Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Concordia University
Saturday 16 June 2012
Tez Says…
Photo by Kat Roche

Manoj Mridha produced an impressive display with bat and ball to steer Pirates of St Lawrence to a four-wicket win over Concordia University in a tight clash that proved opposite to the one-sided affair earlier in the season.

Mridha’s energetic performance saw the modest all-rounder finish with four wickets, three catches and 48 runs as the Pirates secured their fifth win from eight matches this summer.

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but on another sweltering day at The Candy Fields, temperatures – and at times emotions – ran high as the Pirates reached the 179-run target with just four balls to spare, reversing the 10-wicket drubbing suffered at the hands of Concordia last month.

The Pirates were guided home by New Zealander Richie Horne, who finished unbeaten after a composed 39, while Matt Roberts (29) proved a vital anchor for the home side after the loss of a several early wickets.

The weather has been good to cricket in Montreal this summer, the city’s world-renowned construction workers less so. Escaping from Montreal Island can be a challenge akin to water-boarding, but it takes more than a few mafia bungs to halt Quebec’s oldest surviving sport.

”Montreal’s traffic is an absolute disgrace and I’ll be talking to the City about it – they could at least look at setting up special traffic lanes for the players for the remainder of the season,” said outraged Pirates skipper Angus Bell.

”They are doing it in London for the Olympic Games this summer and – mafia aside – I see no reason why they cannot introduce them in Montreal.

”You never hear about the Canadiens turning up late because of traffic problems, and cricket was played in Montreal long before ice hockey. We don’t want to resort to manifestations but it is high time something was done.”

With the match delayed by 90 minutes, Concordia elected to bat after winning the toss and survived a number of uncomfortable moments against the Pirates openers to reach 50 for the loss of one wicket.

The Pirates certainly had their chances in the field, and left-armer Sadman Islam was unlucky not to finish with better figures. But it was only after Mridha was introduced as third change did the home side start to see some reward for their efforts.

With elegant keeper Horne standing up to Mridha’s tight medium pacers, the Pirates quickly made inroads into Concordia’s top-order. Mridha’s eight overs included the crucial scalps of opener Abis (41) and star batsmen and skipper Raheel (3).

It was then the turn of Bell (three for 28 off 8 overs) to scuttle Concordia’s middle order with his pinpoint leg-breaks, while opener Matthew Legault chipped in with three wickets, including Concordia’s top-scorer Zaeem for 52.

Early indications from the Pirates innings pointed to another comfortable victory for Concordia, as the home side struggled against the bounce of Umar and the spin of Jawad to reach 42-4.

But for the second time in the match, Mridha’s introduction turned the course of the game as he went after the Concordia spinners from the start.

Mridha eventually fell to Jawad after hitting 48 off 59 balls, and it was left to Horne to see the Pirates safely home.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Concordia University
Saturday 16 June 2012
The Candy Fields, Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Match type: 40 overs per side (11 wickets)
Weather conditions: Surprisingly sweaty out of the shade
Toss won by: Concordia University
Result: Pirates of the St Lawrence won by 4 wickets

Concordia Innings

Extras 31 (Byes 3, Leg Byes 3, No Balls 2, Wides 23)
Total 178 for 11 in 35 overs

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Extras 27 (Byes 6, Leg Byes 2, No Balls 2, Wides 17)
Total 179 for 7 in 39.2 overs

FoW (1-5, 2-8, 3-23, 4-42, 5-112, 6-142, 7-168)