Victorious Vale hit their way out of trouble
London Maccabi Vale secured their first league victory of the season in a dramatic encounter with UCS Old Boys that went down to the final few balls of the match.
Requiring 30 runs to win off the last five overs, Vale were indebted to the big-hitting exploits of Benjamin Lederman and Rafi Saville, the latter of whom guided them to a nail-biting triumph thanks to a blistering cameo. Saville’s unbeaten 20 off just 13 balls secured the victory with an over to spare, and backed up earlier good work with the bat by Lederman (61) and by Vale’s impressive bowling unit.
Having suffered defeat in their first match of the Chess Valley League Division One campaign away to Brondesbury, Vale returned to their Rowley Lane fortress and were excellent as they bowled first against UCS Old Boys.
Steven Allweis and Rayno GreenwallCohen set the tone from the outset, with the pair both delivering outstanding opening spells that reduced the visitors to 18-2 off 13 overs.
There was no let up in pressure as Jonny Gould and Neil Lederman entered the attack, with all four bowlers used at that stage taking wickets to leave UCS stuttering on 47-4 at the half-way stage of their innings.
Two run-outs firmly established Vale’s authority, but the inevitable fightback from the visitors happened as they themselves out of a 75-7 shaped hole. With some powerful hitting late on, UCS closed on 141-7 from their allotted 45 overs — a decent return but one that nevertheless left Vale in a dominant position.
More than 25 per cent of Vale’s overs had been maidens, such was the unrelenting accuracy of the LMV attack, and the home side would have backed themselves to knock off the total in relative comfort.
The chase, however, did not pan out entirely as planned. A hamstring injury to opener Danny Caro, who had also kept wicket, affected the Vale’s momentum as he retired injured, while a mid-innings collapse saw Vale slump to 70-4. Benjamin Lederman
held the innings together as he curbed his natural aggression to inch Vale closer to the finishing line. When he was dismissed in the final few overs, the tension increased
— and with the required run rate rising, Vale needed a saviour.
Saville strode to the crease and swung the game in LMV’s favour by striking two fours and one six to close out the match. LMV captain Neil Lederman finished unbeaten on 11, with Saville hitting 20 not out as Vale scraped home with six balls and four wickets remaining. From a position of authority at the interval, the team had made life more nerve-racking than needed but Vale showed their character to seal the win and get their CVL campaign off the ground.