on 32, the Flames flickered and xxx, all out for 130.

Himalayans, too, lost their opening bat Manish cheaply, and in a mirror image of the Flames innings, built a partnership between no 1 bat Kapil and no 3 Anil. When Anil was out on 18, the partnership had added 50 runs. Kapil continued to bat with determination frustrating the Flame medium pace attack. Left hander Amit (24) batted with him for a while hitting some powerful boundaries and then Sunil (11) steadying the innings until Kapil was finally bowled on 33.The tail mopped up to give Himalayans a comfortable win in the end after 32 overs in a game that had been poised right to the last overs.

 

WSBA V AYNIC TAVERN

The traditional clash between military sides from the west and east of the island resulted in a nail biter. Bating first WSBA reached 163 for 7 in their 35 overs. Captain Richie Williams made a half-century for WSBA and Cyprus under 15 bowler David Bailey took three wickets for Aynic.

Aynic batsmen steadily encroached on the WSBA total, Mark Norris matching Ritchie¹s half century. But with 12 runs needed from the last over with still three wickets to fall, Aynic couldn¹t find the one big shot and fell just five runs short at 158 for 7.

 

JULY 15

FELLOWS V AYNIC

On a sizzling Sunday playing in an energy-sapping cauldron Fellows were put in to bat by Aynic. A very steady opening partnership between Usman (46) and Gill (60) more or less settled the game. They had scored 116 runs when Gill was caught off Cotters. Up to that moment catching had not been Aynics strong suite, but after Gills wicket Aynic seemed to brighten and their fielding was sharper. Fellows went into a mini collapse, loosing 3 quick wickets for 14 runs. A partnership between Mike K (26) and Richard S (11 no) calmed things for a while, Fellows cruising on to 179 for 7 after 35. 18 wides did not help Aynics cause.

Aynic batted solidly in reply and it came down to a war of attrition as Fellows tried to winkle out the belligerent Aynic bats. Never scoring fast enough to challenge the total Aynic settled for making Fellows sweat blood for every wicket. A stunning catch from captain Usman low to his left hand at point unlocked the gate and then a steady flow of wickets, Usman mopping up the tail taking four for 10, pushed it wide open. Finally succumbing after 25 overs Aynic were all out for 87.

 

TAJ PAVILION V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

Played at Dekhelia Taj pavilion posted a typically impressive total of 233 for 9. Hajif top scored with 65.

In reply Cyprus College could only manage 76, undone by a remarkable display of off spin from Bhatti who finished with 7 wickets for 18 runs, the best bowling figures of this season.

This may be Tajs last game of the season. Their points total of 58 is the number to beat. Only Lions and possibly Srilankans still have a chance to overtake them.

 

JULY 8

WSBA V CYPRUS COLLEGE

Both teams are now playing for pride as both have fallen too far behind to challenge for the championship.

Wsba batted first and managed to get to 119 before loosing their last wicket. Wsba are past masters at defending low scores and this game proved the point as they worked their way through the Cyprus College line to have them all out for 102.

 

TAJ V DEKELEIA VILLAGE

A comfortable victory takes Taj even further away from the rest of the field. Batting first Taj made 253 with a century for Wahid Khan and Kashif making 87 after his 15x last week against Himalayans.

In reply Dekeleia Village lost all their wickets for 53, unable to withstand Tajs daunting bowling attack. Atta taking 5 for 7, Niroshan 3 for 5 and Gul 2 for 5. This puts Taj x points ahead of Lions and xxx ahead of SriLankan CC the only teams who can still overtake them both teams having xx games in hand over Taj. The Srilankan CC v Lions CC game this Sun at Happy Valley will almost certainly spell he end of one of those teams hopes.

 

JUNE 24

TAJ V HIMALAYANS

A mind numbing 359 for 2 in 35 overs, the highest score in Cyprus league history, as Taj decimated the unfortunate Himalayans. Batting first and loosing early wickets, Taj  score was an average 32 for 2. It was the combination of Kashif and Fahid that led to the plunder of the Himalayan bowling. Kashif raced to 158 with 17 sixes, with Fahid at the other end accumulating 95, just five short of his century. Arifs huble contribution of 43 pales in comparison. For the Himalayans the innings could not have ended soon enough with their bowlers numbed and shocked and their fielders in denial as they fetched one ball after another from the boundary bushes. Only Askay kept his reputation intact with figures of 3 for 30.

