Budo Oval
Budo CC 225/10 Taha Ahmed 81(115) in 49 overs beat Africa 220/10 Daniel Batuwa 73 (70) in 44 overs by 5 runs
Man of Match: Taha Ahmed 81(115), 1/38 in 10 overs
In our match preview we predicted that a shock might be on the cards when Budo and ACC meet for the first time in the history of both sides. In an encounter where ACC were huge favorites the only edge Budo had over them was being the home side.
Budo had lost its 1st two games to Wanderers and Tornado and were yet to get off the mark in the league while ACC was on a roll winning its first two games in a convincing manner.
In a David vs Goliath battle ACC was expected to walk over Budo for their third win of the season but that was not meant to be as Budo notched up a memorable 5 runs victory.
Playing at home for the first time this season everything went to script for Budo who had their season sponsors SYBL watching the game, Budo won the toss and chose to bat first on the small Budo Oval. For a team that has scored a total of just over 190 runs in 2 games they were brave to choose to bat against one of the best bowling sides in Div 2.
With regular captain Abu Mayanja choosing to leave himself out of the side the young Taha Ahmed scored a match winning 81 runs as his side notched up a team high 225 all out.
In the chase ACC kept up with the asking rate and even if they lost wickets at regular intervals with Daniel Batuwa (73) leading the ACC charge, however his half century was in vain as ACC was short by 5 runs.
Budo Captain Abu Mayanja could not hide his excitement in his post match interview
Today has surely proven that anything is possible in a game of cricket.
First home game of the season and in the presence of our sponsors and everything clicked.This was a game that clearly had us as the under dogs but we believed in our selves and our abilities after two dismal performances in the league so far. We knew it was our game to loose after posting a very competitive score of above 200runs and even when it looked like the opposition would use their pedigree to chase it down, we kept on taking wickets at crucial times despite dropping a few chances.
This win will surely send loads of shock waves across our division as it would not only indicate that we are not here to just make up numbers but also to compete favourably.Special credit to Taha Ahmed who anchored the innings and Patrick Oburu who ounce again bowled showed his brilliance with his meticulous swing and change ups. These two boys are surely inking their way into the under19 squad if at all the selectors are following proceedings.
ACC paid the price for under estimating their opponents choosing to rest four key players and in the process missing out on the opportunity to strengthen their grip at the top of the Div 2 table. Budo will be buoyed by their 1st win of the season and Abu Mayanja and his young brigade can build on this for their next games.
