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  • Day 21

    VS. XL Club

    May 11, 2016 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today, The Glasgow Academy took on the XL Club, a well-know 'travelling' cricket club in a test match style game with beautiful rather un-Scottish conditions for a change! Although exams and the alike threatened to reduce the side to depressingly low numbers beforehand, the team can proudly say that we had eleven players on the field most of the time. As per custom, the XL Club batted first. What ensued was a opening bowling performance oozing with class, maturity far beyond the bowlers' years, and stamina. Initially, the menacing duo of captain John Oliver (12-4-39-2) and the lethal Arman Khan (10-2-22-3) were unlucky to pick up wickets, despite a lot of lateral movement and quality bowling. However, their bad luck was followed up by some fortunate fielding when the openers looked settled on a team total of 36 but a sharp direct hit from Adam McMurray resulted in the first wicket of the day and initiated a collapse. Before long, 5 wickets had fallen in quick succession and the XL Club were left reeling at 61/6. Nevertheless, the opposition's batting depth was showcased as they rebuilt with a 7th wicket partnership towards lunch. After lunch, once again, the batsmen dominated until Khan broke the partnership and Oliver removed the batsman at the other end. Soon, respectable performances from Ruairidh Russell (6-0-15-1), Greg MacMillan (5-0-29-1), Adam McMurray (5-1-22-1) and Jamie Percival (2.3-0-14-1) ensured that the XL Club were restricted to a below-par 161. Notably, fielding was outstanding: Oliver bagged a diving catch at long-on to claim the tenth wicket off of one of Percival's dipping legspinners and Fraser Gordon (a spectacular catch and a stumping off a wide) once again showed his natural talent behind the wickets. However, the usual two-paced Accies wicket meant that the game was far from won. Openers Percival and Oliver made sure any hopes of an XL Club victory were banished. Oliver's calm and collected strokeplay led to a magnificent innings of 51 runs (three 4s) off 74 deliveries not out while Percival's brutal punishing of the bad deliveries gave him a well-deserved 48 (one 6 and five 4s) at a staggering strike rate of 98. Following this sturdy opening partnership of 86 runs compiled in 46 minutes, a mini collapse consisting of Ross Heginbottom's departure after a powerfully struck 29 off 23, Tom Bouttell's innings of 4, Fayz Siddiqui's shifty 11 off 17 and Callum Bell's unfortunate duck may have caused a slight momentum shift, but John Oliver's stability coupled with Adam McMurray's vital 9 off 13 not out saw The Glasgow Academy over the finishing line. Special mention must go to James Thorrington, Alastair Fry, Adnan Iqbal and Callum Smith for fielding well and contributing fully despite not batting or bowling, and Finlay Biok for stepping up at short notice. Overall, the team should be proud of themselves, as the captain said: "This team is turning into a formidable side. Not only is every senior player making their presence felt, but the contribution from less experienced players is generating a very well-drilled unit. I'm proud of today's performance. [On his partnership with Jamie Percival] Jamie was timing the ball beautifully so I was looking to just give him the strike. When he got out, I knew I had to see the team through and some helpful contributions from Adam, Fayz and Ross made sure of this." The next fixture for the 1st XI is against Kelvinside Academy this weekend and this will see the return of the usual limited overs format. To finish with, a thought that has grown ever since the start of this season is that this season's 1st XI ought to transcend all boundaries and limitations previously set, and dare I say, every match is bolstering this notion and furthermore, the players' belief in it.Read more