Faced with an impossible task, Himalayans put a brave face on it and battled to 124 all out, with Manish on 40 and Askay on 33. Taj bowlers divided the honours, Nirosh, Naved and Gul Kahn taking two apiece with Vishnu 3 for 18.

 

WSBA V SRILANKANS

On the other Happy Valley pitch a more sedate game, with a less spectacular score, nevertheless hard fought between two ex champions. Srilankans batted first, finding an opening partnership in Sampath and Danuka that gave them the base they have lacked in previous games. A partnership worth over 40 with Danuka on 24 and Sampath on 22 left Dileepa to play his usual attacking innings scoring 37. With 152 for 8 after their 35 overs, the Srilankans knew that they were going to have to bowl and field well if they were to contain Wsbas strong batting. Hans spin took 4 for 24 with Roshans medium pace 3 for 27.

Respectable innings from Han(20) Andy Spring (21) and V. Zanzyl (30) were not enough to ratchet up Wsba score to threaten the Srilankans. Asanga (3 for 21) and captain Niroshan (2 for 7) contained Wsba to 129 all out.

 

MOUFFLONS V DEKELEIA VILLAGE

The second century of the day came from Moufflon captain Muhammad who battled through the 40 degrees and 35 overs to his maiden century.

Steve Carr writes

Dhekelia Wilt as Moufflons Sizzle.

On this summers hottest day The Moufflons were Dhekelias' visitors in the Cyprus National Cricket League. Both teams include a combination talents, from the experienced, to enthusiastic hopefuls, young under age 15 players and the old and nearly past it.

Dhekelia chose to field in the sweltering heat and were made to work hard by the Moufflons batsmen. Dhekelia dropped several catches and their bowlers were unable to make a break through. Loose bowling cost Dhekelia 35 runs in wides and allowed Moufflons to score 202 for 2 from their 35 overs. Excellent batting by Moufflons Captain Muhammad brought him 110 runs. His maiden Century included four sixes and thirteen fours. He was well supported by Peter Bond who made 34 and Tipu who was 18 not out. Fifteen-year-old Josh Keeling impressed with bowling figures of 1 for 21 from his 6 overs. Another young bowler Ali Tivercott also bowled well and finished with 0 for 19 from his 5 overs.

Despite an excellent effort from the Dhekelia batsmen including Edward 22, they had a huge mountain to climb and rarely looked like achieving their target. Once Tipu had Troy caught for 43 there followed a steady procession of Dhekelias' batsmen heading back to the Pavillion. (which apparently is not accessible to the Dhekelia Cricketers and remained locked).

Dhekelia were all out for 142 in the last over and lost to Moufflons by 60 runs. Moufflons 15-year-old bowler George Papaonisiferos 7 overs 2 for 15 and almost four times his age: Steve Carr 2 for 18 were in the wickets for Moufflons. Tipu 1 for 8 and Alans 0 for 10 in his 5 overs were also the pick of the Moufflons bowlers. There was some excellent fielding by Moufflons who held on to 7 catches. 

Also a stunning throw with only one stump to aim at, achieved a Run Out at a crucial time by someone my modesty forbids me to name.

The match was played in an excellent friendly spirit and Umpired well by Norman and Marios.

 

FELLOWS V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

The fourth game of the day played at Potamia saw the Fellows team huddled underneath two embattled umbrellas as the Flames, loosing the toss, were exposed to the unforgiving breezeless Nicosia heat. Opening bat Usman wisely retreated back to the shade after scoring only 3, leaving fellow opener Sarwar and no 3 Gill to put together an impressive partnership worth 87, before Gill was out on 44. Sawar continued with no Matti who quickly found his stride. Once Sawar was bowled on 43 Matti saw his partners fall with regular monotony, but managed to continue scoring himself, bowled eventually on 63. The tail batted out the remaining few overs to take the score to 220 for 9 after 35.

Exhausted from their 35 overs in the relentless heat, the Flames bats found a strangely invigorated Fellows side, whose bowlers were giving nothing and whose fielders were stopping and catching everything and seeming to hit the wicket with every throw. After eight overs there had been not a single run off the bat and Taj were already 4 wickets down. The opening bowling attack from Mike K and Chris M had been devastating. Taj struggled on, but this was not to be their day. Fellows never lost concentration, giving nothing to the struggling batsmen, who after 18.3 overs found themselves all out for 40.

