MLC 2023: How did the international players fare in Washington Freedom vs San Francisco Unicorns, Match 11?
Washington Freedom locked horns with San Francisco Unicorns during the 11th match of the 2023 MLC edition, which turned out to be a low-scoring thriller. The much-awaited contest took place on July 23 at Church Street Park in Morrisville.
After finishing the first innings with a very low score of 133, many would have written Washington Freedom off. But the surface was on the sluggish side and had something in it for the bowlers.
Saurabh Netravalkar came all guns blazing and finished the game by producing astonishing figures of 6/9 to obliterate the San Francisco batting unit.
Corey Anderson and Aaron Finch tried to steady the ship during the middle overs, but their efforts went in vain. The Unicorns could not survive the onslaught from the Washington bowlers and were soon bundled out for 103.
Mukhtar Ahmed (WAF)
Ahmed had a forgettable day as he could not get going with the bat. In his very short stay at the crease, he scored just one run and was dismissed on the fourth ball that he faced from Haris Rauf.
Glenn Phillips (WAF)
Phillips became a victim of Haris Rauf who castled him with a stunning yorker that sent his off stump for a walk. He failed to open his account and could only survive for three deliveries.
Moises Henriques (WAF)
The skipper played a vital role with the bat and the ball. He scored a cautious 30 (27) which helped Washington stay afloat during the middle overs. Besides, he was very tidy with the ball also. Although he went wicketless, Henriques only leaked 9 runs in his 3 overs and bowled 10 dot balls.
Akeal Hosein (WAF)
Akeal made a small contribution with the bat, scoring 7 (7) which featured a solitary boundary. However, he was more potent with the ball today, returning figures of 1/14 while being highly economical. He picked up the big wicket of Aaron Finch during the 13th over which turned the tide in favor of Washington.
Marco Jansen (WAF)
Jansen smacked some lusty blows in the back end of the innings to ensure Washinton had sufficient runs on the board. He played a dazzling cameo of 19 (15) which featured two boundaries.
However, the left-arm pacer proved to be a touch expensive as his allotted 4 overs cost him 35 runs and yielded just 1 wicket in the form of Corey Anderson.
Dane Piedt (WAF)
Dane Piedt stayed till the end with Marco Jansen and played a decent cameo of 12 (10) to drag Washington over the 130-mark. He was brilliant with the ball as well, his two overs costing just 6 runs, which also brought him a wicket of Tajinder Singh.
Anrich Nortje (WAF)
Nortje bowled a fine spell and picked up a solitary wicket of Finn Allen while going at just 6 RPO. In his entire spell, he bowled 12 dot balls and did not concede a single extra.
Finn Allen (SFU)
Allen got a start after smashing three quick boundaries. But his stay came to a premature end during the third over as he looked to take Nortje on. In the end, he could score only 13 of 9 balls.
Matthew Wade (SFU)
Wade could not get up and running this time as his innings was cut short by Netravalkar, who dismissed him for just 8 (10) during the 6th over of the game. Besides, he took one solitary catch off the bowling of Stoinis to dismiss Henriques.
Marcus Stoinis (SFU)
Stoinis bowled a fine spell with the ball upfront, earning figures of 1/23 at 5.75 RPO. He managed to bowl 13 dots in his spell. However, he perished early with the bat as he could only score 3(6) before being bamboozled by Netravalkar during the fourth over.
Shadab Khan (SFU)
Shadab Khan went wicketless in his entire spell, conceding 32 runs at 8 RPO. Besides, he could not produce much with the bat either as he became one of the many victims of Netravalkar, perishing for a duck.
Corey Anderson (SFU)
Corey bowled a one-off over in the first innings, which cost him and his side 10 runs while his wickets column was blank. He showed great intent with the bat and tried to rescue his side by scoring a gutsy 34(34). He fell to Jansen during the 17th over of the second innings.
Aaron Finch (SFU)
Finch tried to support Anderson at the other end and played a painful innings of 14 (28) which came at a very slow strike rate of 50. He was undone by a loopy delivery from Hosein during the 13th over of the second innings.
Liam Plunkett (SFU)
Plunkett had an impressive outing with the ball as he returned figures of 2/24 from his allotted 4 overs. He struck during the middle and later phases of the game by removing Hosein and Pienaar. He couldn’t add a lot of runs with the bat as he was dismissed for 5 (8) by Netravalkar.
Haris Rauf (SFU)
Rauf looked in good rhythm in today’s game as he grabbed 3 wickets while going at just 5 RPO in his allotted overs. In his entire 4-over spell, he only conceded 1 boundary and bowled 10 dots in total. He got a chance to bat at the fag end of the second innings but was immediately dismissed by Netravalkar for a golden duck.
Note: Domestic players playing for the USA team have not been featured in the article