FARMERS-CAESAREANS CC have it all to do in their remaining two fixtures if they are to progress in the European Cricket League.
Coming off a narrow defeat in their opening fixture the Caesareans were looking to bounce back against Punjab Lions Nicosia.
Farmers opener Asa Tribe, whose visit to the crease was short during the first contest, put up some stout figures, racing out to 31 off just 13 deliveries, aided by five boundaries.
Jersey Cricket captain Chuggy Perchard added another 30 off 15 balls for Farmers, helped by solid contributions from Julius Sumerauer and Rick Firth, who added 15 and 14 runs respectively to take the team total to 105.
The Jersey-based side would have felt relatively confident in their chances to defend the total. However, they ran into an immovable object in the shape of Gurpartap Singh.
The Lions captain ran riot, earning 85 of the required runs himself off just 32 deliveries.
Farmers had their chances to remove Singh, including a dropped catch. However, Singh remained and punished them in devastating fashion.
The Lions claimed victory with 10 balls to spare.
It was a quick turnaround for the Jersey representatives, who were soon back out for game three against Pak I Care Badalona of Spain.
Farmers once again batted first and bid to set Badalona a challenging total to chase down.
The Tribe brothers opened again, and this time it was Zac who pushed on, totalling 28 runs off just 12 deliveries.
Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got for Farmers, with only James Smith and Rhys Palmer reaching the 10-run mark from the rest of the batsmen.
When all was said and done, the opposition were set 88 to chase down in the 10-over shoot-out.
James Perchard needed a response from his men and a quick dismissal of Badalona’s danger man Muhammad Babar.
However, the man mountain Babar was in a hurry to get the match over with, cruising out to 63 off 21 balls, all while amassing 11 boundaries.
The opposition scored far too readily for the Jerseymen, quickly surpassing the target in 37 balls of the 60.
Farmers coach Paul Kemp said: ‘It was a very tough day for us.
‘We were undone by a pair of big hitters who batted brilliantly and rode their luck at times.
‘As a side I feel we are as good as anyone out here, but we really haven’t shown our best stuff up to this point.
‘The lads are certainly disappointed, but we know in this format if we can win our remaining games against the sides from Corfu and Portugal there is every chance of progressing.
‘It certainly hasn’t been an easy couple of days, but as a group we are very much together and feel we will start firing.
‘Everyone in the camp is raring to go again and fight up the leaderboard.’
The European Cricket League is being televised on FreeSports and also available for free via the league YouTube channel.
