A battle for pride as the gallant Intellectuals face La Manga for 5th place honours at the Dream11 European Cricket Series.
A battle for pride as the gallant Intellectuals face La Manga for 5th place honours at the Dream11 European Cricket Series.
La Manga salvaged some pride with a narrow win over Madrid United in their final group game, but ultimately lost out on net run rate for a prized last four spot. La Manga did show great spirit in that game and will be confident of handing the Intellectuals another tough lesson in T10 cricket, despite the absence of Adam Alger.
Spanish international Ravi Panchal is long overdue with bat and ball, while man-mountain Stuart Simkins and Ollie Jarvis made up for the absence of star player Alger with some lusty blows last time out. A limping Joel Brook is gamely struggling with injury and may slip further down the order. Bowling wise, Connor Wood and Ollie Jarvis finally came to the party in the Dream11 European Cricket Series with a pair of miserly spells.
Going into this game following five straight defeats, the Intellectuals are sadly far from enjoying this first venture into the high-octane world of T10 cricket, but did show much improved form with the bat against Levante. Ismail and Usman Baig both continue to make useful contributions with bat and ball, while Nadeem Muhammad has also shown up well at the top of the order for the Intellectuals. Hassan Askari was the pick of the Intellectuals bowlers initially, including an impressive spell of 3-8 off two overs against the Pinatar Pirates.
The Intellectuals, having just fallen agonisingly short once again against Levante, may struggle to raise their game against La Manga for this Dream11 European Cricket Series 5th place playoff.
