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MDCC 2007 MATCH REPORTS |
MATCH 1 - Super Sutha and Adam Set Up Mufs for Opening Victory
MATCH 2 - Ones Good Start Continues with 104 run win
MATCH 3 - Rained off
MATCH 4 - Mufs Fall Short Against Livy
MATCH 5 - Ton Up Higgins as Mufs Crush Carlton
MATCH 6 - Cross Clenched
MATCH 7 - Jailbreak
MATCH 8 - Glamour Clash at Grange Rained Off
MATCH 9 - The Game of Death Washed Out
MATCH 10 - More Rain Stops Play
MATCH 11 - Lake Geneva Stops Play
MATCH 12 - Mufs March On
MATCH 13 - Livy Game Marshed Off
MATCH 14 - Squeaky Bum Time at Muirhouse
MATCH 15 - Double Crossed
MATCH 16 - Roseburn Rained Off
MATCH 17 - Title Shoot-Out Rained Off
MATCH 18 - Mufs Blow Golden Title Chance
MATCH 1 - Largo Snatch Win From Twos
MATCH 2 - Twos cuffed by Kirkbrae
MATCH 3 - Rained off
MATCH 4 - Walkover Victory
MATCH 5 - Loss against Watsons
MATCH 6 - Twos Clacked
MATCH 7 - Arbo Agony
MATCH 8 - Rained Off
MATCH 9 - Rained Off
MATCH 10 - More Rain Stops Play
MATCH 11 - Even More Rain Stops Play
MATCH 12 - Even, Even More Rain Stops Play
MATCH 13 - Welcome Win Over Grange in the Wet
MATCH 14 - Loss at Watsons
MATCH 15 - Twos Clacked Again
MATCH 16 - Basement Battle v HX Rained Off
MATCH 17 - PV Match Abandoned
MATCH 1 - Narrow Loss for Threes
MATCH 2 - Threes Plod to Defeat
MATCH 3 - Rained off
MATCH 4 - A Peach of a Victory
MATCH 5 - Mufs Lose Way at Wanderers
MATCH 6 - Mufs Crushed by Edinburgh
MATCH 7 - Super Leonard Spell in Vain
MATCH 8 - Rained Off
MATCH 9 - Rained Off
MATCH 10 - More Rain Stops Play
MATCH 11 - Deluge Halts Play
MATCH 12 - SMRH defeat Mufs
MATCH 13 - Musselburgh Abandonment
MATCH 14 - Sunday Loss v Wanderers
MATCH 15 - Narrow Loss v Edinburgh
MATCH 16 - Rained Off
MATCH 17 - Rained Off
MASTERTON Rnd 1 - Gloomy night for Mufs
PARKS Rnd 1 - Higgins Mauls Morton in Parks
PARKS Rnd 2 - Musselburgh Rammed
PARKS Rnd 3 - Leith Sink Mufs
CS TROPHY Rnd 1 - Mufs Bow Out in Bowl Out
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 1 - Gowtham's Return Foiled but Waqas Whacks Us
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 2 - Narrow Loss at Berwick
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 3 - Super Junaid ton clinches win at Livy
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 4 - Claypole Bashes Bamburgh
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 5 - Soggy Sannox Insanity
SUNDAY FRIENDLY 6 - Timed Draw at Manderston
MIDWEEK FRIENDLY 1&2 - Mufs beat Bots and vice versa
The 2007 Vintage of Mufs Ones kicked off their season with a trip to the heart of Fife to famous ol Freuchie. Traditionally not great travellers nor great starters to a season we were keen to kick off this year better than the last few. That we even made it to Freuchie was an achievement in the first place. First the hire car Nasty was collecting (not many of the selected Ones have motors... or sensible passenger carrying motors!) was held up, then players turned up late for the meeting point on what was an already optimistic timescale, then we hit the bridge traffic. They don't joke when they have signs that say "delay of 30 minutes". Then Jeya suffers a tyre malfunction, his spare is augmented by a nail and we have a slight transport crisis. Thankfully between the OMH motor and the Nasty People Carrier we squeeze kit, people and the spare tyre in and off to Freuchie we continue. Thanks to our hosts for being so understanding as we arrive half-hour late (we had rang em!).
So less than decent preparation with a toss won and electing to bat. Our woes continue as Danny (1) misjudges a second run of the last ball of the first over and we are one down already. Sicknote (2) continues to be out of sorts having the uncanny knack of finding the fielders before frustratingly wafting one to mid-off. 2-26 became 3-33 as Jeya heaved straight up and departed for a duck. Thankfully Atul "Akshay" Kulkarni was in sublime touch punishing anything off his legs supremely and he and debutant Ram rebuilt the innings before Ash departed caught behind off Duncan for 37 but seemed set for many more. Ram also fell in the exact same manner for a promising 42. At 105 for 5 we were rocking a bit as 200 looked a par score here. A partnership was needed and boy did we get it. Adam joined Sutha and with a mix of careful play and freeflowing shots turned the game decisively our way with a 6th wicket stand of 107. Adam perishing in the 46th over for a fine 65 (7 fours and 1 excellent straight 6). Sutha finishes on 60 not out as wicket tumble at the death but we finish on a creditable 235 for 9. The now-less-than-hairy Mel particularly pleased than he wasn't required to bat until the 48th over!
And so after a tasty tea... particularly nice scones and jam, succulent eggy sandwiches... we set out to defend our total. Mel and Keith keep the first 10 ten tight, and prise out opener Rakshit for 12 in the 10th over, caught smartly by Adam at point off Nasty. Balfour (5) is then caught cutting by Mel off a long hop from Ram (46-2); L Duncan was then caught by a flying/plummetting Mr Belly for 6 off Sumanth, who then bowled M Low next ball and so we were now making serious inroads. 3 smart catches pouched out of 3 offered chances- lets keep up this standard. Ash traps opener Forrester leg before for a fighting 35 and then Sumanth also claims Trivedi and Blanchfield for ducks and now Freuchie were 83 for 7. Sumanth finishing with an excellent 10-2-27-4
However, Freuchie skipper Cowan provides stubborn resistance and with able support from M Brown (12) they keep Mufs at bay in a stand of 57 but the run-rate required escalates out of reach. Finally the returning Mel and Keith wrap up the tail as Hairy (8-2-21-2) bowls Cowan for a fine 54, then Brown and finally Ram catches the promising Cowan Jnr off Nasty (9-1-28-2)as the gloom begins to descend and the evening chill begins to bite. But plenty to warm the Mufs cockles in a season opening win. Room for improvement of course but overall a good days work. Then the fun and games getting us all home again. Other bowling figures Ram Boyapati 3-0-17-1; Adam 4-1-18-0; Atul Kulkarni 10-2-34-1.
