1st inns Redditch 143 all out in 37.4 overs (Nabeel 8.4-1-33-5, Aman 7-1-21-0, Sean Brown 5-0-18-3, Abbas 4-0-20-0, George Greaves 6-1-30-1, Saleem Haider 7-1-22-1) FOW: 6-1 8-2 38-3 64-4 83-5 83-6 88-7 119-8 143-9 143-10
2nd inns Kings Heath 144 for 9 in 48.2 overs Jag Patel bowled 0 (3 balls) Saleem Haider lbw 0 (2 balls) Aman Khan bowled 5 (1 x 4) Masood Khan ct mid off 0 Gregg Arrand ct slip 12 (2 x 4s) Adam Badger ct cover 16 (2 x 4s) Sean Brown 45 not out (7 x 4s) Graham Arrand ct keeper 25 (4 x 4s) Mohammed Abbas-Bhanji ct keeper 1 Nabeel Ahmed ct keeper 2 George Greaves 2 not out FOW: 0-1 0-2 5-3 6-4 40-5 59-6 125-7 129-8 141-9
KINGS HEATH WON BY 1 WICKET
There was a controversial start to the game, Kings Heath arrived at the ground at 12.30 for a 1.00pm start and there was no sign of the home team until 12.55, when their players began to meander across to the ground. The Redditch captain demanded that a new wicket was prepared, and called the groundsman, as the pitch appeared very narrow and the creases too small. The time it would take to cut, roll and remark a new pitch would be well over an hour, seeing as the groundsman was still at home, so it was agreed to play on the pitch and get started. The match finally got underway just before 1.30 and Redditch had a bad start, losing their first two wickets with only eight runs on the board. George Greaves returned to the fray midway through the innings, taking a caught and bowled with only his second delivery. Nabeel Ahmed bowled consistently outside off stump, but despite getting good away movement did not make the batsmen play enough, most were comfortable leaving the ball outside off. Jag Patel took two superb catches at first slip as Redditch fell to 119 for 8, Sean Brown taking two wickets with the final two balls of his spell, and will start the next match on a hat-trick. Saleem Haider bowled well, gaining good pace from a shortened run up as the Redditch tail went on the counter attack. Redditch had dragged their way up to 143 when Nabeel was reintroduced for the 38th over and he took the final two wickets in consecutive deliveries, taking an individual five for and also starting the next game on a hat-trick. The Kings Heath chase of 144 in 52 overs got off to the worst possible start, losing both openers before a run had been scored. Redditch opened with a spinner and Sal was given out lbw to his second delivery, simply missing a straight ball that was hitting middle and leg stumps. The next over saw the quickest and most dangerous bowler straight into the attack, and he soon bowled Jag Patel with his third ball. There was no sightscreen, only dark green bushes and it was nearly impossible to pick up a full delivery from that end, troubling all of the batters. Aman Khan, in at number three whilst Bernard O’Connor was playing for the seconds, was bowled for just five, whilst Masood Khan chipped a simple catch to mid off to reduce Kings Heath to 6 for 4. A steadying and reassuring partnership of 34 between Adam Badger (16) and Gregg Arrand (12) kept the Kings Heath side in with a chance, nudging the spinner for easy singles and surviving the quick at the other end. However the ball after taking a painful blow to the abdomen, Gregg edged a catch that flew high to first slip, Badger continued for a short time before he offered a catch to cover and the score now read 59 for 6, with defeat seemingly inevitable. Captain Graham Arrand and Sean Brown had other ideas; although still 85 runs shy of the target they had a crucial, composed partnership of 66 which turned the tide. The Redditch side became more and more vexed as the partnership continued. Runs were not coming particularly quickly, but they were aware of the need to take all ten wickets to win the game; if Kings Heath managed to bat the full amount of overs they would surely score the required runs. Graham withstood the pressure, hitting four boundaries in his 25 before he was caught by the keeper attempting a sweep. Sean Brown was composed at the other end, surviving a vociferous appeal for a catch to the keeper. The Redditch team began hurling verbal abuse at the young under 15 as they sensed the game slipping away, physically intimidating the batsman and the umpire as they shouted unnecessary expletives. The umpire soon sensed he had made a mistake and wrongfully gave Mohammed Abbas-Bhanji out caught behind the following over in order to make amends for the original poor decision. A small but significant partnership of 12 took the score from 129 for 8 to 141 before Nabeel was the ninth wicket to fall, also attempting to sweep the spinner but gloving a catch to the keeper, and three runs were still needed to win. Redditch sensed the match was theirs, as Kings Heath had crept into their allocation of extra overs. George Greaves walked to the crease at number 11, known in recent times for his bowling ability but not his batting; due to his failing eyesight. He soon gave every person watching heart palpitations as he attempted several slog sweeps across the line, which missed his stumps by a hairs breadth. The tension had never been higher, both teams sensed a result was close, and both could not bear to lose such a bad tempered match. George eventually proved himself the unlikely hero, hitting the winning single with a push through a gap at cover and securing the win. Sean Brown finished unbeaten with 45 runs including seven boundaries, and showed astonishing composure and concentration during his innings. Sean showed considerably maturity and technique to be able to survive the quick bowler going around the wicket and pitching the ball short into the ribs in an effort to prevent run scoring and build pressure; coupled with his three wickets earlier he was undoubtedly man of the match. Significant credit also went to Nabeel, who took five wickets after pressure was mounting on his place in the side. A commendable win, notable for the aggression shown which should make the return fixture an interesting game.