 

AYNIC V DEKELEIA VILLAGE

Played on a Wednesday evening at Dekeleia, Aynic batted first. A solid opening partnership between Norris(25) and Sear(25) saw fifty up for the first wicket. No 3 Pollitt (22) kept up the steady accumulation of runs with support from the Greens. Mcarrick was out to McCarrick, another league first as Aynic cruised fairly comfortably to 141 for 7 after a shortened 25 over game. Dekeleia McCarrick was the best of their bowlers taking 3 for 25.

Dekeleia opener B.Miller batting through their innings scoring 45 not out, more than rest of his team managed together. Dekeleia were 79 for 7 after 25 overs.

Butterfill and Bailey took the wickets, Butterfill 3 for 18 and Bailey 3 for 13.

 

 

JUNE 17

FELLOWS V TAJ PAVILION

Fellows went into this game knowing that nothing less than a win with full points would keep their season alive. Smarting from last weeks close defeat by Lions, Taj were determined not to let any more points slip and hope that at some point someone will defeat the mighty Lions and put Taj back in contention for the championship.

Put in to bat, a definite disadvantage on the Potamia pitch that tends to act less unpredictably as it flattens out during the game, Fellows lost early wickets to a combination of medium pace and slow spin. Gill resisted getting into the twenties and the middle stood firm for a while with Mike Kyriacou reaching 23. With cameos from the lower order Fellows managed 145 all out from 34 overs. Vishnu had taken 3 wickets including captain Usman and top scoring Mike K.

Opening bat Haroun Khan saw the Taj innings through from beginning to end. Joined by no 4 Kashif the two took the game away from Fellows with a partnership of 84, both not out. Taj won the game by eight wickets keeping their championship hopes alive and extinguishing for good Fellows flickering aspirations.

 

HIMALAYANS V AYNIC TAVERNERS

Afloat after last weeks win, Aynic were brought back to earth by an unusually erratic performance from the Himalayans.

Put in to bat Himalayans started well with a solid opening partnership from Anil (57) and Manish (31) worth over 90 runs. All the more laudable as the rest of the team, with the exception of Anil with 27, failed miserably, managing 17 runs for 7 wickets. Himalayans must have been a little concerned when they saw their lat wicket fall in the 31st over with 151 runs on the board. David Bailey took 3 for 9 with Mike Sear taking four further wickets.

Still this is a total Aynic havnt matched yet this season and they were not to break the mould today all out for 56 after 24 overs. Opener Pollitt top scored with 37, the rest of Aynic batting mirroring the Himalayan collapse managing 14 runs between them. Anil did most of the damage taking 6 wickets for 9 runs.

 

JUNE 10

Lions v Taj

In the first of the games of Super Sunday, where the four top teams played each other to define the shape of the league, Lions just held on to their lead a thrilling game to deny Taj.

Batting first lions put on an impressive total of 233 for 8 wickets in their 35 overs. Left hand Sanjeeva steered the innings scoring 56 no himself, helped by Kapila with 46 and Manju back to his brutal hard hitting best with 73. Kazi took 2 wickets for 22 and Aktar 3 for 21.

Taj started slowly, managing only 80 runs after 20 overs, needing 154, fifteen runs an over, from the last ten. That they came so close shows the power and depth of Taj batting. Kashif made 47, forming partnerships with Rasif (23) and Niroshan (23) and Waheed (29). The late Taj onslaught fell just short, to the relief of Lions, as the last wicket fell on 224 after 34.3 overs with 9 balls left and 9 runs needed. Kapila took 2 for 32 and Taraka 2 for 30.

 

Srilankans v Himalayans

In the second of the pivotal games Super Sunday Srilankan CC batted first against the Himalayans. The Himalayans have had a fantastic season dropping only one point from their 3 games to date, while Srilankan CC have been on one side of the only tied game in the history of the league against Cy College while coasting to win in their only other game against Aynic.