Link to Mufs v Freuchie 2 Scoreboard details
Back to Top of PageIf Melvyn was pleased about not having to bat until the 47th over last week then he would have been even more joyful this week as he was not required until the 49th. Mufs had been invited to bat on what looked a tricky Muirhouse deck by Watsonians, looking to extend our run versus our visitors to 4 successive victories ever since that calamitous 38 all out at Muirhouse at the hands of the Myresiders a couple of seasons back. And extend the run we did with another good performance earning a 104 run victory.
We started solidly with a mix of caution (me) and attack (Danny) with 32 on the board off 13 before a delivery leapt up at Danny and he unfortunantly tumbled into his stumps trying to pull/evade it for 18. Sicknote (7) undid his hard work in seeing off the new ball by tamely dabbing the leggie Curtis straight to slip. But that brought in debutant Ben Higgins who had impressed in the Twos with 70 last week. This week he bettered that by 5 runs in an excellent knock peppered with lovely strokeplay. Initially he was partnered by Akshay (20) who was looking in good form before being undone by a shooter of a delivery off Curtis to leave us at 90 for 3. This brings Jeya to the crease and then a stand of 89 for the fourth wicket before Ben falls for 75 off the first ball of Ross Brooks second spell in the 42nd other. 9 fours and 1 six in Ben's classy knock. 179 for 4 becomes 180 for 5 as Sutha falls 4 balls later for a duck and now an innings that had been set for perhaps 240-250 begins to stutter as the other hero from last week, Adam, is unnecessarily run-out for 1, and then Jeya is dismissed mispulling for 56 (9 fours) and we are now 194-7. Sumanth is trapped leg-before for 1 but Westy 8 and Keith 7 get us to 213 before both perish and Melvyn left without facing a ball. 213 at Muirhouse is normally more than competitive but we should have posted more from where we were.
Big Frank's tea upheld the fine standards from last season and suitably fueled by meat and maccaroni pie, cake, sarnie and melon out we went to defend our total.
Melvyn and Keith start well again, Mel bowling Fulforth for 1 and then Nasty having Counsell judged LBW for 11 (no doubt some interesting discussion had with his umpiring colleague later). Fox is run-out in a mix-up thanks to a strong throw by mel. Ali Macdonnel hits a spirited if somewhat fortuitous 29 before being caught by Mr Belly off Sumanth. Watsons now 53 for 4. Then the "Iceman", Sumanth, and Adam wreak havoc on the middle order. Yellowlees is well caught by Ben off Adam, Adam in turn smartly pouches Sweetman for 1 off Sumanth, Kolte and Grant are bowled by Sumanth for 9 and 0 respectively, a flying Mr Belly swoops to catch Rudd for 2 off Adam and now the Sonians are 70-9. But again we can't quite finish the job quickly as Watson's skipper, Brooks, shows great spirit with a fighting 25 not and Curtis 10 before a smart catch off Akshay by Westy ends Curtis' stay and the partnership of 39 and condemns Watsonians to a 104 run defeat. Bowling figures Mel 7-3-11-1; Keith 7-0-23-1; Sumanth 9-2-30-4; Adam 7-1-25-2; Akshay 2-0-10-1.
Mufs another 20 points and Watsonians 8 points. Another excellent performance by the chaps but probably a sterner challenge lies ahead at Glenrothes next week.
Link to Mufs v Watsons 2 Scoreboard details
Back to Top of PageRained Off.
Mufs 1 took on Livy 1 at a blowy and occasionally rain-swept Muirhouse but suffered their first reverse of the season as Mufs fell short by 21 runs.
Livy 1 posted 167-9 with S Lang 57, I Murdoch 28, and S Aslam 25 top scorers. Mufs main wicket takers Melv Clench 2-15, Ash Kulkarni 2-16, and Keith Lawrence 2-36. A well worked 5th wicket stand of 72 between Stuart Lang and Iain Murdoch was crucial for Livy and Mufs were left to rue a number of half-chances not taken or fell out of reach. One of those days that with a bit of luck could have seen us dismiss Livy for less than 100. As it was a total of over 150 was going to be competitive.
Mufs reply finished on 146ao with Jeya 22, Adam Scott 21, and Danny Abraham 20 top scorers. At one point we looked reasonably well set but veteran Jim Wilson with 10-2-4-15 strangled our innings in the final phase and we fell short. Also young Hamad Ahmed looked good for his 2-20 and, although wicketless, leftie Iain Thompson bowled a super spell for Livy.
Mufs were just a little off colour compared to previous 2 weeks but fair dos to Livy who played the conditions better than us and deserved their win.
Link to Mufs v Livy Scoreboard details
A magnificent century from Ben Higgins (pictured by ump-cam in action above) helped Mufs Ones to victory in a top of the table clash against Carlton. Ben finished with 116 as Mufs posted 250-9 at Grange Loan and then blasted out Carlton for 71.
Earlier the skipper's brief flirtation with a bat continued as he contrived to deflect a ball from McKay onto his stumps for 3, Danny had shown promise with 16 before being bowled by Ahmad leaving us at 36-2 and some repair work needed. No need to worry as Ash and Ben then put on 43, Ben particularly savage on anything loose, before Ash missed a straight one and was adjudged LBW to Elder for 33. Jeya was typically aggressive in his 21 before missing one off the Carlton spinner, Clarke. When Sutha (0), Adam (8) and Westy (0) quickly went, we were 154 for 7 and in danger of wasting a fine position and a cracking run-rate. Fear not, enter a Nasty batsman. Keith (14) gave Ben valuable support in a 62 run 8th wicket stand that saw Ben hit his 100 in style with a flat 6 that nearly took out his watching girlfriend's sister. Ben finally went attempting another 6 which left Sumanth and Melv to marshall the remaining 7 overs and gather another 26 runs in an unbroken last wicket stand which one sensed demoralised Carlton further. 251 set as the victory target and Mufs could feast pretty happy overall with their lot.
Picture of a Nasty batsman above.
Following the fine tea (pakoras....mmmm) the Mufs opening attack of Melv and Keith utterly demolished the Carlton top order, at one stage 4 wickets down for just 2 runs, with 4 of the top five (Clarke, Elder, Williamson and Lovie) sent back with ducks to their name. Melv was in inspirational form as he relished bowling on a track that gave full value to bending the back. Akshay took a blinder of a slip catch and charged off round the square Monty like in celebration. Then Danny matched Ash's effort with a superb overhead catch off Keith, using the outfield slope well to bring a ball that seemed out of reach into his grasp to claim Barnes for 4. Replacing Mel, Sumanth also found the conditions to his liking, despite a rather odd warning from the independent umpire for bowling nose-high bouncers to the stubborn Williams, who had been watching the carnage from the other end. In his eventful first over The Rocket blasted out F Boyd (no relation!) for 0 and then Williams shouldered arms and was given LBW for 18. 27-7 became 27-8 as Keith induces an edge and another top-drawer slip catch from Akshay. Ash replaced Keith and claimed the battling Ahmed (18) thanks to a stumping (of sorts!) by Westy. The returning Victor.E.Clench ended Choughley's spirited resistance trapping him in front for 18. And Carlton blown off the park for 71.
