Lamma women claim third successive title while LSW Warriors complete 'perfect' season

The final round of the 2006-07 HKCA Saturday League saw LSW Warriors complete a 'perfect' season as they notched their seventeenth victory in a row. And they complete the feat in style, thrashing SCC Vampires by 112 runs with Tabarak Dar and Azhar Illahi both cracking centuries. There were also two centurions in the Nomads versus CCC match with Chris O'Sullivan and Toby Brown posting three figures, whilst Jeremy Glaros also scored a ton for Witherers against HKU. Bowling honours went to Inderjeet Singh and Patrick Tolhoek who both grabbed five wickets.

Winners from the final round of matches were LSW Warriors, Nomads, Crusaders, Tartars, Gap Ramblers and Witherers.

Conditions were warm but overcast and intermittent showers throughout the day kept humidity levels very high as teams took the field for the final round of regulation matches for the 2006-07 HKCA Saturday League. With the league champions already decided, interested centred on whether LSW Warriors could complete the season with a clean-sweep of victories over the rest of the field; and which teams would fill the minor placings in the league table.

At Mission Road, LSW Warriors were looking to create history by completing a 'perfect' season y defeating all the other teams in the competition. This they achieved with consummate ease over last season's champions, SCC Vampires (who played as SubCont CC in 2005-06). Batting first, LSW Warriors put the former champions to the sword as they racked up an impressive score of 311-4 from their 35 overs, with Tabark Dar smashing 153 and Azhar Illahi scoring 106. In reply, the SCC Vampires were no match as they could only must 199-5 with Kris scoring 43 and Ravi finishing undefeated on 35.

At Hong Kong Cricket Club, Nomads cemented second place on the table with a 42-run victory over CCC. Nomads had first use of the wicket and they posted a imposing total of 270-3 from their 35 overs, with TobyBrown scoring 102 and Chris O'Sullivan hitting 114 not out. CCC posted 228-5 in reply with Scott Evans, Jonathan Orders and Neil McDonald all scoring half-centuries.

At Kowloon Cricket Club, Kai Tak took on third placed Crusaders. Batting first, Kai Tak mustered 210-6 from 33 overs - the match being reduced to 33 overs per side after a mid-afternoon down-pour sent players scurrying from the field. For Kai Tak, Dave Ellis scored 42 and Darren Farr finished undefeated on 82 while Imran Farcy and Manoj Cheruparambil grabbed three wickets apiece for Crusaders. The wet conditions meant that Crusaders struggled to bowl their allotted overs on time and they were left with 30 overs to chase the Kai Tak total at just over seven runs an over. Damian Kelleher and Anthony Barnet got them off to a flyer, crashing 100 runs off the first 11 overs. The loss of Barnet for 56, followed by a rash of wickets slowed the momentum but a quick fire 32 from Manoj Cheruparambil lifted Crusaders towards victory, before he was unfortunately run out in the slippery conditions. Damian Kelleher eased the KCC team to a five-wicket victory, finishing just short of his century with 95 not out.

At Po Kong Village Road, Tartars beat Mainlanders by 116 runs on the number one ground, while Gap Ramblers accounted for Centaurs by 101 runs on the number two ground.

Batting first, Tartars were dismissed for 246 with Afzall Haider top scoring with 86, while Shkawat Ali hit 55 and Shivang Baid scored 33. For Mainlanders, Inderjeet Singh claimed five wickets in an impressive seven over spell. Mainlanders struggled in reply as they finished on 130-7 with Waqas Barkat (55) and Asif Hussain (36) the best of the batsmen while Ghulam Mustafa claimed four wickets for Tartars.

The Gap Ramblers batting line-up rolled into action against Centaurs as they amassed 251-3 from their 35 overs with Jeremy Collard (34), Glenn Gittens (65) and Hamish Stuart (91*) scoring the bulk of the runs. Centaurs were restricted to 150-9 in reply with James Harper (38) the only batsman to offer much resistance. For Gap Ramblers, Patrick Tolhoek claimed 5-42.

Witherers completed another clean-sweep for HKCC teams as they beat HKU by 78 runs. Witherers batted first and posted an impressive 287-7 on the diminutive Sandy Bay ground. Mark Fuzes and Bob Bettridge both hit 56 before Jeremy Glaros smacked 109 off just 31 balls. Glaros's century came off just 28 deliveries and included no less than 12 sixes! Zar Khan was the best of the HKU bowlers as he claimed four wickets. Bruce Abernathy once again featured in the HKU run-chase with 39 but his efforts were bettered by Mohsen Hafeez, who scored 59, and Andrew Herne who finished unbeaten on 46 as HKU reached 209-9 in reply. Adrian Waters was the top Witherers bowler, claiming four wickets, while Mark Fuzes grabbed three wickets of his own.

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Mark Kratzmann grabbed the third best bowling figures of the season in the penultimate round of the 2006-07 HKCA Sunday League played in warm, humid conditions on 25th March 2007 that saw Pakistan Association, Wanderers and Scorpions claim victories.

At Mission Road, Pakistan Association thrashed Millennium by 113 runs. Ilyas Gul (64) and Butt Hussain (75) were in the runs as Pakistan Association posted 240-8 over their 50 overs, while Khalid Butt claimed three wickets for Millennium. The Millennium reply lasted only 28 overs as they were dismissed for just 127. Zar Khan was the only Millennium batter to withstand the Pakistan Association attack, which was led by Iqram Hoissain, who claimed three wickets.

Wanderers posted a massive 126 run victory over Little Sai Wan at Hong Kong Cricket Club to secure themselves a second place finish in the league standings on their return to competition action. Batting first, Wanderers amassed a score of 278 from 49 overs with Todd Hoare scoring 56, Ken Theideman 62 and Darren Tucker 90. For LSW, Nadeem Ahmed grabbed three wickets. Robert Tucker then claimed three wickets as LSW were dismissed for 152 in 39.3 overs. The loss was the fifth in six matches for the once high-flying Little Sai Wan outfit.

Scorpions strolled to a nine-wicket victory over Vagabonds in the final match of the day, played on the Po Kong Village Road Number one ground. Vagabonds batted first and they were dismissed for 157 from 36 overs, with Mukhtar Ahmed top scoring on 48. Incumbent Hong Kong Cricketer of the Year, Mark Kratzmann was the chief destroyer - his gentle off-breaks claiming six victims. Scorpions then eased to victory in the 22nd over with Phil Pemburton scoring 33 while Tim Smart and Mark Kratzmann finished on 68* and 48* respectively.

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The Lamma Women's cricket team snatched their third successive title as they beat HKCC Willow Wielders by four wickets in the latest match of the 2006-07 HKCA Skitz Sports Bar Women's Cricket League. Although both teams finished with exactly the same record over the course of the season, Lamma were awarded the title on account of them beating the Willow Wielders in the latest meeting between the two teams.

The HKCC Willow Wielders batted first but could only register a total of 84 with Sam McIlwraith and Kaori Iida claiming three wickets each for Lamma. Neisha Pratt then eased her team to victory with a score of 47 as Lamma surpassed the Willow Wielders total for the loss of six wickets, despite the efforts of Natasha Miles and Betty Chan who picked up three wickets apiece.

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