Put in to bat Srlankans lost two quick wickets, including that of their quickfire runmaker Chamara bowled by Anil. Half way through their innings Srilankans had just 50 runs and 3 wickets down. It took a controlled innings from Niroshan, taking advantage of some buttery Himalayan fingers, to put the Srilankans back on track. With their key bat Dileep back in the side, runs started to flow as the partnership between the two developed. Dileep scored 56, and Niroshan 24, their partnership worth 71. Nalaga finished off the innings with a quckfire 33. Srilankans reached 183 for 7 after their 34 overs

In reply Himalayans lost four wickets in 7 overs, including Anil who usually provides the impetus to the Himalayan batting. A revival from the middle and late order with Manish scoring 20, Amit 28 and tail ender Gaurav a hardhitting 37, Himalayans pulled themselves back into the game.. Batting at the end only to deny S.Lankans their second batting point the Himalayans lost their last wicket on the second to last ball of the game, all out for 123. S.lankan fast bowler Chamara took 4-18 and spinner Dileep 3-21.

 

Moufflons v Aynic Taverners

Batting first Aynic started convincingly, despite loosing opener McCarrick for 1. Sear (15) and no 3 Pollitt (27) build a partnership worth over 40 runs. No 5 Hatton kept the rate going with a powerful 32. The tail unfortunately kept true to recent form with three wickets falling without a run scored, before a mini revival from 9, 10 and 11 put on another 24 runs to give Aynic a total of 123 for 9 after their 35 overs. Rakesh was the pick of the Moufflon bowling with 5 for 29.

Moufflons lost early wickets 3 down for just over 20 runs.  A reviving partnership between Bond (24) and Muhammad (28) gave them hope, but when Muhammad was caught off Greens bowling and Bond unfortunately run out, Moufflons hopes faded and diminished altogether as the tail fell away adding only 8 runs. Moufflons were 83 all out off 29.4 overs to the delight of Aynic Taverners celebrating their first win of the season. Pollitt took 3 for 21 and Hatton 3 for 20.

 

FELLOWS V DEKELEIA VILLAGE

Fellows came to Aynic badly in need of a win to keep their season alive. Dekeleia have not proved too strong an opponent to date but with a Jamaican contingent now playing in their team their hopes were high of reversing their string of defeats.

Put in to bat, Ruford proved to be a resolute opener against Fellows fast opening bowling attack. His partner Fraser stayed with him but found scoring difficult setting the pattern for most of the Aynic batting, There were no easy wickets for Fellows but no easy runs for Aynic either. Wickets fell at consistent intervals with the score advancing very slowly. Ruford was out for 22. The only other bat to managing to reach double figures was Chandy who was not out on 21. Aynic was all out for 79 but had kept out Fellows bowlers for 27 overs. Mike Kyriacou finished with remarkable figures of 5 for 5 and Gill 4 for 7.

Sawar and Usman opened the batting for Fellows, and with light fading, (after a game start at 3.30) it was important for Fellows to push on. Sarwar lost his wicket early but Usman joined by Mati found no problem in taking the game to the Dekelia bowlers.

After 14 overs the game was over with Usman not out on 28 and Mati not out on 30, with Fellows on 82 for 1. Davilar was the best of Dekeleia bowlers but without much reward, taking 1 for 37.

 

 

MAY 27

MOUFFLONS V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

Talal writes

The CyCollege Flames and Limassol Moufflons went head-to-head on the 27th of May 2007 at Happy Valley 2. Winning the toss and electing to field first, Moufflons captain Muhammed quickly saw his decision reap dividends as the Flames lost their opener in the very first over. However, a good partnership of 52 runs by Nishit (23) and Andrekos (22) took the total to 54 before Andrekos was trapped lbw by Allen. Having reshuffled the batting line-up to provide more stability in the middle order, the flames looked impressive with Raj (36) finding the gaps and the odd boundaries at one end while Mano did the hard-work of sticking to the crease and shouldered the innings with an unbeaten 32 to take the flames to a respectable total of 166/7 in their allotted 35 overs.

The Flames known for their merciless bowling and the Moufflons batting being their strong point, the second innings guaranteed to go down to the wire. A mix-up between the batsmen and a direct hit resulted in the loss of the first wicket but some focused batting prevented the fall of any more wickets until the 11th over when Bond was bowled by Talal. Jamie Jackson then steadied the innings swinging the game in favor of moufflons until Talal took 2 wickets in 2 balls bringing the Flames back in the game. But the moufflons were not to be stopped that easily even after the Flames captain Talal destroying half their team, bagging up 5 wickets for 39. With their tail wagging them close to the total, it all came down to the last over when the Moufflons needed 12 runs of 6 balls with only 2 wickets in hand. The last over had everything to offer including a 6 of the very first ball, a wicket, a drop catch and an over throw with the moufflons scrapping through a remarkable win by one wicket with one ball to spare.

