Emdad Rahman
Scintilla Cricket Club pulled off a confidence-boosting victory to keep in touch with the top of the Essex County Cricket League Premier Division last weekend. With British Summer Time in full swing and as the England Cricket team wrapped up the first Ashes Test against Australia at Sophia Gardens, Scintilla staged a dogged comeback at Peter May to beat their classy neighbours by three wickets.
Barking won the toss. The visitors opted to bat first and were bowled out for 150 from 33.3 overs. Pulkit Gupta followed up his 96 from the previous week to reach 51. Ehsaan scored 21, and Zohaib added another 22.
The pick of the Scintilla attack was Ayaz Karim. A man of the match performance saw the captain take 5/30 (9 overs). All rounders Abul Hasib took 3/24 (7.3 overs) and vice captain Sajal Rahman 2/17 (5 overs).
After tea Scintilla needed 27.4 overs to win the game 153/7. Hasib top scored with 41, Ahmad Norharif Hamidon struck 20, Bellal Hossain, 17, and Ashfaqur Nobel joined Sajal at the crease to see home the match with 29 not out. The pick of Barking’s bowlers saw Muddassir take 3/25, and Kulkarni 3/21.
Scintilla captain and man of the match Ayaz Karim said: “Barking are a talented group of cricketers. It really requires a top performance to beat this team. We were wilting for a period when we lost a few cheap wickets, but we dug deep to pull off a comeback win and this gives us great confidence moving forward. A victory over our illustrious neighbours has put a smile on everyone’s face.”
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The Scintilla second team matched the seniors as Shaha Riadh’s men defeated Aztecs CC at the London Marathon Playing Fields to win by 127 runs. Scintilla CC won the toss and decided to bat first, reaching 197 all out from 39 overs. Man of the match Moin Arefin caused havoc with the bat as the opener struck 74. Walid Ahmed assisted with 34 and Shafatul Kabir contributed 22. Aztecs were all bowled out for 70 runs. Shaha Riadh took 4/21 (6 overs); Rifat Mahmud 1/34 (7 overs); Mahabub Chisty 2/0 (1.1 overs); and Iftekhar, 1/9 (3 overs).
Man of the Match Moin Arefin said: “Winning is a great feeling and I’m enjoying playing in a team of great cricketers. It’s very pleasing that I personally made a big score and even better that the team won to secure the points.”
Captain Shaha Riadh added: “The boys have trained hard throughout and it’s extra satisfying when our efforts come to fruition. This is a promising team. If we apply ourselves one hundred per cent then we will do well in this division.”