A thumping 179 run victory for Mufs with Melv finishing on 8.2-3-15-4, Keith 9-5-14-3, Sumanth 5-0-25-2 and Akshay 4-1-15-1. Top drawer stuff by Mufs in the field and with the ball to round off an excellent day's work. Heriots had been defeated by Glenrothes but gained 9 points (rather than the 6 points that the man from Final Whistle had said) so we sit a clear second in the table, 1 point behind Heriots. It was nice celebrating being top for a while, doh!! Next up is the auld enemy, Holy Cross.
Link to Mufs v Carlton 2 Scoreboard details
Mufs Ones fine start to the season continued with a hard fought victory over arch rivals Holy Cross (6 points) at Muirhouse.
Having been invited to bat on a tricky damp Muirhouse surface, Mufs posted 155 for 8 thanks in main to a 96 run stand between Ben Higgins (58) and the Skipper (41 - yes you read that right) - a batting version of Beauty and the Beast perhaps... but rather disappointingly the mid-order didn't fire in the face of tight bowling from Cross (Doctor Astley with 10-4-25-2). Holy Cross fell 45 runs short with chief destroyer Melvyn "Victor" Clench with 4-26 including prize scalps of Fraser and Ellis (Charlie trapped with Melv's very last ball). Nasty was meaness in the extreme with 7.1 overs for just 5 runs, as was Ash 10-4-18-1 and The Rocket 10-2-21-0, and Scotty bowled excellently in the final phase with 6-0-22-2 as the Cross innings folded under pressure (shades of what Livy did to us). Excellent outfielding (concentration levels kept up well) and 3 run-outs achieved - some super stuff from Jey in the deep.
Heriot's 2 beat Livy 1 so the Ones stay 1 point behind the Goldenacre crew at the top of the table.
Link to Mufs v Holy Cross Scoreboard details
Link to Ones Stats to date
Mufs Ones played their get-out-of-jail card on Saturday as a dodgy batting performance was rescued by the bowlers to beat a spirited Roseburn by 40 runs. Invited to bat first Mufs posted only 103 all out, with Monty West digging in with a battling 31 and Danny a quickfire 21 to see us at least to three figures as good bowling and some iffy strokeplay cost us. Roseburn faced a tricky 30 mins before tea, and with Melv and Sumanth bowling superbly in that mini-session, lost 3 early wickets to put us firmly back in the game. Tom and Adam put the squeeze on the Roseburn middle order and took 3 and 1 wicket respectively as the pressure mounted and Melv returned to finish off the tail. Roseburn top scorers Vora (14), Patel (20), and Dave Breach (13 not). Mufs bowling figures: another "Bridie" for Melv Clench with 8.4-1-16-4; Sumanth Eadala 9-3-18-1; Adam Scott 8-2-12-1; Tom Wheeler 7-2-11-3 plus one run-out for Scotty.
Hopefully an iffy batting display flushed out of the system as the business end of the first half of the season arrives with games versus Grange 2 and Heriots 2. Mufs should take great belief into these games where in previous years we perhaps were guilty of not doing so. Victories against these teams are overdue - time to put that right.
Link to Mufs v Roseburn Scoreboard details
Wintry conditions saw the game away v Grange 2 cancelled even despite covers, a real shame given the team we have, and a chance denied to redress some drubbings in the past.
More rain saw the top of table clash washed out.
More rain saw play curtailed early with Mufs Ones at 90-8 off 36.3 overs at Muirhouse against Freuchie 2. Akshay top scorer with 27. Given the conditions these 90 runs, and certainly another 30 or so, would have made for a very tricky chase for our opponents.
Link to Mufs v Freuchie 2 Scoreboard details
Rain had re-created Lake Geneva under the Myreside covers and another fixture meets a soggy demise.
At last a return to action after all the wash-outs and the welcome re-appearance of that Saturday combination of cricket-sun-pies-graft-victory-beer.
Batting first on a damp surface, MDCC posted 148 at Muirhouse, which could, and perhaps should, have been 20-30 more with wickets needlessly surrendered at times, but a par score plus given the conditions. We started poorly with Chris castled by Madiseng for a duck, and Raj bowled by Mike Boyd for 9. Mr Belly had dug in to support Ben but with the score on 44 tried to steal a run to mid-off but his legs couldn't quite get that belly over the crease in time and a smart direct throw sent a rueful skipper to the hut for a dogged 11. Ram came and went in a flash, holing out unnecessarily to mid on for 1 off Neil, when a innings rebuild was needed. That we got with Phil Rogers joining Ben and another 38 runs added before the track does for Ben as he lobs one up to short midwicket just three runs short of a watchful half-century that contained 3 fours and 2 sixes. Sutha hits a quick 8 but holes out off Slocomb, then Claypole, on a dashing 18, hits a full toss from M Sampson to deep square but picks out his fielder wonderfully. Now we are 111 for 7 and in some bother.
Fear thee not, as Nasty Keith and Adam steady the ship to add a vital 21 runs for the 8th wicket, before Keith falls to Madiseng for a whiplash 15. Sumanth is caught off Hopcroft for a duck, and now Melv reaches the crease in the 44th over. Can we make use of our full allocation? Sadly not as -shock horror- Melv is dismissed for the first time this season for 2 by Hopcroft, leaving Scotty stranded on a well-grafted 15 not out, but there are 19 deliveries scandalously spare. 22 extras (10 wides and 10 no balls) helped our cause though to get us up to 148. So at a (magnificent) Tea the game is well balanced.
A good start was needed as Glens are a tough ol' unit - and we got it, as Melv induces the edge off M.Samson 4th ball with Ram taking a smart catch to part redeem earlier misdemeanors with the bat, and 3 maidens pass before Glens open their score. Then came a stand of 32 between G Samson and Honeyman before Sumanth takes out Samson's off peg for 14. Honeyman and Tiro Madiseng take the score to 56 when Raj, who had bowled great lines and lengths, got the crestfallen Honeyman to hole out to Ram at deep square with perhaps his worst delivery of his spell! But most effective! Funny old game, innit. Khan joins Madiseng in the middle and after drinks they start to increase the run rate. At 93-3 it looks like Glens have the advantage but up steps the Glens nemesi of last season - the Scott and Rogers double act, the best swingers in town? Khan is bowled by a pumped up Claypole for 21 (93-4), then Tiro is induced to clip one to Ben off Adam (94-5). Now the balance has shifted our way but dangerous batsman remain in the Glens line up to come. Boyd, with one boundary to his name, pushed one off Phil straight to Keith and now its 109-6.