Steve writes

Batting first Cyprus College were soon in trouble losing opener Rabbi for only one run. However Andrekos, Nishit, Mano, Raj and Ronak all batted well to build a steady score. They completed their 35 overs with 166 Runs for 7 wickets. Raj 36, Mano 32 Not Out. Muhammad 5 overs 1 for 15 being the most economical bowler for Moufflons.

The Moufflons in reply kept up with the required run rate. Once again misunderstandings by the batsmen resulted in both Cartledge and Muhammad disappointingly throwing away their wickets and running themselves out cheaply.

Thankfully JJ (Jackson) and Hasan played sensibly and helped Moufflons close in on their target. Once they were dismissed it was left to the tail enders to complete the run chase. College Captain Talal bowled the last over knowing that the Moufflons still required 12 runs for victory.

His first ball was despatched for 6 by no. 10 bat Rahman.

The excitement was unbearable when Moufflons last man : Alan Broadbent came to the crease needing 3 runs from the last 2 balls. Confidently he smacked the penultimate ball just short of the boundary from which the winning 3 runs were scrambled. Ecstatic Moufflons celebrated a long awaited first League win !

J Jackson 35, Hasan 31, Bond 19. Tel Al 6.5 overs 5 for 42. Rukesh 7 overs 0 for 18. Moufflons 167 for 9 won by one run.

 

TAJ v WSBA

An altogether quieter game was played on the other happy Valley pitch where Wsba put in to bat by Taj managed 130 for 8 after their 35 overs. With Han bowled by Kashif in the 3rd over and without Rchard Williams in their line up WSBA were short of the firepower needed to post a more competitive score. Nevertheless 130 has been a winning total many times before this. Kashif and Niroshan did most of the damage taking two wickets each.

A solid opening partnership by Taj put an end to Wsba hopes.

The score on 71 when the first wicket fell, progressed steadily to 133 with two more wickets falling, Taj passing Wsbas score after 20 overs. 

 

 

MAY 20

FELLOWS V MOUFFLONS

Both teams, languishing in the bottom half of the table, were desperate to win this game to give themselves a chance to stay in the race. Fellows batted first, loosing opener Sarwar cheaply. Salim continued his good form, unhurried, scoring more or less at will while Barbir at the other started shakily but settled to make some big hits on his way to his 24. A flurry of wickets mostly to Tush leg spin, including Salim on 45, tilted the game towards Moufflons. A spell of tight bowling from Tush at one end and Alan at the other, stifled the runs, only Arif managing to break out, starting to find the boundary before he too was bowled by Tush for 21. The tail wagged a little to add another 30 runs for Fellows to finish on 167 for 9, battling against Moufflon bowlers to keep their last wicket and deny bowling points. Tush finishng with figures of 4-30.

Moufflons openers, Grenville and Jamie looked solid until Jamie fell lbw to Chris Markides. Peter Bond took over his role and formed a seemingly unbreakable partnership with Grenville, steadily accumulating runs, reaching 70 and once again taking the game away from Fellows. The reintroduction of opening bowlers Chris Markides and Mike Kyriacou changed the game. Grenville fell to Mike on 34, a brief counter attack from Muhammad with two big sixes in his 18, but then followed by a Mouflonesque collapse, with Chris taking 4 for 14 and Waquar 4 for 25, leaving Moufflons all out for 112. 

 

