OLD Victorians were set to take on Irish side CIYMS yesterday evening after suffering their first loss of ECL Championship Week at the hands of Spaniards Pak I Care Badalona.
At the time of writing, the loss left OVs on two wins and a defeat from their first three games in Málaga, still firmly in contention approaching the halfway stage of the group phase.
James Duckett and his men set 164 for Badalona to chase, headlined by a masterful knock of 99 not out by Jonty Jenner, while Julius Sumerauer added 43 for the bulk of OVs’ runs.
However, Muhammad Babar tore up the script with heavy-hitting from the outset to rack up 71 runs from just 18 balls.
Sikandar Ali put an extra 30 on the total from nine balls and despite a spirited bowling effort late on, the Spanish champions surpassed the total with three balls spare.
Top-scorer Jenner said: “Its a shame to not get over the line.
“We’re definitely frustrated, as it was a very tight match, so it’s always hard to come out on the losing side.
“We definitely thought we were in the game after setting that total. I think it’s the biggest chase they have pulled off this week and the totals have generally been lower than they were in the group stage.
“The game got away from us in the early overs and we managed to wrestle it back a little, but unfortunately they took control at the end and squeezed past us.”
Jenner, who formed a strong opening partnership with Sumerauer, cited the mood in the camp as “upbeat” ahead of their remaining group fixtures.
He added: “Julius is a great player; he was out there hitting it nicely early on and then I started to open up. We seemed to work really well together.
“The nature of this format is that you know being aggressive isn’t going to pay off every match, but when it does you can do some real damage.
“You only really need one batter to click per match and that can supplement the majority of the team total.
“The format is pretty intense. There is little time to sit and dwell on what could have been; we just need to refocus on what’s ahead. We are still in a strong position,” Jenner said yesterday before the match against CIYMS.
The Islanders were sent into bat first by Pak I Care, who have an esteemed history of chasing down targets spearheaded by superstar opener Muhammad Babar.
However, OVs had a pair of heavy-hitting openers up their sleeve in the shape of Jenner and Sumerauer.
The former was imperious, finding the boundary at will, which left the Badalona bowlers scratching their heads as to what line was safe to pick.
The ex-Sussex man smashed 13 maximums en route to 99 not out from just 28 deliveries.
Meanwhile, Sumerauer proved an able ally down the other end, knocking 43 from 18 balls, including four massive sixes, to lay a strong foundation for the Jersey side to build on.
The Islanders set an impressive total of 164, confident that if they could contain Babar, it would give them a huge opportunity.
But contain him they could not, as the captain led from the front to tilt the tie in his team’s favour.
He departed for 71 and after a minor wobble, Ali’s 30 off nine balls looked to put the game beyond doubt.
With backs against the walls, Sumerauer again shone with the ball, taking two wickets for just eight runs off his two overs, but Pak I Care took a liking to Duckett in the final over to claim their third win from four games at Cartama Oval.
