On Thursday the 6th of June, Mitcham went up against Old Emmanuel at the Bladgons Sports Ground, for what looked to be an exciting match between two strong sides.

Winning the toss, captain Shaz chose to bat on a flat pitch. Imran and Jamit got Mitcham off to a flyer, with 37 runs off the first 4 overs. Imran, in particular, was in supreme touch for his 37, before he was stumped off the bowling of Amir. Jamit (16) and Kashif (16) kept the runs flowing before a flurry of wickets brought Shaz to the crease. In an entertaining innings of 30, including 2 huge sixes, the run rate was maintained throughout the middle overs. Razz (19) and Anwar (17) both kept the runs flowing right towards the end, before Matt provided the late innings impetus with a quickfire 11*, including a Jos Buttler style scoop shot that went for 4. Mitcham eventually finished on 167-9 after 20 overs. The pick of the Old Emmanuel bowlers was Asim, with 3-12 off 2 overs.

Old Emmanuel started off very well, enjoying the pace of the pitch and outfield, and were 50-0 after 5 overs. Imran provided the initial breakthrough, but the run rate was maintained to the 93-1 stage after 9 overs, and it seemed it would be a chase at a canter for Old Emmanuel. Shaz then took off the keeping gloves and brought himself on to bowl. In a superb spell of 4-21 off his 4 overs, the game was turned around completely, with Old Emmanuel collapsing from 96-1 to 134-9. He was very well supported by Razz (1-18 off 3 overs), Farid (2-30 off 4 overs) and Imran (2-28 off 3 overs). Eventually, Old Emmanuel were bowled out for 140, seeing Mitcham win by 27 runs. The pick of the batsman were Hamza (42), Ibrar (24) and Rafi (20).

Overall, a great performance by a side well captained by Shaz, with everyone contributing to an exciting game that turned out to be a solid win for Mitcham.

by Dhruv Rupal