Scorecard

Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves v Kings XI II on Sun 10 Jul 2016 at 12pm
Glenmore Cricket Club Won by 5 wickets

Match report Following a seven week break from 50 over cricket Glenmore made a winning return with another strong performance, this time to see of Kings XI 2nds. The win maintains Glenmore's unbeaten start to the season and keeps them top of the league in division 1.

There was a delayed start as the umpires needed to catch a ride to make it to Riley Park. When the umpires did finally arrive a coin was sent spinning skyward, the Kings XI skipper correctly called heads, and a few minutes later the Kings opening batsmen were on their way out to the middle. Unfortunately for Harmander Brar, seven balls later he was walking back to the sidelines. He had been clean bowled by Shariq Akhlaq's first delivery of the day, and it was an absolute beauty. Shariq hit a perfect length, bringing the batsman forward, the ball nipped back off the pitch and knocked over middle stump.

Just like the first game of the season, Shariq immediately found a fantastic rhythm and was a constant threat to all the batsmen. The big, powerful quick bowler repeatedly took the ball past the outside edge of the batsmen with late swing. If he continues to bowl this well surely he will soon collect a big bag of wickets. But, on Sunday he had to make do with just the two. The second of his successes came when Jonty Saini tried to break the shackles by hitting over the top. It was a bold effort given how well Shariq was bowling, and the ball safely nestled in the big hands of Martyn Challoner at mid off.

Shariq's new ball partner was Manjinder Sandhu, and these days Manji barely bowls a bad ball let alone a bad spell. It was certainly the case on Sunday as Manji sent down 10 beautifully controlled, accurate, smart overs spread across two spells. His third over of the day brought with it two wickets which really put Glenmore in the ascendancy. His first went to Challoner at mid off as Abdullah looked to hit his way out of trouble. Three balls later Glenmore were celebrating again as Manji produced a big inswinger that Bhangu first looked to leave and then brought his bat down too late. The ball crashed into his front pad and the umpire had no hesitation. It was a fantastic display of swing bowling from Manji. He mostly brought the ball back at the right handers, but also managed to nip it away occasionally. It was one of these out swingers that accounted for Kamal Virk who drove firmly at the ball and was pouched by Suki in the covers.

The opening spells from Shariq and Manjinder left Kings reeling at 26-5 and it looked as though Glenmore might be chasing a very modest total indeed. However, the number four Randeep Cheema (20) showed some resolve and managed to rotate the strike with some regularity. Things were never easy for the batsmen though as a combination of excellent bowling and the vagaries of the pitch made batting a thoroughly difficult task. It was hoped that when a concrete wicket was put in at Riley Park it might compensate for the dreadfully slow outfield. Sadly, the pitch continues to be terribly inconsistent with some balls spitting from a length while others skuttle along the ground.

Once again Taha Lodhi bowled a superb spell of his aggressive leg spin. He has been fantastic for the club since he joined in the Winter, and on Sunday he was at his consistent, probing best. He took two wickets (the first caught at cover by Jaideep, the second clean bowling Dalai with a beautifully flighted, full delivery) and could easily have had more. One that kept low took a fine edge that hit Storey's pads, and another that bounced sharply hit the batsman's glove and lobbed up, just out of the reach of Amar Singh diving forward from slip.

Everything was going Glenmore's way and at 49-8 Kings looked dead and buried. But, the entrance of the Calgary under-19 captain Robin Sekhon quickly changed the momentum. Robin played a match winning innings against Glenmore in 2015, and he looked like potentially doing so again. The elegant right hander looked solid from the moment he took guard, and once he had played himself in he took the attack to the Glenmore bowlers. He slog swept Taha for two sixes in an over and then smashed another off Jaideep in the following over. Suki returned to the attack following a tight opening spell earlier in the piece, and his nagging accuracy on off stump did the business. Sekhon tried to hit over long off but only managed to send it into the waiting hands of Challoner at long off. It was smart bowling from Suki to end what was an excellent innings of 42 in just 49 deliveries. It was left to Jaideep to wrap things up, clean bowling Dhillon for the fourth duck of the innings. Kings all out for 97, thanks almost entirely to Sekhon's rearguard from number 8.

What followed was a pretty unusual run chase, but ultimately a successful one for Glenmore. It got off to a less than perfect start when Taha was unable to replicate his success with the ball. He was out in the first over thanks to an excellent catch in the covers. This brought Amar Singh and Martyn together, and there they stayed for 18 overs. The Kings bowlers Gondara, Dhillon and Virk all bowled very well, maintaining a tight line on or around off stump, with a tightly packed off side field. With Amar and Martyn not willing to take any chances outside off, and with very little loose bowling coming their way the score inched along at a rate of one per over. Both batsmen were showing solid defense and great patience. They had almost made it to drinks when the introduction of spin broke the partnership. Amar (9 off 65 deliveries) was the man to go, lbw trying to sweep Abdullah. But, he had helped lay a solid foundation and had taken the shine off the ball, which would all help the incoming batsman play his naturally destructive game.

