Wise is too clever for Southgate

A Tony Wise inspired display helped MAL maintain their 100 per cent start to the Barratts Maccabi Sunday League with a comfortable
victory over Southgate.

MAL struggled against tight bowling from Ray Bean and Nathan Bernstein. Mark Landau batted relatively fluently for his 29 but the scoring rate never got much above four an over. At 56-1, MAL looked to have set a good platform, but wickets fell regularly, with only Wise (20) and Grant Traub showing the requisite application required on a tricky surface. One hundred and thirty nine was always going to be a competitive total but the general feeling was that MAL might be 10-20 short.

Southgate’s reply was stifled by excellent bowling from Wise and Yoav Lebens. Wise took 4-8 in seven overs of controlled swing and seam. At 34-4, Southgate’s task looked all but impossible, and despite a gritty knock from Richard Israelite, MAL continued to take wickets with Yoni Fidler (3-13) bowling aggressively. Landau replaced Traub after a five-over spell, and took a wicket in his over as MAL eased home by 61 runs.

Chigwell, led by Nigel Katseph, started their season on a positive note with victory over Newlands & Northwood.