League match
Harborne 134 for 5 in 20 overs
(Naweed Uddin 4-0-15-1, Louie Turpie 4-0-25-0, Omar Dawood 4-0-25-0, Josh Baker 2-0-16-2, Luke Baker 3-0-30-0, Umar Rehman 3-0-25-1)
Kings Heath 128 for 6 in 20 overs
Josh Baker 0
Umar Rehman 0
Ben Rattley 0
Naweed Uddin 50 retired
Louie Turpie 42
Luke Baker 7
Louis Langham-Walsh 6
Aquib Khan 3 not out
Omar Dawood 1 not out
Did not bat: Arjan Gihar, George Franklin
HARBOURNE WON BY 6 RUNS
Bonus points: Loss 1, Bat 4, Bowl 3
This was the first of three fixtures arranged during district festival week: the boys involved had already spent the previous three days fielding in long matches in warm weather. Harborne batted first and were not put under pressure at any stage. The bowling offered at least one bad ball per over which was usually clinically dispatched to the boundary and for the second game in a row the fielders dropped numerous catches and continual misfields ensured Harborne reached a commanding total of 134 for 5. Josh Baker had the best bowling analysis, collecting two wickets from hideous slog across the line, but this was from continually bowling low full tosses which the batters repeatedly smeared to the boundary. The lack of pressure and terrible fielding display left the home side feeling disappointed and were reflecting on their first innings rather than concentrating on batting well in the second.
The chase started badly. The top three batsmen were removed for a combined total score of zero. Josh Baker started the collapse by walking across to the off side and trying to flick the ball off his pads to fine leg. However he missed the ball, which then hit leg stump. Umar and Ben were also bowled and the Kings Heath players rattled. Naweed and skipper Louie put on 99 for the fourth wicket, Louie was on 42 when he hit a pull shot straight to midwicket. Naweed retired once he reached fifty which left two new batsmen at the crease, however the pair had succeeded in deflating Harbornes’ buoyant mood in particular by exceptional running between the wickets. The remaining batsmen found it difficult to score as the best Harborne bowlers returned for the dying overs of the game. Despite valiant efforts by the lower order Kings Heath eventually finished six runs adrift. It should be noted that they did not deserve to win the match after such a poor fielding display and the careless nature from which the first three batters were dismissed – all bowled. However the coach made a point of reminding the players that although they had performed badly as a team the positive was that they had still come within six runs of victory.
