Cricket

Pearl Dental crowned again

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:38:36 +0100

Pearl Dental claimed their third consecutive Israel Night Cricket League title after clinching the Division Two crown with a 40-run victory over YMCA at the Modi'in Cricket arena.

The crucial toss was won by PD's David Wiseman and he had no hesitation in electing to bat. His counterpart, YMCA's Brett Hickson, said that he would have loved to bat first and set a target.

The YMCA players were confident before the game as they had already beaten PDCC once before in the season and Hickson had watched most of the PDCC matches, so he had highlighted the strengths and weaknesses to his team.

Not even a change in tactics by Hickson, by using his two main bowling weapons, Saul Weitzman and Benjy Myers in the first fpir overs could stem the runs flowing from the Pearl Dental bats. Danny Brill and Craig Levy got Pearl off to a very solid start with an opening partnership of 31, followed up by 38 by the Iian Levy/Jason Bloom pairing.

Wiseman and David Lewin continued to pile up the runs with 37. The key to the PDCC batting was the running between the wickets and the fact that they did not lose any wickets in the opening 12 overs. At the interval Wiseman was happy but cautious, saying; "We are thrilled to have gotten 112, but the YMCA are a strong unit so the job is not yet complete."

Hickson and Clint Rubin started the run chase relatively well, but their partnership of 19 was hampered by the loss of three wickets (-15 runs). Weitzman and David Leshansky put up a brave fight scoring 38, but they needed support from their teammates to get close to the PDCC total and the disciplined bowling and fielding unit of PDCC never allowed them to settle.

Brill picked up three wickets, while Wiseman and David Kable chipped in with two apiece to cap off a thoroughly deserving 40-run victory.

Victorious captain Wiseman was "relieved" to win as "we had and an up and down season winning five and losing four, but we seemed to click in the finals." He was full of praise for opposition, saying: "YMCA has proved to be a revelation - coming into the league and immediately establishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with. We know that whenever we play them, we have to be at our best."

Hickson was upset after the game, but admitted that "Pearl outplayed us in all aspects of the game, but as this first season in the night league we have a lot of positives to take out of the game. But kudos to Pearl for playing a great game and deservedly taking the honours.

"Pearl gave us a real lesson in how to play the indoor game. They batted sensibly and clinically, playing the percentages game. Scoring mainly two and threes, playing very few risky shots and losing only two or three wickets was the platform for their good score. They backed this up with accurate bowling and very sharp fielding.

"For me their style of play has been a real eye opener, something I hope to bring aboard when starting the next season with the YMCA’s."

After the prize giving ceremony, both sets of players and supporters shared a few drinks and rated this season of the night league as the best yet.

Wiseman and Hickson were full of praise for their players in a season that has lasted all of nine months. Wiseman mentioned that "after losing some talented players in the last off-season, pressure was on us to replace them."

He went on to say: "In David Kable, Yoni Salomon, Ilan Buchbinder and Rael Olwyn, we were lucky to find some fantastic cricketers and it was because these of guys we were able to make it three on the trot. We can't wait for the next season. We get hung up about winning and losing but ultimately everyone who plays is a winner. The fact that we can play cricket in israel is amazing."

Hickson mentioned a few standout players this season, saying: "I would like to thank my players for their inspirational performances during the season: David 'Chopper' Harris, Saul Weitzman, David Leshansky, Yonatan Karmi, Joe Neppe, Adam Finkelstein, Clint Rubin, Paul Kloot, David Benjamin, Aryeh Meyers and Benjy Myers. Last but not least our manager and sponsor Michael Morris.

Hickson cheekily added that "the league has been a great opportunity to escape some of the housework," before mentioning that he has "absolutely loved the league. The atmosphere has been great while the camaraderie between the players has been excellent. I have personally made many new friends."

This week sees the Division Three final as two Bet Shemesh teams, KAT Israemploy and Gold Insurance Bet Shemesh Lightning battle it out for bragging rights. This game starts at 7:45pm on Thursday evening and both teams would want to end the season off with a win and the gold medal.

