JEDDAH — Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) clinched the first berth in the semifinals of the SCC National T20 Championship, beating Jeddah Cricket Association (JCA) and Madina Cricket League (MCL) in the super six round at WPCA complex here Wednesday. The matches were scheduled to be played at JCA Complex, north of Jeddah, but due to severe sand storm, the umpires and the tournament organizing committee decided to move them to the WPCA cricket complex. “This is the first time such a tournament has ever been played, uniting all 9 associations together under the banner of Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC),” said Nadeem Nadwi, Chief Executive of SCC. YACA created the biggest upset when it beat the home team WPCA by 6 runs in a tense match. Batting first, YACA piled up 194 in the allotted 18 overs with Nadeem Al-Nadwi scoring a blistering 41 in the first 6 overs. Afzal and Nadeem Javaid contributed 57 and 46, respectively, while Abdullah Khan scored 18. In reply, WPCA was well ahead until the 16th over when it needed only 22 runs in 12 balls with 5 wickets in hand, to win the crucial match and qualify for the semifinals as earlier in the day it had beaten Eastern Province Cricket Association (EPCA) by 47 runs. But the WPCA batsmen panicked and lost 5 wickets in just 14 runs to lose the thriller. Scores: YACA 194 all out in 18 overs (Nadeem 41, Afzazl 57, Nadeem Javaid 46, Abdullah Khan 18, Shoib Ali 3-41, Aijaz Sagher 3-31, Kashif 2-6). WPCA 188-7 (Shafiq 13, Kashif 28, Abid Naseem 54, Waqas 54, Babar 23, Nadeem Javaid 3-23, Afzal 2-43, Sarfraz and Nadeem Al-Nadwi one wicket apiece). In another match, RCA beat Madina Cricket League (MCL) by 4 wickets. It reached the target of 173 in just 15.3 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Nadeem Babar (25 not out) guided young and dynamic Abdul Qadir, who scored a magnificent 52 not out, to make sure RCA qualify for the semifinals. Earlier, RCA beat Jeddah Cricket Association (JCA) by a big margin of 77 runs. Scores: MCL 172-7 in 18 overs (Sajid 78, Yunus 41 not out, Abdul Wahid 4-26, Abdul Wahab 1-36, Nadeem Babar 1-34, Ali Shahid 1-41). RCA 173-6 in 15.4 overs (Abdul Qadir 52 not out, Nadeem Babar 25 not out, Omar 3-38, Abid 1-30, Sajid 1-42).
