Thirds Fall Short In Exciting T20 Clash - Hale Barns Cricket Club

It was an action-packed start to the season for Hale Barns Third XI, who tied their T20 Cup opener with Grappenhall CC, but suffered defeat due to wickets lost.

Abdul Rehman struck a quickfire 32 and bowled a terrific final over, while Suhail Anjum was the pick of the bowlers as Barns experienced a useful runout ahead of the upcoming league campaign.

HBCC were put into bat and suffered the early loss of captain Farhan Rabbani (1) with just seven runs on the board, but Rehman and Ahmed Choudhry (10) solidified the innings with a promising partnership.

Rehman was in destructive form, hitting three maximums in his swift cameo, but Richard Wiles (3-33) removed both batters in quick succession to halt Barns’ momentum.

Despite a fluent 18 from Adil Khan, the hosts slumped to 80-7 after a sensational four-over spell from Fameesh Azeez, who produced exceptional figures of 4-9, while late contributions from Muzzamil Tariq (18) and Haaziq Choudhry (10) kept the game in the balance, carrying the total to 121-9.

A stunning start to the run chase put Barns firmly in the driving seat, as they restricted Grappenhall to 0-3 from the opening seven deliveries, with Tariq (2-16) kicking things off with a double-wicket maiden before Khan struck with his first ball.

David Coyne and Mark Tyerman delivered a resolute response to drag the away side back into contention, taking the score to 62 until Coyne (26) became one of two victims for Anjum (2-9), who bowled a remarkably economical four-over stint.

Khan (2-20) returned to the attack and collected the vital dismissal of Tyerman for 39 with 35 runs left to get and four wickets to spare. David Seed led Grappenhall’s pursuit of the required target in the latter stages as they came to within one run of victory from the final three deliveries.

However, a breakthrough for Rehman (1-16), followed by a dot ball, set up a one-ball shootout, which ended with Rabbani running out Seed for 17 and leaving the two teams tied, although Grappenhall’s extra wicket in hand secured them the win.