MAL slip up against West Harrow

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:35:49 +0100

MIDDLESEX SUNDAY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
MAL 123 Mark Landau 50
West Harrow 124-3
MAL lost by 7 wickets

MAL suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of West Harrow on Sunday.

Conditions did not favour MAL as they were inserted on a green top with a long, lush outfield that made early scoring very difficult.

Mark Landau and Russell Corin battled hard, putting on 28 for the first wicket before Corin was caught at slip.

Chris Tomaszewski joined Landau and the two fought hard to establish a platform putting on 53, with Landau going through to his half century before immediately nicking behind for 50 (4 x 4, 83 balls).

Tomaszewski followed quickly for 9, and Alex Gold was bowled for 0. Daniel Caplan, a winter signing from London Maccabi Vale, threatened some brief resistance with 12, but the wickets continued to tumble and MAL were dismissed for 123 in 36.1 overs.

Given the amount of movement from the surface 123 looked a respectable score, but with the sun out, and the outfield quickening, it proved to be far short of par.

Yoav Lebens and Tomaszewski beat the bat consistently but there were too many four balls and West Harrow were able to get away to a quick start, putting on 35 before Sanjay was well caught low down by Alex Gold from the bowling of Tomaszweski.

Chivan followed soon after, caught from Yoav's bowling by Daniel Caplan. Akash chanced his arm and struck the ball well and Amit grew in confidence, and this pair took the score to 112 before Michael Klinger picked up a consolation wicket, bowling Akash for 42.

West Harrow reached their target in the 23rd over, on a day in which MAL had no luck, but were definitely below par.

Seven up for Salford

James Masters — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:05:52 +0100

Salford recorded a stunning seven wicket win over Trinity as their bowlers ran riot in Stockport.

Jonny Wineberg led the way with 4-16 as Salford dismissed last season’s cup finalists for just 49 runs in 22 overs.

Daniel Paul’s 3-8 and 3-15 from captain Robert Marks left Trinity in disarray as Salford made light work of Trinity’s batting line-up.

In reply, Salford started slowly and after losing their first wicket with just one run on the board, Elliot
Koffman began to take the game to the Trinity bowlers.

A huge six over mid-wicket signalled Koffman’s intentions, but he was soon trapped lbw for 16 to leave Salford on 19-2 off 17 overs.

That brought Wineberg to the crease and his innings of 15 not out helped Salford over the line with 16 overs to spare.

Laurence Benjamin finished unbeaten on 11 as Salford sent out a warning to next week’s opponents Wilmslow.

Manchester slump to defeat

James Masters — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:15:21 +0100

Manchester Cricket Club suffered their first defeat of the season after falling 38 runs short in their run chase against Offerton.

Having been set a target of 150 for victory, Manchester were bowled out for just 112 with only Shaya Rabinovitz offering any resistance.

Rabinovitz hit an impressive 52, but lacked support at the other end as Manchester’s innings tailed off in disappointing fashion.

Earlier, Dan Glicher had starred with the ball, taking 3-22 off his eight overs, while David Cohen claimed 2-29.

But the batsmen failed to build on the good work done by their bowlers as Offerton cruised home.

Cricket scoreboard: May 19

Danny Caro — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:06:56 +0100

Here are the results from league and friendly action involving Jewish teams on May 19

MIDDLESEX SUNDAY CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
London Maccabi Vale 329-3 Adam Brand 200 not out, Danny Caro 59
Rajput Saraj 130-9
LMV won by 199 runs

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MAL 123 Mark Landau 50
West Harrow 124-3
MAL lost by 7 wickets
SEE MATCH REPORT

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GREATER MANCHESTER AMATEUR LEAGUE DIVISION THREE

Trinity 49 Jonny Wineberg 4-16, Daniel Paul 3-8
Salford 50-3
Salford won by 7 wickets
SEE MATCH REPORT

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Offerton 149 Dan Glicher 3-22
Manchester Cricket Club 112 Shaya Rabinovitz 52
Manchester lost by 38 runs
SEE MATCH REPORT

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FRIENDLY

Downsiders 213-5 Jason Bensohn 92 not out, Mikey Tilles 76
Godalming 89 Robert Silverstone 3-25
Downsiders won by 124 runs

Cricket scoreboard: May 5

Danny Caro — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:57:59 +0100

Here are the results from matches played on May 5.

