Centuries to Iqbal, Smart, Gunthorpe and Lamsam while Farcy, Neel, Khan, Dar and Burns grab 5+ wickets each

Jawaid Iqbal acknowledges his century for LSW v. Infidels at KCC © HKCA

Four centuries were hit in the latest round of Saturday and Sunday League matches played over the Chinese National Day weekend while five bowlers claimed five or more wickets each.

Conditions were generally fine for the 5th round of 2006-07 HKCA Saturday League matches played on 30th September 2006.

Nomads, who scored a massive 263 run victory in their last match, suffered a complete reversal of form as they were beaten by 4 runs by Centaurs in a low scoring match played at Hong Kong Cricket Club. Luke Rewega claimed four wickets as Centaurs were dismissed for just 109 in the first innings. Only Keith Hemshall provided much resistance, with a top score of 40. But Centaurs bowlers ensured their total was sufficient as they skittled Nomads for just 105 runs in reply. Neel was the chief destroyer as he claimed six wickets, while Chandrin Dissanayake provided able support by claiming the other four wickets.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, the home team Tartars defeated the visting St George's team by 25 runs. Shkawat Ali (79*) top scored for Tartars as the racked up a total of 2276-7 from their 35 overs. In reply, Papu Butani and Devang Shah each claimed three wickets as St George's were dismissed for 201. Vicky Nias was the main contributor for St George's with 52.

At the Po Kong Village Road number one ground, Saracens were soundly beaten by LSW Warriors. A stunning five wicket burst from Munir Dar saw the Saracens much vaunted batting line-up dismantled for just 92 runs. In reply, an unbeaten 47 from Jawaid Iqbal saw LSW Warriors cruise to victory by nine wickets.

Meanwhile, on the number two ground, Kai Tak were awarded victory over CCC on account of their superior run-rate. Whilst specifics of why the match finished prematurely have not been provided, Kai Tak batted first and scored 263-2 from 32 overs, with Adam Gunthorpe hitting 128 not out, while Jeremy Doubleday and Steve Campbell both hit forties. In reply, CCC were reduced to 29-7 after 11 overs when the game was abandoned. For Kai Tak, Chris Williams claimed four wickets while Brett Morley claimed three.

Victory was more clear-cut for Crusaders who beat HKU by 164 runs at HKU. Crusaders batted first and they compiled a decent 312-3 from their 35 overs on the small Sandy Bay ground, with Roy Lamsam hitting an unbeaten 109 and Manoj Cheruparmabil scoring 56. The HKU batsmen had no answer to the pace of Imran Farcy, who claimed 6-34 from an eight over spell, although Khalid (45) and Tahir (40) did their best to make a game of it.

At Mission Road, Lamma also enjoyed a comfortable victory as they beat Mainlanders by 134 runs. Sher Lama and Jonathan Seifman both hit fifties as Lamma posted 222-6 from their 35 overs, while Robert Bacon claimed three wickets for Mainlanders. Another disappointing batting effort from the Mainlanders saw them dismissed for under 100 for the second week in a row, with Mark Burns claiming five wickets for Lamma.

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Another three matches were played in the 2006-07 HKCA Sunday League in fine conditions on 1st October 2006.

Little Sai Wan continued their fine start to the season with a comprehensive 109 run victory over hosts Infidels at the Kowloon Cricket Club. A fine century from Jawaid Iqbal (115) and a rapid 88 from Munir Dar (38 balls) saw LSW post an impressive 297-7 from 48 overs. Munir Dar then claimed four wickets as Infidels were dismissed for 188 in reply. Khalid Khan also grabbed five wickets for LSW while Shamal Perrera top-scored with 52 for Infidels.

Vagabonds compounded the day's misery on Kowloon Cricket Club as they beat Templars by 4 runs in a tight match played at Mission Road. Ankur Sharma top-scored with 51 as Vagabonds scored 190-9 from their 50 overs. Devang Shah grabbed four wickets for Templars. But Templars could only manage 186 in reply, with Graeme Jardine hitting 50 while Satish Kumar claimed three wickets as Vagabonds recorded their first victory of the season.

Scorpions recorded the biggest victory of the day with a thumping 136 run defeat of Millennium at Hong Kong Cricket Club. Tim Smart scored his first century of the season as Scorpions piled on 311-3 from their 50 overs, with Mark Kratzmann (85), P Pemberton (58*) and martin Lever (43*) making handsome contributions. Kratzmann then grabbed four wickets as Millennium were dismissed for 170 in reply.

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Two Women's League matches were played over the weekend.

On Sunday, 1st October, reigning Women's League champions Lamma opened their 2006-07 campaign by thumping KCC by nine wickets. KCC batted first and were restricted to 117-6 from their 35 overs with Sam McIlwraith claiming three wickets. An unbeaten half-century from Neisha Pratt guided Lamma to a comfortable victory.

In a match played at Hong Kong Cricket Club on Monday 2nd October, Willow Wielders scored a comprehensive victory over the Cavaliers. Set a target of just 61, Willow Wielders cruised to an easy victory for the loss of just one wicket, with Betty Chan finishing unbeaten on 32.

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