INDIAN Gymkhana U11s have landed the club’s first ever county trophy at youth level by winning the Middlesex U11 Cup on Sunday.
The Osterley side beat off competition from 50 well-established clubs covering a dozen London boroughs, defeating Ealing in the final at Teddington.
Although all the previous rounds were played in a Twenty20 format, there were 35 overs apiece for the final, making it a real test of mental and physical endurance for the youngsters.
Ealing won the toss and opted to bat, and opening bowler Sumeet Grewal got Gymkhana off to a flying start, striking with his second delivery, but Ealing fought back and were looking strong at 43-1 after nine overs when Saif Ali Sheik struck again.
A strong five-over spell from Rohan Bancil included three wickets, leaving Ealing 79-5, before strong batting took them to 123-7 with 11 overs still to play.
Spinner Sachin Pathak was then brought back and he combined well with Kabir Palmer to take three wickets in two overs, bowling Ealing out for 127.
In reply, quick Ealing bowling accounted for three early wickets as Gymkhana stumbled to 27-3 before Pathak showed judgment beyond his years, blocking or leaving dangerous balls and steering away looser deliveries for ones and twos.
The strategy was paying off as Gymkhana reached 66-5 with 15 overs to go and 62 runs required, and Pathak and Grewal went for broke, blasting several boundaries before the latter was finally caught for 22. Needing 24 runs from 10 overs with four wickets in hand, Gymkhana cruised home as Pathak finished unbeaten on 42, accompanied by sturdy batting from Amrit Mann and Saif Ali Sheikh.
The win came on the back of the club’s recent drive to increase participation in cricket among youngsters in the area, with dozens of parents and players gaining ECB coaching badges and colts numbers rising from 50 to more than 150.
The next aim for the club is a girls team. For further details about colts cricket, call Sanjay Sood on 07958 407 527, Yogbir Grewal on 07739 778 279 or Harpal Bawa on 07956 397 375.
The winning team was Amrit Mann, Sachin Pathak, Saif Ali Sheikh, Sumeet Grewal, Yasas Samarwickrema, Mayank Dasannacharya, Simranjeet Singh, Kabir Parmar, Rohan Bancil, Amol Apte, Mohammed Ahmed Kalair, Syed Baqar and Ali Naqvi.
Hopefully their deeds can inspire the club’s senior men, who are five points from safety in the Middlesex County Cricket League following a losing draw against Barnes on Saturday.
