Norlington vs Newham College of Further Education
Norlington took on Newham College, the reigning national indoor cricket champions, in what proved to be a hugely competitive and proud performance. Norlington won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Norlington started with real quality. Azaan, our youngest player, set the tone early with accurate bowling that kept the scoring under control and forced Newham’s batters to work hard for their runs.
The bowlers were backed up by sharp work in the field. Norlington claimed five wickets in total, including two excellent catches and a brilliant caught-and-bowled from Shayan. Debutant Yusuf Hanslod was outstanding, fielding like a youthful Jonty Rhodes and showing great anticipation and commitment in the field.
Newham did capitalise on a few no balls and wides towards the end of the innings. In the fast paced indoor format these extras are punished heavily and helped Newham build a strong score. They finished on 145 for 5.
Chasing 145, Norlington suffered the worst possible start. A mix up off the very first ball led to opening batter Mohammad Murad being run out without facing, handing Newham immediate momentum.
To their credit, the boys responded superbly. Shayan batted well and ran quickly between the wickets, keeping us up with the run rate, but wickets fell around him until it was just Yusuf and Shayan left to rebuild.
Hanslod continued his impressive debut by batting with real confidence, scoring quickly and running excellently between the wickets. Norlington showed positive intent throughout the innings and at times put the national champions under serious pressure. The innings closed on 113 all out, leaving Norlington 32 runs short of what would have been a famous win.
Match result
Newham College – 145 for 5
Norlington – 113 all out
Newham College won by 32 runs
Player of the match
Yusuf Hanslod
Outstanding debut with superb fielding and a mature, positive batting performance.
Final reflection
This was a performance full of positives against one of the strongest indoor cricket teams in the country. The boys should be extremely proud of their efforts. Norlington are the only team this year to really test the national champions, asking serious questions and proving they can compete at a very high level.
