Whalers vs White Swan CC

Sheen – 25th April 2004

White Swan CC 255-4; Whalers 133 all out
White Swan CC win by 124 runs

A humid but bright afternoon saw the Whalers gather in Sheen for the first start of the season. Bayne, clearly taking his cue from previous Whalers captains got into the groove early by losing his first toss. White Swan chose to bat.

An early breakthrough by Osgood augured well as the Swans’s no2 took an early exit. The Whalers had their tails up, looking to make further inroads. Clearly the White Swans’ 2nd pair had other ideas as they set about the Whalers attack. Osgood and Mildon bowled well but failed to make further gains. Swans proceeded to pile on the runs with the Whalers letting chance after chance slip through their fingers. It was a frustrating period of play that saw half a dozen or more chances go down. Whalers finally got the breakthrough after the second wicket pairing had added around 150. But the pain did not end there. A lusty cameo from the no3 saw more runs flow and the undefeated opener went on to post his century.

But two quick wickets saw both men dispatched and an entirely new pair at the crease. Whalers were able to dramatically slow the scoring rate such that only 10 runs were scored off the last five overs. White Swan ended their innings on 255-4

It was always going to be a daunting task for the Whalers willow-men. We had scored these runs before but not in a chase. We would have to bet very well and rely on the Swans bowling very badly. Unfortunately neither happened. The Swans’ bowling, although not unplayable was tidy and effective, and the Whalers men were the main architects of their own failures. The opening pairing did not last beyond the fifth over and with nos 3,4, 5 & 6 falling for scores of 0,0,1 & 0, any hopes that still held were all but dashed. When Dickenson, still resolute after seeing so many partners fall, was joined by Osgood the two of them set about scaling the Everest of runs that faced them. Some lusty and enterprising blows saw the Whalers’ score move on smartly. However, it was not to last and soon after posting a well deserved 50, Dickenson was finally caught. Kirkness, coming in next, fell immediately and Osgood fell to a freak catch at mid-on. At 88-7 things looked as bleak as ever.

But the tailed showed some pride and wagged enough to avert a catastrophic defeat. More good blows from Khalil and Mildon brought the score on past the 100 mark. The resistance ended as the Whalers faltered to 133 all out.

A disappointing start to the season but a match played in good spirit against a friendly oppo whom we should have run a lot closer.

Man of the Match: Al Dickenson
Champagne Moment: Al bringing up 50 with a 6
Muppet Moment: Dan Osgood & Ed Kirkness’s fielding farce

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