That batsman was Iqbal Sandhu, who is well on his way to becoming Glenmore's most prolific run scorer. The big man has played many memorable, match winning innings down the years and his onslaught on Sunday will certainly live long in the memory. It was made all the more incredible given that he injured a muscle running a single from his very first ball. Iqbal was laid out in the middle of Riley Park and looking in some discomfort. A few stretches later and he was back on his feet. For the next dozen deliveries he defended and picked up a few singles. It looked as though he was following the example set by Amar and Martyn. But, we should have known better to think Iqbal was planning on chasing the total with singles. He was on 4 from 13 balls...the game was moving along at a snails pace..and then BANG! Iqbal went down on one knee to the spin of Abdullah and unleashed a huge swing through the line of the ball to send it soaring way over the bowler's head, and over the trees at the far end of the ground. It was a magnificent piece of timing and it lit the blue touch paper. In a matter of 9 balls Iqbal thundered 34 runs. A second consecutive 6 off Abdullah went over long on. The returning Gondara was given no respect at all, with his first over of his second spell being dispatched for three maximums. Iqbal was sauntering down the pitch at him and smashed the ball high over the leg side each time. It was a truly incredible display of hitting and it completely changed the nature of the game. Suddenly a huge chunk had been taken out of the target and any nerves among the Glenmore contingent were dispelled.

It was just a shame that Iqbal's show stopping innings couldn't keep going. Having made 38 from 22 balls he nicked off to the keeper, but by the then Glenmore had 70 on the board and all the time in the world to compile the remaining 28 runs required. Jaideep came and went quickly, but the steady presence of Challoner remained. Martyn had blocked and left with such assurance it looked as though he would surely be there until the end. He made it until the 35th over, and with the end in sight he decided it was time shift into a higher gear. Sadly his attempt to smear Dhillon through the leg side could only find an inside edge onto his stumps. That brought his vigil to an end. An epic 7 from 9 balls.

Anjan Singh (10*) and Tejas Chitre (4*) looked in good touch to safely see Glenmore home with 11 overs remaining. It had been an excellent chase, with some much needed patience and caution from some, plus the wonderful fireworks from Iqbal. All in all, it was another very good team performance with the batsmen backing up the excellent work of the bowlers. Kings XI provided a strong test but it was extremely encouraging to see how well Glenmore performed to stay top of the league. It's equally encouraging to see how well the team is getting along and working together. A genuine team spirit is developing quickly which can only be a positive for everyone.

Next game is on July 23rd against Kanata Panthers II.

Kings XI II Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
13w 3lb 
for 10 wickets
16
97 (36.1 overs)		     
H. Abdullah ct  Challoner b M.Sandhu 0
H. Brar b  Akhlaq 0
G. Bhangu lbw  M.Sandhu 2
R. Cheema ct  J.Singh b Lodhi 20
J. Saini ct  Challoner b Akhlaq 2
K. Virk ct  Ghotra b M.Sandhu 6
G. Mann ct  Ghotra b M.Sandhu 2
K. Dalai b  Lodhi 0
R. Sekhon ct  Challoner b Ghotra 42
V. Gondara Not Out  7
I. Dhillon b  J.Singh 0

Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Manjinder Sandhu10.021844.501.80
Shariq Akhlaq6.011226.002.00
Sukhjinder Ghotra8.0119119.002.37
Taha Lodhi10.0522211.002.20
Jaideep Singh2.1023123.0010.62

Glenmore Cricket Club Glenmore Braves Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
19w 3b 6lb 
for 5 wickets
28
101		        
Taha Lodhi ct  cover b Gondara 1 4 25.00
Amardeep Singh lbw  Abdullah 9 65 13.85
Martyn Challoner b  Dhillon 7 90 7.78 3
Ikbal Sandhu ct  keeper b Gondara 38 22 1 5 172.73
Jaideep Singh ct  keeper b Virk 4 8 50.0 1
Anjandeep Singh Not Out  10 17 1 58.82
Tejas Chitre Not Out  4 21 19.05
Alex Storey  
Manjinder Sandhu  
Sukhjinder Ghotra   2
Shariq Akhlaq  

Kings XI II Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Gondara8.0131215.503.87
Dhillon10.0211111.001.10
Virk9.04616.000.67
Abdullah6.0130130.005.00
Mann6.431400.002.10

  • Umpire :
    Neutral
  • Scorer :