Austerlands in party mood

SADDLEWORTH LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT

HATS with corks, copious amounts of beer and blow-up kangaroos perched on the boundary edge — ‘Australia Day’ was in full swing at Austerlands on Saturday, writes KEVIN RICHARDSON.

‘Australia Day’ is actually January 26. However, with visitors from Down Under present, it was a good excuse, if one were required, for the Thorpe Lane members to throw a party.

Even the weather was more like Adelaide than Austerlands for the Saddleworth and District Cricket League clash.

Fortunately, the result didn’t spoil the atmosphere for the hosts, with players able to join in the shindig much earlier than envisaged after Droylsden crashed to 43 all out.

The margin of victory for still-unbeaten Austerlands was 212 runs.

Two impressive partnerships set them on their way to a total of 255 for four.

Professional Asif Zakir can do no wrong at present and he hit season’s best 88, from 75 balls, and shared in a third-wicket stand of 134 with Adam Young, who contributed 78.

Young, with three sixes, probably thought he had a fourth until Dane Cullen raised his right arm and magnificently plucked the ball out of the air on long-off boundary.

The fourth-wicket pair, CJ Ferreira and Joe Molloy, picked up the pace late on with a partnership of 46 when it seemed the visitors might have checked Austerlands’ swift progress.

The former did ride his luck a little in his unbeaten 23 but the latter, after first showing a preference for the leg-side, then showed he was equally effective on the off in a 16-ball 26.

With both Andy Young and Liam Garnett carrying injuries, Austerlands’ bowling options were limited.

However, with overseas amateur Ferreira and the so smooth Mohammed Irfan in the mood, skipper Mark Peters didn’t need reinforcements.

Ferreira’s right-arm spin accounted for three of the wickets to fall for 19 runs, while the left-arm movement of seamer Irfan bagged six for 18.

Droylsden were hampered by the loss of Gareth Dent to a back injury, but the game was already up when the opener retired in obvious discomfort with 11 runs to his name.

Irfan is good. Facing right or left-handed batsmen, he can adjust his line to suit, able to direct the ball towards the top or just outside off-stump time and again.

Local covers band “Sleeping Policemen” strutted their stuff at the club later that evening.

One suspects “Down Under” by “Men At Work” was on the request list, and as the beer flowed the men . . .