The grey, gloomy and rainy clouds which hung above Aberdeen didn’t curb the enthusiasm of 2nd FPs and 2nd Mannofield players to play this final Grade 3 game of the season. 2nd Mannofield required a win to stay in Grade 3 and the FPs required 5 points to remain in 5th position. The team selected for this crucial clash was Magesh (c), Karthik (vc), Kieran, Rizwan, Jesten, Arul, Vishal, Rahul, Jim Lee (wkt), Saro and Kiran Bhanu. Sincere thanks to James Williams for generously agreeing to be on standby despite his busy schedule for the day.
FPs lost the toss and were invited to bat. With usual opener Matt away, Magesh had another player in mind to open along with double-centurion Kieran. Unfortunately he didn’t arrive in time, reason being it was raining (!) and Magesh went in as temporary opener.
Kieran played Mannofield’s strike bowler and schoolboy C. Shorten with ease scoring 7 of the first over and recorded the first boundary of his 2nd over. Narayanan opened from the pavilion end and bowled couple of tidy overs and then Kieran smashed him for a huge 6 over long on. But the bowler got his revenge when he had the same batsman caught at mid on. Double-centurion Kieran out for a quick fire 20 (1 x 6, 1 x 4) and could have got more since most of his shots didn’t reach the boundary due to the wet outfield; FPs 27-1 in 6 overs.
Rizwan joined Magesh in the middle and both batsmen were cautiously playing the Taller-version of Shorten and Narayanan, taking the occasional singles and rotating strike. Taller Shorten was bowling accurate with occasional bouncers and was always threatening to take wickets.
In the 13th over, Rizwan, who is a fine player of the short ball, pulled Shorten for a smashing boundary; a shot which even Ricky Ponting would have been jealous of. However, in the same over he was bowled off an inside edge unfortunately. Rizwan scoring 11 runs (1 x 4). Magesh was batting with determination but was tempted by the slow bowler Callum to play a poor shot and was caught at gully for 9. FPs 44-3 in 14 overs.
Finally the sun came out which also brought some light into the FPs scoring rate. This also brought the fresh pair Karthik and Jesten to the middle. Both of them rotated the strike well and kept the Mannofield fielders on their toes through their quick singles and doubles. Especially Karthik, probably fuelled by the whisky he had the previous night was running unusually fast between the wickets. Jesten on the other end was batting patiently, blocking the good balls and punishing the bad ones through his powerful strokes. Mannofield were desperate to break this partnership which was taking the match away from them. After plenty of bowling changes, Taller Shorten in the 37th over managed to remove Jesten, who batted 22 overs with Karthik for a fantastic 46 (6 x 4).
Karthik was joined by Arul who straight away got off the mark and scored a brisk 8. And then Karthik welcomed the returning opening bowlers by hitting them both for sixes and reach yet another half century for this season. His innings came to an end when he tried to score quicker and was out for an excellent 56 (3 x 6, 5 x 4).
Vishal and Rahul made some crucial runs (5 each) at the end but were out trying to score more. Jim and Saro remained unbeaten when FPs declared at 178-9 in 44 overs. Mannofield need 179 to stay in Grade 3.
After a short tea break, 2nd Mannofield opened the batting with Findlay and Awan whilst the 2nd AGSFP new ball was taken by Kieran and Vishal. Both the bowlers got their usual rhythm straight away and were beating the bat on several occasions. And it was in the 5th over, Awan finally decided to break free and scored a boundary, but was out next ball when he tried to smash the accurate Kieran over the in-field, only to be caught well by Saro who was patrolling the point area. 2nd Mannofield 16 – 1 in 5 overs.
Next Urquhart joined Findlay, who started playing his shots more freely and was scoring at a healthy rate. Vishal who bowled well was given a much deserving break and was replaced by Karthik to get another breakthrough. But this nearly came through the other end off Kieran’s bowling when Urquhart tried to hit over mid off fielder only to lob the ball in air. Magesh who went back initially anticipating the hit had to stop and change his direction and start running forward. Unfortunately the ball landed just few inches away from his reach.
Kieran bowled a tight spell and was replaced by skipper Magesh who along with Karthik bowled a tight line which was difficult for Mannofield to score of. Then in Magesh’s 3rd over, Urquhart had enough and decided to attack the bowler, but mistimed her shot and ended up being caught at mid-off by Kieran. Urquhart departed for a quick-fire 20; 2nd Mannofield 56-2 in 19 overs.
Rizwan replaced Karthik and in his 3rd over bowled Cameron and took a sharp return catch in the next over to dismiss Mahesh. The FPs were back in the game and the only player standing between them and victory was Findlay. Kieran was brought back into the attack to put more pressure on Mannofield. This ploy worked well as Findlay tried to hit Kieran over the in-field and ended up being caught in mid-on by the ever alert Arul. And in his next over, he removed A.Grayson aided by Rizwan’s stunning reflux catch at point. 2nd Mannofield 82-6 in 27 overs.
However, Dave Grayson started attacking the disciplined FPs bowling by playing some powerful and innovative shots. The FPs in an attempt to get his wicket, kept rotating their bowlers and also brought in specialist partnership breaker Rahul. But nothing would deter the determined Grayson, who was blocking the good balls but punishing the bad ones pretty well.
Mannofield scoring rate increased and Grayson was threatening to take the match away from FPs. Then the FPs crafted an alternate plan, set up the field accordingly and brought back Kieran initially, and then Vishal and Magesh into the attack.
This time, Vishal was on fire. First he removed Taller Shorten by bowling a perfect outswinger which the batsman edged to the keeper and then bowled Zanre. Grayson was running out of partners and decided to take some risk. He hoisted Vishal over long on and nearly stopped running between the wickets believing that he had muscled it well for a six. But he was wrong. Fortunately for FPs, Karthik who was specifically placed in that area for that catch moved a few steps forward, steadied himself and then completed a stunning catch. Grayson was out for a heroic 43. The last wicket fell in the same over as Jim took a regulatory keeper catch to give FPs a thrilling win. 2nd Mannofield 148 a.o.
FPs wicket takers: Vishal Desai 10.3-1-31-4, Kieran Whyte 12-1-27-3, Rizwan Mohammed 6-0-23-2, Magesh Devendran 7-1-26-1
This win cemented FPs place in Grade 3. Credits go to Karthik and Jesten for their batting, Kieran, Vishal and Rizwan for their bowling and all players who fielded very well under pressure. Hats off to Mannofield for playing the game in good spirits.
Man of the Match: Karthik for his brilliant knock and for taking a difficult catch at the end
Champagne Moment: Rizwan’s stunning reflex catch at point.
