United bowled out Punjab for 175, had an opening stand of 118, lost a few wickets but eventually won by four wickets with several overs to spare in the Elite Division final of the Brampton-Etobicoke and District Cricket League last weekend.
Four Punjab batsmen at different points in the order reached scores between 23 and 33, but none moved on to higher scoring plains. Opener Gagendeep Thind made 26, middle order bat Rupinder Sandhu 27 then Armanjet ‘Sonny’ Bal struck 33 in the lower middle order and Sumit Datta pitched in with 23. Mohamed Mirza took 3/29 from 9.1 overs as Punjab ended 175 all out after 48.1 overs.
Mohamed Mirza followed up with 52 runs as an opening bat, his partnership with Khalid Gilani carried United to 118 before the first wicket was lost. Gilani top-scored with 75, a couple of others were out cheaply, a few runs were added to level the scores, another wicket fell then the winning run was scored. Victory came mid-way through the 38th over as United reached 176/6.
The final was played on the south pitch at Batsman Park, which is a ground with potential if someone were to try and negotiate to transform it into a dedicated cricket ground with a grass wicket. An exercise that would need to be supported by appropriate funding as well as negotiating skills.
Both cricket grounds at Batsman Park comprise an artificial wicket between two soccer pitches based on a visit earlier this year during the CIMA Mayor’s Schools Cricket Championship. (EN)