Fawad Ahmed was at his brilliant best on Saturday taking eight wickets as Hoppers Crossing defeated South Caulfield. 76648 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Liam Twomey
HOPPERS Crossing is within striking distance of top spot on the Victorian Turf Cricket Association ladder after more Fawad Ahmed heroics on Saturday.
Having set South Caulfield 207 for victory on day one, Ahmed opened the bowling and left a path of destruction behind him.
The spin bowling sensation dismissed the top five batsmen all for single figures as South Caulfield crashed to be 5/60.
A middle-order fightback from wicketkeeper Joel Pope ensured the match would go down to the wire as the talented batsman blasted a stunning 101.
However, when he was dismissed by Gavin McCallum, the chances of a South Caulfield upset strode back to the change room with him.
Ahmed returned to remove the tail and the Cats walked away with a nine-run victory. He now has 45 wickets for the season at an average of 8.44.
The next highest wicket taker in the competition has 28.
“It was just an exceptional day by him. He got a couple of early wickets and put them on the back foot for a while before they were able to come up with a pretty good partnership. He came back and cleaned it up at the end so it was a pretty topsy-turvy sort of day,” Hoppers Crossing president Steve McNamara said.
“He seems to be getting better and better. He is just a class player and playing against better players has brought the best out of him.”
The win sees the Cats move up second on the VTCA ladder, just 0.2 points behind competition leaders Yarraville Club.
Despite the good form, McNamara would still like to see some improvement in the team’s bat-
ting.
“It’s good Darrel (Brown) is making runs. He is a class bat and that’s why we brought him to the club. By the same token, that’s probably the one area that we are a little bit disappointed in at the moment.
“We’ve got guys getting starts but they just aren’t going on with it. I think Darrel is pretty keen to turn that around with the boys,” he said.
“The guys have got the talent with the bat but we just aren’t translating that into big scores.”
With a match this week against competition strugglers Williamstown CYMS, Hoppers Crossing will have the chance to claim top spot on the ladder in its first year back in Senior Division.
“We thought we put a pretty talented squad together with the aim of being in the top four. I think we are pretty happy with where we are at,” McNamara said.
“Every week we just have to keep winnings. It is very tight up
the top there. Look at Airport West this week. They went from top to fifth so you can’t afford to lose a game.”
