The finals of cup competitions of the Middlesex Premier Cricket League were both played on 24th August at Bessborough CC, Headstone Lane.

On a very green looking wicket and cloudy conditions Mahesh Vekaria of Kingsbury Construction won the toss and asked Sai to bat first. Kalpesh Trivedi and Pravin Vagadia bowled a very tight line and accounted for the early departure of Sai skipper Bharat Shaunak from a firmly hit shot. Usman Asghar (62) and Rahul Jagota (20) consolidated with a stand of 74. Usman Asghar was beginning to cut loose, however fine fielding resulted in him been run out going for a second run.

A feature of the Kingsbury performance was their fine ground fielding and catching which resulted in pressure for the Sai batsman. Kalpesh Trivedi took the prized wicket of the West Indian international Darryl Brown which raised the Kingsbury spirits. Sai were never able to accelarate their run rate as Hasmukh Vekaria (3-40) and Suresh Gopal (3-28) took centre stage. Sai lost their last 4 wicket for a mere 12 runs.

Kingsbury Construction batsman found runs very hard to come by, however the way ward bowling from Sai resulted in a reasonable run rate due to the extras. Waqar Bukhari took 3-35 as Kingsbury slumped to 66-5 in just under 15 overs to give Sai the upper hand. Mahesh Vekaria got useful support from the lower order batsman particularly from Pritesh Vagadia with whom he shared a stand of 40 to get Kingsbury to 123-7. Khurum Shehzad and Raza Bukhari took a wicket a piece to leave Kingsbury on 152-9 with the last pair at the wicket. Two leg byes brought the scores level, however another no ball gave Kingsbury their first major knockout trophy.

Dilip Unarket of John Cumming Ross presented the winners trophy to Mahesh Vekaria of Kingsbury Construction. The man of the match award went to Sai's opening batsman Usman Asghar. Kingsbury Construction will start their defense of the trophy against Lankians whilst Sai are away to Capital.

Umpires: Patrick Stewart & Mano Maharaj

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JOHN CUMMING PLATE FINAL

The 3rd John Cumming plate was played between Stanmore Jaffrey's and Rajput Samaj Sports Club. Stanmore Jaffrey's were defending the plate they won last year whilst Rajput Samaj were making their first appearance in a knockout final. Dhiren Darbar of Rajput won the toss and elected to field first.

Sarfaraz Bandali (56) & Fayaz Kermali (57) gave Stanmore Jaffrey's a flying start as they plundered 98 off the first 15 overs. Rajput had their chances to make the break through; the usually reliable Dhiren Darbar put down two skiers in the covers. The introduction of Hiren Desai paid dividends as he removed both the openers. Rajput were able to regroup and restrict the run rate to some extent. Asgher Bandali provided the anchor role as he accumulated 74 and with support coming from Tausif Kanji (24), Stanmore Jaffrey's were able to finish on 259 from their 45 overs.

The Rajput innings got off to a flying start, however a excellent running diving catch by Sarfaraz Bandali at deep cover point accounted for Dhiren Darbar. From here on the Stanmore Jaffrey's bowlers Akram Abbas (4-24), Asgher Bandali (2-20) and Abbas Bandali (2-29) used their experience to shatter Rajput hopes. It was only the 9th wicket pair of young Seetal Patel (18) and Jaydip Mahida (22) that provided a little respectability to the Rajput's final total of 135. Sarfraz Bandali was chosen as the man of the match for his performance with the bat and fielding.

Umpires: Keith Hunte and Ervin White

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JOHN CUMMING CUP DRAW 2004

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