Alex Keith made a fine unbeaten half century to secure a 9 wicket win
FPs cruised to a 9 wicket win against Lahore Karahi, as they bounced back from last weekend’s disappointments. Having bowled out Lahore for 119, they were seldom in trouble as Alex Keith led the way with an unbeaten 56 as FPs strolled home with 18 overs to spare. FPs could have certainly bowled better on a sporting pitch, but all bowlers took wickets in an important win.FPs made 4 changes from the side that lost to Crescent, Morrison, Keith, Swiergon and Hegde returning as FPs lined up, Morrison, Keith, Swiergon, Hegde, Davey, Nattrass, High, Mapplebeck, Worsley, Hameed, Thomson. Morrison won an important toss and had no hesitation in bowling first.
It didn’t take Worsley long to get into his stride bowling Syed Ali for 7. Mapplebeck got in on the act soon after, Nattrass claiming a well judged catch at mid off to remove Khushid for 4. Mapplebeck and Worsley bowled with good pace, but were unable to take any additional wickets, but the introduction of Thomson and Hameed soon put the squeeze on.
Hameed struck 2nd ball, Davey taking a smart catch at cover as Singh fell for 6, 44 for 3. It was 51 for 4 when Thomson claimed a wicket, Morrison easily catching Ali for 19. Dangermen Imran and Abid Ali were now together and it was important that FPs did not allow them to dictate.
The score had reached 74 when an away cutter from Thomson, found Imran’s outside edge and Keith dived full length at 1st slip to catch an incredible one handed effort, which is unlikely to be bettered this season. Hameed then dispatched Ali next over for 16, a fine inswinger trimming the bails. Bhatti was then superbly run out by Hameed with a direct hit as Lahore subsided to 87 for 7.
The last 3 wickets did add 31, but FPs were happy enough as Mapplebeck bowled Zahne for 2, Hameed bowled Danish for 6 and leg spinner High nipped in to bowl Virk for 0 as Lahore were 118 all out. Bowling figures for FPs were Mapplebeck 10-1-49-2, Worsley 5-0-9-1, Thomson 9-4-28-2, Hameed 10-1-22-3 and High 2-0-8-1.
The pitch had been fairly uneven with balls flying from a good length, so FPs knew that the game was far from done. However, they had need not worried, as despite both batsmen being hit, Morrison and Keith combined to make 66 for the 1st wicket, with very careful strokeplay as they only hit 4 boundaries. It was imperative they kept out the impressive Syed and Abib Ali and they did this well with minimal alarms.
It was something of a surprise when Morrison’s vigil ended on 22 in the 21st over, when he misjudged Sunny and was bowled. He hit just one boundary in a 65 ball stay. It brought Swiergon in and he and Keith took just 6 overs to knock off the rest of the runs, Swiergon hitting 4 boundaries in his 25 not out from 21 balls. Keith batted superbly at the other end making 56 not out (6×4, 1×6) from 75 balls.
Overall it was a solid win for FPs as the pitch made the chase not 100% straight forward. Winning the toss was a huge advantage, but a good bowling and batting display ensured a comfortable win.
MOM
Alex Keith for his unbeaten 56. He wore a few, but batted with great skill, his straight 6 a particular highlight.
