Southend Hawks Vs Southend Panthers (Southend Premier League)
In a low scoring fixture, it was Southend Hawks who held their nerves to win by narrow margin against Southend Panthers.
Hawks batted first but were off to a very slow start as the bowlers bowled tight lines and did not offer much to the openers. Both Faraz and Wajid batted with a strike rate of less than 100 which was not so pleasing for their team as it added pressure on them. Once they were dismissed Suleman and Asad tried to bring their side back in the game, Suleman played a little cameo but it was a much needed effort as he gave some momentum to his side, Suleman was dismissed for 17 which brought Imtiaz to the crease. Asad and Imtiaz then formed a solid little partnership, the contribution from both of them was much needed as it ended their innings on a high. Both remained unbeaten till the end, Asad scored 34 whereas Imtiaz scored 29 to take Hawks to a defendable 147.
After a solid end to their innings, Hawks were off to a perfect start with the ball as well. They were high on confidence and it was showing as the opening bowlers made early inroads to the batting lineup. Rehan and Waris tried to rebuilt the innings for Panthers, but it was tough work for them as they were not offered many loose balls. Rehan was a bit slow but Waris tried his best to keep his side in the hunt for the chase with his cameo of 21, Rehan on the other hand scored 22 of 33 balls. After their dismissal, Hawks kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. The entire middle order got starts but none could make it big. They were heading towards a big loss until Asif Afridi came in and he from nowhere smashed the bowlers all around the park and gave Hawks some worries. He batted brilliantly for his 24 but unfortunately his efforts went in vain as Panthers fell short just by 3 runs.
