Lions complete league season in style; Diamonds edge out Academy for promotion

Lions Lod completed the season as true champions, remaining undefeated in the league for the third consecutive season. They were made to work hard for their victory however, as second placed Ra'anana put up a brave challenge, finishing 16 runs short in response to Lions' total of 199.

Shalom Rubin once again showed excellent form, anchoring the Lod innings with a chanceless knock of 78. He received good support from David Massil (33), who, together with Rubin, added 65 for the 4th wicket. Steven Shein (3 for 20) was the most successful Ra'anana bowler, although Des Moss and Gal Matz both bowled well without reward.

Lions got off to the perfect start with the ball, as Massil removed danger man David Silver (3) in the very first over. Rafi Zauer (26) took the attack to the bowlers, hitting five boundaries before being somewhat unlucky to top edge a full toss to be caught behind. Anim Solomon, who bowled a very impressive spell, bowled Gal Matz (13) with the score on 86, and when Janeth Silva removed Shein (42), playing an awful shot to end a good innings, Ra'anana were 110 for 4 and facing an uphill task. Danny Hotz refused to give up however, but unfortunately ran out of both partners and overs as the game came to an end. He finished undefeated on 47, as Massil (3 for 42) returned to knock over the tail and secure a hard fought victory for his team.

In the other Division 1 fixture of the weekend, Young Ashdod defeated Ashdod A in the Ashdod derby.

The Division 3 title race was decided on the final day. Diamonds earned themselves promotion with a 31-run away victory over Lions Be'er Sheva. The Negev Academy also won, defeating Petah Tikva by 91 runs, meaning that both teams finished on 28 points. Diamonds however had a superior run rate, earning them top spot.

Before the start of play in Be'er Sheva both teams and umpires observed a two minute silence as a mark of respect to the victims of the terror attack in the city last week. The Diamonds batted first, and thanks to Anis Zaveri (53) and Simit (33), were able to post 206 for 9 in their 40 overs. Be'er Sheva began their reply well enough, as Saroja Sakin and Moshe Saul added 40 for the first wicket. However 4 wickets fell for the addition of just 26 runs, as Diamonds gained the advantage. Sakin (45) batted well until becoming the 6th wicket to fall with the total on 131, and although Be'er Sheva kept fighting till the end, they were eventually dismissed for 177. Amit Shah (3 for 46) was the most successful Diamond bowler.

In a further fixture in Divison 3, Kiryat Gat were bowled out for just 53 away to Dimona A, who then replied with 56 for 5, to earn a 5-wicket win. Yona Shmuel took 5 for 9 for Dimona A, with Yechezkiel Digorkar replying with 4 for 6 for Kiryat Gat.