Haverford College Cricket: Scores/Summaries

2005 Cricket Scores/Summaries

HAVERFORD -- Haverford College Cricket reigns supreme in its ancient sport of cricket in the region after a big victory in the finals of the Philadelphia College Classic last Sunday on Cope Field. The XI finished its fall season 8-0 after a surprisingly-easy win over Temple University 113-112 with six wickets to spare.

Haverford bowling was spectacular as Temple was dismissed at 112 all out. Frosh Harsh Mehta took three wickets for only 16 runs while classmate Munik Shrestha captured two for only 17. Captain Sartaj Bhuiyan '06 who took home the MVP trophy for the final destroyed two more Owl wickets for 36.

Bhuiyan and playing coach Kamran Khan led the Fords' assault on Temple's offensive total with 17 and 36 runs, respectively.

Shrestha (from Nepal) narrowly edged Bhuiyan (Bangladesh) in season batting stats, 251 runs (41.83 per innings) to 248 (41.33). Frosh Adil Khan (United Arab Emirates) at 15.60 and Rohan Dalal '08 (India) were also in double figures at 15.60 and 11.25. Shrestha and Bhuiyan twice hit or exceeded 50 runs in an innings, with Shrestha recording a century at 115.

In the bowling, Shrestha and Bhuiyan staked their claim as two of the best all-rounders in Haverford's 141 years of competitive cricket. Munik took 12 wickets while surrendering 94 runs in 33 overs, a 7.8 run per game average, while Sartaj mowed down 21 wickets in 39.2 overs, an 8.3 RPG average. Mehta (India) also made his mark in bowling with 16 wickets taken in 39.4 overs, a 9.8 RPG average.

Congratulations to the XI, which now sets its sights on the spring season and the Philadelphia Cricket Festival in early May. In addition to the players who did so well so far, Haverford may be able to add another frosh star, a native of Pakistan who intends to matriculate as soon as immigration formalities are completed.

10/2/05 Haverford scored 215 runs all out; Lehigh scored 126 runs all out

HAVERFORD -- Haverford's undefeated cricket XI took no prisoners this weekend, destroying all ten wickets against both rivals, Villanova and Lehigh, to win their 5th and 6th consecutive fall matches and establish themselves as a favorite for the Cricket College Classic being held for the first time this season.

Villanova batted first on Saturday at Cope Field, posting 115 runs before the fine bowling of Sartaj Bhuiyan '06 (4 wickets for 31 off 7 overs) and Munik Shrestha '09 (2 wickets for 18 off 5 overs) helped close out the Wildcats' innings.

That was not a huge total for the Fords to chase, but the surprise was they got there so quickly, losing only two wickets. Bhuiyan had 48, Shrestha 39 before being caught at the boundary (similar to an outfielder pulling back a home run from the stands), and Adil Khan '09 22.

In the Sunday game at Cope, the Fords put up a huge 215, and the Mountain Hawks fell 89 runs short as Bhuiyan (4 wickets for 28 off 7 overs), frosh Harsh Mehta (3 wickets for 20 off 7 overs) and Rohan Dalal '08 (3 wickets for 16 off 4 overs) bowled like demons.

Bhuiyan also scored his career high with 77 runs, giving him 125 runs scored and eight wickets taken for the weekend, one of the best two-day all-round performances in Haverford's long cricket history. Frosh Alex Davies, with both Great Britain and California in his background, made a sensational diving catch while Doug Genna '06 was a superb wicket-keeper all weekend, handling the spinners from the bowling staff with aplomb.

The Bombay Blasters, now re-dubbed the Mumbai Machine, rhinie Karan Shah (17 runs) and Dalal (15), made useful offensive contributions.

10/25/05 Haverford 146 runs all out (34.1 overs); Temple U. 129 runs all
out (33 overs)

HAVERFORD--HC Cricket (4-0) staked its claim as one of the finer squads in Haverford history with a double win over the weekend. The matches on Cope Field supplied some classic cricket as three of the four team batting opportunities ended with XIs entirely retired, an extreme rarity in one-day cricket.

Munik Shrestha '09, scored an unbeaten 115 runs to lead Haverford to its huge 229 total vs. F&M. Shrestha's century was the first for Haverford since Jay Mehra in 1999. His opening partnership with captain Sartaj Bhuiyan '06 produced 85 runs with Bhuiyan
providing 31. Adil Kahn '09, from the United Arab Emirates, chipped in with 22 vital runs at the end of the innings.

Vice-captain Anirudh Suri '06 removed the dangerous Diplomat openers early on with some fine bowling, while classmate Harsh Mehta whipped away two more wickets for 40 runs, leaving it to closer Bhuiyan who took four wickets for a mere 17 runs in four overs.

On Sunday, different heroes emerged as Shrestha and Bhuiyan were dismissed early on. Given the age distribution on the Temple squad, the Fords were allowed to use ageless Kamran Khan in their lineup, and the coach gave his lads quite a hitting lesson, tallying 85 runs to put the Fords over the top.

Chagrined by their batting defeat, Shrestha (3 wickets for 14 off six overs) and Bhuiyan (3 for 33 off seven overs) showed their all-round talents with brilliant bowling.

These matches are part of the first Philadelphia Collegiate Cricket Tourney, and the Fords have established themselves as the team to beat.

9/18/05 Haverford 166 runs for five wickets off 35 overs; Cornell U. 164 runs for seven wickets off 35 overs

HAVERFORD -- A thrilling final-over 166-164 victory for Haverford Cricket over Cornell University Sunday on Cope Field marked an exciting and gratifying opening weekend of the 2005-06 fall season. Rohan Dalal '08 (43 runs), captain Sartaj Bhuiyan '06 (22) and frosh Alex Davies (20) led Haverford's offense which surpassed Cornell's total with only a few balls left to play.

Another rhinie, Harsh Mehta, showed outstanding bowling form, taking three wickets for 39 runs while Bhuiyan captured two wickets for 30 runs.

In the alumni match, Bhuiyan (51) and frosh Munik Shrestha (50) both retired at the half-century mark not out to give others a chance. Adil Kahn '09 and Ike Nwaneshuidu '07 also saw their wickets uncaptured, for 21 and nine runs, respectively. Tariq Khondker '05 led the grads with 38 runs.

Former Haverford captain Nick Saunders '01 showed he hasn't lost his touch at bowling, winning three wickets for a minuscule 14 runs while Neil Kahrim '04 took one wicket. Senior Anirudh Suri took three wickets for 16 runs for the Varsity with Nwaneshiudu capturing two for 13. The athletic and versatile Shrestha retired four Alums with catches, which for those unfamiliar with cricket is comparable to one outfielder in baseball being responsible for half the outs in one game!