Five alive for Goodmayes' lively Livingston

29 July 2010

SMILING ASSASSIN . . . Livingston took a five-wicket haul to bowl Goodmayes & Blythswood to victory.

Asian CC 91 lost to Goodmayes & Blythswood 114 by 23 runs

KEVIN LIVINGSTON produced a destructive bowling display to propel Goodmayes & Blythswood to victory over Asian CC on Saturday.

The visitors looked to be heading to defeat after they were shot out for just 114 in 27 overs.

But their bowling attack came to the fore, led by Livingston and they sent Asian packing for 91 in 23.5 overs to secure a 23- run win in Division One of the Lords International Essex League.

In the absence of their regular skipper, Goodmayes & Blythswood were led out by their vice-captain Adam Sheekey, and the opener hit 16 before he was dismissed by Abdul Rauf.

Things went from bad to worse as Habeeb Rahman and Shohaib Khawaja were both dismissed for ducks, before Ravi Rattan came in to restore some hope with a score of 18.

However, the collapse was unstoppable as Siju Purushothaman (1) and Russell Richards (1) offered little at the crease.

Akila Deekirikawage (27) and Zahid Habib (24) did their best to fight back, but there was weak support from the rest of the lower-order and Goodmayes & Blythswood looked destined for defeat with a dismal score of 114, as Ibriam Khan (3-45), Rauf (3-26) and Shahid Iqbal (2-8) did the damage.

Third from bottom Asian must have thought they were on the verge of an encouraging win against their second from top guests, but they were to suffer a rude awakening when they stepped into the crease.

The top seven were sent for early showers as they managed just 32 runs between them, with Livingston claiming five wickets and Zahid Habib and Shohaib Khawaja one apiece.

Arshad Qazi (21), Malik Shahid (13) and Ibriam Khan (11) rallied, but Habib added two more wickets to his tally, with Dave Wright also getting in on the act to secure a remarkable victory.

On Saturday Goodmayes & Blythswood host Tennyson, who sit just below them in the league in third position.

When the two teams met earlier in the season at Clayhall Park it was Tennyson who claimed the spoils with a four-wicket win.