Strollers CC won by c.15
runs
The
Whalers went down to another narrow defeat at the weekend, this time against
the Strollers. Bowling first on a green, damp, sloping wicket, and the ball
doing all sorts under plenty of cloud cover, the Whalers got off to a good
start with 2 early wickets for Matt and one for Khalil.
Some poor catching (especially from me) and over-keen fielding helped the
Strollers rebuild, despite very tight bowling from Kamal
and Si. However, with a number of extremely close LBW
shouts being denied, we didn't claim any more wickets until the last 15 overs or so, with a couple of wickets for Dan (2-25), Khalil (2-20) tipping a catch to Pip at mid-off, a good
catch from Khalil off Matt (3-29), and a comedy
run-out. The Strollers eventually finished on 157-8 from their 40 overs, of which Mr Extras contributed an undeserved 40.
With
a short boundary on one side and the pitch having dried out a bit, we knew this
was very gettable. However, and at the risk of repeating last week's match
report, the Whalers top order again failed to fire and for the fourth time this
year we were 30odd for 5. Credit must go to the Strollers bowlers who gave us
very little to hit throughout the innings - their number 2 and 3 bowlers were
especially tight, with figures between them of 4-19 from 16 overs.
Toby and Dan rebuilt with a steady partnership, and at 120 for 5 with about 7 overs to go we were definitely back in the match. However,
we couldn't push on from there, with Toby falling for 44 and Dan for 34 as the
run-rate climbed. Even a quickfire 20 not out from
Matt couldn't help us get the runs we needed, and eventually we fell about 15
runs short with the last-wicket pair at the crease.
Match
stats:
Strollers
CC 157-8 – Matt 3-29, Khalil 2-20, Dan 2-25
Whalers CC
c.150 – Toby 44, Dan 34
Man of the match:
Champagne moment:
Muppet moment: