Scorecard

Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves v Crown Eagles on Sat 22 Sep 2012 at 11am
Glenmore Cricket Club Won by 25 runs

Match report Glenmore finished off their regular season in style, completing their third win in succession. Having suffered so heavily at the hands of Panthers, to then win the final three matches of the season is further testament to the team's spirit and progress this season.

Calgary's amazingly warm, sunny end to summer continued on saturday at Riley Park where Glenmore faced Crown Eagles. Sadly the fantastic weather was not enough to bring two players from Cavaliers III along to umpire the game. Their absence capping off what has been an embarrassing season for Cavaliers at all levels.

Jon Bray won yet another toss and elected to bat first. Unfortunately for Ruwan Thushantha it was a short stay in the middle. The mild mannered Sri Lankan was out in the second over, given LBW by his teammate Ali Memon. To be fair, the in-swinger delivered from left-armer Safi looked pretty good and did keep a fraction low. Two further lbw shouts came from the first two balls Alex Storey faced but Ali kept his finger in his pocket. Storey and Bray then set out building a solid partnership. As ever at Riley, scoring was not easy, especially off the impressive Safi. Storey managed to break the shackles against Aftab, hooking a bouncer for four. Apart from that though the pair worked hard to pick up singles and the occasional two.

Things were looking quite comfortable when the opening bowlers were taken off and the gentle off-spin of Durab was introduced. Maybe a lack of concentration against the lesser bowler was reason for Storey's departure (for 13) when he spooned a catch to midwicket when facing an innocuous delivery. However, the pair had put on 31 for the second wicket in what was the first of a series of useful partnerships built on hard work.

One person not happy with Storey's dismissal was the incoming David Sherjan. Mr Sherjan had enjoyed one too many pink champagnes the night before and was feeling a little below par. However, you wouldn't have thought it to see him easily deal with the Crown Eagles attack. His defence looked rock solid, while he elegantly picked off ones and twos all around the wicket. So desperate were Crown to remove him that they appealed for an lbw he played with the full face of the bat. David wasn't too impressed by that and the drinks break gave him an opportunity to cool off in more ways than one.

Jon Bray hasn't perhaps had the big scores so far this summer that he'd have liked, but he has been incredibly dependable at the top of the order. The skipper has always defended his wicket with great resilience and stubbornness. For a batting line up that can be a little frail at times, Jon is a reassuring presence at the top of the order. And so it came as a great surprise when Jon was clean bowled shortly after drinks for a patient 12 from 47 balls. It took an excellent delivery to get him too; Zain producing a superb in-swinger from around the wicket to take out Jon's middle stump.

Ali Memon had been kept busy during his umpiring stint, mostly taking a few paces to his left and then stretching his arms to signal wide after wide after wide. But, he was back in the action in a more brutal fashion when Zain got one to stay exceptionally low to Sherjan. The ball hardly got up above shin height and Ali had no option but to raise the finger for another lbw. David was gone for a useful 18 and Glenmore were 85-4. A solid base at Riley Park but still with much work to do if they were to post a significant total. Having won two low scoring encounters at Riley previously this season they were keen to amass as many as possible. It was now that the Glenmore middle order dug in and made sure Crown Eagles would have to work hard for their wickets.

Anjan Singh and Anand Gupta started the positive rearguard. Both batsmen played sensibly, blocking and leaving appropriately, but still managing to rotate the strike well. With extras helping out too, the pair were able to keep the scoreboard going at about 3-4 an over, which is all you need at Riley Park these days. Their partnership was worth 29 valuable runs, and the highlight of it was Anjan's majestic six over long on. It was a languid stroke but the ball soared high, wide and handsome into the trees. Anjan had also made 18 runs before being caught behind off of the effective Kamran (9.4-1-24-3).

Ryan Jenkinson hasn't had much success with the bat in recent weeks but the confident Aussie brought some intent to proceedings. He immediately looked to take the attack to the Crown bowlers and twice went over the top early in his innings. That sent the fielders back, allowing him to nudge and flick the ball into gaps safely. He and Anand were a perfect foil for one another, and together built Glenmore's biggest partnership at Riley in 2012, putting on 37 excellent runs.

Anand, in the early stages of the season, had picked up more nicknames than runs. However, his contributions in the last three matches have been increasingly vital. This was by far his best innings of the season. He looked comfortable in defence and more assured in attack. He played within his limits and was content to push the ball around into gaps. He also ran extremely well between the wickets, and showed how important that discipline is when you don't have too many big shots to utilize. Not that Anand was purely dealing in singles. Towards the end of his innings he produced his first six in Calgary cricket, smacking a low full toss over midwicket for a wildly applauded maximum.

