Westley praise for Essex team-mate Zaidi
PUBLISHED: 19:48 30 April 2017
Tom Westley of Essex fields the ball (pic Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo)
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Batsmen impress in Royal London One-Day Cup win
Essex’s top scorer Tom Westley reserved special mention for team-mate Ashar Zaidi, after both impressed with the bat in their Royal London One-Day Cup win over Hampshire at Chelmsford.
Westley hit 93 off 98 balls at the start of the innings, before Zaidi added a whirlwind 72 not out from just balls to take Essex past the 300-run mark.
And their efforts proved key, as the visitors came up 25 runs short of their target, with Westley saying: “Ashar does that a lot for us. It was a game-changing innings.
“But that’s the beauty of Ash. He is made for those situations. Him and ‘Tendo’ coming in with 15-20 overs to go is very dangerous for the opposition but brilliant for us. I am sure he will do it many more times in this competition.”
Of his own innings, which came to an end when he was caught by George Bailey off the bowling of Liam Dawson, Westley said: “It was nice to get some runs. Obviously it was disappointing not to get a hundred, but at that stage of the game we were looking to get on. It wasn’t a bad catch to get me, either.”
Essex only looked troubled when Bailey and James Vince were compiling a 91-run stand and Westley added: “The wicket of Bailey was crucial and Ravi getting Vince out was key as well because they had a nice partnership going.
“You know with runs on the board you know chances will come and you have to make sure you take them.”
Hampshire captain James Vince said: “We did okay but we weren’t at our best. The main difference was we didn’t have someone to go on and get a big score. Ideally you go on and get 80 or 100.
“I don’t think 305 was a lot to chase. The way the boundaries are here, and it was a pretty good pitch, at the halfway stage we would have taken that.”
Hampshire’s bowlers were carted for 82 off the last 10 overs as Zaidi hit out and Vince admitted: “It is a lot. A few of them were leading edges that went for six. With the boundaries as small as they are, that can happen.
“We’ll take this one on the chin and hopefully bounce back against Middlesex on Wednesday.”
Essex take on Surrey at The Oval in their next match on Tuesday.
