Massil's lead Lions Lod; Negev Academy win again

Isaac Massil scored 107 and his brother David then took 6 for 21, as Lions Lod stormed to another huge win, defeating Ra'anana by 125 runs. The Negev Academy remain undefeated in Division 2, as U15 stars Shai Chayun (80) and Oren Chinchulker (86*) shone in their 7-wicket win over the Diamond Cricket Club.

In the featured match of the weekend's action, Lions Lod played Ra'anana at Hadar Yosef on Friday in a repeat of last year's final. Once again Lod were victorious, but this time the margin of victory was far greater. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Ra'anana managed an early breakthrough when Mahendra Jaiswar was bowled by Gedaliya Auerbach for 1. Yefet Nagavkar and Isaac Massil put on 77 for the second wicket, before Nagavkar, having scored a good 49, edged Steven Shein to slip, where David Silver took a smart catch low down. Anim Solomon (6) didn't hang around for too long, run out by a brilliant piece of fielding by Sammy Benjamin, leaving Lod at 101 for three. Joined by his brother David, Isaac continued to keep the runs flowing as Ra'anana toiled in the sweltering conditions, and when David was eventually out, caught by Auerbach off Des Moss for 35, the two had added 70 and put Lod in a very good position to boost their score in the final 10 overs. As the innings neared it's close, Isaac became more aggressive, hitting two huge sixes, and brought up his century with his twelth four. Shein picked up two wickets in the final over to finish with the respectable figures of 3 for 31, and Lod closed their innings at 255 for 8.

If Isaac excelled with the bat, it was David who took the honours with the ball. Bowling at a lively pace and extracting sharp lift off a good length, he produced a devastating spell of bowling, reducing the Ra'anana innings to tatters. His final analysis of 6 wickets for 21 runs in 9 overs indicates how well he bowled. The fact that Ra'anana managed to score 130 was totally due to David Silver. Given a chance early on his innings when wicket keeper Gideon Talkar grassed a simple chance, Silver grabbed the opportunity, and having watched a precession of batsmen come and go at the other end, was eventually last man out, bowled by Nagavkar, for a fine 73.

While Lod sit smarlty at the top of the Premier League table, Ra'anana will need a much improved performance to stand a chance of winning their next match, against Tel Aviv on Friday.

In the only Division A match played on Saturday, Young Ashdod completed their second win in as many weeks, with a narrow 7-run win over Dimona 'C'. In a high scoring game played in Dimona, Young Ahshdod, having been asked to bat by Dimona 'C', were all out for 286. Jared Solomon (36) and Avi Talkar (46) added 78 for the second wicket, and then Danny Malyankar (54) and Raymond Ashton (82) shared a 81-run stand for the fourth wicket, to help Young Ahsdod to their sizeable score. For Dimona, Shimshon Nigrekar took 3 for 63.

Dimona'a reply got off to a good start. Danny Ashtamkar contributed 34, but three quick wickets for Ashton reduced Dimona to 153 for 7, swinging the game firmly back in the visitors favour. Jackie Divekar, known for his ability to change games with his hard hitting, began a dramatic counter attack. He was eventually caught by Shai Gefen off the part time bowling of Avi Talkar, but not before he had blazed 98 runs, sharing in a remarkable 8th wicket partnership of 112 with Shimshon Nigrekar, who contributed just 10 before being run out. For all Divekar's efforts, the remaining batsmen were just unable to complete the job, and when his nephew, Shai Divekar, was bowled by Gefen for 6, Young Ashdod had sealed a dramatic win.

The Negev Academy have continued their impressive start to the season, recording their second straight win in Division 2. What makes this win so satisfying is that this time, unlike in their first game where the coach George Sheader top scored, Sheader was out for just 1 run and it was the youngsters who did all the work. Chasing 236 to win, the Dimona combination of Shai Chayun and Oren Chinchulker must have guaranteed their places for this year's U15 tour, both playing superbly. Chayun scored 80 and Chinchulker finished undefeated on 86, as the Academy completed a 7-wicket win. Earlier, left arm spinner Solomon Varsulkar took 3 wickets in the space of two overs, as the Diamond team, having been given a good start by opener Anis Zaveri, who top scored with a patient 84, and number three batsman Raju Shah who contributed 34, stumbled in the final overs to 236 all out, when a score of 260 plus seemed to be in reach. Besides for Varsulkar, leggie Ronen Wasker took 2 for 34.

The other undefeated team in Division B is Lod Cricket Club, who defeated Dimona 'A' by 131 runs in Lod. Lod, batting first, reached 330 for 7, with, remarkably, no batsman scoring a half century. Abraham Penkar (48), Shimon Penkar (43) and Asher Penkar (45) all batted well, but the top scorer was extras - 84 in total including 64 wides. Although Rakhamim Charikar scored 58 not out, Dimona 'A' were never in the game, and completed their allotted 45 overs on 199 for 6.

Kiryat Gat scored their first win of the season, defeating Petah Tikva in a nailbiting clash in Kiryat Gat. Put into bat by the hosts, Petah Tikva reached 210 for 8, with Yossi Satamkar scoring 41. Although the top score for Kiryat Gat was just 28, scored by Ori Sonkar, Petah Tikva gave away 60 extras, including 41 wides, to essentially gift the game to the home team. Despite this it was only thanks to 13* from number ten batsman Solomon Varsulkar, and 15* from number 11 batsman Yefet Divekar, that enabled Kiryat Gat to secure a 1-wicket victory.

Apart from the Ra'anana v Tel Aviv clash on Friday, Ashdod 'A' will look to make it two wins out of two against Be'er Shev 'A' in Ashdod in the other Premier League game of the weekend. Lions Be'er Sheva host Neve Yonatan in Be'er Sheva in Division A.