Jamee's Crew v Bronx Cheerers
at CW Oval
Scorecard
Ball By Ball lost.
Bronx went 2-0 up after a fine chase of 245 on a difficult wicket, with Heath Davis' triple wicket maiden over and Dinu de Silva's unbeaten 108 competing for the limelight as the Cheerers eased to a six-wicket win with a near-first XI in their game with Jamee's Crew, despite disdain from the local crowd who waved placards about the charity spirit.
Jamee's team batted first, and immediately fell into trouble, as Raghav's first over rattled Bochat for a maiden. Davis struck first, ending Bochat's opening stint in the fourth over, and Wilson wasn't comfortable against the new ball either, as Bennett seized a catch at third slip. Remarkable resistance from Neil Pickup brought the team to 63 for three, and though Chaulk wasn't quite as belligerent as in the Dev League, he and Jamee Gray dominated the spinners and medium pacers in the middle overs. Ten boundaries were collected in a stand of 143, only ending with Davis' legendary over.
Returning from a long stint in the field, Davis steamed in and smashed a bouncer that grazed Chaulk's helmet. That set up nicely for the next ball, a yorker delivered at trademark HDS, which was meekly inside edged, and Chaulk was on his way for 83. Out came Liam Camps...only to walk back for a golden, cutting straight to Corrin at point. Kexing Su's first ball was accompanied by a massive appeal, but the umpire ruled the ball had hit pad not bat, to which Davis promptly responded with another bouncer. Su, fending desperately, only succeeded in threatening the seagulls with his wafted top edge, and Raghav patiently waited underneath it for the easiest of catches. Finally, Young blocked the last ball of the over, and Davis had firmly left his mark on the local crowd of Nixonstown.
Young and Gray managed to fight off Davis' final three overs, as his speed dwindled with the delivery count, but Raghav rounded off the day by having Gray caught by Cameron. Closing on 244 for seven, the crew would have fancied their chances, but it got tough from the outset. Kerr's medium pace was surprisingly effective, but Dobson, Sharma and de Silva all feasted on Mamesh' feeble attempts to bowl. By the end of the first twenty overs, the Bronx Cheerers were at 94 for two, and the hopes for the crew rested on Su.
It was Loganathan who got the first breakthrough, however, sneaking a ball onto Corrin's pads and then the stumps, bowled for 15. Not to be outdone, Su had Dwyer lbw in the next over, and Bennett followed shortly afterwards. Keeping the economy rate down was too challenging, however, as de Silva raced past 50 to continue an excellent charity series. By the fall of the sixth wicket the Cheerers needed just 27 to win with ten overs to go, though some credit must also go to captain Clapham, hitting a six and a four in his 28. Those 27 runs were easy pickings for Borcich and de Silva, and the latter eased to a well-deserved hundred. Nevertheless, there were occasional boos by spectators who claimed they had paid just to see Heath Davis bat.
Jamee's crew 244 for seven (50 overs)
AP Chaulk 83, JR Gray 76; HT Davis 4-43, SV Raghav 2-45
Bronx Cheerers 245 for six (46.1 overs)
MW de Silva 108*; Kexing Su 3-72, WA Kerr 2-35
Bronx Cheerers won by four wickets
Man of the Match: MW de Silva (Bronx)
Suit up! v Boulevard Bombers
at CWBCC Stadium
Scorecard
Commentary
Attacking cricket was provided by both sides at the CWBCC Stadium, with Zac Ritchie's four sixes as opener a main feature of the post-match highlights package, along with the three wickets brought along by Dan Smith's medium pace. For all that effort, Ryan Dunn and the extras threatened to get the Bombers across the line, but the five-over spell from Rai became crucial.
Ritchie, Das and Jasotharan got the innings off well against the Bombers' assortment of bowlers, all collecting fifties in brutal fashion. Despite opening the bowling with Rose and Pares, arguably the two best seamers in the squad, they only managed to impress against the local tail-ender, Gough. He ground out 19 before he was yorked by Pares, but Das and Ritchie enjoyed a fruitful second-wicket stand, taking their team to 110 for two at the end of the 22nd over when Ritchie dragged McNamara on.
The run rate continued to increase during the next partnership, with Wilshere and Butler looking on helplessly as the batsmen kept working them to all corners of the stadium. Dunn inspired a minor comeback, but Mørk and Mitchell kept their calm and added 24, nudging the total to an impressive 266 despite a three-wicket-haul in three overs from Dunn.
The bowler to impress the most, however, was Smith. Occasional seam movement baffled the top order batsmen from the Bombers, and both Thomas and Dunn padded up to straight deliveries; Williams was then caught at short leg by Mitchell, and the Bombers were already in the mire at 39 for three. Smith's figures read 3.2-0-8-3, and despite not being required to bat the Black captain had certainly made an impact.
So did Lezama. While Smith applied torture instruments to the top order, Dunn and Williams had released themselves against the wicket-keeper, who gave up five boundaries and 49 runs in a seven-over opening spell. Fuller was brought on for him, and dug out McNamara with a length ball, yet neither Fuller nor Mitchell had any significant impact, as Halsey and Gelman rebuilt well. By the end of the proper bowler's spells, they were ahead of the required rate, and the wicket-keepers were forced to tie them down.
So they did. Gelman was unable to find the gaps with regularity, and Dubb-Lynch and Mørk escaped with 43 from their ten overs; suddenly six an over was required, and Rai came back to close things off. This worked remarkably well, as Panesar-like appealing combined with disciplined line and length bowling and over-eager batsmen resulted in four scalps - Halsey, Gelman (stumped Das), Wilshere and Butler - all very accomplished one-day batsmen. Faced with six an over to win, Rose and Pares gave up, and though Smith's second spell wasn't nearly as successful as his first, he and Lezama bowled their side home for a 19-run win.
Suit up! 266 for eight (50 overs)
ZJ Ritchie 64, S Jasotharan 54, AS Das 53; RG Dunn 3-15
Boulevard Bombers 247 for eight (50 overs)
TC Halsey 65, ZE Gelman 48; DK Rai 4-18, DP Smith 3-41
Suit up! won by 19 runs
Man of the Match: D. P. Smith (Suit)
Cribb's XI v Crampton's XI
at PDV Dome
Match to be simmed tomorrow, as soon as Cribb's second-day team is up.