Shahzad Wins Year
with MCC YCs
Zain Shahzad has been selected as the second
Wisden City Cup player to join MCC Young Cricketers and become a professional.
Shahzad, aged 20, comes from east London and has played for London Tigers in the WCC competition, bowling at a brisk pace and batting down the order.
It was in the 2012 match between MCC Young Cricketers and the Wisden City Cup Combined XI that Shahzad first impressed MCC Head Coach Mark Alleyne.
Bowling quickly down the slope at Grace Road in last year’s 20-over match, Shahzad pegged MCC YCs back at the start of their innings, and reduced them to 17 for three with the help of Diyapan Paul, who bowled his offbreaks up the slope.
Paul, 18, won the contract last year to become the MCC Young Cricketer, but Shahzad made a big enough impression to be monitored this season – even though he had injury problems and played only one WCC game - and to be offered the contract for 2013 by Mark Alleyne.
Paul, meanwhile, did so well in his first year at Lord’s that he has been offered a six-month extension to take him through until the end of the 2013 season.
And more WCC players are due to attend the next MCC trials at Lord’s in early December.
Sunday 16th September
at Leicestershire County Cricket Club
LEICESTER v SURREY
LEICESTER THE BEST!
London South 115-9
Leicester 116-8 (19.3 overs)
Leicester won by two wickets in the last over
to win the second WCC
inter-city cup final.
It was exactly the same result as last year when they
beat London North/Middlesex, but this time they beat London South/Surrey.
On a Grace Road pitch that had something for everyone, London South were
pegged back by Leicester's three spinners, with the offspin of Nil Patel and
J Ghandi outstanding. The visitors' total of 115-9 owed much to their
keeper/bat J Patterson who hit 46 not out.
Leicester stumbled to 28-4 against the whippy pace of Asif Muhammadi,
originally from Afghanistan, who took 3-19, while Patterson made four
dismissals behind the stumps.
A partnership of 49 between Zain Mir and N Rana took Leicester to 92-5
before three more wickets fell, but Rana's 35 took Leicester to victory with
3 balls and 2 wickets to spare.
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The Winners with Shiv Thakor
***
MCC Young Cricketers
v
WCC Combined XI
MCC YC beat WCC XI by 73 runs
MCC 183 - 4
WCC XI 110 - 6
In the match between MCC Young Cricketers and the WCC Combined XI, the
professionals proved too good. Last year MCC YCs won by only eight runs but
this time they won comfortably by 73 runs.
MCC YCs scored 183-4 from their 20 overs. Their early acceleration came from
the lefthanded Will Root, younger brother of Yorkshire's Joe, who hit 33
from 24 balls with several reverse-sweeps. Big hitting from Hose and
Southgate rammed home their advantage.
In reply Sunny Patel hit some fine coverdrives and made the highest score of
the day, 49 off 44 balls with eight fours. He had earlier bowled three overs
of leftarm spin to take 1-24.
Patel, from Leicester, shared a stand of 65 with Akash Patel of Luton, who
also kept wicket for the WCC Combined XI. But the required rate rose to
become impossible and wickets fell to the legspin of Andy Clarke and the
offspin of Diyapan Paul, the first WCC player to be chosen as a MCC YC - and
who has been contracted already for a second year.
THE WINNERS OF THE
COUNTY GAMES
Leicester
Picture to come
Jigar Naik Trophy won by
Barclays Eagles
*
London North/Middlesex
Reg Scarlett Trophy won by
Wilf's Flyers
*
London South/Surrey
Alex Tudor Trophy won by
Wandsworth Rams
*
Luton
Monty Panesar Trophy won by
Hurricanes
Wisden City Cup 2012 
