18 August 2006

SAUDIS SLAM-BANG BRUNEI

Brunei v Saudi Arabia at Kinrara Oval

SAUDI ARABIA WON BY 314 RUNS (D/L METHOD)

Even before the match had finished the Saudi Cricket Centre had sent the ACC and ICC an e-mail extolling the number of sixes their batsmen had hit in the competition (45), the number of runs (1087) and the number of centuries (5) and truly, their batting is a thing to behold.

They have some absolute thumpers in their line-up. Suhrab Kilsingatakam played the innings of the tournament so far, in taking his team to within touching distance of an upset against Malaysia and he and his team-mates gave the mighty UAE a real pasting too.

What they do lack though are bowlers with as much aggression as their batsmen along with a snap and dash in their fielding. With all that, they will have a truly strong team.

Suhrab and Suleiman of Saudi Arabia

Brunei suffered the ferocity of the Saudi sword today as 499 runs were struck (forty-three 4s and twenty-nine 6s) and Kinrara could rarely have seen such ferocity. Brunei didn’t help their cause with eight dropped catches, some given by the centurions early on in their innings.

Even though this game was a mis-match, Saudi Arabia have shown that their cricket is on the way up and should their rate of progress continue by the time of the next ACC Trophy they could be serious contenders Brunei must tend to their wounds and as their Player-Coach Manzur Ahmed, also a member of the Acc Executive Board says, “in this our first ACC Trophy, our players now know just how important proper practice and preparation is. They encountered things in this tournament that opened their eyes and they too will come back stronger and wiser.”

GROUP A
Brunei v Saudi Arabia at Kinrara Oval
Toss: Saudi Arabia
SAUDI ARABIA WON BY 314 RUNS (D/L METHOD)
Saudi Arabia: 499 for 6 in 50 overs (N. Babar 56, H. Saeed 102, K. Suhrab 44,
S. Ahmed 167*, F. Suleiman 103*)
Brunei: 155 all out in 41.3 overs (K. Khan 60)
Man of the Match: Sarfraz Ahmed (Saudi Arabia)

Points: Saudi Arabia 2, Brunei 0