The big-hitting Hopcroft could still swing it back Glens way, but having clattered a couple of fours, he is despatched by Adam for 12. Job done big time by Phil and Adam in a crucial phase of the game. But now time to unleash Melv and Sumi onto the Glens tail to secure the points. As so they did in the most clinical manner as Melv takes 2 wickets and concedes just 7 runs off his final 3 overs, Sumi unhittable as he bowls out 2 consecutive maidens. 25 now to win with just a single Nasty over left and victory is ours as Glenrotehs finish on 132-9. Bowling figures: Melv 10-3-16-3; Keith 7-3-25-0; Raj 10-1-36-1 (one spell); Sumanth 10-3-20-1; Adam 7-1-20-2; Phil 6-1-11-2.
This was how cricket should be - a hard fought game where the winning team has to graft for a victory over a tough opponent. And some sun too! Some inevitable rust in the Mufs machine after such a long lay-off, but overall a very encouraging performance as the season reaches the business end. More darn hard work, application and mental strength should see us suitably rewarded come the season end.
Link to Mufs v Glenrothes Scoreboard details
Marshy conditions at Livy saw the game called off as no wicket could be prepared.
They say a sign of a good team is to win games, snatching victories at the death, when not playing well and indeed there was an element of a "1-0 to the Arsenal" with a injury time winner at Muirhouse. Having scratched around with bat and ball with under par performances, Mufs got their collective arses in gear in the last 17 overs of the game to take the last 6 Carlton wickets for only 26 runs and clinch victory by 6 runs.
"Victory or death" the skipper had posted before the game. Victory achieved through death bowling of the highest quality as second spells from Nasty (10-5-19-3, second spell of 5-3-2-2), Melv (10-4-18-2, 2nd spell of 3-1-10-2) and Sumi (9.2-2-22-3, 2nd spell 1.2-1-1-1) backed up at the other end by Adam Scott finding prodigous swing in his single spell of 8-4-14-0. The other wickets a couple of well executed run-outs as pressure built by Mufs told. Groundfielding was a big plus generally (big up Sutha in particular); catching was not a strong point today! Other Mufs bowlers used Raj Sampath 7-1-22-0, Ram Boyapati 2-0-5-0, Phil Rogers 2-0-6-0. Top scorers for Carlton: Adam Williams with 18, John Barnes 19, and young Ally Evans 19 not out who showed great spirit for Carlton to nearly see them home. A shameful 14 wides conceded by Mufs.
Earlier with the bat, Mufs struggled on a typically challenging (to the batter) Muirhouse deck. Skipper Sicknote might have been rueing his decision to bat first as wickets tumbled early on. Mufs slumping to 49-5 with only the skipper notching a score in double figures (a dour 19 to see off the opening attack including the dangerous Charlie Stronach). But Tom had gone for a goldie, Hubbard for a battling 8, Raj for a bemused 7 (still trying to work out how to bat on this deck), Ram for a scratchy 8. Not for the first time in Mufs recent history, the second half of the Mufs batting line up had to dig us out of a hole. Phil and Sutha steady the ship for a while and then pressed on before both fell for 21, Scotty had nicked behind for 4, Nasty Keith hit a valuable 12, and then Melv (3 not) and Sumi (1 not) scampered some runs at the end - priceless runs given the final reckoning of a win by 6 runs.
Link to Mufs v Carlton 2 Scoreboard details
Games between Mufs and Holy Cross Ones have had the habit of being closely fought affairs, and the clash at Arboretum was no different. Mufs Ones opted to bat first and a season best opening stand of 77 was posted by DAFS openers of old Paul Hubbard and Ian Shiels, before Paul fell for a fine 42 (59 balls). The skipper (allegedly that fastest fat man some HX fielders have seen - I guess a complement of sorts) went on to make 57 (91 balls), Ram Boyapati weighed in with an aggressive 64 (47 balls), and Tom Wheeler with 30 part of a late flourish in the final 4 overs where over 40 runs were scored. Mufs finished on 231-9 off 50 overs - other main scorer Raj with 18.
Holy Cross started well with an opening stand of 77 as well before Charlie Ellis (33) is excellently caught by the keeping OMH off Sumanth, who then traps Pickering LBW next ball. Holy Cross continue to make steady progress, reaching 114 before CA Smith (on 53) takes on Adam's arm from the deep and loses. Bates (5) departs to a fine catch in the slips by Ram (not bad for a bad back!) off Raj and its 129-4 and Cross's flying start has been reined in. Skipper Keith Fraser and Khan take the score up to 171 to tip the balance back Cross's way before another mighty fine low catch by OMH off Raj sees Fraser dismissed for 30. Next the dangerous Khan is caught by Scotty off Tom for 38 and its now 173-6 and the game has shifted back our way. Still there's highly useful batsmen left with Euan Smith at 7 and Shannon at 8. Euan is caught at deep midwicket off Tom for 20 by Raj with the score on 199 and overs running out fast. The final acts saw Dr Astley bowled by Sumanth for 1 and Millington caught by Ram off Keith for 0. Shannon finished 20 not and Biswas 4 not as HX fell 13 runs short. Another victory achieved from hard work where Mufs had to keep plugging away and applied the key pressure at the death. Not too good for poor Willie's ticker though! Mufs bowling analysis: Melv 8-0-42-0, Keith 9-1-39-1, Sumanth 10-2-31-3, Adam 5-0-21-0, Raj 9-0-40-2, Tom 9-1-35-2. Top work and a first (I think) League double over HX Ones.
Link to Mufs v Holy Cross Scoreboard details
More bloody rain caused this fixture to be washed out.
Even more bloody rain caused this title shoot out v defending champs most frustratingly also to be washed out.
With a victory or 10 points between us and a Div 1 title, Mufs Ones were invited to bowl first and started superbly with the ball, Melv and Sumi with two wickets apiece to reduce Heriot's to 13-4. However Reddy (30) and Jones (27) steadied the Heriot's ship before Litster (46) and Case (17) saw Heriot's to a defendable total given the unusually lush outfield. Melv finished on 10-6-16-3 plus a superb throw to run-out the dangerous Litster; Sumanth 10-2-35-2; Raj 10-3-17-2; Keith 7-0-26-1; Tom 8-0-26-1; and Adam 3-0-23-0. Good fielding and some magnificent bowling. Half a job done. Could the batters do the business and bring home that title? Sadly for us, not.