LIONS V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

On the 20th of May the Flames took on the Srilankan Lions at Happy Valley 1. The Flames could have picked up the maximum 8 points without even a ball being bowled with a walkover since the Lions arrived half an hour late but in the spirit of sportsmanship Flames captain Talal decided to play the game, meaning that the Lions would be docked 9 overs. The Flames won the toss and elected to bat first but lost opener Siddarth in the first over. Partnerships were hard to come by until opener Rabbi (21) and Nishit(7) managed to steady the ship with a 4th wicket partnership of 22 runs. However an all too familiar collapse in the middle order with 3 unnecessary run outs left Mamraj helpless at the non-strikers end on 19 n/o as the Flames were all-out for 89 in 28 overs. For the Lions it was Sanjeeva and Taraka who were the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 and 2 wickets respectively. The Lions came out to bat with the intention of finishing the match pretty quickly as Sampath smashed a 4 in the very first over but an instant reply from Ravi saw him bowled and back in the pavilion. Another quick wicket in the 3rd over meant it was game on as the Lions were 24/2, a similar position the Srilankans CC were in when they met the flames on the 1st of April. A good 3rd wicket stand of 32 runs by Sanjeewa(22) and Taraka(19) aided by dropped catch took the Lions to 56/2 in 12 overs and it looked like the Lions were entering the home stretch but the flames were not going to be extinguished so easily. It was like déjà vu when some inspirational bowling by Rabbi(4/24) burnt through the Lions middle order leaving them crippled at (70/7) . But taming the Lions was always going to be a daunting task and some aggressive batting from Captain Manju (19 n/o) ensured that the Lions had the last roar as they reached the target of 89 with 5 overs to spare racking up all 8 points in the process.

 

 

MAY 13

AYNIC TAVERNERS V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

A rather acrimonious game between Cyprus College and Aynic ended in a comprehensive win for the Flames. Batting first openers Sidad and Andrekos set the pattern for the Cy College innings with everyone chipping in with runs without anyone going on to a big score. After their 33 overs ( docked two for a late start) Cy College had scored 136 for 9, a respectable but by no means a winning total. As usual Aynic Taverners bowled a good line to eliminate easy scoring making their opponents work for their runs.

Unfortunately the Aynic batting was also true to form, collapsing to 27 all out after 18 overs. Ravi took 3 for 9 and Talal 3 for 4.

 

APRIL 29

WSBA v HIMALAYANS

With Himalayans and WSBA both tied at 15 points, Sunday's league match was crucial for both teams in the race for top spot. Anil won the toss and as always chooses to chase. With opening strike bowler Sunil injured, it was up to Chakra to open the bowling attack and he did justice by taking the crucial wicket of Richie Williams in the very first over. Han attempting to put pressure on the bowlers tried hitting over the covers but was caught by Anil. John Conway one of the consistent batsman from the WSBA team was run out with a brilliant piece of fielding, direct hit on the stumps by Kultar. Roshan playing cautiously and punishing loose deliveries was slowly adding runs. He had added 24 before Akshay who took 4 wickets dismissed him. With astute field placement, Himalayans took 5 catches during the innings. WSBA were all out for 78.

Himalayans went in to bat with the aim of reaching the total in less than 19 overs to make sure of the additional bonus points. Kapil and Paritosh batted for 12 overs adding 40 runs, before John Conway bowled Paritosh for 19. Anil with an eye on the bonus point, started attacking from the first ball but was dismissed by John Conway, having dismissed him for 4 on the previous delivery. Kapil played a steady innings for 24 before he was given LBW. Brij played well adding runs at will but it was for Rajaram and Akshay to score the winning runs for Himalayans. Himayalans won the match in 18 overs with 6 wickets in hand.

 

 DEKELIA VILLAGE v CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

In a shortened over game of 25 overs, Cyprus College batted first. Andrekos started his innings with a sack in the mouth from a rising ball but nevertheless manages to go on to score 46, the second highest score in a total of 188 for 4 from 25 overs. Nishit was the only batsman to outdo Andrekos with a score of 53.

In reply Dekelia managed 50 runs before being bowled out, their highest scoring batsman on thirty while the remaining ten managed 20 between them. Lokesh took the majority of the wickets with 4 for 14.

 

MOUFFLONS V TAJ MAHAL

Taj batted first following much the same path as their last game against Aynic, as their top order crumbled 6 wickets down for 66 in 13 overs, leaving it to the tail to make a total. No 3 Vishnu made 27, but the other top six bats managed only 12 runs between them. falling to some stunning catches by Muhammad and Perran. No 7 Arif (42) and no 8 Saleem  (38) forged a partnership of 80 runs to give Taj a useful total of 175 all out. Moufflons will rue the 43 extras they gave away. Amnesh took 4 for 40 and Tushara 3 for 35.

Moufflons are no longer the team that used to roll over when faced with a daunting run chase, and Taj soon realized that they would have to work for a result. Mouffons started steadily, Jamie and Aminesh taking the score on to 44 for the loss of one wicket after 13. With the fall of Jamies wicket on 60, there followed a mini collapse. A late cameo by Muhammad top scoring with 31 not out was not enough to rescue Moufflons, 157 for 9 after their 35 overs. Once again extras top scored with 44. Medium pacers Nirosha, Khan and Atta bowled steadily but honors go to spinners Vishnu 3 for 29, and Bhatti 3 for 27.

