DLSW JKN 3rd on Table with two games to go
The JKN Team this season saw the return of Moner Dar as Captain and Coach to use his experience to guide and train the next generation of DLSW cricketers to continue the best cricketers in Hong Kong
Here is the rundown of the matches played so far
Vs Pakistan Association – 16th September 2018 at Mission Road
This game was washed out due to rain.
VS HKCC Scorpions – 23rd September 2018 at HKCC
DLSW JKN got their season off to a winning start with a big victory over HKCC Scorpions at HKCC in a Sunday Elite Division 1 fixture. After being sent in to bat first, JKN were bowled out for 280 in 49.1 overs. Fifties from Shahid Wasif (50 off 59, 5 fours 2 sixes), Ehsan Khan (60 off 61, 10 fours) and Munir Dar (66 off 50, 6 fours, 5 sixes) were the highlights of the innings. JKN started slow, reaching 55/1 after 14 overs. Shahid Wasif and Ehsan Khan then turned the innings around, by taking 30 runs off the 15th over (courtesy of a few wides and overthrows), and DLSW did not look back from there on in. They maintained a healthy run rate and would have been eyeing 300 from 216/5 in 40 overs, but HKCC pulled things back well. Kinchit Shah and Tanveer Ahmed bowled their 10 overs economically (1/38 and 1/37 respectively), while Miles and Ingram took 2 wickets a piece.
The Scorpions would have been confident of chasing this down during the lunch break, having put up 298 against PACC at this ground just a couple of weeks earlier, but got off to the worst possible start, losing both openers in the first 2 overs. They lost their third wicket in the 7th over, and when Kinchit was dismissed in the 15th, the score read 64/4. DLSW seemed unaffected by losing Haseeb Amjad to injury in the 3rd over, putting their full depth of bowling resources on display. 7 bowlers were used (including Haseeb), and they all picked up at least 1 wicket a piece. Jangzeb Khan took 3/46 in his 7 overs – after dismissing Kinchit, his dismissed Rory Caines and Tom Ingram on consecutive balls in the 19th over, and when Tanveer was dismissed in the 20th the HKCC Scorpions were 83/7 and all but out of the game. Buckley and Poole battled to take them past 100, but they were eventually bowled out for 127 in 27 overs. A big 153 run win from an impressive DLSW JKN side to start their season.
Vs HKCC Wanderers – 30th September 2018 at HKCC
The third game of the season was againats HKCC Wanderers over at HKCC. DLSW won the toss and chose to bowl, and while Haseeb Amjad took 4/46 -including a wicket off the very first ball- the Wanderers were still able to post up 274/7 in their first game of the season. Luke Jones top scored with 82* (85 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes) and there were fifties from Ben Zanol (52 off 76, 9 fours) and Stuart Tohill (52 off 78, 5 fours, 1 six). JKN lost a wicket in the first over too, and when Hiren Patel fell they were 32/2 in 8 overs. Haseeb Amjad took center stage again, hammering 75 off 83 balls – with no boundaries, but 7 sixes – and put on 116 runs with Munir Khan (61 off 119, 5 fours) to put the innings back on track. However his dismissal sparked a collapse – 148/3 in 34.1 overs became 190 a/o in 46.2 overs, Elliot Scrivener (3/33) and Christopher White (4/24) doing the damage. A good win for the Wanderers to start their season by 84 runs.
VS KCC Templars –1st October 2018 at HKCC
DLSW JKN were back in action again the very next day, this time at KCC against the Templars. They handled the short turn-around well – sent out to field first, they reduced the Templars to 110/9 in 30.3 overs. Nadeem Ahmed was brilliant, taking 5/16 in his 10 overs, and Mohsin Khan took 3 /27 for the new ball. With just 1 more wicket needed to wrap up the innings, they ran into a rampant Ashley Caddy, who smacked 70 off 69 balls (10 fours, 2 sixes) batting at 9, and alongside Saad Mahmood (16* off 16) put on 69 runs in 58 balls for the final wicket. This late surge took the Templars to 179 runs, and this proved to be a big enough target. Amandeep Singh smashed 41 off just 20 balls (3 fours, 4 sixes) opening the batting in the chase, and five other batsmen made it into double digits, but no one was able to occupy the crease long enough to see the side home. DLSW JKN were bowled out in 39 overs for just 138 runs. Namibian International Jason Davidson too 4/54 opening the bowling, Caddy returned 2/18, Daljeet Singh 2/20, and Dan Pascoe bowled his 10 overs for 5 maidens, 8 runs and 2 wickets. An excellent come-from-behind victory for the Templars in their first game of their season with a win by 41 Runs, and a tough couple of days for DLSW JKN.
