Allsvenskan Tour Report (Malmö & Gothenburg)

Having missed out on the finals in the T10 and 40 over tournaments, our Allsvenskan team began the T20 competition with a lot to prove. A tour to Malmö and Gothenburg was the perfect place to start.

DIF vs Ariana, Linhamnsfältet (Malmö), 6th July

First up was Ariana CC, fresh from having won the T10 tournament the week before. Things did not start well at all: the very first ball was a half tracker that somehow shot along the ground and wiped out the base of Aritra’s stumps. Welcome to Malmö, I guess. (This did not bode well for the remaining 79.5 overs we would play on this pitch, but somehow that was the only ball that misbehaved quite so much).

Things went from bad to worse for us, and we soon found ourselves 28 for 5. Ariana had their tails up, and the umpires seemed in a hurry to get home, having given Rahul out lbw to one that appeared to be missing the stumps by at least a foot! But this brought Shaurav and Sesanka together, and they kept things steady, pushing the ball around and making sure that we would manage to bat out the overs. Sesanka eventually fell for 30 off 31 balls, which allowed Karthik to come in and deploy some lusty blows, but the pick of the batting was definitely Shaurav, who managed a gritty 54 off 48 as we ended up on 132 runs.

We knew that we’d need to bowl well to defend this total, given that Ariana had regularly scored in excess of 100 in the T10 tournament. We needed a good start, so we tried to surprise the batters by opening with spin… but it backfired somewhat, and after four overs the score was 40/0. The captain rang the changes, and in came the left arm seamers, Anvesh and Pierre. Anvesh struck first, dismissing the danger man Aryan Sarweri (who had 24 from 12), and then Pierre bowled a double wicket maiden, including a ball that swung around corners to break the off stump clean in two. Both Anvesh and Pierre continued to strike, and their combined spell of 6 overs delivered 5 wickets and went for 14 runs.

This meant the score was 54/5 from 10 overs: very much game on. Shravan was brought back into the attack, along with Sesanka, and they kept it quiet for the next few overs, picking up another three wickets, and leaving Ariana with a very tough ask indeed. There were perhaps a few nerves started getting hold of a few of them, and hit Shaurav for two sixes off the first two balls of his comeback over, but Shaurav kept his nerve and dismissed him the very next ball, and the game was pretty much done and dusted: Ariana was eventually bowled out for 110 off 18.1 overs. The pick of the bowling was Pierre, with 3-10 from his four overs, and Anvesh, with 2-12. The spin twins Shravan (2-28) and Shaurav (2-36 off 3.1) also ended up with very respectable figures, despite a tough start.

DIF vs Malmöhus, Linhamnsfältet (Malmö), 6th July

Now our tails were up, and we received reinforcements in the form of Shahzeb, who had missed his train to Malmö in the morning. So, after a short break for lunch, we were eager to face Malmöhus. We batted first again, and this time it started much better, with Raz getting hold of a few. However, wickets fell at regular intervals too. Karthik threatened to cut loose, and comically caused a left arm spinner to completely lose the plot, as he was so scared of bowling in the hitting arc that he bowled a head high full toss and then an off the pitch no ball. But when Raz fell for a well-made 28 off 20, the score was 67/4 off 8.3, and we were in danger of squandering our good start. In came Shaurav again, and he smashed 61 from 39, including five sixes. However, he had very little support at the other end, and we were bowled out for 140 two balls shy of 20 overs.

Having dismissed Ariana for 110 on the same pitch, we were confident that this was a competitive score, so long as we continued to bowl well. Anvesh and Shahzeb opened up and bowled good areas, and the openers were soon walking back with the score 10/2 off four overs. The pressure continued to build, as Pierre kept things tight, and Anvesh took another two wickets in his final over to end with 2-21. Rahul took a stunning one-handed catch to give Sesanka a wicket, and the batters hardly seemed to be chasing the target, and they had as little as 44/4 off the first 10 overs. Shahzeb returned to clean things up, ending with figures of 3-9, including a wicket maiden. In the end, Malmöhus limped to 113/8, but in truth it was a comprehensive victory and they never looked like getting anywhere near chasing the target.

DIF vs Seaside, Gothenburg Ground 17, 7th July

This left us a little while to enjoy the beach before we headed up the coast to Gothenburg. Eventually we arrived quite late in the night, although not too late to enjoy a bit of the Gothenburg night life… The next morning, 12 bleary eyed and sore – but quite upbeat – cricketers made their way to the pitch to face Seaside CC, in defiance of gale force winds and an ever-present threat of rain. After some delays caused by the other team somehow being late for a 10 am start, we once again batted first, and this time our line up came good. Raz got us off to a flyer before he was run out for 27 from 14, and Aritra compiled a well made 69 from 52, during which he looked thoroughly untroubled. Nevan, at 3, made 49 from 41, including three huge sixes. When he fell, the score was 134/2 off 15.2, and we had hopes of pushing for 200, but in the end, we had to settle for 180/4.

Anvesh once again picked up an early wicket, but further breakthroughs proved tough to come by, especially since we kept dropping catches (perhaps the late night had something to do with it…). However, we managed to keep things tight, and at the halfway point the score was 74/1 and they had a lot to do. The next few overs, their batters got hold of a few, and suddenly the score was 109/1 off 13: 72 were required off the last 7, and the first signs of panic were perhaps visible.

The captain once again turned to his left arm seamers, and Anvesh quickly picked up a vital wicket. Pierre kept things tight, and bowled two overs for six runs, with a wicket included, and Shaurav showed everyone how it’s done by picking up a hattrick. This essentially killed the game, and although their opener remained not out on 74, they could only manage 139/7 – job done. Standout figures were 3-31 for Shaurav and 2-21 for Anvesh. Pierre managed 1-20, and Shahzeb ended with 1-23.

Right on cue, the heavens opened, and the team took refuge in a nearby pizzeria, where we enjoyed some hard earned food before beginning the long journey back to Stockholm.

Pierre Du Plessis Sekreterare