Cricket: LBW outbreak cripples Olten’s hopes

In the first of three Swiss Cricket Association fixtures at the weekend, Nomads made hard work of their encounter against underdogs United.

The match saw Nomads grab an early breakthrough on the Uster pitch when Ashwin bowled opening bat Karthik cheaply.

But United then knuckled down with Hilmi Marikar and Pradeep Vijayadas giving little away as the scoreboard ticked along to 45 for 1 after 15 overs. Their partnership came to an end with Vijayadas’s runout on 16 – one of many mix-ups in the innings.

An exhausted Marikar gave his wicket away soon afterwards trying to hit a second six but was caught on the long-on boundary for 19. United CC were all out for 73, though it could have been fewer if Nomads had held on to a few more chances and converted more run-out opportunities.

Claiming his first five-for in the league, Harpreet Singh capitalised with his medium pace and occasional leg-breaks, while Aswin Sangam and Wicky took one each.

Marikar said: "I was sure we could make 150 on that wicket, the matting was hard and dry. But we had at least two run-outs from misunderstandings between the players."

Defending their modest total United CC started well, with bowlers Manohar and Rahul dismissing both openers. Sreehari K was the pick of the bowlers (3 for 10 from 4 overs) while Manohar, Rahul and Pradeep took one wicket apiece.

With lunch taken at 50 for 2 after 15 overs and the win well within Nomads' reach, the home side suffered a mini-collapse, losing Sangam, Wicky and Paul with just two more runs on the scoreboard.

But with time on their hands Nomads reached their target for the loss of six wickets in the 24th over. Nomads' Sangam said: "Their bowling was friendly and we thought it would be a cake walk, then we lost three quick wickets."

After the game Marikar said that his bowlers' "mistaken" belief that pace is all contributed to United’s undoing, when consistency was what was really needed on such a hot day.

Fewer extras (20) might have helped too, said Marikar, who added: "I’m not tired of playing cricket but I am tired of shouting at these guys. They think if you bowl fast you can get wickets but it’s the wrong way to go about it; it’s childish. They’d send down two or three decent deliveries and then they’d get back into the rut of bowling sloppily."

At Winterthur, Olten got off to a solid start against home side Power Winterthur only to be undone by an occasional medium-pacer who claimed five LBWs.

Aamar Butt, Power Winterthur’s secret weapon, took his five-for for just 10 runs as Olten had the upper hand on 94 for one after 17 overs. Murali scored 55 before being caught behind and Sameel made 31 as Olten slipped to 151 all out after 32 overs.

The tall medium-fast seamer’s spell was particularly noteworthy since he is rarely given a chance to shine.

Power Winterthur skipper Sajid said: "Olten were in the best position after 20 overs, we were thinking they would make 225 with so many wickets in hand. But Aamar is quite tall so he gets more bounce and pace, he just clicked. It was an excellent spell. Sometimes I’m a bit afraid to give him the ball – he’s actually our sixth-change bowler."

In all, seven Olten batsmen were adjudged LBW by the neutral umpire. Olten’s Sheeraz said: "We were discussing the decisions after the game but it was a neutral umpire so it’s part of the game."

In reply, Power Winterthur lost opener Bashrat to a fine catch at gully in the fifth over, but there were runs for Sajid (34), Zahad (22 not out) and Shanwaz (32 not out), who guided his team home in the 29th over.

In Geneva, Switzerland U19s earned themselves a morale-boosting first league win of the season against Uprising.

After winning the toss and taking the field, the teenage team looked to be in control on their home turf at Cern as Uprising made unspectacular progress to 92 for 3 after 20 overs.

But Amir Khan made up for his team’s slow start with a blistering 43 that took the score from 111 for 4 after 25 overs to 161 for 4 after 29.

Khan’s fireworks were only snuffed out by an astonishing reaction catch from Tristram George, who took a one-handed blinder low to his left at midwicket that changed the game in U19s’ favour. The catch was too fast for many spectators who were looking to the boundary for the ball as Khan headed back to the clubhouse.

That wicket was the first of three taken by Midhun Lal in the 30th over, his stump-to-stump medium pace taking Uprising down from 161 for 5 to 161 for 8.

Lal’s tight bowling earned him five wickets by the time Uprising were all out for 189 in the 33rd over. It was all the more impressive after his first wayward spell that earned him an early rest after three overs.

With the bat, U19s showed considerable maturity and staying power as Nick Coulson (76 not out) and Ali Saleem (40) put on 117 for the third wicket. Midhun Lal knocked 32 off the target as the home side strolled to 190 for 2.

Coach Michael George said: "Our lads batted very sensibly for an eight wicket victory, but it was Tristram George’s catch and Midhun’s bowling that turned the game for us. We’ve had a Pickwick Cup win, a friendly win and now a league win. It’s a real confidence boost ahead of our ICC tour next week to the Isle of Mann. Everyone’s fit and ready to go."

Results given here are unofficial; for the official results please visit the Swiss Cricket Association website.

Match results.

SCA League points table.