 

AYNIC TAVERNERS v SRILANKAN CC

Last years champions Srilankan CC batted first, docked three overs for a slightly late start. They managed 197 for 9 with brothers Danuka (61) and Nalaga ((34) top scoring in a partnership worth 40 runs.

Aynic fell to a miserable 18 runs in 18 overs, struggling with Srilankans pace attack with Pushpa taking 6 wickets for 5 runs.

Aynic offered their usual hospitality much appreciated by the Srilankans, not reflected however by any generosity on the field. For Aynic things can only get better.

 

 

APR 22

WSBA v MOUFFLONS

With something to prove after their defeat by Himalayans, Moufflons met WSBA at happy Valley for both teams second game in the league. WSBA come from a good victory over Fellows thanks to a not out century from opening bat Han.

Moufflons batted first and for a while looked to be progressing nicely while Jackson (36) and Cartledge (41) were still at the crease. WSBA bowling quad Jackson, Conway, Williams and Roshan were making little headway. It was Moufflons who helped the bowling side on their way by 3 and 4 bats running themselves out and then providing a spectacular collapse as six wickets fell for only 6 runs. Wilde did the damage taking six wickets for a single run in his three overs. Moufflons were all out for 118 after 29 overs.

A stylish and powerful innings from Richie Williams (79 no) supported by John Conway (28) took WSBA to within 15 runs of the Moufflon total before the first wicket fell. Roshan mopped up with Williams to pass the total in 19 overs.

 

DEKELIA VILLLAGE v LIONS

In a one sided game Lions overwhelmed Dekeiia Village in their inaugural game in the Cyprus league.

Batting first Lions made 263 for the loss of three wickets after 25 overs. Nalaka retired on 67,Tarsaka retired on 54,Kapila retired on 58.

Dekelia managed 32 before being bowled out in 12 overs, Sampath taking 6 wickets for 9, Manju 3 for 21. Lions won by 231 runs.

 

 

APR 15

FELLOWS v HIMALAYANS

The first game played at Potatmia outside Nicosia saw old rivals Fellows and Moufflons play for early advantage in the new league. This is one fixture that is impossible to predict as both teams have been evenly matched over the years with the record showing that Fellows have won by the slightest margin.

This time Himalayans looked the favourites coming from a good win over Moufflons while Fellows had suffered a bad defeat at the hands of Wsba.

Fellows put Himalayans in to bat and quickly saw the wisdom of that decision as two early wickets in the first two overs left the Himalayans 9 for 2.

Now Beij joined opener Rapil. He looked an unlikely batsman but nevertheless defied the Fellows quick opening bowling duo of Mike Kyriacou and Chris Markides to steady the shaky Himalayan ship. Gradually the two built a match deciding partnership Rapil on 28 and Beij on 43 before either was out.

Kultar mounted a late order attack of 23 to bring the total off the bat to 115 all out, but helped by some wayward bowling, adding 22 extras, gave Himalayans a total of 137.  Chris Markides took the bowling honors with 4 for 20.

At that stage Fellows were the happier of the two teams, confident that they could overtake that total.

Opener Salim looked good, but a flurry of wickets left Fellows 5 wickets down with less than fifty runs. An encouraging partnership between Salim and Arif raised Fellows hopes briefly but when Salim was caught on the boundary spectacularly and painfully by Sunil, who held on to the ball despite ripping the webbing of his little finger, the game was over. Salim had scored 37 and Arif following soon after 23. The rest of the batting collectively hardly managed double figures, Fellows all out for 111. Himalayan bowlers Sunil 3 for 30 and Paritosh 3 for 24 did the damage.

 

AYNIC V TAJ MAHAL

A remarkable start from the Aynic bowlers saw Taj Mahal (late Corfu Tavern) to a miserable 5 wickets down for only 9 runs after 7 overs. An equally remarkable recovery from Vishnu and Arif saw a partnership of 97 before Vishnu was out for 39 in the 28th over. Arif went on to an undefeated 103 to take Taj Mahal to 182 for 7 after 35 overs. Aynic were left to muse over what might have been, after such a strong start and having Arif dropped when only on 2, and managing to drop him another five times in the course of his innings.

