On Sunday, WWCC 1st XI played their first home game of the season against The Hills 2nd XI….
After assessing the conditions with the sun out and some grass covering on the pitch, WWCC won the toss. They decided to bowl first against a team that looked well organized and up for a contest.
WWCC opening bowlers Adeel and Karthik bowled a very tight opening spell. Karthik picked up a wicket in his first over and Adeel was unlucky not to have picked up a wicket off the first ball of the match. They restricted The Hills to 30/1 off the first 10 overs.
The hills were able to form a decent partnership which gained momentum quickly through a mix of good shots and some errors in the field. This was before Nithin picked up the important, momentum-shifting wicket leaving the Hills 75/2. Sean Graham then got a crucial run out to get their highest-scoring batsman out. Then Nithin picked up another and Ahmad Mansoor chipped in after bowling a quick spell of bowling. This left the Hills 93/5.
Siblee then came on and brought some stability and control to the middle overs. He was able to collect a well-deserved wicket near the end of his spell with Graham getting his 2nd catch of the innings along with the run out.
Sami Jan also bowled with good control and along with Graham picked up a wicket each. Then skipper Nithin came back to finish the innings off and picked up his 3rd wicket of the innings. He finished with figures of 3/29 off his 9 overs. These were the best figures of the day for WWCC and his best of the season so far. Also a mention to Bishnu for his direct hit run out near the end of the innings too.
Wexford then went into bat and immediately found themselves in a bit of trouble at 5/2. This was just after 3 overs. Sean Graham and Adrian Campbell were dismissed early.
Khalid, who was promoted to open this innings provided stability to the start of our innings. Ibrar began to provide a few momentum-building big hits before being dismissed with the score at 27/3. Unfortunately, he was unable to build on his fantastic 118* last week, but still sits top of the WWCC run-scorers list.
Sami Jan again had a few lusty blows along with Khalid before they departed within quick succession of each other. This left the hosts on 61/5.
Enter Captain Nithin and our familiar saviour this season, Ahmad Mansoor who resurrected our innings. They brought hope and belief to the team, with a strong 53 run partnership. Mansoor has hit two half-centuries so far this season. He has been in top form in the early parts of the year.
With 60 runs needed and 4 wickets in hand, Nithin manipulated the field with quick singles and big hits over the top. He was supported for a few overs by Adeel and Karthick. But again Wexford found themselves in a difficult position of 133/8.
Siblee joined Nithin with 40 needed off 13 overs, and a lot of credit has to be given to Siblee for his role in supporting Nithin. He showed a lot of courage and determination to stick to the plan Nithin had.
But all credit goes to Nithin for his 75 not out which was fluent, mixed with solid defence and a strong strategy of farming the strike. He chipped away at the total until it came within striking distance and then he cashed in and took his chances. Nithins score of 75 is the club’s second-highest so far this season.
Speaking after the game the skipper stated that:
“Overall it was a good team effort with another brilliant individual performance for the team this season. There are still areas needing improvement but a big result for the team and club. May we continue building on the momentum of the last 2 league matches.”
