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Nisar century is decisive

17/ 6/2008

In a game featuring more than 500 runs, Littleborough fell to yet another defeat at Clifton on Saturday, writes Mark Wilbraham.

Chasing a mammoth 265 to win, Boro came within 17 runs of picking up five unexpected points.

However, they were made to pay for a couple of missed chances and a rather lethargic fielding display.

Boro made a good start when they had Chris Lord caught behind in only the seventh over, but that was as good as it got for the next two hours. Clifton picked off boundaries with ease, although the small ground meant it was difficult for Phil Deakin to set any sort of defensive field.

Home professional Adil Nisar was in imperious form, but he could have been taken in the eighth over when he flashed at a wide delivery and saw wicket-keeper Jamie Roche just get his fingertips to the ball.

Aqeel Mukhtar also batted well, and the pair added 153 for the second wicket before Mukhtar was caught by Danny Thewlis at gully. Sunny Letshela played a brief cameo innings before being caught by Brendan Miskella at mid-off.

Nisar’s fine knock of 126 eventually came to an end when he set off for a single that was never really there. Team-mate Dave Garner sent him back, but Boro professional Kamran Hussain fielded the ball and threw down the stumps.

Hussain continued to enjoy an excellent over, bowling Garner for 10 and having Qaiser Malik caught behind as Clifton stuttered to 233 for six.

There were only seven overs remaining at this stage and they featured plenty of runs and four more wickets.  Clifton added 31 runs, but Hussain and Deakin took two wickets each. The home side were all out off the first ball of the 50th over for 264.

Littleborough’s top order had let them down in recent weeks, but there could be no complaints this time. Rudi Keiser and Curtis Maguire set about their task with some ferocity and brought up the 50 in only the sixth over.

In the previous over Maguire had made good use of the short legside boundary by plundering 26 runs, made up of three sixes and two fours. His luck ran out in the 11th over when he was deceived by Andy Hough and bowled for a fine knock of 45.

Danny Thewlis had scored only two when he was leg before to Ian Eccleshare, but Keiser and Kamran Hussain kept the scoreboard ticking over to take Boro almost halfway to their target.

Keiser was third man out for 53, caught and bowled by Letshela, and Hussain followed soon after when Chris Tye took an excellent catch after running in from the long-on boundary. Littleborough were now finding runs harder to come by, and 265 seemed a long way off. Their falling behind the required rate led to Bill Williams being run out for 20 after attempting a risky single, and soon after Tom Pye was beaten by Qaiser Malik’s pace. Andy Rogerson and Phil Deakin were realistically Boro’s last hopes, and they started to take the game to Clifton once more.

Rogerson again looked in good touch and found the boundary at regular intervals, while Deakin’s experienced head proved the perfect foil at the other end. They saw Littleborough past 200 with 10 overs remaining and had added 57 runs when Deakin was trapped leg before after being forced onto the back foot. Rogerson was bowled by Eccleshare two overs later, leaving the last two pairs with little chance of forcing victory.

Both Matthew Collins and Brendan Miskella tried their best, but they were removed by Nisar, and Boro were all out for 248.

Clifton v Littleborough
Littleborough

R Keisier c and b Letshela 53
C Maguire b Hough 45
D Thewlis lbw Eccleshare 2
K Hussain c Tye b Hough 19
B Williams run out Nisar 20
T Pye b Malik 8
A Rodgerson b Eccleshare 43
P Deakin lbw Nisar 21
M Collins b Nisar ..2
J Roche not out 8
B Miskella b Nisar 3
Extras ....................................... 24

Total (49 overs) 248
Bowling: Tye 3-0-35-0; Eccleshare 12-0-69-2; Nisar 5-0-28-3; Hough 15-1-34-2; Letshela 7-0-41-1; Malik 5-0-20-1; Cunliffe 2-0-9-0.

Clifton

A Nisar run out ........................126
C Lord c Roche b Hussain 7
A Mukhtar c Thewlis b Deakin 59
S Letshela c Miskella b Deakin 18
D Garner b Hussain 10
G Malik c Roche b Hussain 0
J Cunliffe lbw Deakin 6
C Tye lbw Hussain 4
D Wild b Hussain 13
A Hough not out 2
Eccleshare b Deakin 0
Extras .......................................19

Total (49.1 overs) 264
Bowling: Hussain 16-2-57-5; M Collins 7-0-38-0; Miskella 5-0-33-0; Maguire 6-0-33-0; Deakin 12.1-0-68-4; Rodgerson 3-0-25-0.