FALCONS CLINCH 2013 KATICH CUP:

The Falcons won their second cup in as many weeks on Saturday when they beat rivals the Hawks in the final of the 2013 Katich Cup in Zagreb.

After winning the Croatian Indoor Cricket Cup last weekend the Falcons had all the momentum going into the final, and they got off to a postive start after being sent into bat by Hawks captain Doug Kennedy, who looked resplendant in his blazer at the toss, which set the tone for the rest of the match.

No nonsense opener Richard Probst made his intentions clear early on that he was not going to afford himself anytime to play himself in as began teeing off from the get go. One big six from Probst down the ground the hightlight in his 19-run opening stand with Luka Papa-Stubbs. The Hawks' fielding, which was the catalyst in their series comeback to win 3 games on the bounce, was missing on Saturday and the inability to take wickets meant that the Falcons were able to continue the momentum from the bright start.

A solid 16-run partnership between the Tabain brothers, followed by a 6-run partnership between Pero Bosnjak and Lloyd Anderson meant that the total was always heading north. Gus van Rensburg, Jurica, Goran Kellet and Dominik Cicak combined to take the total through 50 before Jasen Butkovic and Paul Musin put on 19 in the last 3 overs to take the Falcons through to a formidable total of 69.

With runs on the board the pressure was always going to be on the Hawks and early wickets was the last thing they needed. When Butkovic knocked over opener Ibad Faruqui with one through the gate, and fellow opener Kennedy was "Mankad-ed" by Lloyd Anderson, the chase quickly become a lot more difficult.

The next pair of Kreso Kekez and David Zizic had to take risks as the run-rate climbed but could not pierce the field as the Falcons held their catches. The ever consistent pairing of Ivan Slipcevic and Marko Mance gave the Hawks a slight sniff as they put on 16 runs in their 3 overs, but 3 quick van Rensburg wickets soon put paid to any hopes of a miracle recovery.

With the required run-rate now over 13-runs an over the Hawks needed boundaries, but were unable to find the back wall. The Hawks saved their best partnership for last as Akshay Daxini and Mark put on 18. The late surge was not enough as the Hawks fell short by 38 runs.

"The Falcons start was the key, they got off to a good start and kept it going and we didn't. We also missed a few catches and run-outs, our trademark strong fielding went a bit missing," said Hawks captain Kennedy after the match.
 
Falcons 69 (P. Musin 16, R. Probst 14, V. Tabain 6, T. Tabain 5, V. Zanko 1-3, A.Daxini 1-6, K. Kekez 1-7)
Hawks 31 (A. Daxini 12, M. Mance 9, Mark 6, D. Kellett 5, V. Zanko 5, G. v Rensburg 3--8, L.Anderson 2--6, R.Probst 2-0, M. Maric 2-0)

Player of the Series (1 run = 1 point, 1 wicket = 5 points):

1. Paul Mušin 168
2. Akshay Daxini 121
3. Doug Kennedy 115
4. Krešo Kekez 105
5. Lokesh Thondavada 101
6. Jasen Butković 100
7. Gus van Rensburg 91
8. Conrad Kellett 80
9. Tonko Tabain 78
10. Julian Goodman 57
11. Mike Maric 52
12. Marko Mance 50
13. Richard Probst 50
14. Lloyd Anderson 44
15. Goran Kellett 29
16. Pero Bošnjak (wk) 25
17. Ivan Slipčevic 16
18. Dario Kellet 16
19. Vedran Žanko 13
20. Paul Stubbs 13
21. Šime Ivančević 8
22. David Žižić 7
23. Rob Raguz 7
24. Ibad Faraqui 6
25. Nick Zdunic 4
26. Vicko Tabain -1
27. Dominic Čičak -14
28. Tinisha Chimfamba -30
29. Luka Papa-Stubbs -38