Norlington vs NewVic College
Norlington played their first indoor College Cricket game of the year at Leyton Cricket Hub with an extremely young squad, featuring Azaan Ali from Year 8, two Year 9s, Govind Virdi and Ayaan Azam one Year 10 Mohammed Murad and one Year 11 Shayan Farhat student and a lone 6th former Mustafa Faizal. Despite the age gap and limited experience at this level, the boys showed excellent character throughout the game.
Batting Innings – Norlington: 89 from 10 overs
We batted first and made a slow but steady start. The NewVic bowlers kept things tight early on, but our batters worked hard to build a platform. Shayan anchored the innings superbly, batting through and providing much needed stability. Around him the rest of the team chipped in with valuable contributions, but we struggled to consistently rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over.
A late push helped us reach 89 from our 10 overs, a competitive score but one we felt could have been higher with a bit more urgency in the middle overs.
Bowling Innings – NewVic chase the target with 5 balls remaining
Unfortunately our bowling performance let us down. Indoor cricket punishes wide balls heavily, with each one costing three runs, and we conceded far too many. When we bowled straight we caused real problems, building pressure and forcing mistakes, but the extras ultimately became the difference in the match.
There were still moments of real quality. Azaan produced an outstanding catch off Mustafa’s bowling early in the innings, a moment that lifted the whole side. We also created two sharp run outs which kept us in the game deep into the chase.
Despite the fight shown by such a young team, NewVic managed to reach the target with one wicket remaining and five balls to spare.
A brave performance from a very young Norlington side, full of effort and promising moments. With improved bowling discipline and fewer extras, this group will continue to grow and become highly competitive in future fixtures.