Reigning champions smash an unbeaten record to return to the top of the Indoor Cricket League

The 2023/2024 champions had started the season well with three straight wins and had been the only unbeaten team in the league, but they were crushed by five wickets by the defending champions.

AK had been on a long unbeaten indoor run and had not tasted defeat for two years until losing in the last round of matches to Werrington, but they got back to winning ways with a clinical performance with some excellent fielding, batting and bowling.

Ufford batted first and were soon in early trouble at 23-3 from just three overs. A small recovery was led by Muhammad Raheel, who hit three fours and three sixes in his 46, but only one other batsman made double figures as Ufford were bowled out for 88. Seamers Sudheer Jafeer (2-16) and Zeeshan Ul Haq Makhdoom (2-19) did the bulk of the damage. Superb fielder Sufyan Mazhar was also in the thick of the action with a catch and a direct hit run out.

AK slipped to 6-1 from the first over, but that was the only alarm as Zaheer Abbas and Sudheer Jafeer both retired with 28 and 25 runs respectively and a quickfire unbeaten 21 from Zeeshan Ul Haq Makhdoom clinched victory with 26 balls to spare for the new table-toppers.

Pak Azad and Werrington also recorded their 3rd win of the season with dominant batting performances. Sam Tyler (31 not out), Muhammad Ayub Khattak and Ali Zeb (both retired on 26 and 25 respectively) saw Pak Azad score an imposing 149-2 from their 10 overs against Hampton. This proved to be 68 too many for Hampton once Abdul Waris (3-12) got to work, despite a defiant 23 from Aurangzaib Tahir.

Werrington saw all their top order score heavily in a high scoring match against Burghley Park. In indoor cricket you must retire when you score 25 runs (or your last scoring shot goes past 25) and Werrington Captain Muhammad Toseeq led from the front to reach his retirement in six deliveries which set the tone for the rest of the innings with Werrington’s 50 arriving from just 11 deliveries!

Three of his teammates also retired and all of them returned to help Werrington to an imposing 178-4 from their 10 overs. Werrington wicketkeeper batsman Shaz Akhter finished unbeaten on 49, with Toseeq (37), Mudassar Shafiq (30) and Junaid Hussain (30) also performing well. Burghley kept going to the end with David Platt taking two wickets and wicket keeper Matt Davies executing a stumping and a smart run out.

Chasing 179 to win Platt and Davies got the innings off to a flyer and both retired, with Simon Sherwin also quickly joining them, but despite Platt and Davies returning and finishing unbeaten on 48 and 34 respectively Burghley fell 46 runs adrift.

Ten times Hunts Indoor League winners Bretton are off the mark at the 4th time of asking beating Wansford by three wickets. Wansford’s 122-4 was built around an unbeaten 32 from Kester Sainsbury and 22 from talented teenager Rudra Valambhia, but Bretton breezed to victory with 12 balls remaining with captain Andy Bennett seeing his team home with an unbeaten 32.

This weekend sees the last cricket matches in Peterborough and Huntingdonshire for 2025 with the top 4 all playing against each other. Currently the top 4 all have 9 points (3 wins from 4 matches) and are separated on head-to-head wins against each other, and opposition wickets taken. This weekend will see leaders AK11 play Pak Azad and Werrington play Ufford Park. Wansford will also play Hampton and Burghley Park and Bretton have the privilege of playing the last local game of cricket in 2025.

The action starts at 2.30pm.