Stags fall just short at Glebe Street.

After a week of warm weather, all eyes were on the toss at Glebe street on what looked like a very good pitch for batting.  Unfortunately for the stags, Hashum Malik called incorrectly and Crompton skipper Mohammed Jamal took the first opportunity to bat.

Norden started well with the ball with both Dom Humphreys and Sami Waheed regularly beating the bat and it was the latter who drew first blood removing the advancing Sam Rigbys off stump. Denis Louis joined Stephen Wright at the crease but just as the partnership was building, it was Waheed again who struck having Wright caught behind.  Louis fell shorty after, LBW to Hartley, a decision he showed his displeasure at.  This brought both Captain Jamal and Professional Imran Khalid to the crease.  A long period of risk free, sensible batting saw both bring up their individual half centuries along with a hundred run partnership. 

After both Greg Butterworth and Asher Zaidi has provided some tight overs of spin, Jamal tried to go big but was caught by Dom Humphreys on the boundary.  Pro Khalid was then run out superbly by a Tolley direct hit and wickets began to crumble to Zaidi and Butterworth.   The Stags sensed they could bowl Crompton out for a total below par but with a late rally from an injured Aqib Zulifqar, Crompton were bowled out for 206.  The last wicket providing a catch of the season contender after Harvey Fitton misjudged a catch on the square leg boundary.  He chased back and caught it one handed, akin to the famous Ben Stokes catch for England.

Norden’s reply couldn’t have got off to a wores start, losing Tolley LBW, Fitton caught behind and Asher Zaidi caught in the slips.  The Stags were in trouble at 18-3.  One man who refused to be beaten was Greg Butterworth and he led the counter attack with some lovely stroke play.  Him and Lee Crabtree begun the rebuild and saw Norden advance to 76, before Zuhaib knocked back Crabtrees stumps.  Dom Humphreys grafted with the now fluent Butterworth but found the hands of Louis at first slip for 2.

Young Spencer Allen joined Butterworth at the crease and showed maturity to begin Nordens fightback.  He batted sensibly and supported Butterworth taking the score past 3 figures.  Greg Butterworth reached his fifty and begun to attack.  The pair took the score past 150 and Norden looked in the game.  After a period of tight bowling and with overs running out, Allen was out LBW for 32, ending a 67 run partnership.  Captain Malik came and went which brought Sami Waheed to the crease.  At this point, Norden needed 35 off the last 4 overs.  Norden kept pushing but Butterworths terrific innings came to an end in the penultimate over, out stumped for a wonderful 88. Unfortunately it proved in vain as despite a late flurry from Jack Harrison and Sami Waheed, the stags fell 7 short after the former was caught with 2 balls left.

Norden pick up 7 points on the road, but they’ll feel the game should have been won. Scorecard : https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/4549843

The 2nds got back to winning ways with a comprehensive victory at Stag Park. The star of the show was Dean Lord who struck his first century for the club and he was ably supported by Zeshan Anwar’s 67 and Usama Malik’s 5 for 34. Lord wasn’t fluent at the start of his knock after coming in at 61 for 4 but Anwar was playing beautifully at the other end, allowing him time to get in, and once he got going the Crompton bowlers were dispatched to all parts of the ground with regularity. Sitting on 81 with just 2 overs of the innings remaining, it looked unlikely Lord would reach the magical 3 figures but with the small legside boundary in his sights he launched into a brutal assault on Lucas Devine, taking just 4 more deliveries to bring up his 100 from 94 balls. 29 came from that over in total and Norden finished on an imposing 276 for 7 from their 45 overs. Lord remained unbeaten on 110*. Malik cleaned up both of Crompton’s openers and there were wickets too for Mo Munawar and Matt Findlow as the visitors struggled in reply. The only frustration for the Stags was that they were unable to pick up the final wicket to secure maximum points, although a victory margin of 132 runs should surely be deserving of a full quota.

2nd XI Scorecard https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/4550315

2nd XI Highlights https://youtu.be/BwO5Wyj1oTc

The 3rd team almost managed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat on Saturday but Crompton ultimately left Stag Park with the win after scrambling over the line with a couple of overs remaining. Mohammad Omar and Mo Waheed both made 34 as Norden posted 157 for 8 from their 40 overs. A second wicket partnership of 127 between Mason Everton and Jozef Kobyra looked to have led the visitors to a comfortable chase but a flurry of wickets meant there were unexpected late nerves before Lucas Devine just managed to clear mid-on to hit the winning boundary. Mo Munawar took 3 for 14 and skipper Simon Wystawnoha 2 for 2 and he must have been left wondering what might have been had he introduced himself into the attack sooner. 

3rd XI Scorecard https://norden.play-cricket.com/website/results/4789468

3rd XI Highlights https://youtu.be/jnh62t1fb44