O

n the day that Australia and New Zealand battled it out in the ICC Cricket World Cup Final in Australia, thousands of miles away in Indonesia, Division One leaders Jakarta Barbarians and Menara CC seemed to be in a mighty rush to finish their game quickly and rush off to watch the closing stages of the big game on TV.

In a Division 1 double-eliminator at Cibubur, the Barbarians were bowled out for just 97 runs in 30.2 overs after electing to bat first. Jon Baker was the lone Barbarian to make an impact with the bat as he compiled a well-made 36 while Mohit Keshwani (4 for 11) and Harish Tiwari (4-15) were Menara'€™s chief destroyers with the ball.

What seemed like a modest target for Menara turned out to be a match-winning one for the Barbarians as Menara slumped to 71/8 (24 overs) before being bowled out for 82 in 27.4 overs. Scott Masson (3-11) and Ben Corbett (3-29) swung the red cherry to great effect, giving the Jakarta Barbarians a hard-fought 15-run victory.

In Division 2 on Saturday, the '€œall-Indonesian'€ Senayan Tigers ended their season with an 83-run thrashing of Jaguar CC. Taking first lease of the wicket, the Tigers were bowled out for 158 runs in 27.1 overs.

Indonesian national players Yeri Rosongna (35) and Ahmad Ramdoni (29) propped up the Tigers'€™ batting while Krishna Koppisetti (3-26) and Vijay Kumar (2-20) were the pick of the Jaguars'€™ bowlers. In reply, the Jaguars failed to recover from their early loss of wickets and were bundled out for a paltry 75 in 22.5 overs, with Melven Ndoen picking up 2-22 for the Tigers and in the process giving the Senayan Tigers a well-deserved season-ending victory.