We started slowly but steadily trying to conserve wickets. The skipper was first to fall edging McCraw behind for 14 with the total on 26 off 14 overs. With Mufs on 33, Jaya was bowled for 1 by Reddy in the 17th over and then Ben joined OMH to take us up to 74 at the 32nd over and things are starting to look rosy before Ben miscues a pull off Thomson and departs for 24. Now the horror story started to begin as the scoring rate flatlined, the required rate started to edge upward and the pressure grew and grew. It needed a bold or lucky innings from someone to take the pressure off but sadly it never came as Dougie Hamilton exploited our increasing distress. Raj departed bowled Hamilton for 3 (81-4, 37ov); Ram bowled by Hamilton for 4; (91-5, 39ov); then Paul's long vigil for 29 ended LBW to Hamilton (94-6, 41ov); Tom immediately committed running suicide (94-7, 41ov); Keith attempted to swing the willow but was bowled by... you guessed... Hamilton for 3 (98-8, 43ov); Melv stumped off Litster for 2 (101-9, 44ov) then the final wicket Sumanth LBW to that man Hamilton again for 3 to see us fall to a lame 103 all out in 44.4 overs. Dougie Hamilton's spell 5.4-1-9-5. It meant that with only 8 points we needed Grange to slip up at Roseburn but they easily chased down Roseburn's 79 all out for the loss of only wicket, so the Division 1 Title stays at Portgower Place, congratulations to Dave Creasey's men.
Although a golden opportunity blown to take the title, this has still been an excellent season for Mufs Ones and if someone had offered us runners-up spot at the start of the season we would have taken it - better to be chasing titles than battling relegation, though I'm not sure which shreds the nervous system more - the latter I think!! It is a historic high-point in terms of League placement for the club pre/post merger too. Finally my thanks to a magnificent squad of players for their efforts this year - it has been a honour to have been your Captain once again. Cheers chaps "Mr Belly"/"Sicknote"/Ian Shiels.
P.S. "Always look on the bright side of life...de dum de dum de dum de dum...." you know the rest.
Link to Mufs v Heriot's FP 2 Scoreboard details
Report to follow of loss by one wicket.... or maybe not to follow.
Report of loss by 6 wickets can be found at the Mufs Discussion Forum under 2007 Fixtures and Results.
Rained Off.
A walkover victory for Mufs as Grange could not raise a team.
Report from Stuart Coull....
Mufs II's were back in action this weekend after 2 weeks without a game and took on Watsonians III at Muirhouse.
Bowling first Homer Simpson and Daddy Coull kept things tight early, both starting with 2 maidens so it was into the 5th over before Watson's opening pair got off the mark. Further tight bowling backed up by excellent fielding - in particular from 2's debutants Chris Donaldson and John Robertson - meant that the batsmen never really got into their stride but stuck to their task and ticked along at just around 3 an over for the first 15.
Another 2's debutant Aadil Baig got the breakthrough we needed, clean bowling a frustrated batsmen as he stepped down the crease looking to go over the top, having been tied down up until that point. The introduction of Tom "The Piano" Wheeler caused problems for the batsmen and the fielders in equal measure, Tom finishing 3-31 from his 7 overs supported by good bowling by Phil Rogers from the other end. The lower middle order and tail were then swept away by a super (mario) performance from Chris Banks who bowled 4 overs, took 4 wickets and conceded just 6 runs - all of them extras.
Watsonians finished 187 all out in the 47th over and it had been great all round bowling and fielding performance to restrict them to that. Special mention has to go to John Robertson, playing his first game of cricket in 25 years and Chris Donaldson who both fielded fantastically well and set the standard for the rest of the team to follow, despite Chris recieving a nasty blow to the Aftabs whilst diving to save the ball. The Cookie monster had an excellent game behind the stumps with a number of good takes, particularly down the leg side. All in it was a happy troupe of Muffers who retired to the clubhouse for pies, cakes and a pint. In one case.
Suitably refreshed, Dazza got our reply off to a flying start smashing 38 from the first 8 overs before being clean bowled. Together with his opening partner Wardy, who played some fine shots, none more so than the Shane Watson-esque sweep for four from outside of off stump which was ultimately to be his downfall for 17, we had reached 58-2 after 10 overs and looked set for what shoud have been a relatively straight forward run chase. However...
Well, we made a right hash of it basically. Wickets fell at a frantic pace as Tom chased a wide one and got a fine edge through to the 'keeper, Phil was adjudged LBW - safe to say he didn't agree with the decison - Chris Banks dug in for a while but was bowled trying to pull a ball that kept a bit low and by the time Tony came to the crease we were 9 down for under a hundred. A spirited and at times entertaining last wicket partnership between Cookie and Tony lifted us to our final score of 122. Tony used all 9 of his lives swinging his way to 12 while Cookie looked solid for his 10 and occupied the crease for a good number of overs.
So again a disappointing batting performance from a team which is capable of so much more with just a bit of application and determination to stay at the creae, bat the overs and count off the runs. But anyway, a post-mortem at Muirhouse was followed by a trip to the Halfway House where the Ones were celebrating their victory, and 2 early candidates for the worst dressed Muffer emerged.
Copied from Message Board... no-one to spin a yarn on another Mufs Tragedy...
Clacks 214-8 from 50 overs - (G. Anderson 56*, J. Couper 51, P. Hooper 28; S. Coull 3-32, T. Wheeler 2-39, A. Baig 2-40).
Mufs2 113ao from 36.3 overs - (J. Kapila 27*, T. Wheeler 21, S. Coull 16; W. Kay 3-21, C. Black 3-22, M. Booth 2-31).
2s posted a sorry 98 all out at the Arbo with Regan Black scoring 25, Chris Banks 19, Ali 13. Holy Cross lost 4 wickets in chasing down the target with Cyzeik posting 51 not. Aadil Baig 2-14, Stuart Coull 1-17, Jai Kapila 1-25. El Vestio reports.....
Poor batting yet again from Murrayfield despite a reasonable start - 38 for the 1st wicket, and a good rebuild effort from a mini-collapse (4-10) only for another collapse to undo the good work (6-15). Well done to Biswas for his hat-trick - has anyone got a hat-trick before with the third wicket falling to a stumping?! :-[
It has to be said that barring the openers and Chris B and Amjid, a lack of patience and application was again shown by the Mufs batsmen. Avoiding these collapses is not beyond us!
Three ducks is a slight improvement on last week's five, and but equal criticism must fall on the four men to get into double figures for then getting out after doing the hard work in playing themselves in!
