Junoon won by 11 runs
Junoon won the toss and chose to bat first
Junoon: 117 for 5 in 16 overs
Sunny Freed 43
Firoz Husain 28
Shayne Reece 3-21
Pacific: 106 for 6 in 16 overs
Shayne Reece 26
Pete Hollman 16
Presell 15
Nas Molvi 2-18
Sunny Freed 2-11
Ash Molvi 2-18
A good bowling effort by Pacific thanks to wicket taking spells from
Lucius, Aroon & Shayne which kept the target to an attainable 118.
Unfortunately, the Junoon bowlers were better than the batters & key catches
taken to dismiss Justin Roy & Sammy Purcell both at long on kept the target
tantalisingly out of reach despite the Captain's late innings fireworks -
(Peter Hollman of Pacific)
On a fine warm Thursday evening, Junoon CC were up against Pacific, a
team unbeaten in the league this season, so far anyway. Junoon won the toss
and opted to bat without hesitation, after selecting the 'orange' ball to
play with. Early wickets rang alarm bells in Junoon's ears, especially when
both openers were dismissed prematurely. Dot balls were increasing and the
run rate was well below par.
Then, In came the ever-so-reliable Sunny to steady the ship, and he
didn't waste time at that. Impetus was given to Junoons innigs with some
glorious shots being played in the midst of wickets falling cheaply at the
other end. The captain, Firoz then came to the crease and he joined in the
party too with some fine shots, and excellent running between the wickets.
Junoon finally finished on a below par total of 117.
Pacific started the batting optimistically, but Junoon knew what had
to be done, by using Nas, a natural swinger of the ball. Wickets came, and
at regular intervales too. Very soon, the pendulum was swinging in favour of
Junoona gain, as some great catches were made, and pressure building on
Pacific' batsmen to hit out.
It soon dawned upon Junoon that this could be a victory if the
fielding and bowling is kept tight, and they were right. With 28 runs needed
in the last over, Captain Firoz stepped up to bowl the last over, knowing
that it wouldn't be easy and the pressure had to be contained.
Reece hit a few boundaries, giving a slight scare to Junoon at first,
but Firoz regained his composure and confidence and bowled better line and
length to make Pacific finish on 106....12 runs short of victory.
A great game played, and Junoon finally registered their first league
win with a fine all-round performance, and to win with a low target to
defend was always going to be tough, but Junoon managed it and the captain
made sure the spirits were kept high throughout the game. Well done and good
luck to both teams in the league. - (Firoz Husain of Junoon)
Submitted by peter hollman of Pacific and Firoz Husain of Junoon
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