Saturday 2s vs Whiteley Village
Author: Mike Henshall
Match Report |
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The scorecard shows it was an easy win, but in reality it was hard work and mostly of our own making. Venturing out to the scene of last year’s ‘Hannaford Defensive’ where the enigmatic wicketkeeper parked the bus for 30 overs (for a grand total of 1 run), we were feeling a little more confident coming off a good win in Round 1 and a strong squad. We bowled first after losing the toss, and a combination of tight bowling and patience was finally rewarded with a wicket. Macca stood in the middle of the pitch, refusing to take the 3 steps back necessary and commit to holding a catch off his own bowling (‘Chicken’ seems appropriate). Thankfully a late call from Karan meant Hensh took a low catch coming in from mid-on. The Whiteley Village skipper came in at 3 having smashed 130-odd against us last year, and while he struck a few blows early Wibbs took a great catch over the shoulder off Saad and we were feeling good about proceedings. That didn’t translate to more catches and unfortunately their No 4 (63*) guided a sitter straight to gully 3rd ball while on 0 where a rubbery chest awaited. To the credit of our bowlers, we kept the runs right down and restricted them to 180 for 6 off their 45 overs. Prasham (the mobile Garg) was pick of the bowlers returning 1/15 off his 9 overs. Looking back we probably should’ve kept that down by another 40 runs, but a target of 4 per over was very achievable. The reliable opening combo of Doug and Saad started the chase and they didn’t disappoint. They put on 82 for the first wicket, Saad running himself out (unnecessarily) for 43 in the 19th over. This was about the time our chase hit the skids. Only 22 runs off the next 11 overs when a tiring Doug was out for a well-made 47 (this man is in some consistent form!), Jules still anchored on 3 from about 35 balls. Wibbs couldn’t lift the run rate, falling cheaply, and when the skipper strode out we needed 66 off 10 overs. It took a couple of overs to settle in, but the tempo picked up as we pushed the running between wickets harder and Jules (26* from 26 overs) even managed to break the shackles a bit. The pressure started to show on the oppo as a bit of shouting and finger pointing crept in. Overs 40-42 were the telling blow, 35 runs from 18 balls and the momentum was with us. Hensh (35*) hitting the winning runs with 11 balls to spare, only 3 wickets down. A great win, and we kept composed under pressure with both ball and bat. The signs are good and, as long as we can keep a good side on the park every week, we can make a real mark this year. MOTM was contentious - Prash bowled beautifully, and the skipper carried things home with the bat under pressure, but we’ll give it to the man with the stats in the scorebook - Saad (43 and 2 wickets). |
Date | Time | Team | Opposition | Location | Putney | Opposition | Result | Scores | Points | Toss |
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09/05/2015 | 1pm | Saturday 2nd | Whiteley Village | A | 181/3 | 180/6 | W | 20 |