Maximum for Old Down (From Gazette Series)

Maximum for Old Down

10:02am Friday 4th August 2006 in Sport By Gazette reporter

Bristol and District League 1st XI Senior Division Bristol Pakistanis (137ao) lost to Old Down (138-6) by four wickets.

OLD DOWN travelled to Lee's Hill without star performers Mike and Andy Rowen, plus influential captain Dave Gardner, yet still came away with a fine win.

Greg Welsher skippered a young side that included debutants Ed Linsdale and Toby Osman and which had an average age of just under 23.

Welsher elected to field first and it only took until the third over for Old Down to claim their first wicket as the captain clean bowled Adnan for five.

In the very next over, Steve Clarke bowled a rearing delivery that Kashif (3) could only parry to Newton-Smith at leg gully.

A short period of dominant batting ensued, however, as Tanvir (28) and Sajid (29) took the attack to the bowlers.

This promising partnership was now allowed to develop though, as Welsher accounted for each upon his way to impressive figures of 8-2-3-20.

At the other end, the fiery Clarke (10-2-2-47) picked up one further wicket.

Welsher then turned to Russell Knight and Ian Mondar, who between them blew away the Pakistanis' tail.

Mondar bowled a couple of snorting deliveries in his spell of 6-1-2-26 while Knight was rewarded for bowling straight with figures of 3.1-1-2-7.

Fifteen-year-old wicketkeeper Toby Osman was outstanding on an extremely testing wicket.

In amongst the wickets was a run out by Welsher, which meant that Bristol Pakistanis were all out for 137 from 31.1 overs.

With grey clouds threatening overhead, Old Down's openers began their reply in confident fashion.

Indeed, so comfortable at the crease was Krishna Ranaranathan that he casually headed away the very first ball that he faced.

Unfortunately, he was soon found out by a swinging delivery from Imran and departed for only four.

For the next 13 overs, the resolute Linsdale and clown-like Newton-Smith forged a strong foundation for the innings and added 40 runs before the latter was bowled by Kashif when on 14.

However this brought to the crease Matthew Snell, fresh from hitting the winning runs in the previous night's six-a-side tournament.

He soon went about attacking the bowling and thundered a number of deliveries to the boundary.

In the 24th over and with the score on 74, Linsdale mistimed a drive, hitting it straight to a fielder, and was dismissed for 27.

His was an innings of attrition and contained enough class to suggest that he will be a permanent fixture at the top of the Old Down batting line-up.

In the meantime, Snell continued to pick off the bowling with ease, although he was lucky to survive being caught off a no-ball.

As the game suffered interruptions caused by the weather, Old Down suffered a middle order collapse as Welsher (12), Knight (0) and Selvakumar (3) were all dismissed cheaply.

Fortunately for the visitors, Snell was in good touch and following one last break for rain, he made quick work of hitting the winning runs.

He ended on 56* as Old Down reached their target in the 36th over and in doing so picked up their first 26-point haul of the season.

The Hair Today Gone Tomorrow Short Back and Sides man of the match was Russell Knight.