Wilmslow 176
Manchester Cricket Club 177-6
Manchester won by 4 wickets

Forresters 284-9 Daniel Paul 3-49, Robert Marks 3-62
Salford 158 Jonny Wineberg 52 not out
Salford lost by 166 runs

MIDDLESEX SUNDAY LEAGUE
Crick XI 225-5 Jeffrey Permutt 3-42
London Maccabi Vale 136 Jonathan Lederman 46 not out
LMV lost by 97 runs

Manchester stun champions

James Masters — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:30:18 +0100

Manchester Cricket Club’s young guns produced a stunning late show to defeat defending champions Wilmslow.

Chasing 177 for victory, 14-year-old Dan Glicher and 13-year-old James Feldman steered Manchester home with just six balls remaining.

The victory had looked unlikely after Steve Glicher’s men had slumped to 90-6 following a middle order collapse.

But the young pair held their composure to score 10 runs off the final three overs to seal an impressive win.

The success, which came without star batsmen Akiva Lieberman and Simon Jeffries, came following an encouraging bowling performance.

Huddy Lieberman took 3-33, David Cohen 2-24 and Harry Rosenblum 2-42 off his 10 overs.

Captain Glicher said: “This was a superb result which shows the development of the youth and which bodes well for the future.”

Meanwhile, Salford suffered defeat in their first match of the season after falling 166 runs short of their target.

Forresters hit 284-9 off their 40 overs, despite having been in trouble on 128 for 6 following spells of 3-49 from Daniel Paul and 3-62 from skipper Robert Marks.

But Salford struggled to get going with the bat, losing their first four wickets for just 29 runs as their hopes of victory disintegrated.

Jonny Winberg’s unbeaten 52 helped his side gain some respectability, but Salford were eventually skittled out for 118.

Lions Lod book cup final date

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:27:16 +0100

Super Lions Lod will be looking to add even more silverware to their collection after defeating Brett Hickson's galiant Yagod Morris Cricket 'A' side, to book their place in this seasons final.

Hickson won the toss and elected to bat first, but found the fast and accurate SLL bowling a problem to score runs off as only two pairs, David Leshansky and Saul Weizmann and Hickson and Chopper Harris scored 20 or more in their four overs.

Weizmann can feel little unlucky with two of his dismissals, as one occasion he misjudged the crease line, being run out and the other, SLL captain, Gershon Massil took a very good reaction catch, after the ball bounced off the edge of the stairs.

YMCA rallied to a competitive score of 74 and as much effort as they put in to their bowling, the SLL batting line up, possessing six current and ex-Israeli international players were never in any danger as all four pairings scored 24 or more to seal a comfortable 38-run win for the SLL team who clinched the ICA Day League trophy last year and the Indian Trophy a few months ago.

YMCA, one of the most improved teams in this seasons league, will now play the losers of the much anticipated Dialogz Dragons/Pearl Dental Cricket Club semi-final clash. The winners will face SLL in the final. The last time Dialogz Dragons and Pearl Dental met was in November with DD recording a 75-win victory.

Last season's champions Pearl Dental have improved immensely throughout the season and will feel quietly confident of shocking Herschel Gutman's DD, who finished top of the league standings.

Yefet Nagavkar's Modi'in Young Lions team can hold their heads up high after beating KAT Israemploy and finishing in fifth position. Nagavkar's team, comprising of five players under the age of 14 have performed superbly this year and won the respect of all the players in the league. KAT scored a respectable 84, but lost as MYL reached 101.

In Division Three, the YMCB squad have effectivley been elimnated to the Bronze Medal Division 3 match as both Gold Insurance Bet Shemesh Lightning and Pommeranze Juice Good Old Boys beat them comfortably. PJGOB scored 90 and restricted YMCB to 37 and GIBSL's 113 was too much for YMCB's 86.

