Division Two

Old Whitgiftian 221 Horsley & Send 80

Old Whitgiftian's run of poor form ended in emphatic style at Horsley with outstanding performances from Craig Morrison and Saqlain Mushtaq.

Morrison played the innings of the day with an excellent 74 and Horsley had no answer to the off-spin and doosras of Saqlain, who hit top form with a season's best 8-28.

The Pakistan Test star said: "It was a good team effort. We've played poor cricket for the past two or three weeks but this time everyone gave 100 per cent in the field.

"I was in good form and rhythm and the pitch helped. Everyone knows I bowl off-breaks and doosras, but cricket is a mental battle and if a batsman has the wrong approach it is up to the bowler to put them down."

OWs welcomed back Jason Lewis and Alex Goward from the team soundly beaten by Cheam the previous week, but were still without captain David Ward, who returns from his duties at Whitgift School tomorrow (Saturday) for the remaining 10 games of the season.

Horsley won the toss and had no hesitation in inserting OWs on a lively pitch as Randy Gayle and Mark Elliott both bowled brisk opening spells reducing OW to 20-3 in the eighth over.

Goward and Morrison dug in and rebuilt the innings in a partnership of 105 in 14 overs before a watchful Goward was caught and bowled by Bakhari for 19.

Morrison fell shortly afterwards for an excellent 74 in a fine counter attacking knock that contained 12 fours and three sixes, but at 127-5 from 25 overs the innings was in the balance.

Sean Coughlan made 18 in half an hour and Saqlain shepherded the tail with an 82-minute innings of 37 to boost the OW total to 221 all out.

OW had 49 overs to bowl out Horsley as Saqlain proceeded to bowl a remarkable spell. Simon Elliott was bowled by the third ball of the innings with Alistair MacDonald following in the third over as Ali Raja took a miraculous catch at short-leg from a pull shot with most fielders and spectators expecting to see the ball disappearing over the boundary only to see it lodged in Raja's hands.

Rupesh Amin took wickets in his third and fourth overs, but Saqlain was mesmerising the batsmen and at one stage had the phenomenal figures of 6-4-6-7, with Horsley's 24-9 containing six Amin no balls.

The tail wagged as Bakhari and Gayle hit out with the latter striking Amin for three sixes in a rapid 39 in 26 minutes taking the score on to 80 before Saqlain applied the coup de grace taking the last wicket to finish with figures of 8-28.