Well done to Reagan for a good effort in his first league game, and some excellent bowling from Aadil and Stuart at the top of the innings reduced the Cross to 4-3.
Rained Off.
Rained Off.
39 overs were managed at Largo with Largo 2 145-9 (J. Braid 40*, N Rintoul 24, A. Tochter 19) Raj Sampath an excellent return of 10-3-29-5 on League debut, Adeel Baig 10-0-30-3. Fuller report on Discussion Board.
Quagmire conditions underfoot saw to the end of this fixture.
Game called off at 10-45am Saturday morning due to waterlogged pitch.
With wet weather descending to wash out most fixtures, the Twos managed to complete a quick victory over Grange 4, the visitors scuttled for 54 ao thanks to a splendid demolition job from The Simpson Nightbus with figures of 5-21 from his 10, ably supported by Stormin Norman with 2-11 from 9.4 overs, Tom Wheeler with two wicket maidens and Daddy Coull with the other wicket. Dazza (17) and Regan (21) saw us close in quickfire fashion before Bicycle Towns (5*) and Super Sutha (7*) wrap up a 8 wicket victory before it totally chucked it down. As Wardy notes on the Message Board, a thanks to the Grange 4 lads for perservering in the rain.
Twos took on Watsons 3 at Myreside - getting treated to the main deck too. Which the Watsons batsman obviously enjoy too, as when asked to bat first they posted 249-6 (P.Kolte 71, A. Gibson 55, Steve Lockhart 47) with main Mufs wicket takers Chris Banks with 2-27, Stuart Coull 2-45, and Martin Ward 1-36. In reply Mufs started well with Regan (22) and Dazza, the Tennants swigging loon hitting a half-century before falling. Best of the rest of the Mufs line-up, Norman Baikie, posting 38 on his comeback. In the end Twos posted 167 off 42.3 overs to lose by 82 runs. Twos now in serious trouble and need to dig deep in the remaining 4 games to save their Division 4 lives.
Unfortunantly more woe for Twos as they were defeated again, by Clackmannan 2, being unable to defend 154 at Muirhouse. Further details on the Message Board.
With probably one of our strongest Twos line-ups ever selected, the vital basement battle v HX2 agonisingly fell victim to the weather.
On a day where most matches were washed out without a ball bowled, Mufs 2 reached 73-3 (Danny 37*) against the League leaders before it got too wet to continue.
Livi 126-9 off their 45 overs (Aadil Baig 3-19 Leaonard 2-21)
Mufs 3 124-9 off 45 overs (Taylor 37; Baig 29; Hill 20)A solid performance against the pre-season favourites for Division 7. We even got Richard Hodgson out for less than his usual 100 plus.
Excellent fielding and tight bowling restricted Livi to a run rate of just 2.8 runs per over on a wicket on which it was difficult to force up the run rate. Mufs also found it hard to accumulate runs but a patient display from Nick Hill (20) and controlled aggression from Scott (37) and Aadil made it look like an upset was on the cards before peashooters dismissed Aadil and Adeel, which combined with a slightly dodgy 1st ball LBW for Peaches, put us on the back foot. A boundary from Paul and some acrobatic dived singles from Rob took us within reach but we just fell short.
Great all round display and much optimism for the rest of the season if availability remains at this level. Thanks guys.
A loss by 7 wickets - match report to follow
.Scorecard can be found at this link to Penicuik Scorecard
Rained Off.
A one wicket victory for the Threes, indebted to Billy "Peaches" Sneddon excellent all round display with 3-16 and also 34 priceless runs as Mufs just chase down a victory target of 100.
Scorecard can be found at this link to Musselburgh 2 Scorecard
Threes lost by 14 runs to Dunfermline Wanderers who posted 155 all out off 42.5 overs, top bowlers Sandeep Modi with 5-1-27-3, Henry Collin 7.5-3-29-2 and Dion Piggott 9-3-19-2. Mufs reached 141-6 off their allotted 45 overs with Scott Taylor (57) and Ali Amjid 19* and Nick Hill 19 top scorers. Fuller report on our Discussion Board.
Edinburgh 169 all out (43.4 overs) 20 points
Simpson 9-2-24-2MDCC 3 54 all out (6 points)
Hill 0Once again the luck deserted the third team with 4 catches spilled (web-ed.. you make your own luck - don't drop em!) and other chances dropping just beyond players reaches. Tony Simpson's dismissal emphasised the lack of luck as the ball bounced off Tony into the air and on to his foot and then rolling onto the stump just dislodging the bail
The bowling was fairly good with Martin the pick with an aggressive spell. Tony was his usual economical self and picked up 2 good wickets before Paul Leonard's left arm wobblers did for 3 of the Edinburgh lower order.
The batting, Pretorious, apart was a disaster with 4 ducks and only one player in double figures. Only Martin shined with 22 including one straight driven 4 that almost removed the nonplaying, umpiring, skipper permanently - before I ended up on me arse just in time - I believe a comedy moment nomination from the assembled Mufters was suggested.
Afterwards at the Murrayfield Hotel, we encountered Matty Boyd on BBQ duties fleecing £3.50 a time for a burger off the drunken Rugby 7s fans. Matty now has dyed Maroon hair - can someone please select him to play so I can relinquish the Barnet award?
As the Glasgow Accies rugby boys were downing pints of lager with tomato sauce, salsa and mustard tops much to the displeasure of the bar staff, we departed to lick our wounds.
Mufs 3s put in a great shift in the field to restrict HX3 to 88ao. Tony Simpson 1-23, Martin Pretorious 1-10, Sandeep Modi 3-16, Paul Leonard an excellent 4-8 and Boom Boom Boris an inspirational 1-0. But inspiration with the bat was sadly lacking as only Graham Watson made double figures with 13.
Rained Off.
Rained Off.
Livi 2 were 72-2 off 28 overs when the match was abandoned.
Mufs were 2-0 off 5 balls when the heavens opened and that was that!
Report courtesy of El Brownio posting on Message board... "3s lost to SMRH by 4 wickets. Posting 55 with extras top scorer, Paul Leonard 10, Andy Lacey 7 from 72 balls and Tom Wheeler 5 from 35, they came up maybe 35 short of a challenging total on a sticky wicket.
However the Mufs gave it a good show taking 6 wickets but still lost. Dion Piggot took 3, Paul 2 and Billy Sneddon 1.
High'light' was definitely Rob chasing a ned, who had stolen the ball, across the outfield. Gamely encouraged by a few opposition batmen, Rob was catching him until the skinny little runt threatened to throw the ball at him from point blank range. However to the delight of the watching cricketers a passer-by interjected with a flying rugby tackle in the shadows of Murrayfield.
Ned was downed and was later seen being beaten up by a some old ladies...hopefully".
Mufs had reached a commendable 157 before the rain made further play impossible.
Another close game - another loss - another occasion when 10 more runs would have seen us secure a win. Even the sporting Dunfermline Wanderers guys felt a points return of 6 points was unjust for such a game but sport is all about winning and we narrowly fell short on our day out at the International Cricket Centre.
The batting, Donaldson (26) and Wilkie (11) apart was generally disappointing although the Dunfermline Wanderers bowlers were enjoying the unprepared, uncovered 2nd hand pitch we had been presented with. Scott Taylor dug in for 12 but 79 always looked like being a few short.
At least we had a great Frank tea and skip was fuelled by the maccaroni pies to such an extent that his best bowling figures of the season were returned, although he claimed it was due to the fact he was now bowling like Tremlett (without the pace, height, athleticism etc etc).
That said the Mufs threes bowled and fielded superbly with top draw catches from Donaldson (2) and tight bowling with all bowlers going for less than 2 an over. We even got the danger man (physically - see skip and Amjid hands - and scoring-wise), Sandy Harrower, out for a duck. Skip enjoyed the 4th innings pitch clean bowling 3 victims (3-13) while Junaid (2-9) and Amjid (1-13 deserved better). Dion continued his improved form with 2 for 17 and Adeel added a wicket too thanks to a diving catch from Chris Donaldson. But it proved not be enough and despite all the good wishes from the Wanderers, we are left wondering what might have been. Such has been the story of the season
Dunfermline Wanderers 20 points Murrayfield Dafs 3rd XI 6 points
MDCC lost toss and were inserted
Amjid 1Dunfermline Wanderers 80-9
Amjid 7-0-13-1
Junaid 9-3-9-2
Pretorious 1-0-5-0
Pigott 8-2-17-2
Martin 9-4-13-3
Raza 2-0-17-1
Another excellent, bowling and fielding display by the third team began in the first over with 2 Edinburgh players back in the hutch in the first over from Ali Amjid - one off the first ball thanks to a superb catch by "No nickname" (Mrs Wheeler, surely, web-ed) Leonard that mirrored the catch by Marshall at the start of the 20/20 semifinal this morning!Junaid at the other end kept proceedings tight. Wickets fell at regular intervals with no dropped catches and 2 for Charlotte behind the timbers and one at slip from Scott emphasizing the tight bowling on display. Skip still inspired by the "Tremlett grip" added another 3 clean bowled wickets to a similar haul last week, while Dion refused to let Edinburgh get away either at the other end. And so the league leaders were dismissed for 85.
The match was being watched by the "biggest crowd" of the season at a packed Meadows arena which included Chinese fan dancers and a oriental marching band that threatened to invade the pitch at one point. Regular hold ups were also suffered with walk thrus from "residents" and "working class heroes"!!! A good tea was consumed by all and spirits were high as a strong 3rd team batting line up and strategy was hatched. Unfortunately, the top 4 were soon removed for 4 runs - Don then got a pea-shooter and we were staring down the barrel. Sandeep (16) and Paul (8) settled things a little with a steady stand before the remaining wickets tumbled with only Dion offering any resistance to the league leaders bowlers with 14.
Comedy Moment: Charlotte (obviously inspired by Rob Frothy's anti ned stance last week) advised a pitch invader that there was game on you know only to get told to "**** off" well we found it funny
Champagne moment: Paul's catch off ball one of the match
Stats:
EDINBURGH 85all out
Amjid 6-1-13-2
Junaid 9-1-25-3
Piggot 8.4 2-24-2
Martin 6-3-11-3
MDCC 3
Watson 2
Taylor 0
Junaid 0
Amjid 2
Modi 16
Wilkie 2
Leonard 8
Bascombe 2*
Hohersall 1
Pigott 14
Martin 1
Extras23
Total 71 all out
Edinburgh (20) won by 14 runs vs MDCC3 (7 points)
Game washed out due to rain.
Yet another Saturday game washed out due to heavy rain.
We lost and miss out on a fun trip to Heriots. Good luck to Cross. The end
Ben Higgins starred with 43 with the bat and figures of 4-8 with the ball to help send Mufs through to the next round of the Parks Trophy at the expense of a spirited Morton. Mufs batted first and posted 140 for 5 from 20 overs with Danny (27) and Andy Lacey (22*) also in the runs. Amis top bowler for Morton with 2-19. Morton started steadily and were at one point up with the rate with some belligerent batting from Miers (18) and Beukes (14) but with Sumanth (4-0-14-2) and Ben (3.3-1-8-4) bowling in tandem the last 7 wickets fell for 24 runs. Melv and Nasty both had earlier claimed a wicket apiece and there were two well executed run-outs. A good performance from Mufs with only a couple of blemishes to sort out for challenges further ahead.
Mufs defeated Musselburgh by 59 runs at a chilly Roseburn to advance to the next round of the Parks Trophy and a trip to Leith FAB. Choosing to bat first Mufs posted 160-8 off 20 overs with Ram Boyapti top scoring with an aggressive not out 45, Jeya 31, and Ben and Danny with 23 apiece. Musselburgh were never in the hunt following an opening spell of 3-1-5-0 from Melv and 4-0-17-2 from Nasty. Spirited resistance came from V Kumar 26 and in particular H Verma 54 not -though we did gift him a few lives- but the run rate soon went well out of reach. Ram shed a bit of rust with 4 overs costing 29 but was unlucky to be wicketless, Junaid bowled well for 3-0-16-2, Ben also promising with 4-0-19-0 and Sumanth with 2-0-9-1 picking up a wicket right at the end. So Musselburgh finished on 101-5 and Mufs progress through but will need to cut out some sloppiness in the field. We'll generously put the lack of sharpness down to the cold and the state of the game!
Mufs were sunk by Leith FAB at Leith Links where both teams sportingly braved the wet weather to ensure a conclusion to this Parks Trophy tie. Mufs batted first and shed wickets at an alarming rate - the running between the wickets was pretty sloppy with two avoidable run outs not helping our cause. In the end we were indebted to Ram with an excellent 52 supported only really by Danny with 21 and Tom with 14 not, plus the soap like properties of the ball, to see us to what was a competitive total of 102 for 8 off 18 overs given the conditions.
Melv (superb figures of 4-1-9-1) and Ram bowled excellently at the start with but the Leith middle order all chipped in with runs as the Mufs attack struggled with getting the ball in the right areas. Leith got home with an over and 3 wickets to spare. Good luck to Leith in their next tie against either Trinity or Standard Life.
