6 - 18 for Waskar inspires Negev Academy to impressive win over Lod; Diamond's maintain second spot

The Negev Academy bounced back from their disappointing defeat to Kiryat Gat last week by doing what no other team has managed to do this season - defeat Lod Cricket Club. The Diamond Cricket Club also won, defeating Kiryat Gat, whilst Dimona A ended their season on a high, beating Petah Tikva.

Ronen Waskar was Israel's star bowler at the recent U15 European Championships, and he continued his rich run of form with another superb display of leg spin bowling. Against a strong Lod batting line up, Waskar took 6 wickets for 18 runs in a spell of 8 remarkable overs. With left arm spinner Solomon Varsulkar also bowling well, picking up 1 for 19 in 9 tight overs, and Eliezer Yugadayev picking up 2 early wickets with the new ball, Lod were dismissed for a paltry 116.

With the Lod pitch slightly dodgy, the youngsters began their run chase shakily, losing Shai Hayun (0) and Yugadayev (1) early on. But Raz Ben-Zaken, another to have found form in France and continued it in the local league, together with Oren Chinchulkar, got the innings back on track. However Lod got themselved back in the back with two quick wickets for Ravi Khanna. Having hit Chinchulkar on the helmet with a bouncer, Khanna followed that delivery with another bouncer. With the young batsman clearly rattled, he missed the next ball which was straight on the wickets and was bowled for 19. Bar Ilya was out soon afterwards for 0. George Sheader and Ben-Zaken restored stability before Sheader was run out for 9. Siyon Sankar then picked up three quick wickets, dismissing Ben-Zaken for a classy 50, Artur Arutinyan for a patient 8, and Amitai Malyekar (0). But Waskar (1*) and Varsulkar (6*), the two spinners who had bowled so well earlier, hung around to ensure victory for their team. Sankar finished with 4 for 30 on an otherwise dull final league game for Lod.

Petah Tikva hasn't had much to smile about all season, and having lost to Dimona A at Hadar Yosef they remain at the bottom of the table. Petah Tikva won won the toss and elected to bat, but two wickets each for Maor Shmuel, Adiel Changaukar and Yaniv Dokarkar, together with three run outs, left Petah Tikva all out for 122. David Malekar top scored with 27. Dimona lost 5 wickets along the way to victory, as Rafi Penkar (2 for 15) and Abraham Astamkar (2 for 14) bowled well, but with Rahamin Charikar not out on 34 the visitors completed the win in the 31st over.

Kiryat Gat claimed a surprise win last week over the Academy, but could not maintain their form against a Diamond team which has got better and better as the season has progressed. Batting first at Hadar Yosef, Kiryat Gat could score just 120, as Raju Shah took 4 for 38. The run chase for the hosts was simple, as Snehal scored 60 not out and the 7-wicket win was sealed in just 21 overs. The win cements the Diamond Cricket Club in second place, level on points with the Negev Academy but with a substantially superior net run rate.