Akram: It was just one of those days

Wanstead captain Arfan Akran spoke of his obvious disappointment at losing their first league game of the season at Chingford on Saturday.

Chingford won the toss and elected to bat first, amassing 241 in 61.3 overs.

Usman Sahar was the pick of the visitors bowlers with figures of 5-68, supported by Joe Ellis-Grewal (4-53).

Wanstead hit 101 in reply in 46.1 overs, as Akram top-scored with 38 as they slumped to an uncharacteristic 140-run defeat.

“It was one of those days,” said Akram. “It was raining, there was a wet ball to contend with, if anything was going to go wrong it seemed it did on Saturday.

“Of course I’m disappointed, but a first defeat after eight games is not bad, is it?” he added.

“I’m proud of the boys, they gave it a good shot. It’s not like a cup competition, where you only have one crack at it. We’ll get this one out of the way and learn from it too.

“We had three teenagers on the field and it’s important they take something from the defeat. You learn more from losing than you do when you win”.

Wanstead quickly bounced back with a League Cup win against Harold Wood the following day and Akram was delighted with brother Adnan’s success at the crease.

“It was a great game, but a tough one too. I was delighted with Adnan’s performance in particular, but everyone contributed, playing well as a unit,” he said.

Batting first, Wanstead totalled 279-9 from 45 overs, despite several rain breaks, with Adnam Akram’s knock of 68 the best of the day.

Arfan wasn’t far behind on 66 and the brothers were well supported by Ismail Dar (35), Joe Ellis-Grewal (29), Mahesh Velani (16) and Kishen Velani (16).

Due to the rain, Harold Wood were set a target of 218 from 28 overs in reply.

In the event, they managed 206-7 as Wanstead won the game by 11 runs.