For the first time, the weather threatened play at it looked possible that we might not be able to start the game at all. Thankfully, as quickly as the rains blew in, the wind kept blowing and would soon blow the showers away. In fact, the showers were so well timed that they actually occurred before we started, during the lunch break and halfway through each innings, thereby forcing a compulsory drinks break. Unfortunately though, the weather outlook meant that a few players had pulled out at the last moment leaving us with 9 a-side, and a shortened 24 over game due to reduced sides and expectations of rain.
Captaincy for the game was handed over to two all new captains, Simon Ware captaining the Pirates of Penzance and David Brown captaining The Mutineers. David won the toss and decided to bowl on a wet and slippery track. The Pirates of Penzance opened with the familiar partnership of Simon Ware and Paul Davy, who struggled initially to come to terms with the erratic movement of the ball off the pitch. Not only was the ball skidding inconsistently as it hit the wicket but there was also a lot of sideways movement to keep the bowlers interested. Simon battled well against the unfavourable conditions before hitting a return catch to Andre Fernandes. Whilst Simon scored only 3 runs in his innings, he successfully performed the role of an opener sent out to protect other batsmen from difficult opening conditions. Rhys Anthony followed and after a brief mishap where he skied an off drive in-between the keeper and two fieldsmen, he cashed in the team’s dogged start by belting a belligerent 31 not out retired off only 17 balls. Rhys smacked the ball so hard that not only did he score very quickly, but he actually managed to break the ball in the process. As the howling winds started to dry the wicket, conditions gradually improved as Paul finished with a solid 25 not out off 32 deliveries before retiring to the sidelines. Alen Allday and Cameron Ruglen started solidly but another quick shower swept through the ground and enforced a drinks break after 14 overs with only 1 wicket lost. The stage was set for a run onslaught in the second half with wickets in hand and big hitters at the crease, but despite some good cameo performances – Alen’s 12 off 18 balls, Cameron’s 13 off 18 balls and Matthew Anderson’s 17 off 22 balls, the run rate remained steady throughout the second half of the innings until the Pirates of Penzance had scored a promising 5/112 off their 24 overs at a sound run rate of 4.66. Key bowlers for The Mutineers included Andre Fernandes with 2/11 (4 overs) and Tony Hayward with 2/12 (3 overs).
As the lunch shower cleared, Simon went on the aggressive early, bowling Cameron and Alen for their full complement of 4 overs a-piece. The move paid dividends as Cameron ripped through the talented top order of Chris Sinclair, Tony Hayward and Andre Fernandes, with little addition to the scoreline. Matthew McLellan, who had been watching the carnage from the other end set about compiling a persistent innings in these difficult conditions. Alas for The Mutineers, Matthew’s innings was a lone hand as he saw the middle and lower order crumble – many batsmen opting for the aerial route in the windy conditions and paying with their wickets. Matthew was eventually dismissed for 20, caught behind off Rhys Anthony’s first delivery. This dismissal left Stephanie Davy batting under the last man’s tucker rule to compile a personal best of 6 before her wicket brought the end to The Mutineers innings at 48 off 16 overs, a defeat of 64 runs. Player of the match was awarded to Cameron Ruglen for his devastating bowling performance of 3/10 off 4 overs (the best in Cricket Challenge history) which put the Mutineers in a position from which they were unable to recover.
When compiling the teams for this year I wanted to keep people with their friends us much as possible, but I think that as the Cricket Challenge continues to mature, people who did not initially know each other are now getting along really well and there is a lot more scope to open things up in the future. Additionally we now also have five games worth of statistics, which can be used to make an increasingly accurate assessment of player capabilities. I have a couple of ideas that might make Cricket Challenge 6 a more evenly contested challenge, but I’m more than happy to hear any feedback that any of you may have in relation to the nature of team selection. Thanks again to those who scored and umpired and helped by bringing their friends along – your efforts are greatly appreciated. I hope to see you all again for Cricket Challenge 6 in 2005.
The Pirates
of Penzance’s innings.
Batting
1. S. Ware c.
& b. Fernandes 3
(16)
2. P. Davy retired
- not out 25 (32)
3. R. Anthony retired
- not out 31 (17)
4. C. Ruglen b.
Briggs 13 (18)
5. A. Allday c.
Le Roux b. Fernandes 12
(18)
6. F. Ruglen c.
Briggs b. Hayward 2
(12)
7. M. Anderson c.
McLellan b. Hayward 17
(22)
8. P. Petkos not
out 0
(4)
9. J. Grapsas not
out 1
(4)
Extras
(6w, 1nb, 1b)
8
TOTAL
SCORE: (24
overs) 5/112
Bowling O M W R
1. J. Le Roux 3 0 0 11
2. T. Hayward 3 0 2 12
3. A. Fernandes 4 1 2 11
4. M. McLellan 3 0 0 17
5. C. Sinclair 4 0 0 21
6. J. Lo 3 0 0 14
7. D. Brown 1 0 0 9
8. R. Briggs 2 0 1 6
9. R. Overton 1 0 0 6
Batting
1. M. McLellan ct.
behind Ware b. Anthony 20 (37)
2. C. Sinclair ct.
behind Ware b. C. Ruglen 7
(11)
3. T. Hayward c.
& b. C. Ruglen 0 (2)
4. A. Fernandes c.
& b. C. Ruglen 3 (3)
5. J. Le Roux b.
Allday 1
(4)
6. J. Lo run
out 5
(13)
7. D. Brown c.
P. Davy b. Grapsas 2
(3)
8. R. Briggs run
out 1
(6)
9. S. Davy c.
Grapsas b. Anderson 6
(18)
Extras
(2w, 1nb) 3
TOTAL
SCORE: (16
overs) 48
Bowling O M W R
1. A. Allday 4 0 1 15
2. C. Ruglen 4 1 3 10
3. P. Davy 2 0 0 8
4. J. Grapsas 2 0 1 5
5. P. Petkos 1 0 0 2
6. R. Anthony 1 0 1 1
7. F. Ruglen 1 0 0 5
8. M. Anderson 1 0 1 1
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