Whirlwind Asif gets job done

ASIF Qayyum was a man in a hurry on Saturday.

The Friarmere batsman arrived at the crease with his side wobbling in this Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League clash against Austerlands.

The West View outfit had lost three wickets in the space of five balls. They had gone from 61 without loss to 61 for three.

Still needing 69 to win from a bucket load of overs, it was time for a cool head to nudge the scoreboard along with ones and twos, sprinkled with a boundary.

Qayyum had a different plan and, 23 minutes and 6.4 overs later, the players were shaking hands. It was all over.

The Friarmere number five batsman was ruthless.

He blitzed the Austerlands bowling attack to the tune of eights fours and four sixes in 22-ball stay of 58 runs, 56 of which came in boundaries.

He put on 70 with professional Josh Butler, whose contribution was an unbeaten eight.

While 13 thoroughbreds had lined up in the Epsom Derby 90 minutes earlier, Qayyum had just presided over the Nursery Fields ‘Demolition’ Derby.

Austerlands were never at the races.

They also lost three wickets in five balls to slump to 15 for three. Zafran Munir, one of two late call-ups to the Friarmere side, claimed the prize wicket of big-hitting pro Humayun Farhat, trapped leg before for a duck, and young opener Adam Sunderland.

Darren Shadford had started the ball rolling with the dismissal of Kevin Du Feu, caught by that man Qayyum.

Austerlands lost their fourth wicket on 18 when Shadford bagged captain Adam Young before Mark Peters and Jack Stanton stood firm to add 56.

But when the latter was caught at slip for 17, one of five wickets for Butler at a cost of 36 runs, Dave Oldfield followed two balls later to the same bowler.

Austerlands had to regroup again, but hopes of posting a score in the region of 150 were ruined when Peters departed four runs short of a deserved half-century.

The Friarmere batsmen were in no mood to hang about.

Gary Kershaw, punishing anything outside the off stump, outscored opening partner Shadford 33 runs to 24 until Farhat found a way through the skipper’s defence in the 13th over.

Ishtaq Hussain hung about for two balls, and when Shadford played on to Ryan Garlick, Austerlands were suddenly back in the game.

Qayyum, wielding the willow, had other ideas.