Vs HKCC Wanderers – 21st October 2018 at HKCC
The next game was against HKCC Wanderers at HKCC, the JKN Side won the Toss and Decided to bowl first. Eshan Khan dominated the HKCC Batting taking 4 wickets for 28 Runs as his spin restricted the HKCC Total to 165 all out. The JKN Side started cautiously with the open pair of Shahif Wasif and Hiren Patel made a 50 run opening stand. Eshan Khan came in with the score at 112/3 and scored 62 runs in 73 balls including 4 fours and 3 sixes. JKN did lose a bit too many wickets but still won the game with 4 wickets in hand.
Vs Pakistan Association - 16th December 2018 at Mission Road
Moner Dar celebrated his return to the bowling crease with five wicket haul to help bowl out PACC for just 82 runs over at Mission Road. After winning the toss he elected to bowl first, and young seamer Noman Ahmed provided him with the initial breakthroughs, sending back both openers with the score at 31 in 8 overs. Moner then brought himself on to bowl, and in a 9 over spell managed to send back 5 batsmen for just 33 runs. He was well accompanied by Ehsan Khan at the other end, who conceded just 13 runs in his 7.4 overs in exchange for 3 wickets. Only three PACC batsmen made it past double digits, with opener Daniyal Bukhari top scoring with 19, as they struggled against DLSW’s spin attack. In response, Tanwir Afzaal took three cheap wickets -including a wicket on the 2ndball of the chase- but it wouldn’t be enough. Ehsan Khan followed his fine spell with the ball with 36 runs (41 balls, 4 fours), and Aftab Hussain’s unbeaten 21 (27 balls, 5 fours) took his side home with more than 30 overs to spare. A much-needed win for DLSW JKN, this win took them to 2nd on the table.
Vs USRC – 1st January 2019 at Mission Road
Then on January 1st we kicked off 2019 with a thrilling Division 1 encounter between USRC/MCC Elite and DLSW JKN, a game that went down to the very final delivery. After winning the toss at Mission Road, DLSW JKN decided to bowl first, and Ehsan Khan took two wickets in two balls in the 2nd over to justify his captain’s decision. Umar Mohammad found the fence regularly, but was dismissed in the 7th over, after which USRC were 49/3. That’s when youngster Daniyal Butt, and seasoned skipper Imran Arif rebuilt. Together they put on 133 runs in 34 overs, before Arif was dismissed for 57 (94 balls, 5 fours, 1 six). Daniyal then ensured a solid finish – USRC/MCC took 59 runs from the final 9 overs, and Daniyal finished unbeaten on 96 (146 balls, 8 fours, 4 sixes), as his side ended on 243/7. Ehsan Khan was the pick of DLSW’s bowlers with 4/43 in 9 overs.
In the chase, DLSW lost two early wickets as well, and found themselves 33/2 in 7 overs. Hiren Patel and Ehsan rebuilt with a 49-run partnership, after which Hiren and Aftab Hussain pulled the gamed into their favour. They put on 102 runs in under 24 overs, and after Hiren was dismissed for 58 (108 balls, 5 fours) DLSW DTC needed 57 runs from 65 balls with 6 wickets in hand. Awais Mohammad Senior was the bowler to dismiss Hiren, and Imran Arif struck shortly after to dismiss Aftab for 54 (81 balls, 5 fours) last ball of the 43rd over. Both set batsmen dismissed, and DLSW DTC were 212/5, needed 32 to win in the last 7 overs. They picked up 5 from the next over, but then overs 45 to 49 saw a change in fortune. Imran Arif and Shan Sarwar, bowling in tandem, picked up 3 wickets in these five overs for just 15 runs, and suddenly DLSW DTC needed 12 to win off the final over with just 2 wickets in hand. Skipper Imran bowled the penultimate over, giving away just 3, and ended the day with 3/29 in 9 overs.
With all three results possible in the final over, young seam bowling allrounder Sikander Zafar was tossed the ball, and started well, giving away just a single and a dot in the first two balls. However, the third ball was deposited for six by Khan Mohsan, and DTC needed just another 5 runs to win in 3 balls. Zafar responded with a dot-ball, and an attempt to take two (and keep Mohsan on strike) off the penultimate ball resulted in a run-out at the non-strikers end, which meant it all boiled down to 4 runs to win off the final ball with just a wicket in hand. Khan Mohsan connected with his shot cleanly, but unfortunately found the hands of Hussain Mahroof in the deep, who held on to the catch that won his side the game. USRC/MCC pulling off an excellent come-from-behind victory – their first of the season, and starting the new year on a winning note. DLSW JKN still sit second in the table, but with 3 losses in 7 games, have quite some distance to catch-up on the unbeaten KCC Templars.
Vs USRC – 6th January 2019 at Mission Road
This was the back to back games with USRC and this time DLSW JKN dominated the game. JKN Won the toss and decided to bat first with Haroon Arshad (79) and Eshan Khan (51) hit fifties to take JKN score to 254 for 8 in 50 over. The USRC team were all out for 186 runs with Eshan Khan taking 3 wickets for 16 runs and Shelton D’cruz, Aftab Hussain and Moner Dar taking 2 wickets each.
The final two games of the DLSW JKN team will be played in March