Matches on Thursday start at 7:15pm at the Modi'in Night Cricket Arena with the last four clash between Dialogz Dragons and Pearl Dental semi-final and Division 3's Gold Insurance Bet Shemesh Lightning again Pommeranz Juice Good Old Boy, with the winner in this match meeting Chaim Emmett's KAT in the 6th/7th match.

LMV well beaten in MSCL opener

Danny Caro — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:50:06 +0100

MIDDLESEX SUNDAY CRICKET LEAGUE
CRICK 225-5 (40 overs)
LONDON MACCABI VALE 136
LMV lost by 89 runs

London Maccabi Vale lost their MSCL opener by 89 runs against Crick on the 2nd XI pitch at Harefield CC.

After inserting Cricket, LMV claimed a couple of early wickets, but Crick scored quickly early on. Good spells from Michael Ziff (0-34) and Thomas Goulde (0-22) meant that Crick were restricted to 80-2 after 20 overs.

The home side accelerated after the drinks break and although Jeffery 'Maverick' Permutt took took wickets in a spell of 8-2-42-3, Crick amassed a healthy total of 225-5 in their 40 overs.

After an excellent tea feast, Maccabiah veterans Danny Caro and Nigel Rothband opened the batting. But experience counted for little as Cricket's opener bowler produced a fiery spell, bowling down the slope, with Rothband caught behind and Caro smashing one to gully.

LMV soon found themselves 19-3 and then 68-6, with only Mark Spanjar (21) showing any aggression.

Former captain Jonathan Lederman helped the tail wag with an unbeaten 46 to take LMV past the 100-mark. An innings featuring seven boundaries and one six could not stop LMV being dismissed for 136.

An LMV spokesman said: "This wasn't a great start to the league season and a lot of work required to make sure we can be competitive in this division."

It’s all change at the top

Danny Caro — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:54:23 +0100

So in contrast to last season, the domestic silverware in London has been shared around. Hendon United Sports Club A, treble winners last year, finished empty-handed, but manager David Garbacz sounds more determined than ever to get back on track in season 2013/14.

I believe the loss of Ben Lauffer, Josh Bentley and Paul Bentley – three match-winners - hurt them more than they realised and it’s clear they need to bring in a couple of top quality reinforcements.

Newly-crowned champions Faithfold A have been the model of consistency, losing just once in the league on their way to the double. Manager Zuriel Solomon recruited well, capitalising on North West Neasden’s fall from grace by adding Elliot Stern, along with Mike Pearson and Sam Reeves to his squad.

Brady Maccabi A have also turned into a real powerhouse, with new faces Ben Joseph, Jordan Nathan, Bradley Sharp and Marc Lazare turning them into an irresistible force in the Jewish FA Cup. I can see them being there or thereabouts in all competitions again next season.

London Maccabi Lions A’s progress has been well-documented and with Andy Landesberg and coach James Gershfield leading the challenge of the JC Cyril Anekstein Cup winners, I expect next season’s JC MSFL title race to be much tighter.

And with Redbridge Jewish Care, Oakwood, arguably the first port of call for the top players leaving the Manchester area, FC Team A and Raiders all set to strengthen, there’s already plenty to look forward as managers across the league start browsing the transfer market in a bid to bring in some top quality signings.

* News of Brady Maccabi’s historic victory in the Peter Morrison Trophy reached as far as Scotland. The team was sponsored by brothers Michael and Brian Green, with the red jerseys emblazoned with the Jewish Care Scotland logo in memory of their late mother, Yvette, who worked tirelessly as a volunteer for the charity.

There was much nachas in the Green household after the game as Michael’s son-in-law, Jon Ellis, and Brian’s son, Jonathan, scored in the final. Michael Green said: “Our father, Aubrey, was in ‘shpilkes’ in Glasgow upon hearing the result and we know that mum’s memory spurred the team on to victory.”

* I'm looking forward to playing my first game of cricket in almost three years when I return to action for London Maccabi Vale in their Middlesex Sunday League opener against Harefield CC this weekend. The old limbs may struggle to warm up amid the cold breeze, but I just hope I score more runs than sweaters I’m planning to wear ...