Sizzling Scintilla take the points at Flanders

Emdad Rahman

Scintilla Cricket Club beat Newham Cricket Club by three wickets at the Bobby Moore Pavilion, Flanders Field, to continue  their good form ahead of the end of the Essex County Cricket League season. 

The Championship Division One clash of these two old rivals did not disappoint on what was one of the hottest days of the year. The heat forecast was spot on and both teams faced great challenges in the field in their pursuit for match winning points.

Newham won the toss and elected to bat first. Scintilla got off to a blistering start by reducing Newham to 55/5. The home team dug in and finished 149 all out after 32.3 overs. Two wickets apiece for Adil Ejaz, Bilal Khan and Jahidul Haque did the damage, while captain Ishaq Shawn, Sajal Rahman and Hanif Kibria put Scintilla into a strong position by tea.

The respect between both teams was strong throughout but Newham were in no mood to lie down, and an impressive pace bowl attack almost took the game to the wire. Despite the blazing hot temperatures, the Scintilla batting order produced great resilience and discipline – with man of the match Jahidul Haque contributing 48 runs to see Scintilla home.

Captain Ishaq Shawn recognised the challenges faced because of the intense heat. “These are highly unusual heatwaves for the British summer,” he said, “and both teams are a credit to the sport for the way they played with commitment and determination throughout. Well done Scintilla on edging a close and hard fought game today.

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