Glenmore Cricket Club News story


A Thrilling Climax to the Final Club Indoor Game of the Year

26 Dec 2012


At long last one of the inter club indoor games ended with a close finish. It doesn't get much tighter than a single being needed off the final ball of the match. 

Earlier in the day Glenmore had won the Calgary Corporate Indoor Tournament and so spirits were high as 16 club members congregated at the Absolute Baseball Academy. The two Alex's (Robertson and Storey) captained the sides and it was the Scotsman who won the toss and elected to bat first. 

The sniffling Jon Bray got things off to a bright start for Team Robbo, making an undefeated 21 from his innings. However, his partner (Ruwan) was out twice leaving the partnership on +1. Ruwan looked good and was a little unlucky to be out from hitting the ceiling and by being caught excellently by BJ at mid off.
Waseem Altaf and Nitin Kapur both batted well but couldn't remain unbeaten as Ryan Jenkinson and Bijju Mohankumar both produced tight, probing spells with the ball.
Aussie newcomer Tim Connor showed some obvious talent, repeatedly finding the offside gaps and hitting the ball sweetly. However, there was some dodgy running between Tim and Nabeel which resulted in a few dismissals.
This meant it was left to captain Robertson and the experienced Bobby Gajendra to salvage the innings. To their credit they did a fantastic job, batting through their three overs without losing a wicket. They played calmly, ran well and looked in total control. Thanks to their 35 run partnership Team Robbo finished on 32 from their 12 overs.

Team Storey got off to a perfect start with the opening pair of Hardeep and Wasim Naqshbandi putting on 14 from their three overs. Wasim continued to show a great aptitude for the indoor game, while Hardeep impressed greatly with the bat. He would have remained unbeaten had it not been for a sensational direct hit run out from Tim Connor.
Bijju and Jenko looked good but were each dismissed. Robertson rotated his bowlers in a haphazard way but somehow it proved successful with wickets falling at just the right moments. Nabeel, Bobby, Ruwan and Nitin all bowled well to save their captain's blushes.
BJ and Rich Harvey managed to keep their partnership in the positive numbers. Rich, a crafty batsman in the indoor game, poked and prodded his way to 12 not out. Meanwhile, BJ fell to another awesome run out, this time from Ruwan.
This left the final pair of Ajay Pawar and Alex Storey to make 19 runs to claim victory. Together they batted sensibly and without concern. Ajay looked particularly good, cutting anything remotely wide and running well between the wickets. The game looked won before a contentious decision put things back in the balance. Bobby beat Storey with a vicious off-cutter and Bijju raised the finger for caught behind. 10 were needed off the last over. Consecutive dot balls from Ruwan cranked up the tension. But, Storey and Ajay were able to find a few gaps and scamper a few runs, which left Ajay facing the final ball of the night with one run required. Three fielders were stationed in his favourite cover point region. Ruwan took a deep breath at the end of his run. The ball was delivered, Ajay played and Ajay missed. Robertson and his teammates started to celebrate but were stopped in their tracks as they saw Bijju slowly reach out both arms to call a wide ball!!!! It was a brave decision from the umpire who had made a complete howler just moments earlier!!!

So, a thrilling end to a fun night. Good to see performances improving in the indoor arena. By the time summer arrives we'll be racking up three figure totals for sure!

Massive thanks to everyone who came out to play in the cold, snowy weather. It is very much appreciated.