Much delayed write-up time!
End Of Season Review - Season 30
ZCC
Final Rankings:
EA SOD 2.1 - 5th (6 wins, 8 losses, 10 bonus points)
EA T20 2.3 - 2nd (11 wins, 3 losses, 4 bonus points)
EA Dev 2.2 - 4th (9 wins, 5 losses, 7 bonus points)
Cup - Eliminated in Round 4
Leading Run-scorers (Competitive only):
1) Shahbaz Furqan - 941 runs in 31 innings, Ave 31.37, SR 85.31, 2 50s, 3 100s, HS 115
2) Raun Shkorer - 923 runs in 30 innings, Ave 41.95, SR 103.36, 10 50s, 0 100s HS 99
3) Sajith D Estandau - 884 runs in 31 innings, Ave 29.47, SR 82.39, 5 50s, 1 100s, HS 130
Leading Wicket-takers (Competitive only):
1) Chung Yiu - 55 wickets in 31 matches, Ave 20.62, SR 23.05, Econ 5.37, 8 3fers, 1 5fer, BB 5/18
2) Sampath Ramalingam - 50 wickets in 33 matches, Ave 22.14, SR 24.74, Econ 5.37, 7 3fers, 1 5fer, BB 5/23
3) Harry Hadden - 42 wickets in 30 matches, Ave 25.67, SR 24.57, Econ 6.27, 3 3fers, 1 5fer, BB 6/30
Leading Fielders (Competitive only):
1) Heshan de Mehlo - 57 dismissals, 30 matches, 21 as WK, 53 catches, 4 stumpings, 0 run outs
2) Jamal Madani - 29 dismissals, 22 matches, 15 as WK, 27 catches, 2 stumpings, 0 run outs
3) Shahbaz Furqan - 14 dismissals, 31 matches, 0 as WK, 12 catches, 0 stumpings, 2 run outs
Hall Of Fame Entry: Arif Jalal - 31 games, 410 runs, 35 wickets and captaining.
Total Players Used (Competitive only): 29
Review:
A season of transition.
Overall we won more games (29) than we lost (17) this season. We had a solid cup run, finished runners up in the T20 (with exactly the same number of wins as 1st place, but 2 bonus points less), and avoided relegation fairly comfortably in the other two formats. We also reached the semi-finals of CWC4 after dominating the group stages, so plenty of positives to take out of it.
However we struggled with the departures of Zack Yattack and Hashim Zahid from the squad, losing 5 out of 7 of our SOD League fixtures immediately after they were sold off. We lost our CWC4 Semi-Final without them too, so plenty of work needs to be done to regain some form in the longest format as we head into the new season this week. Jamal Madani, who has just turned 22, averaged only 9.38 in his 8 innings in SOD cricket. Questions remain on whether he can retain a spot in the senior team, especially given Heshan is only 27 and capable of keeping for us across both formats for at least another couple of seasons. Ghous Ghani did much better with his step up to senior cricket, averaging around 19 with the bat and 29 with the ball, and could have a big role to play for us this season. If he keeps developing, he could have a future for BD.
In the T20s we were pretty excellent, even with Danial Ahsan taking over captaincy duty from Arif Jalal mid season. Our top 5 continued to churn out runs, tho they did require some shuffling around depending on form, and Arif Jalal blossomed into a great finisher, striking at 188 and averaging 29. Young Ed Halliday managed just 25 runs in his 6 innings tho, so a lot more will be expected out of him in season 31. Bowling-wise Chung Yiu continued to be excellent, taking a remarkable 31 wickets in 14 matches at just 6.72 per over, while Ghani and Bashir delivered promising efforts as well. Harry Hadden proved to be a useful contributor across both formats too, the former international taking over front-line spin duties will from Luke Giddings, and chipping in with handy runs with the bat too.
In the Dev cricket we finally seem to have a stable combination that can take us forward for the next couple of seasons, but the lack of batting talent is a bit concerning. Abdul Younis, Ed Halliday and Shafi Ibrahim are coming along well, but who is next? 16 YO Samad Khawaja might be the answer, but is a long ways away from being ready. Bowling wise Ewen Rockall has already been surprisingly effective, while Chester, Ghani and Bashir make for a potent combination. One area of concerns is that we have six 20 year olds and two 21 year olds in the XI. I expect a strong showing from the team this season, but we must keep one eye on uncovering a couple of talent 16 YOs before the season is done.
Finally - a word on Arif Jalal. The long-serving captain/allrounder has gotten his first entry in our Hall Of Fame! He was the 7th leading run scorer and 4th leading wicket-taker for us across senior cricket this season. He may have relinquished the reigns in the T20 format, but remains a vital cog in that XI, and will probably lead the team through CWC5. There are questions over whether Danial Ahsan should take over as captain in the SOD format as well, but Arif is still relatively young, so we may stick with him as captain until he can no longer justify a spot in the XI and allow Ahsan to develop his skills in the T20s.