Marsa made to toil hard to beat Betfair

The second game from the Malta Cricket Association Winter League was played on Saturday when leaders Betfair took on Marsa.

Malcolm Crabbe and John Grima opened the batting for Betfair who won the toss.

Marsa bowler Derek Ali started with a short pitch for his first ball of the match which Crabbe tried to hook, managing only to get an edge that flew straight to wicket-keeper Aquilina.

Greg Symons came to the crease and put on a 42 with Grima before he was caught on 14 runs. Grima managed to retire and eventually returned and remained 21 runs not out.

But from then on no other Betfair player could make it into double figures – Andy Naudi (six runs), Tony Slater (six runs), Bikram Arora (five runs), Justin Brooke (two runs), Chris Naudi (one run), Ian Pendlebury (no runs) and Jim Heasman (one run).

Betfair were aided with ten extras for a modest tally of 68.

For Marsa, the bowling was amazing with Ali taking three wickets and Gordon Hewitt and Jai Kumar two. Sam Aquilina, who was involved in two run-outs, had three catches.

Sixty-nine runs looked an easy target for Marsa. However, they were made to toil hard for victory after losing five wickets before upsetting the holders.

Javed Shah scored 20 runs and Kumar 22 not out. Sam Aquilina added seven and Sarfraz Ali six.

Ronnie Sacco, entering after two quick wickets fell and his team needing eight runs to win, blocked the first ball and hit the next two to the boundary to seal his team’s success.

For Betfair, Andy Naudi took three wickets and Kevin Krishna two as Marsa earned ten points for their victory.

Next Saturday, Marsa play Krishna at 10 a.m. The nursery activities start at 9 a.m.