Big Opening Stands Make Cricket Easy
Threes on a Roll after Hurstpierpoint Win Sussex Div 7
Kamran Mirza and Michael English are all the rage as Three’s openers with a 108 against Cuckfield, 30 odd against East Grinstead and again 84 today at Hurst. All three games ended in a Nomads win!
Things are starting to trend in the right direction for Skipper Faisal and his third team squad. At Hurst today there was a lot of consideration prior to the toss which Nomads won. Faisal wanted a look at the surface so asked the hosts to bat. Imran and Danyal both bowled tidy spells up top but the breakthrough took a little while. Sam Musto was on hand to take a good catch at point to dismiss the opener. Hurst legend Matt Parsons steadied the ship with a patient 25 but he was caught with by a very smart slip catch by Mirza. Even with giving away the now customary large number of extras, 36 and top scorer this time, the hosts were never allowed to get away. Owen Kernan, dropping to the three’s this week bowled a tidy spell of 8 overs two for 14.
Nomads ground fielding was quite tidy but catching was of high quality as no less than six were pouched. Indeed, the skipper himself ran out a mid-order Hurst batter at the non-striker’s end in a stunning piece of cricket.
Hurstpierpoint rested on 169 for 9 off the 40 overs.
As addressed above after a profitable opening stand Luke Appleton at three could stride to the crease in a positive and relaxed mood. His obvious talent was showcased with a not out 37 to see out the game. The final flourish a huge six to get our threes across the line just three down and 11 overs to spare.
A brilliant win for the boys!
We caught up with a jubilant captain and quickly addressed the elephant in the room. He said ‘ I know we are giving away far to many extra’s in every game. It didn’t really matter today but in a tight game it could make all the difference. We really do need to address this issue’ On a more positive note he is very happy with how the points are starting to stake up and is looking to keep the momentum going with more wins.
My man of the match goes to opener Michael English who produced a nice half century and was pretty tidy behind the stumps. His post match interview can be found on the club Whatsapp site. His chilling message to Sussex Div 7 ‘we are looking to keep the winning habit and put ourselves in with a good chance of promotion!’
Our Threes have moved to 3rd in the table and host 2nd place Felbridge on Saturday at the SCMG.