| Traditional Corsairs won by 69
runs
Traditional Corsairs 165-5 (16 overs)
Tower Ravens 96 all out (13 overs)
Ajaz Rashid of Traditional Corsairs writes:
Corsairs continue VPCCL adventure with
resounding victory over Ravens
In the vast surrounds of the glorious Victoria
Park, the unbeaten Traditional Corsairs took to the field with a strong
(new look) team missing some regulars and making full use of the talented
squad at their disposal. This was to be a tough test for the
unbeaten Corsairs versus the Tower Ravens, last years league winners who
beat Sky (better known to the Corsairs as Clapton Casuals) in the final.
The Corsairs welcomed back Imi from his self-imposed 11 a side exile
(the lure of 8 a side 16 over bash-bash cricket being too much to resist
for a macho man), Tanveer also made a return and 2 pre-transfer deadline
day signings Hitesh and Ali added a bit of mystery.
On a bitterly cold evening, TCs stand-in
skipper Vas won the toss and decided to bat. A decision that he
justified by slapping the first ball of the innings for 4, and backed up
by the rest of the team. Vas (44) and Fazal (49 not out) went on to
take the sword, with some majestic and controlled hitting, to the Tower
Ravens giving the TCs a solid base. Following on from the
great start Hitesh (15), Imi (15 n.o) and Aamer (15) all came in and
scored quick runs, combining clean hitting with sensible running to keep
the strike rotating. The Corsairs compiled a daunting and impressive
165-5 off 16 overs.
Tower Ravens opened the batting with Pierre
and Kirk who both played well, especially Pierre who looked like the
dangerman. However, after a rather dodgy single off the first ball
of the innings, both openers went on to make solid start, without ever
really escaping the grip of the Corsairs opening bowlers Aamir and
Naz.
Aamir made the first breakthrough removing
Kirk and ended up with 2-35 off 4 overs. However, this was not Aamir's
last contribution to the game - never one to share the spotlight later in
the innings when a skier was heading in his direction upon realisation
that he was closest to the ball and there was no escaping, after an
initial moment to assess which of the other fielders he could pass the
responsibility onto, he decided catch it with his nipple - making sure
that the bowler (Imi) was not going to threaten his position at the top of
the Corsairs wicket takers.
Naz (0-16 off 3 overs) with quality swing
bowling from a shortened run of 2 paces and Imi, with excellent variation
and hostility (2-17 off 3 overs, including putting Daryll the Ravens
captain on the floor with a painful blow on the elbow) were the pick of
the Corsairs bowling. The Ravens consistently lost wickets due to
tight bowling and good fielding resulting in 3 run outs.
Despite the efforts of all the Ravens
batsmen to break the shackles of the Corsairs bowling, none of them was
able to put together the big innings required to challenge the Corsairs
big total and they were bowled out for 96, Pierre being the pick of the
Ravens batting.
The mysterious journey of the Corsairs through
the world of Victoria Park mid week 8-a-side league cricket continues to
be full of joy. Special thanks to Tanveer, Hitesh and Ali for
answering calls at short notice and their contributions to this
success. Once again, the game was played in excellent spirits,
in keeping with the traditions of this fine art.
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