NRWCU Faces Defeat at Super Cup Match with Deventer, Holland

NRWCU’s select adult team played Deventer’s eleven best players in Holland last week with the Deventer claiming the win by twenty nine runs. Being the NRWCU’s first ever match on an authentic turf pitch, the team did get off to a slow start adjusting to the different conditions.

Deventer elected to bat first, having won the coin toss, and weren’t too much for our team to handle at first, who successfully landed five consecutive wickets. Yet things became tricky from here on, with the team, led by Nasir and Abad, failing to gain the sixth wicket.

NRWCU’s shot at batting was opened by Shani and Nasir, but were bowled out at 40, a relatively early stage. Mayo and Naeem took over and quickly built a strong partnership and managed to cross one 100 for 2 in 17 overs, their winning streak only coming to an end at the hands of a spin attack by Deventer.

Unfortunately, this was only the beginning; NRWCU quickly lost five wickets in twenty eight runs to give 130 for 7 in 29 overs. Deventer had gained 200 for 9 in 40 overs and our team had failed to reach the target of 201, and came home with a score of 169 for 10 in 37 overs, facing defeat by 31 runs. This was quite a small margin, especially considering that the team’s three strongest players, Mudassar, Rufi and Rafi, were unable to take part in the match.

All in all, the event was a fast paced and successful one, with NRWCU and Deventer forming strong bonds on and off the pitch. This was the first Super Cup match to be held in Holland as a joint venture between NRWCU and Deventer and provided an excellent opportunity for both teams to learn and gain experience. We hope this was the first of many matches to come.

We would like to extend our thanks to Shuja Ahmed for his help in organising this event, our union is extremely grateful for the any opportunity to engage with the wider, global cricketing community.