Eliteserien Match 5: Aliens v Nord
The match started well for Aliens as skipper Kuhlwilm won the toss (10 from 11 so far) and invited Nord to make first use of the facilities. Having been on the end of Nords destructive batting lineup earlier in the season, Aliens needed early wickets to put the pressure on their opponents middle order.
The wait for the first wicket was little more than an over, with Damon Crawford (3-43) taking an excellent return catch in his follow through to send recent national call up Santoshkumar back to the pavilion/kebab van, with just a solitary single against his name.
The catch and following wild celebrations were capture for prosperity.
Waqar (0-28) and Crawford continued to bowl tightly but despite Vithyeswarasarma’s determination to get caught in the slips - and follow his brother back to the kebab van – nobody could hang onto the chances presented, and Nord continued to make steady, if slow, progress.
Having repaired the damage of the early strike Vithy and his partner Waqas Ahmed began to open out a little and were particularly hard on Pratheesh’s early overs, which were uncharacteristically expensive. He struck back in the best way possible though, by having Ahmed trapped lbw playing back to a ball that was just too full, to be sent on his way for 30. The tall number three was replaced at the crease by former Norwegian international Shahid Ahmed, who quickly made his intentions clear as he clubbed his first ball over backwards point for four. His potentially dangerous stay was to be a brief one though, as he went in search of one big hit too many and Pratheesh took an excellent catch running round from the long on boundary to give captain Kuhlwilm (1-21) his only wicket of a tidy spell.
Number five batsman Jamal was quickly dispatched as he tried to turn a ball from De Beurs (1-25) around the corner only to get a leading edge and present Kuhlwilm with the easiest of catches. Manojkumar however was not so easily dealt with and while Vithy continued to carefully accumulate he went on the attack and dispatched both De Beurs and Lyons (2-30) to the fence with alarming ease, however just as it was beginning to look like aliens would be facing another chase well in excess of 200 he mistimed a lofted drive and - a slightly less confident looking than he would have you believe - Ryan Phillips held onto a vital catch in the deep. With their score looking defendable - but nowhere near excellent - Nord’s batsmen began to look to take the game to the bowlers with Aziz becoming Lyon’s second victim before Pratheesh and Crawford came back to clean up the tail and end the watchful resistance of Vithy (Pratheesh’s third lbw of the game), leaving Nord all out in the 38th over for 204, a score very much within reach at Rommen.
The Aliens optimistic mood was quickly replaced by disbelief as one after another their batsmen were dismissed in double quick time by a bowling attack which was far more steady then destructive. Only Cameron (11) and Richard (7) managed to hang around for any length of time as Aliens were bundled out for just 52 in a mere 18.3 overs.