After being postponed once already, then this game had to come to a conclusion today one way or other. However, due to a torrent of rain that fell around midday, the fixture was settled by the means of a bowl-out, which involved 5 bowlers with two deliveries each. We were beaten by a country mile (6-2 I think) as Mufs were looking for an invisible batsman to edge behind (great line and lengths for that!!) while Irvine honed in on the timbers. Pizza Hut are reputably seeking to make contact with some of our chaps to star in another series of adverts.
On Sunday a Mufs XI of variable strength was totally outgunned by a Dunfermline XI featuring Mufs old boy Gowtham Rai in a friendly match at Muirhouse. There was not a lot to cheer as we watched the ball being mercilessly bashed to all parts by the Dunny Pro in particular, worse when ten men were reduced to 9 due to injury. Sub fielder on offer? Didn't seem to cross anyone's mind. Anyway some bright spots in the field were promising signs from new recuit Watham Alami (not sure that's the exact spelling) with the ball (4-1-10-1) before a back injury meant he had to leave the field; and a spell of 6-1-13-2 from Mr Belly and Regan, though obviously a bit rusty, looked handy with the ball. There was also a top-drawer catch on the boundary by Vesty too. Dunfermline finished on 267 from their allotted 40 overs with their Pro, Waqas Ahmed, and whack-us he did, 100 retired off 59 balls. Gowtham had made 10 runs before being run out.
Mufs started solidly in reply, taking advantage of some rather silly field placements to pick up the runs on offer in the quest to salvage some pride. New boy Regan Black showed good promise partnering a dogged Mr Belly but was hampered by a leg injury and was out for 33. Sasid was in fine touch and hit a quickfire 29, but then Cameron Anson(0), Jon Nichols (1), Chris Donaldson (5) and the Dominator (0) quickly departed. Mr Boycott-Belly finally ground his way past 50 (51 not off 118 balls in the end, but at least some blessed time in the middle with a bat in hand at long last) and finally Vesty was caught by Gowtham (boo hiss) for 4 at deep midwicket. Westy had needed to leave early and by this time Watham was at the Western Infirmary so that was our lot and so 154 ao posted off 36.3 overs at a chilly Muirhouse.
If we are going to repeat this fixture next year then we need to have a much stronger team out as this particular game was of dubious value to both teams to be frank. Though Mr Belly had something to cheer at last.
A Mufs XI travelled to the picturesque ground at Berwick-upon-Tweed for a Sunday "international" friendly challenge match. Previous results had been tight, none more so than last year's marvellous tied game, and this game proved true to type as Berwick won by 3 wickets with 4 balls to spare. Earlier Mufs posted 169 with Gowtham scoring 39, Tom Wheeler 35 not out and Mr Belly 29 (sporting a most chav-tastic pair of tracky bottoms he had to buy en route); top bowlers for Berwick: Martyn Elliot with 8-4-12-3 and K Golightly with 8-2-29-3.
After a marvellous tea, Mufs took to the field, somewhat laden with extra jumpers and perhaps a cake or two too many. But sluggish the Berwick openers were not and Middlemist in particular savage on anything loose before being trapped by Tom LBW for 52. The other opener Elliot took up the mantle before being caught off Wardy for a fine 67 as Mufs fought their way back into the game. But the Berwick youth held their nerve at the end despite some tight bowling at the death by Gowtham and Mr Belly. Mufs bowling: Keith 8-3-22-0, Vesty with 8-1-40-1, Gowtham 5-0-20-0, Tom with 6-0-27-3, Mr Belly 7.2-0-19-2, and Neil Yelland with 5-0-31-1. As in previous years' a very pleasant day out though a little chillier this time!!
Gowtham prepares for battle...
...and strides out with Monty
Wow. What a game this was. A run-fest at the Sunday friendly played at Livingston where the home team posted 234 for 5 off 40 overs (Heaney 82 not; Crichton 78) with Tom Wheeler taking all 5 wickets for 32 off his 8 overs as the rest of the Mufs attack took a battering. With Mufs reply at 58-3 after 17 overs, needing to score what seemed to be an unlikely 177 off the remaining 23 overs, Jigar was joined by Junaid at the crease - Junaid having had a golden in his first game for Mufs 2s on Saturday proved how fickle a game this can be. 16 overs later Junaid had been dismissed for a savage 108 (15 fours, 4 sixes) as he an Jigar put on 153 runs for the 4th wicket. Picture of Junaid below...
Still at 211-4 there was work to do and some very nervous players from 7 to 11 as out strode the skippering Donimator. With a mix of a scampering President and solid shots from Jigar then we got home with 2 overs to spare. Jigar finished with an excellent 70 not out and Don with 4 not. Great game and great hospitality at Livy. Picture of Don and Jigar after clinching victory...
A Mufs XI travelled to the very scenic Bamburgh for a friendy match at the ground next to the Castle. And Claypole's golden touch with the bat continued as acting skipper for the day Phil extended his personal best with the bat again, this time to 93 having virtually carried his bat through the whole innings. Piccie below:
Chris Banks weighed in with 40 as Mufs posted 182 from 40 overs on a slow track. Bamburgh were 4 down for 20-odd (??) when the rain became too heavy. Next year hopefully we'll manage a full match. After the post-match beer, an intrepid band of Muffers went in search of fish and chips, lured down the coast to Seahouses only to find a town full of closed chippies. Respite was found courtesy of the Castlegate chippy in North Berwick.
More photos can be found at the Photo Gallery page or direct from this link to Mufs v Bamburgh 2007 photos. Next Sunday Mufs are off to the Isle of Arran for a friendly v Sannox.
On Sunday, a Mufs XI travelled to the Isle of Arran to play Sannox. However, we were met by a wall of rain once off the ferry. But where even the likes of Morton would have packed away their flippers, somewhat insanely we actually played a 20:20 in the pouring rain, after sitting in the cosy warmth and dry enjoying an impromptu pub-quiz at a local hotel. For the record, we scored 55 off 20 overs (thanks in the main to Charlotte and Big Pav), but Sannox won off the last ball. We were lucky that the Mountain Rescue/Mental Hospital had not been called out to take 22 lunatics off the hillside! Some photos of the trip below:
Mufs Isle of Arran Trip and Game v Sannox CC - Sunday 5 August 2007 PhotosOn a less rainy Sunday this time, Mufs travelled to Manderston for a timed friendly match. This finished in a draw. Details from Wardy's MB posting:-
Good batting from Gowtham, and a good all-round game by Reagan for his 29 until he was run out by Amjid, a catch, and two wickets.
A link to some photos can be found here... Mufs v Manderston CC - Sunday 12 August 2007 Photos
Reports to follow but 1-1 in the Chastity Belt Challenge?