When Pioneer As bowled out their opponents for just 3 runs

Pioneer As winning team pose for a photograph

History was made in the oldest cricket league in the world, when Pioneer As, hailing from Perry Barr, bowled out their opponents for just 3 runs in the second division of Birmingham Cricket League.

The astonishing feat was achieved in a fixture between Pioneer As and Pak Pakhtoon division two match of the Birmingham Cricket League, England. Established in 1888, the second division of the league has been in existence since 1893.

Pioneers As overcame their opponents in just 40 minutes and 13 overs in Perry Barr.

“When we rang the league, they didn’t believe us. We had to take the scorecard round to the chairman,” said Imran Majid of the winning team.

You might recall a similar incident earlier this year, when Wirral, a Cheshire League side was dismissed for three runs. The freak score has been repeated within two months of that match.

On referring to that fixture, the 33-year old Imran pointed out: “That was village cricket, where sons, fathers and grandfathers can play in the same team. I really don’t know how competitive it was.”

“Pak Pakhtoon are not a bad side. In fact, we were worried after finding out in the previous game that one of their batsman got 199,” he said that his team’s feat came against an opponent of a higher standard.

Pioneer As vs Pak Pakhtoon Scorecard

This is now the lowest total in the oldest league. The previous league record belonged to Friends XI, who bowled out Unique Stars six years ago for 9 runs.

What is more surprising is the fact that Pak Pakhtoon recently scored 300 runs with one of their batsmen getting 199.

“It’s a major surprise because only two weeks ago Pak Pakhtoon scored 300 runs and one person got over 190. It was just a freak set of circumstances,” League vice-chairman Amjad Aziz said about the record score.

Highlight of the match was 45-year-old Khalid Sadiq’s bowling, who overcame a calf injury to take 7 wickets in 7 overs, conceding just 2 runs. Rest 3 batsmen were dismissed by his bowling partner Mazar Ali, who took 3 wickets in 6 overs.

The freak scorecard

Batting first, the Pioneer As batsmen struggled for runs and eventually made 173 for the loss of eight wickets from their allotted 40 overs. One of their players had to catch a train back home and time was short, but his team gave him a pleasant surprise.

“One of our players, Janaid Khan, travelled from London and was worried about catching the train back,” Imran said. Janaid hit 43 and made it to New Street station without breaking sweat.

“It was just one of those games where everything clicked,” added Imran. “How will we follow that? We never will, probably.

And he added that they hesitated to speak to their opposition.

“At the end, we didn’t say anything to the opposition because we thought they might be embarrassed, but, to be fair, they were very supportive. They came over to us and said how amazing it was,” said Imran.

Talking about Pak Pakhtoon, The Mail quoted a source close to the club as saying, “They take their cricket seriously. When I say seriously, it’s a matter of life or death.”

Well, we wonder how this hammering might go down with them. If it helps, this is not the lowest score in cricket history. That dubious record is held by Glastonbury, which was all out for 0 in 1913.