Congrats Team Frere – Winner of Tape Ball Cricket 2017

Winning Team – Frere

By: Tayyab R Balagamwala

OGS Interhouse Tape Ball Tournament was held with great anticipation and excitement at KGS Saddar Branch. Old friends gathered and met each other after a long time at the same place where numerous memories were made together and a sense of camaraderie was in the air throughout the games. First game was held between Napier and Papworth and was a worthy contest indeed. Napier batted first and Imran Shah was in his element as he hit massive sixes and along with Asad Jafri helped Napier compile 92 runs in allocated six overs. Papworth fought back resiliently as Daniyal Alvi hit some fantastic strokes all along the park but Khurram Jamali pulled back the flow of runs and Muhammad Malik in his typical exuberant manner ensured that Napier reached home and won by two runs as he got a crucial wicket on the last ball of the match and defended the score.

Next up were arch rivals Napier and Streeton and Napier batted again and got a good score of 95 in 6 overs with Imran Shah and Asad Jafri again leading the aggressive attack on Streeton bowlers.  Omayr Sheikh and Usman Siddiqui did ensure the score did not go above 100 runs and in the second innings, Streeton batsmen struggled against some good bowling by Napier bowlers especially Muhammad Malik, as Napier reached home comfortably in the end and within sight of securing the champion’s title.

However, one factor that Napier did not consider was that Frere boasted an extraordinary line-up, with some experienced stalwarts of the game who took the field vs Papworth in the third game. Frere bowlers were on song from the start, as Tariq Bin Aijaz, Ahmed Ebrahim and Khawaja Shamoun Ilyas bowled extremely well and Papworth could only get a paltry 45 runs. The batsmen were not to be left behind as Zeeshan Khan and Khawaja Obaid Ilyas chased down the total in just two overs in belligerent fashion with the ball flying to all parts of the park.

The fourth match between Streeton and Papworth saw Papworth score 103 runs as Usman and Danish Elahi scored some good runs. Adnan Tapal, Tayyab R. Balagamwala and Omayr Sheikh helped Streeton reach 93 runs but they fell short by ten runs. The match result showed Papworth as the winner but later investigation by Sports Committee revealed a glitch in the score of Papworth as the total score was 86 runs and not 103 runs.Therefore Streeton emerged as the eventual winners of the game.

The fifth match was very important for both Frere and Napier as the winner would stake a claim to the trophy and Napier were pumped up to take the title home. However. Ammar Valika and Tariq Bin Aijaz bowled well to restrict Napier to 76 runs after some good batting by Faisal and this was Napier’s lowest score in the tournament. Yet again, a masterful display by Khawaja Obaid Ilyas and Zeeshan Khan ensured that Frere reached the target in just 4.1 overs without losing a wicket and now the last game between Streeton and Frere was to be important for both Frere and Napier in terms of who would lift the cup.

In the last game, Streeton batted first and got a large score of 93 runs as Tayyab R. Balagamwala and Omayr Sheikh were among the runs. For Frere, Khawaja Shamoun Ilyas got a hat trick and was extremely economical but did not get support from the bowlers at the other end. Frere batsmen were however determined to put on a good show and Khawaja Obaid Ilyas displayed his class yet again. He hit a splendid half century in just 10 balls as there was a flurry of big hits and numerous sixes from this stalwart of the game.  He was ably assisted in the cause by Burhan Mirza as Frere raced home and rightly won the title of Champions of Interhouse OGS Tape Ball Tournament.

It would be unfair not to praise the cricketing acumen of Frere Captain, Tariq Bin Aijaz who strategized and used his players well and to the best of their potential. Frere players were determined and Umar Ghazi who had played a hard ball match in the morning came despite the heat and performed well and there was great team spirit amongst the Frere boys. The other house Captains Danish Elahi, Omayr Sheikh and Imran Shah also deserve a pat on the back for leading their teams well and for ensuring friendly spirit throughout the tournament despite interhouse rivalry. The organizing committee had done a spectacular job and everything was in order as the games were played in good spirit and we all avidly await the next Interhouse Cricket event in the future.

FINAL RESULT:

CHAMPIONS-FRERE

RUNNERS UP-NAPIER

THIRD-STREETON

FOURTH-PAPWORTH

• Best Batsman: Khowaja Obaid Ilyas(Frere) and Imran Shah (Napier)
• Best Bowler: Khowaja Shamoun Ahmed Ilyas(Frere)
• Best Fielder: Burhan Mirza (Frere)
• Best Keeper: Fahd Chinoy(Frere)
• Best Coordinator: Omayr Shaikh(Streeton)
• Best Scorer: Sulaiman Ur Rehman(Streeton)
• Best Poser: Adnan Tapal (Streeton), Yasir Herekar (Napier) and Saad Khamisani(Streeton)
• Best Umpire: Burhan Mirza (Frere)
• Most Punctual Player: Farhan A. Mehboob(Napier)
• Best Memon Player: Tayyab R. Balagamwala(Streeton)
• Best Chinioti Player: Danish Elahi(Papworth)
• Best Post Match Host: Adnan Tapal (Streeton) and Rafiq Malik(Streeron)
• Most Valuable Player: Muhammad Mustafa Malik(Napier)

Teams: