AK11 are champions of the Hunts Indoor League for the 2nd time in their history and the 2nd time in the last 3 years after a one-sided win against closest rivals Bretton at Bushfield Sports Centre. AK11 beat 10 times Indoor League winners Bretton by 6 wickets to win the league with 1 match remaining and to book a place in next year’s ECB National Indoor League tournament. After losing the toss and Bretton deciding to bat it was all one-way traffic from that moment. Bretton collapsed to 8-2 after prolific opening batsman and Cambs Over 50’s player Mark Drake was run out without facing. It soon got worse as a brilliant run out from yet again the exceptional Sufyan Mazhar restricted Bretton to 28-3. Mazhar has had an outstanding indoor season and as well as scoring vital runs and taking vital wickets he always contributes in the field with direct run outs and brilliant catching.
A recovery was launched by Captain Andy Bennett with 27 and 18 each for wicket keeper batsman Luke Marriott and talented teenage batter Tyler Downing.
However, AK captain Muhammad Zahid Nadeem took 2-16 to end Bretton’s innings at 83. AK raced to their victory target of 84 with openers Zaheer Abbas and Abrar Ahmed both retiring under ECB rules with 25 each and other useful middle order contributions saw AK home without losing a wicket with 26 balls of the contest still remaining.
As the ECB National Indoor Tournament for 2025 has already started the winners of the year always represent Huntingdonshire 12 months later so last year’s Hunts Indoor league winners Ufford Park are representing the county in the 2025 ECB National Indoor event.
Pak Azad have moved up to 3rd after a 70 run win against Whittlesey and next Sundays match with Bretton will decide the runners up position. Pak Azad amassed 152 all out from 9.4 overs with opener and captain Abdul Waris leading the way with 34 and he received best support from debutant Arbas Nawaaz with 31 and more regular player Harron Bashir with 30. The Pak Azad team looked like they would score more heavily but Whittlesey bowler Chris White took a hat-trick at the death. Taking an indoor hat-trick is a rarity but White achieved that feat by bowling the first batter, having the second one caught behind by wicket keeper Ian Jones and then a brilliant one-handed catch from captain Josh Fox at mid-wicket sealed the rare indoor achievement for White. White finished with 4-15 from 1.4 overs to record the best bowling figures from any indoor bowler in any team this season. Despite the large Pak Azad total opening bowler James Jackson gave White the best support taking the other two wickets to finish with 2-21.
White also excelled with the bat with both him and Fox retiring with 27, but the innings was undermined by the tightness of the Pak Azad bowlers with Bash Hussain particularly tight and leading the way only conceding 11 runs from his 2 overs and bowling 9 dot balls.
Hampton have moved up to 4th after a high scoring match against city rivals Werrington. Hampton raced out of the blocks scoring 173-2 from their 10 overs with the Hampton opener Mateeh Fayyaz retiring twice and ending up unbeaten on 50 with other very handy support coming from Saad Ashraf (40) and Ali Shah and Rashid Zafar both scoring 26. The Werrington bowlers were very expensive except for their captain Mohammad Toseeq who as well as executing a run out only conceded 15 runs.
Chasing 174 Werrington had the worst possible start and were 7-2 from the first over with both openers dismissed for 0 by Rashid Zafar. However, Werrington quickly recovered with Naveed Ahmed with 56 leading the fightback and receiving good solid support from middle and lower order men Naqash Zaheer (34), Mohammad Toseeq (29), and Khursheed Ahmed with an unbeaten 24. However, when Hampton needed wickets, Zafar returned and he took a second brilliant caught and bowled to end up with 3-14 to see Hampton over the winning line by 7 runs.
Last years Hunts Indoor League champions Ufford Park recorded just their second win of the season with a 48 run against Wansford. After a slow start Ufford smashed 92 runs from the last 5 overs to close out on 158. Waheed Javed and Murad Ali (both with 41) and Shoaib Chaudhry with 23 were the men in form for Ufford, with Wansford bowler Darren Sweary taking 2-17. The Wansford batsman started well but two quick run outs from Murad Ali and wicket keeper Jonathan Bigham pegged them back. Kester Sainsbury (37) and Anish Raju (18) launched a fight back but when Haroon Rafique took 2 wickets in the space of 3 deliveries the game was up and the points were heading to Ufford.
Hunts Indoor League Results – Week 6 – Sunday 19th January 2025
Match 1 – Hampton beat Werrington by 7 runs.
Hampton 173-2 from 10 overs. Mateeh Fayyaz 50 – Retired (3x6 and 3x4), Saad Ashraf 40 (4x6), Ali Shah 26 – Retired (2x6), Rashid Zafar 26 – Retired (2x6 and 2x4), Aurangzaib Tahir 15 not out (1x6)
Werrington 166-3 from 10 overs. Naveed Ahmed 56 (6x6 and 2x4), Naqash Zaheer 34 (1x6 and 2x4), Mohammad Toseeq 29 (3x6 and 2x4), Khursheed Zaheer 24 not out (1x4). Rashid Zafar 3-14.
Match 2 – Ufford Park beat Wansford by 48 runs.
Ufford Park 158 all out from 10 overs. Waheed Javed 41 (3x6 and 1x4), Murad Ali 41 (1x6 and 5x4), Shoaib Chaudhry 23 (2x4). Darren Sweary 2-17.
Wansford 110 all out from 9.4 overs. Kester Sainsbury 37 (2x4), Anish Raju 18, Kelsey Brace 15. Haroon Rafique 2-21.
Match 3 – Pak Azad beat Whittlesey by 70 runs.
Pak Azad 152 all out from 9.4 overs. Abdul Waris 34 (1x6 and 1x4), Arbas Nawaaz 31 (1x4), Haroon Bashir 30 (1x6). Chris White 4-15 including a hat-trick.
Whittlesey 82-3 from 10 overs. Chris White 27 – Retired (1x4), Josh Fox 27 – Retired (1x6 and 2x4), Ian Jones 17 (1x6 and 2x4).
Match 4 – AK11 beat Bretton by 6 wickets.
Bretton 83 all out from 9.5 overs. Andy Bennett 27, Luke Marriott 18 (1x4), Tyler Downing 18 (1x4). Muhammad Zahid Nadeem 2-16.
AK11 87-0 from 5.4 overs. Zaheer Abbas 25 – Retired (2x6), Abrar Ahmed 25 (2x4), Sudheer Jafeer 16 not out (1x4).
LEAGUE TABLE AFTER WEEK 6:
1st – AK11 P6, W6, L0, 18 points, 35 opposition wickets taken
2nd – Bretton P6, W4, L2, 12 points, 27 opposition wickets taken
3rd - Pak Azad P6, W4, L2, 12 points, 26 opposition wickets taken
4th - Hampton P6, W3, L3, 9 points, 22 opposition wickets taken
5th - Werrington P6, W3, L3, 9 points, 16 opposition wickets taken
6th - Ufford Park P6, W2, L4, 6 points, 28 opposition wickets taken
7th - Wansford P6, W2, L4, 6 points, 20 opposition wickets taken
8th - Whittlesey P6, W0, L6, 0 points, 16 opposition wickets taken
