Sagittarius Strikers: 157/6 (20/20 ov)
Virgo Super Kings: 131/9 (20/20 ov)
Sagittarius Strikers won by 26 runs
Man of the Match: Shane Bond
Umpires: PJ Hartley (England) and BV Taylor (England)
Match referee: RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
DUBAI // Graeme Smith might have gone cool on that idea of a comeback after starting the Oxigen Masters Champions League with a duck and a defeat for Virgo Super Kings.
A few of his former counterparts should be seriously contemplating the idea for themselves, though. Mahela Jayawardene and Shane Bond, in particular, looked like a perfect representation of their former selves, as they excelled on their masters debuts.
Jayawardene struck a crisp, 47-ball 69 on an equally crisp and chilly evening at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, to set the game up for Sagittarius Strikers.
Virgo’s reply never got started once Bond, the former New Zealand fast-bowler, collected three wickets at the top of the order, including that of captain Smith.
The former South Africa batsman has twice stated in the build up to the MCL that he is mulling the idea of a return to playing competitively.
He did not do much to bolster that idea, though, having been caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Bond off the fifth ball he faced.
In front of a paltry crowd in Dubai Sports City, action on the second day of MCL was lukewarm at best. Neither match finished in a contest, as Sagittarius and Leo Lions – who beat Capricorn Commanders – eased to comfortable wins. Even the two victors will be hoping for better things in the coming games.
The home contingent have yet to get their chance, either.
One of the stated aims of the MCL was to give players from beyond the Test sphere a share of the limelight.
Each team was required to have some presence from Associate or Affiliate nations. As a UAE-owned, created and hosted competition, players from this country have not been overlooked.
Khurram Khan, Mohammed Tauqir and Saqib Ali, three players who have been national team mainstays for the past decade, each landed one of the generous contracts to play in the MCL.
Not one of them featured in the opening round of matches, though.
More than most, Sagittarius could well have done with Khurram’s expertise and local knowledge against Virgo.
Despite Jayawardene’s excellence at the top of the order, Sagittarius stuttered through to the end of their 20 overs.
Khurram might have made a difference.
In the end, he had to make do with a cameo as a fielding substitute, and he held a catch to dismiss Azhar Mahmood off Daniel Vettori’s bowling.
It mattered little in the final count up, though. Bond, who is now 40 and last played an international six years ago, bowled his four-over quota consecutively at the start of the innings. He finished with three for 22, and sent down a maiden. Virgo were never in it thereafter.
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