Dharmesh Tyagi hit a massive 162 as Ashdod 'A' outplayed their local rivals Young Ashdod in a high scoring game played in Ashdod on Saturday. Ashdod 'A' put behind their miserable start to the season to score a mammoth 291/6 in their allocated 40 overs, with Dharmesh receiving support from skipper Hillel Awasker (42) and opener Gershon Wasker (41), who together with the big hitting Dharmesh added 137 for the 2nd wicket. Rubin Girad took 3 for 67 as the Young Ashod bowlers were punished to all parts of the ground.

Chasing such a total was never going to be within the reach of the Young Ashdod batsman, but they can be commended on a useful batting performance of their own. Raymond Ashton, still recovering from a foot injury, scored an excellent century, finishing undefeated on 102, while Avi Talkar added 50 not out. Despite their efforts, Dharmesh had already decided the outcome of the game, and Young Ashdod completed their 40 overs on 226 for 4, giving Ashdod A their first win of the season, by 65 runs.

Pacemen win it for Tel Aviv

At the top end of the table, Tel Aviv hosted Be'er Sheva at Hadar Yosef. A fiery opening spell of bowling from Herschel Gutman and Paul Thomas left the Be'er Sheva top order in disaray at 10 for 5, as they chased the Tel Aviv score of 147. Having been sent into bat by the visitors Tel Aviv got off to a good start with Dani Malyenkar (32) and Steve Leigh (15) adding 62 for the first wicket. Frank Auger scored an invaluable 24 but Tel Aviv would have been somewhat dissapointed with their 147 all out in 33 overs. Yoel Tsurilar took 4 wickets for Be'er Sheva. Whatever satisfaction Be'er Sheva may have had at the break was quickly erased as Thomas with 4 wickets and Gutman with 1, reduced the Be'er Sheva innings to tatters within the first 6 overs. Thomas sent down a fine spell of outswing bowling whilst Gutman bowled at a pace not seen for years in Israel. Although the lower order did launch some sort of recovery, with Yisrael Ben scoring 39, the damage had been done and, with Avner Greenberg picking up 3 wickets, including a terrific caught and bowled, they were eventually all out for 101, giving Tel Aviv victory by 46 runs.

Lod Lions tamed, but too strong for Netanya

In Friday's game, Lod Lions held on to beat Netanya by 10 runs in a very tense game played at Hadar Yosef. Having won the toss and decided to bat, Lod, welcoming back wicketkeeper Gidon Talkar after more than a year out of the game having undergone heart surgery, started their innings rather shakily, losing both openers within the first 10 overs. But a 67-run 3rd wicket stand between the Massil brothers, Isaac and David, got the innings back on track. The dismissal of Isaac for 29 brought Annim Solomon to the wicket. His first ball was edged through a vacant slip area for four and his second sailed over the square leg boundary for six. He continued his aggressive hitting through his innings, and although David (50) and Solomon (51) were both dismissed towards the close of the innings, Lod managed to reach a respectable 223/8 in their 40 overs.

Much like the Lod start, Netanya also lost 2 early wickets as the Massil brothers shared the new ball. Despite the poor start to the run chase, Rafi Zauer played extremely positively, using his cut shot to especially good effect, and together with Solly Bergman, Netanya edged towards their target. The dismissal of Zauer for 55 brought Adrian Vard to the wicket to join Bergman. Before being adjudged leg before wicket, Vard scored a fluent 32, leaving Netanya to score 56 off the final 10 overs. With Lod employing the negative tactics of posting all 9 fielders on the boundaries and wickets falling as the run rate required climbed, Netanya closed their innings on 213 for 8, with Bergman out in the final over having scored 56. Isaac Massil (3/34) and Yefet Nagavkar (2/46) were the pick of a disciplined Lod bowling attack.

© ISR