Traditional Corsairs v Vallance (Cup final)

Vallance 78 all out (9.3 overs)
Shuman 33*
Laeeq 5-21

Cup-winning Corsairs: Back row (L-R): Vaseem, Fazal, Nimo (capt), Shahzad, Aftab; front row (L-R): Tayyab, Laeeq, Khuram

Nimo Ahmed of Traditional Corsairs reports:

On a cloudy evening at Victoria Park, the Traditional Corsairs and Vallance met for the final of the VPCCL 2006 Cup competition. Traditional Corsairs were looking for revenge for their league defeat against Vallance in 2005 and Vallance were looking to continue their 2006 dominance in the Cup competition. The scene was set…...

Corsairs had the perfect start, when skipper Nimo (under the mystical guidance of Sheikh Aftab) won the toss for the first time in the tournament this year! Unsurprisingly, Traditional Corsairs opted to bat.

Aftab and Vaseem got the Corsairs off to a solid and steady start under some tight Vallance bowling and good fielding. Aftab fell on 18 after skying an off-drive which was well caught. The hard-hitting Fazal entered the fray at number 3 and started by sensibly guiding the ball around for 1s and 2s before opening up and attacking. After some lusty blows, Fazal was lbw playing across the line to finish for 25 with 4 fours along the way.

Shaz came in at number 4 and started to build a partnership with Vas. Vallance bowlers really bowled well for the rest of the match and boundaries were harder to come buy. In pursuit of twos and threes, Vas was run-out from a direct hit from the boundary which underlined the excellent Vallance fielding.

The later Corsairs order supported Shaz, who finished on 33 no, to guide the Corsairs to a challenging 135-6 off 16 overs - this was worth 160 odd given the larger boundaries on pitch 3. Vallance Khan topped the bowling with 2-28.

As the Corsairs prepared to take the field, the storm-clouds gathered and rain looked ominous. Thankfully, the match escaped any heavy rain although a short light shower did pass.

Laeeq bowled superbly with a hostile and aggressive opening spell which Vallance had no answer to - he finished with a stunning 5-21 off his 4 overs including 3 batsmen clean bowled, which would make him the unofficial man of the match. Laeeq was well supported by Vas who swallowed a difficult skyer.

Shuman batted very well for Vallance, finishing on 33no. The last Vallance wicket fell in 9.3 overs with the total on 78 to leave the Traditional Corsairs victors by a margin of 57 runs to win the 2006 Cup competition to support their 2005 League champions effort.

The match was played in excellent spirits which epitomises what Victoria Park cricket is all about and neutral umpires ensured fair play to the best of their ability (note that each team had two lbw decisions).

Bert, as ever, was at the ground throughout to lend his support and encouragement and present the Cup to the winners, Traditional Corsairs. The evening was completed by thanking both teams, the umpires, and of course the energetic League President Bert.