By Richard Boxall
The updated ICC (International Cricket Council) rankings for women’s T20 International matches show Cyprus in a commendable 29th place in the world following their successful trip to Serbia. For a small country like Cyprus this is something for the players to be proud of and to build on over the coming years.
It should also provide an incentive for the men’s team, who currently sit in 77th place, as they set off to Spain next weekend for the European Cricket Championships, a 10-overs-a-side tournament where they will face Greece, Czechia, Luxembourg and Serbia in the group stage.
Back at home, for the second time this season a match in the BAOFinancial Autumn T20 Cup presented by HurryCurry finished in a tie and had to be decided by a super over. This time the evenly matched teams were Cyprus Knight Riders and Moufflons, and it was the latter who prevailed in the tiebreaker by 4 runs.
Cyprus Knight Riders 119-7 tied with Moufflons 119-6
Super over – Moufflons 11-1 beat Cyprus Knight Riders 7-1 by 4 runs
The two previously unbeaten teams fought out a thrilling match which ended in a tie when Sanju was run out by Hridoy for 69 on the very last ball of the Moufflons innings. Earlier Jaman (43) and Alamgir (31) had put the Knight Riders in a strong position before Aminul (4-28) pegged them back, with economical support from Rahman (4 overs for just 9 runs ) and Rasedul (2-9).
In the super over Roman hit 10 for Moufflons and Sanju was again run out on the last ball, before Rahman restricted the Riders to 7 in their over. Moufflons now top group C with 3 wins.
New Limassol Moufflons 144-3 lost to Gujrat Lions 145-4 by 6 wickets
The Limassol Moufflons recovered from a shaky start to post 144-3, thanks to an unbroken stand between Ejaz(53) and Sufian (44). In reply Gujrat’s batters all made useful contributions, led by Qasim’s 43, as they secured their first win since joining the league, and are currently second in group A behind Napa Kings.
Amdocs 128-7 lost to Lankan SC 129-4 by 6 wickets
Lankan Sport Club consolidated their position at the top of group B by beating Amdocs, whose 128-7 was based on 26 apiece from Preetaj and Ketan, while Roshan took 3-17 for the Lankans. The winning reply by Lankan SC was led by Ashan’s 61 and 35 from the reliable Tharanga.
Nicosia Fighters 74 lost to BFC 75-6 by 4 wickets
Nicosia Fighters had 24 from Anowar and 25 not out from Rahul, but only two other batsmen scored any runs at all as they were dismissed for 74, with Burdekin taking 3-17 and Serieux 3-20 for BFC. The Forces team was made to work for victory as Rohan took 4-13, but Serieux’s 25 helped see them over the line for their first win of the season.
Rhinos 75 lost to MSN Punjab Lions 76-4 by 6 wickets
Rhinos, a new team this season, have had the misfortune to be drawn in arguably the hardest group (D), and have found life a struggle in their first two matches. They were bowled out for 75 by MSN Punjab Lions, for whom Tiwari took 4-11. Rhinos’ number 11 Husain top-scored with 16 to give his team some sort of total to defend.
They made a good effort, reducing the Lions to 39-4, before Husnain (24) and Vansham steered them to victory without further loss, taking them to the top of the group.
