Rochdale Premier Cricket League Round Up

Bilal of Jandians receiving Man of the match medal from Haji Zafar (Playing Committee member of RSCL).

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It was an exciting start to 2010 for Max XI, Unique and Jandians as they start their new year with wins in the Rochdale Premier Cricket League.

The pressure is building up on all the teams as the first round nears its conclusion with Max XI and RYCC competing for the top spot.

The first scheduled match on Sunday was affected by the heavy snow fall as Suli XI failed to make it to the Sports Centre, giving Stoney Stars an easy two points. They kept their 2nd place in the league table.

The second match was between All Stars and Baba XI. It was a must win game for both of the teams in order to stay in the title race.

All Stars won the toss and elected to bat.

It was not a good start from All Stars as they lost their opener in the first over with just five runs on the scoreboard. Good batting from Bukari, 22 runs, Imran, 11 runs and Asif, 19 runs (not out), gave them hope of passing 100 runs but none of the other batsmen got into double figures. All Stars managed to score 99 runs.

It was disappointing start from Baba XI, losing two wickets in the first two overs of the match with only 20 runs on the board. Excellent batting performances from Shakeel, 29 runs, and Captain Shahid, 19 runs (not out), boosted Baba towards their total. Once again All Stars bowlers were unable to control their bowling and gave away 45 runs in extras. This allowed Baba XI to win the match by 3 wickets. Shakeel of Baba XI was declared man of the match for his 29 runs and 1 wicket for 9 runs.

Next match was between Max XI and Lahore Greens. Max XI won the toss and elected to bat. Another good start for Max XI with all their batsman making runs, Zohaib 33 runs (not out), Sultan 28 runs, Rashid 14 runs and Abdur Rehman 13 runs (not out). Max XI scored 113 runs in their 8 overs. In response, it was a very good start from Lahore Greens. Both of their openers played an excellent innings, Shakeel 31 runs (not out) and Amjad 25 runs.

In another close finish, Lahore Greens needed 8 runs in their last over but excellent bowling from Adur Rehman only gave away 5 runs, driving his team home with a good win. Zohaib of Max XI was declared man of the match for his 33 runs (not out). With this win Max XI kept their top spot with 14 points.

Fourth game of the day was between RYCC and Unique. Again it was another must win game for both of the teams. RYCC won the toss and invited Unique to bat. It was a good batting performance from Unique with all of their batsmen scoring runs, Numan 32 runs (not out), Munawar 20 runs, Asif 13 runs and Sohail 12 runs (not out). 110 runs target was given. 

RYCC must have fancied their chance of winning this game. Confident start from their openers, Iqbal 31 runs (not out) and Naeem 8 runs, later joined by Shakeel 20 runs and M Siddique 10 runs off 3 balls. RYCC needed 34 runs to win in last two overs, despite excellent hitting from M Siddique 10 runs and Abdul Quyyom 15 runs (not out), RYCC lost the match by 4 runs and the top spot in the league. Numan of Unique was man of the match.

Last match of the day was between Jandians and Rochdalians. Jandians won the toss and invited Rochdalians to bat. A disappointing start from Rochdalians losing 3 wickets with 14 runs on the board. Only two batsmen scored the runs Khan 40 runs and Malik 35 runs but none of the other batsmen survived against a good bowling attack of Jandians. Rochdalians managed to score 103 runs in their allotted overs.

In response, Jandians started confidently and won the match with 2 overs to spare. Excellent batting from Usman 30 runs (not out), Amjad 30 runs (not out) and Yaseen 20 runs (not out) saw them home. Usman was declared man of the match for his 30 runs (not out) and 1 wicket for 14.

Organisers thanked all the teams and volunteers for turning up in a very heavy snow fall to play and enjoy the game of cricket.

To view reports from previous weeks of the Rochdale Premier Cricket League click the links below:

Week One

Week Two

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six