Old Catton v Diss A (Norfolk Cricket Alliance Division 6) DATE: SATURDAY 3rd AUGUST 2013 VENUE: POSTWICK 1ST INNS: OLD CATTON 268-2 DEC. (39 OVERS) 2ND INNS: DISS A 201 (49.3 OVERS) OLD CATTON WON BY 67 RUNS A valiant effort with only 10 men saw Diss come within touching distance of an excellent losing draw against title-chasers Old Catton at Postwick on Saturday, although in the end the visitors’ efforts were ultimately in vain. Diss knew victory would be a tall order with one less player and the objective was to gain as many bonus points first and foremost. Old Catton skipper R. Turner had no hesitation in batting first upon winning the toss, and the hosts stormed to 50-0 from the first 10 overs, thanks to some positive shot selection and a generous helping of extras from the Diss bowlers. However, Amir Qureshi at one end built up the pressure with two successive maidens and the inspired introduction of the captain himself Jody Sparrow saw T. Betts (23) caught superbly at mid-off by Mahmood Riasat when attempting to go over the top. Sparrow proceeded to the beat the bat of the new batsman J. Fossey on a couple of occasions and nearly bowled the dangerous P. Daynes round his legs but there was to be no other clear-cut chances to break the partnership for a while as the Old Catton pair flourished on a decent batting track. Realising the need for bonus points, Sparrow tried all nine bowlers in the hope of getting that crucial breakthrough to potentially start a middle order collapse but the pair had answers to everything thrown at them. The Diss boundary fielders mopped up well but no shots in the air found hands and Sparrow summed up his side’s fortunes by spilling an easy catch at mid-wicket off the bowling of Usman Anwar. Lewis Brawn was rewarded for his persistence with the ball when Fossey was caught by Anwar for 100 but shortly after, sensing the need for a few extra overs to bowl their opponents, the declaration was made on 268-2 from 39 overs. This meant that Diss had 53 overs to see out, and with two of the three previous weeks resulting in losing draws, anything was possible. Unusually for Diss, John Rogers and Anwar stepped forward and showed keenness to open the batting but both fell early, albeit to good deliveries by the opening bowlers D. Colley and D. Anderton. At 7-2 it looked as though Diss would crumble as has previously been the case this season but the rest of the batting order showed how far the team have come in the course of a few months. Liam Fairweather and George West were watchful to begin with but soon grew in confidence and brought to the score to 44-2 before West was caught for 10 in the 20th over. Diss’ leading run-scorer Lewis Brawn joined Fairweather at the crease and immediately threw caution to the wind and started in typically aggressive fashion, whilst his partner found the gaps and took advantage of a quick outfield. This pushed the field out but 33 runs were still amassed in six quick overs before Fairweather was given out LBW for 46 before he could reach what would have been a deserved 50. The next Diss batsman Mahmood Riasat (17) looked to be striking the ball well against the slow bowlers but was undone when attempting a big shot in Anderton’s first over in his second spell. At 101-5 with 22 overs remaining, Old Catton increased the tempo by bringing in close fielders and bowling Anderton (2-45) through from one end but Brawn and Amir Qureshi had other ideas. The boundary rope continued to be found as Diss went in search of valuable batting bonus points and despite the loss of Brawn for 39, Qureshi continued on his merry way, ably assisted by Spencer Davey (7 not out). No less than 10 fours were struck as Qureshi cruised to 50, playing classical shots all around the wicket and picking up the Man of the Match champagne in the process. But the home side were to have the last laugh as Qureshi was caught for an eye-catching 63 before captain Turner brought himself back into the attack to snare the last couple of Diss wickets in quick succession and get his side over the line. With all things considered, it was a sterling effort by the Diss team and there are plenty of positives to be taken into this coming Saturday’s trip to Saxlingham A but it was equally disappointing not to have hung on for that vital last few overs.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 21:08:00 +0000