USA’s bowling attack covered up for an underwhelming batting performance by stifling the touring Marylebone Cricket Club touring side in a 47-run win at Indianapolis World Sports Park on Sunday. The USA spin arsenal of Muhammad Ghous, Timil Patel, Steven Taylor and Timroy Allen took eight of ten wickets to bowl out MCC for 94 in pursuit of a 50-over target of 142.

By Peter Della Penna in Indianapolis

USA’s bowling attack covered up for an underwhelming batting performance by stifling the touring Marylebone Cricket Club touring side in a 47-run win at Indianapolis World Sports Park on Sunday. The USA spin arsenal of Muhammad Ghous, Timil Patel, Steven Taylor and Timroy Allen took eight of ten wickets to bowl out MCC for 94 in pursuit of a 50-over target of 142.

 

USA was in trouble early in the day after winning the toss and electing to bat first, falling to 7 for 3 inside of four overs. Fahad Babar was run out on the second ball of the match after being sent back by Davion Davidson looking for a single into the covers, though Babar appeared to have beaten the direct hit from Paul Byrne. Davidson fell caught behind for a second-ball duck chasing a wide ball from Chris Glasper in the third over and three balls later Ravi Timbawala gloved an attempted hook to the keeper to give Chad Barrett his first wicket.

Barrett dropped Akeem Dodson off his own bowling in the 10th but four balls later had Steven Taylor swishing at a full delivery to be caught behind for 5 as USA slipped further to 34 for 4. Dodson managed to hang around long enough to be one of just three USA players on the day to cross 20, striking a series of crisp straight drives. First change seamer Steve Naylor removed him in the 12th though with a clever slower ball yorker that bowled Dodson for 24.

Nicholas Standford top-scored in the match with 31 off 34 balls, connecting with a series of pulls and cover drives to end with four boundaries, also a match high. He added 28 for the sixth wicket with Shiva Vashishat to briefly steady the USA innings. Byrne came on for a spell of left-arm spin beginning in the 18th and quickly built pressure resulting in the wicket of Vashishat for 7 in the 20th, out missing a sweep to be given leg before. Standford fell three overs later to make it 78 for 7, missing a flick across the line to Naylor for another lbw decision against USA.

Timil Patel and Timroy Allen batted sensibly over the next 11 overs to produce a 36-run eighth wicket partnership, the largest stand for either side in the match. Patel eventually fell for 14 skipping down the wicket in an effort to clear mid-on but instead sent a catch to Mark O’Leary for Byrne’s second wicket. Allen added another 26 over the following 5.4 overs with Elmore Hutchinson before he was USA’s third lbw victim of the innings, given for 27 despite what appeared to be a clear inside edge to make it 140 for 9. Muhammad Ghous then top-edged a sweep to short fine leg off Andrew Brock to finish USA’s innings in just 40 overs, all out for 141.

Byrne rounded out his superb tour with the ball for MCC with figures of 2 for 21 in 10 overs. Naylor claimed 2 for 25 in seven while Barrett ended with 2 for 28 in eight overs after taking the new ball.

MCC got off to a reasonably comfortable start in reply, reaching 31 for 0 after the initial Powerplay. Though USA’s opening pace combo of Allen and Ali Khan kept the run rate down, not much pressure was being applied. However, Khan broke the stand at the start of the 11th, inducing a drive to mid-off from MCC captain Simon Birtwisle for 21. Allen then broke through in the 14th, getting Ben Jeffrey to drive to Ghous at mid-on for 7 to make it 43 for 2.

Ghous was introduced in the 15th over bowling in tandem with Elmore Hutchinson to build pressure before Timil Patel joined Ghous for twin spin beginning in the 22nd. By the 25th, the slow-bowling pressure resulted in the wicket of Naylor for 20, out leg before after missing a sweep to Ghous to make it 67 for 3, sparking a slide where MCC last their last eight wickets to spin for just 27 runs.

Arthur fell two overs later, driving a low return catch to Ghous, before Patel struck for his first wicket in the 28th when Barrett’s reverse sweep found the diving Khan at short third man for 9. Back-to-back maidens from Ghous and Patel forced Luke Jackson into a charge down the wicket but he was unable to clear Timbawala at mid-on to give Patel a second wicket and send Jackson back for a duck to make it 78 for 6. Nicholas Rushworth concluded a span of four wickets for six runs in the 33rd when he was out leg before playing back to Ghous despite an inside edge to make it 80 for 7.

With Ghous bowled out and one over left in the bank for Patel, USA captain Steven Taylor brought himself on to bowl offspin from one end while Allen returned to bowl offspin from the opposite end in order to wipe out the tail. Taylor had Harry Horsley caught behind edging an attempted drive for the eighth wicket in the 39th over before Allen struck twice in three balls in the 42nd, bowling Byrne between bat and pad before Glasper sent a leading edge to Vashishat at cover to end the match in 41.4 overs.

Ghous ended with 3 for 22 on the day in 10 overs including two maidens while Allen also finished with the same haul of 3 for 22, though he did it in six overs of medium pace followed by 1.4 overs of offspin. Patel was nearly flawless ending with 2 for 13 in nine overs while Taylor took 1 for 9 in four overs. Khan finished with 1 for 12 in five overs while Hutchinson went wicketless with 0 for 13 in six though played a solid support role to help change USA’s fortunes with the ball. Every bowler’s economy rate for USA was below three per over.

The MCC departs on Monday to fly back to England while USA will continue their five-day camp in Indianapolis with a set of intrasquad 50-over simulations on Monday.