(Shak 4.1-0-19-3, Brown 7-2-14-1, Badger 5-0-22-0, Malik 5-0-28-0, Jag Patel 6-1-21-5, Parminder 3-0-3-1)
FOW: 1 23 23 69 96 102 102 102 108 110
Kings Heath 111 for 8 in 36.3 overs
Jattin Patel ct midwicket 3
Rob Adams bowled 0
Parminder Bhomra ct cover 5
Matt Wright bowled 17
Ben Jones bowled 25
Adam Badger ct mid on 10
Shak Syed ct deep midwicket 8
Sean Brown 4 not out
Gregg Arrand ct keeper 14
Malik 0 not out
Did not bat: Jag Patel
FOW: 0 8 11 63 78 82 91 107
KINGS HEATH WON BY 2 WICKETS
Five Ways began by losing two wickets to Shak in a fiery spell of four overs. Sean provided superb control from the other end, bowling his seven over allocation without a break on a hot day and only conceding 14 runs from his spell. Badger had replaced Shak at the other end and proved his run up problems were at an end by not bowling a single front foot new ball during his wicketless five over spell. From 23 for 3 the Five Ways middle order began a rebuilding exercise to build a total and had made their way up to 96 for 4 at the 20 over halfway stage. Malik demonstrated his lack of control, and the regular bad balls on offer were clinically dispatched for boundaries, despite the presence of leg side sweepers. Following a needless and frustrating attempted quicker delivery by Malik that slipped down the legside for four byes (with the keeper standing up to the stumps), a bowling change was required. Spinners Jag and Parminder bowled excellently in tandem, Parminders’ three overs only going for three runs, whilst delivering quick flat off spin he forced an opposition batsmen to hit his own wickets in his follow through of a forceful pull shot. Jag Patel in a strong contrast, showed his ability to flight the ball and tempted the batsmen into an indiscretion with aggressive strokeplay. Jag finished with five wickets for 21 from his six overs, before Shak returned to from the same end and destroyed the stumps of the number 11 with his first delivery back.
After bowling out Five Ways the visiting team were informed that they had a tricky eight over spell to face, as tea was not yet ready. During that period Five Ways had the perfect start, finishing the eight overs after conceding only 11 runs, and three first team batters (Jattin Patel, Rob Adams and Parminder Bhomra) already dismissed. The middle order immediately began to see demons in the pitch and were somewhat restricted in their strokeplay, offering few shots and merely intent on survival. Ben Jones and Matt Wright built a 52 run partnership, with Matt (17) in particularly having an uncharacteristically restrained innings. Matt and Ben (25) were both bowled, Adam Badger (10) gifting his wicket with a careless shot to mid on, the ball after hitting a boundary over the same fielder. Shak had scored sixty against this same opposition in a losing cause back in July, yet managed to pick the deep midwicket fielder with unerring accuracy, scoring only eight. Again this collapse from 63 for 3 to 91 for 7 gave Five Ways a burst of confidence, and the entrance of skipper Gregg Arrand, batting low down at number nine, saw fielders crowd the bat and offer verbals. Gregg, experienced on this type of pitch, hit consecutive boundaries through mid on from his third and fourth deliveries. With Sean Brown still not off the mark at the other end and overs rushing by, the continued aggression from Gregg brought his downfall, giving a catch to the keeper with only four runs needed to win. Malik blocked four balls to complete the 36th over. Sean held his nerve and hit the winning runs with a pull shot through midwicket, securing the win by only two wickets.
