Merryland will perhaps blame their bus driver for a three-wicket loss to PAK Eagles in Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium’s opening weekend of National School League (NSL) action.
Merryland were over an hour late for the match and the game was reduced to 15 overs as a result.
Even if they had been on time they may not have been any match for the Eagles who soared to victory.
PAK won the toss and chose to bat, flying out of the traps as they posted 117-7 from the shortened overs.
Mohammad Anwar top scored for PAK with 21 off just 18 balls, including three boundaries.
The late arrivals had an unprepared look about them and they toiled in their reply, eventually falling way short of their target at 73-7.
Man of the match Haji Ur Rehman took three of their wickets, conceding just nine runs in his three overs for Eagles.
#PAK Eagles have beaten #Merryland MIS u15s by three wickets after scoring 117/7. Haji Ur Rehman named MOTM #nsl360 pic.twitter.com/P9PMbCC6pq
— Sport360° (@Sport_360) October 25, 2014
Ali, Eagles coach, said: “It’s all down to the effort of my boys.
“We don’t have any coaching or guidance, it’s just down to me and my boys.”
Abu Dhabi Indian High School marched straight through Efians Army of the Emirates Future International Academy at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Abu Dhabi HIS made a statement of intent as their devastating bowling attack ripped Efians to shreds.
Mohammed Azzan, Jonathan Figy John and Ishmeet Singh proved a terrible trio for Efians who waved the white flag of surrender.
Man of the match John went on to smash the winning runs with the bat as he enjoyed a superb all-round day.
Efians were unable to make any headway batting first, with the HIS never letting their innings breathe.
Azzan led the way with a three-wicket haul, conceding only 11 runs in his 3.1 overs, but Singh was perhaps even more impressive.
The spinner conceded one run from his only over of the match, but proved devastating as he dismissed two victims.
John would prove to be an even bigger thorn in the side of Efians in the second half of the match, remaining unbeaten on 23, including two fours, from 29 balls.
It was his boundary that sealed victory for his team.
Elsewhere, ISC Abu Dhabi Unicorns U15s 127-2 beat Al Bateen Chargers U15s 124-5 by eight wickets
Tayyeb Ali clubbed an unbeaten half century as ISC Abu Dhabi Unicorns Under 15s got their NSL campaign off to a flyer against Al Bateen Chargers.
The 13-year-old, a member of the UAE U15 set-up, kept his nerve to steer his side to victory as they charged down a sizeable Al Bateen total.
A youthful Al Bateen side had set Unicorns 125 to win and had their own half centurion in Nayan Mohamed. Mohamed was unbeaten on 50*, scoring that off just 57 balls.
Abu Dhabi Unicorns beat Al Bateen Chargers. Here they are celebrating #nsl360 pic.twitter.com/Upz4xuNQG7
— Sport360° (@Sport_360) October 25, 2014
His and Unicorns’ feat was all the more impressive after they lost a wicket in the first over to bowler Patrick Powell.
His knock included four boundaries, but he was outshone by man of the match Ali who was 51 not out off just 39 balls, which included six fours.
Ali follows in the footsteps of his older brother Daniel, who was a successful cricketer for ISC several years ago, and who now helps the school out as a coach.
Also worth a mention was Ali’s team-mate Fakhir Ilyas, who took three wickets for 10 runs in his three overs.
Ali is confident his team can win the competition, if their bowling can match their batting.
“I’m pretty happy it (the win). We couldn’t really bowl well but we picked up a few wickets and were in the game. We can improve on that but we batted well.
“We were always confident of batting because we have good batsmen and we were sure we could chase the total down.
“We’re looking forward to every game and we just need to improve our bowling and fielding and I’m sure we can do well. If we do that we will be one of the favourites.”
Unicorns coach Adam Crossley said: “It was a good win. I was a bit worried when we lost that early wicket but we’ve got Tayyeb there coming in at number three so I was always confident.”
