On Sunday the 26th of June  SACC played Thoiry in Match 2 of the 3-match John Hardy Shield.

After victory in last week’s match, Standard Athletic won the toss and chose to bat in the second of three JH Shield games, knowing that a victory would help them retain the trophy for a second year running. The game got off to the worst possible start, however, with Standard losing 3 quick wickets. With the score at 35 for 3, a partnership was desperately needed. Responding to the situation, Henry and Nishant put together a fantastic 130-run partnership leaving the visitors with a target of 213 runs for victory. 

With the momentum on their side, Standard began in the best possible way with captain Nisseem claiming a wicket with his first delivery. A second was soon to follow and with the score hanging precariously at 9 for 2, Thoiry were staring at humiliation. A middle-order revival, however, pushed their score towards 100 before John, Shaunak and Anser claimed three valuable wickets. With the tail-enders providing some dogged resistance, Nisseem threw the ball to last week’s match-winner Nishant. As Standard’s lead was diminishing with every Thoiry run scored, the new recruit struck four times leaving the visitors 24 runs short.

The result – a 24-run victory by Standard Athletic CC and victory in the 2022 John Hardy Shield!