With wickets in hand and overs dwindling the Glenmore batsmen started to play a few more shots. Ryan was caught at long off for a lively, energetic 19. Bobby Gajendra was bowled by a beauty from Kamran for 4. Sandeep (3) went the same way as Ryan, smartly caught at long off. And Anand was finally removed for an excellent 28 from 76 deliveries, bowled by Kamran.

The innings eventually ended in comical fashion in the 50th over. Rich Harvey and Ali Memon were the final pair and were prepared to run likes hares any time bat met ball. However, they needed to work a little better on their respective lines. Off the fourth ball of the final over Ali flicked one into the leg side and set off for a single. Rich responded to the call of "yes", but was somehow drawn toward the oncoming Ali. For some reason both opted to take a wide line, away from the pitch and they collided. Incredibly Ali seemed to come off worse and took a few moments to regain his feet and continue his trajectory to safety. By the time he was vertical again the fielder had got the ball back to the bowler and the bails had been removed. It was a comic end to a responsible, workmanlike effort from Glenmore, who were happy with their final total of 180 all out.

When these two sides met earlier in the season Glenmore had suffered on two fronts; their catching was dreadful with 16 or so attempts going to ground. And they had failed to stop the Crown opener Khawaja from pulling his way to a hundred. On that occasion these mistakes had cost Glenmore the match. Here Khawaja once again opened the batting for Crown and once again looked to have only one scoring shot. Anything pitched up or outside off stump he looked decidedly shaky against. However, whenever the bowler dropped a fraction short he stepped back and pulled the ball magnificently. During his hundred he'd not missed out on that shot and it was the same on saturday. Three times Glenmore lost their length and each time Khawaja lifted the ball high over square leg for six.

With Ali Memon struggling to find his rhythm with the new ball Glenmore quickly brought Ruwan into the attack. He and Bobby forged an excellent bowling partnership and stopped the flow of runs. The first wicket to fall however had more to do with team work than bowling excellence. The ball had been played out to deep square leg. Anand skipped around from backward square to field the ball. He flicked it to Sandeep who whizzed in a rocket throw to Storey behind the stumps. The batsmen had got in a muddle and were both at the wicketkeeper's end, allowing Storey to gently get the ball back to Ruwan who knocked off the bails. This was a great wicket to get and started an impressive spell in the field for Glenmore.

The wicket seemed inspire Bobby who got better and better as his opening burst went along. Normally an inswing bowler, Bobby got one to hold it's line against Durab who feathered a catch to the keeper. His next scalp was the all important wicket of Khawaja (36). The batsman had repeatedly felt for the ball outside his off stump, and the ball kept landing short of the slip cordon. On this occasion however Bobby bent his back a little more, found some extra bounce and Khawaja's prod sent the ball rapidly to Jon Bray's left at first slip. The skipper moved sharply and clung onto an excellent catch. Bobby was delirious with joy and Glenmore were suddenly in the ascendency.

Things got better and better for Glenmore from here. Bobby (10-0-45-3) picked up his third wicket when he got one to swing back at Hemal and had him plumb lbw for 2. Perhaps the best ball of the day came from Ruwan (10-0-31-1), who bowled his ten overs with great control and consistency. Kamran was the unfortunate batsman to receive the unplayable ball from 'Ruby', which started outside off but jagged back in sharply and crashed into off stump.

With Crown wobbling at five down Rich Harvey and Sandy were brought into the attack. The off-spinning pair have been magnificent for Glenmore all year and they were at their dangerous best again at Riley Park. Rich Harvey has raced to the top of the division's list of leading wicket takers in recent weeks and in just his second over picked up two more. With his parents looking on from the sidelines, Rich was first celebrating the wicket of Saad. The ball bounced a little, took the edge, and the catch was again safely pouched by Bray at slip. The very next delivery was a perfectly looped delivery outside off. Nawan was beaten in the flight, drove and was exceptionally caught by Jenkinson at cover. It was perhaps the catch of the season with Jenko diving low and far to his left. Zain kept out the hat-trick ball but Glenmore were celebrating again moments later when Sandy drew a false shot from Crown's skipper Ayem and Ali Memon completed a smart catch at mid-wicket.

Glenmore were over-the-moon and the game looked to be all but done. Crown were 85-8 and Glenmore were on a roll. However, as we've seen so many times during the 2012 season, anything can happen in cricket, and Crown were in fact far from beaten. Zain, the unorthodox but confident number 9, and Safi, the patient, correct number 10, still had plenty of fight left in them and together produced the best partnership of the match. With more than half the overs still remaining they realized all they needed to do was pick up two or three runs an over to get close to their target. And so they adopted a defensive mind set against the spinners, only occasionally attacking when the bowlers lost their line and length. Zain was the more positive of the two, in both his shots and his verbals, although Safi also had his moments, most notably when reverse sweeping Sandy for four.

