EASTERN AMERICAN CRICKET ASSOCIATION 2006
Atlantis Wets East Bank in 20/20 Clash

By John L. Aaron
Atlantis Cricket Club – NY was the recipient of a wet blanket victory over East Bank at Baisley Pond Park, last weekend. The rain-soaked affair was often interrupted by downpours and was the only contest in the Eastern American Cricket Association’s Twenty/20 competition last weekend.

Batting first East Bank sans some of its regular power-hitters reached 168 for the loss of five wickets in the 20 overs, and behind a solid 75 (6x4’s and 2x6’s) from opener Zaheer Sadloo and single-filled 42 supporting role from D. Mckenzie. That second-wicket stand yielded 111 runs, as East Bank put the brakes on Atlantis’ bowling. The East Bank wickets fell at 26, 137, 145, 158 and 158.

Atlantis’ vice captain Colin Sandy was the pick of the bowlers snatching 3 for 22 off of his three overs. Haseeb Sheriff was his usual stingy self grabbing one wicket for 19 runs off four overs, while Glendon Archer and skipper Cuthbert Mendonca each grabbed one wicket apiece for 33 and 31 runs respectively off four overs each.

Atlantis is reply reached 137 for the loss of six wickets, when play was finally halted by the umpires in the 15th over, because of the consistent rainfall. Atlantis was declared the winner based on its run rate compared to East Bank’s. At the 5th over Atlantis was ahead of East Bank by 21 runs – at the 10th over Atlantis was ahead by 12 runs and at the 15th over Atlantis was still ahead.

Atlantis’ top scorer was its skipper Mendonca with 28, followed by Manoj Sirju with a quick fire 22 (1x4 and 2x6’s) off 15 deliveries, Ray Mohan and Haseeb Sheriff 19 and 17 not out respectively. The Atlantis posse suffered three run outs along the way as the playing conditions became increasingly dangerous. Zaheer Sadloo was East Bank’s most successful bowler grabbing two wickets for 22 off four overs. T. Johnson grabbed the other wicket for 34 runs off his four overs.

Current 20/20 Standings

GROUP I
Canal No. 2 Polder 2-0, NY Challengers 1-1, Richmond Hill 1-1 and East Side Warriors 0-2.

GROUP II
Golden Arrow 1-0, Enmore 0-0, Empire Mortgage 0-0 and Unified Ambassadors 0-1

GROUP III
Atlantis 1-0, Everest/ACS 0-0, East Bank 0-1 and Bayshore Tigers 0-0

The winner of Group I will play the winner of Group II. Whoever emerges from that clash will meet the winner of Group III in the Twenty/20 finals.

Upcoming 20/20 Matches
GROUP III
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Everest/ACS hosts Bayshore Tigers at Lido Beach @ 12:00 Noon

GROUP II
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Empire hosts Golden Arrow at Randall’s Island @ 12:00 Noon
Empire hosts Unified Ambassadors at Randall’s Island @ 3:00 pm

GROUP III
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Bayshore Tigers hosts Atlantis at Baisley Pond Park @ 12:00 Noon
East Bank hosts Bayshore Tigers at Baisley Pond Park @ 3:00 pm

Note: All 20/20 games will be played as scheduled or rescheduled for a later date. There will be no rain-out points allowed.

40-Overs Big-4 Semi-Finals
Sunday, September 10, 2006
A. Enmore vs. NY Challengers at Bay Park, LI @ 12:00 Noon
B. Everest/ACS vs. Richmond Hill at Lido Beach @ 12:00 Noon

40-Overs Big-4 Finals
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Winner of A above plays the winner of B above in final. at a venue to be announced.
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