Alster CC play Göttingen in the German league (10 Jul 1999)

9 July 1999

Alster CC play Göttingen in the German league

On May 23rd Alster CC played Göttingen in Fallingbostel. Alster put Göttingen into bat, and the decision soon proved its worth, as the Alster bowlers ripped into the Göttingen top order. Dhushan Ekanayake, the opening batsman was out to a superb one-handed catch at short cover by Alster captain, Bob Whitelaw, and thereafter resistance was minimal. Dilip Nair and Mark Richardson each picked up 2 wickets and Mark Campbell, Alster's young tearaway from New Zealand, five as Göttingen crumbled to an all-out total of only 47. Alster knocked off the runs comfortably for the loss of only one wicket.

On June 13th Alster were in action again on their home ground at Horner Rennbahn in Hamburg. Kassel won the toss and elected to bat, but once again the Alster attack was in unstoppable form, and the Kassel batting line-up was positively demolished, slumping to 53 all out. The wickets were shared between Dilip Nair (three), Mark Campbell (two) and Bob Whitelaw (four). Alster lost a mere two wickets in knocking off the required runs in 16 overs.

On the same day Pak Alemi travelled to Göttingen to play Göttingen. Göttingen won the toss and invited Pak Alemi to bat. The Pak Alemi innings never really took off despite steady performances from a number of players. They were all out after only 32 overs for a total of 164 with their captain Rasheed Muhammad top scoring with 33. Dhushan Ekanayake picked up four wickets with his steady medium-paced bowling. In reply Göttingen lost quick early wickets until a dogged stand between Ayoma Abeyawickrama and Ramesh Kakkar almost saw them home. The final over found the last pair at the wicket with 10 runs still to make. It proved too much for the home side and a thrilling match ended in a 4 run victory for the visitors.

On June 20th league debutants Kassel took on Göttingen in Göttingen. Once again Kassel's batting proved fragile, and they were bowled out for 108 with Glen Reid taking three wickets and Ayoma Abeyawickrama two. Göttingen lost three early wickets until Glen Reid came together with captain Ed Cargill. This pair saw the innings home with Glen Reid undefeated on 46.

On June 27th Göttingen were in action again, this time against Bremen in Fallingbostel. Bremen won the toss and elected to bat. They were bowled out in 40 overs for a total of 167 thanks mainly to steady batting from captain Sami Niese who made a responsible 47. For Göttingen Ayoma Abeyawickrama picked up four wickets in a fine spell of opening bowling. The Göttingen reply looked to be on course as long as their captain, Ed Cargill, was at the wicket, but when he went for a fine 49, the innings faltered and Göttingen were finally all out for 150.

June 27th also saw the return match between Pak Alemi and Alster played again at Horner Rennbahn in Hamburg. Batting first, Pak Alemi once again found the Alster attack to their liking and amassed an impressive 274 in 47 overs, with fine performances from opening batsman, Intikhab Hussain (42) and Qasim Ali (66). Alster were never up with the required run rate and despite stout resistance from Jan Porr (25) and Mark Richardson (28), they were bowled out for 170.

The league table now shows Pak Alemi at the top of the table with 36 points from four matches and Bremen with 24 from three. Both teams are undefeated.