With the batsmen looking comfortable against Rich (again excellent with figures of 10-3-11-2) and Sandy (7-0-21-1) and the runs required falling by the over, Glenmore started to look ragged. Catches went down in the slips, in the covers and in the deep. And as Crown's self belief rose so Glenmore's seemed to diminish. David Sherjan was brought into the attack following some lively banter with Zain, and was soon celebrating Zain's wicket. Sherjan's nagging line and length proved too good for Crown's mouthpiece who edged to Storey for 24. With Glenmore one wicket from victory it was hoped the game would be over quickly, but Safi continued his excellent knock, taking 11 off one Sherjan over to keep their hopes alive. Ali Memon returned to the attack and produced an impressive three over spell to keep the run rate down. But it was Sherjan, in the 48th over, who finally ended proceedings. His slower ball deceived Aftab and the edge gave Storey his third catch of the day.

In the end Crown had made a good game of things, eventually all out for 155. Glenmore had let their standards slip in the final 15 overs or so of the innings but had certainly done enough during the match to run out worthy winners. Once again it had been a case of some solid work from batsmen being backed up by some excellent bowling.

And so Glenmore finished the regular season with an impressive return of 7 wins from 10 completed matches. Defeats at the hands of Canasia and Crown in the first half of the season had been reversed in the second. And despite the difficulties of playing at Riley Park Glenmore won all three of their visits there. Now the play-offs beckon and dreams of exacting revenge over Kanata Panthers in the final will motivate everyone going into the last weekend of the season.

The play-off semi final will be against St Johns II at Inland Small on saturday September 29th from 11am. Supporters will be very welcome.

Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
54w 3b 5lb 
for 10 wickets
62
180		        
Jonathan Bray b b Zain 12 47 25.53 2
Ruwan Thushantha lbw b Safi 1 2 50.0
Alex Storey ct mid wicket b Durab 13 31 1 41.94 3 1
David Sherjan lbw b Zain 18 34 1 52.94
Anjandeep Singh ct wkt keeper b Kamran 18 48 1 37.50
Anandaroop Gupta b b Kamran 28 76 1 36.84
Ryan Jenkinson ct long off b Zain 19 47 40.43 1
Bobby Gajendra b b Kamran 4 12 33.33
Sandeep Sahota ct long off b Aftab 3 4 75.00 1
Ali Memon Run out  2 1 200 1
Richard Harvey Not Out  1

Crown Eagles Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Aftab10.0031131.003.10
Safi7.0021121.003.00
Durab7.0021121.003.00
Kamran9.412438.002.48
Nawan2.001200.006.00
Zain8.002638.673.25
Saad3.001600.005.33
Hemal1.001300.0013.00
Hari2.00800.004.00

Crown Eagles Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
37w 2lb 
for 10 wickets
39
155 (48.0 overs)		     
M.Ali Khawaja ct Bray b Gajendra 36
Hari Sharma run out (Gupta/Sahota/Storey/Thushantha) 4
Durab ct Storey b Gajendra 1
Saad ct Bray b Harvey 8
Kamran b b Thushantha 1
Hemal lbw b Gajendra 2
Ayem ct Memon b Sahota 2
Nawan ct Jenkinson b Harvey 0
Zain ct Storey b Sherjan 24
Safi Not Out  30
Aftab ct Storey b Sherjan 6

Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Bobby Gajendra10.0045315.004.50
Ali Memon5.002700.005.40
Ruwan Thushantha10.0031131.003.10
Richard Harvey10.031125.501.10
Sandeep Sahota7.0021121.003.00
David Sherjan6.011929.503.17

  • Umpire :
    Cavaliers III
  • Scorer :
 
Photos and video of Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves v Crown Eagles on Sat 22 Sep 2012 at 11am

Ruwan

Storey

Bray

Storey

Dave

Dave

Dave

Anjan

Dave

Anand

Anand

Anand

Anand

Anand

Anjan

Anjan

Ryan and Anand

Ryan

Ryan

Ryan

Anand

Anand

Ryan

Huddle

Bobby

Bobby and Sandy

Ali

Ali

Bobby

Storey

Slips

Slips

Jon

Celebs

Ruwan

Bobby

Gone

Bobby

Ruwan

Bobby

Rich

Jon

Rich

Ryan

Sandy

Ali

Rich

Sandy

Drop

Ruwan

Autumn

Out

Dave

Sandy

Catch

Appeal