SACA V SOMERSET - MATCH REPORT (27-29 April 2026)

RESULT: SACA WON BY 41 RUNS

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After securing a comprehensive 151-run win over Worcestershire last week at Moseley Cricket Club, SACA were back in action this week at the same venue, with Somerset providing the opposition in another three-day red-ball clash.

SACA skipper Ismail Mohammed won the toss and duly elected to bat first, with Daniyal Khan and Aum Patel opening up to face the new ball.

31 runs had been added for the opening wicket before Patel, who came into the game as SACA’s second highest run scorer this season (313 runs at an average of 52.20), edged to first slip for 17 off 34 balls, with number three Jay Madan falling seven overs later for 10 off 28 with the score on 48 for 2.

Another of SACA’s in-form batters, Feroze Khushi, who was averaging 55.20 ahead of this game, also fell before the lunch interval, edging to the keeper for 2 from 17 balls, leaving SACA on 78 for 3 at lunch.

Early in the afternoon session Daniyal Khan brought up his first-half-century of the summer, with the milestone being reached patiently off 114 balls, as he and Ajay Khunti added 64 for the fourth wicket, before Khunti was well caught at mid-off for 36 off 54 deliveries, with SACA on 130 for 4.

Skipper Mohammed added 35 for the fifth wicket with Khan before the former chipped one to mid-wicket to depart for 24 off 41 balls, with SACA on 165 for 5 and needing someone to build a partnership with Khan, who was holding firm and now on 68*.

Sinel Gunarathne was unable to stay with him, as he was trapped in front for 2, with the SACA score on 174 for 6 at tea and Khan still at the crease on 75*.

The highlight of the evening session was Khan bringing up his well-deserved hundred, with the opener reaching three figures off 193 deliveries in an innings that included ten boundaries and four maximums. His milestone came in a crucial seventh wicket partnership with Rishan Herath, as the pair 71 runs to take SACA to 247 for 7 before Khan’s superb innings came to an end, holing out to deep long-on for 125 off 229 deliveries.

The final three wickets added 36 further runs to the SACA total, with Herath making 35 from 76 deliveries, Anuj Malik making 5 from 21 and Manraj Johal 10 from 17, as SACA posted a first innings total of 281.

With just five overs remaining in the day, Somerset’s openers successfully saw the day out, finishing on 26 without loss.

The morning session of day two belonged to the SACA bowlers, who bowled superbly to pick up seven Somerset wickets, with the left-arm seam of Jaskaran Singh striking first just four overs into the day to reduce Somerset to 40 for 1.

Sachin Sivanandan then got in on the act, dismissing the Somerset numbers two, three and four, in a superb spell that saw the right-arm seamer return figures of 3 for 33 from 8 overs.

Aum Patel’s spin then turned the screw even more on Somerset, picking up two wickets to reduce Somerset to 115 for 6, before Anuj Malik finished off a fine morning’s work with another, as Somerset went in to lunch on 120 for 7, trailing SACA by 161 runs.

Just four overs into the restart and Malik struck again, with Somerset staring down the barrel of a big first innings deficit, on 144 for 8.

26 runs were added for the ninth wicket, before Manraj Johal got his reward, trapping top-scorer Price in front for 36 and reducing Somerset to 170 for 9.

The innings was wrapped up just two overs later at a little before 2.30pm with Somerset bowled out inside 50 overs. Ajay Khunti, fresh from a seven-fer against Worcestershire in SACA’s last game, was the man to finish things off, with Somerset posting 170 and SACA carrying a 111-run lead into the second innings.

Patel and Khan got the SACA second innings off to a solid enough start, adding 42 for the first wicket, before Patel was caught behind for 16, bringing Jay Madan to the crease, who with Khan, steered things through to the tea interval with SACA on 55 for 1 and the lead extended to 166.

Khan and Madan had successfully taken the score on to 73 in the evening session before Somerset fought back, picking up four SACA wickets in the space of four overs, to throw the game wide open again.

First to go was Khan, for a well worked 41 off 70 balls, followed by Khushi for a duck, Madan for 13 and Mohammed for 5, as SACA fell to 80 for 5, leading by 191 runs.

Left arm spinner Harvey Richards had done most of the damage, picking up four of those first five wickets, and he had his fifth soon after, as Gunarathne became his next victim, out for 4, with SACA on 92 for 6.

Khunti and Herath set about restoring some order for SACA and batted watchfully, adding a vital 49 runs for the seventh wicket before Herath was bowled by Richards, followed by Malik just two overs later, run out for 2.

Singh (0*) and Khunti (24*) saw things through to the close with SACA on 146 for 8 and the lead standing at 257.

The final day began with Singh and Khunti adding a further 28 runs to the overnight score before Khunti was bowled three short of a half-century, with his 47 coming off 102 balls, with the SACA score on 174 for 9 and the lead standing at 285.

The final pair of Singh and Chinmay Mullapudi added a further 23 runs for the last wicket before Singh departed for an important 27 from 37 balls, with SACA bowled out for 197, setting Somerset a victory target of 309 runs from 85 overs remaining on the final day.

Singh and Mullapudi took the new ball, but it was the first bowling change that brought the breakthrough, with Sivanandan striking once in the eighth over, and then again two overs later, to reduce Somerset to 37 for 2, before the visitors went in to lunch on 66 for 2, still 243 runs short of their target.

It took Malik just three overs to make the breakthrough in the afternoon session, before Mullapudi followed his lead with another as Somerset fell to 108 for 4, trailing by 201 runs, with SACA six wickets away from securing back-to-back wins against county opponents.

Patience was needed with Somerset digging deep and it took seventeen further overs for SACA to get number five, with Ajay Khunti breaking the partnership. Somerset had fought back on 162 for 5, needing only 147 to win now from the remaining 39 overs, with the game very much back in the balance.

Seven more runs were added when tea was taken, with SACA needing five wickets and Somerset requiring 140 runs from the 35 overs left in the final session of the game.

Another 34 were added before SACA struck again and it was Khunti with his second, although Somerset were closing in on their target, with the score on 196 for 6, needing just 113 runs to win.

There were 18 overs remaining in the game before SACA struck again, when Singh broke through, but by then a partnership of 44 had been added and the result was very much in the balance with the visitors on 240 for 7 needing just 69 runs for victory.

Momentum swung back SACA’s way just four overs later as the eighth wicket fell with Ismail Mohammed making the breakthrough with Somerset on 261 for 8, needing 48 more to win and SACA needing just two wickets.

It was SACA who held their nerve and seized the opportunity and just two overs later the game was won, with Singh grabbing the ninth Somerset wicket and Mohammed the tenth, as Somerset were bowled out for 267 to earn SACA an impressive and hard-fought victory by the margin of 41 runs.

SACA have two red-ball clashes being played over three days next week, between the 5th and 7th May, played consecutively, when they take on Essex at Billericay Cricket Club and Middlesex at Merchant Taylor's School in Northwood.

SACA HIGHLIGHTS FROM SOMERSET THREE-DAY MATCH…

Batting:                                                                        

Daniyal Khan                 125 (228)                        

Ajay Khunti                    47 (102)                           

Daniyal Khan                 41 (70)                             

Bowling:

Sachin Sivanandan         8-0-33-3

Ismail Mohammed         4.3-0-8-2

Aum Patel                         8-2-25-2

Ajay Khunti                      10-1-28-2

Anuj Malik                       9-0-36-2

Sachin Sivanandan        11-2-45-2

Jaskaran Singh               10-3-46-2