Click for Statistics based on first two games played
FIRST GAME - STRANDFONTEIN (home - Playhouse)
Due to unforeseen circumstances the first game’s result have not been posted on this page. This post should rectify that problem as I will give a rundown of the action for both weeks in this post.
Our first, very highly anticipated game ended just as abruptly and what an anticlimax…as I am sure most involved in the game would agree. I am sure that most of us involved in the first game against Strandfontein would be happy to have seen that whatever was wrong in our performance against them, was very much corrected in our next game against United.
To start off with…our batting performance against Strandfontein was horrible. I can not think of any bright moments with the bat in that game besides the odd boundary and the well constructed innings of Wayne Beukes (31). He was the only batsman that actually WAITED for a bad ball and basically showed the rest of the side how to accumulate runs effectively. Although I scored 25, I still believe that I chucked my wicket away in a very overeager fashion, but I guess you only play as good as the bowling is against you. On that topic, the bowling of Strandfontein deserved to have gone for 250 runs on the day. Only posting 141 all out in 27 was evidence enough of how poor our performance was. Still, we had the runs on the board and with good bowling and fielding we could have beaten the 8-man squad that arrived for the game.
Our bowling was actually not as bad as their top order batsmen was good. But the chances did come and NONE was taken, besides a moment of quick thinking and even quicker hands from Wray that took a sharp catch in the slips of my bowling. For that I have to applaud you Wray, I would have you in the slips any day over anyone the club can throw at me.
Our fielding was dismal, catches went pear and all in all we were pretty much relieved when the bleeding stopped at 142/3 for Strandfontein. Maybe the anticipation of the Bokke taking on England in the World Cup final that night made it easier to forget about our lackluster performance? We had some help from MR Kevin Barnes (he is such an icon in the club by now I can’t get myself to just calling him “Kevvy” like everyone else :D), but even he must have thought that if that bowling had to continue for the duration of the innings he would have had a double ton behind his name…unfortunately he left the park with less that double figures! What is it about bad bowling that gets wickets? Is it the anticipation or the desire to have one land in Kommetjie that invariably has you sky one to cover? I don’t know…better forget this game quickly.
SECOND GAME - UNITED (home - Bosmansdam)
Again…The fasting period of some of the Muslim sides in the league really throws a spanner in the works. To top it off… as a Muslim you know funerals take while… Not only did they struggle to put a side together, they were horribly late for the game as well. A nightmare for a home captain that has to weigh up the advantages of his side having been gifted the toss, trying to accommodate the opposing team in such a fashion that a game will take place…etc. Phew…
So…After all has been said and done, we finally get underway…50 minutes late!!!! According to the rules of our league, if the game starts within 30 minutes after the prescribed starting time, no overs have to be docked from the offending side. If the game starts after that 30 minute grace period, an over will be docked for every 4 minutes thereafter. In retrospect, it would have been nice to force them to bat 35 overs and then have the luxury of chasing the runs down in 40 overs. And I would have preferred batting first, but hey…you do what you have to do to keep the peace, keep the game fun and to at least get a result from it without having to leave the park in a furious state with a “10 points” marked on your little green card!
So they bat first and halfway through their innings one of their teammates arrive with reinforcements, to fill their side! Wray came up to me and said that we need a wicket (as if a precious wicket was the furthest thing from ALL of our minds) since the batsmen was pretty much taking the batting in their stride on a severe “up-and-down” track. The good thing about the pitch was that it took to spin in a big way, so Mike Reynders and Rick Taylor both had a run with some very heartening results…taking three of the 5 wickets we managed to get before their captain decided that bad light may hamper a result and in effect wanted the game shortened even further.
Being a mathematical person, I started doing that maths….2 overs left…they WILL mill the ball. But I cant change my bowlers now. It would have been stupid to bring someone on that is cold for only one over and end up having to chase more leather than we needed to. So Mike Reynders and Wayne Beukes bowled those final 2 with relative success.
They ended on 147/5 in their 30 overs….pretty impressive considering that our bowlers bowled better than last week, our fielding was slightly better (Mr Kamfer, prepare yourself for some serious catching practice on Thursday LOL!!!!) and they had limited resources to work with.
Then the next public relations nightmare presented itself. I have rarely seen a game called off due to bad light where BOTH captains was in agreement about what constituted “bad light”. After all, even international umpires are not always consistent in their decision making so how can you expect two captains to agree? So I toyed with the idea of going in and taking on the bowling in order to score quickly. My initial feeling was to take the top 6 batsmen aside and explain to them that we need a solid start from the openers. At over 10 they need to open up the shoulders and the first one to keep his wicket must then take the anchor role with myself, Wray, Rick, Kippo (Chris), Wayne and Mike Reynders coming in to do damage. After all, going after the runs in under 30 overs would have given us huge confidence going into our next game, would have won the game without the risk of being ridiculed for having had more overs than our opposition to score the runs and we would win the game before bad light became an issue.
I decided against giving strict instructions at the start of the game as every instruction is open to individual interpretation. The last thing we needed is for the openers to have been out here till the 10th over with only 5 runs on the board, then going for big shots and being 10/1 after 12 overs. So then Mike van der Merwe did not use his feet and klapped a few good boundaries before he was run out because of some atrocious calling once again (second game in a row where we lose batsmen this way, unacceptable really). I joined George on 27/1 in over 7. What impressed me most was the application displayed by George Kamfer in anchoring the innings. I scored a quick 82 (10×4’s, 4×6’s) that took our side into the early 110’s at about the 18th over. I wanted to play a quick innings, but I never expected it to come that quick…I was caught totally off guard when I heard my teammates congratulating me on my 50 when I barely felt that I was out there for 10 minutes!! I wanted to do well for me and for the team as God knows…we needed a win early on this season to just get our heads right! Playing on strict instructions George resisted playing big shots like a seasoned opener and carried his bat…21*. Well played George. You effectively cemented your place as an opener for the foreseeable future.
Wray van Schalkwyk took some time to get going as his favorite balls just never arrived…they bowled well with nothing being short and wide. So some improvisation from the big guy saw him smack some lusty boundaries in other areas than his favored point-area! A well played 26* (4×4’s, 1×6).
We managed to score 148/2 in 22 overs. No doubt about the outcome and even the losing side left pretty convinced of it.
I was impressed with the bowling of Rick Taylor (you need to learn to keep a cool head my man…every bowler goes for a few every now and again, it’s what you do with the next ball that counts!). He turned the ball square on more than one occasion and caused some headaches for seasoned keeper, Mike R. And Mike R even bowled some spin and got some good returns from his stint. Here’s to Frans joining the squad next week, taking the gloves and you bowling 8 overs Mike!
Wray, well done on you runs scored, it must have been a huge relief to get off the mark. And George Kamfer…you managed to hang in there and its pleasing to know that as a captain you learn new things about your squad on a daily basis. It will take three more games to get stability and form to the side that would carry us through to the end, but it looks promising thus far. Keep it up boys.
