MAL edged a close fought encounter with Old Haberdashers at Croxdale to win by two wickets. Captain Mark Landau was relieved with the win and felt his team could have played better on the day.
"It's always nice to get another win under the belt, especially as this was a tricky surface for all the batsmen. We weren't anywhere near our best, and there are greater challenges to come before the end of the season."
Landau won the toss and elected to bowl first, and it proved a sound decision as his team made a positive start. Mark Lazar took the first two wickets, limiting the Haberdashers batsmen to a single run in the process.
Abid and Anil Khan then started to build a partnership before Jon Begner bowled the latter for 17, but the next batsman he bowled out initially refused to walk as controversy ensued. Begner wasn't rattled though, and he bowled out another Haberdashers man for zero, before Lazar took his third wicket.
Abid Khan continued to provide stern resistance for the MAL bowlers with a final total of 48, but with few of the Haberdashers other batsmen able to reach double figures, Landau completed the innings with another wicket as their opponents were restricted to 112 wickets off 22.2 overs.
Despite the reasonable target, MAL found themselves up against tough bowling from their opponents, who were determined not to lose without a fight. John Lazar, Sami Ali and Gideon Sacofsky all went without scoring heavily, but a partnership of 50 between Mark Landau and Uzair Ali put MAL back on course and looking good at 83 for four.
Landau was then caught out and Lazar soon followed, and a poor run continued with Ali finishing on 29. Jon Begner was then bowled as he looked to edge MAL to victory but Simon Levy eventually managed to secure the win with just two wickets remaining.