Scintilla take the points in clash of the seconds thriller

Emdad Rahman :

As British summer time heralded its arrival, the Essex County Cricket Leagues second tier saw Bow Green & Cosmo locks horn with Scintilla CC on a day of scorching sunshine.

With both teams scoring close to 250 runs it was Scintilla CC who left the field of play with beaming  smiles as the sun set on a glorious day of cricket at Fairlop.

Bow Green won the toss and decided to bat first – scoring 242/9 from 45 overs with R O’Grady plundering 88 runs. The pick of the Scintilla bowlers was Walid Ahmed (3), followed by Morshadur Rahman (2). Toufik Billah, Moin Arefin, Syed Iftekhar, Jahidul Haque, took a wicket each.

With a heavy run chase on the cards Scintilla went on the offensive. The tactics worked a treat as the visitors steamed home for a barnstorming victory by 5 wickets.

Haque and Arefin provided the foundation with a partnership of 53 runs. Mohammed Ebrahim added 17 before half centurion Walid (not out 51) and Billah (98) steered Shaha Riadh’s men to a scintillating 5 wicket win. Both jointly shared the man of the match award.

Captain Shaha Riadh said: “Its a brilliant win for us. Toufik and Walid played brilliantly, but equally, Moin and Jahidul’s partnership was crucial for us as both held their nerves to steady the ship and set us up to have a right go. It’s s memorable win. We are enjoying our cricket and I feel we are capable of better things.”