Sunday Championship – Sunday, 1st May 2016
There were two games in the Sunday Championship with KCC Templars moving themselves into a strong position to claim the 2015-16 title following a dominant win at home while Scorpions thumped Vagabonds at PKVR Park.
KCC Templars v Pakistan Association
At Kowloon Cricket Club, KCC Templars stormed to a seven-wicket victory over leaders Pakistan Association to put themselves in the driving seat to win the 2015-16 title.
Pakistan Association opted to bat first after winning the toss but they lost wickets early and never recovered to post a challenging total. The Templars opening bowlers made inroads as Pakistan Association slipped to 3/34. Ahsan Abbasi steadied the Pakistan Association innings with a solid 45 while Manjinder Singh struck a few boundaries at the end to finish on 30 not out but they were dismissed for 171 in the 40th over. Imran Arif was the pick of the Templars’ bowlers with figures of 3/31 off nine overs.
The Templars’ reply got off to a disastrous start with their top three batsmen dismissed with only nine runs on the board. But from there it was one-way traffic as Chris Carter and Ryan Campbell reeled off the remaining runs in an unbroken third wicket partnership worth 166 runs. Carter finished unbeaten on 51 while Campbell struck 104 not out with victory achieved in 22.4 overs.
Templars victory means they will claim the 2015-16 title if they can beat Vagabonds in the last match of the season. Should Templars lose or if the match is abandoned then Pakistan Association will win the title.
At KCC: Pakistan Association 171 from 39.5 overs lost to KCC Templars 3/175 from 22.4 overs by seven wickets.
HKCC Scorpions v Shaffi’s Vagabonds
At PKVR Park, HKCC Scorpions thumped Shaffi’s Vagabonds by 171 runs in a match reduced to 48 overs per side due to a late start.
Batting first after winning the toss, Scorpions scored 3/269 from their 48 overs with Rory Caines (32) and Raag Kapur (73) building a strong foundation to their innings. James Redmayne (62*) and Giacomo Lamplough (71*) continued the momentum for Scorpions with an unbroken fourth wicket partnership worth 120 runs.
While the Scorpions’ batsmen had thrived, their Vagabonds counterparts struggled. Mark Wright and Matt Rafter grabbed two wickets each as Vagabonds slumped to 3/4 and then 5/25. Three run-outs didn’t help their cause and Vagabonds were eventually dismissed for 98 in the 25th over with Adil Jahangir’s 30 the only batting score of note.
At PKVR Park: HKCC Scorpions 3/269 from 48 overs beat Shaffi’s Vagabonds 98 from 24.2 overs by 171 runs.