Victoria Park Community Cricket League

Weekly League roundup by George Watson

Week Thirteen - semi final report - 22 July 2018 (download report as a PDF here)

Millwall edge Camels in classic

It was a Friday night semi final full of everything; wickets, drama, tension and Richard Hagan blasting his vocal cords across Victoria Park as league one leaders Millwall took on Camel Lights on pitch 3.

Millwall won both the toss and the early initiative as they elected to bat on a pitch which offered more swing with cloudy conditions above. But it was Camel who injected life into the match as they destroyed the Millwall top order.

In form opener Arif Ahmed took a suicidal run and was brilliantly run out by Kit Caless for four.

However it was his left arm swing that proved to be the main issue for Millwall with some super off stump deliveries to remove Farhan Rahman (14), Shumon Miah (13) and Saif Khan (22). Camels had sucked the life out of Millwall, leaving them reeling on 90-6 and a place in the final suddenly looking very promising.

It took a last stand between Maksood Chiawalla and Aminur Rahman to give Millwall, undefeated this season, any chance of a win as the pair put on a crucial forty run partnership to elevate Millwall to 130 before Richard Hagen’s clever, accurate bowling removed Amin.

The Camels started cautiously, with disciplined bowling and good fielding positions preventing the boundaries, as opener and acting captain Brendan Cleaver (taking over the skipper role from Tom Porter who was absent) and Dave Sendall took on the fielders with excellent running rather then hard hitting.

Cleaver played on for 15, with a good ball from Jamil that nipped back. But Sendall and Matt Redgrave kept Camels on par with some great running and the odd boundary as Millwall kept the line and length well.

However, with the game tightly poised, the clouds growing darker and wind in the air, the game turned when Sendall was trapped leg before to a superb low ball from Maksood. Moments later, in-form Rich Hagen was run out without scoring with the non-striker calling a run that should never have been on, leaving the Camels chasing the game at 96-3 and four overs remaining.

With Dave Melia struggling to get off the mark, he was bowled for four, leaving the hopes with Sendall (who was heading to a retirement) and Kit. Unfortunately for the Camels, the chase was too much and they fell an agonising thirteen runs short thanks to some superb last gasp bowling from opening bowler Farhan leaving a feeling of what might have been for the Camel LIghts, a team bursting with team spirit.

Millwall after beating Camel                                 Photo: George Watson