Pakistan: English schoolboys end tour on high note (17 Jul 1998)

17 July 1998

English schoolboys end tour on high note

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI, July 16: The English cricketers from Sherborne School Dorset, ended their Pakistan tour on a triumphant note, after beating Karachi Gymkhana Colts by 11 runs at the Karachi Gymkhana ground on Thursday.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Sherborne School thanks to a dashing knock of 76 runs off 69 deliveries by left-handed James Adams and useful contributions of 24 runs apiece by Mark Shearer and Peter Harris reached 173 for 9 in the 40 allotted overs.

Zeeshan Essa, bowling a tidy line and length bagged 2/19. He was ably supported by Suleman Muno, who picked up 2/36.

Karachi Gymkhana Colts after losing an early wicket to paceman Richard Edlmann were cruising along comfortably at 89 for 1 with opener Pir Qasim and Ali Jaffer playing some handsome strokes all around the wicket.

Ali Jaffer was the first to go brilliantly caught by Thomas Fegen off the leg-spin of Oliver Kelly and soon two more quick wickets by left-arm spinner Duncan Reece-Smith had the home team struggling at 100 for 4.

With Pir Qasim still at the crease, Karachi Gymkhana seemed on for victory at 136 for 5, needing only 38 runs for an outright win with five wickets in hand. But left-arm fast Peter Harris introduced into the attack, struck first ball dismissing Pir Qasim for a fighting knock of 48 and with James Adams picking up three quick wickets from the pavilion end, coupled with a fine run-out by Fegen, Karachi Gymkhana fell just 12 runs short of the winning target, after being bowled out for 162.

Jimmy Adams was the most successful English bowler claiming 3/25. Reece-Smith chipped in with 2/19 and Edlmann 2/36. Adams, who represented England in the under-15 World Cup held in 1996, was named the Man-of-the-Match and turned out to be theoutstanding player of the tour.

Adams scored 307 runs in six matches averaging 51.66 on the tour. But Mark Shearer with 221 runs in four innings with a top score of 115 n.o., topped the batting averages with 110.5.

Left-arm paceman Peter Harris was easily the best bowler capturing 8/37, with a healthy average of 3.37. Left-arm spinner Reece-Smith grabbed 10/107. Adams 4/47, Fegen 4/48, Henry Whipp 4/62, Kelly 4/133 and Edlmann 3/55, were also among the wickets on the tour.

Michael Nurton, Manager of English schoolboys paid glowing tribute to Mrs. Nishat Arif Khan and Andre Bernard for their tireless efforts in conducting such a marvellous tour. He also praised the hospitality the team received throughout the tour.

In a previous match, the tourists beat the Karachi Grammar School by 116 runs at the Aga Khan Gymkhana ground.

Sherborne School rattled up 233 for 4 through a dashing knock of 115 not out by Mark Shearer. James Adams (36), Patrick Gidney (33) and Thomas Dowdall (20), also performed well with the willow.

Karachi Grammar School in reply were skittled out for 117 runs with Peter Harris 4/11, Tom Fegen 2/20 and Oliver Kelly 2/33 doing the damage.

For the Grammarians, Saad Kamal, Zaki Patel and Amiyn Pesnai each had contributions to their team's score.

After losing their first two matches to A.O. Clinic by two wickets and Karachi Goan Association (KGA) Gymkhana by 78 runs, The English schoolboys won their next four matches, beating St. Michael's Convent by 49 runs, Federal Express by 126 runs, Karachi Grammar School by 116 runs and Karachi Gymkhana Colts by 11 runs.

Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)