In reply AyNic could manage only 79 before being bowled out.

 

APR 1

HIMALAYANS V MOUFFLONS

Himalayans met a revitalised Moufflons under the stewardship of Muhammad Hussain, who has reorganised the team, posted the first team website, and had done extensive strategy research before the game to pinpoint the Himalayan weaknesses. Unfortunately to no avail as Moufflons fell for a depressingly familiar total of 80 all out after 30 overs. A good opening stand and Animesh top score of 24 offer them some positives. Himalayan bowlers Sunil (1 for 7) Anil (4 for 7) and Rajoram with 2 wickets did the damage.

Himalayans rattled off the total in 12 overs, Paritosh 32 not out and captain Anil 41 not out.

Himalayans 8 points Moufflons 1 point (batting 70 runs)

 

WSBA V FELLOWS

Fellows started with only half a team. Already docked five overs from their 35 and put in to bat, Fellows had to tread water while waiting for the rest of their team to arrive With one wicket down after only one ball they were in danger of loosing the game before it had begun.

This should serve as a lesson. This year teams will be penalised if they do not turn up to the games on time. If seven players are not at the ground a half hour after the start time the game is forfeited. Do not wait for players if they are late, better to play with ten or nine than loose the game without a ball being bowled.

Fortunately for Fellows Salim withstood Wsbas opening attack from Richie Williams and Roshan, and supported by Mike Kyriacou (23 runs) managed to put over fifty runs on the board before the third wicket fell and the laggard members of the team had arrived.

Salim went to score 81, with Sawar (36) holding his own at the other end.

WSBA had been relying on medium pace from John Conway and Andy Mulkern and some fast off spin from Han, and none managing to restrict the run rate. It was only when Mills was brought into the attack with his deceptive looping donkey drops that Fellows batting unravelled. After 4 overs and with five wickets for only seventeen runs Mills could be justifiably pleased with himself while the Fellows bats could only wonder what kind of spell had taken possession of them.

Nevertheless with 176 runs after thirty overs Fellows were in a strong position. This is not a score that Wsba have found easy to match in the past.

But Fellows did not learn from the lesson in flight bowling John Mills had provided. After a miserly opening spell from Mike k and Chris M, short pitched medium paced bowling only fed Hans increasing confidence. Helped by John Conway, Roshan (30) and Andy Mulkern his brutal innings of 117 not out undid Fellows, who could only watch as their winning total was tracked down and eventually passed in the 31st over, with Wsba loosing only two wickets.

Wsba 7 points (win 4, batting 2, bowling 1), Fellows 2 points (batting)

 

SRILANKAN CC V CYPRUS COLLEGE FLAMES

Sri Lankan CC took on newcomers Cypus College Flames in what looked to be a gentle start to the season for the titleholders. With Cyprus College all out for 69 runs in the 28th over all going to plan. But with a desire to prove themselves and some good bowling the Flames burnt through Srilankans batting to produce the first tied game in the history of the Cyprus league.

Nishit (18) and Ronak (12) produced a partnership for the Flames, while the Sri lankan attack of Askar 3wickets for 6 runs, and Jagath 3 for 18 did the damage for the Srilankans.

In reply Srilankan opening bats Danuka and Chamara started well, with 20 runs scored before the first wicket fell. Then a collapse in the face of good bowling form Mamraj 4 for 17 and Talal 3 for 21 produced a quite remarkable finish with Srilankans scraping to the Flames total for a tied game, both teams on 69.

Srilankan CC 4 points (2 for a tie 2 bowling) Cyprus College 4 points

 

LIONS V AYNIC TAVERN

Lions took on the new Aynic Tavern side at Aynic. Unfortunately for Aynic Taverners the game fell into the pattern of the old Esba with their opposition running away with a huge run total. Lions Sampath with 50 and Papila with 99 just unable to reach his century on the last ball of their 35 overs left Lions with a total of 233 for 5.

The Taveners battled against some strong bowling to reach a total of 43 all out. Lions Kapila took 4 wickets for 10 runs, Sampath 2 for 2 and Taraka 2 for 6.

Lions 8 points, Aynic Tavern 1 point (bowling)

 

Dekelia Village CC and Taj Mahal CC have still to start their season.