Kevin Livingston

Goodmayes & Blythswood powered away from the foot of the Essex County Cricket League First Division table after a tenacious victory over high-flying Ford seconds

Goodmayes & Blythswood 131 beat Ford IIs 93 by 38 runs

»Goodmayes & Blythswood powered away from the foot of the Essex County Cricket League First Division table after a tenacious victory over high-flying Ford seconds on Saturday.

Goodmayes went into the game rock-bottom and faced a stiff task as they welcomed second-placed Ford to Goodmayes Park.

And they appeared to have it all to do when they were put in to bat and their top order departed cheaply.

Crucial

But a crucial partnership between skipper Akila Jayamaha and Dinesh Varsani raised hopes. Debutante Hassan Ali ensured the tail wagged, before a superb bowling display led by Kevin Livingston secured victory.

“It was surprising that we won,” admitted Jayamaha. “We were bottom of the table at the start of the game and low on confidence against a top-two team.

“But we all showed good attitude and everyone did their bit after a slow start where we lost early wickets to be 12-4.

“Dinesh Varsani and I put the structure back in and we got to a partnership of over 50 runs. And then we got a good late score from newcomer Hassan Ali.

“He has been interested in playing for a while and has been turning up where we have been playing. We thought ‘let’s give him a go’ as we have nothing to lose and he contributed well and played a lot of lovely shots.

“Dinesh and I guided each other through and kept each other cool and did well. I took a more attacking role and Dinesh really dug in to add stability.

“Our bowling was spot on. Kevin Livingston led from the front. As a captain I thought I did well to lead from the front with the batting and bowling. Their number three batsman stuck in until Zahid Habib suggested we change things around and we brought on left-armer Dinesh Varsani who got rid of him.

“We all worked as a team which I am very grateful for. As a unit we kept it tight. We wanted to beat a top team like this as it shows what we can do and proves to the other teams that we are not just a pushover.”

Ford won the toss and decided to bowl. They were rewarded as opener Imran Jamil (6) was trapped lbw by Tariq Zaman (1-24) and Suleman Saleemi (4) was bowled by Sanjay Agnihotri (4-46).

Wickets continued to tumble as Habid (1) became Agnihotri’s second victim and Amarjit Singh (7) was run out.

The arrival of the mid-order pair of Varsani (32 not out) and Jayamaha (29) got them underway, before the arrival of Ali, who added 31 runs before he became the first of Suvidh Arora’s (4-2) victims.

Inroads

In reply the home side made immediate inroads as Habib (2-36) removed opener Muhammad Ali Rehman (5) and Kevin Livingston (4-15) trapped Junior Bryan (3) lbw.

Talib Hussain (31) raised hopes for Ford, until skittled by Varsani (1-8). Jayamaha (3-22) kept up the pressure to secure victory in the 30th over.