How to lose a match - 101 ways in which to do it!
Sounds like a pretty pessimistic view on approaching a cricket match, but unfortunately we have pretty much perfected the art of losing games, rather than our opposition beating us.
Victoria won the toss and sent us in to bat. A decision that had me in two minds as I would have batted first if I won the toss anyway, but, unknowing to some of my team mates, against what I believed we should have done…field first.
We started, again, like a house on fire with Groenewald and Kamfer putting on another great opening partnership of 70 plus. If anything can be said about our batting this season, is that we have been very consistent in runs posted and also opening or top order partnerships.
Then a dubious decision followed. With a “chunk” of daylight separating the bat from the ball the umpire raises his finger to once again inflict further damage to my own batting average…so what was once a wondrous average of 55 plummeted to 30 odd in the space of a few games…
Anyway, nuff bout me! We managed to get to 175/8 in our allotted 40 overs and started making inroads into the Victorian batting lineup. When we had them 80 odd for 7, some premature champagne corks started to pop and it was difficult to keep the players focused on the task at hand. Some agricultural hoiks over midwicket and some viciously unorthodox slaps through the offside later and we are trying our all to get rid of these two seemingly hopeless batting cases that just does not want to fold under pressure!
In the end we lost with 1.1 overs remaining. By one wicket!
I am still drinking my bathwater since Saturday night. And it won’t stop soon either. At least it’s leaving a better taste in my mouth than the almost sweet turned sour champagne taste that lingered earlier…
