SHL Division Two Old Albanian 229 lost to Luton Town & Indians 230-1 by nine wickets OLD Albanian were forced to rue missed opportunities as they went down to a nine wicket defeat. Stand-in skipper Tom Preest lost the toss and OACC were asked to bat fir

SHL Division Two

Old Albanian 229 lost to Luton Town & Indians 230-1 by nine wickets

OLD Albanian were forced to rue missed opportunities as they went down to a nine wicket defeat.

Stand-in skipper Tom Preest lost the toss and OACC were asked to bat first on a cloudy afternoon with brighter weather forecast for later on.

A depleted OA posted a competitive score of 229 after being invited to bat by championship-chasing Luton Town & Indians.

After losing Richardson in the second over, Corran (23) and Foster (23) added 44 for the second wicket.

Shortly afterwards, Roy came to the crease with the score 54-3 in the 16th over and his magnificent 97 formed the cornerstone of the OA innings.

A partnership of 75 for the fifth wicket with the belligerent Smithers (39), and another 75 partnership for the sixth wicket with Simon Gray (23) took OA beyond the 200 mark.

Roy was finally caught on the mid-wicket boundary in the 51st over with the score on 219, seeking the runs for his first 100 of the season.

Thereafter the OA's tail perished in the quest for quick runs and the innings ended at 229 with the final wicket falling on the penultimate ball.

Luton Town & Indians began their reply with the sun starting to come out, and Knott and Page soon showed that the wicket was a good one for batting.

Some loose OA bowling was severely punished as 145 were added for the first wicket in 30 overs before Knott played on to Preest to be bowled for 65.

Both openers had been dropped when the score was in the 70s, and OA were made to pay for these missed chances. Cooray (34no) and Page (94no) then took Luton Town & Indians to the winning post in the final over without further loss.

Although Cooray was another batsman to be given a life, when Gray missed a sharp caught and bowled chance late in the innings, the result never looked in doubt, and only Corran gave the opposition batsmen much to think about with a spell of nine overs for 27 runs.